By its evocation of a real or imaged heroic age, its contrasts of character and its variety of adventure, above all by its sheer narrative power, the Odyssey has won and preserved its place among the greatest tales in the world. It tells of Odysseus' adventurous wanderings as he returns from the long war at Troy to his home in the Greek island of Ithaca, where his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus have been waiting for him for twenty years. He meets a one-eyed giant, Polyphemus the Cyclops; he visits the underworld; he ...
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By its evocation of a real or imaged heroic age, its contrasts of character and its variety of adventure, above all by its sheer narrative power, the Odyssey has won and preserved its place among the greatest tales in the world. It tells of Odysseus' adventurous wanderings as he returns from the long war at Troy to his home in the Greek island of Ithaca, where his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus have been waiting for him for twenty years. He meets a one-eyed giant, Polyphemus the Cyclops; he visits the underworld; he faces the terrible monsters Scylla and Charybdis; he extricates himself from the charms of Circe and Calypso. After these and numerous other legendary encounters he finally reaches home, where, disguised as a beggar, he begins to plan revenge on the suitors who have for years been besieging Penelope and feasting on his own meat and wine with insolent impunity.
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The Odyssey is the saga of the Greek hero Odysseus and his return voyage from the Trojan War. Having been away from home for many years Odysseus faces many challenges and adventures on his return journey to Ithaca. These include facing the one eyed giant called the Cyclops, the sorceress Circe, a visit to Hades, the Sirens, and the monsters Charybdis and Scylla. Upon his arrival home Odysseus defeats the suitors of his wife Penelope. The plain English prose translation by W. H. D. Rouse is the subject of this review and is highly readable. This epic story of adventure is one of the must read classics of world literature. Highly recommended.
Lisa C
Nov 7, 2013
meh
it smelled like someone had been smoking on it for years. I had to cover my nose everytime I opened the book
Barbara H
May 31, 2012
Not a favorite
Too hard to understand. Try No Fear on Spark Notes for translation.
creationchild
Feb 3, 2011
Bought it for school-ONLY
Great product! Just not what I would choose to read if given a choice. The reader is fine, just not that into Homer 8b...
Carol B
Sep 3, 2010
I would listen to Jacobi read the phone book
How fabulous to listen to this well done recording. Even though the stories are so familiar, this was really gripping, and I plan on revisiting this audiobook with regularity.