The Odyssey


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This translation to English by Samuel Butler (1835-1902) was first published in 1900.

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Recent Forum Posts on The Odyssey

The Odyssey: Prose VS Verse

I was planning on reading The Odyssey again in preparation for Ulysses (I read it in verse form in high school) and figured I'd read the Samuel Butler prose translation this time. I was just curious, what are the pros and cons of reading it in prose vs. verse (aside from the obvious; that its original form is verse)? Just curious. Is the prose form basically rearrangement of the verse, or is there more drastic changes?


Need Major Help!

What were the things Odysseus' learned at each place he visted and how did he get to each place? So far I have the Cicones for both, the Cyclops for the lesson he learned, but I still need the Lotus Eaters and the rest that came after the Cyclops.


adventures in the odyssey

can anyone tell me about the adventures in the odyssey? i have an english project due tomorrow on it.


Understanding Odyssey

1. What does the Odyssey give greater weight? Cite folklore motifs to support your answer. 2. What does the meeting of the assembly at Ithaca illustrate? What political organization is featured? 3. Why does not Telemachus become king of Ithaca? Why does not Laertes, Father of Oddyseus, come out of retirement to take over the reins of government and save Penelope from all her difficulties with the suitors? 4. Throughout the Odyssey, Homer contrasts the legend about the coming of Agamemnon with the story of Odysseus. What could be his purpose? 5. What transformation has taken place in the values and outlooks of the heroes of the Trojan war as manifested by Menelaus and his wife Helen? 6. In what way is Odysseus different from the typical epic hero? In your opinion, can he be considered the first “modern man”? 7. How can you interpret the wanderings and adventures of Odysseus in the year after the fall of Troy? 8. Describe the land of the Phaecians. What does it symbolize? What do Achaians and Arete idolize? Books 7-12 1. What does the raid on Cicone city of Ismaurus by Odysseus and his men demonstrate? 2. What can you associate with the lotus plant? Why do those who eat it quickly lose all memory? 3. What does the episode with the cyclops Polyphemus symbolize? 4. What does the crew of Odysseus symbolize in the episode of the bay of the winds given by Aeolus? What lesson is important? 5. What motif in European folklore is common and similar with Odysseus encounter with Circe? Can you think of a folktale that is familiar variant of the episode? 6. What other stories in Greek mythology parallels the visit of Odysseus to Hades? How do you regard this episode? 7. How do you view Odysseus? Encounter with the Sirens? What kind of test did he undergo? 8. Compare/ contrast the obstacles that Odysseus and his crew encountered on the island of the sirens and seylla and Charybdis. What kind of test did Odysseus master in Seylla and Charybdis?


I need a specific edition of The Odyssey

Does anyone know where I can find the "Red Reader", "Teacher's Discovery 2005" edition of the odyssey. The ISBN is 075600338-8 and the bar code is 9 780756 003388. I can't find it at either B&N or Amazon and have checked both the bar code and ISBN online (search) and can't find it anywhere. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks. :bawling:


Help with Book 22 Lines 390 - 419 Please!

Hi everyone! Just looking for some help, I have to write only a 500 word essay on the internal structure, external connections, larger significance, also any intrinsic literary properties of this passage. But I'm really stuck. Book 22 Line 390 - 419 'Then Odysseus said to Telemachus: "Now call Euryleia.............which of them are disloyal to and which are innocent." (pp.340-341 - Penguin) or (p.274, Oxford world's classics edition.) Any help would be really greatly appreciated! Thanks heaps


Homework on The Odyssey

Odyssey Homework (And A Few Others) I have some homework on the Odyssey (Questions) that were assigned to me when we covered the book. The answers are not the greatest but hope they help :) Leave a message if there are problems/comments/anything else :)


Odyssey

hi guys, can u show me where I can buy the Book?


Odyssey?

What happened right before the end?:confused:


Questions on Odysseus and Penelope's Journeys

so I have a a few questions that came up while I was working on my English paper on the influence of a hero's gender on their journey. (it's a comparative study of Homer's Odyssey and Margaret Atwood's Penelopiad) Penelope and Odysseus obviously faced very differet challnges, but which of these challenges were personal, and which were external? What of their accomplishments? After all of Odysseus's feats and victories, did he ultimately fail at his most outright objectinv - to preserve? In all of Penelope's plots of warding off the suitors, and attempts to maintain her husband's kingdom, does she in fact fail her husband in any way? if not, why do I get the feeling that Odysseus not trust her? If anyone wants to tackle any of this, or tell me what I got wrong ...


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