Homer
The Odyssey
Translated by Tony Kline
[Sample
from the Opening of the Poem]
Bk
I:1-21 Invocation and IntroductionTell
me, Muse, of that man of
many resources, who wandered far and wide, after sacking the holy citadel of Troy.
Many the men whose cities he saw, whose ways he learned. Many the sorrows he
suffered at sea, while trying to bring himself and his friends back alive. Yet
despite his wishes he failed to save them, because of their own un-wisdom,
foolishly eating the cattle of Helios, the Sun,
so the god denied them their return. Tell us of these things, beginning where
you will, Goddess, Daughter of Zeus.
Now, all the others, who had escaped destruction, had reached their homes, and
were free of sea and war. He alone, longing for wife and home, Calypso,
the Nymph, kept in her echoing cavern, desiring him for a husband. Not even when
the changing seasons brought the year the gods had chosen for his return to Ithaca was
he free from danger, and among friends. Yet all the gods pitied him, except Poseidon,
who continued his relentless anger against godlikeOdysseus until
he reached his own land at last.
Bk
I:22-43 Zeus speaks to the Olympians.
Now,
though, Poseidon was visiting
the distant Ethiopians,
the most remote of all, a divided people, some of whom live where Hyperion sets
the others where he rises, to accept a hetacomb of sacrificial bulls and rams,
and there he sat, enjoying the feast: but the rest of the gods had gathered in
the halls of Olympian Zeus.
The Father of gods and men was first to address them, for he was thinking of
flawless Aegisthus, whom
far-famed Orestes, Agamemnon’s
son had killed. And, thinking of him, he spoke to the immortals.
‘How surprising that men blame the gods, and say their troubles come from us,
though they, through their own un-wisdom, find suffering beyond what is fated.
Just as Aegisthus, beyond
what was fated, took the wife of Agamemnon, son of Atreus,
and murdered him when he returned, though he knew the end would be a complete
disaster, since we sent Hermes,
keen-eyed slayer of Argus,
to warn him not to kill the man, or court his wife, as Orestes would
avenge Agamemnon, once he reached manhood and longed for his own land. So Hermes
told him, but despite his kind intent he could not move Aegisthus’ heart: and
Aegisthus has paid the price now for it all.’
Review
Comment
Kline’s
translation is fast, accurate, clear, and direct. His
prose keeps the reader moving very quickly through the narrative, perhaps too
quickly in some places. The
text contains links to an index (indicated in the sample by the underlined
words). The
links are somewhat distracting at first, but one soon gets used to them, and
this feature is very useful for anyone seeking to trace the frequency of a name
in the entire text (a handy research tool). This
translation is an excellent addition to Homer on the internet and will be of
particular interest to teachers seeking to put together selections of the poem
for their students or anyone who wishes to do a quick search of the poem for
specific details (especially since the translator has put the text into the
public domain for all non-commercial use). There
is no printed version of the translation, however. So
those in search of a prose version of Homer’s Odyssey in
book form will still turn to Rieu’s edition.
For
the complete Kline translation, please use the following link: Kline
Odyssey.