The Odyssey Discourse Is Embarrassing

What Is It?

The YouTube video The Odyssey Discourse Is Embarrassing by the YouTube channel Lady Of The Library:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Pf8HycN_SI

Description:

The internet has completely lost the plot over The Odyssey.

In this video, I react to the newest Odyssey trailer, the backlash surrounding Emily Wilson’s translation.

And the wave of YouTubers claiming that modern retellings are “woke distortions” of Homer.

The problem? Many of these criticisms fundamentally misunderstand what translation is.

How Classical texts survive, and the long history of adapting Greek myth.

We’re talking about Homer, translation theory, Classics discourse online, mythology adaptation.

And why internet outrage keeps flattening nuanced conversations about ancient literature.

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WHO AM I?

Hey there, I’m Cinzia DuBois On this channel, I talk about dark and ancient history, literature, and folklore.

❗️DISCLAIMER

I’m very dyslexic, so I apologize for any mispronunciations that occur when I’m reading scripts for videos.

Additionally, whilst flattered, I’m only a PhD student and not a professional educator.

As such, I would advise against ever citing my videos or using them as an academic resource:

Please instead cite references for papers I list in the description box.

My Thoughts

I am glad that someone with more knowledge et cetera on this topic.

Like Cinzia DuBois.

Is sharing her thoughts on this.

The end,

• John Jr

Kein Wunder, dass englische #Homer-Übersetzungen von #EmilyWilson SOOO GUT sind. Die Emily ist eine Ganzkörper-Gelehrte und -Übersetzerin erster Kajüte. Eine Stunde Lyrik und Epos-Abend — Frau Wilson beginnt mit Kap. 3 bei 6Min,44Sec.
Die paar kleinen Verhaspel-Fehler holen mich voll ab. Carnegie Hall Poetry Forum wär ich auch scheiß-nervös. Die Stimmen! Die Gesten!
Und dann ihre zig kleinen feinen Kommentare, erhellenden Hinweise.
Magische Atemtaten fürwahr.

https://youtu.be/hGcjVl1yKTM

Die englischen #Homer-Übersetzungen von #EmilyWilson sind übrigens mit Abstand die besten Fassungen, die ich bisher kenne — und ich kenne einige, Englisch und Deutsch.

»The Odyssey« ist irre gut laut lesbar.

Ich hoffe, »The Iliad« erscheint auch noch als Norton Critical Edition mit lehrreichen Zusatzmaterial.

Within the past few days, you may have seen my toot about finishing #EmilyWilson’s amazing translation of Homer’s “The Odyssey.”

The truth is, I still wanted *more* … and today, the mailman delivered Wilson’s translation of Homer’s “The Iliad,” which Wilson worked on during the six years following publication of “The Odyssey.”

I haven’t started in yet, but there’s no question that I am indeed getting the “more” I asked for … her Iliad is a substantially lengthier volume than her Odyssey.

She makes no bones about her personal inclinations: “I’m an Iliad person. For sure.”

I’ll share some quick stats comparing the two. Both books are published by W. W. Norton & Co., with *very* similar layouts. Here’s the page count for each:

The Odyssey: 592 pages
The Iliad: 848 pages

Each book includes (in addition to the poem) the following:

Introduction
Translator’s Note
Maps
Notes
Glossary
Acknowledgements

and The Iliad also provides a Genealogies section.

The Iliad’s page count for the poem alone (610 pages) is almost 50% higher than The Odyssey’s (420 pages),

and its pages are significantly denser, and a bit less easy on the eyes – if The Odyssey is set in 10 point text, The Iliad is set at roughly 9.6 points.

The leading is tighter, as well …  one column in The Odyssey has 34 lines, while the same column height in The Iliad fits 38 lines.

Longer, denser, and a bit closer to Wilson’s heart; I can’t wait to get started. I’ll keep you posted in the weeks and months to come.

Last night, I finished reading *The Odyssey* …

and though I haven’t read other versions for comparison, Emily Wilson’s translation is *spectacular*. This is the one to get. The language is contemporary, clear, and brilliant.

All the way through, I found myself thinking about everyone who will be seeing Christopher Nolan’s film this summer.

Ancient as the story is, there is much that speaks directly to our time …

[a spoiler alert is unnecessary, after nearly 3,000 years]

it ends with Zeus hurling a thunderbolt, and the goddess Athena shouting “Stop this war!”

Hard to miss the point, these days …

The momentum of the final chapters was incredible.

I found myself thinking … “you know, I really hope that Nolan took the time to sit down with Quentin Tarantino for at least a drink and a chat …”

because there’s a climactic sequence that struck me as being pure Tarantino.

Still, I can’t wait to see how Nolan pulls this off;

I believe he will, and if he does, he has to be a shoo-in for Best Adapted Screenplay awards (among many others) –

as it’s a Herculean task. (I’m mixing my mythos.)

If you’ve put off reading Homer’s work because it’s a “classic,” or worried it would be dry or stuffy,

I can’t recommend Wilson’s achievement highly enough. It will add so much to your eventual experience in the theater.

I was *so* sorry when it ended, and there was no more to read … now I’m moving on to her translation of *The Iliad!*

#TheOdyssey #Homer #EmilyWilson #Nolan

#WhatWereReading : Joe decided to revisit The Odyssey, ahead of this year's Christopher Nolan film adaptation, thoroughly enjoying Emily WIlson's excellent translation & interpretation from W.W. Norton.

A good excuse to reacquaint ourselves with one of the pillars of world storytelling (and let's face it, storytelling is one of the things humans are astonishingly adept at).

Come sail the wine dark seas...

#books #livres #Odyssey #TheOdyssey #Homer #Poem #Classic #EmilyWilson #books #livres #bookstodon #ClassicalGreece #Poetry #Ulysses #Odysseus

#LunchtimeReading : a long overdue revisit to Homer. I read The Odyssey back when I was doing Classical Studies (the only subject I ever won the school prize for).

Now reading Emily Wilson's rather superb, newer translation ahead of Nolan's upcoming film. Been meaning to read her acclaimed version, then saw Nolan name-check it in an interview, so it's time.

#books #livres #Odyssey #EmilyWilson #Homer #bookstodon

Now that the first teaser trailer has dropped for Christopher Nolan’s IMAX extravaganza of Homer’s “The Odyssey,” I’ve decided it’s long past time to actually read the thing.

A little research brought me to the “radically contemporary voice” of Emily Wilson’s 2017 translation, and what I’ve read so far is lucid and spectacular. This is the one!

The movie won’t be out until mid-July of 2026, so I’ll be savoring it daily, a few pages at a time. I love big reads.

#Homer #TheOdyssey #EmilyWilson

𝟯 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: “𝗜𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮” 𝗯𝘆 𝗘𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝘀𝗼𝗻 -

Wilson assembles a worthy-enough fantasy in a terrific setting: ancient Sumer. Even so, the liberties she takes with the original myths undermine their complexity and cater to contemporary markets.

#bookreviews #literature #books #bookworm #book #read #readreadread #3words #emilywilson #fantasy #inanna #thesumerianstrilogy #fiction #myth #gilgamesh #sumer #mesopotamia #akkad