Daniel Mendelsohn on the Odyssey

The greatest book never written. Reading the Odyssey is very like reading Dante and Shakespeare, in that it is a lifelong pursuit. It gets better as your learn about the oral tradition, the Homer question. Read Victor Berard and Julian Jaynes. Read Omeros by Derek Walcott. You can meditate you whole life on how to translate one word, "polymetis". In my experience, the translator's choice with that one word determines the trajectory (and quality) of the epic in their hands.

Our whole culture is so shot through with the effects of these works that it is virtually incomprehensible, even to those who devote their lives to the study. I guess my point is that it is not like reading a 'novel'. It is a work that has shaped, and actively shapes, us as humans.

I enjoyed the read. Thanks!

Never been a huge fan of the classics. Not because I think them impractical, but because someone has told me that I have to read them, and I have a serious "up yours" streak to my personality. It's ameliorated, as I've gotten older, but I didn't appreciate having reading shoved in my face by people that I considered "bitter old people."

I'm getting my comeuppance, now. I'm the millennial's "bitter old person."

I guess there's a classic that talks about that...

If anyone is interested in more in depth examinations of parts of the Odyssey I would recommend 'Watch What You Hear: Penelope's Dream Of Twenty Geese' by Edward Teach(The Last Psychiarist). https://www.amazon.com/Watch-What-You-Hear-Penelopes/dp/1734... It is a a "rigorous psychoanalytic interpretation of the Homeric dream of twenty geese" and although can be tough to get into I dound it a very rewarding mental journey.

This being HN, I honestly thought there was a 50% chance that this would be about the game console.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnavox_Odyssey

I generally find it very difficult to read/enjoy old classics... I much prefer the analyses of those text that explain their relevance for our culture and the context in which they were written. I will make some time to read this article.