Tom's Learning Notes

The Odyssey is an ancient Greek epic poem following the wanderings of Odysseus on his return from the Trojan War. As such, it is a sequel to the Iliad, although its exact relationship to the earlier poem is as controversial as the historical existence of Homer, the traditional author of both epics. As with the Iliad, the story opens 'in the middle of things' with Odysseus held captive by the goddess Calypso. His adventures in the ten years since the fall of Troy are recounted as the story advances towards his final homecoming.

Free online texts

Gutenberg: The Odyssey, translated by Alexander Pople. Multiple formats.

Gutenberg: The Odyssey, done into English prose, translated by Samuel Henry Butcher and Andrew Lang. Multiple formats.

Gutenberg: The Odyssey, Rendered into English prose for the use of those who cannot read the original, translated by Samuel Butler. Multiple formats.

Loebulus. L104 - Homer - Odyssey I: Books 1-12. PDF of public domain Loeb edition in Greek and English.

Loebulus. L105 - Homer -- Odyssey II: Books 13-24. PDF of public domain Loeb edition in Greek and English.

Perseus: Greek text (Loeb edition, 1919). English translation (Butler, 1900), revised by Timothy Power and Gregory Nagy. English translation (A.T. Murray, loeb edition, 1919).  Online texts.

Poetry in Translation: The Odyssey, translated by A.S. Kline (2004). Multiple formats.

Theoi.com:  The Odyssey. Translated by Murray, A T. Loeb Classical Library Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1919.

Wikisource: Οδύσσεια - Greek text. English translations by Alexander Pope (1725), William Cowper (1791), Samuel Butler (1898). HTML and other formats.

'Sing, O muse, of the rage of Achilles, son of Peleus', the opening words of Homer's Iliad, have a strong claim to be the opening words of Western literature. Whether Homer ever existed, and what role he played in the text's emergence out of oral tradition have been debated for centuries.

Although full of allusions to the wider story of the Trojan War, the Iliad focuses on the events of a few weeks, Achilles dispute with Agamemnon and his withdrawal from battle, the death of his comrade Patroclus, his duel with Hector, and the eventual restoration of Hector's body to his father Priam; a series of incidents driven by the central theme of Achilles' wrath.

The Catalogue of Ships in Book Two is remarkable for a portrait of the Greek world with significant correspondences to the historical reality of the late Bronze Age, hundreds of years before the poem is believed to have been written down in the 8th Century BC.

The Iliad at Amazon: United States | Canada | United Kingdom | France | Germany | Spain | Italy

Free online texts

Gutenberg: The Iliad, translated into English blank verse by William Cowper (1791, Appleton & Co. edition 1860). Multiple formats.

Gutenberg: Iliad - books I-XII with an introduction, a brief Homeric grammar, and notes, by D.B. Munro (1890). Greek language edition with English notes in multiple formats.

Gutenberg: Iliad books 13-24 with notes, by D.B. Munro (1890). Greek language edition with English notes in multiple formats.

Loebulus. L170N - Homer -- Iliad I: Books 1-12. PDF of public domain Loeb edition in Greek and English.

Poetry in Translation: The Iliad, translated by A.S. Kline. Multiple formats.

Wikisource: The Iliad of Homer, translated by Alexander Pope (1715-20). Online text.

Wikisource: The Iliad of Homer, translated by Theodor Alois Buckley (1876). Online text, currently incomplete.

Wikisource: The Iliad of Homer rendered into English prose for the use of those who cannot read the original, translated by Samuel Butler (1898). Online text.

Wikisource: The Iliad, translated by Augustus Taber Murray (1924). Online text.