The Odyssey of Homer

Allen Mandelbaum
Berkeley 1990

[A Sample from the Opening of the Poem]

Muse, tell me of the man of many wiles,
the man who wandered many paths of exile
after he sacked Troy’s sacred citadel.
He saw the cities—mapped the minds—of many;
and on the sea, his spirit suffered every
adversity—to keep his life intact,
to bring his comrades back.  In that last task,
he will was firm and fast, and yet he failed:
he could not save his comrades.  Fools, they foiled
themselves: they ate the oxen of the Sun,
the herd of Hélios Hypérion;
the lord of light requited their transgression—
he took away the day of their return.

Muse, tell us of these matters. Daughter of Zeus,
my starting point is any point you choose.

All other Greeks who had been spared the steep
descent to death had reached their homes—released
from war and waves.  One man alone was left,
still longing for his home, his wife, his rest.
For the commanding nymph, the brightest goddess,
Calypso, held him in her hollow grottoes:
she wanted him as husband.  Even when
the wheel of years drew near his destined time—
the time the gods designed for his return
to Ithaca—he still could not depend 
upon fair fortune or unfailing friends.
While other gods took pity on him, one—
Poseidon—still pursued: he preyed upon
divine Odysseus until the end,
until the exile found his own dear land.

But now Poseidon was away—his hosts,
the Ethiopians, the most remote
of men (they live in two divided parts—
half, where the sun-god sets; half, where he starts).
Poseidon, visitng the east, received
the roast thighs of bulls and sheep.  The feast
delighted him. And there he sat.  But all
his fellow gods were gathered in the halls
of Zeus upon Olympus; there the father
of men and gods spoke first.  His mind upon
the versatile Aegisthus—whom the son
of Agamemnon, famed Orestes, killed—
he shared this musing with the deathless ones:

“Men are so quick to blame the gods: they say
that we devise their misery.  But they
themselves—in their depravity—design
grief greater than the griefs that fate assigns.
So did Aegísthus act when he transgressed
the boundaries that fate and reason set.
He took the lawful wife of Agamemnon;

And when the son of Atreus had come back,
Aegísthus murdered him—although he knew
how steep was that descent.  For we’d sent Hermes,
our swiftest, our most keen-eyed emissary,
to warn against that murder and adultery:
‘Oréstes will avenge his father when,
his manhood come, he claims his rightful land.’
Hermes had warned him as one warns a friend.
And yet Aegísthus will could not be swayed.
Now, in one stroke, all that he owes is paid.”

REVIEW COMMENT

Mandelbaum has a reputation as an outstanding translator of traditional poems, so it is not surprising that his rendition of the Odyssey is one of the very best available.  The pentameter verse is succinct, direct, rapid, and sensitive—ideal for this particular poem (it might be insufficiently heavy for a rendition of the Iliad, but it’s exactly right here).  The translator also from time to time makes very interesting and effective use of rhyme and near rhyme (at first the habit sounds a bit odd, but one quickly gets used to it).  The diction is colloquial without being slangy , and there are occasional reminders in the diction and the alliteration that this is a very old poem (a habit I normally deplore, but here the translator uses the technique sparingly).  

My only  reservation (a very minor cavil) is that the style doesn’t quite deliver the full effect of the violent moments (e.g., putting out Polyphemus’ eye and the mutilation of Melanthius).  But if one is looking for an excellent rendition of Homer’s poem in modern English verse that sings (as opposed to ersatz olde worlde idioms or fractured English syntax or inappropriately ponderous lines), then forget about other possibilities for the moment and take a really close look at Mandelbaum’s Odyssey, especially if you’re searching for a class room text for younger readers.  If you’d like to listen to this lyrical rendition of Homer, a full and an abridged version are available (read by Derek Jacobi).

Readers who would like a longer preview of Mandelbaum’s translation should use the following link: Mandelbaum’s Odyssey.

[List of Published English Translations of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey]