Which translation of The Odyssey should you read?
For a first read, Emily Wilson's 2017 translation is the easiest to love: plain, quick, modern English that keeps the original's line count. Choose Robert Fagles for a fuller, more dramatic voice, Robert Fitzgerald for poetry with a classic feel, Richmond Lattimore to stay close to the Greek, or a prose version such as Rieu's if you simply want the story, and test two or three by reading their opening page side by side.
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There are dozens of English Odysseys. Wikipedia's list of English translations of Homer runs from George Chapman in 1615 to new versions in the 2020s, and every generation seems to need its own. That is good news: there is almost certainly one that suits you. The bad news is that choosing the wrong one can make a thrilling story feel like homework.
The main choices, by feel
Emily Wilson (2017): clear, quick, modern. Published by W. W. Norton, it was the first complete English translation of the poem by a woman. Wilson matched the Greek line for line, all 12,110 of them, in iambic pentameter, the traditional rhythm of English verse, and chose plain, readable language over grand phrasing. It moves fast and reads aloud beautifully. Some critics felt she strayed further from the Greek than they liked; most readers simply find they keep turning the pages.
Robert Fagles (1996): big, dramatic, generous. Fagles writes in a loose, muscular verse that expands where the Greek is compressed. It feels like a performance, with plenty of colour and momentum. A good choice if you want the epic to sound epic.
Robert Fitzgerald (1961): poetic, elegant, classic. The verse is graceful and literary, with a slightly older feel, and it has been around long enough to feel like a classic itself. Ideal if you want the experience of reading a great poem in English.
Richmond Lattimore (1965): close to the Greek. To our ear, Lattimore stays closest to the shape of the original, repeated phrases and all. It can feel stiff, but if you want to sense the Greek underneath, it is the one to try.
E. V. Rieu (1945, Penguin): the story in prose. Rieu's prose version was published by Penguin and revised in 1991 by his son D. C. H. Rieu and Peter Jones. Choose prose if you want the adventure without the line breaks; you lose the music but gain speed.
Samuel Butler (1900): plain prose, free online. Old-fashioned but straightforward, and often available free online. Fine for checking a scene, less fun as a main read.
Alexander Pope (1725) and George Chapman (1615): the historic ones. Both used rhyming couplets, and both are great English poems in their own right. Read them after a modern version, as a second helping, not as an introduction.
Other recent versions worth knowing exist too, including Stanley Lombardo (2000), Stephen Mitchell (2013), Peter Green (2018) and Daniel Mendelsohn, who published a new Odyssey in 2025.
How to choose
Do the opening test. Find the first twenty lines of two or three translations, in a bookshop, a library or an online preview, and read them aloud. You will know within a page which voice you want to spend a few weeks with.
Decide what you want from the read:
- Pace and pleasure: Wilson.
- Grandeur and drama: Fagles.
- Poetry: Fitzgerald.
- Closeness to the Greek: Lattimore.
- Just the story: Rieu or another prose version.
Check the extras. Introductions, maps, a list of characters and notes make a real difference with Homer. Read the introduction after the poem or alongside it, not as a hurdle at the start. Our page on which edition of a classic to buy has more on the extras.
Tips for reading it
- Read it aloud, at least a little. It was composed for performance, and the rhythm helps.
- Do not worry about the names. A character list or the translator's glossary covers it.
- Think in books, not pages. The poem is divided into books, and one an evening is a satisfying pace.
- Try an audiobook alongside. Several translations have excellent recordings.
FAQ
Is a prose translation "cheating"?
No. It is a different experience, not a lesser one. Many readers meet the story in prose first and come back to a verse translation later.
Should you read the Iliad first?
It is not necessary. The Odyssey stands on its own, and with its travels, disguises and homecoming it is, we think, the friendlier of the two to start with.
Is there a version for children?
Yes, many retellings exist, but those are adaptations rather than translations. For adults reading for the first time, a full translation is well within reach.
Why do translations differ so much?
Because each translator chooses between closeness and readability, verse and prose, old and modern English. See our page on reading in translation for the bigger question.
Sources
Written by the Zestasy editors. General information for curious adults, not medical, nutrition or training advice.