Best editions of classical literature?

August 8, 2009 2:23 PM

Recommended editions of classical literature? Specifically, I'm buying copies of the Iliad, Odyssey, and Metamorphosis, and I want editions that are scholarly with good notes, but accessible (and in English). Amazon has so many versions/editors, I'm wondering if anyone could point me in the best direction! Thanks hive mind!
posted by katopotato to Education (14 answers total)

For The Odyssey and The Iliad, these Richmond Lattimore translations.
posted by axiom at 2:35 PM on August 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

I just taught these three books to middle and high school students. We used the Fagles translations of the Iliad and Odyssey and the Ambrose version for Ovid, which are my personal favorites. I find the newish Fagles box set of Homer to absolute best in terms of layout, print size, and overall clarity.
posted by shrimpsmalls at 2:45 PM on August 8, 2009

Robert Fagles' translations of The Odyssey and The Aeneid are excellent. Although they don't include too much annotation, Fagles' words breathe new life into these old masterpieces.
posted by Aanidaani at 2:51 PM on August 8, 2009

Seconding axiom's Lattimore recommendation for the Iliad (I can't speak for his Odyssey translation, though -- I haven't read it). It's an excellent translation with beautifully done introduction and notes.
posted by punchdrunkhistory at 2:56 PM on August 8, 2009

You have just entered a Lattimore vs. Fagles deathmatch.

Proceed with Caution.
posted by trotter at 3:24 PM on August 8, 2009 [6 favorites]

3rding Fagles, my prof for Classical Greek Civilization gave us his Iliad as the class reading and I've never really looked to another translator for the material since. Loved Fagles's style (also read his translation of Antigone in college), not familiar offhand with Lattimore.
posted by graymouser at 3:56 PM on August 8, 2009

I've also liked the Stanley Lombardo translations. Here's a representative review. Really, your best bet is to go to a bookstore that carries several authors, find a passage you like, and compare the different translations to find one you like. Some people prefer inflated tone that reinforces the epic-ness, and some people prefer the text to be a little more visceral and immediate.

As for scholarly editions with lots of notes: I don't have any specific recommendations. Often, the introductory essay will give a pretty good critical overview of the story and themes. If you haven't read these books before, you may want to save the essay until after you finish.
posted by stopgap at 4:03 PM on August 8, 2009

it's hard to answer without knowing if you can read Greek and Latin; if you can't, I think the most enjoyable Iliad you can find is Logue's, with all its idiosyncracies. you can read up on Homer later (Patzek or BB Powell, for example. Thalmann is spot-on re: epic poetry). The Odyssey, I like Butler's, so sue me. if by "Metamorphosis" you mean "Metamorphoses" by Ovid, I had a lot of fun with Golding's.
posted by matteo at 4:21 PM on August 8, 2009

Lombardo's a piece of work. No doubt I am doing him an injustice, but reading his work I get a vision of the translator paraphrasing a first draft into tough guy vernacular, thinking to come back and fancy it up a bit later, but then deciding, "why bother?"

As I say, I've no doubt an injustice.

The results, in any event, are good for starting yet another argument. He's not for me - I'm generally uncomfortable with anything that undoes original context in art - but I can see how others might like him.
posted by IndigoJones at 5:07 PM on August 8, 2009

My votes: the Robert Fitzgerald translations of the Illiad and Odyssey (more lyrical than the Fagles) and the Alan Mandelbaum translation of the Metamorphoses.
posted by ms.codex at 9:41 PM on August 8, 2009

This doesn't quite answer your question, but after reading the Odyssey, you might get a kick out of reading The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood. It's the Odyssey retold from the perspective of Odysseus' wife, Penelope, and it's a great and funny read.
posted by just_ducky at 9:13 AM on August 9, 2009

My English professor told us something like, "if you want a closer, word for word translation, read Lattimore. If you want more of the feeling for and enjoyment of the poem, read Fitzgerald." Needless to say, he had us read Fitzgerald. A few years later, I picked up Lattimore's Odyssey, but didn't enjoy it as much. Confirmation bias? I haven't read Fagles, but I've been wanting to reread the Illiad, and I think that I'll pick up a copy. Also, I have to agree with matteo. Personally, I would read more of a translation first, but I recently read War Music and All Day Permanent Red by Christopher Logue and loved them.

Ooh ooh, one more! It's not at all on your list, and not at all from the Mediterranean, but the Seamus Heaney Beowulf (with the original text on the facing page) was also great.
posted by ActingTheGoat at 4:06 AM on August 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

I can't speak to quality of translations unfortunately (will be watching this thread for recs on that point), but I tend to default towards Norton Critical Editions when shopping for scholarly editions with notes. These editions have the full-length works with quite a lot of footnotes, plus usually essays by scholars and other documents of interest (e.g. reviews from the time it was written).

Maybe check if there are editions from Penguin Classics or Oxford's World's Classics? I think those editions usually include extensive endnotes. Which can be kind of annoying sometimes because I remember having to flip back and forth when reading Milton's poetry: "Hmm, this is a really bizarre line, I wonder if there is a note on this in the back .... [crapshooting]"

(Norton Critical Edition ---looks like there's a one for The Odyssey, but I'm not pulling up any result for The Iliad or Metamorphosis ....)
posted by phonebia at 10:33 PM on August 11, 2009

(still along the with-notes / accessibility vein)

Or maybe Enriched Classics editions? (Odyssey, Iliad)

Much, much lighter on the notes/essay business than Norton or Oxford, I think, but there are still endnotes, sometimes essayish items. Plus they're little and therefore portable! And cheap!
posted by phonebia at 10:43 PM on August 11, 2009