The first great adventure story in the Western canon, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty and power; about marriage, family and identity; and about travellers, hospitality and the changing meanings of home in a strange world.

This vivid new translation matches the number of lines in the Greek original, striding at Homers sprightly pace. Emily Wilson employs elemental, resonant language and an iambic pentameterto produce a translation with an enchanting rhythm and rumble that avoids proclaiming its own grandeur. An engrossing tale told in a compelling new voice that allows contemporary readers to luxuriate in Homers descriptions and similes and to thrill at the tension and excitement of its heros adventures, Wilson recaptures what is epic about this wellspring of world literature.