• A major new translation of Homer's great epic poem that encapsulates the power of cunning over strength, the pitfalls of temptation and the importance of home
• Anthony Verity's rendering transmits the directness, power, and dignity of Homer's poetry in an elegant and accurate translation that respects the original line numbers
• William Allan, an authority in classical Greek tragedy and epic, offers a full introduction that guides the reader in understanding the composition of the poem, the major themes of the narrative, and situates the poem in its original cultural context
• The line-by-line format of the translation is invaluable for those wishing to coordinate it with the Greek text or references in secondary literature
• Extensive notes offer book-by-book summaries and elucidate difficult words and passages
• The bibliography offers a succinct guide to further scholarship in English; a full index of names enables the reader to trace particular characters through the text; map showing the known Greek world traversed by Odysseus between Troy and Ithaca

     
'Tell me, Muse, of the man of many turns, who was driven 
far and wide after he had sacked the sacred city of Troy'
   
Twenty years after setting out to fight in the Trojan War, Odysseus is yet to return home to Ithaca. His household is in disarray: a horde of over 100 disorderly and arrogant suitors are vying to claim Odysseus' wife Penelope, and his young son Telemachus is powerless to stop them. Meanwhile, Odysseus is driven beyond the limits of the known world, encountering countless divine and earthly challenges. But Odysseus is 'of many wiles' and his cunning and bravery eventually lead him home, to reclaim both his family and his kingdom. 
   
The Odyssey rivals the Iliad as the greatest poem of Western culture and is perhaps the most influential text of classical literature. This elegant and compelling new translation is accompanied by a full introduction and notes that guide the reader in understanding the poem and the many different contexts in which it was performed and read.