The Odyssey by Homer, Translated by Samuel Butler

Re:The Odyssey by Homer, Translated by Samuel Butler by thisisauserid on Monday July 17, 2023 @01:45PM (#36761446)

In Emily Wilson's article comparing her excerpt with other famous translators, she conveniently leaves Lattimore out:

https://web.archive.org/web/20230629122951/https://www.nytim...

I pulled my Lattimore off the shelf and compared them. I was unsurprised to find Wilson's iambic pentameter version over-simplified:

"Strange woman! Come on now, you must not be too sad on my account."

vs. Lattimore's: "Poor Andromachē! Why does your heart sorrow so much for me?"

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The Odyssey by Homer, Translated by Samuel Butler by InitialLastName on Monday July 17, 2023 @02:40PM (#36762240)

Butler: "My own wife, do not take these things too bitterly to heart"

It seems to me that most of the other translations I can find are closer to the Wilson translation. I don't know any version of Greek, but the name Andromache doesn't appear in that line (book 6 line 486) at all, and nobody else seems to interpret the line as a rhetorical question.

All this just to say, maybe Wilson's is closer to the original text?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The Odyssey by Homer, Translated by Samuel Butler by thisisauserid on Monday July 17, 2023 @03:41PM (#36762996)

Great points. It still seems odd to me that she left Lattimore out when he's so often praised (on HN anyway).

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The Odyssey by Homer, Translated by Samuel Butler by theoldlove on Tuesday July 18, 2023 @12:50AM (#36767920)

Yeah the Greek here is (Il. 6.486):

δαιμονίη μή μοί τι λίην ἀκαχίζεο θυμῷ:

δαιμονίη is of disputed meaning, but basically a literal translation might run:

Possessed woman, don’t be so upset in your heart for me.

Here Lattimore doesn’t look so good.

[ Parent | on HN ]