# BONUS: Which Translation of the Odyssey should I read? Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/instant-classics-7455513/bonus-which-translation-of-the-odyssey-should-i-read Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/instant-classics-7455513/bonus-which-translation-of-the-odyssey-should-i-read.md Podcast: [Instant Classics](https://stenobird.com/podcast/instant-classics-7455513) Published: 2026-08-10T05:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NSR1123620368.mp3 Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/NSR1123620368.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/instant-classics-7455513/episodes/bonus-which-translation-of-the-odyssey-should-i-read Duration seconds: 689 ## Resource With the world gripped by Odyssey fever, Mary and Charlotte keep being asked the same question: which translation should I read? So here is a quick bonus episode to help you decide.  Mary and Charlotte cover the waterfront of the modern translations (Emily Wilson and Daniel Mendelsohn), but also celebrate some past classics, like E.V. Rieu’s. In the end, the simple answer is don’t worry - work with what you’ve got most easily at hand. Any translation that has been printed by a major publisher has its merits.  Further reading:  The two recent translations we discuss at the start are: Emily Wilson (translator), The Odyssey (W. W. Norton and co) Daniel Mendelsohn (translator), The Odyssey (Chicago UP and Penguin Classics) Both are available in paperback. Earlier translations which you might enjoy, and trust, include:: Richmond Lattimore (Harper Perennial Modern Classics) Robert Fagles (Penguin Classics) Robert Fitzgerald (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) Peter Green (University of California Press) E. V. Rieu (Penguin Classics) Charlotte referred to Matthew Arnold’s lectures from the 1860s, “On Translating Homer”  @instaclassicpod for Insta, TikTok and YouTube @insta_classics for X email: instantclassicspod@gmail.com Instant Classics handmade by Vespucci Producer: Jonty Claypole  DOP - Ben Warburton Video Editor: Tom Green Theme music: Casey Gibson   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/instant-classics-7455513/episodes/bonus-which-translation-of-the-odyssey-should-i-read/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/instant-classics-7455513/bonus-which-translation-of-the-odyssey-should-i-read.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.