>>24554407
>>24554407
The main translation options in English are as follows:

>Fagles
Easiest version to read as an absolute beginner, in that it has a decently simple quasi-prose style.
>Lattimore
Probably the closest to the original Greek that you can get, without just being straight-up interlinear. If you're looking for maximum textual-fidelity, at the cost of both eloquence, and readability, then this is your guy.
>Lombardo
I have no idea who this is.
>Alexander Pope
An incredibly beautiful poetic translation, but to accomplish that feat, it throws literal-translation out the window, in favour of what's basically a loose paraphrasing of each line. Judged as a translation, it's shit, but judged as a literary work unto itself, it's great. I would definitely recommend reading it, but not as your first, or only version.
>Emily Wilson
I like Emily Wilson's translation more than most other people on this board, and think that most of the bad press it gets is less the result of the work itself being flawed, than it is of the fact that it was ludicrously overhyped as a profound, progressive statement, which fundamentally reworks the poem, to strip away massive layers of ideological buildup from previous translations, when in truth, the innovations it does make are a few unusual, easily defenceable choices, of how to translate individual words. They're interesting choices, and if presented on their own, would be vital contribution to the dialogue between all the different translators of the work, but because of the way it was marketed, most of the discussion ends up boiling down to culture-war bullshit between two groups of people who never actually read it screaming at each other about wokeness, while everyone who actually did read it watches from the sidelines, occasionally trying to interject with "You know she didn't actually change that much."
Ignoring all of that baggage, and just judging the translation as a work unto itself: I consider it better than Fagles in terms of textual fidelity, and poetic quality, but less readable; better than Lattimore in terms of poetic quality, and readability, but worse in terms of texutal fidelity (barring the few 'slave' vs. 'servant', and 'woman' vs. 'prostitue' keynote decisions, which I feel unqualified to dissect); and better than Pope in terms of both textual fidelity, and readability, but much worse in terms of poetic style. If you're looking for the second-best in all three categories, then this is the best.

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Which are recommended translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey in English for a first time reader?The most common recommendations are Emily…

Which are recommended translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey in English for a first time reader?
The most common recommendations are Emily…