Two quick questions: is it absolutely necessary to read The Iliad before reading The Odyssey? And are the translations by Lombardo decent? Thanks.
>>8137525
Why the fuck would you skip the better poem to read the Odyssey? Of course it's not absolutely necessary, but it's just kinda stupid. Iliad doesn't take that long to read, and it's the superior work.
Also, Lombardo isn't terrible and isn't amazing. Read Lattimore or Fitzgerald.
>>8137525
>Why the fuck would you skip the better poem to read the Odyssey
im guessing so he can hurry upand read Ulysses
>>8137525
it would be extremely painful
>>8137525
Don't be a fucking faggot. Read both.
Get Fagles. It's very easy to read.
>this book cover
odysseus certainly didn't travel to the moon...
>>8137902
He would have if Poseidon got his way.
Lambardo is shit. This is a literal quote from the beginning of his translation of the iliad:
>and then Achilles said to Agamemnon
>"Seriously, dude? You stole my chick"
>and then Agamemnon says
>"deal with it"
lombardo sucks
>>8137525
Well yeah it is important. It follows up the fate of one of the main characters. Also The Illiad is a million times better. You should be thankful it survived all these years.
>>8137525
Fagles, Fitzgerald, or Lattimore are the 3 best options.
You should read the Iliad first because you'll appreciate the Odyssey more, but it's not necessary.
>>8137886
you're well read
>>8137910
But in fairness, that's the modern day translation.
Who here like Fagles? I always found his translations a little lame and I was quite surprised how many /lit/izens uses his translations. I feel like Lattimore's should be more widely read on this board considering his is the closest to the original text and is the main translation used for academia (for the most part).
OP here. The reason I asked this is because I'm a poorfriend and I found a copy of pic related at the thrift store and, looking online, copies of The Iliad by Lombardo are too costly for me to buy right now. I might get the two by either Fagles, Lattimore or Fitzgerald at the library if I get the chance. I have lots of other books to read at the moment already, however. I do like the Lombardo covers though! They're pretty cool.
>>8138031
Just kidnap some books from the library and maybe staple your cover of choice to their front. Doesn't even have to be the right book.
I've been reading Goosebumps with Hemmingway covers for the last week.
>>8138066
Nice meme, I rate it fresh.
>>8137572
>the better poem
Why kind of turbopleb are you?
The Iliad:
>linear narrative
>huge over-saturation of characters
>le ebin lion simile every ten lines
>main character is absent for half the poem
>literally nothing happens but soldiers throwing spears at one another
>anti-climatic ending
The Odyssey
>intelligent non-linear narrative style
>develops a couple of main characters
>addresses a diverse range of themes
>things actually happen other than spear chucking
>concludes with a satisfying resolution
>>8138118
my nigga. Just look at children's lit: what did they rip off?
[_] Demigods and scrambling around for a few hundred pages
[X] Cool adventures of Odysseus and his mates as they go from one island to another fucking monsters and slaying maids, clever tricks and mystical creatures, with an actual progression
>inb4 you're a pleb for reading for plot (plob)
and
>rating ancient greek poems
If you're truly starting with the greeks you'll read both and shitpost about them equally
>>8138031
don't worry OP you're good. enjoy it.
we used the lombardo trans in uni
>>8137910
Here's an actual quote from Lombardo:
You die too, friend. Don’t take it hard.
Patroclus died, and he was far better than you.
Take a look at me. Do you see how huge I am,
How beautiful? I have a noble father,
My mother was a goddess, but I too
Am in death’s shadow. There will come a time,
Some dawn or evening or noon in this war,
When someone will take my life from me
With a spear thrust or an arrow from a string.
>>8138118
Please stop.
>>8138240
Kill yourself you fucking philistine
Honestly
why does no one recommend the superior pope translation?
>>8138118
I prefer The Odyssey but you got the Iliad all wrong.
>>8138284
None of those things are part of my subjective assesment
All are literary shortcomings that make The Iliad an inferior work of art
>>8138314
Forget comparison for a second and note that something as ridiculous as linearity vs nonlinearity has no deciding factor in making a work a better or lesser art by itself. If you think the ending is an anticlimax you don't understand what the ending was doing and, by extension, you don't understand what the Iliad was a whole was doing. Did you think it was supposed to end with the trojan horse or something?
>>8138247
he butchered it on purpose
>>8138578
every translator is a butcher
>>8138247
Chapman*
They go hand in hand in my opinion. The Iliad revolves around the apotheosis of war glory, where the Odyssey deconstructs the idea and glorifies the height of mortal life as the status of a man who lives for his family.
Lombardo is my nigga
>>8138031
Why not ask your local library to order a copy?
