The age-old theme of a hero battling against all odds to achieve his ultimate goal is one that has echoed through literature throughout the centuries. From the ancient annals of Greek myth to the heroic ventures of Star Wars’ Luke Skywalker, stories of a hero’s quest are abundant in Western literature. Homer’s The Odyssey is perhaps one of the finest examples of this genre, its immortal message continuing to be read by countless readers centuries after it was first written.

The Odyssey begins where Homer’s The Iliad left off: the heroes of the Trojan War returning to their homelands after a glorious and bloody victory over the Trojans. Odysseus, one of the war veterans, and his men inadvertently spur the wrath of Poseidon, the god of the Sea, whose revenge sparks a series of events which sees Odysseus spend the next ten years trying to make his way back to his loving wife Penelope and son Telemachus. With scenes of tempting Sirens, deadly whirlpools, wily sorceresses who can turn men into pigs, bloody battles and a wise goddess whose cunning assists our hero in returning to his beloved home of Ithaca, The Odyssey has the qualities that can easily rival the greatest blockbuster movies of our time. But unlike this year’s box-office hits, Homer’s epic has seen a continuing success that no movie could ever hope for and will leave a lasting impression upon the reader for years to come.

E.V. Rieu’s translation of Homer’s epic attempts to bring this classic tale to a modern readership. Unlike other translations of The Odyssey, Rieu’s version does away with the flowery and often stilted language employed by the other translators, making this literary masterpiece far more accessible and appealing to the non-Classicist. While most other versions are written in poem form, mimicking the format of the original text, Rieu’s translation is written as prose and reads very much like your average paperback novel, using a contemporary writing style and yet remaining faithful to its ancient source. And if you are the type of person who would confuse your Apollo’s with your amphitheatres, you will find a very handy little A-Z glossary at the back of this edition.

A jolly good read for everyone, whatever century you’re living in!