The Odyssey

The classic tale of Odysseus's return home in a stunning new translation.

THE ODYSSEY, which tells of Odysseus's long voyage home after the battle of Troy, is one of the defining masterpieces of Western literature.

Populated by one-eyed man-eating giants, beautiful seductive goddesses, and lavishly hospitable kings and queens, it is an extraordinary work of the imagination, the original epic voyage into the unknown that has inspired other writing down through the ages - from ancient poems to modern fiction and films.

With its consummately modern hero, full of guile and wit, THE ODYSSEY is perfectly suited to our times.

Thanks to the scholarship and poetic power of the highly acclaimed Stephen Mitchell, this new translation recreates the energy and simplicity, the speed, the grace, and continual thrust and pull of the original, so that THE ODYSSEY's ancient story bursts vividly into new life.

“Stephen Mitchell is one of the great translators, and his version of the Odyssey is a masterpiece of clarity, directness and a kind of blunt musicality which catches perfectly the pitch of the true Homeric voice.”

Mitchell has re-energised it for a new generation - SUNDAY TELEGRAPH on Stephen Mitchell's Iliad

A sturdy, muscular, and nuanced translation that will surely bring many new readers to this great work, 'one of the monuments of our own magnificence,' in Stephen Mitchell's happy formulation

A revelation

Like Seamus Heaney's recent retelling of BEOWULF, this book proves that in the right hands, no great story ever grows stale - NEWSWEEK on Stephen Mitchell's Gilgamesh

Stephen Mitchell is widely known for his ability to make old classics thrillingly new. His many books include the bestselling Tao Te Ching, Gilgamesh, The Gospel According to Jesus, The Book of Job, Bhagavad Gita, The Iliad and The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke.

His website is

The classic tale of Odysseus's return home in a stunning new translation. THE ODYSSEY, which tells of Odysseus's long voyage home after the battle of Troy, is one of the defining masterpieces of Western literature.Populated by one-eyed man-eating giants, beautiful seductive goddesses, and lavishly hospitable kings and queens, it is an extraordinary work of the imagination, the original epic voyage into the unknown that has inspired other writing down through the ages - from ancient poems to modern fiction and films. With its consummately modern hero, full of guile and wit, THE ODYSSEY is perfectly suited to our times. Thanks to the scholarship and poetic power of the highly acclaimed Stephen Mitchell, this new translation recreates the energy and simplicity, the speed, the grace, and continual thrust and pull of the original, so that THE ODYSSEY's ancient story bursts vividly into new life.

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