HOMER | the iliad & the odyssey

[@markoneill7657]

I’ll never have another picture of Penelope in my head! 😀😀😀 Thanks again.

[@somebenfen]

Good haha 😄

[@thelefthandedreader6632]

I too love love the wig action. Seriously you do these Everyman interpretations SO well. I feel smarter. I actually feel more curious about these 2 ancient books. 🤓👏👏👏👏👏

[@somebenfen]

Thank you! ☺️

[@garbonomics]

I would add that Emily Wilson’s translations of both the Iliad and the Odyssey are, if I dare say so, infused with modern feminist perspectives which distort what the Greeks themselves understood or were trying to say. For instance, when she emphasizes the fact that they had slaves, it’s prominently highlighted in her translation. However, keeping in mind that 2,500 years ago slavery was a fact of life practiced universally around the world, the Greeks did not see it as unusual. This is why in the original Greek, the word that can be translated as "slave" has multiple meanings and can also be translated as "servant."

[@deblawrence8341]

I too thoroughly enjoyed this recount, pantomimes and all, over a breakfast of pumpkin pecan pancakes with tea! Years ago our classics book group chose "The Odyssey" and one of our older members was a retired HS English teacher who favored Greek mythology. We ended up breaking it into three parts / three book meetings, as Lynn gave us a thorough lesson (including a background / history of the time) which made the experience so much more enjoyable and interesting. Lynn passed away a couple of years after that, but I fondly remember her enthusiasm at being able to teach her favorite literary piece one last time, and because of that, "The Odyssey" holds a special and treasured place in my heart. Thank you for the video Ben! 🥰

[@somebenfen]

Aw thanks for sharing that. And pumpkin pecan pancakes sounds AMAZING

[@ameliareads589]

I loved history in school and my teachers weren't bad, but I would have loved having a history teacher like you.

[@somebenfen]

Aw thank you!

[@womenwotreads]

I love the way you've done this😀.I have a beautiful leather bound copy of both these books with beautiful drawings but have not started them yet . I bought them to remember my brother by [he was a philosophy lecturer but died of covid] It seemed fitting I wish had read them earlier so we could have discussed them and so far I've been too sad to read them but you have inspired me . I'll bump them to the top of my TBR

[@somebenfen]

Thank you so much for sharing that. I'm so sorry for your loss, what a wonderful way to remember him. I hope you enjoy reading them.

[@Sopranistineberhard]

I just ordered the Emily Wilson Odyssey and your most excellent review has made me even more excited to dove into it! Happy to see you back!

[@somebenfen]

Oh fantastic! I'd also really recommend listening to her talk about it, she's really great

[@barbarahelgaker390]

Good to see you back with a whistle stop tour of the Greeks! You convinced me to give the Emily Wilson version a try.

[@somebenfen]

Yey! I hope you enjoy it :)

[@DaeronK]

Two of my favourite works. Your pronunciation of Agamemnon had me cackling hysterically.

[@somebenfen]

Wait... there's another way of pronouncing it? 😉

[@penelopegough6050]

Ben that was fantastic. Loved the acting especially your Penelope. I am still smiling. I have read Emily Wilson’s odyssey and I have read that soon her translation of the Iliad will be available. I had Rieu’s Iliad for my studies many years ago and remember found it hard work!

[@somebenfen]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed haha I'm very intrigued by Wilsons new Iliad

[@CoynieReads]

9:37 BEN!! I WAS DRINKING TEA AT THAT MOMENT!! 😭

[@somebenfen]

😂😂 sorry

[@CoynieReads]

@@somebenfenFabulous re-enactments though 😂

[@marysteven6347]

😅 i 17:11

[@curioushmm9027]

delightful...makes me want to read the emily wilson soon. loved the acting!

[@somebenfen]

I hope you enjoy if and when you do!

[@apollonia6656]

Who knows what was lost in the Library at Alexandria ! For all we know the answer could have been there as to who Homer was,was he a blind port (in which case he couldn't wtite) however,someone could have done that for him 🙂 Whatever the case may be, Homer's epics are superb. As for translations: Robert Fagles is the ones I love....even with Americanism spellings 😊and All the Best from Cheshire.

[@thelefthandedreader6632]

Ben, I just saw in The New Yorker magazine an article about Emily Henry and her Homer translations 👏👏.I’ll see if I can post a link

[@somebenfen]

Ooo thanks!

[@marcpaters0n]

Excellent wig action in this! 😂❤

[@somebenfen]

😌

[@yenasung]

Wow wow wow Ben you are SO GOOD at this I’m awestruck 🤩 you make hard things feel accessible entertaining enjoyable. You’re simply the best 💃🏻

[@somebenfen]

Stop!! 😭 (thank you!)

[@ingloriousbaxter]

Just discovered your channel. I’m excited to catch up on your other videos

[@somebenfen]

Thank you! ☺️

[@emilycharn1036]

Emily Wilson's translation cover is so beautiful. I sort of gave up on the Greeks after reading Oedipus the King - probably committing a crime here when it comes to the time those different works were written, the style they are written in, etc. - but this review made me feel like giving Iliad and Odyssey a try (It's fun to realize I know most of the Odyssey story due to that old tv movie (1997), which I hated, but was forced to watch over and over on broadcast tv). Greetings from Brasil!

[@somebenfen]

Hello! I'd definitely give Emily Wilson's translation a go. She also has her Iliad translation coming out soon too which I'm interested to try.

[@hedgiecc]

Nice critiques! I don't think I could cope with Rieu's version, but congrats to him on kicking off Penguin Classics. I love both the Fagles translations and have a Victorian edition of the Pope - its quite fun to dip into from time to time as I do enjoy the Augustan verse style but I haven't built up the energy to go all the way with it yet. Emily Wilson is quite entertaining on twitter; she takes down the chauvinists in style.

[@somebenfen]

Thank you! Yeah I've just started following her too, I'm a fan haha

[@Kimberton149]

excellent stuff ps. i've got vol 1 of In Search of Lost Flippin Time on my shelf now. I edge ever closer to falling down the Proust well

[@somebenfen]

Oh eck... Good luck!!

[@Dasindance]

Correction: its "Agahmemonumnum"

[@somebenfen]

I was so close! 😄

[@troytradup]

Great deep dive, Ben! How'd your big production summer go?

[@somebenfen]

Thank you! It was very stressful but it went well thank you 😊

[@btvb7155]

Sing muse! 😂😂😂 this is the way Homer should be taught ❤ Will you read Emily Wilson's translation of The Iliad?

[@somebenfen]

Aw thanks haha, I'd like to! Might have a break from Homer for a bit but eventually I'd like to see how she tackles it

[@rightcheer5096]

I’m writing a long overdue update of these two for today’s society, entitled THE IDIOT AND THE ODDITY.

[@GypsyRoSesx]

Haha, brilliant video 👍

[@somebenfen]

Thank you!

[@janethansen9612]

Your wig game is strong.

[@somebenfen]

😁💁‍♀️