The Odyssey

Emily Wilson's 2017 translation of the Odyssey is a genuine landmark — the first complete English version by a woman, rendered in clean iambic pentameter that matches Homer's original line count while remaining accessible to modern readers. Wilson makes interpretive choices that matter: she translates enslaved women as 'slaves' rather than 'maids,' and presents female characters with more dignity and complexity than prior translations allowed. The result is the same epic journey of Odysseus — monsters, gods, temptation, and homecoming — but read through a lens that is more honest about what the ancient world actually contained. Some classicists object to specific word choices as too interpretively liberal, and the pagan religious content and ancient attitudes toward women and enslaved people require contextual framing for younger readers. For general readers, students, and anyone coming to Homer for the first time, this is the translation to start with.