In the myths and legends that are retold here, the energy and poetry of homers original is captured in a bold, contemporary idiom, giving us an edition of the odyssey that is a joy to listen to, worth savoring and treasuring for its sheer lyrical mastery. The iliad can justly be called the worlds greatest war epic. Though more than 2,700 years old, their stories of brave heroics, capricious gods, and towering human emotions are vividly timeless. Homers the odyssey read by alex jennings audiobook extract by penguin books uk published on 20711t16. It was originally published in 1946 as penguins very first book. One of homer s most well known narrative techniques is to have one of his characters tell a story within a story. He would recite the odyssey from the original greek to his wife and children during the second world war in london while bombs dropped around. Browse our latest titles in the audiobooks category to discover your next read from. Composed in twentyfour books of greek hexameter poetry, it portrays the events of the last year. Homers iliad and odyssey are unquestionably two of the greatest epic masterpieces in western literature. The poem is commonly dated to between 800 and 600 bc. Odysseus and his men built a giant wooden horse and left it outside the gates of troy as a peace offering. The odyssey is literatures grandest evocation of every mans journey through life.
Enjoy audiobook excerpts from bestselling authors including stieg larsson, john grisham, and dan brown. Explore penguins latest range of fiction and nonfiction audiobooks, and listen to audio extracts online. The iliad, by homer full audiobook homers iliad is the first great work of western literature. The odyssey by homer complete unabridged audiobook classic ancient greek poem sequel to the iliad duration. Producing the best in fiction and nonfiction audiobooks. An example of this takes place in the odyssey where the local royalty have gathered amid what was then considered finery. I have spent quite a bit of time comparing versions of the odyssey, and out of all of them i settled on rieus pioneering translation. Penguin random house audio producing the best in fiction and. Discover fifty audiobooks from the penguin classics collection read by some of the uk and irelands best acting talent from fleabags sian. In homers the iliad, odysseus participated in the trojan war.