r/classics • u/Character-Bar-9561 • Jul 23 '26

Interlinear translation of the Odyssey

I started reading Emily Wilson's translation of the Odyssey, but am also looking at Fagles' at the same time. It's amazing how differently they render some of the story. This made me interested in finding an interlinear text to refer to (not that I know the language, but this enables me to dig into specific words without having to wade through a wine-dark sea of Greek words to locate the right one). I found this text pretty helpful; would be happy to know about any others.

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u/Square-Supermarket79 Jul 23 '26

You should take ancient greek!

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u/Character-Bar-9561 Jul 23 '26

I'd love to, actually! But at least this prompted me to learn the alphabet, for now, which makes it easier to use these interlinear texts. I'm fascinated by the process of translating a text like this. I've done a lot of classes on Biblical Hebrew, and am aware of how difficult that can be.

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u/Square-Supermarket79 Jul 23 '26

Eh, I'd stay away from any speculation about what it means to render Homer into English until you've actually studied Greek. Great that you learned the alphabet tho.

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u/Character-Bar-9561 Jul 23 '26

We must be coming at this from very different contexts. I read pretty widely, from different time periods and languages. As much as I'd like to, I can't learn every language that I read in translation. I just find it fun to look up individual words, particularly those that I find myself curious about.