Thu, 21 Mar 2024 My Greek-adjacent reading As I explore the world of the ancient Greeks and the language of that time, I'm reading: "The Ingenious Language: Nine Epic Reasons to Love Greek," by Andrea Marcolongo This is a wonderful book about the author's love affair with ancient Greek. It is helping me understand the ways and whys of the language and those who spoke and wrote it in ancient times. I'm reading the digital version on Libby via the Los Angeles Public Library. It is also sold on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1787701832 At the same time, I'm making my way through Homer's Odyssey, the Richmond Lattimore translation, which aims to stay as close to the Greek as possible while still rendering the poem in English. I haven't read through the Odyssey since college. I still have the same copy. It has a lot of underlines and notes. I'm adding more. I also have a copy of Lattimore's Iliad translation. It isn't the same one I had in college, but it's still plenty old. There are no notes written in it. I'm about to start Book 5 of the Odyssey, It has been an enjoyable journey so far. At this point, Telemachos is returning home from his own mini-Odyssey across the sea to learn news of his father Odysseus -- mostly whether he's dead or alive. The suitors are lying in wait, intent on ambushing and killing the young man who stands in the way of one of them marrying his mother (and Odysseus' wife), Penelope. But we don't go there just yet. Instead, Odysseus' adventures begin. The paperback is a bargain at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Odyssey-Homer/dp/006124418X Do yourself a favor and get the Iliad at the same time. It is also a bargain: https://www.amazon.com/Iliad-Homer-Richmond-Lattimore/dp/0226470490 Today all the talk is about Emily Wilson's translations: https://www.amazon.com/Iliad-Homer/dp/1324001801 https://www.amazon.com/Odyssey-Homer/dp/0393356256 Wilson's Iliad is only available in hardcover. It's paperback release is set for Aug. 6, 2024: https://www.amazon.com/Iliad-Homer/dp/1324076143.