Book 1: Immerse yourself in the epic world of heroes and gods with “The Iliad by Homer.” Homer's ancient Greek masterpiece recounts the Trojan War, exploring themes of honor, fate, and the struggles of mortal and divine characters in the midst of a legendary conflict. Book 2: Embark on a captivating journey of adventure and exploration with “The Odyssey by Homer.” Homer's epic poem follows the cunning hero Odysseus as he faces mythical creatures, navigates the challenges of the sea, and strives to return home, creating a timeless narrative of perseverance and cunning intelligence. Book 3: Journey through the realms of the afterlife with “The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri.” Dante's epic poem takes readers on a guided tour through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, exploring themes of sin, redemption, and the complexities of the human soul in a poetic and allegorical masterpiece.

Homer's epic chronicle of the Greek hero Odysseus' journey home from the Trojan War has inspired writers from Virgil to James Joyce. Odysseus survives storm and shipwreck, the cave of the Cyclops and the isle of Circe, the lure of the Sirens' song and a trip to the Underworld, only to find his most difficult challenge at home, where treacherous suitors seek to steal his kingdom and his loyal wife, Penelope. Favorite of the gods, Odysseus embodies the energy, intellect, and resourcefulness that were of highest value to the ancients and that remain ideals in out time. In this new verse translation, Allen Mandelbaum--celebrated poet and translator of Virgil's Aeneid and Dante's Divine Comedy --realizes the power and beauty of the original Greek verse and demonstrates why the epic tale of The Odyssey has captured the human imagination for nearly three thousand years.

The great war epic of Western literature, translated by acclaimed classicist Robert Fagles, and featured in the Netflix series The OA A Penguin Classic Dating to the ninth century B.C., Homer’s timeless poem still vividly conveys the horror and heroism of men and gods wrestling with towering emotions and battling amidst devastation and destruction, as it moves inexorably to the wrenching, tragic conclusion of the Trojan War. Renowned classicist Bernard Knox observes in his superb introduction that although the violence of the Iliad is grim and relentless, it coexists with both images of civilized life and a poignant yearning for peace. Combining the skills of a poet and scholar, Robert Fagles, winner of the PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation and a 1996 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, brings the energy of contemporary language to this enduring heroic epic. He maintains the drive and metric music of Homer’s poetry, and evokes the impact and nuance of the Iliad’s mesmerizing repeated phrases in what Peter Levi calls “an astonishing performance.” This Penguin Classics Deluxe edition also features French flaps and deckle-edged paper. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators. 9780140275360

The Iliad: Join Achilles at the Gates of Troy as he slays Hector to Avenge the death of Patroclus. Here is a story of love and war, hope and despair, and honor and glory. The recent major motion picture Helen of Troy staring Brad Pitt proves that this epic is as relevant today as it was twenty five hundred years ago when it was first written. So journey back to the Trojan War with Homer and relive the grandest adventure of all times. The Odyssey: Journey with Ulysses as he battles to bring his victorious, but decimated, troops home from the Trojan War, dogged by the wrath of the god Poseidon at every turn. Having been away for twenty years, little does he know what awaits him when he finally makes his way home. These two books are some of the most import books in the literary cannon, having influenced virtually every adventure tale ever told. And yet they are still accessible and immediate and now you can have both in one binding.

Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turnsdriven time and again off course, once he had plunderedthe hallowed heights of Troy.So begins Robert Fagles' magnificent translation of the Odyssey.If the Iliad is the world's greatest war epic, then the Odyssey is literature's grandest evocation of everyman's journey though life. Odysseus' reliance on his wit and wiliness for survival in his encounters with divine and natural forces, during his ten-year voyage home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, is at once a timeless human story and an individual test of moral endurance.In the myths and legends that are retold here, Fagles has captured the energy and poetry of Homer's original in a bold, contemporary idiom, and given us an Odyssey to read aloud, to savor, and to treasure for its sheer lyrical mastery.Renowned classicist Bernard Knox's superb Introduction and textual commentary provide new insights and background information for the general reader and scholar alike, intensifying the strength of Fagles' translation.This is an Odyssey to delight both the classicist and the public at large, and to captivate a new generation of Homer's students.--Robert Fagles, winner of the PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation and a 1996 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, presents us with Homer's best-loved and most accessible poem in a stunning new modern-verse translation.

These two timeless epics by the ancient Greek poet—each translated by a world-renowned author—have captured the Western imagination for millennia. The Iliad: Alexander Pope “works miracles” in this beautiful verse translation of Homer’s epic poem set near the end of the Trojan War. It centers on a quarrel between the invading Greek king Agamemnon and his greatest asset in battle, the warrior Achilles. From this conflict, Homer weaves a tale of warring nations, vengeful gods, and the terrible consequences of prideful rage (The New York Times). The Odyssey: The Trojan War is over and Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, embarks to return home. But he is cursed by the god Poseidon to wander the perilous earth for ten years before reaching his destination. Homer’s epic adventure of survival by wit and battling mythical creatures is presented here in a stirring prose translation by Samuel Butler.

The Iliad and The Odyssey are the earliest works of Western literature and are the wellspring for much of Western culture. The Iliad, beginning "Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus' son Achilles / and its devastation" describes the devastation unleashed by Achilles's rage, engulfing soldier and civilian, hero and coward, ruler and slave and even women and children. It is a story of heroes of immense pride and animal strength operating in their element. But it is much more than a great war epic. Homer creates complex human characters. A Greek and Trojan pair, Diomedes and Glaucus, meet on the battlefield, but realizing that they have an ancestral connection, they exchange conversation and armour rather than taunts and blows. King Priam kisses the hands of Achilles, saying "I have endured what no one on earth has endured. I have kissed the hands of the man who killed my son," an act which provokes deep sympathy in Achilles, who in turn returns the body of heroic Hector which he had defiled. The nearly invincible Ajax struggles to choose between heroic glory on the battlefield and the blessing of returning to the beloved land of his fathers. The Iliad is the story of the Trojan War, but much more: it has many tender scenes, it critiques the idea of the hero and it examines the role of the Gods in history. The Odyssey, Homer's epic tale of Odysseus and his ten-year journey home after the Trojan war is a wonderful story that has entranced generations over the last two and a half millennia. The characters and events are well known, and the form - a long journey of discovery and testing - has become a standard device in storytelling. Odysseus is known as "polytropos," a man of many twists and turns and tricks, a man who lives by his wits. As the Greeks leave for Troy, it is Odysseus' cleverness that allows him to find the hero Achilles who is crucial to their victory. Then, after ten years camped outside Troy and the loss of countless lives on both sides, he brings the Trojan war to a dramatic conclusion with the now famous Trojan horse. One expects Odysseus' story to end with his returning home as a hero. Instead, Homer and the fates send him on another ten years of travels. This is the story of The Odyssey is not just about Odysseus' adventures on the way home, it is also about faithful marital love, and the love of home and country. Aristotle says that while The Iliad is about events, The Odyssey is about character. The word "odyssey" has entered the English language, and many regard The Odyssey as the world's most enduring narrative. Homer was called "the teacher of all Greece," and "the leader of Greek culture," by Plato. Indeed, in the classical age, the Greeks regarded the Iliad and Odyssey as much more than works of literature; they knew much of them by heart, and they valued them as symbols of Hellenic unity and heroism but also as sources of moral and even practical instruction. Homer's works have been studied, quoted and translated in every corner of Europe and his influence on the Western imagination is immense. This prose edition was translated by Samuel Butler, the iconoclastic English author of the Utopian satirical novel Erewhon and the semi-autobiographical novel The Way of All Flesh. The latter was published posthumously as he was afraid to publish it in his lifetime.

Homer’s great epic The Odyssey—one of Western literature’s most enduring and important works—translated by Richmond Lattimore A classic for the ages, The Odyssey recounts Odysseus’ journey home after the Trojan War—and the obstacles he faces along the way to reclaim his throne, kingdom, and family in Ithaca. During his absence, his steadfast and clever wife, Penelope, and now teenaged son, Telemachus, have lived under the constant threat of ruthless suitors, all desperate to court Penelope and claim the throne. As the suitors plot Telemachus’ murder, the gods debate Odysseus’ fate. With help from the goddess Athena, the scattered family bides their time as Odysseus battles his way through storm and shipwreck, the cave of the Cyclops, the isle of witch-goddess Circe, the deadly Sirens’ song, a trek through the Underworld, and the omnipresent wrath of the scorned god Poseidon. An American poet and classicist, Richmond Lattimore’s translation of The Odyssey is widely considered among the best available in the English language. Lattimore breathes modern life into Homer’s epic, bringing this classic work of heroes, monsters, vengeful gods, treachery, and redemption to life for modern readers.

One of the greatest ancient Greek epic poems, "Iliad" is dated to have been written some time before the eighth century B.C. Revolving around the events of the tenth and last year of siege of the city of Ilium, this is a brilliant epic. The trends and wrath of the fighters has been amazingly captured by Pope.

The Odyssey (an ancient Greek epic poem) is a timeless tale of heroism, resilience, and the enduring power of the human spirit. This book is widely regarded as one of the greatest works of literature in human history. Reading it offers an opportunity to engage with a timeless classic and explore the depth of Homer's storytelling craft. As ancient Greece lies in the shadow of the Trojan War, the valiant hero Odysseus embarks on a journey fraught with peril and adventure in Homer's epic tale. It explores themes of loyalty, perseverance, and the consequences of pride, while immersing readers in a world of gods and monsters, love and betrayal. Considered a founding work of Western literature. "The Odyssey" is an integral part of the Western literary canon, alongside its companion epic "The Iliad." Its influence extends beyond literature to art, music, theater, and film, shaping the cultural landscape for centuries. Journey into a world of adventure, cunning, and divine intrigue with Homer’s The Odyssey, an epic tale that has captivated readers for millennia. This timeless masterpiece follows the legendary hero Odysseus as he struggles to return home to Ithaca after the fall of Troy. For ten perilous years, Odysseus faces formidable challenges and encounters fantastical beings, from the enchanting sirens to the monstrous Cyclops, Polyphemus. Guided by his wits and aided by the gods, he navigates treacherous waters and hostile lands, all while yearning for the familiar shores of his homeland and the embrace of his faithful wife, Penelope. The Odyssey is more than just a tale of adventure; it is a profound exploration of themes such as loyalty, perseverance, and the enduring power of hope. Homer’s narrative brings to life a richly textured world where mortals and immortals interact, showcasing the timeless struggle between fate and free will. With its intricate plot, vivid characters, and lyrical beauty, The Odyssey remains a cornerstone of Western literature. Homer’s masterful storytelling not only transports readers to an ancient world of myth and legend but also resonates with universal truths about the human condition. This edition of The Odyssey invites new readers and returning fans alike to experience the epic journey that has inspired countless generations and continues to be a source of wonder and insight.