Odyssey Audiobook By Homer, Stanley Lombardo - translator cover art

Odyssey

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Odyssey

By: Homer, Stanley Lombardo - translator
Narrated by: Stanley Lombardo, Susan Sarandon - introduction
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $29.95

Buy for $29.95

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

The Odyssey tells of the heroic journey of Odysseus after the Trojan war. In his attempt to return home to Ithaca, this ancient hero is faced with obstacle after obstacle, mythic creature after mythic creature. This is an epic poem encompassing an epic journey as famous as it is classic.

Translated and Narrated by Stanley Lombardo. Introduction by Susan Sarandon.

©2000 Hackett Publishing Company (P)2006 Parmenides Publishing
Classics Collections Greek Poetry

Critic reviews

"Stanley Lombardo provides a welcome translation, contemporary in its rhythms, assurance, and clarity....this version of the Greek classic sounds honest, intimate, and, most importantly, clear." ( AudioFile)

What listeners say about Odyssey

Highly rated for:

Timeless Story Modern Translation Engaging Narration Vivid Imagery Captivating Storytelling Strong Protagonist
Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    293
  • 4 Stars
    85
  • 3 Stars
    39
  • 2 Stars
    13
  • 1 Stars
    9
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    219
  • 4 Stars
    49
  • 3 Stars
    22
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    4
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    228
  • 4 Stars
    43
  • 3 Stars
    18
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    5

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The author’s narration

The writing and narration come together to craft a thrilling experience. Well done to the interpreter for stepping in and delivering a solid performance!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Very good

Enjoyed the narration and translation very much. It is better to listen to Homer rather than read the translations on paper.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

22 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent*

An excellent translation and performance. The Susan Sarandon summaries are utterly unnecessary, but that is my only complaint about it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Phenomenal Translation and Reading

Some translations make the classics die on the page. This one breaths them to life.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great Narration

I had to read The Odyssey for a college course, and having an audio book alternative has been very helpful as I can "read" while driving or cooking. I really enjoyed this audiobook because the sound effects were fantastic! I could really put myself in the story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Odyssey

Original heroic story. Thoroughly enjoyed it, this 2800 year old epic. Has bravery, sadness, victory, vengeance, all at the will of the gods.

Recommend Iliad and Arnold, which round out the story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Stanley Lombardo's translation is excellent.

Stanley Lombardo's modern translation is excellent. I love Susan Sarandon's intro to each chapter. She's like a herald.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

THIS is the way Homer was meant to be LISTENED to

I have many translations of Homer ...Fitzgerald, Fagles etc ... and have begun them all. Finished none. Something always bothered me. Finally realizing they seemed "contrived". Reading them also seemed ... wrong. Homer was spoken ...even performed. Yes it's all been said but ... I speaking Italian fluently and realize translating Italian poetry to English in the same meter with forced rhymes (English famously not as Poetic as Italian or Greek) is iffy at best. I am also a writer of poetry, music and musician. With Stanley Lombardo it sounds "natural." Unforced. And ...most importantly, natural, understandable and entertaining which were and are the first principles of any entertainer. With which Homer was certainly most concerned. Closing my eyes ...with a "wine dark glass with cut apples and pears" soaking in it and a good cigar) outside. THIS is as close to imagining Homer reciting. This is how life should be lived.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Earthy and immediate

I had just finished listening to Dan Stevens' remarkable reading of The Odyssey, translated by Robert Fitzgerald. But my Homer itch hadn't been fully scratched. For relief I turned to an old favorite - Stanley Lombardo reading his own translation of The Odyssey.

Lombardo's version is equally remarkable, but in a very different way. Where Fitzgerald is stately and heroic ("lift the great song again"), Lombardo is earthy and immediate. Lombardo developed his version originally for public performance, and his reading reflects that: it's brisk, rhythmic, and varied.

I don't read Greek, ancient or modern, and can't recommend one over the other in terms of accuracy. What I CAN say is that both are successful narrative poems in English, although they seem to be almost intentionally at opposite ends of the diction continuum.

One of the things I enjoy about the Lombardo recording is that Susan Sarandon provides a brief synopsis of each book beforehand. Another thing I like is the musical theme that plays as each episode begins. I've heard people complain about the fact that it's the same theme each time; but to my way of thinking, that's an asset. It serves to set the mood and it ties together the various parts of this extremely varied work of literature.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

good story

A good way to get thru long hours at work.
So I need to add 5 more words.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!