Where to start with Homer

1. The Iliad

Begin here. The shelf holds more than one translation; the Homer author page recommends Robert Fagles.

1. The Iliad (Fagles)

   Robert Fagles translation — the on-site starting recommendation
2. The Iliad (Emily Wilson)

   Wilson translation, with reading notes
3. The Iliad (Fitzgerald)

   Robert Fitzgerald translation
4. A Companion to The Iliad

   Malcolm M. Willcock — optional alongside the epic

2. The Odyssey

After the Iliad. The return makes more sense once you have been at Troy.

1. The Odyssey

   Primary Odyssey edition on the shelf
2. The Odyssey (Fitzgerald)

   Robert Fitzgerald translation and reread notes
3. A Companion to Homer’s Odyssey

   James Morrison — useful on a second reading, not instead of the epic
4. An Odyssey: A Father, A Son, and an Epic

   Daniel Mendelsohn — further reading once you know the poem

3. Optional mythology prep

Skip this if you would rather meet the myths inside Homer. Use it when you want a map of the gods first.

1. Mythology

   Edith Hamilton — a consolidated guidebook to the myths
2. Theogony & Works and Days

   Hesiod on the genealogy of the gods
3. The Homeric Hymns

   Hymns to the major gods, attributed to the Homeric tradition

More from the library

When the two epics are underway, the tragedy guide is the natural next bridge.