In The Odyssey one may liken Homer to the setting sun, of which the grandeur remains without the integrity. -Longinus, On the Sublime

If the Iliad is the first tragedy ever written, then the Odyssey is the first comedy. Whereas the first gives us man the warrior, seeking glory on the battlefield, the second gives us man the husband and father, seeking domestic bliss with his family. From Dr. Markos’s Introduction

After the sack of Troy, the hero Odysseus travels the high seas homeward bound and finds himself confronted by every imaginable danger the angry god Poseidon can throw at him. Whether it’s escaping the one-eyed Cyclops, avoiding getting turned into a pig by an enchantress, or resisting the deadly songs of Sirens, Odysseus remains determined to reach his homeland and save his faithful wife and young son from suitors who are destroying his livelihood and legacy.

This Canon Classic is an ancestral fairy tale about a man who fights monsters and comes home to save his bride, translated into verse by the famous poet William Cullen Bryant. The Canon Classics series presents the most definitive works of Western literature in a colorful, well-crafted, and affordable way. Unlike many other thrift editions, our classics are printed on thicker text stock and feature individualized designs that prioritize readability by means of proper margins, leading, characters per line, font, trim size, etc. Each book’s materials and layout combine to make the classics a simple and striking addition to classrooms and homes, ideal for introducing the best of literary culture and human experience to the next generation.

This Worldview Edition features an introduction divided into sections on The World Around, About the Author, What Other Notables Said, Setting, Characters, & Plot Summary, Worldview Analysis, and 21 Discussion Questions & Answers.