Professors everywhere love to assign the classic, Homeric epics to their students. Reading the Iliad or the Odyssey is often tedious at best. These works have been translated by male academics time and time again, with them completely dominating the field.
In 2018, this all changed when Emily Wilson, a classicist and Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania became the first woman to translate the Odyssey in English. When I was assigned the Odyssey for a college class reading my freshman year, I chose her edition, intrigued by what could be different in her version compared to the translations I read in high school.
Her translation made use of more modern language, making it an easier read for contemporary audiences. Another difference in her translation compared to previous ones was an attention to gender and power dynamics. Many of the male classicists projected contemporary patriarchal views onto their translation, erasing important details that impacted the way readers perceive the epic. As Wilson said in an interview with the Washington Post, “I think if a translator approaches the text thinking the female characters will be less interesting, or will be perceived externally, or will be judged for their sexuality, then that’s going to inhibit some understanding of the original.”
Wilson’s translations also end up being more literal and word for word, rather than interpreting what she believes the Ancient Greeks might have meant. In her translator’s note, Wilson writes “Impressive displays of rhetoric and linguistic force are a good way to seem important and invite a particular kind of admiration, but they tend to silence dissent and discourage deeper modes of engagement.”
One feature my classics professor particularly appreciated was how Wilson replicated the meter and musicality of the original work, allowing oral readings to be more similar to the way it would have been experienced in ancient times. The Homeric epics were often sung when performed to audiences, and I have to admit it was enjoyable to hear my professor sing the text every once and a while.
While not the first woman to translate the Iliad into English (that credit goes to Caroline Alexander), her recent release of the Iliad on September 26, 2023 draws readers in with many of the same unique features as her previous translation. Although it has only been released for a short time, it is already receiving much of the critical acclaim that her previous translation of the Odyssey did.
Both translations are geared towards younger audiences, but can be enjoyed by the masses. Next time you are asked to read one of these classics for college, I encourage you to reach for this female author and translator. Her work will transport you back to the world of Ancient Greece, providing a new, fresh perspective on an ancient work.