[HN Gopher] Daniel Mendelsohn on the Odyssey
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       Daniel Mendelsohn on the Odyssey
        
       Author : drdee
       Score  : 20 points
       Date   : 2021-08-15 06:02 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (octavian.substack.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (octavian.substack.com)
        
       | surlyadopter wrote:
       | If anyone is interested in more in depth examinations of parts of
       | the Odyssey I would recommend 'Watch What You Hear: Penelope's
       | Dream Of Twenty Geese' by Edward Teach(The Last Psychiarist).
       | https://www.amazon.com/Watch-What-You-Hear-Penelopes/dp/1734...
       | It is a a "rigorous psychoanalytic interpretation of the Homeric
       | dream of twenty geese" and although can be tough to get into I
       | dound it a very rewarding mental journey.
        
       | ChrisMarshallNY wrote:
       | I enjoyed the read. Thanks!
       | 
       | Never been a huge fan of the classics. Not because I think them
       | impractical, but because someone has told me that I have to read
       | them, and I have a _serious_ "up yours" streak to my personality.
       | It's ameliorated, as I've gotten older, but I didn't appreciate
       | having reading shoved in my face by people that I considered
       | "bitter old people."
       | 
       | I'm getting my comeuppance, now. I'm the millennial's "bitter old
       | person."
       | 
       | I guess there's a classic that talks about that...
        
         | TedDoesntTalk wrote:
         | Rebelling for the sake of rebellion can be blinding. We all
         | have issues to work through. I wish you luck yours.
        
           | ChrisMarshallNY wrote:
           | Oh, those days are loooong gone...
        
       | uberdru wrote:
       | The greatest book never written. Reading the Odyssey is very like
       | reading Dante and Shakespeare, in that it is a lifelong pursuit.
       | It gets better as your learn about the oral tradition, the Homer
       | question. Read Victor Berard and Julian Jaynes. Read Omeros by
       | Derek Walcott. You can meditate you whole life on how to
       | translate one word, "polymetis". In my experience, the
       | translator's choice with that one word determines the trajectory
       | (and quality) of the epic in their hands.
       | 
       | Our whole culture is so shot through with the effects of these
       | works that it is virtually incomprehensible, even to those who
       | devote their lives to the study. I guess my point is that it is
       | not like reading a 'novel'. It is a work that has shaped, and
       | actively shapes, us as humans.
        
       | 725686 wrote:
       | I generally find it very difficult to read/enjoy old classics...
       | I much prefer the analyses of those text that explain their
       | relevance for our culture and the context in which they were
       | written. I will make some time to read this article.
        
         | lostlogin wrote:
         | > I generally find it very difficult to read/enjoy old classics
         | 
         | I found a 'top 100 books of all time' list and decided there
         | were a few near the top I should read/reread. I'm pretty sure I
         | had never read any of them. I knew the author and I had a vague
         | idea of the plot and characters.
         | 
         | Every single one of them was excellent to the point where I
         | need to reread them again.
        
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