Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://realcad.org/video/?vid=S705DMf4tmZ Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Translating the first line of the Odyssey [p2F5uDi0v6r] Health Updated on August 09, 2026 EDT — Published on August 09, 2026 EDT How do you translate “polytropos,” the famous Greek epithet in the first line of the Odyssey? The word has challenged many English-language translators, including International Poetry Forum alumni Richmond Lattimore and Emily Wilson. Dr. Jake Grefenstette, director of the International Poetry Forum, admires several different translations—but he’s most amused by Thomas Hobbes, who simply refuses to translate the word at all, calling Odysseus just “the man.” #poetry #classics #homer #ancientgreek #odyssey #theodyssey #emilywilson #emilywilsonodyssey #literature #translation #literarytranslation #richmondlattimore #robertfagles #robertfitzgerald #thomashobbes #polytropos #odysseus #humanities #bookstagram #booktok [International Poetry Forum, 2025. All rights reserved.] IbhbocYXcT4 nIFx1oulVjt jTJB6bDUqdK 5gSdVvS5iUH Q6QWlMpG2MU
How do you translate “polytropos,” the famous Greek epithet in the first line of the Odyssey? The word has challenged many English-language translators, including International Poetry Forum alumni Richmond Lattimore and Emily Wilson. Dr. Jake Grefenstette, director of the International Poetry Forum, admires several different translations—but he’s most amused by Thomas Hobbes, who simply refuses to translate the word at all, calling Odysseus just “the man.” #poetry #classics #homer #ancientgreek #odyssey #theodyssey #emilywilson #emilywilsonodyssey #literature #translation #literarytranslation #richmondlattimore #robertfagles #robertfitzgerald #thomashobbes #polytropos #odysseus #humanities #bookstagram #booktok [International Poetry Forum, 2025. All rights reserved.] IbhbocYXcT4 nIFx1oulVjt jTJB6bDUqdK 5gSdVvS5iUH Q6QWlMpG2MU