Translating the first line of the Odyssey [SplDOeXpcBt]
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.]