The Odyssey

By: Homer, A. T. Murray - translator

Narrated by: Charlton Griffin

The Odyssey is the greatest adventure story ever written, and one of the great epic masterpieces of Western literature For almost 3,000 years, it has been a storehouse of ancient Greek folklore and myth. It is also our very first novel, if we think of it in terms of romantic plot development, realistic characterizations, frequent change of scene, and heroic dramatic devices. These elements continue to make it far more popular than its kindred piece, The Iliad. No other character in world literature has inspired as many literary works as Odysseus ("Ulysses" in Latin).

The story concerns an incident in the Trojan War and the difficulties of its hero, Odysseus, as he attempts to reach his home. Although possessing courage, stamina and power, it is his powerful mind that ultimately enables him to reach his destination and slay his adversaries. Odysseus is the very model of the worldly, well-traveled, persevering man. With his diplomacy, quick wit, and shrewd resourcefulness, he survives one catastrophe and set-back after another.

Public Domain (P)2010 Audio Connoisseur

Magnificent

This is a magnificent rendition of the Odyssey. I last read it 20 years ago. I loved it then when I last read it before having a more Biblical worldview. At the time I believed that there was a small kernel of truth wrapped in endless fantastical layers designed to artificially create heroism in primitive pre-literate Bronze Age people.

I now have very different beliefs. I believe that the pre-literate Greeks had an extremely sophisticated and fully rational culture wrapped up in the oscillation between insane battles and adventures and their faithful preservation by the minstrels. It is extremely significant that in his revenge against the suitors and their allies the only one Odysseus spares is their minstrel. And the minstrel is a truth teller who used pagan anthropomorphism to describe the behavior of such unpredictable natural catastrophes as the wind, the waves, and the whirlpool.

During the 1184 BC Sack of Troy, the warlike but preliterate Greeks were fighting and destroying Troy and the Hittite civilization that supported it (the so called Late Bronze Age collapse). Neither civilization had a phonetic alphabet. The civilization with the phonetic alphabet in the story was the always negatively portrayed “greedy” Phoenicians, often portrayed as slavers in the Odyssey.

Those familiar with Biblical history will know that the Phoenicians were the Canaanites, whom Joshua and the Hebrews were ordered to exterminate after they had crossed into Canaan in 1451 BC but who ultimately partially embraced Phoenician / Canaanite idolatry and were conquered by the Canaanite King Jabin in 1298 BC. Although the Hebrew Judge Barak ultimately liberated the Hebrews from the Canaanites in 1278 BC, around that time - perhaps during the reign of King Jabin - the Phoenicians adapted a phonetic alphabet from their Hebrew subjects.

At the time Egypt was the only civilization that had papyrus (paper) production capabilities. But the Egyptian script was hieroglyphic with many thousands of characters that required years of special study by a priestly caste to interpret. The Hebrews had adapted their alphabet from Egyptian characters (possibly as early as during the reign of Joseph the Patriarch as vizier of Egypt). The phonetic alphabet was a prerequisite to widespread cultural literacy. Moses (a Prince of Egypt after all) had written the Torah on papyrus before 1451 BC. However the Hebrews had no robust trade network with Egypt to replenish their papyrus supplies so literacy remained restricted to the priestly class due to limited supplies.

The Canaanite / Phoenicians on the other hand due to their adaptation of ship building technology from the famed “Cedars of Lebanon” had trade with Egypt in plenty and limitless access to papyrus. Once they adopted phonetic alphabet from the Hebrews and bought papyrus from the Egyptians in bulk, they became the first civilization to achieve widespread literacy among the merchant class. After Barak defeated their inland empire in the Levant the Canaanite / Phoenicians focused their efforts on Mediterranean trade. With literacy as an economic engine they became masters of the waves. From 1278 BC to the Sack of Troy in 1184 BC, Phoenicians set up literate trading settlements across the Mediterranean and as far as England due to the tin trade.

Now for the giants and monsters. The Bible repeatedly says that giants lived among the Phoenicians. And those of us with a Biblical worldview believe that dinosaurs / dragons coincided with mankind. So Scylla and the Laestragonians and even Polyphemus seem more plausible. The preliterate Greeks with their martial culture were challenging the giant-inclusive, greedy, commercial, literate, demon-worshipping, child-sacrifice culture of the Phoenicians in the Mediterranean. And therefore this is a truly historical work. It gives us a window into a period of transition in human history. Ultimately Greek civilization destroyed the Phoenician civilization in the Eastern Mediterranean when Alexander the Great sacked Tyre. The Romans finished them off in the west with the destruction of Carthage. The Greeks and later the Romans did what the Hebrews failed to do when God tasked them to execute his judgment on the Phoenicians. And therefore Odysseus’ blinding of Polyphemus represented the beginning of that transition.

Ironically, the Greek alphabet was adapted from the Phoenician alphabet around the time of Homer in 700 BC. Due to the interaction with their trading networks, the Phoenician alphabet had already become the ancestor of the alphabets of Aramaic (in Persia, the traditional enemy of Greece). Of course, the Latin alphabet (the ABCs) derived from Greek. And both Arabic and the alphabets of India derived from Aramaic. Homer grew up in the live tradition of the minstrel poets and committed the then 480 year old story to written verse. The epics are so much more enjoyable when we realize that the oldest epics provide penetrating windows into history. Journey into a story more true than you previously dared to believe!

The original homecoming story

If you could sum up The Odyssey in three words, what would they be?

seminal, relevant, human

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Odyssey?

Most of the famous scenes often depicted in dramatic retellings take up but a small part of the text That may disappoint many, but take heart, The most memorable parts involve the characterization, timeless themes, and how relatable the characters remain across nearly three millennia. Their world and customs are ages removed, and yet the humanity which we all share make it a riveting tale even today.

Have you listened to any of Charlton Griffin’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I started with The Iliad. Griffin's a one-man narration machine, having both the timbre, gravitas, and British accent an American like me has come to expect as the quintessential sound of Classical literature.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It will take multiple sittings. I recommend spreading them out so you can reflect on the richness and themes of the prose. As Edmund Burke said, reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting.

Any additional comments?

I won't feign pretension and say that my attention span wasn't strained at times or that my mind didn't wander (hence my recommendation that you space out your listenings). However, eating healthy food takes discipline; so, too, does consuming cultural victuals. It might not taste good at the time, but your health will be better for it. Tastes should be cultivated, and the proof is in the reading.

Great work ruined by narration

Would you be willing to try another one of Charlton Griffin’s performances?

I like the musical interludes and the sound effects and I love the book. The reason I am giving it a low mark is because of the narrator. The way he voices female characters is borderline offensive and profoundly irritating. I had to stop halfway because of this. They all sound cutesy and girlish, regardless of whether they are deities, old or young, which is I guess how this narrator imagines all women talk. I have a couple of other books narrated by Griffin and I think he is pretty good and easy to follow, otherwise. But this one is simply atroceous.Word of advice on all male narrators who are tempted to use a higher pitched voice to impersonate women - DON'T. It is offensive and very distracting.

classic tales of sea and myth

listened 2x, good readers, story of adventure of sailing the Mediterranean sea, endurance, love and war. Gods and goddesses of ancient times mix it up a bit. Goodness prospers.

My Favorite Odyssey

Audible didn't mention who the translator was but when I input the first line into Google I found it linked to Augustus Taber Murray on Wikipedia.

I have been trying to find for years a version of the Odyssey that I liked as much as I do most translations of the Iliad. In this reading of an obscure translation, which I listened to while I was working, I finally found what I wanted. I love action and fantasy and I had always thought that was the best reason to read this work. This time, I was more impressed by the character of the heroes and their women: their code of honor, their hospitality and generosity, their adaptability to the decrees of fate or the operation of chance, their competitiveness, their cruelty to men, women, and children, their loyalties and betrayals. I've read that the Odyssey was the first great adventure story but I think one could say that it was the first psychological novel.

Charlton Griffin was terrific when he read the narration and the men's voices. I always imagined that Homer's warriors spoke like this. He wasn't at all convincing when doing the women's voices. I wish Audio Connoisseur had used a woman narrator.