The Odyssey


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(4.4 stars; 1349 reviews)

The Odyssey is one of the two major ancient Greek epic poems (the other being the Iliad), attributed to the poet Homer. The poem is commonly dated to between 800 and 600 BC. The poem is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, and concerns the events that befall the Greek hero Odysseus in his long journey back to his native land Ithaca after the fall of Troy.

It takes Odysseus ten years to return to his native land of Ithaca after ten years of war; during his 20-year absence, his son Telemachus and his wife Penelope must deal with a group of unruly suitors who have moved into Odysseus' home to compete for Penelope's hand in marriage, since most have assumed that Odysseus has died.

The poem is a fundamental text in the Western canon and continues to be read in both Homeric Greek and translations around the world. (Summary from Wikipedia) (11 hr 18 min)

Chapters

Book 01 23:06 Read by Kirsten Ferreri
Book 02 23:22 Read by Kirsten Ferreri
Book 03 25:20 Read by Kirsten Ferreri
Book 04 43:39 Read by Kirsten Ferreri
Book 05 27:53 Read by JemmaBlythe
Book 06 22:53 Read by Gesine
Book 07 19:09 Read by Hugh McGuire
Book 08 30:12 Read by ontheroad
Book 09 38:23 Read by Reynard T. Fox
Book 10 37:04 Read by Reynard T. Fox
Book 11 41:14 Read by Robin Cotter
Book 12 30:04 Read by Robin Cotter
Book 13 24:57 Read by JemmaBlythe
Book 14 33:27 Read by David Barnes
Book 15 22:37 Read by Kurt Wong
Book 16 28:18 Read by Robin Cotter
Book 17 31:46 Read by Moira Fogarty
Book 18 22:34 Read by Moira Fogarty
Book 19 30:38 Read by hugh mac
Book 20 22:19 Read by Kara Shallenberg (1969-2023)
Book 21 27:05 Read by Chris Hawk
Book 22 30:25 Read by Chris Hawk
Book 23 27:14 Read by Denny Sayers (d. 2015)
Book 24 38:48 Read by Denny Sayers (d. 2015)

Reviews

Slick Willy


(2 stars)

Great story. One of the classics but it was marred by a few of the readers, mainly Jemma Blythe. I spent more time trying to figure out what she was saying as opposed to actually paying attention to and engaging with the text. I'm sorry but I had to continue with another source because some of these readers were hard to follow.


(5 stars)

Oberall this was a great listen. However, there was a couple chapters towards the end where the guy who was reading and he is wheezing and he sounds like he's out of breath and as I listened to him I found that I was out of breath LOL. Outside of that and those two chapters where the hardest, this was a great book.!

The Odesy Review by Collin V.


(4 stars)

this was a good book but it would have been nice if all of the chapters were red by one narrator rather than a different narrator for every chapter and that which ver narrator where chosen to read the whole book it would be nice if it were one of the better more clear readers.

The ever best read and listen


(5 stars)

it's been a great pleasure to read about an author who wrote this piece of poetry 300 years before the arrival of Alexander the Great. I suggest it for all the book lovers to just read it once , now it's more easier that just put on your headphones and keep listening till the End.

Love Jemma Blythes voice


(5 stars)

I disagree with those saying her voice is not suitable for narration, I have repeated her chapters many times and think her voice is amazing and suited to the story.


(4 stars)

A book I could never read. It was as first told in Ancient Greece. My first experience of LibriVox. My thanks to the volunteer readers.


(4 stars)

The readers are all good except for in book 4 the reader suddenly changes from a human being to what sounds like text to speech AI. It's really hard to follow and sounds offputting. I read the Odyssey back in ninth grade and I forgot how much it focuses on dealing with the suitors compared to the 10 years of Odysseus journey. The best parts are when he has to face gods, monsters, and magic, and that only lasts for 3 or 4 books out of the 24.  There is a strong emphasis on brozne/iron age greek culture and customs that was interesting, but often felt like Homer was moralizing a lot. There are a lot of long speeches given by characters on what a great and noble man Odysseus is/was, and it's like, really, Odysseus has the moral backbone of a chocolate eclair. So, IDK what Homer was really trying to convey talking about king of the war criminals like that.

theodyssey


(3.5 stars)

homer leads his nation completely making his own life after all to peace. After years of war he regains his stature by a thousand to one, one that his journey to his future was no future his full of mystery and virtue comes to a halt the world he has created for himself is to return when his life just began in an island his own background his composure the continuous envy of it all is stored up in his native world a world does not welcome strange beasts and myths comes to a halt . He sees he is at fault and distinguishes himself no more than any eterniun a realm where they must roam for rest of time assure end to life hereafter an inquisitive playground full of mysteries.