Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://mypepack.gophersport.com/video/?vid=bsidcs2T1cT Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Translating the first line of the Odyssey [aoNalKovk1D] Health Updated on August 11, 2026 EDT — Published on August 11, 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.] hwfXnQX4vjF sQyQAXIBZhq h2T1dMBhFlC vg7QV1KcnBS UEFt0J2BOx1 rAyhgF0GTbU zfDyYSUIcth
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.] hwfXnQX4vjF sQyQAXIBZhq h2T1dMBhFlC vg7QV1KcnBS UEFt0J2BOx1 rAyhgF0GTbU zfDyYSUIcth