Oral tradition and Homeric epithets
Subject in Books
Oral tradition and Homeric epithets has come up in 1 episode across 1 podcast in TMT, including The Daily. 1 person has made recorded remarks about it.
What people said
Emily WilsonClassicist and translator, the first woman to translate Homer's Odyssey into English
Wilson argues that varying the translation of repeated epithets can convey more of a character's full range because the Greek words carry multiple meanings.
“If I can change how I translate that to fit a different context, then I'm going to give the reader or the listener more of the all-around characterization of the character because the original word connotes all of those things”
The Daily: What’s Epic About the ‘Odyssey’? Everything. (Jul 12, 2026) · Listen from 16:29
Podcasts
- The Daily · 1 episode
Episodes
What’s Epic About the ‘Odyssey’? Everything.The Daily · Jul 12, 2026 · 51 min
Natalie Kitroeff talks with translator Emily Wilson and novelist Madeline Miller about the Odyssey ahead of Christopher Nolan's film adaptation.