Emily Wilson begins a new translation of the Odyssey

Classical scholar and University of Pennsylvania professor Emily Wilson has announced she is re-translating Homer's Odyssey from scratch. This project is not a revision of her acclaimed 2017 translation, which made history as the first complete English version of the epic by a woman and went on to sell over one million copies. Wilson, who is currently halfway through the work, stated that her new approach will draw inspiration from the methods used in her translation of the Iliad, featuring different verse lengths and pacing.

In addition to the new translation, Wilson plans to include significantly more extensive commentary, which she estimates will be four times the length of her previous edition. The decision to undertake this new project follows her earlier 2017 work, which was widely noted for its modern style and its nuanced handling of the original text's characterization of women. Although she expressed pride in her initial work, she confirmed that this current project is a completely new endeavor rather than an update of the earlier version. The timing of the announcement preceded the release of an upcoming film adaptation, though Wilson has noted she was not enthusiastic about that production.