A New Translation, Not a Revision
Emily Wilson, the classicist and University of Pennsylvania professor whose 2017 translation of Homer'sOdyssey became a bestseller, is retranslating the ancient Greek epic from scratch. Wilson said the project is about halfway complete and will be a complete retranslation, not a revision of her earlier version.
"I'm now retranslating the Odyssey from scratch, with an approach closer to that of my translation of the Iliad, using somewhat more lines than the original, enabling more varied word-length and pacing," she told the New York Times. "It's a complete retranslation. It's not a revision of the old version," she told the AP. "I'm about halfway through."
Wilson's 2017Odyssey was widely regarded as the first major English-language translation of the epic by a woman and sold more than one million copies. It was praised for making the 3,000-year-old poem modern and accessible. Now, Wilson believes her approach to translation has evolved enough to justify starting again.
Rethinking Language and Structure
One reason for the new version is that Wilson sees limitations in some of her earlier choices. She has cited her repeated use of the word "slave" as an example, noting that ancient Greek distinguishes between different categories of enslaved people in ways her earlier translation did not always reflect.
The forthcoming edition will also include more extensive endnotes. Wilson said she plans to quadruple the number of endnotes, adding that "endnotes are really fun to write." She indicated she will "probably" keep the opening line, "Tell me about a complicated man," from her 2017 translation.
The new translation is still several years away from completion, and no publication date has been set.
Context: A Bestseller and a Blockbuster
The announcement comes after a summer in which Wilson attracted attention for her criticism of Christopher Nolan's blockbuster film adaptation of theOdyssey, which was released in July and starred Tom Holland, Zendaya, Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway. Nolan had cited Wilson's 2017 translation, including its opening line, as an influence on the film.
The film took the global box office by storm, making $264m (£196m) during its opening weekend, marking Nolan's best ever opening. UK print sales of the poem increased by 1,400% in the four weeks to 25 July compared with the same period in 2025, after the film's release.
Writing in the London Review of Books, Wilson said: "Nolan's Odyssey lacks many of the elements that make the poem great … The writing is abysmal." She added: "None of the characters has convincing motivation for their actions or words. There are no sex scenes, and all the food looks horrible," and "I would be ashamed to have written any part of this script." Her criticism drew strong reactions, including from novelist Joyce Carol Oates, who accused Wilson of "haughty superiority."
Experts on a Rare Move
The decision to completely retranslate one's own published work is unusual, according to translation experts. Kate Deimling of the American Translators Association described Wilson's decision as highly unusual, while Katrine Øgaard Jensen of the American Literary Translators Association noted that completely retranslating one's own published work remains relatively rare.
Peter Simon, editor-in-chief of Liveright Publishing, said Wilson's long engagement with Homer makes the prospect of a new approach particularly compelling. Matthew Reynolds, a professor at Oxford University, noted precedents for authors revisiting their own translations, including Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Ezra Pound.