Publisher, Parmenides Publishing (June 2005)

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"When Stanley Lombardo performs Homer, we feel what Bob Dylan calls the ‘inner substance’ of great folk songs, their ‘pulse and vibration and rumbling force’. We grasp the power words had before books, movies and iPods.™ Homer taught the ancient Greeks about life, death, love and war. Now in Lombardo’s words and voice, Homer teaches us, too." —Tom Palaima, Professor of Classics, University of Texas at Austin

"The definitive English version of Homer for our time." —The Common Review

"The quality of Lombardo's voice, which has an honest, un-showy American core, makes these performances sound fresh, intimate, and believable--very different from those theatricized oral interpretations that overplay the "epic" note." —Richard P. Martin, Stanford University

"The excellence of Lombardo's performance can't be lauded too much. There's no other translator of the world's greatest poetry that is also a world-class reader." —Douglass Parker, UT at Austin

"Lombardo has brought his laconic wit and love of the ribald... to his version of the Odyssey. His carefully honed syntax gives the narrative energy and a whirlwind pace. The lines, rhythmic and clipped, have the tautness and force of Odysseus' bow." —Chris Hedges, New York Times Book Review

The translation (published in print by Hackett Publishing Company in 2000) and narration are by Stanley Lombardo, Professor of Classics at the University of Kansas. He is an award-winning translator and an acclaimed performer.

Susan Sarandon, Academy Award® winning actress, guides the listener through the Iliad / the Odyssey / the Essential Iliad / the Essential Homer by reading the engaging introduction, the background stories and synopses. [for each of the 24 books.]

About the Translator: Lombardo, a native of New Orleans, earned a B.A. from Loyola University, an M.A. from Tulane University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas (1976). In 1976 he joined the faculty at the University of Kansas, where he served as department chair for fifteen years and now teaches Greek and Latin at all levels, as well as general courses on Greek literature and culture.