Which copy should I buy?

[Emma_85]

I'm thinking about getting myself a proper bound second hand copy of the Odyssey, and I was wondering which edition. I'm looking for something with helpful footnotes and comments that I might just possibly be able to find in a second hand bookshop at Charing Cross or somewhere near there.

[Keesa]

The Odessy in Greek, or in English?

[Emma_85]

In Greek , with the comments in English.

[Keesa]

Mmm. I don't know of one in Greek, but I have a translation that's pretty good. (So I've been told, you understand. ;D I haven't personally compared them.) <br /><br />But I don't know of a good Greek copy.

[Emma_85]

I need to know by wednesday... I suppose I'd by lucky to find any copy in Greek, though.

[Emma_85]

You won't believe it! <br />No bookshop in London apparently has any books in ancient Greek! They said we would have to go to either Oxford or Cambridge to get a copy of the Odyssey and that they were sure not a single bookshop in London had any. That's very sad indeed. At least the woman at Blackwell’s looked a bit embarrassed...<br /><br />Anyway they had Hume- Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion and Terry Pratchett's Monstrous Regiment . Look forward to reading those.

[annis]

[quote author=Emma_85 link=board=2;threadid=716;start=0#7720 date=1065303853]<br />No bookshop in London apparently has any books in ancient Greek! <br />[/quote]<br /><br />That is very disappointing. Once again I think how lucky I am to live in Madison. So many wonderful Greek and Latin texts find their way into our used bookstores.<br /><br />The best edition I've seen is a two volume jobbie from St. Martins Press:<br /><br />[face=SPIonic]THE<br />ODYSSEY OF HOMER[/face]<br /><br />edited<br />WITH GENERAL AND GRAMMATICAL INTRODUCTION<br />COMMENTARY, AND INDICES<br /><br />[face=SPIonic]by<br />W.B. STANFORD, Litt.D.<br />fellow of Trinity College, Dublin<br />and the Regius Professor of Greek<br />in the University of Dublin[/face]<br /><br /><br />I have the first volume of the second edition, 1981 printing (first in 1947). I have yet to find the second volume.<br /><br />The first half of the book has the text (apparently based on Allen's Oxford edition), the second notes.

[Emma_85]

I just don't understand it, I mean London is a city of 20 million, and Speyer has like 50 000 (where I live), and they have loads of Greek books for sale in Speyer (just not the one I want)! <br />Normally we buy bound copies of the Greek text we read in class, only our teacher said that he had loads of problems with the Odyssey. He could find no publisher in the whole of Germany! It's just out of print, and so all I have is photocopies, which is very annoying, because my teacher's editions aren't very helpful. One of them has the comments in Latin and the other has them in a strange alphabet (still readable), but I've never heard half of the German words (all antiquated ones no one uses anymore). <br />I've been told I might find a copy at abebooks.com, so I'll try there next.

[lukealexander]

Heya - I used to live in London and whoever told you that you can't buy classics books there is worryingly ill-informed.

You can get the full price, expensive sort from Foyles, in Charing Cross Road, but the best place is the Hellenic Bookshop, on Fortress Road, in Chalk Farm (just past Camden on the Northern Line). Get out of the station, take a right and then another right, and keep heading up the road. It'll be on your left, and has pretty much any classical book you might need, all second hand and fairly cheap The best place to look is downstairs, but it's a bit jumbled.

If you do come up to Oxford at some point, there are millions of classics shops here, and it's always worth a stop at the Classics Bookshop on Turl Street.

In terms of the best edition - the Loeb has a facing translation which you might find useful but is a bit outdated. The Oxford Classical Text is a more definitive version but doesn't have a translation or notes. The Cambridge editions are normally good for commentaries, in english rather than the OCT latin

If you're reading any Homer, btw, it's always worth picking up a copy of the Homeric Dictionary, which is probably available on this site, but I'm not sure. Again, the Hellenic Bookshop should have it

[Emma_85]

Thanks lukealexander

No idea, when I'll next get the chance to shop for the book in London or Oxford. Hopefully soon, if not maybe I can ring them up and order it over the phone. It's getting a commented version (with English comments) that's difficult... so it's the Cambridge editions I want...