Scholar Emily Wilson Undertakes Complete Retranslation of Her Bestselling Homer Epic

Emily Wilson, a classics professor at the University of Pennsylvania, is embarking on a full retranslation of her 2017 “Odyssey,” abandoning her previous widely-read version in favor of an entirely new rendering of Homer’s epic. Wilson stressed during a recent interview that this represents a complete overhaul rather than a minor revision, with work already halfway complete.

The original 2017 translation became a cultural phenomenon and bestseller, establishing itself as the first major English-language rendering by a woman. The text gained additional prominence after filmmaker Christopher Nolan cited Wilson’s opening line, “Tell me about a complicated man,” as inspiration for his recent blockbuster film adaptation. However, Wilson has emerged as a vocal critic of Nolan’s movie, describing it in interviews and a London Review of Books assessment as grandiose, superficial, and sometimes incoherent.

Wilson attributes her decision to retranslate to methodological improvements and the passage of time, which has revealed deficiencies in her original work. She noted that her previous version overused the word “slave” despite ancient Greek employing distinct terminology for different categories of enslaved persons. The forthcoming edition will be longer and more accurately convey the varying social contexts within Homer’s narrative.

Kate Deimling, who directs the literary division of the American Translators Association, stated she cannot identify a comparable precedent for a full retranslation completed within a decade of the original’s release. While translators occasionally make corrections in subsequent printings, Deimling explained, a complete retranslation of this magnitude remains exceptionally rare.

Wilson acknowledged that her publisher’s response was contentious, and she expressed concern about the pedagogical complications her dual editions might create for instructors. Peter Simon, her editor at Liveright Publishing, countered by praising Wilson’s extensive scholarship and predicting her revised approach would prove compelling.

The 2017 translation has sold more than one million copies, despite facing online criticism from those who characterized it as overly contemporary or ideologically motivated. Wilson’s critical assessment of Nolan’s film sparked extensive public debate, including pointed criticism from author Joyce Carol Oates. Nolan, speaking during a podcast interview with Zhong Shu, defended cinema against “amateur criticism” lacking sufficient technical expertise.

Wilson’s profile has grown further with the Tuesday release of her essay collection “Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea,” featuring contributions from Salman Rushdie and novelist Madeline Miller. The volume includes detailed analysis of competing “Odyssey” translations and examines how misattributions in classical texts have shaped public discourse, including Robert F. Kennedy’s use of Aeschylus following Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination.

During interviews, Wilson discussed her renewed engagement with Stoic philosophy, her critical view of Rick Riordan’s “Percy Jackson” series, and her approach to connecting ancient culture with contemporary expression. She emphasized her goal of achieving emotional immediacy through the ancient concept of “enargeia,” or vivid representation, and highlighted hip-hop and contemporary music as modern parallels to classical comic traditions.