The Odyssey

A man. A sea. A ten-year nightmare trying to get home.

Homer's epic is the original adventure story—and the original story of longing. Before Ulysses, before O Brother, Where Art Thou?, there was a bronze-age king who just wanted to see his wife again.

Odysseus, the wiliest of the Greek heroes, has spent ten years fighting the Trojan War. Now he faces an even greater challenge: getting home to Ithaca. But the gods are not kind to clever men. Poseidon hates him. Circe enchants him. Calypso traps him. Cyclopes, sirens, and six-headed monsters block his every turn. Meanwhile, back in Ithaca, his faithful wife Penelope fends off a hundred greedy suitors, and his son Telemachus sets out to find the father he never knew. When Odysseus finally returns—ragged, unrecognizable, and burning with rage—the stage is set for one of the most satisfying reckonings in all of literature.

This is Homer at his most humane and thrilling: a poem about endurance, cunning, and the simple, devastating desire to sleep in one's own bed. The Odyssey endures because every traveler, every exile, and every person who has ever been lost recognizes something of themselves in its hero.

• The fountainhead of Western literature, inspiring everything from Virgil to James Joyce to the Coen Brothers

• Explores themes of loyalty, revenge, hospitality, and the meaning of home

• A rollicking adventure and a profound meditation on human longing—all in one

Available in multiple formats:

• Paperback & Hardcover: Beautifully designed print editions presenting the complete, unabridged text made to last.

• Ebook: DRM-free EPUB compatible with Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, and all major e-readers.

• Audiobook: Professionally narrated, complete and unabridged, available on all major audiobook platforms.

A beautifully crafted edition for your shelf, your device, or your ears—or the perfect gift for anyone who knows that the longest journey is the one that leads home.

About the Author

Homer (c. 8th century BCE) is the legendary poet of ancient Greece to whom the epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey are attributed. Little is known about his life—seven different cities claimed to be his birthplace, and some scholars even question whether a single individual composed both works. Tradition describes him as a blind bard from Ionia (modern-day Turkey) who sang his verses aloud, passing them down through an oral tradition that had existed for centuries. Whether myth or man, Homer stands as the foundational figure of Western literature, and his two epics have shaped storytelling, art, and thought for nearly three thousand years.