Best translations for ancient texts (Bible, Odyssey, Aeneid, etc)

[whitecoast]

Hi all, I wanted to get more into learning about history and I thought reading some of the basic texts would be a good place to start. I've read Secret History of the World 1-3, and was interested in reading more of the Bible and Aeneid. I've listened to an audio recording of Samuel Buttler's translation of th Odyssey, which I thought was really accessible. But could someone recommend decent and engaging translations of the others? On a related note has anyone ever read the Geneva Bible? I heard it was the very first translation into English. Not that that means it's good. :P

 

[Dirgni]

It seems that the Loeb books were recommended in this forum for ancient texts in English. They are pricey, though. At Amazon you can find the Loeb Editions of the Odyssey and the Aeneid. Another possibility you go to Amazon and read the recommendations. Often there are remarks of scholars about the edition and if there are many comments included (good) and the quality of the translation. You can also go to Wikipedia and check if there is some edition mentioned; usually those are editions of some quality. Or you can check the free editions in the Gutenberg Project. These are older editions without copyright.

_http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Odyssee
_http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Aeneid

 

[Mal7]

On a related note has anyone ever read the Geneva Bible? I heard it was the very first translation into English. Not that that means it's good. :P

The Geneva Bible was published in 1560, before the King James Bible of 1611, but it wasn't the first English bible. John Wycliffe (c1330-1384) arranged for translation of some parts of the bible from a Latin version into English (_http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wycliffe%27s_Bible). This was before the invention of the printing press in 1440. William Tyndale published a version of the New Testament in English in 1526. The first complete English bible to be printed was Miles Coverdale's edition in 1535.

"The English translation of the Bible that did more than anything else to shape English religious thought throughout the long reign of Elizabeth I was produced in the city of Geneva in 1560 [. . .] the Geneva Bible did rather more than offer an acceptable English translation of the entire Bible, including the Apocrypha. It offered comments on the text, which often expressed the radical Protestant ideas associated with Geneva at this time."
- from the book "In the Beginning: The Story of the King James Bible and how it changed a nation, a language and a culture" by Alister McGrath. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2001. p. 99.