The Odyssey has remained relevant for millennia — and it’s having a fresh resurgence, with not one but two new Hollywood films (2024’s The Return and Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey set for next July). Now, the celebrated author, critic, classicist, and translator Daniel Mendelsohn is publishing a new landmark translation of the best-known epic in the Western canon. Widely known for his internationally bestselling memoirs and his essays in the New York Review and many other publications, Mendelsohn gives us an Odyssey far closer to what the ancient Greeks would have experienced than any recent translation. Join us as Mendelsohn explores the relevance of the classics and the challenges of translating a twenty-five-century old story for a modern audience.

This annual lecture recognizes the significant contributions to the Chicago Humanities Festival made by its founder and chairman emeritus Richard J. Franke.

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