The Most-Read Classics

Catalogue Method

Catalogue / No. 3

The Odyssey

Homer

Epic poemAncient Greek c. 700 BCE 117k words

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Contents

1Book 1 2Book 2 3Book 3 4Book 4 5Book 5 6Book 6 7Book 7 8Book 8 9Book 9 10Book 10 11Book 11 12Book 12 13Book 13 14Book 14 15Book 15 16Book 16 17Book 17 18Book 18 19Book 19 20Book 20 21Book 21 22Book 22 23Book 23 24Book 24

Why it is here

Three thousand years old and still the best-selling narrative poem in English translation.

Readership record

Global readership rank#3 of 100

Readership score89.6 / 100

Goodreads ratings710,757

Average rating3.73 / 5

Gutenberg 30-day rank#3

Gutenberg downloads147,299

First publishedc. 700 BCE

FormEpic poem

OriginAncient Greek

Length117k words

Appears on

NEH 1984 core listUS school surveyCurriculum survey

Lists used: NEH 1984 core reading list, a 1,000-voter US school-reading survey, and a consolidated current-curriculum survey.

Texts come from free resources available on the internet and are in the public domain. Readership figures blend Goodreads rating volumes, Project Gutenberg download rankings, and documented syllabus and canon lists. · Catalogue · How the ranking works