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Article: The Odyssey of the Odyssey.(The Return of Ulysses: A Cultural History of Homer's Odyssey)(Book review)
- Article from:
- First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life
- Article date:
- November 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Institute on Religion and Public Life. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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THE RETURN OF ULYSSES: A CULTURAL HISTORY OF HOMER'S ODYSSEY
by EDITH HALL
Johns Hopkins University Press 304 pages, $35
EDITH HALL'S The Return of Ulysses is a sweeping tour of almost all one could wish to demonstrate about the spell of Homer. A professor at the University of London, Hall takes the reader through literature, stage performances, musical works, and films--all showing the enduring impact of the Odyssey.
Thus, for example, in the chapter called "Singing Songs," Hall discusses operatic adaptations, beginning with Monteverdi's Il Retorno d'Ulisse in Patria from 1640. Fenelon's Les Aventures de Telemaque was adapted and ...