The Claudyssey
The Claudyssey by Claude Fable 5by Claude Fable 5
Ranked 4 of 8 poetry books by recommenders
Recommended as a literal, line-for-line Odyssey translation with a closer rendering of Greek terms; critics say it mixes existing translations and reads awkwardly aloud.
Recommended as a literal, line-for-line Odyssey translation with a closer rendering of Greek terms; critics say it mixes existing translations and reads awkwardly aloud.
13 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 8
- criticize it
- 5
- approval share
- 62%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 8 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Literal rendering of Greek words
“a more literal translation of polytropon than Lattimore and Fagles”
Comment from 7 Aug 2026 in “The Claudyssey: A line-for-line translation of Homer's Odyssey by Claude Fable 5” “it seems in fact a rather literal rendering of "polytropos"”
Comment from 7 Aug 2026 in “The Claudyssey: A line-for-line translation of Homer's Odyssey by Claude Fable 5” Defended word choices like citadel
“I think citadel is altogether an appropriate general translation as well.”
Comment from 8 Aug 2026 in “The Claudyssey: A line-for-line translation of Homer's Odyssey by Claude Fable 5” “I still don't see what's wrong with "of many turnings".”
Comment from 9 Aug 2026 in “The Claudyssey: A line-for-line translation of Homer's Odyssey by Claude Fable 5”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Awkward or clumsy phrasing
“driven far journeys which to me seems barely grammatical”
Comment from 7 Aug 2026 in “The Claudyssey: A line-for-line translation of Homer's Odyssey by Claude Fable 5” “Combining "man of many ways" and "man of twists and turns" into "man of many turnings" is just dreck.”
Comment from 7 Aug 2026 in “The Claudyssey: A line-for-line translation of Homer's Odyssey by Claude Fable 5” “Using driven and wandering is a weird repetition rather than just using "made to wander"”
Comment from 8 Aug 2026 in “The Claudyssey: A line-for-line translation of Homer's Odyssey by Claude Fable 5” - Comment from 7 Aug 2026 in “The Claudyssey: A line-for-line translation of Homer's Odyssey by Claude Fable 5”
Mixes existing translations, not original
“while this claims to be a more direct translation, Claude models were certainly trained on all of the pre-existing translations”
Comment from 7 Aug 2026 in “The Claudyssey: A line-for-line translation of Homer's Odyssey by Claude Fable 5” “Unfortunately it's just a mix of a few existing translations.”
Comment from 7 Aug 2026 in “The Claudyssey: A line-for-line translation of Homer's Odyssey by Claude Fable 5” “Claude just regurgitated others' half-digested work.”
Comment from 7 Aug 2026 in “The Claudyssey: A line-for-line translation of Homer's Odyssey by Claude Fable 5” Heavy em dash use
“lots of em dashes, so mission accomplished to bring it up to contemporary standards”
Comment from 7 Aug 2026 in “The Claudyssey: A line-for-line translation of Homer's Odyssey by Claude Fable 5” “I don't remember so many emdashes in the original.”
Comment from 7 Aug 2026 in “The Claudyssey: A line-for-line translation of Homer's Odyssey by Claude Fable 5”
Other poetry books people recommend
The four most recommended other poetry books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Odysseyby Emily Wilson | 21 | 3 | 88% | 3 | — | — |
| Gilgameshby Simon Armitage | 11 | 4 | 73% | 3 | — | — |
| The Iliadby Homer | 9 | 1 | 90% | 7 | — | — |
| The Claudysseyby Claude Fable 5This page | 8 | 5 | 62% | 1 | — | — |
| Beowulf: A New Translationby Maria Dahvana Headley | 5 | 2 | 71% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 17 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I still don't see what's wrong with "of many turnings".”
“I think citadel is altogether an appropriate general translation as well.”
“Using driven and wandering is a weird repetition rather than just using "made to wander"”
“it's really hard to read aloud; the rhythm just doesn't hit right”
“a more literal translation of polytropon than Lattimore and Fagles”
“it seems in fact a rather literal rendering of "polytropos"”
“driven far journeys which to me seems barely grammatical”
“I'm enjoying reading the first page that's still in my browser.”
“Claude just regurgitated others' half-digested work.”
“Unfortunately it's just a mix of a few existing translations.”
“seeing this uncanny-valley-of-slop output”
“I don't remember so many emdashes in the original.”
“while this claims to be a more direct translation, Claude models were certainly trained on all of the pre-existing translations”
“Combining "man of many ways" and "man of twists and turns" into "man of many turnings" is just dreck.”
“really cool work and thanks for sharing”
“lots of em dashes, so mission accomplished to bring it up to contemporary standards”
“I am pleased with how it came out.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.