Which Odyssey translation wins a blind reading test?
Which translation won?<br>Finding: Fagles led this test. Robert Fagles’s Penguin translation ranked first among the eight tested translations in the 674-ballot published analytical cohort. It led the raw results, the regularized pairwise model, the scene-adjusted model, and all 50,000 whole-ballot bootstrap resamples. This is strong evidence about reader preference within this study but not a universal verdict on the best Odyssey translation.<br>Reader’s choice<br>Fagles
Underrated<br>Lattimore
Noteworthy<br>Mendelsohn
All-reader ranking<br>Raw match sharePairwise model<br>95% range
1Robert Fagles62.5%
2Richmond Lattimore56.4%
3Daniel Mendelsohn54.3%
4Stanley Lombardo50.5%
5Robert Fitzgerald50.2%
6Emily Wilson46.2%
7Samuel Butler41.9%
8Alexander Pope37.9%
Pairwise strength estimates the chance of beating an average translation in this field after accounting for opponent strength. It is not the percentage of readers who chose that translation. The 95% ranges are shown by default.
This experiment measures relative reader preference among eight translations, across a study panel that ultimately included eight short scenes, in a self-selected and mostly American social-media sample. It does not measure fidelity to the Ancient Greek, the experience of reading an entire translation, or the preferences of all Odyssey readers.
Which translations were compared?<br>Answer: the eight translations with the highest estimated named search attention among 17 candidates.<br>Alexander PopeOUP<br>Samuel ButlerOpen Road<br>Robert FitzgeraldPicador<br>Richmond LattimoreHarper<br>Robert FaglesPenguin<br>Stanley LombardoHackett<br>Emily WilsonNorton<br>Daniel MendelsohnChicago
We evaluated 17 candidates using trailing 12-month U.S. search-volume estimates for exact full-name-plus-Odyssey queries and capped the test at eight to keep the comparison task manageable. This is a reproducible measure of named search attention—not sales, readership, classroom assignment, or literary importance. The report ranks these eight translations, not every English Odyssey.<br>Search attention across all 17 candidates<br>Linear scale · trailing 12-month average
LinearLogarithmic
1Emily Wilson9,617<br>2Robert Fagles2,212<br>3Robert Fitzgerald704<br>4Richmond Lattimore419<br>5Daniel Mendelsohn355<br>6Samuel Butler303<br>7Alexander Pope226<br>8Stanley Lombardo121<br>9T. E. Lawrence70<br>10Stephen Mitchell68<br>11E. V. Rieu59<br>12W. H. D. Rouse55<br>13Peter Green49<br>14George Chapman35<br>15A. T. Murray15<br>16Barry Powell<br>17Anthony Verity
4.3× Wilson over Fagles80× Wilson over Lombardo
Who took the test?<br>Sample: a mostly U.S., mobile, social-media convenience sample recruited during attention around Nolan’s Odyssey.<br>Device
Mobile96.7%<br>Desktop2.7%<br>Tablet0.7%
Geography
United States92.8%<br>International7.2%
Paid-ad response gender
Male50.3%<br>Female48.3%<br>Unknown1.4%
First-touch source<br>Instagram64.1%
TikTok / direct24.1%
Facebook10.6%
Other1.2%
The largest traffic source was our Instagram post.<br>TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, and readers sharing the test also contributed.<br>The convenience sample came from the cultural moment that inspired the test: Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey. Social media reached people already interested in the film and Homer. That audience interest is the study’s primary selection bias.<br>Device, geography, and source figures come from campaign and visitor analytics. Gender comes from paid campaign-delivery data and was not collected on the ballot. These figures describe the audience reached by the campaign; they cannot be mapped precisely to either the 685 counted completions or the 674-ballot published analytical cohort. We did not retain raw IP addresses or direct identifiers; one-way IP hashes were used to detect retakes.<br>From movie attention to translation choice<br>Each lane is scaled to its own peak so the timing remains visible.
Final 60 daysTwo years
Does popularity predict preference?<br>Finding: named search attention was a weak proxy for preference in this eight-translation comparison. Emily Wilson had the highest named search attention but did not lead the blind test.<br>Popularity vs. pairwise strength<br>Eight tested translations · US Google search attention
LinearLogarithmic
Moving right means more named search attention; moving up means stronger pairwise strength. The lines at 1,000 average monthly searches and 50% pairwise strength are arbitrary visual guides. Moving the guides changes the quadrant labels, not the points or underlying data.<br>Leader<br>Fagles
Underrated<br>FitzgeraldLattimoreMendelsohnLombardo
Popular<br>Wilson
Buried<br>ButlerPope
Popularity uses DataForSEO's trailing 12-month estimate of average monthly US Google searches for each exact full-name-plus-Odyssey query. It is named search attention—not sales, readership, or literary quality.
Do readers prefer archaic language?<br>Emily Wilson argues that readers may mistake archaic language for greater authority or authenticity. Here is her full point:
“Mild stylistic archaism is often accepted...