The culture of Ancient Greek literature is very different from our modern
one. As its medium, the Ancient Greek language is incomprehensible outside the
general context of Greek civilisation. Any translation of an Ancient Greek text is to
some extent false, or at least artifi cial, and it cannot express the special character of the
reality of the original. Selected translations of passages from Homer, Herodotus and
Aeschines illustrate the incompatibility of the ancient and modern styles of narration.
The study of the language of literature in relation to the reality it represents is advocated
as a possible solution to this problem. Readers are also recommended to make the effort
to study the ancient originals instead of reading the texts in translations, which can
never be fl awless.

The culture of Ancient Greek literature is very different from our modern
one. As its medium, the Ancient Greek language is incomprehensible outside the
general context of Greek civilisation. Any translation of an Ancient Greek text is to
some extent false, or at least artifi cial, and it cannot express the special character of the
reality of the original. Selected translations of passages from Homer, Herodotus and
Aeschines illustrate the incompatibility of the ancient and modern styles of narration.
The study of the language of literature in relation to the reality it represents is advocated
as a possible solution to this problem. Readers are also recommended to make the effort
to study the ancient originals instead of reading the texts in translations, which can
never be fl awless.