%0 Journal Article %T Tłumacz zdrajca. O niemożliwości przekładów z greckiej literatury klasycznej %A Lengauer, Włodzimierz %J Przekładaniec %V 2007 %N Issue 18-19 – Antiqua ac nova %P 8-21 %@ 1425-6851 %D 2008 %U https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/przekladaniec/article/tlumacz-zdrajca-o-niemozliwosci-przekladow-z-greckiej-literatury-klasycznej %X Traduttore traditore. Is it possible to translate ancient Greek text? Ancient Greek literature belongs to a culture very different from the modern one. The ancient Greek language, as its medium, is incomprehensible outside the general context of the Greek civilisation. Any translation of an ancient Greek text is always to some extent false, or at least artificial, and it cannot express the peculiar character of the reality referred to in 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 the problem. It is also recommended that the readers make an effort and study the ancient originals rather than reading the texts in translations which can never be flawless.