>>> BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN IN THE 8TH CENTURY
B.C.
"THE ODYSSEY" IS ONE OF THE OLDEST AND MOST IMPORTANT
STORIES OF ALL TIME.
IT'S READ ALL OVER THE WORLD, BUT
TODAY SELDOM IN ITS ORIGINAL LANGUAGE OF ANCIENT GREEK.
IN THE PIONEER VALLEY, ONE GROUP
IS TRYING TO GET BACK TO HOMER'S ORIGINAL WORDS.
ROSS LIPPMAN TAKES US TO FORBES
LIBRARY AND INTRODUCES US TO THE GROUP ON A READING ODYSSEY
OF THEIR OWN.
IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO READ HERE AT THE
LIBRARY IN NORTHAMPTON, ODDS ARE YOU'LL BE ABLE TO FIND ONE
COPY OF ONE OF THE MOST WIDELY PUBLISHED PIECES OF WRITING OF
ALL TIME.
HOMER'S 8th CENTURY GREEK EPIC, THE ODYSSEY.
IT'S A VERSION WITH THE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT TELLING OF
HIS JOURNEY, THE ONE THING THAT ALL OF THESE HAVE IN
COMMON IS THEY'RE IN ENGLISH.
ON THE FLOOR JUST ABOVE US, A GROUP OF GREEK ENTHUSIASTS ARE
TRYING TO GET AS CLOSE TO HOMER'S ORIGINAL AS POSSIBLE.
BY BRINGING A LOST LANGUAGE BACK
TO LIFE.
[ FOREIGN LANGUAGE ] >> EVERY TUESDAY, NICHOLAS
THE ODYSSEY ALLOWED IN ANCIENT GREEK.
GROSS WAS A COLLEGE PROFESSOR FOR OVER 40 YEARS TEACHING
LATIN AND GREEK, AND HE'S STILL TEACHING AHEAD OF HIS 80th
BIRTHDAY WITH THESE VOLUNTEER STUDENTS.
[ GREEK ] >> THESE STUDENTS DON'T THINK
UNDERGRADUATES, ALL RIGHT.
I MEAN, WHEN -- THERE WAS A TIME WE HAD A MISSED CLASS,
THEY ASKED IF THEY COULD HAVE AN EXTRA ASSIGNMENT.
>> THE CLASS PRETTY MUCH WORKS THE SAME EACH WEEK.
GROSS PICKS UP WHERE THEY LEFT OFF IN HIS JOURNEY.
[ GREEK ] >> READING LINE BY LINE IN
GREEK, AND THE GROUP REPEATING IT BACK.
THIS IS FOLLOWED BY A MEMBER OF THE GROUP, ONE OF THE
STUDENTS, TRANSLATING THE LINES INTO ENGLISH.
>> BUT I ALONE GET MY BLACK SHIP OUTSIDE.
>> IT'S A SLOW PROCESS, ONE THAT INVOLVES A LOT OF
LANGUAGE DECONSTRUCTION.
>> MODERN GREEK AND ANCIENT GREEK ARE WHAT I WOULD CALL
SYNTHETIC LANGUAGES.
OKAY.
IN OTHER WORDS, MODERN GREEK WORD, ONE WORD, MEANS THEY
WERE IN LOVE, WHICH IS SEVEN WORDS.
WHAT YOU WOULD HAVE TO DO IN YOUR HEAD, REARRANGE THE
LANGUAGE.
. [ GREEK ]
>> THIS IS ONE OF THE SMALLER TURNOUTS OF THE GROUP, BUT THE
CONVERSATION IS STILL LIVELY.
>> SCAPING IS ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU CAUTIOUS.
>> SOMETHING THAT GROSS CREDITS AS ONE OF THE BIGGEST
BENEFITS OF THE GROUP BEING GENERALLY OLDER.
>> BECAUSE OF THEIR AGE, THEY BRING A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE
THAT UNDERGRADUATES SIMPLY -- THEY'RE NOT OLD ENOUGH TO HAVE
THAT MUCH EXPERIENCE.
THE NAME IS TO GIVE YOU THE IDEA OF WHAT SHE'S LIKE.
>> NOT JUST EXPERIENCE, BUT ALSO PATIENCE AND TIME.
TRANSLATING THE TEXT ALONE BEFORE COMING TO THE GROUP IS
A LENGTHY PROCESS.
[ GREEK ] >> FOR ME IT TAKES THREE
STEPS, I HAVE TO GO ONCE THROUGH THE -- JUST MAKE THE
SENTENCE AND TRANSLATE IT FOR MYSELF, THAT IS PROBABLY 20
LINES.
3/4 OF AN HOUR.
SO ALTOGETHER, FOR ONE PAGE, IT TAKES ME AT LEAST AN HOUR.
>> THAT'S OVER 12,000 LINES, AND DEPENDING ON THE SIZE OF
THE TEXT IN YOUR COPY, ANYWHERE FROM 250 TO 350
PAGES.
AND DESPITE THESE EXHAUSTIVE EFFORTS, IT'S ALL STILL JUST
AN APPROXIMATION.
A BEST GUESS EFFORT.
>> WE REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT HOMER SAID.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT SOUNDED LIKE EXACTLY.
[ GREEK ] >> BUT I TRY TO DO MY BEST TO
READ ALLOWED AND HAVE THEM READ BACK BECAUSE THEN WE GET
SOME IDEA OF WHAT IT MUST HAVE SOUNDED LIKE.
>> BY POURING THESE HOURS INTO A LANGUAGE THAT'S NOW
SEPARATED US BY CENTURIES, THE GROUP IS ON AN ODYSSEY OF ITS
OWN.
>> A BIT MORE.
[ GREEK ] I GUESS WHAT I'M TRYING TO DO
IS TO GET BACK THERE, THE BEST I CAN, BECAUSE THIS IS AN
AWFUL LOT LOST.
AND THAT'S WHAT I TRY TO READ ALLOWED.
MAYBE COVER A LITTLE SOMETHING.