Fitzgerald or Fagles? Translations are essential for us and our culture, because through documents, inscriptions and ancient books, historians and archaeologists reconstruct societies and civilizations ancient, as well as the history of our ancestors and the history of the entire human race. They enable communication between us and different countries and nations, whose language may be different from ours, which can create difficulties in understanding each other. However, translators make this possible because they are the mediators between two different cultures. The need for translations is enormous, both from a social and political point of view. According to Translating Cultures by David Katan, “The translator is a bilingual mediating agent between participants in monolingual communication from two different linguistic communities” (16). Therefore, for a translation to be successful, translators must be not only bilingual, but also bicultural. The translator is further placed in an exclusive but at the same time difficult position, as it is his responsibility to clarify certain ideas within cultural and natural boundaries. This can be done while keeping the meaning exactly the same (literal). Interpreting and translating a text is not a simple and easy task; this is time-consuming and also challenging because “the translator cannot simply look up equivalent words in the target language to render the meaning of the source” (Dingwaney and Maier, 3). To this day, there are numerous translations of ancient works and books, such as the Odyssey; and thus, there is a wide range of choices for people to choose from. This choice should be made with great care as some may be exceptionally good at communicating the essence of the original text while others...... middle of paper ...... it is up to you to choose if you prefer simpler, simpler text. faithful to Homer's style version, or a simpler and more stimulating text. If I had to make a choice, I would choose Fitzgerald's Odyssey. Although Fagles' translation is simple and to the point and retains the poetic structure, Fitzgerald is more attentive both to the way he structures the text and its content and to the choice he makes regarding vocabulary. In the latter, great attention is paid to details that Fagles sometimes neglects due to his operatic training. Fitzgerald's text is significantly more demanding and, thanks to its bold character, allows the reader to understand the translator's interpretation while leaving space for their own understanding without forcing their own. Ultimately Robert Fitzgerald's translation is more suitable for a high school student studying English..