It is often said, and rightly so, that for the great writers of antiquity, each generation creates its own translation. However, it is equally true that certain translations, renowned for their fidelity, quality, and integrity, become classic texts in their own right. Such works of timeless value are undeniably the translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey crafted by N. Kazantzakis and I. Kakridis, significant monuments of modern Greek literature that have earned the respect of scholars and the love of readers since their first publication in 1955 and 1965, respectively.

The two translators believed that modern Greek should be written in the monotonic system. However, wanting to make the translations of the Homeric epics accessible to the general public, they decided to publish them in the polytonic system that everyone was taught and used at that time. With this reprint in the monotonic system, the two works take the form that the translators would have preferred from the beginning.

The new edition incorporates the corrections that I. Kakridis had noted in his personal copy of the "Odyssey." Following the text are the Notes, in the form they had in the first edition. At the end, it was deemed appropriate to add an extensive Glossary, where rare, poetic, idiomatic, and other words that readers, especially the young, might not know are explained.

Nikos Kazantzakis and Ioannis Kakridis, leading figures in modern Greek literature and classical philology respectively, each left their personal mark in the field they served during the 20th century.