It is often said, and it is correct, that for the great writers of antiquity, each generation creates its own translation. However, it is also true that certain translations, recognized for their accuracy, quality, and ethos, become classic texts in their own right.

Such works of enduring value are undoubtedly the translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey crafted by N. Kazantzakis and I. Kakridis, remarkable monuments of modern Greek literature that have gained the appreciation of philologists and the affection of readers since they were first published, in 1955 and 1965 respectively.

Both translators believed that modern Greek should be written using a 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 monotonic, the two works take the form that the translators would have preferred from the very beginning.