alt Hacker NewsI see that translators need to take some liberties when translating something from ancient Greek to modern English, but at what point does it become an interpretation instead of a translation.
Being Nolans "source" for the Odyssey which butchered the original story doesn't help either.
What's funny you can't sell Feta or Parmesan if it's not within some strict limits but you can butcher one of the most important text for the Geeks (or even the Word) and still call it the Odyssey.
> but at what point does it become an interpretation instead of a translation.
As someone with a degree in translation, all proper translations are interpretations. Even similar languages usually have enough differences that a by-the-word translation pushed by some as the only true translation sounds wrong and/or broken to the native ear.
Consider a simple statement: "I am bored." In french they "literally" say "I am boring myself." instead. And English in many respects is french-pidgin. It gets worse when the lingusitic distance widens as many languages store various information across different words and constructs.
We do not do literal. Never did literal. That's why you learn whole languages, not just the words.