It is often said, and rightly so, that each generation creates its own translation for the great authors of antiquity. However, it is equally true that certain translations, esteemed for their fidelity, quality, and ethos, themselves become classic texts. Such works of timeless value are undoubtedly 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 appreciation 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 in those years. 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 all the corrections that I. Kakridis had noted in his personal copy of the "Iliad." After the text, the Notes follow 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 young ones, are likely not to 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.