An exhibit of written versions of Homer's epic story over the centuries
Despite the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century CE (400s), the Empire survived in its eastern provinces, centered around modern-day Greece and Turkey. The Byzantine Empire maintained and strengthened its connections to its ancient Greek roots during its existence. The story of the Odyssey was particularly interesting to Byzantine scribes, and numerous versions of the text have survived from the period. The version owned by Niccolò Niccoli was originally copied in the 10th century in its original Greek and most likely came to Italy via the trade routes from the Byzantine Empire to the Italian city-states. During the medieval period, copies of texts had to be handwritten. Handwritten versions of the Odyssey from this time are known to contain transcription errors or edits made by scribes without regard for the original text. Scholars at the University of Chicago's library have indicated that these editorial choices and transcription errors make understanding the relationship between medieval manuscript versions of the Odyssey difficult to navigate. Compounding these issues is the fact that, until the mid-fifteenth century, many of the classical Greek scholars, poets, and writers were unknown in the West. Their primary source on Homer was the Illias Latina, an abridged version of the Iliad with dubious authorship.
The fall of Constantinople in 1453 changed the Western world forever. Fleeing the collapse of the Byzantine Empire and the advancing armies of the Ottoman Empire, scholars fled west, carrying a treasure trove of ancient and medieval manuscripts and texts. Many of these landed in northern Italy, helping to spark the birth of the Renaissance, the rebirth of classical learning "lost" to Western Europe since the fall of Rome. The Renaissance saw a flourishing of interest in the classical works of poets such as Homer, as well as renewed interest in the Iliad and the Odyssey. Thanks to manuscripts saved from the Byzantine Empire, Western scholars had newer, complete versions of the ancient texts. Coupled with the invention and subsequent proliferation of the printing press, Homer's Odyssey was ripe for its own rebirth among the educated of Western Europe.
The printed version of the Odyssey above, attributed to Demetrius Cretensis, was believed to have been printed in Florence, Italy, in 1488. It is in the original Greek, which initially served as a barrier to access despite its printing. Greek was not a common language in Western Europe, and while the printed text eliminated some of the issues with transcription errors from earlier texts, the language remained a barrier. As interest in the Odyssey increased, printers and their wealthy patrons began to invest in translating the Odyssey, first into Latin and then into the vernacular of the individual printer. Like Odysseus, the Odyssey had to traverse several challenges and hurdles in order to be understood by a wider audience.