The Novel Crime and Punishment in Modern Greek Translations

The article examines the Greek translations of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment by A. Alexandru, Z. Kanas, and S. Patadzis, focusing on the episode of the conversation between Raskolnikov and Marmeladov. Marmeladov’s confession about his life and family implicitly references hidden quotations from the Gospel and alludes to Sonya’s significant role in Raskolnikov’s transformation. As a professional reader, the translator must recognize this central theme and accurately convey it using the resources of the target language. However, a critical analysis of these three translations, compared with the original text, reveals that the translation of Gospel quotations and allusions is often imprecise. The Gospel text is frequently overlooked by the translators, who, in an effort to bring Dostoevsky’s thought closer to readers unfamiliar with liturgical texts, consciously simplify the translation. Paraphrasing is the predominant method employed by the translators; direct quotations from the Gospel in the colloquial form of the ancient Greek language (the Koine dialect), which is used in worship, are rare. The author concludes that the translators, in their role as interpreters of Dostoevsky’s idea, often violate the author’s strategy, which relies on active cooperation with the reader.