Selections from Homer's Iliad

By Homer and Allen Rogers Benner

Book Overview

First published in 1903, Selections from Homer's Iliad has become a classic Greek textbook. Allen Rogers Benner presents selections from twelve books of the Iliad both in Greek and English. Short summaries between books bridge the narrative and aid the student in gaining a comprehensive view of the Iliad as a work of literature and art. Invaluable resources include an extensive section of notes on the text, a short Homeric grammar, and a vocabulary and Greek index.

In a new foreword, Mark W. Edwards argues for the utility of Benner's text while offering a useful summary of current scholarship on the historical sources of the epic, Greek oral tradition, and Homeric style and diction. Benner's Iliad will join Barbour's Herodotus and Garrison's Catullus as indispensable volumes in classical culture and literature available from the University of Oklahoma Press.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0806133635
• ISBN13: 9780806133638
• Release Date: December 2001
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
• Length: 592 Pages
• Weight: 1.51 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.7" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

The ground is dark with blood.

With many books, translations are largely negligible, with two notable exceptions: the Bible and, surprisingly, The Iliad. Each translation can offer a different insight and feel for the story. Everyone will have a favorite. I have several. There are partial translations that are worth reading, but as with any abridgment or incomplete Iliad, you will never know what is missing. Be aware of retold versions, as the purpose of the original can be twisted or lost altogether. Our story takes place in the ninth year of the ongoing war. We get an introduction to the first nine years, but they serve merely as background to this tale of pride, sorrow, and revenge. The story will also end abruptly before the war comes to a close. We have a wide conflict between the Trojans and Achaeans over a matter of pride; the gods get to take sides and many times direct spears and shields. Although the more focused conflict is the power struggle between two different types of power. That of Achilles, son of Peleus and the greatest individual warrior, and that of Agamemnon, lord of men, whose power comes from his position. We are treated to a blow-by-blow inside story as to what each is thinking and an unvarnished description of the perils of war and the search for Arête (to be more like Aries, God of War). Next, before reading the Odyssey, you will want to bridge the gap with “The War at Troy: What Homer Didn't Tell” by Quintus of Smyrna.