The Iliad

By Homer

Book Overview

With her virtuoso translation, classicist and bestselling author Caroline Alexander brings to life Homer's timeless heroic tale of the Trojan War.

Composed around 730 B.C., Homer's Iliad recounts the events of a few momentous weeks in the protracted ten-year military war between the invading Achaeans, or Greeks, and the Trojans in their besieged city of Ilion. From the explosive confrontation between Achilles, the greatest warrior at Troy, and Agamemnon, the inept leader of the Greeks, through to its tragic conclusion, this foundational work of ancient Greek literature explores the abiding, blighting facts of war.

Soldier and civilian, victor and vanquished, hero and coward, men, women, young, old--The Iliad evokes in poignant, searing detail the fate of every life ravaged by the Battle of Troy. And, as told by Homer, this ancient epic of a particular Bronze Age conflict becomes a sublime and sweeping evocation of the destruction of war throughout the ages.

Carved close to the original Greek, acclaimed classicist Caroline Alexander's new English translation is swift and lean, with the driving cadence of its source--a Homeric epic in scale and yet devastating in its precision and power.

This essential translation of the foundational ancient epic offers:

A New Translation: Experience the Trojan War through the eyes of acclaimed classicist Caroline Alexander, whose swift and lean prose is carved close to the original Homeric Greek.The Wrath of Achilles: Witness the explosive confrontation between the godlike warrior Achilles and the Greek leader Agamemnon--a bitter feud that changes the course of the war.Greek Mythology: Enter a world of gods and mortals, where the fates of soldiers, civilians, victors, and vanquished are tangled in a devastating conflict.Ancient Poetry: Discover the power of Homer's enduring Bronze Age masterpiece, a sublime and sweeping evocation of the destruction of war that resonates through the ages.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0062046284
• ISBN13: 9780062046284
• Release Date: September 2016
• Publisher: Ecco Press
• Length: 608 Pages
• Weight: 1.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

The ground is dark with blood.

With many books, translations are negligible, with two obvious exceptions: one is the Bible, and surprisingly, the other is The Iliad. Each translation can give a different insight and feel to 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. Our story takes place in the ninth year of the ongoing war. We get some introduction to the first nine years, but they are just a background to this tale of pride, sorrow, and revenge. The story will also end abruptly before the end of the war. 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.

Great Epic

I absolutley adored this book. I am reading the Odyssey now. I recommend you read both. It adds depth to the whole tale.

The best Iliad for the general reader

The Iliad is one of the greatest treasures of Western Civilization-and not just because a teacher told you it was. On the surface, it offers raw emotions, visceral action sequences and colorful characters you admire and hate, often at the same time. But it is much, much deeper than that. The scene where Hector bids his young wife good-bye and holds up his infant son to the gods, praying that the boy will one day be a better man than ever he himself was, has never been equaled as a statement of what it means to be a man, husband or father. The debates about honor and duty are still the same we face every day. The humanity, insight and profound philosophy are remarkable-especially for a work now 3,000 years old. The problem? How do you convey all that power? How do you do so in a way that captures the feel of original? Iliad translations have started to come fast and furious, as every ten years or so someone tries to tackle the monumental task of bringing the poem to modern readers. The process isn't helped by the fact that the text was already 300 years old to the classical Greeks like Aristotle, Sophocles and Euripides-making it as vaguely old-fashioned as Shakespeare is to us. Should it sound antiquated to us, too? If you really want a line by line translation, one that has some kind of meter that approaches the Greek original, the obvious choice is Lattimore's classic translation. It has the side benefit now of being somewhat dated in its English usage too. That said, for just a good ol' read of the Iliad, Lattimore isn't even my third choice. For all its accuracy, I've always felt I was reading a textbook, written by a classics scholar rather than an honest-to-goodness writer. Lombardo, on the other hand, is my preferred translation for sitting back and reading what is still a rip-roaring adventure (with enough deep thoughts to give it extra weight). Lombardo confesses there really is no way to adequately convey the "musicality" of the original, and goes on to re-cast it in freer poetry, based on natural speech. He's built up his translation thru multiple performances of the poems, with drum accompaniment, in public places, and his Iliad is honed to a razor sharp edge. The musty old poem students rolled their eyes at becomes a terrifying, beautiful beast that grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go. It is so immediate, trilling and relevant. Lombardo's translation is an Iliad you will feel, not just respect. Pick up the Lombardo translation and you will understand immediately why this work is still called the cornerstone of Western culture.