Worth Reading if You Like Greek Mythology | The Iliad of Homer

"Gricks may rise and Troysirs fall . . ."--Joyce | The Iliad of Homer | Homer

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	• The Iliad of Homer Homer University Of Chicago Press, 1961 - 528 pages average customer review:based on 61 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

the iliad

Though it was a challenging read (how challenging will depend on the translation), Homer's epic poem Iliad is a classic tale about the war between the ancient Greeks (Achaeans) and the Trojans, and the involvement of the gods in the war. Although I am generally not fond of ancient mythology, this particular epic seemed to be an exception; the Iliad cannot be dismissed as just another story telling the tale of a war from a mythological point of view. The heroes and gods of the epic have relatively simple personalities, yet many of them, even the gods, suffer from various imperfections, illustrating the theme that no one is perfect. The plot is relatively straightforward, yet the manner in which is it told, with an abundance of sensory details and figurative language provides the "you are there" feeling better than any modern novel. The culture and traditions of the Greeks and Trojans are something unfamiliar to those previously unacquainted with Greek mythology, but learning more about the background of a piece of work is another interesting part of reading it. In short, even if you are not interested in ancient mythology, the epic poem Iliad will draw you into the scene of battles between the Trojans and Greeks through an abundant use of details and keep you thinking about the themes of the epic.

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Worth Reading if You Like Greek Mythology

I love Greek mythology, so this sparked my interest. I had to read it for college and struggled through the first portion of it since it dealt with every man who was dying on the field. A brief description was given for each man. These were not the main characters so I didn't really care, but the teacher said it was to show that the nameless fighters each had their hopes and dreams in life. Maybe so, but if all that was taken out, it would have been more interesting faster. I'm the kind of reader who likes to get to the point.

However, after skimming through those details, I was delighted to find the overall storyline to be worth the time to read it. It was fascinating to read about the Greek gods and goddesses manipulating the Trojan War, so the war was more about the gods fighting each other and humans happened to be pawns in it. If you're familiar with Greek mythology, you'll love this because the gods had such distinct and colorful personalities that show up here.

I know Achilles was the hero, but I liked Hector the most, for he was a good father and husband. I won't spoil the ending but Homer did a great job of pointing out that good men can come from both sides of a war.

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"Gricks may rise and Troysirs fall . . ."--Joyce

The translation of "The Iliad" I'd bring to the moon. But who says I have to pick one? What I like about Lattimore is, I sometimes feel Homer's face popping through the pages. Lattimore's translation says, "This is important." And I think his scheme, the line-by-line thing, is overall for the best. You have to go to it; I try to avoid overly slangy translations; and I was never one to mind "thee" and "thou." But hey, as Shakespeare said, you have to piece out its imperfections in your mind. I mean, is there one best performance of Bach's "St. Matthew Passion"? No: that's why I own 4 different CD's of it. Fitzgerald is good; he hits burts of poetic heights that others don't. Other than that, I think A. T. Murray is just as good (i.e., straightforward). Give Pope a shot. Once you get "used to it," it's a poetic marvel. I read Butler's translation a while ago, and that's a good, solid prose translation, like the aforementioned Murray's. Fagles I couldn't get a grip on, but if he's your cup of tea, why not? Wherever you roam, I'd snatch up a used copy of Lattimore from good ol' Amazon and keep at your bedside, just like Alexander of old.

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A great translation.... not for the meek at heart.

The Lattimore translation is, as I was told my my humanities teacher, the closest translation to the Greek to date. This is good in that it keeps true to the intended poetry of the work. This is bad if you are a non-English major college student :P

In this translation, not meant to be easily understood by today's English speakers, there are many sentences that end in the subject of the sentence, which can be confusing. If you don't pay very close attention, you will get lost. There are many similies and metaphors that can be confusing unless followed closely.... it sounds something like, "Then Hektor of the wide arms spoke unto Melos of the flowing hair. Then they two took their swift spears and their shining swords upon those whom the Goddess of the White arms had chosen.... not a direct quote, mind you but the book sounds like this throughout.

I would call this a difficult read. I would suggest it for the English majors, those who are poetry minded, or those who want a better understanding, better translation after having read another, more understandable translation.

Enjoy.

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One of our first war novels

I used the W. H. D. Rouse translation.

One of our first war novels: the Achains and their allies send a great multitude of ships laden with armored warriors carrying bows, spears, and swords; divisions of horse drawn chariots rumble there way into the ranks of the Trojans and their allies laying siege to Troy. The Trojans counter-attack with a push all the way to the ships. And as we read, these gains and losses continue throughout the story. There is a short truce to mourn the dead and recoup, then the battle rages on only in our minds.

It flows like a song. Lucid, with wonderful imagery and symbolism's. Homer, with Rouses' help, bring out the details of battle and personalize each warrior: we learn he has a wife, a family, and a life elsewhere, after he has been cut in two and stripped of his armor. Men are slaughtered with an indifference, as if they were mere cattle. I found it hard to follow the extensive list of characters. I believe some of the realism was lost to modernization. I also found the knowledge Homer had of the human anatomy surprising. The footnotes were helpful. Better than Odyssey.

It is interesting to note: the gods control man, and man controls the gods. The two interact with each other; the gods send down their wrath and protections upon their favored nation. The gods are no different than the humans they try to control, except for their immortality. Hades is where all mortals go unto death. The parallels to the Bible are evident, with connotations of God. It can be hard to grasp.......a story that is 2,700 years old.

Wish you well
Scott

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"The finest translation of Homer ever made into the English language."?William Arrowsmith

"Certainly the best modern verse translation."?Gilbert Highet

"This magnificent translation of Homer's epic poem . . . will appeal to admirers of Homer and the classics, and the multitude who always wanted to read the great Iliad but never got around to doing so."?The American Book Collector

"Perhaps closer to Homer in every way than any other version made in English."?Peter Green, The New Republic

"The feat is decisive that it is reasonable to foresee a century or so in which nobody will try again to put the Iliad in English verse."?Robert Fitzgerald

"Each new generation is bound to produce new translations. [Lattimore] has done better with nobility, as well as with accuracy, than any other modern verse translator. In our age we do not often find a fine scholar who is also a genuine poet and who takes the greatest pains over the work of translation."?Hugh Lloyd-Jones, New York Review of Books

"Over the long haul Lattimore's translation is more powerful because its effects are more subtle."?Booklist

"Richmond Lattimore is a fine translator of poetry because he has a poetic voice of his own, authentic and unmistakable and yet capable of remarkable range of modulation. His translations make the English reader aware of the poetry."?Moses Hadas, The New York Times

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