The Iliad (Penguin Classics)
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Product Description
Product Description
One of the foremost achievements in Western literature, Homer’s Iliad tells the story of the darkest episode in the Trojan War. At its centre is Achilles, the greatest warrior-champion of the Greeks, and his refusal to fight after being humiliated by his leader Agamemnon. But when the Trojan Hector kills Achilles’ close friend Patroclus, he storms back into battle to take revenge – although knowing this will ensure his own early death. Interwoven with this tragic sequence of events are powerfully moving descriptions of the ebb and flow of battle, of the domestic world inside Troy’s besieged city of Ilium, and of the conflicts between the Gods on Olympus as they argue over the fate of mortals.
About the Author
Homer was probably born around 725BC on the Coast of Asia Minor, now the coast of Turkey, but then really a part of Greece. Homer was the first Greek writer whose work survives. Both works attributed to Homer – The Iliad and The Odyssey – are over ten thousand lines long in the original.
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First Sentence
Iliad" is a word that means "a poem about Ilium" (i.e., Troy), and Homer's great epic poem has been known as "The Iliad" ever since the Greek historian Herodotus so referred to it in the fifth century B.C. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Iliad" is a word that means "a poem about Ilium" (i.e., Troy), and Homer's great epic poem has been known as "The Iliad" ever since the Greek historian Herodotus so referred to it in the fifth century B.C. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
40 of 41 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Robert Fagles's translation of Homer's Iliad is spiritually if not literally true to the original. Both versions repeat set speeches and descriptions in precisely the same words, and the translation exhibits a fairly regular rhythmic beat. But Homer's Greek was chanted, and the set passages were like refrains in which listeners could, if they chose, join in as a chorus. In English, the repetitions sometimes become tedious, especially when the same speech is given three times in two pages, as in the relay of Zeus's orders in Book II. Especially noteworthy is Bernard Knox's long and fascinating Introduction, a masterpiece of literary criticism and scholarship which conveys Homer's grim attitude toward war, the interplay of divine and human will, and the ancient concepts of honor, courage, and virility in the face of the stark finality of death. Knox also includes a succinct explanation of the quantitative, rather than accentual, basis of Greek (and Latin) verse. For easy readability, Fagles's translation is without rival. For elegance and poetry, however, I recommend Richmond Lattimore's older but still gripping and fluent translation.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I highly recommend this translation of the classic Homeric epic. I have read many fine translations of this work, but Robert Fagles' translation is by far the best I've seen. Fagles manages to bring the story to life while still maintaining a sense of the poetic beauty of the original. Far from being a dusty and archaic rendition, this translation is instead very much "alive", and truly captures the excitement and beauty of this classic tale. I discovered many new insights that I had missed in my earlier readings of Homer's Illiad, and Robert Fagles' translation makes it clear why this is such a long-standing literary classic.
Also, the "introduction" by the well-respected classicist, Bernard Knox, is a great source of additional,up-to-date information about both the Illiad and the Homeric period of Ancient Greece.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I absolutely love the Iliad. It is a passionate narrative covering the most significant part of the Trojan war; the events leading up to Hector's death. It is a pulsating story where Gods and heros throw themselves passionately into the conflict to give their own side an advantage. It is a tragic story of gory violence, passionate speeches, heroic deeds and divine intervention.
In my view it is also one of the most significant books ever written on the nature of religion and spirituality, demonstrating the duality and ambiguity of the divine. In the story, the Gods have an influence over just about everything that happens, supporting and hindering both Trojans and Greeks in their own interests. In this world, the Gods are both fallible, selfish, vulnerable and not all powerful. It is a lessons that followers of the modern monotheistic religions would do well to learn from.
For those interested in Greek Mythology, it should be compulsory reading. The ancient world is brought to life in a way that makes the reader feel he/she is part of a world where Gods and heros really did walk the earth.
In my view it is also one of the most significant books ever written on the nature of religion and spirituality, demonstrating the duality and ambiguity of the divine. In the story, the Gods have an influence over just about everything that happens, supporting and hindering both Trojans and Greeks in their own interests. In this world, the Gods are both fallible, selfish, vulnerable and not all powerful. It is a lessons that followers of the modern monotheistic religions would do well to learn from.
For those interested in Greek Mythology, it should be compulsory reading. The ancient world is brought to life in a way that makes the reader feel he/she is part of a world where Gods and heros really did walk the earth.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Robert Fagles Iliad translation
Having myself written a few poems in blank verse I find from a brief dipping into this verse translation that it reads much more like prose than verse and seems to be no more than... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Robin P. Barton
The Iliad
Fagles great translation and telling of this great epic. It is accompanied by an excellent essay on the background and history of rhe ten years war between the Greek city-states... Read more
Published 19 months ago by John Pope
I am looking forward to his "Odyssey".,
Almost my first experience of the Iliad by Homer, here translated by Robert Fagles with a simply superb introduction by Bernard Knox who lays the groundwork for the plot and... Read more
Published on 1 Dec 2009 by Frank Bierbrauer
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. Read more
Published on 23 Oct 2007 by bernie
WAR
War as it was and still is. Forget it's poetry. Just read and it flows.
This is one of the few books that never leaves the reader.
This is one of the few books that never leaves the reader.
Published on 5 Nov 2006 by Mr. Aw Benington
Slaughter and an utter blood bath, all over Helen of Troy!
After the abduction of Menelaus' beautiful wife Helen by Paris of Troy, the various kingdoms of Greece set sail to avenge Menelaus' loss and to reclaim is wife under the agreed... Read more
Published on 31 May 2003 by "razorsharp76"
Gory, gruesome, and epic
A millennia-old precursor to the likes of Gladiator, the Iliad is at times a quite gruesome read that doesn't shirk from describing the sheer carnage that war represents. Read more
Published on 20 Feb 2003 by Mr. Paul J. Bradshaw
A readable Iliad in modern idiom
Robert Fagles's translation of Homer's Iliad is spiritually if not literally true to the original. Both versions repeat set speeches and descriptions in precisely the same words,... Read more
Published on 26 Jun 2002 by Michael Wells Glueck
A Magnificent Iliad To Listen To
The Jacobi oral rendition of Robert Fagles translation of Homer's Iliad is absolutely magnificent. I've spent many hours (6 cassettes worth) absolutely transfixed by this great... Read more
Published on 25 Jun 1999
A good poem, but it's not the Iliad
This poet's rendition of the _Iliad_ is enchanting, flows well, and may often fill one with a dramatic sense of awe. Read more
Published on 8 Feb 1999
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