or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
62 used & new from £1.77
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Iliad (Penguin Classics)
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book

The Iliad (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

by Homer (Author), Bernard Knox (Introduction), Robert Fagles (Translator) "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..." (more)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
RRP: £9.99
Price: £6.97 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £3.02 (30%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Thursday, November 12? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
35 new from £4.50 27 used from £1.77
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Paperback (Rev Ed) £8.99 £6.27 48 used & new from £4.00
Audio Download (Unabridged) £100.00 £70.00

Frequently Bought Together

The Iliad (Penguin Classics) + The Odyssey (Penguin Classics) + The Aeneid (Penguin Classics)
Price For All Three: £18.79

Show availability and shipping details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Odyssey (Penguin Classics)

The Odyssey (Penguin Classics)

by Homer
4.6 out of 5 stars (16)  £5.98
The Aeneid (Penguin Classics)

The Aeneid (Penguin Classics)

by Virgil
3.6 out of 5 stars (5)  £5.84
The Metamorphoses: a New Verse Translation (Penguin Classics)

The Metamorphoses: a New Verse Translation (Penguin Classics)

by Ovid
4.9 out of 5 stars (7)  £6.72
The Aeneid (Penguin Classics)

The Aeneid (Penguin Classics)

by Virgil
£6.99
Classical Literary Criticism (Oxford World's Classics)

Classical Literary Criticism (Oxford World's Classics)

by D. A. Russell
£4.79
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 704 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Classics; New Ed edition (27 Feb 1992)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0140445927
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140445923
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.7 x 3.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 47,215 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #21 in  Books > Poetry, Drama & Criticism > Poetry > Genres > War
    #22 in  Books > Poetry, Drama & Criticism > Poetry > Genres > Myths
    #38 in  Books > Poetry, Drama & Criticism > Poetry > By Period > Classical, Early & Medieval

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

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 – <I>The</I> <I>Iliad</I> and <I>The Odyssey</I> – are over ten thousand lines long in the original.
Inside This Book (Learn More)
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
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(1)
(1)
(1)
See all 4 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Iliad (Penguin Classics)
77% buy the item featured on this page:
The Iliad (Penguin Classics) 4.4 out of 5 stars (14)
£6.97
The Iliad: New Prose Translation (Classics)
10% buy
The Iliad: New Prose Translation (Classics) 4.0 out of 5 stars (5)
£6.96
The Odyssey (Penguin Classics)
7% buy
The Odyssey (Penguin Classics) 4.6 out of 5 stars (16)
£5.98
The Iliad
4% buy
The Iliad 5.0 out of 5 stars (9)
£8.07
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

14 Reviews
5 star:
 (10)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A readable Iliad in modern idiom, 29 Jun 2002
By Michael Wells Glueck "EditAndPublishYourBook.com" (Nantucket, Massachusetts, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
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.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A readable Iliad in modern idiom, 26 Jun 2002
By Michael Wells Glueck "EditAndPublishYourBook.com" (Nantucket, Massachusetts, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
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 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.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Long but fascinating, 22 Nov 2008
By Mr. M. Jones "Jonesmz" (Chester, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Iliad (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)
Long winded at times, especially when listing men dying in battle, or crews of ships, complete with family histories and quirks, and it does only cover a few weeks when the Greeks are laying siege to a town, but it is epic in style.
The interaction between the lead characters, the detail and depiction of war in all its brutality, and especially how the Gods intervene and are accepted and sacrificed to continually makes it fascinating. The gulf between their culture and ours is palpable.
The extras in this edition - maps, history, cast - help put the story into proper context.
My favourite part was when the Gods were given a green light to join in the battle and flock to the scene. Just the idea of it is amazing.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The first anti war story.
You would think that The Iliad is about the war against Troy because Paris abducted Helen, wife of Menelaos - one of the greek commanders. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jan Dierckx

5.0 out of 5 stars Relentless action!
The Iliad is a masterpiece and one of the foremost achievements of Western Literature. However to me it is also a high-adrenalin, non-stop thriller, depicting battle scenes to... Read more
Published 5 months ago by G. S. Corbett

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most important works of literature ever - and a damned good read too
This is the third time I've read this. Well, the third time I've started reading it, and the second time I've finished it. Read more
Published 6 months ago by D. R. Cantrell

1.0 out of 5 stars Penguin have destroyed a classic
To be quite honest its hardly worth them calling this the Iliad. They have ripped the poetic beauty out of this Epic and condensed it into a dusty and boring prose. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mrs. R. M. Black

5.0 out of 5 stars The best story of all time
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. Read more
Published on 11 Jun 2007 by YaromCMG

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this book
This story began to circulate as part of an oral tradition around 3000 years ago. It is based on the military character of the Greeks and espouses the values of valour, bravey,... Read more
Published on 17 Mar 2007 by Claire Gordon

5.0 out of 5 stars 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.
Published on 5 Nov 2006 by Mr. Aw Benington

5.0 out of 5 stars The rise of Western literature
The subject of this book may not have been seen as something new. Since hundreds of stories and tales had been already told and written down by the time that Homerus started this... Read more
Published on 17 Feb 2005 by Yougen November

4.0 out of 5 stars 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

5.0 out of 5 stars Thousands of years old, and still relevent
There are many theories and arguements over did Homer actually tell the story or was is someone else, or many people etc - but it doesnt taint the powerful story that the Illiad... Read more
Published on 28 May 2003 by wicce_k

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject















i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.