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Homer
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The Iliad Paperback – 3 Aug. 2017

by Homer (Author), Caroline Alexander (Translator)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 926 ratings
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  1. Print length
    608 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Vintage Classics
  4. Publication date
    3 Aug. 2017
  5. Dimensions
    12.9 x 3.7 x 19.8 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    1784870579
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1784870577
  8. See all details
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From the Publisher

Vintage Brand: Read Boldly, Think Differently.

Product description

Review

Virtuoso ― New York Review of Books

Caroline Alexander's Iliad is miraculous. It has the rhythms and even the lineation of the original Homeric text. Its language conveys the precise meaning of the Greek in a sinewy yet propulsive style that drives the reader inexorably forward. In my judgement, this new translation is far superior to the familiar and admired work of Lattimore, Fitzgerald and Fagles -- G.W. Bowersock, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton

Of the many new translations of Homer’s poem that have come out in the past two or three years, perhaps the most highly readable is Caroline Alexander’s. Thought to be the first woman to have Englished the poem, Alexander embraces Matthew Arnold’s four essential Homeric qualities: rapidity, plainness of style, simplicity of ideas and nobility of manner, in lines that ebb and flow with the tide of battle. The book wears its learning lightly, the introduction pitching the Iliad as the ultimate anti-war poem. ― Times Literary Supplement

The Homeric Iliad originates from a rich tradition of performing song. It was meant to be heard. True to the living word of the original Greek, Caroline Alexander’s new translation invites us to engage directly with this tradition. When I read her verses I can almost hear the music of Homeric performance.

-- Professor Gregory Nagy, Professor of Classical Greek Literarture, Harvard University

Caroline Alexander has done admirably in rendering the meaning of the Homeric text faithfully and suitably dignified language. The format gives a genuine sense of reading a verse epic. Her line-numbers match the Greek, which will make this version convenient for use by college teachers and students -- Martin West, Emeritus Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford

About the Author

Homer is a much-debated figure traditionally considered to have composed the two great oral poems The Odyssey and The Iliad in eighth or seventh-century-BC Greece

Caroline Alexander is the author of seven books of non-fiction including the international bestsellers The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition and The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty. A contributing writer for National Geographic Magazine, Alexander has also written for the New Yorker, Smithsonian and Granta among other publications. Alexander’s latest books are Lost Gold of the Dark Ages: War, Treasure and the Mystery of the Saxons and The War That Killed Achilles: The True Story of the Iliad and the Trojan War. Between 1982 and 85, Alexander established a department of Classics at the University of Malawi, in central-east Africa.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage Classics (3 Aug. 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 608 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1784870579
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1784870577
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.9 x 3.7 x 19.8 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 926 ratings

About the author

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Homer

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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.

He was one of a long line of bards, or poets, who worked in the oral tradition. Homer and other bards of the time could recite, or chant, long epic poems. Both works attributed to Homer - The Iliad and The Odyssey - are over ten thousand lines long in the original. Homer must have had an amazing memory but was helped by the formulaic poetry style of the time.

In The Iliad Homer sang of death and glory, of a few days in the struggle between the Greeks and the Trojans. Mortal men played out their fate under the gaze of the gods. The Odyssey is the original collection of tall traveller's tales. Odysseus, on his way home from the Trojan War, encounters all kinds of marvels from one-eyed giants to witches and beautiful temptresses. His adventures are many and memorable before he gets back to Ithaca and his faithful wife Penelope.

We can never be certain that both these stories belonged to Homer. In fact 'Homer' may not be a real name but a kind of nickname meaning perhaps 'the hostage' or 'the blind one'. Whatever the truth of their origin, the two stories, developed around three thousand years ago, may well still be read in three thousand years' time.

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sabrinaslivingliterature
5.0 out of 5 stars A truly epic poem
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 May 2021
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Dimitris Charaklias
5.0 out of 5 stars Good quality book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 December 2022
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Tristan Sherwin
5.0 out of 5 stars Wearisome and brilliant
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 December 2018
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slow cyclist
5.0 out of 5 stars Good condition and delivered as promised
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5.0 out of 5 stars Book exactly as described and delivered promptly
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 October 2022
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Stephen Kurt
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent translation, accurate but poetic.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 September 2021
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Kristina Georgieva
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent translation
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 April 2022
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5.0 out of 5 stars Worth it for the cover!
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