The Iliad
The greatest literary landmark of classical antiquity masterfully rendered by the most celebrated translator of our time. When Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey appeared in 2017--revealing the ancient poem in a contemporary idiom that was "fresh, unpretentious, and lean" (Madeline Miller, Washington Post)--critics lauded it as "a revelation" (Susan Chira, New York Times) and "a cultural landmark" (Charlotte Higgins, Guardian) that would forever change how Homer is read in English. Now Wilson has returned with an equally revelatory translation of the first great Homeric epic: the Iliad. In Wilson's hands, this exciting and often horrifying work now gallops at a pace befitting its best battle scenes, roaring with the clamor of arms, the bellowing boasts of victors, and the anguished cries of dying men. Wilson's unadorned but resonant language plumbs the poem's profound pathos and reveals its characters as palpably real, even "complicated," human beings. Capping a decade of intense engagement with Homer's poetry, Wilson's Iliad now gives us a complete Homer for our generation.
Stats for nerds
8recommend
20mentions
16people
2017–2026years
55% recommend45% neutral
Mentions per year
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Personally, I chat with friends over a beer and talk about new things. More often than not, my friends have great recommendations on things to try — both old and new.
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Normally I’m the one engaging research into new experiences, and it seems to be going fine. The other month I was reading Troy by Stephen Fry. When I finished, I thought it would be nice if he covered the Odyssey, so I looked it up and saw he is releasing an ebook for it in the Spring. In the meantime, I decided to read the Iliad. I wasn’t sure which translation would be good, so I searched online and found that Emily Wilson has a great translation. And now hopefully a reader has benefited from m y suggestion here.
Most ads related to these fields seem to me that they are designed to sell me something I don’t necessarily want or need. I feel capable of taking action and looking up things that do interest me. It may be different for areas outside of entertainment, but I’d have to think on that more.
- This is a great run-down and mirrors my experience of reading Fagles, Fitzgerald and Wilson.
My favourite though is Christopher Logue's version of the Iliad called War Music - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Music_(poem). It was controversial because he didn't know ancient Greek and based his version on other translations, as well as taking liberties with the text and introducing anachronisms (one of my favourite lines is about the "camera" panning across the armies in front of Troy). It's the only version I've read where I could clearly hear the characters talk in my head - it was a bit like reading a play at points.
- And meanwhile my wife and I have three Iliad translations on our shelf, which come down regularly as part of everyday conversation. If you last read it as a teenager it would be worth trying again—Emily Wilson's is very accessible!
- In Wilson's Odyssey (I haven't seen the new Iliad yet), the notes on translation will transform your understanding of every translation you read, and the notes on xenia (~ hospitality, but much beyond that) will transform your understanding of ancient Greek culture, including both works - I don't think you can understand the works without that knowledge.
- Which translation were you reading? It makes a huge difference. Wilson's Odyssey is really easy to pick up (and I assume her Iliad will be as well), But there are a lot of translations that try to be too literal and end up not working well in English.
My wife was a Classics major, so we have something like three translations of each, and comparing them is night and day.
- I can warmly recommend the new Iliad translation by Caroline Alexander as audiobook. Suberb! I understand the new translation by Emily Wilson (whose Odyssey was excellent) should be good as well.
The new translations really bring these old poems to life, and listening to them is at least for me the best way to consume them.
