Iliad, Books 1-12 (Oxford Classical Texts: Homeri Opera, Vol. 1) (v. 1) (Greek and Latin Edition) [Hardcover]

Homer (Author), David B. Munro (Editor), Thomas W. Allen (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Excellent standard text."--Jeanne G. Kurtz, University of New Hampshire.

About the Author

Homer was a legendary early Greek poet and rhapsode traditionally credited with the composition of the Iliad and the Odyssey, commonly assumed to have lived in the 8th century BC.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 298 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 3rd edition (December 31, 1920)
• Language: Greek, Latin
• ISBN-10: 0198145284
• ISBN-13: 978-0198145288
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #86,955 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More 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.

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.

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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Homer's masterpiece, March 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Iliad, Books 1-12 (Oxford Classical Texts: Homeri Opera, Vol. 1) (v. 1) (Greek and Latin Edition) (Hardcover)

This edition, in the original Greek, contains half of the Iliad and is followed by several other volumes, which contain the second half of the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Homeric Hymns.

The Iliad centers around the anger of the warrior Achilles when Agammenon unjustly takes his concubine. Achilles subsequently refuses to fight, and, because his divine strength makes him indispensible to the Greek war effort, the Greeks are nearly driven from the Trojan shores.

Reading this book in the original language makes a big difference. Homer is a master of both sound and sense and to read him in translation deprives the reader of the former.

The lack of commentary and vocabulary in this edition does not make it the best choice for beginners in Greek.