Customer Reviews

The Iliad (Dover Thrift Editions)

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While the words "Iliad" usually conjure bad memories of High School English classes, this great epic of the end of the Trojan War survived all these years for a reason. Homer gets a bit redundant, with his word choice and with the material (it is mostly just a bunch of people dying, after all) but this is still a good example of the sweeping, bold storytelling of the ancient Greek poets. The Iliad mostly focuses on Achilles on the Achaeans' side and Hector on the Trojans' side. It begins with the argument between Achilles and Agamemnon, and ends with Hector's funeral.

Though this is a wonderful story, and this is an inexpensive edition, I was disappointed in the way it was presented. Instead of being written in verse, like it was meant to be, it is typed in prose form, which loses the rhythm and even some of the interest. Also, the translator chose to use the Roman names of the gods, which some people prefer, but in this story particularly I much prefer the Greek names, which are more familiar (and it was a Greek war, after all.) If you are just reading this book because you have to, this edition will do just as well as any other. But if you really want to enjoy the story, look for one written in verse form with the Greek names.

Any rating of "The Iliad" has to be primarily a rating of the translation, not of the work as such. Obviously "The Iliad" does not measure up to 21st-century expectations of riveting fiction, but then again, it was not written in the 21st century and it would be silly to expect anything of the sort.

It was instead written in about 800 BCE and is *the* cornerstone of Western literature. Homer was for the Greeks what the Bible was for the Hebrews: The poems gave the loose Greek tribes a common identity in a semi-mythical history. Homer, in a way, gave *birth* to Greece, and Greece contributed significantly to the birth of Western culture.

For this reason alone, anyone who lives in or identifies with the West should read "The Iliad." We wouldn't be here without it.

Now as far as modern taste and entertainment value goes, "The Iliad" might conceivably be disappointing. It tells the war at Troy with its principle heroes Achilles and Hector, but the story ends anti-climactically with the burial of Hector. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in it, nor is the city conquered.

For the retrospective account of the Trojan Horse and the fall of Troy, one has to turn to "The Odyssey" - which is a more engrossing tale than "The Iliad" in terms of human interest, fantasy, and a satisfying ending.

Now to this particular translation, made by English novelist Samuel Butler in 1898. I found it very clear and straightforward, but one has to realize that it turns Homer's poetry into prose, thereby losing much of its beauty. Furthermore, Butler uses the Roman names for the gods and other characters (e.g., Jove instead of Zeus), which I found unfortunate.

For a prose translation that uses the Greek names, I recommend the one by W.H.D. Rouse (The Iliad (Signet Classics)). The advantage of the Butler translation, however, is that it is in the public domain, which means that you can get it as an e-text on the internet and also as a free audio book at www.librivox.org.

Those who would like to appreciate "The Iliad" as poetry, may turn to the translation by George Chapman (The Odyssey (Wordsworth Classics)), though that one is quite a bit harder to understand than Butler's prose.

Overall, the Butler translation is a good deal. If you are not sure, sample the text online first or listen to the free audio.

The Iliad (Dover Thrift Editions) After reading the Sam Butler translation of the Iliad and The Odyssey, I must say I'm quite pleased. Having been written in the latter half of the Victorian Period, the prose translation flows brilliantly. Butler's translations seem to be overlooked, which I find is quite sad being that they are astoundingly good. There are many good translations of Homer's works, and this one is certainly one of the best. I highly recommend the Butler translations of Homer.The Iliad, The Odyssey

If you enjoy reading classics in their original spirit, or if you are a serious student of the epics, then you would probably prefer a translation in verse. However, if like me, you are looking for a readable version in prose and looking to enjoy a taste of this classic, then this Dover Thrift edition is well-suited for you -- and a great value. Homer's other major work, the Odyssey, is a better read; the Iliad inherently has a much more militaristic account, more violence, and the writing is here and there interrupted by lengthy lists of people. I was surprised that the gods play a very active role in the story, and that their personalities really come out -- this adds much interest to the reading. I didn't find the story as interesting nor the ending as satisfying as the Odyssey, but I still enjoyed it. I was surprised that the Iliad and Oddyssey Dover Thrift editions have different names for the same gods -- one editor preferred the Greek names and the other the Roman names. The Iliad and this edition are not intended for everyone. If you don't mind a military setting, if you can handle some violence, if you don't mind tedious lists of noteworthy people sprinkled here and there, and if you aren't a serious student of the epices, then this book was meant for you.

If this is your introduction to Homer or The Iliad, please, I am begging here, avoid this ancient translation. Spend the money on Lombardi's version, or for something more high-brow, on Fagles's.

With many books, translations are negligible, with two obvious exceptions, one is the Bible, and surprisingly the other is The Iliad. Each translation can give a different insight and feel to the story. Everyone will have a favorite. I have several.

For example:

"Rage--Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus' son Achilles,
Murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses,
hurling down to the House of Death so many souls,
great fighters' souls. But made their bodies carrion,
feasts for dogs and birds,
and the will of Zeus was moving towards its end.
Begin, Muse, when the two first broke and clashed,
Agamemnon lord of men and brilliant Achilles."
-Translated by Robert Fagles

"Sing, O Goddess, the anger of Achilles, son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a heroes did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures for so were the counsels of Zeus fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles first fell out with one another."
-Translated by Samuel Butler

"Rage:
Sing, Goddess, Achilles' rage,
Black and murderous, that cost the Greeks
Incalculable pain pitched countless souls
Of heroes into Hades' dark,
And let their bodies rot as feasts
For dogs and birds, as Zeus' will was done.
Begin with the clash between Agamemnon--
The Greek Warlord--and godlike Achilles."
-Translated by Stanley Lombardo

"Anger be now your song, immortal one,
Akhilleus' anger, doomed and ruinous,
that caused the Akhaians loss on bitter loss
and crowded brave souls into the undergloom,
leaving so many dead men--carrion
for dogs and birds; and the will of Zeus was done.
Begin it when the two men first contending
broke with one another--
the Lord Marshal Agamémnon, Atreus' son, and Prince Akhilleus."
-Translated by Translated by Robert Fitzgerald

"Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus' son of Achilleus and its devastation, which puts pains thousandfold upon the Achains,
hurled in the multitudes to the house of Hades strong souls of heroes, but gave their bodies to be the delicate feasting of dogs, of all birds, and the will of Zeus was accomplished since that time when first there stood the division of conflict Atrecus' son the lord of men and brilliant Achilleus."
-Translated by Richmond Lattimore

You will find that some translations are easier to read but others are easier to listen to on recordings, lectures, Kindle, and the like.

Our story takes place in the ninth year of the ongoing war. We get some introduction to the first nine years but they are just a background to this tale of pride, sorrow and revenge. The story will also end abruptly before the end of the war.

We have the wide conflict between the Trojans and Achaeans over a matter of pride; the gods get to take sides and many times direct spears and shields.

Although the more focused conflict is the power struggle between two different types of power. That of Achilles, son of Peleus and the greatest individual warrior and that of Agamemnon, lord of men, whose power comes form position.

We are treated to a blow by blow inside story as to what each is thinking and an unvarnished description of the perils of war and the search for Aręte (to be more like Aries, God of War.)

Troy - The Director's Cut [Blu-ray]

ou would think that The Iliad is about the war against Troy because Paris abducted Helen, wife of Menelaos - one of the greek commanders.
And yet Homerus begins his epos by asking the Muses to support him in - not in telling the Trojan war, as one might expect - but to tell about the quarrel between Agamemnon - the chief in command - and Achilles, one of the Greek commanders. The quarrel is about
a girl. Her name is Briseis, one of the slaves. Agamemnon took her away from Achilles.

In doing so, Homerus creates a parallel with Menelaos - one of the greek commanders- who lost his wife because Paris took her to Troy.
Instead of a war poem Homerus tells us the coming of age of Achilles.

In the beginning he's like a whining child making a quarrel with Agamemnon over a girl. He refuses to send his troops into the battle. But when things are going bad for the Greeks, some of the warlords go to the tent of Achilles and implore him to participate in the battle.He refuses but agrees that his friend Patroclus leads his troops to battle. ( It's noteworthy that Agamemnon plays second fiddle to Achilles from start to finish.)

When Hector - a Trojan commander - kills Patroclus, Achilles grieves for a long time and he finally understands that in a war there are no victors only losers. He becomes a man with understanding and compassion for the grief of others, even for his enemy. He has come a long way since his childish whining for Briseis.

Please do not mistake my low credit for Iliad. Homer is great or beyond great, but this translation is a ruinous endeavour. I bought this version because it was cheaper, without too much research, which became one of my biggest regrets.

This translation is in prose, not in verse, I endured and kept on reading; Samuel Butler boasted in his foreword of changing some of the words and contents of Homer's originals, well, I endured and kept on reading. And a lot of other things that became more and more irritating during the process of reading, I endured and kept on reading, until they accumulated to a point that I decided to stop reading (I was already mid through XII) and purchase a different version, any other version.

What I could not bear most, was that he changed most of the names, whenever he could, to Roman versions. Roman empire was long gone even when Butler did the translation, I could not figure out whose derrière he was trying to kiss up. In his version, Zeus was Jove, Hera was Juno, Athena was Minerva, Aphrodite was Venus, Ares was Mars, Poseidon was Neptune, even Odysseus was Ulysses -- I am not nearly familiar enough with the Greek Deities in Roman versions, so God knows what other names I missed... for heaven's sake Iliad was way earlier than Roman times. I ventured to investigate Butler's translation of Odyssey, he even called him Ulysses there. What confusion he created, and with what laborious effort! Especially when most of the time, we read NORMAL versions (I previously read Odyssey in verse translation by Allen Mandelbaum).

My conclusion: DO NOT PURCHASE THIS VERSION unless you want to make a full collection of all translations of Iliad. The only star I gave goes to the Iliad by Homer, not this translation.

If you haven't read this book, and are hoping its gonna be another Odyssey, you'll be dissapointed. It is pretty good, but the story is set during the last of the Trojan War. The story revolves around Achilles, the friend of Odysseus, who is practically a god among men. He and Odysseus and others are fighting at Troy for the sake of Queen Helen, the mother of Achilles. The story is a little boring, but the words are great, and I think it would be nice to hear sitting around a campfire listening to a blind storyteller singing it.