Customer Reviews

The Iliad of Homer: Books 1-6 (Living Voice of Greek and Latin)

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One of the problems with reading Homer in Greek is getting a feel for the rhythm of the hexameter. Fortunately for students of Homer's Greek, Stephen Daitz, an expert on the pronunciation of ancient Greek, has produced a series of tapes that make the acquisition of an ear for Homer's rhythm a task that is effortless.

In each set of tapes, Daitz reads six books of the Iliad unabridged. He pronounces the Greek according to a scholarly reconstruction of the language as it probably sounded in the time of Plato. In the written material that comes with the tapes, Daitz writes that he has attempted to follow the practice of the ancient rhapsode Ion (well-known to readers of Plato from the dialogue that bears his name) in performing a dramatic reading of the epic. As Daitz puts it, "Ion's delivery was neither mechanical nor nonchalant, but "committed"...such a style of deliver presupposes, I believe, a degree of emotional involvement by the performer , both in the narrative protions of the poem and, to an even greater degree, in the direct speech of the various characters."

Unfortunately, it is Daitz's "committed" performance of the epic that leaves something to be desired. Sadly, Professor Daitz is no Laurence Olivier. His delivery of the narrative is often overwrought and hystrionic and the voices that he gives to the characters can be jarring. His Achilles, for instance, speaks in a shrill, high-pitched voice that is thoroughly unsuited to "ho aristos ton Akhaion".

However, for all that his performance will win him no awards, his reading is still worth four stars for the aid it gives the Greek student in appreciating the hexameter rhythm. After listening to these tapes, I found that the hexameter rhythm had been thoroughly burnt into my brain cells, which took my appreciation of Homer's verse to a whole new level.

I have been learning Greek from texts and wanted to be able to hear passages spoken out loud to give me some idea of what I should be aiming for. Having read Homer only in translation, I was also keen to hear the rhythmic meter of the original work. This recording is helpful in both regards. The recording spans 6 cassettes, so it's a nuisance trying to find a specific passage: CD format would be much better. As another reviewer has commented, Daitz is not an actor and his efforts to dramatize the spoken word can be heavy-handed. The introductory notes in the accompanying text could be more detailed for the beginner.