The Iliad: A New Prose Translation (Penguin Classics) [Paperback]

Homer (Author), Martin Hammond (Translator, Introduction)

Book Description

Series: Penguin Classics | Publication Date: February 2, 1988

"The Iliad" is the first and the greatest literary achievement of Greek civilisation - an epic poem without rival in the literature of the world, and the cornerstone of Western culture. The story of the "Iliad" centres on the critical events in the last year of the Trojan War, which lead to Achilleus' killing of Hektor and determine the fate of Troy. But Homer's theme is not simply war or heroism. With compassion and humanity, he presents a universal and tragic view of the world, of human life lived under the shadow of suffering and death, set against a vast and largely unpitying divine background. "The Iliad" is the first of the great tragedies.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Mueller deserves full praise for treating one of the most influential and jealously guarded texts in Western culture with an enlivening and communicative intelligence' --Critical Quaterly

'It is the best single work on the poem that I know... Mueller has a genius for explaining important and subtle aspects of Homer with a clarity that should make the study available even to readers who know very little about Homer' --George De F. Lord, Yale University --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Greek

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Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (February 2, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140444440
• ISBN-13: 978-0140444445
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #572,450 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hammond or Fagles? ...Paris passes on this one..., September 20, 2001

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Iliad: A New Prose Translation (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

[From Boating on the Catawba...in the
"Musketaquid"]

If you pass on reading this work in the
original Greek [*Homeri Opera: Tomus I,
Iliadis Libros I-XII and Tomus II, Iliadis
Libros XIII-XXIV*; Oxford Classical Texts,
Oxford University Press], then I would
suggest these two excellent translations
as your possible choice for enlightenment,
inspiration, and enrichment through the
English language...and through the wondrous
powers and arts in the minds of these two
translators: Robert Fagles or Martin Hammond.
I first fell under the spell of Fagles'
art and poetry and power in his translation
of Aeschylus' *Oresteia.* [Penguin Classics]
And his co-creation of Homer's wonder, through
English, is also compelling.
But I also am very much drawn to Martin Hammond's
prose translation of the *Iliad.*
Here are the two tranlators presenting the
same Homeric passages -- judge for yourself:

[...the coming of Apollo into battle; the
smiting of Patroklos...*Iliad*; Book 16]

Fagles:

...and Patroclus charged the enemy, fired for the kill.
Three times he charged with the headlong speed of Ares,
screaming his savage cry, three times he killed nine men.
Then at the fourth assault Patroclus like something
superhuman--
then, Patroclus, the end of life came blazing up
before you,
yes, the lord Apollo met you there in the heart of
battle,
the god, the terror! Patroclus never saw him coming,
moving across the deadly rout, shrouded in thick mist
and on he came against him and looming up behind him
now--
slammed his broad shoulders and back with the god's
flat hand
and his eyes spun as Apollo knocked the helmet off
his head
and under his horses' hoofs it tumbled, clattering on
with its four forged horns and its hollow blank eyes
and its plumes were all smeared in the bloody dust.
Forbidden before this to defile its crest in dust,
it guarded the head and handsome brow of a god,
a man like a god, Achilles.

Hammond:

And Patroklos charged at the Trojans with murder in
his heart. Three times then he charged like the
swift war-god himself, shouting fearfully, and
three times he killed nine men. But when for the
fourth time he flung himself on like a god, then,
Patroklos, the ending of your life was revealed.
Phoibos met you in the battle's fury, terrible god.
Patroklos did not see him moving through the rout.
Apollo came against him hidden in thick mist, and
stood behind him, and struck his back and broad
shoulders with the flat of his hand, so that his
eyes spun round. Then Phoibos Apollo knocked the
helmet from his head, and the great masking helmet
rolled clattering under the horses' feet, and the
hair of its crest was sullied with blood and dust.
Before now it was not permitted for this horse-
crested helmet to be sullied in the dust, but it
guarded the head and fine brow of a godlike man,
Achilleus.
* * * * * * * * *
Both editions also contain excellent Introductions,
with the Hammond edition having a Book by Book
critical summary as part of the Introduction.
However, the Fagles edition Introduction [written
by Bernard Knox] contains much excellent historical
background, poetic explanation, and wonderful
passages such as this:

"The texture of Homeric epic was for the classic
age of Greece like that of the Elgin Marbles for
us--weathered by time but speaking to us directly:
august, authoritative, inimitable -- a vision of
life fixed forever in forms that seem to have
been molded by gods rather than men."
* * * * * * * * *

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Martin Hammond's translation of the Iliad, October 13, 2004

By 

Modern Viking (Stockholm, Sweden) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Iliad: A New Prose Translation (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

This is specifically a review of Martin Hammond's translation of the Iliad (I've noticed that reviews for different editions often appear lumped together). This is by far the best translation of the Iliad I have ever encountered and it led me to finally read the Iliad from beginning to end without skipping bits or skimming. It is a modern prose translation but is also faithful to the meaning of the original Greek (since the translator is not forced to try to turn his translation into verse). I simply cannot recommend it enough. A nice touch is that Hammond has given the different characters names that are far closer to the original Greek then the ones often used in other translations (e.g. Achilleus, Aias, Patroklos, Hektor).

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sing, goddess, sing of the rage of Peleus's son..., March 14, 2003

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Iliad (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

I long ago determined that the world of those interested in the Classical Literature of the Ancient Greeks that when it comes to Homer's epic poems there are those who prefer the "Iliad" and those who prefer the "Odyssey." My choice is for the story of the rage of Achilles. From Achilles's fateful confrontation with Agamemnon over Briseis of the lovely arms to the magnificently emotional ending where King Priam comes to beg for the body of his slain son, Hector, from the man who killed him, I find this story has greater resonance than the tale of Odysseus. The epic story also seems to me to be more classically Greek, with the great hero who acts out of anger, comes to regret his folly, and seeks to make amends with a great deed. Achilles is similar to Hercules in this regard, and although they are both strictly considered demi-gods, the Achaean hero ultimately seems more human. Plus, Achilles stature is enhanced by his opposition to the noble Hector; acknowledging the better warrior does not take away from recognizing the greater hero. Add to this the fact that all the gods and goddesses of Olympus are actively involved in the proceedings and I am convinced the "Iliad" is the more worthy book for inclusion into most classes dealing with Classical Mythology or the Ancient Greeks.

The main question with using the "Iliad" is class is picking a worthy version in English. The Lattimore translation is certainly above average, but I think the Fagles translation is far and away the best available (hence the one star deduction for this translation, which I have been compelled to use in the past) and I would not really consider using anything else in my Classical Greek and Roman Mythology course. I also like to use the "Iliad" as part of a larger epic involving the plays of Euripides, specifically "Iphigenia at Aulis" and "Trojan Women," as well as relevant sections from the "Aeneid" and other sources on the Fall of Troy. But the "Iliad" remains the centerpiece of any such larger tale, mainly because of the final dramatic confrontation when King Priam goes to weep over the bloody hands of Achilles. Not until Steinbeck writes "The Grapes of Wrath" is there anything in Western Literature offering as stunning an end piece.