Customer Reviews

The Iliad

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

If you rely on the user-submitted image of the cover attached to this item, you might think that this is the highly-praised modern Richmond Lattimore translation (which would be one of the great bargains of classic literature!). However, the actual version you download will be an 1864 prose translation by "Edward, Earl of Derby." Not bad, if you like older language, don't mind prose instead of poetry, and can't afford any but the free version, but it certainly isn't Lattimore's translation.

This is a decent if somewhat archaic 19th century translation by the Earl of Derby, but the verse appears as prose, which is distracting. There seems to be a pattern of Kindle editions mangling verse.

As with the Bible, the translation or more specifically the translator is key. Not everyone can move poetry in one language into another. This is true of the Iliad, certainly true the the myriad mistranslations of the Bible. Kindle must include this information on the books being offered. There is no way to assess whether the book is worth downloading if the translator is not advertised. The Iliad and the Bible have suffered greatly at the hands of hacks and those who intentionally want to 'improve' the text. Please include the translator when presenting classic works. If it's just a reprint of someone else's work, (as so many reissues of the Bible are) than please say so. Republishing crap does not improve the smell.

Classics such as Homer's "The Iliad" are readily available as free eBooks, including for the Kindle, so why pay for one?

One good reason is that commercially available editions will often have better translations, especially by modern translators, and explanatory notes for today's readers.

So I'm prepared to pay for such editions if I think they are worth the investment.

I downloaded the Kindle sample of the acclaimed Robert Fagles translation of "The Iliad", which also includes an extensive introduction and detailed notes by Bernard Knox. The sample included much of the introductory material but none of the verse itself. So it was only when I purchased the ebook that I found that the notes about the poem were not hyperlinked to the verses themselves. Worse still the notes are listed at the back of the book referenced by chapter and verses (eg. 1.45), but the verses themselves are not numbered, making the notes even more useless in the Kindle edition.

Generally I have found the Penguin Classic Kindle editions good (I also just, for example, also purchased the Penguin edition of "The Red Badge of Courage", and extensive notes provided all function well using hyperlinks.

But I would advise against this Kindle edition of "The Illiad" until hyperlinks to the notes are added by the publisher.

If you haven't read this classic you need to.

I found the electronic version to be very beneficial for study. This version is formatted very well which makes it easy to read.

I specifically selected this version because it advertized an "Active Table of Contents". It does not! I will keep and read this version but really wanted to have access to the TOC and am very disappointed.

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 Arête (to be more like Aries, God of War.)

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

i would prefer the greek names of the gods used but instead the roman ones are. thats just me. not much poem, but still readable for the price.

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 Arête (to be more like Aries, God of War.)

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

This Kindle version translation in blank verse is by Edward Earl of Derby (1862), not Samual Butler as the pdf sampler suggests! Deleted this one from my Kindle.

The 1873 Kindle version translation, which may also show up following download, is by Edward Earl of Derby (1862), also not by Samual Butler as the pdf sampler suggests! Full of footnotes with strings of ???????????????? in them. (Missing characters.) Not a very smooth read. Also deleted this one from my Kindle.