The Iliad (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) (Paperback)

by Homer (Author), Bernard Knox (Editor, Introduction), Robert Fagles (Translator) "Iliad" is a word that means "a poem about Ilium" (i.e., Troy), and Homer's great epic poem has been known as "The Iliad" ever since..." (more)
Key Phrases: fast trim ships, winging orders, marshals the thunderheads, Father Zeus, House of Death, Prince Hector (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
This groundbreaking English version by Robert Fagles is the most important recent translation of Homer's great epic poem. The verse translation has been hailed by scholars as the new standard, providing an Iliad that delights modern sensibility and aesthetic without sacrificing the grandeur and particular genius of Homer's own style and language. The Iliad is one of the two great epics of Homer, and is typically described as one of the greatest war stories of all time, but to say the Iliad is a war story does not begin to describe the emotional sweep of its action and characters: Achilles, Helen, Hector, and other heroes of Greek myth and history in the tenth and final year of the Greek siege of Troy. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Library Journal
Why another Iliad? Just as Homer's work existed most fully in its performance, so the Homeric texts call periodically for new translations. With this in mind, Fagles offers a new verse rendering of the Iliad. Maneuvering between the literal and the literary, he tries with varying degrees of success to suggest the vigor and manner of the original while producing readable poetry in English. Thus, he avoids the anachronizing of Robert Fitzgerald's translation, while being more literal than Richard Lattimore's. Fagles's efforts are accompanied by a long and penetrating introduction by Bernard Knox, coupled with detailed glossary and textual notes.
- T.L. Cooksey, Armstrong State Coll., Savannah, Ga.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 704 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140275363
• ISBN-13: 978-0140275360
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (142 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,620 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 108 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A readable Iliad in modern idiom, June 29, 2002

By	Michael Wells Glueck "EditAndPublishYourBook.com" (Nantucket, Massachusetts, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

Robert Fagles's translation of Homer's Iliad is spiritually if not literally true to the original. Both versions repeat set speeches and descriptions in precisely the same words, and the translation exhibits a fairly regular rhythmic beat. But Homer's Greek was chanted, and the set passages were like refrains in which listeners could, if they chose, join in as a chorus. In English, the repetitions sometimes become tedious, especially when the same speech is given three times in two pages, as in the relay of Zeus's orders in Book II. Especially noteworthy is Bernard Knox's long and fascinating Introduction, a masterpiece of literary criticism and scholarship which conveys Homer's grim attitude toward war, the interplay of divine and human will, and the ancient concepts of honor, courage, and virility in the face of the stark finality of death. Knox also includes a succinct explanation of the quantitative, rather than accentual, basis of Greek (and Latin) verse. For easy readability, Fagles's translation is without rival. For elegance and poetry, however, I recommend Richmond Lattimore's older but still gripping and fluent translation.

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Translation To Read Out Loud, December 1, 2000

By	Nous (Boulder, CO United States) - See all my reviews

I own two copies of The Iliad. I own the Lattimore translation for study, and the Fagles translation for love of the story.

Translating ancient Greek is tough work. The author must constantly fight the battle to match the *meaning* of the original and the *feel* of the original in a language built for a very different culture and time.

Lattimore was invaluable when I was translating passages myself for college. He comes closest to writing ancient Greek in clear English. But when I want to lose myself in the story and action and feel myself swept away by the rage of Achilles, I reach for Fagles. He, more than any other translator I have read, carries the pace and force of the original Homeric Greek in an English that breathes life into the work without calling attention to itself.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GET THIS IN AUDIO ONLY!, December 17, 1999

By	Chuckpa "Sci-reader" (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Iliad (Classics on Cassette) (Audio Cassette)

Lets set a parameter first. The Iliad was designed to be part of an oral history. Slaves told it to Nobles, so anyone who reads it is not actually experiancing it in its original form. Okay? Okay. The Derek Jacobi and Fagles(sp?) team work on this project is inspired. Fagles translation bring all the power, glory, blood, and sinew of the piece to life. This is not some staid, collection of dried flowers, and dusty phrasing. This is passion, power and fury, wrapped in violence anger and blood. This is the Iliad. Derek Jacobi delivers with the depth and feeling that lets you know why his knighthood was long overdue. He knew when to thunder, and when to whisper. His descriptions of feasts had me eating lamb for weeks after listening, and his narratives of battles superceded any modern day action flick. Fagles Created and Jacobi delivered. If you want your children to love greek myths and history get this tape, sit them down in front of the stereo, and watch as Sir Jacobi's voice pours from the speakers, wraps them in a world of imagination and suspense, and carries them from the confines of our techie world of entertainment into the limitless horizons of their mind.