The Iliad (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

by Homer, Robert Fagles, Bernard MacGregor Walker Knox

published	November 1st 1998 by Penguin Classics
first published	600
binding	Paperback
isbn	0140275363 (isbn13: 9780140275360)
pages	683
characters	Achilles, Agamemnon, Helen of Troy, Paris, Menelaus, Hector
setting	Turkey
description	This groundbreaking English version translated by Robert Fagles is the most important recent translation of Homer's great epic poem. The verse transla...more [close] This groundbreaking English version translated 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. Introduction and notes by Bernard Knox. [close]
date added	09-13-06 edit book

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Alison rated it:

05/22/08

Read in May, 2008

I'm often kept up at night brooding on my troubles, wishing I could find some solace that would help me sleep. But now I know that the best way to keep insomnia at bay is to get out of bed, hitch up my chariot, tie the corpse of my mortal enemy to the back, and drive around for a few hours, dragging him, until I cheer up and can go back to sleep. The Iliad is unmatched, in my reading, for works that describe the bloody, ridiculous, selfish lengths people will go in order to feel better....more I'm often kept up at night brooding on my troubles, wishing I could find some solace that would help me sleep. But now I know that the best way to keep insomnia at bay is to get out of bed, hitch up my chariot, tie the corpse of my mortal enemy to the back, and drive around for a few hours, dragging him, until I cheer up and can go back to sleep. The Iliad is unmatched, in my reading, for works that describe the bloody, ridiculous, selfish lengths people will go in order to feel better. The sticks and stones fly (and gouge out eyes, smash skulls, slash livers and veins until the blood sprays--this poem is definitely not for the squeamish), but the real weapons of the Trojan War are name-calling, cheating at games, and stealing your best buddy's girlfriend or mixing bowl or ox. Most of the action occurs when somebody gets his feelings hurt, the baddie won't apologize, and the sensitive one throws a fit, which can involve letting all of his friends die while he gets an olive-oil massage, or else razing a city, raping the women, and joyriding over other men's bones. The Iliad suggests that even at its most glorious, war can be advocated only by people with the emotional lives of spoiled four-year-olds.

Indeed, most people are like spoiled four-year-olds, and truisms like that have resulted in some very tedious books and movies, but the Iliad is never tedious, or rather, only ever horrifically tedious (more on that below), first because it's good art, and secondly because, while many artists have stated, "My emotional life is a shambles," Achilles' emotional life results in the destruction of the rules of engagement, of "civilized" warfare, and of a civilization itself: babies thrown from ramparts, old men cut down at their altars, generations murdered, while Zeus snickers. The Iliad demands that the individual reflect on his or her engagement with the world at large, and the world is not a comfort zone: is it okay to decimate a town, in retaliation for your best friend's death? (Yes.) When you're kidnapped from home and thrown to the soldiers for sexual sport, are you supposed to be grateful? (Yes, and cook them some cheese to show it.) When a man murders your son and desecrates his corpse, what will the gods, to whom you and your son have given many, many sacrifices, do to help you out? (Send you groveling to kiss the murderer's hands, give him some fancy shirts, and have him treat you to some barbecue.)

What else does The Iliad say? That every life matters, and every death. The poem is a rolling casualty list, in which every man who dies has a name, a home, friends, and family who love or mourn or curse or disown him, sometimes a specified quantity of livestock who wonder where he is at milking time. Characters are introduced only to be killed, but their deaths are unique, and nobody dies without causing a change in the fortunes of his comrades or enemies, mostly by precipitating their own deaths. This is where the tedium comes in, but it's a harrowing kind of tedium: gruesome deaths, piled on, can cease to move Achilles, Agamemnon, or us, but they don't stop happening just because we've ceased to pay attention.

And what else? That war can make for great poetry. Fagles' translation is awesome (apart from a couple infelicities--the first "So help me" was hilarious. The fourth one was a little old). The verse is crisp, lucid, immediate, and very, very violent: the accessibility of the syntax and vocabulary make you read faster and faster, so the terrible scenes come upon you like an onslaught, entrails flying, chariots mowing people down, goddesses getting punched in the boobs, and behind it all the ever-present weeping. Egad....less

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Stevelvis rated it:

(review of isbn 0226469409)

02/17/08

Has a copy to sell/swap

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

THE ILIAD by HOMER translated by Robert Fagles

Oh My God, I absolutely HATED the Iliad. If you want to read a bunch of reviews by people who loved this book, go to Amazon and read the reviews there. The fans of this book will say that this is the ultimate book of war and this is the best translation ever, that this story shows the courage and manliness and heroics of the soldiers on both sides of the Trojan war even as they are being manipulated by the gods who are having their own argumen...more THE ILIAD by HOMER translated by Robert Fagles

Oh My God, I absolutely HATED the Iliad. If you want to read a bunch of reviews by people who loved this book, go to Amazon and read the reviews there. The fans of this book will say that this is the ultimate book of war and this is the best translation ever, that this story shows the courage and manliness and heroics of the soldiers on both sides of the Trojan war even as they are being manipulated by the gods who are having their own arguments amongst themselves. Perhaps I have simply read the wrong translation as there seems to be the opinion that the translation by Rouse while less poetic is more prosaic and a better read as much of the repetitious poem is edited out.

The Iliad takes place in the 10th year of the Trojan War and its location is between the Argive Greek ships on the beach, the city of Troy, the battlegrounds between the beach and the city, and a tiny bit of story among the Olympiad gods. Actually there is very little of the action that isn't a bloody fight to the death on the battlegrounds. The story takes place in only about 40 days of the 10th year of the war and leaves out all of the most interesting action: the abduction of the princess Helen by Paris the Prince of Troy which starts the war, and the final days of the war in which the city is sacked and Achilles and many of the heroes are killed. What you are left with is an argument at the beginning of the story between Achilles and King Agamemnon, followed by nearly nonstop bloody fighting leading up to the death of Hector the hero of Troy. The story begins by saying that so many thousands of soldiers were killed in the war that it would be impossible to name them all. Then in the next paragraph, the attempt to name all of them begins as you have almost 600 pages of characters who are strangers with no part other than to be introduced and led off the stage as they have been killed by one or another of the heroes.

I read the Iliad because I wanted to read the Odyssey and so decided to read both of the epics together and in order. For anyone else I can now recommend skipping the Iliad altogether, and just go on to the Odyssey. The Iliad was a struggle for me, a very experienced reader, to make it all the way through. More than once I wondered if I should just stop or was it worth reading to the end. Well, now I can say with no problem that I should have skipped it entirely. It was a total waste of my time. I can't imagine being forced to read this as a book assignment in school. It might have turned me off of reading forever. If you're a teacher, please, have mercy on your students, just assign the 10 or 20 good pages. If you're thinking of reading the Iliad for pleasure, go to the bookstore and pick it up and read a few pages and then flip it forward and read another page. Try that a few times and you'll probably decide against it like I should have. The Odyssey on the other hand is a wonderful book that is thoroughly enjoyable, and full of the adventure, mystery and mythology that I had wrongly expected out of the Iliad....less

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Kman rated it:

(review of isbn 0471377589)

07/25/07

Read in January, 2000

Homer opens this work, and perhaps all of Western literary history, with an appeal for help and a clearly defined thesis. He asks a muse to help him relate the story of the rage of Achilles. Forgive me for uninvitedly calling Homer's own description of the work lacking. The richness of questions brought up in this work will be apparent to anybody on a first reading. The central preoccupations of the work go beyond the anger of a single man - spanning from the finitude of human existence to the s...more Homer opens this work, and perhaps all of Western literary history, with an appeal for help and a clearly defined thesis. He asks a muse to help him relate the story of the rage of Achilles. Forgive me for uninvitedly calling Homer's own description of the work lacking. The richness of questions brought up in this work will be apparent to anybody on a first reading. The central preoccupations of the work go beyond the anger of a single man - spanning from the finitude of human existence to the sociopolitical duties of a citizen. It is awe-inspiring that a work written so long ago can strike such a powerful chord in so many of us. Nevertheless, it goes without saying that this is a work of art, and, as a consequence, Homer strives to describe and to make us all too painfully aware of the basics of life. We are asked to reflect on not only the standard issues of family and friends, but on our roots, on our attachment to the land, and on our birth and death. Of course, not every squabble of the Gods or cataloguing of the ships strike us as particularly intriguing. Yet in every delightful passage where Homer taunts his genius by pretending to keep substantial issues at bay, proviking issues are to be found. Unsurprisingly, Homer offers us little in the means of answers for the question as to how we are to deal with the profound circumstances that surround us as humans. His use of the "divine" in controlling human affairs may sound too much like an awkwardly familiar tone of existential resignation. For those seeking "answers in life," whatever that may mean, the Illiad is not a bad starting point. We have much in common with Achilles - knowledgable about our own mortality, yet all to eager to presume otherwise. We also sympathize with Hector and the Greek soldiers - it is for the soap operas of the rich and powerful that too many of us shed blood. The striking beauty and emotive appeal of this work cannot be classified as uplifting. Yet the subtlety and craftiness of the spark of joy to be found in our peculiar human condition to which this work speaks should be ample answer for any reader as to why this work has survived for so long....less

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Ali rated it:

(review of isbn 0140447946)

04/19/07

bookshelves: epic

Asking me which are the best 50 books I’ve ever read, Illiad and Odysse will be definatly two of them I name … books I don’t get tired to read again and again.

ایلیاد و اودیسه پس از این همه قرن که از سروده شدنشان گذشته، هم چنان خواندنی و محبوب اند و میزان فروش چاپ ها و ترجمه های تازه شان به زبان های اروپایی رقیب پر فروش ترین آثار، نظیر آثار شک�...more

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Adam rated it:

01/06/08

Read in August, 2007

recommends it for: A person looking for ancient Greek names for their baby.

The first time I tried to "read" the Iliad I listened to it on tape in my car. Which may sound "wrong" but it's actually more true to the ancient Greek method of oral storytelling! Yes. However, I'm sorry but after trying to read it again I still don't like the Iliad. It's supposed to be austere and sublime, I know. It's boring and repetitive! This isn't the translation I read, by the way, but I don't see how that could make a difference. Here's an excerpt:

Thereon Polypoetes, mighty son of Pirithous, hit Damasus with a spear upon his cheek-pierced helmet. The helmet did not protect him, for the point of the spear went through it, and broke the bone, so that the brain inside was scattered about, and he died fighting. He then slew Pylon and Ormenus. Leonteus, of the race of Mars, killed Hippomachus the son of Antimachus by striking him with his spear upon the girdle. He then drew his sword and sprang first upon Antiphates whom he killed in combat, and who fell face upwards on the earth. After him he killed Menon, Iamenus, and Orestes, and laid them low one after the other....more

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Danny rated it:

05/27/08

Read in May, 2008

I'm on a classics kick, so I thought I'd start with these. My Aunt and Uncle gave me the boxed set of the Iliad and the Odessey as a graduation present (Dec 99) and I hadn't brought myself to read them.

I'm reading the Iliad and I must say that this particular translation is much, much better than any of the other one's I've tried reading in the past. The language is way easier to read and it's not as repetitive as I recalled. Although I'm enjoying the story, it's still quite a bit like read...more

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Elizabeth rated it:

03/26/08

Read in June, 2002

recommends it for: everyone

The first time I read this book, it was the Fagles translation. I picked it up because we had just read Jean Giraudoux's La guerre de Troie n'aura pas lieu (The Trojan War Will Not Take Place) for 12th grade French, and I naively thought that the Iliad was about the Trojan War. It wasn't, and it left me kind of ehh. ...more

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Robert rated it:

(review of isbn 0226469409)

08/06/07

Read in September, 1968

recommends it for: anyone

Richmond Lattimore's is the definitive translation into English of Homer's masterwork. It comes closest to the original in word for word meaning, and in poetic form, and in spirit. I've re-read this for almost 40 years, and it never fails to reveal new beauties and new depths. Through the prism of a civilization different from our own, Homer sees the human essence. Homer describes almost all that's admirable or despicable in people, and almost all that drives them, with clarity, feeling, and an ...more

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20 comments

Kimberly rated it:

06/27/08

bookshelves: historical-fiction

Alright, so here's the deal bout this one ... if you can make it through the Iliad, you can make it through ANYTHING ... i did not read the full version, it was an abridgement but i found some parts difficult to get through ... the best thing for it was to simply read it out loud ... though i'd say the one thing i found most humorous about the book was a certain aspect i had not quite expected ... when i first began the book it had mentioned how some of the characters were very very old and wise...more

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Jeff rated it:

03/01/08

Read in February, 2008

I just finished this book after a VERY long time. It was hard to read just because of all of the names. I had a class on it in college and so that helped with pronunciation but I finally got to the point that when I didn't know a name I just skimmed over that name.
This story is a prime example of human emotions run amuck. First of all, was Helen really the reason for the war? Or was this an opportune moment for Agamemnon the supreme commander of the Achaeans to consolidate powe...more

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Al rated it:

06/09/08

Read in June, 2008

Reading Fagles's translation is like reading a novel, and a good one. Don't miss this (and don't miss his translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey either). I had read the Fitzgerald translation, and frankly got a little bored toward the end. No chance of that with Fagles at the helm. He captures everything -- the interplay among the Gods, the treachery, the battle sequences -- perfectly. There's a lengthy afterword where he talks about some of the technical aspects of the translat...more

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Becca rated it:

10/02/07

Read in August, 2007

It's a trip to read this book and just think about what it must have been like to actually hear Homer sing these poems. The literary conventions are so different from ours, yet the emotional and moral journeys of the characters feel shockingly familiar. I read this for a book group and would never have finished otherwise, but if you are in a book group that's up for a challenge, perhaps you will find the Iliad's beauty and emotional force as enjoyable as I did, despite the long passages that cat...more

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Sean rated it:

08/29/07

bookshelves: classicalliterature

Read in July, 2007

recommends it for: People who are serious about Greek stuff

Here is another one I was supposed to read in school but seemed to have ignored. I picked it up seriously after falling in love with The Odyssey and though it has great historical and mythological merit I did not find it as captivating as The Odyssey. Truth be told, there are many elements of this war saga that are fantastic but unfortunately Homer's desire to innumerate the plight of the Achaens and the feud between Achilles and Agamemnon requires many drawn out battle scenes. Apparently Homer ...more

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Tifnie rated it:

04/22/08

Read in February, 2008

Basically this book is about 3 days of the Trojan war with Achilles as the main character. The heart of the book is all about fighting; who killed whom, how they died, and how they were mourned. At one point Achilles is wronged by a King and refuses to fight the Trojans which happens to be most of the book. Towards the end Achilles is filled with rage because he lost his friend/brother and slaughters many of the Trojans. More fighting...

Unfortunately, the book ends abruptly with Hector...more

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Beth rated it:

03/16/08

Read in January, 2008

OK. I didn't read it but listened to it on CD during my drive to work. But - it was the unabridged version!

Given the long, detailed descriptions of battles and commanders of different groups, I'd never have actually read it -- and was grateful to be able to tune out during the long, graphic battle descriptions. Anyhow, for centuries, people didn't read the Iliad - they heard it, and my experience was more like theirs.

Although the Iliad has a cast of thousands, only about a dozen peopl...more

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Jenny rated it:

06/13/08

Read in January, 2003

This book is probably extremely tough to get through if you're reading it for pleasure. However, I had to read it for a class in college and absolutely became fascinated with Ancient Greece because of it. It has some extremely graphic bloody scenes, so I probably would not appreciate the movie very much, but I loved making all of the connections of the small details that we hashed out so thoroughly in a classroom setting. The plot is quite interesting if you can switch your mind into 'Homer mode...more

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Jessica rated it:

(review of isbn 0226469409)

11/16/07

Read in September, 1997

recommends it for: manslaughering warriors, cataloguers of ships, girls who think it would be easy to be pretty

Don't get all excited, they made me read this for school.

This is a great story. However, I did find it a bit slow in places (um like where they catalogue ships for like ten pages), and it would be dishonest of me to give it more than three stars.

The best thing about the Iliad is how everyone has these special, unique descriptions attached to their names. It is kind of like in serialized genre fiction, like how Jessica and Elizabeth are the "size-six, aquamarine-eyed twins with a red...more

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Kat rated it:

01/19/08

bookshelves: eyeopening, poetry

Read in January, 2004

recommends it for: heroes everywhere

I read the Iliad in sections as a child and always loved Greek mythology, but as I grew older, I appreciated the history and the morality of this book. I discovered, in college, that this book is the first to show contemplation - the inner ponderings of a character and it changed how I looked at the development of literature. My favorite book is Marauding through the Camps. I have used this chapter alone and also have had my students read the entire work, but this one chapter captures the sights...more

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Scroutch rated it:

04/10/08

bookshelves: poetry

Read in November, 2007

recommends it for: boys

I read this version of the Illiad last year, but I wanted to post a review about it because I think it is the most kick ass translation of this Totally Epic Poem.

I've started reading The Illiad in other translations and could never really get into it. In Fagles' version I sailed right through. I also talked to some professors about the translation and they all agree that it's tops. So if you're worried about whether it's scholarly enough or whatever, well, don't.

Anyhow, I just thought ...more

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Katherine rated it:

01/13/08

bookshelves: awesome

I give this five stars on the basis of "being The Iliad."

No, seriously, this is an incredible story encompassing so much of human experience, and loaded with drama and action. If you haven't read it, you really, really need to.

On a side note, I once got into an enormous argument with a high school teacher over Achilles. She saw him as stomping and whining and shirking his duty to the point where his inaction got other people killed, and I saw him as saying "No - I r...more

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