The Iliad of Homer (Phoenix Books)

by Homer, Richmond Lattimore, transl.
The Iliad of Homer (Phoenix Books)
published
June 1st 1990 (first published 600) by University Of Chicago Press
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binding
Paperback, 528 pages

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isbn
0226469409   (isbn13: 9780226469409)

description
"The finest translation of Homer ever made into the English language."—William Arrowsmith

"Certainly the best modern verse transla...more





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Alison
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
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Andrew
08/28/08

Read in August, 2008
What is not to like about The Iliad. In terms of dramatic and epic intensity, it is a stunning work, particularly in light of its antiquity. Once again, in comparison to other ancient literature--say, Gilgamesh--the richness, humanity, and complexity of Homeric literature is stunning. Passages of brutal violence and interspersed by heartrending glimpses into ancient ties that bind. Take for example Patroclus' killing of Thestor. Homer goes into full extended metaphor mode: "And next he went...more
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Ginnie
01/03/08

bookshelves: classics, poetry
Read in January, 1997
recommended to Ginnie by: Jim Heath
FORGET what the Goodreads computer does with this record, I intend this to be the: Iliad by Homer, translated by Stanley Lombardo

published 1997 by Hackett Publishing Company
binding Paperback
isbn 0872203522 (isbn13: 9780872203525)
pages 516

Those critics who consider Lombardo's translation anti-Classical (or even "low-brow" and "simplistic") would do well to read Lombardo's own explanation:
------
[Taken from an interview in 2002 between Mr. Lom...more
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  4 comments

Mike
05/27/08

Read in May, 2008
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Stevelvis
Stevelvis rated it: 1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars1 of 5 stars
02/17/08

Has a copy to sell/swap
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Jim
01/01/08

bookshelves: greekmythology
Read in July, 2007
"Sprung out of bitterness, the philosophy of the Iliad excludes resentment." Thus Rachel Bespaloff, stating the seemingly impossible. Years ago I read the Iliad in Fitzgerald's fine translation, but every page had the heavy cadence of a "classic." Now I'm reading Fagles' and Lombardo's translations back to back, and am surprised how much I'm enjoying the poem. I don't dispute those who judge Fagles the superior translator, but for me the Lombardo version is far more stirring....more
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Nate
06/02/08

recommends it for: condom manufacturers
this book has it all. every character is a badass, the descriptions of violence are extreme, brutal, and frequent, plus it has some of the most epic (naturally) shittalking i've read. it is truly mindblowing that there hasn't been a good film adaptation of this yet. as far as i know, troy is the only adaptation filmed, and i will never watch that. allow me to digress for a moment and say that the day that movie came out i probably should have went to see it with the rest of my roommates consider...more
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Kman
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
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Nikki
09/08/08

bookshelves: world-literature
Read in September, 2008
recommends it for: Just about everyone; my husband Bruce especially.
I love The Iliad like I love movies like Braveheart and The Gladiator. There is something indescribably cool about tough men kicking some serious butt and taking names.

The action of The Iliad takes place near the end of the Trojan War. When King Agamemnon is forced to give up his prize, the girl Chryses, he enrages Achilles by taking Achilles' prize, the girl Briseis away from him. Achilles, the best warrior of them all, Achaean and Trojan armies combined, refuse...more
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Ali
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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Ryan
07/05/07

Read in February, 2006
Wow, what can I say about this book? First of all, it’s 600 pages of pure, incredibly gruesome action. It is also the first war book I’ve ever read that names every single soldier who takes part in the battle, their background, and, of course, an incredibly detailed account of how they are slain. Let me give you an example of poor Erýmas’ fate (Book Sixteen, Line 403):

“Idómeneus thrust hard at Erýmas’ mouth
with his hard bronze. The spearhead passed on through
beneath his ...more
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Dave
07/07/08

Read in July, 2008
One of the great classics of western literature. Read this for the first time over 40 years ago. Worth a second reading. Not, however, for the faint of heart. Much battle description is graphic.

Graphic battle description, however, is not the point of the poem, and shouldn't deter a reading. It clearly emphasizes the relationship Hellenistic culture had with the deities, a culture where the gods not only mingled and interacted with mortals but took active roles in directing a particular...more
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Adam
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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Robert
Robert rated it: 5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
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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Keegan
07/10/08

bookshelves: classics, greek
Read in July, 2008
The Iliad is goddamned intense:

"Idomeneus speared Erymas in the mouth; the bronze point of the spear went clean through it beneath the brain, crashing in among the white bones and smashing them up. His teeth were all of them knocked out and the blood came gushing in a stream from both his eyes; it also came gurgling up from his mouth and nostrils, and the darkness of death enfolded him round about."
[different translation:].

Damn.

I found it interesting that a profoundly blu...more
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Jennie
07/14/08

bookshelves: classical-lit
Read in January, 2003
recommended to Jennie by: TVN
Gives a whole new meaning to the concept of nipple piercing...

Seriously, this poem has some beautiful and poignant and fascinating moments if you are able to divorce them from their social and historical context and view them solely as people interacting with each other in difficult times. It tops the Odyssey, in this respect. But by the time you read the whole thing, you are so battled out you just kind of stop caring. Reams upon reams of young men who are all supposed to be the best thi...more
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Danny
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
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