The Rage of Achilles

by Homer, Robert Fagles (Translator), Bernard Knox (Introduction)

Through the genius of Homer's Iliad, the Trojan war and the rage of Achilles have fired imaginations and informed myth for nearly three thousand years. This timeless, powerful pwem conveys the horror and the heroism of men and gods, wrestling with towering emotions amidst devastation and destruction, as they march toward an inexorable fate. The Rage of Achilles is taken from Robert Fagles's translation of the Iliad, which is available in Penguin Classics with an introduction by Bernard Knox.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Greek Mythology, Classic Literature, Poetry, Mythology

83 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 1996

About the author

Homer (Greek: Όμηρος born c. 8th century BC) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the most revered and influential authors in history.
Homer's Iliad centers on a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles during the last year of the Trojan War. The Odyssey chronicles the ten-year journey of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, back to his home after the fall of Troy. The poems are in Homeric Greek, also known as Epic Greek, a literary language which shows a mixture of features of the Ionic and Aeolic dialects from different centuries; the predominant influence is Eastern Ionic. Most researchers believe that the poems were originally transmitted orally. Despite being predominantly known for its tragic and serious themes, the Homeric poems also contain instances of comedy and laughter.
Homer's epic poems shaped aspects of ancient Greek culture and education, fostering ideals of heroism, glory, and honor. To Plato, Homer was simply the one who "has taught Greece" (τὴν Ἑλλάδα πεπαίδευκεν). In Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, Virgil refers to Homer as "Poet sovereign", king of all poets; in the preface to his translation of the Iliad, Alexander Pope acknowledges that Homer has always been considered the "greatest of poets". From antiquity to the present day, Homeric epics have inspired many famous works of literature, music, art, and film.
The question of by whom, when, where and under what circumstances the Iliad and Odyssey were composed continues to be debated. Scholars remain divided as to whether the two works are the product of a single author. It is thought that the poems were composed at some point around the late eighth or early seventh century BC. Many accounts of Homer's life circulated in classical antiquity; the most widespread account was that he was a blind bard from Ionia, a region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey. Modern scholars consider these accounts legendary.

French: Homère, Italian: Omero, Portuguese, Spanish: Homero.

Reviews

[areeba]

everyone should start their morning with achilles killing hector imo

[josephine · Rating 4 out of 5]

achilles cried on a beach until his mummy came for him, definitely the strongest and bravest achaean warrior

[B.W. Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short extracts from the classics, the series was called "Penguin 60s Classics" not because they were written in the sixties, but because they only cost sixty pence. [The price was on the back]

On the one hand, these tiny little books are ideal for carrying in the pocket, hardly larger than a drinks coaster, they are perfect for anyone who wants to read on the bus without carrying a heavy tome around.

On the other hand, I'm not sure that we can really do justice to something like the Iliad when we cut it up into smaller and smaller pieces to read in those odd moments between.

I once met a fellow who was studying English Lit at a university in another country and he showed me, with pride, the anthology he had to read, a massive collection of highlights and extracts and summaries which was indended to concentrate the entire essence of English Literature into one single volume. Useful, perhaps, but I felt uneasy. These mini volumes have the same effect.

[Daren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Excerpts from Homer's The Iliad, revolving around Achilles, published as a Penguin 60s Classic.

Despite expecting to enjoy this, I was found it hard to keep reading. I can't be sure but the translation may have been to blame, it was wordy and awkward, had little flow and was really easy to put down, really hard to pick back up again.

Just a 2 star effort on this one.

[Daniel Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll have to read the rest of the book in this translation. Very good, a ripping story too. Really pokes the modern sensibilities in the the right eye...

[Lilla Bear · Rating 4 out of 5]

my takeaway: argamemnon is an ass

[h · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Dear friend” pft

[Britin Frazey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for class, it was pretty good I guess

[Srikanth Sreedharan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this small Pocket Classic is almost like reading Homer's Illiad. The Illiad begins with the fall out between Achilles and Agamemnon and ends with the death of Hector at the hands of Achilles. This short book gives the entire story.

[eviexbx · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved how it mentioned the gods and had poems included from the Iliad

[Jemma · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pretty poor. Suffers from being a translation in verse and it seems that this rarely makes for an engaging read. Better to have chosen prose and kept the sense of the piece.