The Iliad

Tolstoy called The Iliad a miracle; Goethe said that it always thrust him into a state of astonishment. Homers story is thrilling, and his Greek is perhaps the most beautiful poetry ever sung or written. But until now, even the best English translations haven't been able to re-create the energy and simplicity, the speed, grace, and pulsing rhythm of the original.

In Stephen Mitchell's Iliad, the epic story resounds again across 2,700 years, as if the lifeblood of its heroes Achilles and Patroclus, Hector and Priam flows in every word. And we are there with them, amid the horror and ecstasy of war, carried along by a poetry that lifts even the most devastating human events into the realm of the beautiful.

Mitchell's Iliad is the first translation based on the work of the preeminent Homeric scholar Martin L. West, whose edition of the original Greek identifies many passages that were added after the Iliad was first written down, to the detriment of the music and the story. Omitting these hundreds of interpolated lines restores a dramatically sharper, leaner text. In addition, Mitchell's illuminating introduction opens the epic still further to our understanding and appreciation.

Now, thanks to Stephen Mitchell's scholarship and the power of his language, the Iliads ancient story comes to moving, vivid new life.

"Stephen Mitchell’s magnificent new translation of the Iliad reminds us that there is always a new and different way to read and interpret the great classics, and that they need to be reinvigorated from generation to generation, just as we need to be reminded that they are, however venerated, above all stories: exciting, full of life and great characters, in short great entertainment, not just great monuments of culture or the Western canon. Mr. Mitchell has accomplished this difficult feat wonderfully well, and produced a book which is a joy to read and an Iliad for this generation." Michael Korda, D. Litt., author of Hero, Ike and Ulysses S. Grant

An Iliad for the twenty-first century, this magnificent new translation by Stephen Mitchell sets the highest standards for beauty, accuracy, and aliveness.

The power and the beauty of The Iliad resound again across 2,700 years in Stephen Mitchell’s exciting new translation, as if the life blood of its heroes Achilles and Patroclus, Hector and Priam flowed in every word. And we are there with them amid the horror and ecstasy of war, carried along by a poetry that lifts even the most devastating human events into the realm of the beautiful.

Based on the recent, superb M.L. West edition of the Greek, this Iliad is more readable and moving than any previous version. Whether it is his exciting recent version of Gilgamesh, with more than 150,000 copies sold, or his unmatched translation of the poet Rilke, still the standard after twenty-nine years, or his Tao Te Ching, which has sold more than 900,000 copies and itself been translated into six languages, Stephen Mitchell’s books are international sensations. Now, thanks to his scholarship and poetic power, which re-creates the energy and simplicity, the speed, grace, and continual thrust and pull of the original, The Iliad ’s ancient story bursts vividly into new life and will reach an even larger audience of readers.

So, with elated hearts, they sat up all night

on the battlefield, and their watchfires blazed all around them.

As, in the night sky, around the light of the moon,

the stars emerge, when the air is serene and windless,

and the stars shine bright, and the heart of the shepherd rejoices:

just so, before Ilion, the watchfires the Trojans had set

blazed midway between the ships and the river Xanthus.

A thousand watchfires were burning upon the plain,

and around each, fifty men sat in the glow of the firelight,

and the horses stood alongside the chariots, munching

white barley and oats, and waited for dawn to arise.

From the consummate translator, renowned for translating Rilke and Tao Te Ching, a vivid new translation of Western civilization's foundational epic.