Synopses & Reviews
"The finest translation of Homer ever made into the English language."—William Arrowsmith
"Certainly the best modern verse translation."—Gilbert Highet
"This magnificent translation of Homer's epic poem . . . will appeal to admirers of Homer and the classics, and the multitude who always wanted to read the great Iliad but never got around to doing so."—The American Book Collector
"Perhaps closer to Homer in every way than any other version made in English."—Peter Green, The New Republic
"The feat is decisive that it is reasonable to foresee a century or so in which nobody will try again to put the Iliad in English verse."—Robert Fitzgerald
"Each new generation is bound to produce new translations. [Lattimore] has done better with nobility, as well as with accuracy, than any other modern verse translator. In our age we do not often find a fine scholar who is also a genuine poet and who takes the greatest pains over the work of translation."—Hugh Lloyd-Jones, New York Review of Books
"Over the long haul Lattimore's translation is more powerful because its effects are more subtle."—Booklist
"Richmond Lattimore is a fine translator of poetry because he has a poetic voice of his own, authentic and unmistakable and yet capable of remarkable range of modulation. His translations make the English reader aware of the poetry."—Moses Hadas, The New York Times
Synopsis
Achilles sing, O Goddess Peleus' son; His wrath pernicious, who ten thousand woes Caused to Achaia's host, sent many a soul Illustrious into Ades premature, And Heroes gave (so stood the will of Jove) To dogs and to all ravening fowls a prey, When fierce dispute had separated once The noble Chief Achilles from the son Of Atreus, Agamemnon, King of men.Who them to strife impell'd? What power divine? Latona's son and Jove's. For he, incensed Against the King, a foul contagion raised In all the host, and multitudes destroy'd, For that the son of Atreus had his priest Dishonored, Chryses. To the fleet he came Bearing rich ransom glorious to redeem His daughter, and his hands charged with the wreath And golden sceptre of the God shaft-arm'd.His supplication was at large to all The host of Greece, but most of all to two, The sons of Atreus, highest in command.Ye gallant Chiefs, and ye their gallant host, (So may the Gods who in Olympus dwell Give Priam's treasures to you for a spoil And ye return in safety, ) take my gifts And loose my child, in honor of the son Of Jove, Apollo, archer of the skies
About the Author
Though he is traditionally credited as the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, there is no reliable information about an actual, historical Homer. In antiquity, he was an honored figure, despite little being known about his life or even his era; he was credited then with several other shorter works in addition to the two epics. Current scholarship tends to view the poems as the work of many hands over many years, with differing opinions on the role and importance of any single figure in their creation or promulgation.Richmond Lattimore (1906-1984) was a poet, translator, and longtime professor of Greek at Bryn Mawr College.
Table of Contents
Foreword
Introduction
The Iliad
Book One
Book Two
Book Three
Book Four
Book Five
Book Six
Book Seven
Book Eight
Book Nine
Book Ten
Book Eleven
Book Twelve
Book Thirteen
Book Fourteen
Book Fifteen
Book Sixteen
Book Seventeen
Book Eighteen
Book Nineteen
Book Twenty
Book Twenty-One
Book Twenty-Two
Book Twenty-Three
Book Twenty-Four
Glossary of Names