Awards
Winner of the Academy of American Poets 1991 London Translation Award
Synopses & Reviews
The great war epic of Western literature, translated by acclaimed classicist Robert Fagles
Dating to the ninth century B.C., Homers timeless poem still vividly conveys the horror and heroism of men and gods wrestling with towering emotions and battling amidst devastation and destruction, as it moves inexorably to the wrenching, tragic conclusion of the Trojan War. Renowned classicist Bernard Knox observes in his superb introduction that although the violence of the Iliad is grim and relentless, it coexists with both images of civilized life and a poignant yearning for peace.
Combining the skills of a poet and scholar, Robert Fagles, winner of the PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation and a 1996 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, brings the energy of contemporary language to this enduring heroic epic. He maintains the drive and metric music of Homers poetry, and evokes the impact and nuance of the Iliads mesmerizing repeated phrases in what Peter Levi calls an astonishing performance.”
This Penguin Classics Deluxe edition also features French flaps and deckle-edged paper.
For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Review
"Plain and direct, noble, above all rapid...leading the reader forward with an irresistible flow. More readable than Lattimore or Fitzgerald, and more performable...[Fagles'] version is imbued with humanity." Oliver Taplin, The New York Times Book Review
Review
"Fagles can claim to be the twentieth-century champion." Donald Lyons, The Wall Street Journal
Review
"Tremendous eloquence...an Iliad primed for grandeur...the result is a glory that can encompass that shuddering last month of the war...a nobility and a sweep hitherto unknown in English Iliads." Douglass Parker, The New Republic
Review
"[Fagles's version] has many admirable qualities. The author has taken great care to make it easy for people unfamiliar with Greek mythology to understand the poet....His beautifully produced book is equipped with maps, glossaries, and aids to pronunciation....Its value to the many professors who teach Homer in translation will be considerable. Apart from these external advantages, it has a good many intrinsic merits....[Fagles'] version is undeniably rapid. It is also plain and direct....[However], he is deficient in nobility." The New York Review of Books
Review
"Robert Fagles is the best living translator of ancient Greek drama, lyric poetry, and epic into modern English." Garry Wills, The New Yorker
Review
"Fagles' [translation] is more supple than Lattimore's, more sinewy than Fitzgerald's. [He] has done what any translator must do, which is to make dozens of decisions in each line, hundreds on each page. Most of them, in this version, are sensible and shrewd, at least reasonable and quite often brilliant." The Chicago Tribune
Review
"Robert Fagles now offers a verse translation that explains what readers need to know, in clear, vigorous language that still retains a sense of the sweep and the sonority of the original." The Washington Post
Synopsis
This timeless poem-more than 2,700 year old-still vividly conveys the horror and heroism of men and gods wrestling with towering emotions and battling amid devastation and destruction as it moves inexorably to its wrenching, tragic conclusion. Readers of this epic poem will be gripped by the finely tuned translation and enlightening introduction.
Translated by Robert Fagles
Introduction and Notes by Bernard
Synopsis
The great war epic of Western literature, translated by acclaimed classicist Robert Fagles, and featured in the Netflix series The OA
Dating to the ninth century B.C., Homer s timeless poem still vividly conveys the horror and heroism of men and gods wrestling with towering emotions and battling amidst devastation and destruction, as it moves inexorably tothe wrenching, tragic conclusion of the Trojan War. Renowned classicist Bernard Knox observes in his superb introduction that although the violence of the Iliad is grim and relentless, it coexists with both images of civilized life and a poignant yearning for peace.
Combining the skills of a poet and scholar, Robert Fagles, winner of the PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation and a 1996 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, brings the energy of contemporary language to this enduring heroic epic. He maintains the drive and metric music of Homer s poetry, and evokes the impact and nuance of the Iliad s mesmerizing repeated phrases in what Peter Levi calls an astonishing performance.
This Penguin Classics Deluxe edition also features French flaps and deckle-edged paper.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators."
Synopsis
One of the greatest epics in Western literature, THE ILIAD recounts the story of the Trojan wars. This timeless poem still vividly conveys the horror and heroism of men and gods battling amidst devastation and destruction, as it moves to its tragic conclusion. In his introduction, Bernard Knox observes that although the violence of the Iliad is grim and relentless, it co-exists with both images of civilized life and a poignant yearning for peace.
Synopsis
Dating to the ninth century BC, Homers timeless poem still vividly conveys the horror and heroism of men and gods wrestling with towering emotions and battling amidst devastation and destruction, as it moves inexorably to the wrenching, tragic conclusion of the Trojan War. Renowned classicist Bernard Knox observes in his superb Introduction that although the violence of the
Iliad is grim and relentless, it coexists with both images of civilized life and a poignant yearning for peace.
Combining the skills of a poet and scholar, Robert Fagles brings the energy of contemporary language to this enduring heroic epic. He maintains the drive and metric music of Homers poetry, and evokes the impact and nuance of the Iliads mesmerizing repeated phrases in what Peter Levi calls an astonishing performance.”
About the Author
Robert Fagles, the winner of the PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation and an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, is Arthur W. Marks '19 Professor of Comparative Literature, Emeritus, at Princeton University and received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Yale University.
Bernard Knox is Director Emeritus of Harvard's Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, D.C.
Table of Contents
The Iliad Translator's Preface
Introduction
Introduction
The Spelling and Pronunciation of Homeric Names
Maps
Homer: The Iliad
Book 1: The Rage of Achilles
Book 2: The Great Gathering of Armies
Book 3: Helen Reviews the Champions
Book 4: The Truce Erupts in War
Book 5: Diomodes Fights the Gods
Book 6: Hector Returns to Troy
Book 7: Ajax Duels in Hector
Book 8: The Tide of Battle Turns
Book 9: The Embassy to Achilles
Book 10: Marauding Through the Night
Book 11: Agamemnon's Day of Glory
Book 12: The Trojans Storm the Rampart
Book 13: Battling for the Ships
Book 14: Hera Outflanks Zeus
Book 15: The Achaean Armies at Bay
Book 16: Patroclus Fights and Dies
Book 17: Menalaus' Finest Hour
Book 18: The Shield of Achilles
Book 19: The Champion Arms for Battle
Book 20: olympian Gods in Arms
Book 21: Achilles Fights the River
Book 22: The Death of Hector
Book 23: Funeral Games for Patroclus
Book 24: Achilles and Priam
Notes
The Genealogy of the Royal House of Troy
Textual Variants from the Oxford Classical Text
Notes on the Translation
Suggestions for Further Reading
Pronouncing Glossary