The Iliad (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) | 
| Author: Homer
Creators: Bernard Knox, Robert Fagles
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Category: Book
List Price: $17.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  136 reviews
Sales Rank: 1042
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 704
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.9
ISBN: 0140275363
Dewey Decimal Number: 883.01
EAN: 9780140275360
ASIN: 0140275363
Publication Date: November 1, 1998
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Condition: Book in perfect condition. Bought new, no crease on spine.
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Amazon.com
This groundbreaking English version by Robert Fagles is the most important recent translation of Homer's great epic poem. The verse translation has been hailed by scholars as the new standard, providing an Iliad that delights modern sensibility and aesthetic without sacrificing the grandeur and particular genius of Homer's own style and language. The Iliad is one of the two great epics of Homer, and is typically described as one of the greatest war stories of all time, but to say the Iliad is a war story does not begin to describe the emotional sweep of its action and characters: Achilles, Helen, Hector, and other heroes of Greek myth and history in the tenth and final year of the Greek siege of Troy.
Product Description
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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 131 more reviews...
 A new perspective, a classic for the general reader July 23, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Great introduction by Bernard Knox. Very few introductions add anything important to what comes afterward, but this one is even delicious to read, the great subject matters of the Iliad are here explained in terms that reach any person who can read.
I hadn't read the Iliad since a lot younger, and I was happily surprised to see so many different aspects that I hadn't noticed before. The war-film impressions of a kid were gone, and now only the sadness of death, the rage of Achilles, no mercy to the enemies... Hector stood as my hero this time, clearly defined as the last man to stand up for true human, civilized values. The embodiment of civilization, the last bastion of a soon to die culture of life.
It really sounded to me as a warning to cultivated societies of today that peace, freedom, happiness, wealth, art, are not free. And if this is not realized the shorter lived they will be. Not necessarily to be interpreted as a call to arms, but rather as food for thought, in the sense that trying to bribe the enemy is not the solution in the long run. Every time a Trojan got caught his family, or himself, would try ransoming him at the same time revealing the wealth, treasures they had collected, and arousing the greed and resentment of the "bad guys". "Remember, my child, that it was my sweat and labor that put you through college", we could use that expression to describe it. But it's like calling on deaf ears, since no pampered kid will feel obliged to such parental cares, on the contrary, rebellion is the outcome. The child becomes arrogant, even perverted, reluctant to admit his debt to his illiterate parents. No more digressing.
The translation is wonderful, very readable. A book never to become old. Also readable the essay on The Iliad by Simone Weil focusing on 'might'. Who are today yesterday's Argives and Troyans?
 Readable, quasi-poetic, inaccurate July 22, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I just finished an extension course on The Iliad, and had the luxury of picking whatever translation I desired. I tried many, including Fagles, and a bit of the Greek original, and came to this conclusion:
Don't be misled by poetic or quasi-poetic translations. These can never do justice to a language incompatible with English, and miss the concision and power of Homer. If you want poetry, read Christopher Logue's reimagining of the epic in his several books.
Instead, get the best literal translation. For me right now, that's Hammond. Fagles tries to combine both worlds, and is unsatisfactory in either. I must admit, the packaging is handsome, but Fagles takes too many liberties with the text. For instance, when the text is repeated in Greek, it should be repeated in English, but Fagles doesn't do this.
At least Fagles is readable, unlike Lattimore, whose English does not trip happily on the tongue much of the time.
A defense of Fagles for the general reader June 7, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I don't normally write reviews for "the classics": what can I say that hasn't already been said more elegantly and succinctly by hundreds and thousands already? So, regarding the book itself I will say simply that this story clearly has earned the title of "classic" and will surprise newcomers (or readers like myself who have gained a newfound appreciation for works like this upon adulthood!) with its passion, nobility, and universality even now--thousands of years after it was first crafted. Also, as others have noted, this version is graced with an extensive introduction, maps, notes, and other supplementary materials which aid the ease of reading and fully appreciating the text.
Instead, I will focus on the translation itself, which I believe has been the target of well-meant but generally unearned criticism. I will preface this by saying that I am not versed in ancient Greek, and while I have perused several translations of the Iliad, Fagles' is the only one I have read in its entirety. However, as someone who has done translations in the past, I can sympathize with the task of Fagles and others like him as they attempt to craft a translation that is both faithful to the original yet maximizes clarity and readability for an audience that is thousands of years and many layers of language and culture removed from Homer's Greeks.
I would like to praise Fagles for his ability to satisfy both demands without needing to make very many sacrifices or compromises. Critics of Fagels' translation of the Iliad and the Odyssey like to point to Fagels' treatment of epithets as an example of why it is not "accurate", "literal", or "scholarly". That is, in Homer's original, it was common to repeat the same epithet as a matter of convention. A reviewer of the Odyssey notes that the phrase "resourceful Odysseus" is repeated 68 times in the tale, and notes that Fagles has rendered this phrase in "48 different translations, only 12 of which have the form Adjective+Odysseus". This comment was intended as a criticism, but to me it shows the genius of Fagles' translation: he has managed to take a convention that would be conspicuous, awkward, and repetitive in English and carefully re-crafted it in a way that retains the idea and information of the original Greek. Ultimately, which translation style one prefers is a matter of individual preference ... but it does not speak to the quality of the translation itself.
In the end, the success of every translation is measured in reader response, and I believe the generally positive reaction speaks to its lyricism, accuracy, and overall ability to engage a modern audience. For the person fluent in ancient Greek, perhaps this is not the translation for you (although, if you're fluent in ancient Greek, why bother with translations?). For those of us who are more interested in the Iliad as a classic in world literature, I believe this translation is the version for you. You are not being cheated out of the "real deal" just because Fagles was as interested in translating the Iliad as a story of cohesive ideas as in translating it as a text of individual words. Don't believe those who will tell you that somehow this is a watered down "Iliad Lite" for the illiterate masses: ultimately the differences of opinion being expressed here are more of style than of substance.
Iliad and Odyssey May 27, 2008
Great translation by Robert Fagles, I'd recommend the matching Penguin Deluxe Edition of the Odyssey also translated by Fagles.
 One of our first war novels April 15, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I used the W. H. D. Rouse translation.
One of our first war novels: the Achains and their allies send a great multitude of ships laden with armored warriors carrying bows, spears, and swords; divisions of horse drawn chariots rumble there way into the ranks of the Trojans and their allies laying siege to Troy. The Trojans counter-attack with a push all the way to the ships. And as we read, these gains and losses continue throughout the story. There is a short truce to mourn the dead and recoup, then the battle rages on only in our minds.
It flows like a song. Lucid, with wonderful imagery and symbolism's. Homer, with Rouses' help, bring out the details of battle and personalize each warrior: we learn he has a wife, a family, and a life elsewhere, after he has been cut in two and stripped of his armor. Men are slaughtered with an indifference, as if they were mere cattle. I found it hard to follow the extensive list of characters. I believe some of the realism was lost to modernization. I also found the knowledge Homer had of the human anatomy surprising. The footnotes were helpful. Better than Odyssey.
It is interesting to note: the gods control man, and man controls the gods. The two interact with each other; the gods send down their wrath and protections upon their favored nation. The gods are no different than the humans they try to control, except for their immortality. Hades is where all mortals go unto death. The parallels to the Bible are evident, with connotations of God. It can be hard to grasp.......a story that is 2,700 years old.
Wish you well
Scott
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