The Iliad

Homer, Robert Fagles

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English

Penguin
03 May 2002

Literature, Poetry & Criticism; Poetry by individual poets; Penguin Black Classics

A work of tremendous influence that has inspired writers from his ancient Greek contemporaries to modernist writers such as T.S. Eliot, Homer's epic poem The Iliad is translated by Robert Fagles with an introduction and notes by Bernard Knox in Penguin Classics. One of the foremost achievements in Western literature, Homer's Iliad tells the story of the darkest episode in the Trojan War. At its centre is Achilles, the greatest warrior-champion of the Greeks, and his refusal to fight after being humiliated by his leader Agamemnon. But when the Trojan Hector kills Achilles' close friend Patroclus, Achilles storms back into battle to take revenge - although knowing this will ensure his own early death. Interwoven with this tragic sequence of events are powerfully moving descriptions of the ebb and flow of battle, of the domestic world inside Troy's besieged city of Ilium, and of the conflicts between the Gods on Olympus as they argue over the fate of mortals. Seven Greek cities claim the honour of being the birthplace of Homer (c. 8th-7th century BC), the poet to whom the composition of the Iliad and Odyssey are attributed. The Iliad is the oldest surviving work of Western literature, but the identity - or even the existence - of Homer himself is a complete mystery, with no reliable biographical information having survived. If you enjoyed The Iliad, you might like The Odyssey, also available in Penguin Classics. 'An astonishing performance' Peter Levi 'Plain and direct, noble, above all rapid ... leading the reader forward with an irresistible flow.

Fagles'

version is imbued with humanity' Oliver Taplin, The New York Times Book Review 'Robert Fagles has given us an Iliad to read aloud- eloquent, rhythmical, and full of power' Jasper Griffin, Oxford University

By: Homer
Translated by: Robert Fagles
Imprint: Penguin
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 196mm, Width: 130mm, Spine: 30mm
Weight: 470g
ISBN: 9780140445923
ISBN 10: 0140445927
Pages: 704
Publication Date: 03 May 2002
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

The IliadTranslator's Preface Introduction Introduction The Spelling and Pronunciation of Homeric Names Maps 1. Homeric Geography: Mainland Greece 2. Homeric Geography: The Peloponnese 3. Homeric Geography: The Aegean and Asia Minor Inset: Troy and Vicinity 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: Diomedes Fights the Gods Book 6: Hector Returns to Troy Book 7: Ajax Duels with 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: Menelaus' 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

Homer was probably born around 725BC on the Coast of Asia Minor, now the coast of Turkey, but then really a part of Greece. Homer was the first Greek writer whose work survives. Both works attributed to Homer - The Iliad and The Odyssey - are over ten thousand lines long in the original.

Reviews for The Iliad

Fitzgerald has solved virtually every problem that has plagued translators of Homer. The narrative runs, the dialogue speaks, the military action is clear, and the repetitive epithets become useful text rather than exotic relics. - Atlantic Monthly Fitzgerald's swift rhythms, bright images, and superb English make Homer live as never before...This is for every reader in our time and possibly for all time. - Library Journal [Fitzgerald's Odyssey and Iliad ] open up once more the unique greatness of Homer's art at the level above the formula; yet at the same time they do not neglect the brilliant texture of Homeric verse at the level of the line and the phrase. - The Yale Review What an age can read in Homer, what its translators can manage to say in his presence, is one gauge of its morale, one index to its system of exultations and reticences. The supple, the iridescent, the ironic, these modes are among our strengths, and among Mr. Fitzgerald's. - National Review With an Introduction by Gregory Nagy