To repay the indignity chryses has suffered, apollo, the mouse god, rains arrows of plague on the greek forces for 9 days. So far ive read only the fitzgerald translations of the iliad and the odyssey, which i enjoyed for the readability and the way he makes the story flow, however i am keen to try some alternative translations. The questions on this worksheet and quiz will test you on the events and characters in book 6 of homers the iliad. On 22nd march, the apgrd hosted a public reading of iliad book vi as part of the european festival of latin and greek, based in france. The iliad of homer popebook 6 wikisource, the free online library. Its free form, doesnt have any specific meter or rhyme scheme.
What are the best english translations of homers the. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Ian mckellan narrated fagles odyssey translations he was a great cho. The following are comments that occurred to me while reading english translations of book i of the iliad. New translation of the iliad by caroline alexander extract. Sing of it from the moment when agamemnon, atreus son, that.
The episodes of glaucus and diomed, and of hector and andromache. The iliad, together with the odyssey, is one of two ancient greek epic poems traditionally attributed to homer. In book viii, the achaian, teucer, hides behind the shield of aias and kills several trojans with his arrows. For a list of other translations and lectures by ian johnston please consult johnstonia. An extensive list of english translations of both works with links to samples and even full texts can be found here. Recitation of hectors homily in the sixth book of the iliad to a prepared piano accompaniment using reconstructed pronunciation and pitch accent. The first scene of the iliad finds chryses, the priest of apollo god of the sun and a whole lot of other stuff, approaching the achaian camp to ask for his daughter back. The end of book vi is the famous scene between hector and andromache and their infant son, astyanax. The best english translation of iliad homer, the trojan. Aeschylusoresteia nominated for a national book award and homers iliadwinner of the 1991 harold morton landon translation award by the academy of american poets, an award from the translation center of columbia university, and the new jersey humanities book award are published in penguin classics.
The very first line of the iliad forces any englishlanguage translator to decide immediately and to declare conspicuously whether he would rather be caught betraying his poet or his own language. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the iliad and what it means. But agamemnon wants all ilium blotted outno one will be spared. So the greeks and trojans were left to their grim conflict, and the battle, in a hail of bronzetipped spears, surged this way and that over the plain, between simois and the streams of xanthus telamonian ajax, bulwark of the achaeans, was the first to shatter a trojan company and give his comrades hope, felling the best of the thracian warriors, acamas. It is an epic poem, written in ancient greek but assumed to be derived from earlier oral sources, and tells much of the story of the legendary trojan war between mainland greece and the city of troy in asia minor. In homers iliad, the epic poets heroes are often motivated by kleos, a greek word which can carry meanings such good reputation, fame, and glory. Feb 09, 2016 new translation of the iliad by caroline alexander extract. It was written in what we now call ancient greek with a definite poetic meter. Summary and analysis of book 6 of homers iliad, with a focus on hospitality. The generations of men are like leaves on a tree, homer wrote in iliad book 6, and new versions of his poem have occupied many leaves and have required the. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of jove fulfilled from the day on which the son of. Finding the best translation of the iliad old books. What makes them distinctive is that they come from achilleus. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the iliad.
Information on the first book of the iliad of homer. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of jove fulfilled from the. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Homers epic poem the iliad tells the story of the trojan war and the epic heroes and gods. Hector returns to the city for a brief time in book 6 of homers the iliad. Students and faculty from across the university performed their own original translations at 10am paris time, in tandem with hundreds of other groups across the globe. Murray 1 so was the dread strife of the trojans and achaeans left to itself, and oft to this side and to that surged the battle over the plain, as they aimed one at the other their bronzetipped spears between the simois and the streams of xanthus. The iliad book 4 samuel butler translation duration. The point is, now that you know what the things are, its high time we jumped into the middle of them.
I hope they will be useful for people who are reading the iliad as their first introduction to ancient greek literature. You might also take a look at christopher logues war music. The best english translation of iliad homer, the trojan war. Sep 11, 2006 hellohello, i have been looking for a good translation of homers iliad in verse. Wrath sing, goddess, of the ruinous wrath of peleus son. Most commentators consider this scene to be the most moving in the iliad. The present translation of the iliad will, it is hoped, be found to convey, more accurately than any which has preceded it, the words and thoughts of the original. You should check it out and let me know what you think. At the beginning of book 16 of the iliad, patroclus, achilles companion, comes to him weeping. As the achaeans drive the trojans back toward their gates, menelaus catches a trojan charioteer. This is one of the dozens of extended similes that homer uses to convey how a given event looks and feels.
The iliad book i s ing, o goddess, the anger of achilles son of peleus, that brought countless ills upon the achaeans. Book vi of a new complete english translation with hyperlinked index. The opening word, menin, wrath, is the subject of the long poem that follows, but not of the long sentence it begins. The poem is commonly dated to the 8th or 7th century bc, and many scholars believe it is the oldest extant work of literature in the greek language, making it the first work of european literature. A little over a year ago i read the fagles translation and am feeling pulled back to reading it again, and like many people i dont really have the time to learn and read in ancient greek, but i would like to read another quality translation. Now that the gods have left the battlefield, the bloodshed continues between the trojans and the achaeans. The embassy to achilles lines 318327 in his introduction to lattimores reissued version of the iliad in 2011, richard p. The achaeans, including great ajax and diomedes, kill several trojans. I know there are a lot of english translations of iliad, and i would love to hear your opinion on which one is the best. Note that the line numbers in square brackets refer to the greek text book six hector and andromache.
Id like to thank thecardiffgiant for recommending lattimores translations. The quiz will test you on key characters and their. The trojan begs to be ransomed, and menelaus is moved to grant the request. Martin of stanford university was sure enough to compare lattimores translation of ten lines from book nine 9. In the tenth year of the trojan war, tensions are running high among the achaians a superancient name for the ancient greeks. I realize not everyone can learn ancient greek, but please dont read prose translations. Their quality and fidelity revealed compared to homers greek. New translation of the iliad by caroline alexander extract books. Aug 27, 2015 recitation of hectors homily in the sixth book of the iliad to a prepared piano accompaniment using reconstructed pronunciation and pitch accent. The iliad has been divided into the following sections.
The housekeeper spoke, and hector ran from the house back the same way through the wellbuilt streets. Intermediate buy here fagles translation is one of my favourites it doesnt provide the easiest access to the text, but it sounds beautiful read aloud and if youre already familiar with the essentials of the iliad its a great way to experience the rhythm, flow and sound of homers poetry. I have one by robert fitzgerald, but i dont find it completely satisfactory. So the greeks and trojans were left to their grim conflict, and the battle, in a hail of bronzetipped spears, surged this way and that over the plain, between simois and the streams of xanthus. New translation of the iliad by caroline alexander. Storace interviewed professor fagles talked about the years he spent working on translations of homers the iliad and the odyssey, the challenges of translating archaic greek, and the. My hardback copy with lots of lovely foxing arrived in the mail. Fagles was one of the associate editors of maynard macks twickenham edition of alexander popes iliad and odyssey, and, with george steiner. Oct, 2017 the iliad book summary in under five minutes. The battle continues between the achaeans and the trojans. In addition, the chicago homer includes english and german translations, in particular lattimores iliad, james huddlestons odyssey, daryl hines translations of hesiod and the homeric hymns, and the german translations of the iliad and odyssey by johan heinrich voss. Hector goes back to the city to arrange a sacrificial offering to what god in book 6 of homers the iliad.
Achilleuss attitude here is not unique in the iliad. Homer uses a simile to describe the flow of patroclus tears ive given you the transliterated greek, and then a literal translation below. Translations are ordered chronologically by date of first publication, with first lines often provided to illustrate the style of the translation. The iliad by homer, part of the internet classics archive. Translation by ian johnston, of vancouver island university, nanaimo, bc, canada. Not all translators translated both the iliad and odyssey. Compare his remarks here with those of hektor in book 6, lines 488489, quoted in the section on fate and free will. With an interlinear translation, for the use of schools and private learners. Paris appears at the front of the trojan force, challenging achaeans to fight him one on one. Murray 1 the wrath sing, goddess, of peleus son, achilles, that destructive wrath which brought countless woes upon the achaeans, and sent forth to hades many valiant souls of heroes, and made them themselves spoil for dogs and every bird. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in the iliad, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. A new translation by caroline alexander kindle edition by homer, alexander, caroline.
The iliad, a major founding work of european literature, is usually dated to around the 8th century bc, and attributed to homer. He points out that almost every action in the iliad is directed, caused, or influenced by a god, and that earlier translations show an astonishing lack of words suggesting thought, planning, or introspection. The iliad of homer by homer, translated by alexander pope book vi. Homers epic poem the iliad tells the story of the trojan war and the epic heroes and gods, including achilles, hector, odysseus, athena, ares, paris. Rodents do spread plague, so the association between a divine mouse function and delivering plague makes sense, even if the greeks werent completely aware of the connection. Thats what youll find in most undergraduate courses. Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis. This style of fighting is unusual in the iliad and seems almost dishonorable compared to most of the fights. A stepbystep guide to the translations of homers iliad. Goddess, sing me the anger, of achilles, peleus son, that fatal anger that brought countless sorrows on the greeks, and sent many valiant souls of warriors down to hades, leaving their bodies as spoil for dogs and carrion birds. It is a portrait of the warrior at home, war forgotten as he watches his son play and talks with his wife. First, the priest chryses comes to ask their leader, king agamemnon, to release his daughter, whom agamemnon was holding captive. This word order in the original creates a markedly. This is one of the dozens of extended similes that homer uses.
The two armies approach each other on the battlefield, the trojans with war cries and the achaeans in silence. Book i 47k book ii 63k book iii 36k book iv 42k book v 66k book vi 42k book vii 38k. The iliad begins with the poet calling on the muse to sing of the wrath of achilleus and its consequences. Apollos priest chryses comes to the achaian camp and asks to ransom back his daughter chryseis, who has been captured. Jul 06, 2011 although it has probably been superseded by later prose translations, i like andrew langs translation of the iliad.
Murray 1 so was the dread strife of the trojans and achaeans left to itself, and oft to this side and to that surged the battle over the plain, as they aimed one at the other their bronzetipped spears between the. Those that do appear, he argues, are misinterpretations made by translators imposing a modern mentality on the characters. The iliad wordsworth classics paperback september 1, 2003. Do you think that this attitude is consistent with his character elsewhere in the iliad. Mar 18, 2016 the question you pose at the top of this page when you walk into a bookstore and see the different translations of the iliad, how are you supposed to pick one. The battle continues, and although the gods are no longer taking part, the achaians drive back the trojans. Check out our revolutionary sideby side summary and analysis. Its a kind of modernist retelling of the iliad logue didnt know greek, but he worked with classicists who gave him literal translations and discussed the text with him. English translation of homers iliad by theodore alois buckley. Through the associated web site eumaios users of the chicago homer can also. Menelaus almost spares the trojan adrestus life in exchange for ransom, but agamemnon. I have yet to read his translation of the odyssey, having read the fitzgerald translation instead.