The Iliad - Softcover

Homer

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0199925860 ISBN 13: 9780199925865

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2014

Synopsis

The Iliad is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma, for which Barry Powell, one of the twenty-first century's leading Homeric scholars, has given us a magnificent new translation. Graceful, lucid, and energetic, Powell's translation renders the Homeric Greek with a simplicity and dignity reminiscent of the original. The text immediately engrosses students with its tight and balanced rhythms, while the incantatory repetitions evoke a continuous "stream of sound" that offers as good an impression of Homer's Greek as one could hope to attain without learning the language.

Accessible, poetic, and accurate, Powell's translation is an excellent fit for today's students. With swift, transparent language that rings both ancient and modern, it exposes them to all of the rage, pleasure, pathos, and humor that are Homer's Iliad. Both the translation and the introduction are informed by the best recent scholarship.

FEATURES

* Uses well-modulated verse and accurate English that is contemporary but never without dignity

* Powell's introduction sets the poem in its philological, mythological, and historical contexts

* Features unique on-page notes, facilitating students' engagement with the poem

* Embedded illustrations accompanied by extensive captions provide Greek and Roman visual sources for key passages in each of the poem's twenty-four books

* Eight maps (the most of any available translation) provide geographic context for the poem's many place names

* Audio recordings (read by Powell) of fifteen important passages are available at www.oup.com/us/powell and indicated in the text margin by an icon

About this title

Review

A Look Inside: The Iliad [Click Images to Enlarge]

First Seven Lines of the Iliad: This reconstruction is based on what we know about the earliest Greek orthography.

The Walls of Troy: The translator standing before the walls of the sixth city at Troy.

The Judgment of Paris: On the right a youthful Paris sits on a stone in a rural location. The sheep near his feet indicates that he is a shepherd. Athenian red-figure water jar, c. 450 BC.

The Rage of Achilles: The seated Agamemnon holds the scepter of authority and sits on a throne, his lower body wrapped in a robe. Athena seizes Achilles from behind by the hair. Roman mosaic from Pompeii, c. First Century AD. The Wedding of Zeus and Hera: A half-naked Zeus, sitting on a rock, clasps the wrist of Hera. One of her breasts is exposed as Hera removes her head covering in a traditional gesture of submission. c. 540 BC Hephaistos Prepares Arms for Achilles: The smithy-god, bearded and wearing a felt cap, sits in an elaborately draped hall on a platform holding a cloth with which he is polishing the finished shield. Between him and Thetis are the breastplate and the shinguards (the surface of the fresco is damaged here). From Pompeii, c. AD 60.

From the Publisher

The new recording of Homer’s The Iliad read by Anton Lesser uses a new and lively translation by Ian Johnston, a retired instructor (now a Research Associate) at Malaspina University-College, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. He comments: ‘Translating is the ultimate close reading of a text, since one has to come to grips with it word by word, constantly asking questions of the author. I’d taught the Iliad many many times, and so it seemed right that I should finally really wrestle with it at close quarters.’ ‘What attracts me most about Classical literature is the vision of the world as a place vitally alive with divine presences who are always interfering with human life on every level, as often as not maliciously and for no apparent reason (other than divine desire). I find the absence of guilt (in a Christian sense) and the emphasis on status and shame immensely congenial (especially in Homer). And all the rewards and punishments that matter are in this life (no matter what Socrates might say).’ Professor Johnston has been translating various works for about fifteen years. ‘I started because I wanted materials for my classes (especially in History of Science) and just kept going. I do it now because I really enjoy the close reading required. But I think translating is like filling in crossword puzzles – some people just cannot understand the point, others see at once how pleasurable it can be.’ The Iliad took Professor Johnston four years ‘on and off’, but The Odyssey, which he has also done, took just two years. ‘Computers make the exercise much faster because of on-line lexicons, commentaries, and so on (also I work obsessively when I’m on a project).’ Anton Lesser is currently recording the Johnston translation (The Odyssey ) for Naxos AudioBooks in its unabridged form.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0199925860
• ISBN 13: 9780199925865
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 624