The Iliad (Penguin Clothbound Classics)

Homer; Rieu, E.V. & D.C.H.; Jones, Peter

ISBN 10: 014139465X / ISBN 13: 9780141394657

Published by Penguin Classics, 2014

About this Item

Reprint. Brand new from publisher. 2014 Hard Cover. lxxvii, 462 pp. Maps precede text. Translated into English prose from the original Greek verse by E.V. Rieu, revised and updated by Peter Jones with D.C.H. Rieu, edited, with an introduction and notes, by Peter Jones. "The Iliad (sometimes referred to as the Song of Ilion or Song of Ilium) is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set in the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of Ilium by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles. Although the story covers only a few weeks in the final year of the war, the Iliad mentions or alludes to many of the Greek legends about the siege. Along with the Odyssey, also attributed to Homer, the Iliad is among the oldest extant works of Western literature, and its written version is usually dated to around the eighth century BC. The Iliad contains over 15,000 lines, and is written in Homeric Greek, a literary amalgam of Ionic Greek with other dialects.

Seller Inventory # 2351687

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Iliad (Penguin Clothbound Classics)
• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Publication Date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 014139465X
• ISBN 13: 9780141394657
• Binding: Hard Cover
• Edition: Reprint.
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
• Weight: 24 ounces

About this title

Synopsis

Homer’s monumental epic set at the end of the Trojan War explores love, heroism, and the intricate relationship between gods and mortals—now in a beautiful clothbound hardcover edition designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith.

The Iliad is the first and the greatest literary achievement of Greek civilization—the cornerstone of Western culture and an epic poem without rival in world literature. The story centers on the critical events in the last year of the Trojan War, which lead to Achilleus’s killing of Hektor and the fall of Troy. But Homer's theme is not simply war or heroism. With compassion and humanity, he presents a universal and tragic view of the world: human life lived under the shadow of suffering and death set against a vast and largely unpitying divine background.

This edition presents Penguin Classics founder E. V. Rieu’s lively translation of Homer’s great epic.

Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing 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.

About the Author

Seven Greek cities claim the honor of being the birthplace of Homer (c. 8th–7th century BC), the poet to whom the composition of the Iliad and the 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.

E. V. Rieu initiated Penguin Classics with Allen Lane, and his famous translation of the Odyssey was the first book published in the series in 1947. The Iliad followed in 1950.

Coralie Bickford-Smith is an award-winning designer at Penguin Books, where she has created several highly acclaimed series designs. She studied typography at Reading University and lives in London.