Iliad, Books 13–24 (Loeb Classical Library, #171)
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- Author：Homer
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Summary
Here is a new Loeb Classical Library edition of Homer's stirring heroic account of the Trojan war and its passions。 The eloquent and dramatic epic poem captures the terrible anger of Achilles， "the best of the Achaeans，" over a grave insult to his personal honor and relates its tragic result--a chain of consequences that proves devastating for the Greek forces besieging Troy， for noble Trojans， and for Achilles himself。 The poet gives us compelling characterizations of his protagonists as well as a remarkable study of the heroic code in antiquity。
The works attributed to Homer include the two oldest and greatest European epic poems， the Odyssey and the Iliad。 These have been published in the Loeb Classical Library for three quarters of a century， the Greek text facing a faithful and literate prose translation by A。 T。 Murray。 William F。 Wyatt now brings the Loeb's Iliad up to date， with a rendering that retains Murray's admirable style but is written for today's readers。
Reviews
Mat
，
Simply brilliant。 In the second half of Homer's epic The Iliad we see the wrath （incidentally， "wrath" is the very first word that opens the epic-poem） of Achilles on full display - and indeed it is mighty and many a knee it will have a-quaking。 After Hector slays many an Achaean， especially Achilles' dearly beloved Patroclus， the son of Peleus （Achilles） is stirred into action and the whole tide of the war turns against the Trojans。 For example， towards the end of the tale， Achilles says， “…。bu Simply brilliant。 In the second half of Homer's epic The Iliad we see the wrath （incidentally， "wrath" is the very first word that opens the epic-poem） of Achilles on full display - and indeed it is mighty and many a knee it will have a-quaking。 After Hector slays many an Achaean， especially Achilles' dearly beloved Patroclus， the son of Peleus （Achilles） is stirred into action and the whole tide of the war turns against the Trojans。 For example， towards the end of the tale， Achilles says， “…。but Hector， son of Priam， I will not give to the fire to feed on， but to dogs。” （Homer。 The Iliad: p。 507）。 It becomes a story of one man's revenge for the slaying of his dear friend。 Up until that point， Achilles refused to take part in the war because of his disagreements with Agamemnon。Fortunately， the gods protect Hector's body from decay and his father， King Priam， can retrieve the body by paying Achilles a hefty ransom。 Achilles is one guy you would not want to piss off。 Here he is in full fury - Achilles to Hector: “Implore me not， dog， by knees or parents。 I wish that somehow wrath and fury might drive me to carve your flesh and myself eat it raw because of what you have done……” （Homer。 The Iliad: p。 479）What was interesting to see was why Zeus would let Hector， a mortal he loved more dearly than any other， die at the hands of Achilles？ Achilles' mother， Thetis， is a goddess loved by both Zeus and Poseidon。 She was given to Peleus by the two male gods， and by wedding Peleus， Achilles was born。 Zeus promised Thetis he would give Achilles glory， even though he was fated to die at the hands of Paris' bow at Troy。 The logic used by the Greek gods was not always clear to follow。 There are so many soldiers in this war who are partly or strongly related to one of the gods and therefore some come under their protection or 'aegis' （a word often used throughout The Iliad referring to some form of divine shield）， while other mere mortals have to fend for themselves。 It is not revealed until the end that Helen was abducted by Paris 20 years ago！ And that the war was now in its 10th year。 Why did it take the Achaeans 10 years to reach Troy？ （Apparently there was an earlier abandoned voyage）。 The war is incredibly bloody and like any battle， brings countless sorrow， as it produces many widows and orphans。 As Achilles says to King Priam （after slaying Hector and after Priam comes to reclaim his body）: "For so have the gods spun the thread for wretched mortals， that they should live among sorrows; and they themselves are without care。" （Homer。 The Iliad: p。 601） I can hear the self-righteous atheists somewhere in the background screeching "hear！ hear！"What is interesting was how some of the gods like Pallas Athene （who reappears in the Odyssey as well - she just LOVES Odysseus） would come down onto the battlefield and assist by either protecting certain figures （deflecting thrusts of spears or breaking them） or rallying their strength and courage to do battle。 The Greek gods were quite bloodthirsty it seems or "insatiate of war" to borrow a phrase Homer often uses - enjoying the spectacle of men slaughtering each other and at the end of the day， having various sheep and cattle and other livestock slaughtered in their honour。 I wonder what they would have thought of animal rights groups or pacifists？ All in all， this is a fantastically spun tale by Homer， one of the most amazing storytellers of all time。 The true greats of literature of ALL TIME！！！！ are Shakespeare， Dante and Homer （plus a few others - Catullus is a potential candidate and maybe dare I say Joyce？）。If I had to choose one of Homer's epics over the other， I would have to say that in terms of language， they are equally beautiful but I slightly preferred the Odyssey， but only because of the amount of variety in the tale and the various vicissitudes and adventures of Odysseus never ceased to impress， surprise or amaze。 I read the Odyssey first but I really should have started with The Iliad （Odysseus appears in this epic too although not as prominently as some of the other figures）， then read The Aeneid （because Aeneas survives the sacking of Troy to go and found the great city of Rome） and then finally the Odyssey。 I plan to read The Aeneid sometime next month - it was written by the Latin poet Virgil， a completely different poet who came many， many years after Homer's time， but I am curious to see what happened to the sons of Troy after its fall。Fantastic epic book - read it， read it， read it， goddamn read it！ PS - There were a couple of surprises in this story - there is NO mention WHATSOEVER of the Trojan Horse anywhere in this tale。。。。？ It must appear in another story - perhaps The Aeneid？PPS - The death of Achilles is not mentioned either， although it is prophesied in several parts， including by his own mother Thetis。 The epic comes to a close， quite appropriately and in a dignified manner， with the burial of Hector among the Trojans。 。。。more
Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer
，
I studied Homer intensively as a student， did research on him and taught about him when I was working as a classicist， but this was actually the first time that I read the Iliad in my armchair instead of at my desk surrounded by learned commentaries and the first time that I allowed myself to go with the flow of the story and enjoy it for its own sake without frantically digging into every single detail。 Reading the 552 OCT pages of stunningly fresh Greek like this was a breathtaking and extreme I studied Homer intensively as a student， did research on him and taught about him when I was working as a classicist， but this was actually the first time that I read the Iliad in my armchair instead of at my desk surrounded by learned commentaries and the first time that I allowed myself to go with the flow of the story and enjoy it for its own sake without frantically digging into every single detail。 Reading the 552 OCT pages of stunningly fresh Greek like this was a breathtaking and extremely rewarding experience。 Although I’m aware of the so-called Homeric question and although I know that unity is considered to be an anachronistic concept when talking about the epics traditionally labelled with the name of Homer， I was amazed how marvellously well the Iliad actually works when one reads it as if it were a novel。 It is a solid， very unified and well designed symphony around a single theme。 It problematises the key values of the warrior culture， centred on honour and glory， by telling a story which couldn’t possibly end differently and which in the end produces only losers。 Everyone loses and the losses are unspeakable。 It struck me how well the Iliad is written， even if ‘written’ probably is the wrong word。 The narrative techniques， the handling of suspense， the character portrayal， the dialogues and descriptions， the tension and the details- it is all by no means inferior to any modern masterpiece of western literature。 To say the least。 I was also astounded by the precision of the language。 Even if the formulaic diction seems to presuppose a certain degree of standardisation and even if students learn not to weigh every single word of Homer as they would in a modern poem， one should actually weigh every single word， because Homer makes every detail count。 Most of all I was enchanted and moved by the humanity of Homer’s psychology。 This almost three thousand years old song， born in a society that we would abhor， set on a bloody battlefield and singing of a brutal war that is not ours， manages to be miraculously soft， gentle and humane。 That’s what’s it all about， actually。 That’s why there is truth and wisdom in the Iliad。 That’s why Homer is the wisest of teachers。 。。。more
Jake
，
This book is a bit of a slog to get through but the translation flows well especially if read out aloud。
Kyriakos Sorokkou
，
Διαβάστε και την κριτική μου στα ελληνικά στις βιβλιοαλχημείες。Around the end of 2019 I and a friend of mine decided for our bookish resolutions for 2020。 For me was to have 0 books on my TBR， and for her to finally read the impossibly tough novel by James Joyce Ulysses which was on her shelves unread for more than a decade。We were planning to read it around Bloomsday early in June BUT thanks to the you-know-who-virus we decided to read it early in May。And since I had time and no books， I decide Διαβάστε και την κριτική μου στα ελληνικά στις βιβλιοαλχημείες。Around the end of 2019 I and a friend of mine decided for our bookish resolutions for 2020。 For me was to have 0 books on my TBR， and for her to finally read the impossibly tough novel by James Joyce Ulysses which was on her shelves unread for more than a decade。We were planning to read it around Bloomsday early in June BUT thanks to the you-know-who-virus we decided to read it early in May。And since I had time and no books， I decided to read the The Odyssey since Joyce's magnum opus is based on it。But since I had a lot of time I decided to also read its prequel The IliadEt voilà！ my last book for April was Homer's first epic poem。We studied Iliad back at school but I never read it from cover to cover。I knew though that it doesn't include the beginning of the war， or Achilles' death or even the Trojan Horse。It begins with Achilles's anger after he was insulted by Agamemnon， and his decision to resign from fighting， but he will eventually return to the battlefield once he learns his dear friend is dead。It is a book with countless names and a gazillion of fight descriptions。It also includes laments of fallen heroes and relatives as well as the intrigues between Gods and their interferences in the matters of the mortals。I didn't expect that I would like the Iliad， and of course I wasn't expecting so much violence。Entrails being spilled on the ground， tongues being cut from the root， teeth pulverised with an axe， eyes squashed out of their sockets and more。 If you are afraid to read it because it is a poem， don't be。It's an epic poem， a narrative poem; it narrates events and scenes and has extensive dialogue。It's not the usual poem of imagery and feelings and hidden meanings。I was lucky for reading Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles before the Iliad because it is much more compressed and too sugarcoated and cute for my taste。It also felt like Greek Mythology for Dummies。 。。。more
Amy
，
Review originally posted at warmdayswillnevercease。wordpress。comBeginning with an evocation of the Muses， the Iliad is a tale of war， pride， and fate。 It’s a classic story which never seems to age， no matter how many times it is translated and reimagined。 I don’t think I have much to say about the plot except that I enjoyed it。 It had everything I love; Greek mythology， pseudo-history， and homoerotic subtext。 Homer， whoever that was， focuses on a few weeks during the final year of the Trojan War Review originally posted at warmdayswillnevercease。wordpress。comBeginning with an evocation of the Muses， the Iliad is a tale of war， pride， and fate。 It’s a classic story which never seems to age， no matter how many times it is translated and reimagined。 I don’t think I have much to say about the plot except that I enjoyed it。 It had everything I love; Greek mythology， pseudo-history， and homoerotic subtext。 Homer， whoever that was， focuses on a few weeks during the final year of the Trojan War but alludes to many earlier events， including the cause of the war。 The narrative actually ends before Achilles’ death and the fall of Troy but the tale includes these prophesised events， resulting in an almost complete account of this legendary war。 It’s a wonderful tale。I did like the translation but， even though I’m used to using Loeb editions， I did think that it was particularly dry and stilted in places。 Loeb editions give you a fairly literal translation of the original text which is handy when you need a literal translation but， sometimes， they’re not the most captivating books to read。 At times， this translation just seems to lack style， flow， rhythm， and energy。 Now that I’ve read a literal translation， I’m craving something a bit more artistic。 Thanks to this particular edition featuring the original Greek and the English translation side-by-side， my ability to read Greek did improve for a short time but I’m back to being terrible at it again。I do think that I’ll read another translation soon。 I just can’t decide which to read。 I’m stuck between a few but I definitely want to read George Chapman’s original translation， Robert Fagles’ translation， and Richmond Lattimore’s version。 There are just too many to choose from！ 。。。more
Pilar
，
Second volume of The Iliad， -one of my favourite epics-， containing Books 13-24。 A very good edition of the Greek text with critical apparatus by David B。 Monro and Thomas W。 Allen， who， besides this， wrote the introduction and the index （in Latin， as is customary in this Oxford scholarly editions）。
Matt Pitts
，
Enjoyed it， but it didn’t end like I expected。
Thiago Medeiros
，
Edição excelente
EJ Daniels
，
Any translation of Greek epic into English must suffer considerably， as the English language is ill-suited to the melody and vigor of Homeric or Attic Greek。 That being said， a translator may yet save himself by imparting his poetry with a flowing lyricism and appropriate dignity to instill something of the original; Philip Stanhope Worsley achieves this feat and more in his translation of The Iliad。To improve flow within his stanzas， Worsley eschews heroic couplets in favor of the Spenserian so Any translation of Greek epic into English must suffer considerably， as the English language is ill-suited to the melody and vigor of Homeric or Attic Greek。 That being said， a translator may yet save himself by imparting his poetry with a flowing lyricism and appropriate dignity to instill something of the original; Philip Stanhope Worsley achieves this feat and more in his translation of The Iliad。To improve flow within his stanzas， Worsley eschews heroic couplets in favor of the Spenserian sonnet; the result is greatly appreciated and contributes considerably to the grandeur of the work。 Worsley also presents his subjects with a vocabulary and diction worthy of the subject， reflecting the depth and gravitas of the original work。I would strongly recommend the Worsley translation for anyone seeking an excellent English poetry version of The Iliad; those already familiar with Homer will benefit greatly from the added familiarity。 Fans of Miltonian or romantic poetry will also find a great deal to enjoy。Nota Bene: This volume consists of the last twelve books of The Iliad only。 。。。more
Mel Martínez Zulli
，
Es bastante menos tediosa que la primera parte。
Mac
，
Reading the Iliad in Greek has been one of my life's goals。 Now， after almost two years， I have completed the task！ It has been an immensely rewarding experience。 It will feel strange not to read my daily page each morning--the only remedy is to start re-reading the Odyssey！The second half of the Iliad is where the most familiar parts of the story take place。 Achilles still refuses to fight， so his boon companion Patroclus borrows his armor to inspire the men。 He is successful for a time， but ev Reading the Iliad in Greek has been one of my life's goals。 Now， after almost two years， I have completed the task！ It has been an immensely rewarding experience。 It will feel strange not to read my daily page each morning--the only remedy is to start re-reading the Odyssey！The second half of the Iliad is where the most familiar parts of the story take place。 Achilles still refuses to fight， so his boon companion Patroclus borrows his armor to inspire the men。 He is successful for a time， but eventually Hector catches up to him and kills him。 Achilles is inspired to re-enter the fighting to revenge his friend's death， culminating in his pursuit and killing of Hector。 As in the first half of the poem， the characterizations are vivid and feel true to life。 Other highlights of this half of the poem include the description of the shield that Hephaestus makes for Achilles （to replace the one Hector took off Patroclus）， which includes scenes of everyday Greek life; and Book 23， which comprises the funeral games for Patroclus， almost like a proto-Olympics。 The opening lines of the Iliad announce that it will deal with the wrath of Achilles。 For most of the poem， this wrath causes him to sulk in his tent， far from the battlefield。 Then the wrath leads him to mow down Trojans mercilessly until he finally kills Hector himself。 Even this is not enough to assuage Achilles， who vows to dishonor his enemy's corpse。 But then King Priam comes to beg for Achilles to let him take his son's body back to Troy for proper mourning。 Finally Achilles relents and lets mercy overcome his wrath。 The last we hear of the great Greek hero is that he is at last able to sleep， and with Briseis no less--the woman whom Agamemnon had taken away from him just before the beginning of the poem， an injustice that was the first cause of his wrath。 Homer has taken us full circle。Now bring on the Odyssey and more adventures！ 。。。more
H。d。
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A tradução plenipotente feita por Haroldo de Campos traz o texto direto do futuro grego de XIII aec， com um ritmo vertiginoso que faz as centenas de personagens de Thomas Pynchon parecerem dezenas， e envergonham qualquer cineasta gore por falta de sangue。
Vyou
，
Un 3。5 en realidad。 A comparación con la primer parte del libro， esta me agrado mucho más。 No se si fue porque había más acción o ya me había acostumbrado a la forma de escritura。
James F
，
Finally finished re-reading the Iliad。 I can't really add much to my review of the first half; although the later books have somewhat less stereotyped fighting and more of the pathos of Patrocles and Achilles， Hector， and Priam （and the comic relief of the fighting between the gods and godesses）。 I'm going to try to go on to read the Odyssey after I finish a few other projects; I've never read that in the original （my third time for the Iliad） and I want to do it while my Greek is still in my me Finally finished re-reading the Iliad。 I can't really add much to my review of the first half; although the later books have somewhat less stereotyped fighting and more of the pathos of Patrocles and Achilles， Hector， and Priam （and the comic relief of the fighting between the gods and godesses）。 I'm going to try to go on to read the Odyssey after I finish a few other projects; I've never read that in the original （my third time for the Iliad） and I want to do it while my Greek is still in my memory。 。。。more
James Violand
，
Greatest epic ever written。 A guy's book。 Terrific on all levels。 A must read by anyone who claims to be educated。 Greatest epic ever written。 A guy's book。 Terrific on all levels。 A must read by anyone who claims to be educated。 。。。more
Anca Haiduc
，
Am cucerit si eu in sfartit Troia， purtata de un avant care nu l-am banuit ca il am in a ceti in hexametri。 Cred ca secretul e ca odata ce te avanti si te obisnuiesti cu ritmul galopant nu mai poti sa te opresti， pentru ca in intregime capodopera lui Homer este splendida。 Razboiul pentru cucerirea cetatii Troia a durat mult， Iliada prezinta doar cateva zile din aceasta confruntare istorica， care a luat nastere printr-un act de piraterie （rapirea Helenei si a bogatiilor Spartane）。 Desi s-ar parea Am cucerit si eu in sfartit Troia， purtata de un avant care nu l-am banuit ca il am in a ceti in hexametri。 Cred ca secretul e ca odata ce te avanti si te obisnuiesti cu ritmul galopant nu mai poti sa te opresti， pentru ca in intregime capodopera lui Homer este splendida。 Razboiul pentru cucerirea cetatii Troia a durat mult， Iliada prezinta doar cateva zile din aceasta confruntare istorica， care a luat nastere printr-un act de piraterie （rapirea Helenei si a bogatiilor Spartane）。 Desi s-ar parea normal ca in orice razboi sa existe personaje pozitive si negative in epopeea homerica acestea nu se contureaza astfel， fiecare dintre personaje este extrem de complex conturat， Homer reusind sa trezeasca simpatie in sufletele cititorului pentru fiecare dintre eroii sai， chiar daca acestia s-au lasat inselati sau afu facut lucruri nesabuie， de care se caiesc mai apoi。Chiar daca razboiul pare a fi in centru atentiei acestei carti， Homer nu canta cruzimea si umanismul， desi prezinta scene sangeroase， care se succed precum cadrele unuei pelicule， cu zeci si sute de eroi cazuti。 Precum toate drumurile duc la Roma， relatarea razboiului se invarte in centrul unui singur om， eroul Ahile， Peleidul， cel-cu-pasu-avnatat。 Defapt eopeea poate fi povestea maniei si furiei lui， caci chiar daca nu e in primul plan totul se intoarce inspre el。 Cel mai complet personaj al cantului， Ahile ne este prezentat in mai multe ipostaze， de la veselia cu care se bucura de pradele razboiul la indaratnicia si incapatanarea de care a dat dovada atunci cand acestea ii sunt furate de catre Agamemnon， pastorul de oamneni si conducatorul ostirilor si pana la zbuciumul de care este zdruncinat atunci cand il pierde pe bunul prieten Patrocle， furia care se dezlantuie pana la uciderea lui Hector si mila care i-o trezeste batranul Priam venind sa ceara lesul fiului sau din mainile ucigasului。Homer ne arata in Iliada lui ca nu putem sa ne ascundem de ursita Moarte， dar putem sa ne alegem destinul， Ahile ar fi putut sa se intoarca acasa， dupa cum ii prorocise mama lui， zeita Thetis， si sa traiasca pana la adanci batraneti， lipsindu-se astfel de glorie， caci daca va ramane in Troada va cunoaste glorie， dar Moarte il va rapi， si nu isi va mai vedea pamanturile natale。Iliada - o poveste complexa， de unde toate povestile cu eroi au inceput。 。。。more
James Henderson
，
I have read Homer before but reread it recently to rediscover the wonder of the Greeks and Trojans， Achilles， Agamemnon and Hector。 It is a delight to wonder at the Gods and mortals and the role of fate in their enterprise。 This mythic epic still speaks to us more than twenty-five hundred years after it first began to be recited by the poet Homer。 After withstanding the rage of Achilles， the Greeks go up against the Trojans led by Achilles friend Patroclus。 But， fate has decreed and with Apollo' I have read Homer before but reread it recently to rediscover the wonder of the Greeks and Trojans， Achilles， Agamemnon and Hector。 It is a delight to wonder at the Gods and mortals and the role of fate in their enterprise。 This mythic epic still speaks to us more than twenty-five hundred years after it first began to be recited by the poet Homer。 After withstanding the rage of Achilles， the Greeks go up against the Trojans led by Achilles friend Patroclus。 But， fate has decreed and with Apollo's help Hector brings the final blow down on Patroclus。 At this point you realize why this poem has been read for millenia and loved by many。 This translation is excellent for those who read Greek with the original Greek on the facing page for reference to the excellent English translation on the right hand page。 In two volumes this is indispensable for enjoying the lives and battles -- the momentous occasion of Patroclus' death in a way that transcends the battle scenes and suggests it is the fabric of their life that has been rent - not just another battle death。 。。。more
Hank
，