The Iliad of Homer by Richmond Lattimore


The Iliad of Homer
Title : The Iliad of Homer
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 0226470490
ISBN-10 : 978-0226470498
Language : English
Format Type : and 1 more , Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback
Number of Pages : 608 pages
Publication : University of Chicago Press

Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus son Achilleus / and its devastation. For sixty years, that's how Homer has begun the Iliad in English, in Richmond Latti's faithful translationthe gold standard for generations of students and general readers. This long awaited new edition of Latti's Iliad is designed to bring the book into the twenty first centurywhile leaving the poem as firmly rooted in ancient Greece as ever. Latti's elegant, fluent verseswith their memorably phrased heroic epithets and remarkable fidelity to the Greekremain unchanged, but classicist Richard Martin has added a wealth of supplementary materials designed to aid new generations of readers. A new introduction sets the poem in the wider context of Greek life, warfare, society, and poetry, while line by line notes at the back of the volume offer explanations of unfamiliar terms, information about the Greek gods and heroes, and literary appreciation. A glossary and maps round out the book. The result is a volume that actively invites readers into Homer's poem, helping them to understand fully the worlds in which he and his heroes livedand thus enabling them to marvel, as so many have for centuries, at Hektor and Ajax, Paris and Helen, and the devastating rage of Achilleus.

The Iliad of Homer Reviews

  • Jacqueline W.

    Fascinating to read – a view into the roots of so much modern literature and storytelling (about war, the gods, humanity, and glory). Many questions are left unanswered but I suppose that is the nature of literature like this.

  • spencer

    "Let me at least not die without a struggle, inglorious, but do some big thing first, that men to come shall know of it." Homer (Hector speaking) The Conflict At the brink of war, two great nations fought for the sake of glory and honor. One for the

  • Greg Polansky

    This is a story that seems infused into our world. We know bits and pieces because the story is so good that thousands of years later it still forms part of our culture. That tells you something about the staying power of the story. And why everyone should read it.

  • Hayley Duquette

    There's no doubt that Latti is the authority when it comes to fidelity in translation. I don't always choose to read his translations cover to cover because he can meander quite a bit (and I think Alexander translates slightly concisely without compromising loyalty

  • Mrs. E

    Look, the Iliad's always going to be a good story, no matter what translation you use. But how good do you want it? I teach mythology and epic literature on the high school level, and I've always used Latti's translations of the Iliad and Odyssey. They

  • John Stults

    Not only a good translation but this edition provides a very good introduction as well as detailed notes and maps as well as a list of names cross referenced with the text and a good bibliography. The e version had a few repeated lines but not enough to distract from the

  • Nick Wilson

    This is my second journey into the complete Iliad. The first began with Samuel Butler's translation in prose, which reads easily at an astonishing pace. But my e copy of Butler's version had no notes or references. I decided to cross reference Butler's Roman names of gods

  • goodreads Customer

    While most schools have you read the Fitzgerald translation, and better schools have you read the Fagles translation, there really is no better version than Richmond Latti's. Latti, with artistry and skill, manages to preserve the flow and feeling of Homer's