Hello Readers

We’ll be starting our reading of ‘The Iliad’ by Homer on 11/06/23. The Iliad tells the story of the final few months of the Trojan War. It focuses mainly on the fallout of a disagreement between Achilles and Agamemnon. I don’t want to give many spoilers away, but I will say that there are a lot of fight scenes, and the story ends a few weeks before the actual fall of Troy (so we don’t see the Trojan Horse). There are twenty-four books (aka chapters) within the Iliad and we plan to read it over twelve weeks. Each week we will read and discuss two books, with discussion posts going live at the weekends.

I’m going to attempt to give a quick guide to translations in this post. If you want to see a more in-depth analysis of the translations currently available, click here. There are also websites (like this one) you can check out if you want additional thoughts on the different translations.

Please note that some of the links below go to the Amazon site - which isn't ideal but it was the easiest way for me to track down reviews for individual translations (Goodreads is a bit glitchy on that front).

Quick Translation Guide:

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• Lattimore (1951) - Verse - This is an older translation and was the go-to version for most of the last centaury. This translation is available in most formats (including audio and eBook versions). This is still the go-to version for scholars and students.
• Fitzgerald (1974) Oxford World Classics - Verse - Not 100% faithful but written in a poetic style that is pleasant to read. There is a modern audiobook version, read by the actor Dan Stevens.
• Hammond (1987) - Prose - Highly recommended
• Fagles (1990) - Verse - One of the big staples, not 100% faithful to the original Greek but reviews suggest that it is accessible and a good introduction for beginners.
• E.V Rieu (2003, written in 1950s) -Penguin - Prose - this is a modern staple with lots of audiobook versions available. Some reviews comment that some of the prose is dry.
• Merrill (2007) - Verse - Modern and reasonably faithful to original but a bit flowery in parts. Merrill uses an unusual meter, English hexameter, to shape the verse as close to the ancient Greek version as possible. Reviews are mixed on this but overall positive.
• Kline (2009) Poetry in Translation - Prose - Good translation and available for free online on the Poetry in Translation website, complete with index links and context notes.
• Verity (2010) Oxford World Classics - Verse - This is really highly recommended by the r/classics poster. Reviews claim that it is readable and an excellent overall translation.
• Peter Green (2015) - Verse - Highly recommended. I personally enjoyed it and found it accessible. Sadly there is no audiobook version. The names use the older, archaic variations for a lot of characters though, which can be confusing.
• Caroline Alexander (2015) Vintage Classics - Verse - Another favourite of the classics poster. Reviews say that this version captures a lot of the rhythm of the original verse. The language is modern.
• Stanley Lombardo (1997) Hackett Classics - Verse - This translation uses modern, colloquial language to give a fresh and vivid take on the original Greek. Reviews say it is very accessible and it comes highly recommended by u/Deirdre_Rose who teaches in this area. This version also comes with some audiobook options.
• Note - Emily Wilson's translation comes out late September 2023 - which is a little late for us but if you are a later reader or looking for a good translation in general, this is probably going to be very good. Her version of the Odyssey was popular on our subreddit, was easy to read and has a great audiobook so hopefully her Iliad will follow suit.

Currently, I'm going with the E.V. Rieu translation. The audiobook sounds good and want to see what a prose version of the Iliad is like. If that doesn't work out I think I'll try the Verity translation.

Free Online Versions:

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• Kline translation, Poetry in Translation
• Project Gutenberg
• William Cullen Bryant translation
• LibriVox - audiobook version

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Reading Schedule:

Start Date - 11/06/23

Week 1 - Books 1 and 2 - 17/06/23

Week 2 - Books 3 and 4 - 24/06/23

Week 3 - Books 5 and 6 - 01/07/23

Week 4 - Books 7 and 8 - 08/07/23

Week 5 - Books 9 and 10 - 15/07/23

Week 6 - Books 11 and 12 - 22/07/23

Week 7 - Books 13 and 14 - 29/07/23

Week 8 - Books 15 and 16 - 05/08/23

Week 9 - Books 17 and 18 - 12/08/23

Week 10 - Books 19 and 20 - 19/08/23

Week 11 - Books 21 and 22 - 26/08/23

Week 12 - Books 23 and 24 - 02/09/23

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If you want to see the reading schedule for the full year, please click here. I’ll also be updating our reddit sidebar soon to show the new schedule.

After we finish the Iliad in September our next read will be The Aeneid by Virgil, which is an Iliad sequel written centuries later by a Roman writer. It is directly connected to a character we meet in the Iliad and was an important foundational myth for the Roman Empire.