About the Book:
This translation provides an accurate text of the Iliad in a modern English poetic form. It has been designed, first and foremost for people who are reading Homer’s Iliad for the first time. The book is accompanied by a glossary, maps and other study aids intended to help ensure that one’s initial venture into the world of the Iliad is a fruitful one. Composed between 800 and 700 BC and telling the story of a war which took place over 3000 years ago, the Iliad is a true classic, its beauty rivaled only by its longevity.
Reviews:
“Johnston’s translation is extremely faithful to Homer’s Greek text, and yet at the same time is characterized by a very readable English style, so that the clarity and fluency of this translation immediately set it apart from many other alternatives. The result is an interesting and evocative synthesis of a past vision and modern sensibilities.“
Dr. Anne Leavitt, Professor of Philosophy and Liberal Studies
Malaspina University-College
“Ian Johnston provides his readers with a clear and comprehensible translation of the Iliad that presents itself as a dynamic equivalent of the Greek original.
Johnston captures the text with an eye to both accuracy and his modern readership.“
Dr. Andrew Porter, University of Missouri-Columbia
About the Translator
Ian Johnston was born in Valparaiso, Chile and raised in Canada and England. He attended McGill University in Montreal, the University of Bristol and
the University of Toronto. He worked for many years as a college and university-college instructor in British Columbia teaching English, Classics and Liberal Studies. He is the author of The Ironies of War: An Introduction to Homer’s Iliad. He is now retired and living in Nanaimo, British Columbia.
A Few Suggestions for Further Study
There are innumerable books and essays dealing with the Iliad and Homer. The brief list below includes some recommended titles for those wishing to explore Homer in more detail.
Howard Clarke, Homer’s Readers (a very interesting study of the transmission and influence of the Iliad and Odyssey).
Ian Johnston, Essays on Homer’s Iliad (a detailed look at the vision of life presented in the Iliad).
James M. Redfield, Nature and Culture in the Iliad (an influential modern study of Homer’s epic).
Simone Weil, The Iliad or The Poem of Force (a classic study of the Iliad, still as eloquent as ever).
Michael Wood, In Search of Troy (a fascinating and easy-to-read account of the archeological work carried out to find Troy)
There are a number useful sites on the web including the Homer Home Page.
So there is no shortage of additional suggestions.
A recording of the complete translation contained in this book is available from Naxos Books, The Iliad, read by Anton Lesser (ISBN 9-626344-28-8), through the Naxos internet site.
Translator's Note
This text uses the traditional Latinate spellings and common English equivalents for the Greek names,e.g., Achilles, Clytaemnestra, Achaeans, Menelaus, Hecuba, rather than modern renditions which strive to stay more closely to the Greek: Akhilleus, Klytaimnestra,
Akhaians, Menelaos, Hekabe, and so on, with the exception of a very few names of gods-Cronos, Ouranos-and a few others (e.g., Idaios).
And where there is a common English rendition of the name (e.g., Ajax, Troy, Teucer), I have used that. A dieresis over a vowel indicates that it is pronounced by itself (e.g., Coön rhymes with “go on” not with “goon,” Deïphobus is pronounced “Day-ee-phobus” not “Day-phobus” or “Dee-phobus”).
In numbering the lines, the translator has usually included a short, indented line with the line above it, so that what looks like two partial
lines counts as a single one. These numbers are approximately twenty-five to thirty percent higher than the numbers in the Greek text.
The numbers inserted in the text indicate an explanatory note at the bottom of the page. These have been provided by the translator.
Table of Contents
Book 1: The Quarrel by the Ships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Book 2: Agamemnon’s Dream and the Catalogue of Ships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Book 3: Paris, Menelaus and Helen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Book 4: The Armies Clash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Book 5: Diomedes Goes to Battle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Book 6: Hector and Andromache . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122
Book 7: Hector and Ajax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141
Book 8: The Trojans Have Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Book 9: Peace Offerings to Achilles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .178
Book 10: A Night Raid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .203
Book 11: The Achaeans Face Disaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .224
Book 12: The Fight at the Barricade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252
Book 13: The Trojans Attack the Ships . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Book 14: Zeus Deceived . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .295
Book 15: The Battle at the Ships . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
Book 16: Patroclus Fights and Dies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Book 17: The Fight over Patroclus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
Book 18: The Arms of Achilles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .396
Book 19: Achilles and Agamemnon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .418
Book 20: Achilles Returns to Battle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .433
Book 21: Achilles Fights the River . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .451
Book 22: The Death of Hector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .473
Book 23: The Funeral Games for Patroclus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 492
Book 24: Achilles and Priam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .525
Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .556
Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561
