- The characters you need to pay attention to are —
- Greeks: Achilles, Patroclus, Agamemnon, – Menelaus, Diomedes, Nestor, Odysseus, Aias
- Gods allied to Troy: Apollo, Aphrodite, Ares
- Gods allied to the Greeks: Athena, Hera, Poseidon
- Most modern editions are fine. Caroline Alexander’s translation is a notable one from the last ten years, and she’s got a poetic style. Stanley Lombardo’s translation has the best track record among new readers. Also popular are the ones by Robert Fagles and Robert Fitzgerald.
- Worst ones:
- Richmond Lattimore
- Stephen Mitchell. His version leaves out most of the epithets.
- Old translations
- A quick comparison of some of the translations:
- Stanley Lombardo:
- The Myrmidons shuddered, and to a man
- Could not bear to look at it. But Achilles,
- When he saw it, felt his rage seep
- Deeper into his bones, and his lids narrowed
- And lowered over eyes that glared
- Like a white-hot steel flame.
- A tremor ran through all the Myrmidon – ranks — none dared
- to look straight at the glare, each fighter shrank away.
- Not Achilles. The more he gazed, the deeper his anger went,
- his eyes flashing under his eyelids, fierce as fire —
- Myrmidons
- began to tremble at the sound, and dared not
- look straight at the armor; their knees shook.
- But anger entered Akhilleus as he gazed,
- his eyes grown wide and bright as blazing fire, …
- And trembling took all the Myrmidons, nor did any dare
- to look upon it straight, and they shrank afraid; but Achilles
- as he gazed upon it, so anger entered him all the more, and his eyes
- terribly shone out beneath his lids like fire flare …
What translation of the Iliad is the best?
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