Review by Choice Review
"The wrath do thou sing, O goddess, of Peleus' son, Achilles...." Thus begins the 1924 translation of the Iliad by Augustus Taber Murray (Loeb edition, revised by William Wyatt, 1999). In 1990, Robert Fagles took the opening line this way: "Rage--Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus' son Achilles...." With the present volume distinguished Homerist Powell (emer., Univ. of Wisconsin), known especially for his publications on mythology, joins the ranks of the those who have created the more than 130 versions since Chapman's 1616 transcription in iambic heptameter. The work of a lifetime, this new and accurate version opens with "The rage, sing, O goddess, of Achilles, the son of Peleus ..."--a rendering that stresses the epic's principal theme. Homer's raw and violent Iliad remains as timeless and beautiful and meaningful as myth itself. The comprehensive and authoritative 39-page introduction, relevant maps, Homeric time line, extensive notes, pronouncing glossary, and index, together with nearly 60 black-and-white illustrations, make this volume user friendly. Classroom-friendly enrichments include a companion website with audio files (selected passages read aloud by the translator), plot summaries, and PowerPoint slides of plot outlines, maps, and photographs. This generous scholarly gift will be joined by Powell's forthcoming Odyssey (2014). Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. R. Cormier emeritus, Longwood University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Following Stephen Mitchell's superbly cadenced translation by a mere two years, Powell's Iliad may not get the popular attention it deserves. That would be a great shame, for while Mitchell's line is more singing, Powell's very similar five-beat line is scarcely inferior. It, too, maintains the great forward momentum of Homer's narration it's magnetically readable. But Powell puts explanatory notes at the pages' feet rather than in an appendix like Mitchell, who probably doesn't want to distract the reader from the narrative flow. Nevertheless, the footnotes' greater accessibility is welcome. Whereas Mitchell's introduction is primarily concerned with the qualities of the text, Powell's longer one is much more historical, concerned with the evolution of writing; the nature of oral literature; Homer's influence on Greek and Western history; the historical probabilities behind The Iliad; and what Homer's portrayal of motivation and character divine as well as human reveals about a society creating literature out of oral traditions. Adding attractiveness as well as cultural supplementation, Powell also disperses more than 50 illustrations depicting moments in the poem, all drawn from Hellenic pottery and Roman frescoes. It's tempting to think of Powell's as a student's and of Mitchell's as a reader's Iliad, but any library that can accommodate both really ought to. They're both invaluable versions for the twenty-first century.--Olson, Ray Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
There are many modern verse translations of The Iliad, including those by Robert Fitzgerald, Richmond Lattimore, Robert Fagles, Stanley Lombardo, and, more recently, Anthony Verity and Stephen Mitchell. Powell (emeritus, classics, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison; Writing and the Origins of Greek Literature), a distinguished Homer scholar and published poet with multiple books on the study of ancient Greek text and classical mythology, faces two challenges common to all translators of Homeric verse: how to capture the essential vigor and concision of oral poetry while remaining readable and how to represent a highly stylized and archaic idiom without sounding stilted. Powell is successful on both counts, offering a clear and energetic translation. VERDICT Staying true to Homer's poetic rhythms, Powell avoids the modified iambic lines found in Lattimore's, Fagles's, and Mitchell's works. He also avoids Lombardo's tendency to cast Homer in contemporary language and Fitzgerald's anachronisms. This fine version of The Iliad has a feel for the Greek but is more accessible than Verity's translation. Highly recommended for all libraries.-Thomas L. Cooksey, Armstrong -Atlantic State Univ., Savannah (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
