The Iliad

Green (emer., Univ. of Texas, Austin) has published numerous works, historical studies as well as translations of Latin and Greek poetry and epic such as The Poems of Catullus (CH, Sep'06, 44-0148) and The Argonautika (CH, Apr'98, 35-4322). Now he confronts a timeless classic, attempting to capture its surging rhythms and ancient thunder with the aim of reading it aloud. Given its dramatic intensity, overall brilliance, and universalism--warriors ensnared between their own heroic arrogance and the random, often spiteful decisions of the (anthropomorphized) gods and fate functioning in a parallel universe--Homer's Iliad prevails today. But, one may ask, why another translation of an old archetype? Green answers by drawing an analogy to Bach's unaccompanied suites for cello: how many more interpretations are needed? Readers will learn a great deal about the Iliad from Green's detailed introduction and from comprehensive synopses of each book. A list summarizing the roles of main characters (Achilles to Zeus) and an index of names will benefit new readers as well as pros. But this reviewer was disappointed to find no mention of the important contributions of American scholars Adam Perry and Albert Bates Lord to Homeric scholarship regarding oral composition. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers. --Raymond J. Cormier, emeritus, Longwood University

For Green (Dougherty Centennial Professor Emeritus of Classics, Univ. of Texas, Austin), this new rendition of Homer's epic poem is the product of a lifetime of scholarship and translation. An authority on Alexander the Great, Green is also a novelist and well-regarded translator, including of versions of Ovid, Catullus, and the Argonautica of Apollonis Rhodios. His new verse translation joins many, including those of Richmond Lattimore, Robert Fagles, Stanley Lombardo, and more recently Barry B. Powell. Aiming at the general reader who knows little or no Greek, Green seeks a "declaimable" version to be "read" by the ear rather than the eye, a text that is at the same time true to the vigor and oral character of the original. In this he is generally successful, deploying an iambic line modified with an anapestic opening that creates something of the Greek hexameter. Like Robert Fitzgerald, he transliterates the Greek version of names, giving an anachronizing effect, avoiding Lombardo's practice of using a contemporary idiom. Verdict A fine translation, accurate and energetic, though it doesn't stand out in the crowded field of other such works, especially Powell's.-Thomas L. Cooksey, Armstrong Atlantic State Univ., Savannah © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.