L'Iliade, L'Odyssée

by Homer, Leconte de Lisle (Translator)

Homère et la Bible, les deux sources de notre civilisation ? Des récits fondateurs de mythes, de religions, qui expliquent le monde et aident à vivre. Des modèles inépuisables, inlassablement traduits, adaptés, commentés, imités.
Il existe d'innombrables versions françaises de L'Iliade et de L'Odyssée . Chaque génération a inventé la sienne, conforme à son goût, ses rêves, ses ambitions. Il nous fallait la nôtre, dans la langue de notre temps, vivante, jeune, capable de nous restituer la fraîcheur, la vivacité, l'humour de cette poésie. Une poésie populaire au meilleur sens du mot. Victor Hugo ne s'y est pas trompé : "Homère est l'énorme poète enfant. Le monde naît, Homère chante. C'est l'oiseau de cette aurore. Homère a la candeur sacrée du matin. Il ignore presque l'ombre [...]. Fable et histoire, hypothèse et tradition, chimère et science composent Homère. Il est sans fond, et il est riant."
Cette nouvelle traduction est l'œuvre de Louis Bardollet, qui a enseigné le grec pendant trente ans à de jeunes lycéens. C'est pour eux qu'il a d'abord transcrit L'Iliade et L'Odyssée , dans une langue qui est la leur. C'est pourquoi sa traduction respire la poésie de la jeunesse. Elle est accompagnée de commentaires, de notes, de cartes et d'un index analytique.
Robert Kopp.

Mass Market Paperback

Published March 7, 1995

About the author

Homer (Greek: Όμηρος born c. 8th century BC) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the most revered and influential authors in history.
Homer's Iliad centers on a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles during the last year of the Trojan War. The Odyssey chronicles the ten-year journey of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, back to his home after the fall of Troy. The poems are in Homeric Greek, also known as Epic Greek, a literary language which shows a mixture of features of the Ionic and Aeolic dialects from different centuries; the predominant influence is Eastern Ionic. Most researchers believe that the poems were originally transmitted orally. Despite being predominantly known for its tragic and serious themes, the Homeric poems also contain instances of comedy and laughter.
Homer's epic poems shaped aspects of ancient Greek culture and education, fostering ideals of heroism, glory, and honor. To Plato, Homer was simply the one who "has taught Greece" (τὴν Ἑλλάδα πεπαίδευκεν). In Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, Virgil refers to Homer as "Poet sovereign", king of all poets; in the preface to his translation of the Iliad, Alexander Pope acknowledges that Homer has always been considered the "greatest of poets". From antiquity to the present day, Homeric epics have inspired many famous works of literature, music, art, and film.
The question of by whom, when, where and under what circumstances the Iliad and Odyssey were composed continues to be debated. Scholars remain divided as to whether the two works are the product of a single author. It is thought that the poems were composed at some point around the late eighth or early seventh century BC. Many accounts of Homer's life circulated in classical antiquity; the most widespread account was that he was a blind bard from Ionia, a region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey. Modern scholars consider these accounts legendary.

French: Homère, Italian: Omero, Portuguese, Spanish: Homero.

Reviews

[Lili VI · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fière d'être parvenue jusqu'à la fin. Passionnant de réaliser le peu de changement chez les êtres humains au cours des 2.500 dernières années.
Mais c'est long...

[eva ✦ · Rating 4 out of 5]

l’iliade 👍🏻 l’odyssée 👎🏻
non en vrai j’ai aimé les deux mais surtout l’iliade car je déteste ulysse aux mille desseins

[Jean Michel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good way to see the time of your life.
Do not miss it.