The Iliad: The Stephen Mitchell Translation

by Homer, Stephen Mitchell (Translator)

Tolstoy called The Iliad a miracle; Goethe said it always thrust him into a state of astonishment.

Homer's story is thrilling, and his Greek is perhaps the most beautiful poetry ever sung or written. But until now, even the best English translations haven't been able to recreate the energy and simplicity, the speed, grace, and pulsing rhythm of the original.

In Stephen Mitchell's The Iliad, the epic story resounds again across 2,700 years, as if the lifeblood of its heroes Achilles and Patroclus, Hector, and Priam flows in every word. And we are there with them, amid the horror and ecstasy of war, carried along by a poetry that lifts even the most devastating human events into the realm of the beautiful.

Mitchell's The Iliad is the first translation based on the work of the preeminent Homeric scholar Martin L. West, whose edition of the original Greek identifies many passages that were added after The Iliad was first written down, to the detriment of the music and the story. Omitting these hundreds of interpolated lines restores a dramatically sharper, leaner text. In addition, Mitchell's illuminating introduction opens the epic still further to our understanding and appreciation. Now, thanks to Stephen Mitchell's scholarship and the power of his language, the ancient story of The Iliad comes to moving, vivid new life.

Genres: Classics

Paperback

Published August 24, 2012

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

[Armie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic story and I felt that the repetitive nature of the war's explanations put me into a sort of trance. The great many names and the detailed manner of death for each soldier gave a sense of grandiosity that I have not experienced in any other literature.

The character of Achilles, who feels emotions so strongly and who is considered a hero despite his rage causing the death of so many is endlessly fascinating and appealing. His anger at Agamemnon and his complaining to his mother mirrored that of a toddler. But his tears over Patroclus and the unstoppable force with which he led on the battlefield cement him as a mythic.

From what I understand, this translation leaves out large sections of the text since these are supposedly later additions not made by Homer. I feel that is the only fault as it is very easy to read. I have only read this translation as of now (2025) but I will read Fagles at some point and compare. The translator's notes and index were very helpful. For this reason a physical copy is ideal since I did a lot of flipping back and forth.

My favorite scenes:
- Apollo dooming Patroclus to death and the ensuing fight over his body. (Apollo HATE)
- Achilles' tears over Patroclus (I liked their friendship in general). Him falling to the ground and clutching the dirt. The funeral where those Trojan soldiers had their necks slit was also enjoyable to read. I really love the depiction of despair in this book.
- Priam wallowing in garbage and waste after hearing of Hector's death. Then, him coming to Achilles and even kissing the hand of the one who slaughtered so many of his children. Achilles then shed tears thinking of his own father and I thought it very impactful.
- Helen's despair and self-hate when with Paris and when talking to Priam.
- Depictions of Ajax. Imagining him as this giant, hulking hero pulling off these impossible feats made me feel like I was fawning over marvelslop or something but I really enjoyed picturing him.
- Diomedes praying to Athena while Athena was disguised and helping him pleasing her greatly.
- Patroclus' funeral games. Enjoyed seeing the great heroes who had performed amazing feats on the battlefield engage in friendly competition with each other.

[SCDavis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listening to this translation of The Iliad is a feast for the ears. The characters of the story richly appear before the mind's eye.
The introduction is wonderful in how it helps the reader or listener to grasp the beauty and power of this story as it has been passed down over centuries. One big takeaway for me was seeing how the Greeks understood their lives as sort of puppets or play things of the gods. The Bicameral Mind hypothesis seems to make much sense after listening to this story again.

[Casper Buijtendijk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een verbluffende symfonie van stof en bloed.

[Katie Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Talk about a cliff hanger

[Garth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This translation is very simply, and maybe too simple. I am not an ancient greek scholar, but I found the translation a bit crude and low at times. Maybe that is accurate?

[Moe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finally got around to reading the Iliad, and I can see why it still resonates with people after thousands of years. There was a time when society was so bare-bones in terms of the things that matter in life. A time when "Epic" had a totally different meaning from how people use it today( seriosuly now? Are you describing the pizza you ate at Dominos as "epic"?). Men were in pursuit of glory, fighting for honor, eating red meat, sipping libations, and on quests that bestowed immortality. A Man's life at that time was defined by how much he's willing to go to extreme lengths in battle and face the indomitable challenges that fate throws his way, mainly, to prove to the beautiful girl he desires that he is a man worth pining for, and to get his name to echo for eternity among the immortals and the greats.

Courage was the main thing that elevated someone's rank in society. Dying in battle at your prime was a recipe for earning respect.

Now, all of this is nice and dandy, but people in the Iliad take themselves so seriously; they don't know how to have fun, how to crack a joke, and absolutely lack a sense of humor. It would be fun to live in Troy for like a summer to learn about the values that make an immortal, and hang out with trojan warriors for a bit, just as a summer project to blog about it under the title "The summer I turned pretty" But otherwise, just reading across the time dimension is enough.