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The Anger of Achilles: The Iliad
War is raging between the Greeks and the Trojans. Achilles, the great warrior champion of the Greek army, is angrily sulking in his tent and refusing to fight, after a row with his leader Agamemnon. But when the Trojan king Hector kills Achilles’ beloved friend, he plunges back into the battle to seek his bloody revenge – even though he knows it will bring about his own doom.
Robert Graves’s gripping, vigorous retelling of The Iliad portrays quarrelling kings and tarnished heroes, who leave suffering women behind them and are watched over by capricious gods and goddesses. It takes a revered classic back to its roots as popular entertainment.
Robert Graves’s gripping, vigorous retelling of The Iliad portrays quarrelling kings and tarnished heroes, who leave suffering women behind them and are watched over by capricious gods and goddesses. It takes a revered classic back to its roots as popular entertainment.
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1959
232 people are currently reading
651 people want to read
About the author
Robert Graves
634 books2,053 followersRobert von Ranke Graves was an English poet, soldier, historical novelist and critic. Born in Wimbledon, he received his early education at King's College School and Copthorne Prep School, Wimbledon & Charterhouse School and won a scholarship to St John's College, Oxford. While at Charterhouse in 1912, he fell in love with G.H. Johnstone, a boy of fourteen ("Dick" in Goodbye to All That) When challenged by the headmaster he defended himself by citing Plato, Greek poets, Michelangelo & Shakespeare, "who had felt as I did".
At the outbreak of WWI, Graves enlisted almost immediately, taking a commission in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. He published his first volume of poems, Over the Brazier, in 1916. He developed an early reputation as a war poet and was one of the first to write realistic poems about his experience of front line conflict. In later years he omitted war poems from his collections, on the grounds that they were too obviously "part of the war poetry boom". At the Battle of the Somme he was so badly wounded by a shell-fragment through the lung that he was expected to die, and indeed was officially reported as 'died of wounds'. He gradually recovered. Apart from a brief spell back in France, he spent the rest of the war in England.
One of Graves's closest friends at this time was the poet Siegfried Sassoon, who was also an officer in the RWF. In 1917 Sassoon tried to rebel against the war by making a public anti-war statement. Graves, who feared Sassoon could face a court martial, intervened with the military authorities and persuaded them that he was suffering from shell shock, and to treat him accordingly. Graves also suffered from shell shock, or neurasthenia as it is sometimes called, although he was never hospitalised for it.
Biographers document the story well. It is fictionalised in Pat Barker's novel Regeneration. The intensity of their early relationship is nowhere demonstrated more clearly than in Graves's collection Fairies & Fusiliers (1917), which contains a plethora of poems celebrating their friendship. Through Sassoon, he also became friends with Wilfred Owen, whose talent he recognised. Owen attended Graves's wedding to Nancy Nicholson in 1918, presenting him with, as Graves recalled, "a set of 12 Apostle spoons".
Following his marriage and the end of the war, Graves belatedly took up his place at St John's College, Oxford. He later attempted to make a living by running a small shop, but the business failed. In 1926 he took up a post at Cairo University, accompanied by his wife, their children and the poet Laura Riding. He returned to London briefly, where he split with his wife under highly emotional circumstances before leaving to live with Riding in Deià, Majorca. There they continued to publish letterpress books under the rubric of the Seizin Press, founded and edited the literary journal Epilogue, and wrote two successful academic books together: A Survey of Modernist Poetry (1927) and A Pamphlet Against Anthologies (1928).
In 1927, he published Lawrence and the Arabs, a commercially successful biography of T.E. Lawrence. Good-bye to All That (1929, revised and republished in 1957) proved a success but cost him many of his friends, notably Sassoon. In 1934 he published his most commercially successful work, I, Claudius. Using classical sources he constructed a complexly compelling tale of the life of the Roman emperor Claudius, a tale extended in Claudius the God (1935). Another historical novel by Graves, Count Belisarius (1938), recounts the career of the Byzantine general Belisarius.
During the early 1970s Graves began to suffer from increasingly severe memory loss, and by his eightieth birthday in 1975 he had come to the end of his working life. By 1975 he had published more than 140 works. He survived for ten more years in an increasingly dependent condition until he died from heart
At the outbreak of WWI, Graves enlisted almost immediately, taking a commission in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. He published his first volume of poems, Over the Brazier, in 1916. He developed an early reputation as a war poet and was one of the first to write realistic poems about his experience of front line conflict. In later years he omitted war poems from his collections, on the grounds that they were too obviously "part of the war poetry boom". At the Battle of the Somme he was so badly wounded by a shell-fragment through the lung that he was expected to die, and indeed was officially reported as 'died of wounds'. He gradually recovered. Apart from a brief spell back in France, he spent the rest of the war in England.
One of Graves's closest friends at this time was the poet Siegfried Sassoon, who was also an officer in the RWF. In 1917 Sassoon tried to rebel against the war by making a public anti-war statement. Graves, who feared Sassoon could face a court martial, intervened with the military authorities and persuaded them that he was suffering from shell shock, and to treat him accordingly. Graves also suffered from shell shock, or neurasthenia as it is sometimes called, although he was never hospitalised for it.
Biographers document the story well. It is fictionalised in Pat Barker's novel Regeneration. The intensity of their early relationship is nowhere demonstrated more clearly than in Graves's collection Fairies & Fusiliers (1917), which contains a plethora of poems celebrating their friendship. Through Sassoon, he also became friends with Wilfred Owen, whose talent he recognised. Owen attended Graves's wedding to Nancy Nicholson in 1918, presenting him with, as Graves recalled, "a set of 12 Apostle spoons".
Following his marriage and the end of the war, Graves belatedly took up his place at St John's College, Oxford. He later attempted to make a living by running a small shop, but the business failed. In 1926 he took up a post at Cairo University, accompanied by his wife, their children and the poet Laura Riding. He returned to London briefly, where he split with his wife under highly emotional circumstances before leaving to live with Riding in Deià, Majorca. There they continued to publish letterpress books under the rubric of the Seizin Press, founded and edited the literary journal Epilogue, and wrote two successful academic books together: A Survey of Modernist Poetry (1927) and A Pamphlet Against Anthologies (1928).
In 1927, he published Lawrence and the Arabs, a commercially successful biography of T.E. Lawrence. Good-bye to All That (1929, revised and republished in 1957) proved a success but cost him many of his friends, notably Sassoon. In 1934 he published his most commercially successful work, I, Claudius. Using classical sources he constructed a complexly compelling tale of the life of the Roman emperor Claudius, a tale extended in Claudius the God (1935). Another historical novel by Graves, Count Belisarius (1938), recounts the career of the Byzantine general Belisarius.
During the early 1970s Graves began to suffer from increasingly severe memory loss, and by his eightieth birthday in 1975 he had come to the end of his working life. By 1975 he had published more than 140 works. He survived for ten more years in an increasingly dependent condition until he died from heart
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
December 4, 2013
When I first read The Iliad, I was way too young to fully appreciate it. I understood, of course, the backstory - a spiteful goddess is left off a wedding invitation list, she retaliates by giving the Trojan prince Paris a golden apple to reward to the best-looking goddess (because that can’t go wrong), he picks Aphrodite because she promises him the incomparably beautiful (and already married) Helen, angering the other goddesses in the process, Paris selfishly steals Helen (and a lot of treasure) from her husband Menelaus, proud blowhard Agamemnon makes the Greeks attack Troy, they spend ten long years in a siege, and then . . .The Iliad begins.
Some of the more memorable moments from the Trojan War, like Odysseus’s Trojan horse and Achilles’ death by an arrow to his famous heel, aren’t even in the book. What we do get is mostly Achilles in a snit over being insulted, how many ships everyone brought, and endless lists of who got killed. And a lot of sacrificing and roasting meat. It seemed to me like the more interesting parts of the story came before and after The Iliad, not during it.
I think, though, that if I had read this translation instead of the tedious one I read as a child, I might have felt differently. Here Robert Graves chooses to render most of the work in prose, reserving verse for certain "dramatic and lyrical occasions" which seem to call for it. The poetry is "poetic" in English, with rhyme and meter, giving a sense of what the original might have felt like to the listeners in ancient Greece as they heard the dactylic hexameter. The overall result is a readable, entertaining narrative that is still faithful to the original.
One thing that struck me about the story is how violent it is, to the point of absurdity, with every imaginable death by spear described with gruesome relish (and a large helping of irony). There are eyeballs popping out, heads rolled like bowling balls, and characters still able to make impressive speeches while holding on to parts of their livers. I got the feeling that Homer (whoever he was, if indeed he was one person at all) was having fun grossing out his listeners. There is comic relief also, such as in the character of the elderly Nestor, who recalls his glory days repeatedly and at length, describing his heroic feats with a certain amount of what we might generously call “embellishment." The gods and goddesses are, of course, characters themselves, integral to the story, with their own rivalries and histories coming into play. They toy with the lives of the hapless mortals (or is it that "Apollo bumped my elbow" was a good excuse for a misfired spear?), but even Zeus himself can't control Fate.
While I imagine this translation may offend some purists, it brings the story back to what it was originally - entertainment. I would recommend this version for anyone who has ever slogged through The Iliad thinking it wasn’t much fun. It is worth revisiting this dusty classic. Even after almost 3,000 years, it is still a good story.
Some of the more memorable moments from the Trojan War, like Odysseus’s Trojan horse and Achilles’ death by an arrow to his famous heel, aren’t even in the book. What we do get is mostly Achilles in a snit over being insulted, how many ships everyone brought, and endless lists of who got killed. And a lot of sacrificing and roasting meat. It seemed to me like the more interesting parts of the story came before and after The Iliad, not during it.
I think, though, that if I had read this translation instead of the tedious one I read as a child, I might have felt differently. Here Robert Graves chooses to render most of the work in prose, reserving verse for certain "dramatic and lyrical occasions" which seem to call for it. The poetry is "poetic" in English, with rhyme and meter, giving a sense of what the original might have felt like to the listeners in ancient Greece as they heard the dactylic hexameter. The overall result is a readable, entertaining narrative that is still faithful to the original.
One thing that struck me about the story is how violent it is, to the point of absurdity, with every imaginable death by spear described with gruesome relish (and a large helping of irony). There are eyeballs popping out, heads rolled like bowling balls, and characters still able to make impressive speeches while holding on to parts of their livers. I got the feeling that Homer (whoever he was, if indeed he was one person at all) was having fun grossing out his listeners. There is comic relief also, such as in the character of the elderly Nestor, who recalls his glory days repeatedly and at length, describing his heroic feats with a certain amount of what we might generously call “embellishment." The gods and goddesses are, of course, characters themselves, integral to the story, with their own rivalries and histories coming into play. They toy with the lives of the hapless mortals (or is it that "Apollo bumped my elbow" was a good excuse for a misfired spear?), but even Zeus himself can't control Fate.
While I imagine this translation may offend some purists, it brings the story back to what it was originally - entertainment. I would recommend this version for anyone who has ever slogged through The Iliad thinking it wasn’t much fun. It is worth revisiting this dusty classic. Even after almost 3,000 years, it is still a good story.
March 30, 2015
Those whom the gods would destroy, first they anger. Achilles was born as the most highly skilled warrior of the ancient world and kings want him to fight their wars for them. The Greek gods ever intervene, playing favorites and citing specifics of class and birth and past affronts to determine on whose behalf to tip the scales episodically. Zeus is ever contravened by his wife, Hera. Apollo and Poseidon, Athene and Aphrodite have all chosen sides and seek to foil each other. The god of war, Ares, runs rampant and ever predatory virtually unchecked throughout the carnage. Homer makes an epic case for the futility of war in "The Iliad" where warriors from the ancient world join forces based upon a long tradition of civilized oaths of alliance based upon a code of honor. On the broad beaches of Troy there is no end to the chaos and destruction over ten years because of a violation of rules of hospitality. The handsome and charming Paris of Troy has visited the Greek home of Menelaus, son of Greek King Agamemnon, and then absconded with the former's wife, Helen, the most beautiful woman of the ancient world. Was it a kidnapping? Was it a consensual adultery? A thousand ships may have been launched for a tragically beautiful woman and former chattel who may have wittingly left her brutal husband to escape with the most captivating man of the ancient world. So Achilles, son of the great but mortal Peleus and his immortal mother who dwelled in sea caves, Thetis is called to serve in epic battle. Here is a reluctant warrior who fulfills his sworn oath of allegiance and honor to King Agamemnon, and agrees to bring his superior skills in the art of war to conquer and avenge all of Greece upon all of Troy. The young Achilles is in love with a boyhood friend, Patroclus, who ends up at the home of Achilles' father in payment of a debt incurred by his accidentally killing a childhood bully in a fistfight. The two young men bond and both ship off to Troy together to share a tent among the Myrmidons (Ants), the most fierce troop of warriors of the Greeks at Troy. King Agamemnon ruthlessly insults brave Achilles in front of the entire Greek leadership after a foray early in the war in Troy and claims one of the spoils of war won by Achilles, a beautiful Trojan captive named Briseis, who adores him. Steamed beyond belief, Achilles pouts in his tent with Patroclus for an astonishing length of the balance of the epic poem as legions of his friends and allies die in battle. Homer detains Achilles and his Myrmidons offstage for the better part of the entire war as all hell breaks loose on Trojan beach heads. All the while the anger of Achilles steeps like a toxic tea and the Greeks lose prince after prince to plague, devastating injury, death and every torment that war inevitably brings upon two civilizations, both ancient and modern. This epic injury and destruction built upon a pretense of nobility and suffered in the name of honor cloaked in self-interest is an immortal theme into the jaws of which humanity cannot escape, then or now. In a very real sense the Trojan War is a variation upon a theme of the futile clashes into which modern nations advance after having learned nothing over 5000 years to avoid it: so highly skilled in technology and well capitalized in the art of war, everyone wants America to fight their battles for them and so America does. Achilles cannot manage his anger when his beloved Patroclus is killed in battle by Hector as Achilles broods in his tent. Agamemnon agrees to restore Briseis to Achilles and the latter with his army become the tipping point which pushes the advancing Trojan army back inside the walls of their Citadel under siege. And so after ten brutal years of slings and arrows and spears outrageous Fortune leaves us 400 pages later pretty much back to where we started in "The Iliad" with a standoff minus a legion of lesser skilled warrior princes. And Zeus is well entertained on his throne upon Olympus by the agony of the mortals and their resourceful tragic combat aided and abetted by contending gods playing out by proxy past petty disputes and affronts and arguments. Homer begs cynically to ask the implied but unspoken direct question: what is the purpose of war? The most highly skilled warriors and most aggressive, self-interested princes kill each other off over a decade of futility, all under the pretense and oath of honor and allegiance. But which civilization is well served by the epic carnage? The losses and suffering of human life, injury, carnage, treasure and time on both sides can hardly be measured. It would be one thing if the interested parties among a few princes destroyed each other with a few proxy warriors. Remember well that Chronos (Time) has been overtaken and imprisoned by his son, Zeus. Both civilizations are brutally diminished nearly to the point of extinction over a stunning apparent breach of the hospitality code, the enforcement of a foolish allegiance among allies, and a kidnapping and/or consensual infidelity. One wonders why such advanced and civilized nations would engage willingly over a decade at so great a cost and without the resources or intellect or good will to find a peaceful solution to break the interminable cycle of violence which continues so brutally until one or both sides is diminished to the point of complete and utter devastation that they become "victorious" or ruined. Unfortunately, for those who love peace the warring parties scatter the seeds of their destruction widely among vast adjacent fields. Homer leaves it for us to resolve the futility of this war to the "The Odyssey" where the rage of Achilles, fueled by the vicious and idiotic insult of King Agamemnon to whom he is bound by an honor code, and by the death of Patroclus is consummated as predicted by the Fates after the death and desecration of Troy's Hector and murderer of Patroclus by Achilles. Tune into the next epic for the sack of Troy and the wandering return home, well off course, to Ithaca of the crafty Prince Odysseus. Homer makes no judgments outright: he builds the heroic figures and enables their tragic flaws to destroy them one by one at the hands of capricious, intervening gods. Homer's epics are immortal and withstand the tests of time for good reason: I urge you to understand them all well by reading the "Iliad" which may challenge and possibly transform your views about the true nature of war and peace. The translation by Robert Graves does a great service to this immortal tale and the novel, "Song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller, even more so. "The Iliad" and "Odyssey" are all but required reading of every civilized human being so that we may at least learn something from the suffering of mankind from a genius work of our past.
October 19, 2016
Graves does an excellent job of using both prose & poetry to render this translation. As for the tale itself, it is as much about what is actually in the tale as what is not. An important read for the history of the myth. Lots of battle scenes -- but what shines is the dialogue between the characters, both mortal and gods.
June 22, 2014
I recall coming upon this book at the Park Ridge Public Library. Dad had recommended Robert Graves to me as one of his preferred authors from shipboard during WWII and successive teachers had mentioned Homer. Indeed, I had already read a young adult's version of the Odyssey. Graves' version of the Iliad seemed a natural.
As I recall, the edition picked up in the library had an interesting introduction by Graves wherein he claimed that the Iliad was usually mistranslated out of a misapprehension of the text and its purpose. Homer was all about entertainment, Graves stated, and a good deal of the Iliad is supposed to be funny, much of it being a social satire of the high and mighty,
As one might imagine, Graves' Iliad was an easier read than Lattimore's or any of the other serious, scholarly versions we were forced to use in college--funnier too.
Now, of course, I know that Graves' is an idiosyncratic translation--just as all of his translations of the classics are. Homer was the bible of the Greeks, but its origins, both as regards the texts themselves and their supposed oral precursors, are shrouded. The version usually presented as Homer's is, in fact, a late Athenian version as is indicated by the inclusion of Attic shiplists. Athens may not have existed during the Trojan War, but the teller of the tale to an Athenian audience would be prone to put the ships and their local heroes in their to suit the audience. In any case, given eventual Athenian economic dominance over the hellenic world and its relatively large publishing operations (series of scribes taking dictation), the Athenian version is the standard, the most complete and the most well-attested, however circular what counts as attestation.
So, did Homer's Iliad have versions which played to the groundlings, making fun of the high and mighty, divine and human? It is quite possible that it did, given the popularity of its stories through the centuries. Is this a fair version of the Athenian text from which Graves was working? That is more debatable, though his point, I think, is well-taken and the product of his labors is of considerable literary merit.
Often Graves' Anger of Achilles appears alongside his novel, Homer's Daughter, a fictional elaboration of some of his peculiar ideas about the original Homeridae quite in keeping with his notions of original Great Mother worship being supplanted by patriarchal sky gods. Although eccentric, it is a pleasure to read someone who writes so well, so knowledgeably, so entertainingly and so contentiously about the, ahem, Great Books.
As I recall, the edition picked up in the library had an interesting introduction by Graves wherein he claimed that the Iliad was usually mistranslated out of a misapprehension of the text and its purpose. Homer was all about entertainment, Graves stated, and a good deal of the Iliad is supposed to be funny, much of it being a social satire of the high and mighty,
As one might imagine, Graves' Iliad was an easier read than Lattimore's or any of the other serious, scholarly versions we were forced to use in college--funnier too.
Now, of course, I know that Graves' is an idiosyncratic translation--just as all of his translations of the classics are. Homer was the bible of the Greeks, but its origins, both as regards the texts themselves and their supposed oral precursors, are shrouded. The version usually presented as Homer's is, in fact, a late Athenian version as is indicated by the inclusion of Attic shiplists. Athens may not have existed during the Trojan War, but the teller of the tale to an Athenian audience would be prone to put the ships and their local heroes in their to suit the audience. In any case, given eventual Athenian economic dominance over the hellenic world and its relatively large publishing operations (series of scribes taking dictation), the Athenian version is the standard, the most complete and the most well-attested, however circular what counts as attestation.
So, did Homer's Iliad have versions which played to the groundlings, making fun of the high and mighty, divine and human? It is quite possible that it did, given the popularity of its stories through the centuries. Is this a fair version of the Athenian text from which Graves was working? That is more debatable, though his point, I think, is well-taken and the product of his labors is of considerable literary merit.
Often Graves' Anger of Achilles appears alongside his novel, Homer's Daughter, a fictional elaboration of some of his peculiar ideas about the original Homeridae quite in keeping with his notions of original Great Mother worship being supplanted by patriarchal sky gods. Although eccentric, it is a pleasure to read someone who writes so well, so knowledgeably, so entertainingly and so contentiously about the, ahem, Great Books.
April 1, 2012
Robert Graves translation really made the text come alive..his choice of prose and verse was just magnificent and I know what a superb translator he is after reading his translation of "The Twelve Caesars". I was suprised and disgusted by the numerous ways of man slaughter that Homers's imagination invents although this might just be his way to show how awful war is..Homer has a knack for language which immediatly hits you..his choice is fluid and just right..nothing overdone which is what makes him so relevent and fresh even after so many ages..I really liked his references
to the countryside and hunting to get across a scene which might be difficult to imagine..
two passages particularly struck me as truely the work of a master(from book 6 and 13):
"Why noble son of Tydeus, why
Must you inquire my name?
All forest leaves are born to die;
All mortal men the same.
Though Spring's gay branches burgeon out,
their leaves continue not,
Cold autumn scatters them to rout,
And in cold earth they rot.
Next year, another host of leaves
Is born,grows green and dies;
Old mother earth their fall receives-
The fall of man likewise."
And
"Zeus evermore excelling,
Of wisdom infinite,
Are you yourself compelling
These men to fight their fight
And sin against the light?
Dances are good, in measure,
like love and sleep and song,
And yield more certain pleasure
Than to defend the wrong
By battling all day long!"
to the countryside and hunting to get across a scene which might be difficult to imagine..
two passages particularly struck me as truely the work of a master(from book 6 and 13):
"Why noble son of Tydeus, why
Must you inquire my name?
All forest leaves are born to die;
All mortal men the same.
Though Spring's gay branches burgeon out,
their leaves continue not,
Cold autumn scatters them to rout,
And in cold earth they rot.
Next year, another host of leaves
Is born,grows green and dies;
Old mother earth their fall receives-
The fall of man likewise."
And
"Zeus evermore excelling,
Of wisdom infinite,
Are you yourself compelling
These men to fight their fight
And sin against the light?
Dances are good, in measure,
like love and sleep and song,
And yield more certain pleasure
Than to defend the wrong
By battling all day long!"
May 31, 2022
A stolen bride. War. A flawed leader. The anger of Achilles. The death of Hector.
The story is not about whether The Iliad is a true story based on true events (although it arguably is very realistic and based on first-hand experience). The story is not about the past and artifacts, it’s about the human condition. It is about war. It is truly a fascinating take on war, since it is not from the biased perspective of the greeks, but tells the story just as unequivocally from the Trojan's perspective. Homer invites us onto the battlefield with play-by-play descriptions of death and destruction. We see the deadly damage that brass-age spears deal, the wasting of life. We also see the ways in which war affects the women, children, and elderly. My favorite scene featured Hector saying goodbye to his wife and son before going back to the battlefield, which was incidentally his final farewell before his death.
Homer knows that war does not just deal death to the soldiers on the field, but also that morality and human decency are among the first casualties. Despite this, Homer also reminds us that however much we hate them, our enemy is a human being fully deserving of the same respect that we claim for ourselves. A very important aspect of ancient greek morality. Not once does Agamemnon or the other leaders suggest that the enemy are vermin or to be looked down upon because of their ethnicity.
The Iliad shows many facets of war, the farewell between husband and wife, father and son, the maniacal killing sprees that take place on the battlefield, the sickness that overcomes the soldiers (which would be inevitable after 9 years of camping out in a war), and the poetry of combat. The story begins with Achilles rage and ends with Achilles' reconciliation with his ravaged enemy. It is a preamble in many ways to The Odyssey which shows the post-war aftermath and homecoming of soldiers.
Overall, enjoyed the Robert Graves translation, it is an easy access point to The Iliad.
The story is not about whether The Iliad is a true story based on true events (although it arguably is very realistic and based on first-hand experience). The story is not about the past and artifacts, it’s about the human condition. It is about war. It is truly a fascinating take on war, since it is not from the biased perspective of the greeks, but tells the story just as unequivocally from the Trojan's perspective. Homer invites us onto the battlefield with play-by-play descriptions of death and destruction. We see the deadly damage that brass-age spears deal, the wasting of life. We also see the ways in which war affects the women, children, and elderly. My favorite scene featured Hector saying goodbye to his wife and son before going back to the battlefield, which was incidentally his final farewell before his death.
Homer knows that war does not just deal death to the soldiers on the field, but also that morality and human decency are among the first casualties. Despite this, Homer also reminds us that however much we hate them, our enemy is a human being fully deserving of the same respect that we claim for ourselves. A very important aspect of ancient greek morality. Not once does Agamemnon or the other leaders suggest that the enemy are vermin or to be looked down upon because of their ethnicity.
The Iliad shows many facets of war, the farewell between husband and wife, father and son, the maniacal killing sprees that take place on the battlefield, the sickness that overcomes the soldiers (which would be inevitable after 9 years of camping out in a war), and the poetry of combat. The story begins with Achilles rage and ends with Achilles' reconciliation with his ravaged enemy. It is a preamble in many ways to The Odyssey which shows the post-war aftermath and homecoming of soldiers.
Overall, enjoyed the Robert Graves translation, it is an easy access point to The Iliad.
October 11, 2016
Robert Graves is a good writer, and his rendition of Homer's Iliad is easy to read and to follow. I might recommend it for someone who wants to read the epic, but is a bit daunted my more formidable translations. However, I still think that Richmond Lattimore's translation retains the feel of the Greek world better, even if it seems more foreign to the modern reader. Also I didn't think that Graves handled the Homeric similes very well, and his poetry sprinkled throughout the book, divided in to 8-syllable lines of rhyming couplets, sounds too sing-song for the subject matter.
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December 24, 2021Robert Graves's translation of The Iliad is perfect for a first time read. It was for me a wonderful reading experience; I can't have enough of The Iliad. In the introduction, it is explained that Graves, in his translation, wanted to prioritize the story telling aspect of the Iliad. He wanted to ensure the reader enjoyed The Iliad like one enjoys Shakespeare, with the heart, rather than like one enjoys Milton, with the mind. It worked extraordinarily well for me.
September 29, 2020
This was my third reading of the Iliad - if memory serves. I read it first in my early twenties and again in my late twenties and then again more than forty years later. Tempus fugit. I have read several of Mr Graves books. We had his Greek Myths as our reference in a mythology class I took in college. And somehow I discovered The White Goddess which has provided considerable fun and interest over the years. I read I Claudius and its sequels and also Count Belisarius.
A few years ago I visited Majorca (as Mr Graves spells it) and Mr Graves' home there. Nice place. And so I read a few more of his works. Watch the North Wind Rise which I had meant to do earlier but forgotten; and which surprisingly predates The White Goddess by nearly a decade. I also read The Golden Fleece then and Collected Short Stories of which I particularly liked those set in Majorca. I have also read some of his verse but didn't like it much. That is one of the problems I have with this book.
Quite rightly, I feel, Mr Graves translates most of the book into prose but the more lyrical or high-toned passages into verse; rhymed verse though, simple couplets or other simple schemes and usually in tetrameter! Looking at the passages I marked as interesting I find only a single verse. Here is another example. Achilles is working himself into his famous rage with a prayer to his mother the Goddess Thetis:
"'Mother, the lifetime of this man
Is destined to so brief a span
That ZEUS, who thunders from the skies,
Owes him at least a worthier prize
Of glory than is his today!
See, Agamemnon wrests away
The captive girl with whom my sword
Was honoured by the Greeks' award,
To work his evil will upon her.
Indeed ZEUS holds me in small honour.'"
The final couplet I find comic – perhaps that was Mr Graves intention but hardly, I would think, Homer's.
I much prefer his prose:
"The twinkling of bronze arms and armour could have been seen at a great distance – as when a mountain-forest burns: the glow Visible miles away to men below."
The first time I read this story – and I regret that I have long forgotten who translated it – I was delighted by the discovery of Diomedes. Here was a hero I had never heard of and what a hero he was! He quickly became my favourite and going through this time I marked the passages in which he acts. Diomedes of the Loud War-Cry is, naturally, particularly in focus in Book 5: Diomedes Day of Glory
Athene (sic) grants him her blessing:
"‘Do not fear the Trojans, Diomedes! I have inspired you with the unconquerable spirit of your father Tydeus. I have also dispelled the mist that has hitherto kept your eyes from recognizing gods in human guise." A useful tool but he begins with human foes:
"Diomedes picked up a massive boulder, such as no two men, in these degenerate days, would be strong enough to heave off the ground—and tossed it at Aeneas, crushing the cup-bone where thigh and pelvis join, tearing the flesh, snapping the sinews."
I never really remarked Aeneas in earlier readings but having now read his tale I was intrigued to find he was not remarkable in the Iliad but nor was he ignored.
"Diomedes had recognized Aphrodite and, well aware that she was not a fighting Olympian, like Athene or Ares the City-Sacker, chased her across the plain and lunged at one of her hands"...
..."Diomedes then surprised and grieved the goddess by shouting: ‘Keep clear of this war, Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus, and confine yourself to making fools of weak women!"
A bit of humour? then follows:
..."Aphrodite ran off and plumped herself down, blubbering, on the Goddess Dione’s lap. Dione fondled her wounded daughter, stroked her hair, and said coaxingly: ‘Tell me, darling, which of the Olympians has treated you like a common criminal?’ ‘It was no Olympian,’ Aphrodite wailed, ‘it was proud Diomedes, the son of Tydeus!"
..."‘Diomedes, true son of Tydeus, joy of my heart,’ [Athene] cried. ‘You need not fear Ares or any other Olympian! I shall always be at your elbow. Up with you, and go for that mad, raving fellow—that universal curse..."
..."Since she wore Hades’ helmet of invisibility, Ares failed to notice her. He saw only Diomedes and, abandoning his task, lunged murderously at him across the yoke and reins. Athene pushed the spear aside, and Diomedes countered with a swift stab at Ares’ taslets. The blade entered his belly close to the groin…"
"Taslets" - probably small tassets? are bits of leather or plate hanging from the cuirass – the breastplate - designed to protect the upper thighs.
..."The goddess will perhaps restrain Diomedes, whose terrible spear has been the main instrument of our defeat. His performances today prove him the best man on the Greek side. Achilles may have a divine mother, but did he ever scare our people so? Nobody can match Diomedes when that divine battle-fury overcomes him.’..." Says Helenus, Trojan prince and prophet, to Hector asking him to make an offer to attempt to appease Athene.
This is pretty gory stuff and more suited to a younger than an older man – myself. Reading this speech of Agamemnon I find sickening:
"In my view we should not spare a single male Trojan, not even a child still in his mother’s womb; but make it our duty to extirpate the whole cursed brood, and leave their dead bodies unwept and unhonoured.’ This righteous argument convinced Menelaus..."
Righteous is not the word I would have chosen. Too many people, even today, justify their horrible deeds with this cant.
But Homer is no friend of war: "This very popular nobleman lived in the town of Arisbe on the road from Troy to the Black Sea, and had kept open house there. Yet none of his former guests ran forward now to protect him and his charioteer Calysius from the onslaught of Diomedes, who dispatched them both..."
..."Two heroes now advanced towards each other over the no-man’s-land which separated the armies. They were Glaucus, son of Hippolochus, and Diomedes, son of Tydeus...
... Glaucus answered:
‘Why noble son of Tydeus, why
Must you inquire my name?
All forest leaves are born to die;
All mortal men the same
Though Spring's gay branches burgeon out,
Their leaves continue not,
Cold autumn scatters them to rout,
And in cold earth they rot.
Next year, another host of leaves
Is born, grow green and dies;
Old MOTHER EARTH their fall receives
The fall of man likewise..."
..."Glaucus (A Lycian prince, allied to Troy) leaped from his chariot and advanced to meet Diomedes. They shook hands in token of friendship. Yet Zeus, Son of Cronus, must have addled Glaucus’ wits: imagine exchanging a golden suit of armour worth at least a hundred cows, against a bronze suit hardly worth nine!"
..."Athene and Apollo, wearing vulture disguise, perched together on a branch of Zeus’ sacred oak: Athene beaming at her Greeks, Apollo beaming at his Trojans..." Appropriate disguises.
..."Hector the Bright-Helmed, however, was on his track, and that would have been the end of Nestor, had not Diomedes of the Loud War-Cry observed his predicament. He yelled at Odysseus the Crafty: ‘Son of Laertes and Aphrodite, are you running away? Beware, or someone will plant a spear between your cowardly shoulders! Halt, man, help me protect this venerable prince from a furious Trojan!'
Odysseus, paying no heed, rushed on..."
Shameful behaviour for one who gets his own sequel. And Zeus himself thunders and flashes so Diomedes doesn't get the chance to confront Hector.
..."Hector drove his chariot here and there, killing heroes by the score; he looked as grim as a Gorgon, or as Ares, that curse of mankind..."
Talking to White-Armed Hera, "Athene answered: ‘Indeed, Goddess, nothing would make me happier than to watch Hector being overborne and killed. But my father is a perverse, stubborn, evil-tempered wretch, who continually deranges my plans!"
Zeus, the single parent, maligned by his daughter.
Later on Nestor sends Odysseus and Diomedes on a night mission to spy out the Trojans bivouacked on the plain. When they return from a surprisingly bloody enterprise:
..."he and Diomedes went down to the shore, where they scooped up sea water and rinsed the dried sweat from their shins, necks and thighs. Refreshed, they each took a good warm bath, an olive-oil rub, and afterwards filled their cups from a wine-bowl and shared a substantial meal..."
Apparently people sweated differently back then.
Unfortunately: "Prince Paris, Helen’s husband, hidden behind the pillar which marked Ilus’ tomb, fitted an arrow to his bow-string and took aim. It was a neat shot that transfixed the sole of Diomedes’ right foot, and pinned him to the ground"...
..."Diomedes bellowed back: ‘You nasty-mouthed, mean, jeering lady-killer, with your bow and your kiss-curl!"
More gore:
..."Peisander grasped the long, polished, olive-wood haft of his battle-axe and swung at his opponent’s helmet, but only shore away the plume-socket. In return, he caught a horizontal blow from Menelaus’ silver-studded sword across the bridge of the nose, which sliced his skull, and sent both eyes dripping bloodily into the dust"...
..."Hector needed little enough goading: he raged like Ares in a battle-fury, or like a forest fire that sweeps the hills; foam flecked his lips, his eyes glowed beneath menacing brows, and the helmet he wore rattled to the throbbing of his temples"... A light helmet? Even so this would have caused an aneurysm in anyone less heroic!
..."They found Hector already dragging off the naked corpse [of Patroclus] for decapitation; he intended to keep the head as a trophy, but dogs would devour the trunk"... Bit barbaric?
..."Ajax... charged through the mêlée and lunged, piercing Hippothous' bronze cheek-piece. Blood and brains oozed from the wound; he ... tumbled beside the corpse... His parents had little to show for the trouble of rearing him, so young he died!..."
Page 249 (of 383). Zeus gives the plot away: ..."My plans are these: Hector the Bright-Helmed must cause a panic among the Greeks, and pursue them once more, with slaughter, as far as the row of ships commanded by Achilles, son of Peleus; and Achilles must rouse his noble friend Patroclus to defend them; and Patroclus must kill a number of Trojans and Trojan allies, including my own son King Sarpedon; and Hector must kill Patroclus; and, finally Achilles must avenge Patroclus by killing Hector. That will be a turning point in the war: I shall then let Agamemnon's troops start a new offensive, which can proceed unchecked until Athene shows them how to capture Troy."
..."You were not meant to share Man’s sorrows; and, upon my word, I can think of no more miserable creature that draws breath and crawls on the face of this earth!"... Says almighty Zeus, the misanthrope; observing the divine chariot horses of Achilles weeping for Patroclus.
..."Achilles’ groans were so deep and dismal that Thetis heard them far off at the bottom of the sea, where she sat next to her old father Nereus, surrounded by numerous sisters"... Mother's ears.
..."Zeus will rage if a man dies whom he wished to spare. He had greater love for Aeneas’ ancestor Dardanus than for any other of his mortal sons and, though disliking Priam’s House, does not want the royal line to die out. He intends that Aeneas shall rule the surviving Trojan stock, and his children’s children after him.’..." This would be the source of Virgil's inspiration.
God talk:
..."Apollo answered: ‘Earth-Shaker, I may be an imbecile. I would, however, be a far greater one if I fought you for the sake of a few wretched mortals, who today eat, drink and are merry, but tomorrow fade like the foliage of a tree, drop to earth, and die..."
This book does however also awaken other interests. For example I learned that Cythera is Aphrodite’s sacred island. So I looked it up. "Modern Greek Kíthira, island, southernmost and easternmost of the Ionian Islands, off the southern Peloponnesus." (According to Britannica). Aphrodite's original Hellenic temple was here; probably in fact a Phoenician temple to Astarte—from Ishtar—from Inanna. (mostly from Wikipedia). Mr Graves also mentions: "Artemis, the Crescent-Crowned Huntress" a clear reference to the Triple Goddess.
I also learned, which I had forgotten, that not only Zeus – and other gods – are busy making babies. "King Priam who, when your army landed, had fifty sons: nineteen by Queen Hecuba, the rest by royal concubines quartered at the Palace." Randy old goat. I'm surprised Hecuba didn't kick his ass.
The beginning filled with bombast and then the endless list of ships and their commanders, the scene where Hector greets his wife Andromache and his small son give scant relief to all the bloodshed otherwise. There is very little psychology here, though we do get a glimpse into the mind of Achilles just before he is told of Patroclus' death, and of Andromache just before she learns that Hector has been killed. The gods remain a mystery.
Possibly the most interesting part of the book to me was the long introduction.
..."Homer, on the other hand, instead of praising his rulers, satirized Agamemnon, High King of Greece and Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces before Troy, as a weak, truculent, greedy, lying, murderous, boastful, irresolute busybody who almost always did the wrong thing...
...Homer is utterly cynical about the Olympian gods...
...Nestor, Homer’s favourite butt after Agamemnon, can never refrain from boasting of his youthful prowess and, though rated the sagest Councillor among the Greeks—as Polydamas is among the Trojans—consistently gives bad advice which Agamemnon always adopts; whereas Polydamas consistently gives good advice, which Hector always rejects"...
At times I feel Mr Graves overreaches himself:
..."Greek traditional story-cycles contained elements taken not only from the south-eastern Mediterranean – Corinthian myths, for example, often parallel the Book of Genesis – but, like the ancient Irish tales, from Indo-European legend recorded in the Sanscrit epics."...
Irish tales in Sanscrit epics?
This is my least favourite of Mr Graves' books, so far. A book for those who like lots of action. And it still gives me a bit of a thrill thinking back to the days when I discovered that Literature did not need to be boring.
A few years ago I visited Majorca (as Mr Graves spells it) and Mr Graves' home there. Nice place. And so I read a few more of his works. Watch the North Wind Rise which I had meant to do earlier but forgotten; and which surprisingly predates The White Goddess by nearly a decade. I also read The Golden Fleece then and Collected Short Stories of which I particularly liked those set in Majorca. I have also read some of his verse but didn't like it much. That is one of the problems I have with this book.
Quite rightly, I feel, Mr Graves translates most of the book into prose but the more lyrical or high-toned passages into verse; rhymed verse though, simple couplets or other simple schemes and usually in tetrameter! Looking at the passages I marked as interesting I find only a single verse. Here is another example. Achilles is working himself into his famous rage with a prayer to his mother the Goddess Thetis:
"'Mother, the lifetime of this man
Is destined to so brief a span
That ZEUS, who thunders from the skies,
Owes him at least a worthier prize
Of glory than is his today!
See, Agamemnon wrests away
The captive girl with whom my sword
Was honoured by the Greeks' award,
To work his evil will upon her.
Indeed ZEUS holds me in small honour.'"
The final couplet I find comic – perhaps that was Mr Graves intention but hardly, I would think, Homer's.
I much prefer his prose:
"The twinkling of bronze arms and armour could have been seen at a great distance – as when a mountain-forest burns: the glow Visible miles away to men below."
The first time I read this story – and I regret that I have long forgotten who translated it – I was delighted by the discovery of Diomedes. Here was a hero I had never heard of and what a hero he was! He quickly became my favourite and going through this time I marked the passages in which he acts. Diomedes of the Loud War-Cry is, naturally, particularly in focus in Book 5: Diomedes Day of Glory
Athene (sic) grants him her blessing:
"‘Do not fear the Trojans, Diomedes! I have inspired you with the unconquerable spirit of your father Tydeus. I have also dispelled the mist that has hitherto kept your eyes from recognizing gods in human guise." A useful tool but he begins with human foes:
"Diomedes picked up a massive boulder, such as no two men, in these degenerate days, would be strong enough to heave off the ground—and tossed it at Aeneas, crushing the cup-bone where thigh and pelvis join, tearing the flesh, snapping the sinews."
I never really remarked Aeneas in earlier readings but having now read his tale I was intrigued to find he was not remarkable in the Iliad but nor was he ignored.
"Diomedes had recognized Aphrodite and, well aware that she was not a fighting Olympian, like Athene or Ares the City-Sacker, chased her across the plain and lunged at one of her hands"...
..."Diomedes then surprised and grieved the goddess by shouting: ‘Keep clear of this war, Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus, and confine yourself to making fools of weak women!"
A bit of humour? then follows:
..."Aphrodite ran off and plumped herself down, blubbering, on the Goddess Dione’s lap. Dione fondled her wounded daughter, stroked her hair, and said coaxingly: ‘Tell me, darling, which of the Olympians has treated you like a common criminal?’ ‘It was no Olympian,’ Aphrodite wailed, ‘it was proud Diomedes, the son of Tydeus!"
..."‘Diomedes, true son of Tydeus, joy of my heart,’ [Athene] cried. ‘You need not fear Ares or any other Olympian! I shall always be at your elbow. Up with you, and go for that mad, raving fellow—that universal curse..."
..."Since she wore Hades’ helmet of invisibility, Ares failed to notice her. He saw only Diomedes and, abandoning his task, lunged murderously at him across the yoke and reins. Athene pushed the spear aside, and Diomedes countered with a swift stab at Ares’ taslets. The blade entered his belly close to the groin…"
"Taslets" - probably small tassets? are bits of leather or plate hanging from the cuirass – the breastplate - designed to protect the upper thighs.
..."The goddess will perhaps restrain Diomedes, whose terrible spear has been the main instrument of our defeat. His performances today prove him the best man on the Greek side. Achilles may have a divine mother, but did he ever scare our people so? Nobody can match Diomedes when that divine battle-fury overcomes him.’..." Says Helenus, Trojan prince and prophet, to Hector asking him to make an offer to attempt to appease Athene.
This is pretty gory stuff and more suited to a younger than an older man – myself. Reading this speech of Agamemnon I find sickening:
"In my view we should not spare a single male Trojan, not even a child still in his mother’s womb; but make it our duty to extirpate the whole cursed brood, and leave their dead bodies unwept and unhonoured.’ This righteous argument convinced Menelaus..."
Righteous is not the word I would have chosen. Too many people, even today, justify their horrible deeds with this cant.
But Homer is no friend of war: "This very popular nobleman lived in the town of Arisbe on the road from Troy to the Black Sea, and had kept open house there. Yet none of his former guests ran forward now to protect him and his charioteer Calysius from the onslaught of Diomedes, who dispatched them both..."
..."Two heroes now advanced towards each other over the no-man’s-land which separated the armies. They were Glaucus, son of Hippolochus, and Diomedes, son of Tydeus...
... Glaucus answered:
‘Why noble son of Tydeus, why
Must you inquire my name?
All forest leaves are born to die;
All mortal men the same
Though Spring's gay branches burgeon out,
Their leaves continue not,
Cold autumn scatters them to rout,
And in cold earth they rot.
Next year, another host of leaves
Is born, grow green and dies;
Old MOTHER EARTH their fall receives
The fall of man likewise..."
..."Glaucus (A Lycian prince, allied to Troy) leaped from his chariot and advanced to meet Diomedes. They shook hands in token of friendship. Yet Zeus, Son of Cronus, must have addled Glaucus’ wits: imagine exchanging a golden suit of armour worth at least a hundred cows, against a bronze suit hardly worth nine!"
..."Athene and Apollo, wearing vulture disguise, perched together on a branch of Zeus’ sacred oak: Athene beaming at her Greeks, Apollo beaming at his Trojans..." Appropriate disguises.
..."Hector the Bright-Helmed, however, was on his track, and that would have been the end of Nestor, had not Diomedes of the Loud War-Cry observed his predicament. He yelled at Odysseus the Crafty: ‘Son of Laertes and Aphrodite, are you running away? Beware, or someone will plant a spear between your cowardly shoulders! Halt, man, help me protect this venerable prince from a furious Trojan!'
Odysseus, paying no heed, rushed on..."
Shameful behaviour for one who gets his own sequel. And Zeus himself thunders and flashes so Diomedes doesn't get the chance to confront Hector.
..."Hector drove his chariot here and there, killing heroes by the score; he looked as grim as a Gorgon, or as Ares, that curse of mankind..."
Talking to White-Armed Hera, "Athene answered: ‘Indeed, Goddess, nothing would make me happier than to watch Hector being overborne and killed. But my father is a perverse, stubborn, evil-tempered wretch, who continually deranges my plans!"
Zeus, the single parent, maligned by his daughter.
Later on Nestor sends Odysseus and Diomedes on a night mission to spy out the Trojans bivouacked on the plain. When they return from a surprisingly bloody enterprise:
..."he and Diomedes went down to the shore, where they scooped up sea water and rinsed the dried sweat from their shins, necks and thighs. Refreshed, they each took a good warm bath, an olive-oil rub, and afterwards filled their cups from a wine-bowl and shared a substantial meal..."
Apparently people sweated differently back then.
Unfortunately: "Prince Paris, Helen’s husband, hidden behind the pillar which marked Ilus’ tomb, fitted an arrow to his bow-string and took aim. It was a neat shot that transfixed the sole of Diomedes’ right foot, and pinned him to the ground"...
..."Diomedes bellowed back: ‘You nasty-mouthed, mean, jeering lady-killer, with your bow and your kiss-curl!"
More gore:
..."Peisander grasped the long, polished, olive-wood haft of his battle-axe and swung at his opponent’s helmet, but only shore away the plume-socket. In return, he caught a horizontal blow from Menelaus’ silver-studded sword across the bridge of the nose, which sliced his skull, and sent both eyes dripping bloodily into the dust"...
..."Hector needed little enough goading: he raged like Ares in a battle-fury, or like a forest fire that sweeps the hills; foam flecked his lips, his eyes glowed beneath menacing brows, and the helmet he wore rattled to the throbbing of his temples"... A light helmet? Even so this would have caused an aneurysm in anyone less heroic!
..."They found Hector already dragging off the naked corpse [of Patroclus] for decapitation; he intended to keep the head as a trophy, but dogs would devour the trunk"... Bit barbaric?
..."Ajax... charged through the mêlée and lunged, piercing Hippothous' bronze cheek-piece. Blood and brains oozed from the wound; he ... tumbled beside the corpse... His parents had little to show for the trouble of rearing him, so young he died!..."
Page 249 (of 383). Zeus gives the plot away: ..."My plans are these: Hector the Bright-Helmed must cause a panic among the Greeks, and pursue them once more, with slaughter, as far as the row of ships commanded by Achilles, son of Peleus; and Achilles must rouse his noble friend Patroclus to defend them; and Patroclus must kill a number of Trojans and Trojan allies, including my own son King Sarpedon; and Hector must kill Patroclus; and, finally Achilles must avenge Patroclus by killing Hector. That will be a turning point in the war: I shall then let Agamemnon's troops start a new offensive, which can proceed unchecked until Athene shows them how to capture Troy."
..."You were not meant to share Man’s sorrows; and, upon my word, I can think of no more miserable creature that draws breath and crawls on the face of this earth!"... Says almighty Zeus, the misanthrope; observing the divine chariot horses of Achilles weeping for Patroclus.
..."Achilles’ groans were so deep and dismal that Thetis heard them far off at the bottom of the sea, where she sat next to her old father Nereus, surrounded by numerous sisters"... Mother's ears.
..."Zeus will rage if a man dies whom he wished to spare. He had greater love for Aeneas’ ancestor Dardanus than for any other of his mortal sons and, though disliking Priam’s House, does not want the royal line to die out. He intends that Aeneas shall rule the surviving Trojan stock, and his children’s children after him.’..." This would be the source of Virgil's inspiration.
God talk:
..."Apollo answered: ‘Earth-Shaker, I may be an imbecile. I would, however, be a far greater one if I fought you for the sake of a few wretched mortals, who today eat, drink and are merry, but tomorrow fade like the foliage of a tree, drop to earth, and die..."
This book does however also awaken other interests. For example I learned that Cythera is Aphrodite’s sacred island. So I looked it up. "Modern Greek Kíthira, island, southernmost and easternmost of the Ionian Islands, off the southern Peloponnesus." (According to Britannica). Aphrodite's original Hellenic temple was here; probably in fact a Phoenician temple to Astarte—from Ishtar—from Inanna. (mostly from Wikipedia). Mr Graves also mentions: "Artemis, the Crescent-Crowned Huntress" a clear reference to the Triple Goddess.
I also learned, which I had forgotten, that not only Zeus – and other gods – are busy making babies. "King Priam who, when your army landed, had fifty sons: nineteen by Queen Hecuba, the rest by royal concubines quartered at the Palace." Randy old goat. I'm surprised Hecuba didn't kick his ass.
The beginning filled with bombast and then the endless list of ships and their commanders, the scene where Hector greets his wife Andromache and his small son give scant relief to all the bloodshed otherwise. There is very little psychology here, though we do get a glimpse into the mind of Achilles just before he is told of Patroclus' death, and of Andromache just before she learns that Hector has been killed. The gods remain a mystery.
Possibly the most interesting part of the book to me was the long introduction.
..."Homer, on the other hand, instead of praising his rulers, satirized Agamemnon, High King of Greece and Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces before Troy, as a weak, truculent, greedy, lying, murderous, boastful, irresolute busybody who almost always did the wrong thing...
...Homer is utterly cynical about the Olympian gods...
...Nestor, Homer’s favourite butt after Agamemnon, can never refrain from boasting of his youthful prowess and, though rated the sagest Councillor among the Greeks—as Polydamas is among the Trojans—consistently gives bad advice which Agamemnon always adopts; whereas Polydamas consistently gives good advice, which Hector always rejects"...
At times I feel Mr Graves overreaches himself:
..."Greek traditional story-cycles contained elements taken not only from the south-eastern Mediterranean – Corinthian myths, for example, often parallel the Book of Genesis – but, like the ancient Irish tales, from Indo-European legend recorded in the Sanscrit epics."...
Irish tales in Sanscrit epics?
This is my least favourite of Mr Graves' books, so far. A book for those who like lots of action. And it still gives me a bit of a thrill thinking back to the days when I discovered that Literature did not need to be boring.
October 24, 2011
Dear me, this a trivial piece of work. What did he think he was doing? Unfairly, maybe, I read it alongside the canonical Lattimore version, which shows it up dreadfully. The rhyming sections are little short of embarrassing. It has a very dated feel to it, I suppose it was modern at the time of writing...my advice now is, don't waste your time.
February 12, 2022
the original kill-your-gays
July 30, 2022
Focusing more on translator criticism than the original, but I will treat both a little. As a translator I honestly found Graves rather lacklustre and irritating - a sad discovery considering how highly I thought of his historical novels. His tone changes relatively little where it otherwise should to reflect dialogue, and his turns of phrase are often convoluted. But most concerning are his editorial decisions: from the introduction alone he establishes himself as insufferably arrogant and opinionated, pretty much point-blank expressing that he has made his writing so convoluted and stilted because the problem with most Iliad translations is that they "are made for the general, non-Classical public", accessible and therefore poor representations (a controversial idea even in 1959 and more so today).
He freely admits to simplifying or simply excising things he deemed extraneous, anything from epithets to descriptors to an entire section of Book 23. The hypocrisy between his criticism of other translators for defying the spirit of Homer (as if he has a monopoly on what that even means) while simultaneously playing fast-and-loose with the text is grating.
As for the text itself, the Iliad is a very entertaining and thoughtful text, but much of it has always seemed at odds to me. The back-and-forth nature of the shifting battle tides always seemed a distractor from Achilles' angsty brooding, rather than to emphasise it as Homer seems to suggest. Despite Graves' own opinion that Homer treats Achilles with irony rather than humour - almost as if to set him up as the tragic villain of the work, which he by many definitions could be as the inciting factor for all misfortunes in it - there's little in the text to suggest that, with Achilles' responses being far more level and thoughtful than an honestly-bratty response should be. Agamemnon is, of course, an enragingly hypocritical and spineless character in this rendition, so props for getting that right.
The lack of development of Trojan characters is also jarring; Aeneas' role and why he is of any importance in the Iliad is and always was a mystery. And Hector is a classic example of a sympathetic character that is told rather than shown, with his appearances largely painting him as bloodthirsty and gloryseeking at best rather than honourable as we are meant to believe; I was only really sold on this after his death reading Helen's lament for him (speaking of Helen, again with translating her words to describe her as a "bitch"? Dog-faced in Epic Greek had so much more nuance than that!). However, like with the Achaeans, the archetypal villain of the Trojans, Paris, is still an annoying little shit who never makes an appearance without inspiring rage.
Verdict on the Iliad as a work?: influential, but certainly with problems, and not even Homer's best epic.
Verdict on the translation?: not even a favourite prose translation. Samuel Butler's 1898 one was stuffy, but at least it was more intellectually honest about how it was going to translate than Graves' edition is.
He freely admits to simplifying or simply excising things he deemed extraneous, anything from epithets to descriptors to an entire section of Book 23. The hypocrisy between his criticism of other translators for defying the spirit of Homer (as if he has a monopoly on what that even means) while simultaneously playing fast-and-loose with the text is grating.
As for the text itself, the Iliad is a very entertaining and thoughtful text, but much of it has always seemed at odds to me. The back-and-forth nature of the shifting battle tides always seemed a distractor from Achilles' angsty brooding, rather than to emphasise it as Homer seems to suggest. Despite Graves' own opinion that Homer treats Achilles with irony rather than humour - almost as if to set him up as the tragic villain of the work, which he by many definitions could be as the inciting factor for all misfortunes in it - there's little in the text to suggest that, with Achilles' responses being far more level and thoughtful than an honestly-bratty response should be. Agamemnon is, of course, an enragingly hypocritical and spineless character in this rendition, so props for getting that right.
The lack of development of Trojan characters is also jarring; Aeneas' role and why he is of any importance in the Iliad is and always was a mystery. And Hector is a classic example of a sympathetic character that is told rather than shown, with his appearances largely painting him as bloodthirsty and gloryseeking at best rather than honourable as we are meant to believe; I was only really sold on this after his death reading Helen's lament for him (speaking of Helen, again with translating her words to describe her as a "bitch"? Dog-faced in Epic Greek had so much more nuance than that!). However, like with the Achaeans, the archetypal villain of the Trojans, Paris, is still an annoying little shit who never makes an appearance without inspiring rage.
Verdict on the Iliad as a work?: influential, but certainly with problems, and not even Homer's best epic.
Verdict on the translation?: not even a favourite prose translation. Samuel Butler's 1898 one was stuffy, but at least it was more intellectually honest about how it was going to translate than Graves' edition is.
June 12, 2023
Homer's 'Iliad' has been translated by pretty much everyone and their mother.
According to Wikipedia there are 120 existing translations going back to the 1500's. Thirty-seven in just the last 100 years. I have 15 on my bookshelf and thought it time to add a new one, so decided to read Robert Graves' version, titled "The Anger of Achilles," which comes from the first line in the epic poem.
Graves is an incredible scholar when it comes to classical literature. Years ago, I read his 'The Greek Myths' which is the best work on the subject. Graves gives you every Greek myth you ever heard of, along with tons you never knew existed, then he provides you with the historical origins of the myth, and where it can be found in the ancient Greek sources.
He's also the author of 'I, Claudius' which is one of the best historical novels ever written. If you're a fan of Roman history and you've never seen the 1976 BBC series starring Derek Jacobi, watch it. It's among the best things ever done on television. It makes the court intrigue in 'Game of Thrones' look like a Doctor Seuss book.
Having read a number of translations of 'The Iliad' already, with poet Richard Lattimore's 1965 version my favorite, with Alexander Pope's 1725 rhymed version a close second, Graves had a high bar to overcome. He passed it, with flying colors.
Graves' depth of knowledge of Greek history, mythology and the ancient Greek text allows him to give certain nuances to the wording that others probably don't see. A quick example. The character of Nestor, King of Pylos, is treated by most translators as an old, wise man worthy of respect. Graves makes him as Homer intended, an old man that babbles on and on, constantly telling stories about his youth. Like many older people today, Nestor tries to find the meaning in the present in experiences from his youth. Graves' nails it.
Don't know that many people enjoy reading the ancient Greek classics, but if you were curious about the epic poem that inspired Brad Pitt's awful movie 'Troy' you can't go wrong with Robert Graves.
According to Wikipedia there are 120 existing translations going back to the 1500's. Thirty-seven in just the last 100 years. I have 15 on my bookshelf and thought it time to add a new one, so decided to read Robert Graves' version, titled "The Anger of Achilles," which comes from the first line in the epic poem.
Graves is an incredible scholar when it comes to classical literature. Years ago, I read his 'The Greek Myths' which is the best work on the subject. Graves gives you every Greek myth you ever heard of, along with tons you never knew existed, then he provides you with the historical origins of the myth, and where it can be found in the ancient Greek sources.
He's also the author of 'I, Claudius' which is one of the best historical novels ever written. If you're a fan of Roman history and you've never seen the 1976 BBC series starring Derek Jacobi, watch it. It's among the best things ever done on television. It makes the court intrigue in 'Game of Thrones' look like a Doctor Seuss book.
Having read a number of translations of 'The Iliad' already, with poet Richard Lattimore's 1965 version my favorite, with Alexander Pope's 1725 rhymed version a close second, Graves had a high bar to overcome. He passed it, with flying colors.
Graves' depth of knowledge of Greek history, mythology and the ancient Greek text allows him to give certain nuances to the wording that others probably don't see. A quick example. The character of Nestor, King of Pylos, is treated by most translators as an old, wise man worthy of respect. Graves makes him as Homer intended, an old man that babbles on and on, constantly telling stories about his youth. Like many older people today, Nestor tries to find the meaning in the present in experiences from his youth. Graves' nails it.
Don't know that many people enjoy reading the ancient Greek classics, but if you were curious about the epic poem that inspired Brad Pitt's awful movie 'Troy' you can't go wrong with Robert Graves.
April 8, 2024
Controversially for me I have not read The Iliad before, which I'm pretty mad about because it freaking rocks, so I can't really comment on the nature of this translation by Graves.
This is honestly so good. For a story that is mostly concerned with battles and fighting, which usually bores me, it is so engaging. I didn't think I would like it as much as I did. I'll have to read a more traditional translation soon.
I was mainly surprised at how complex and real the emotions and actions of the characters were, as I've read books and stories that are newer than this by hundreds of years that obviously showed their age in the attitudes and ideas displayed about warfare and companionship. Maybe it has something to do with a lack of Christianisation in this period (given that it was composed some 8 centuries before the birth of Christ). It's interesting how religions and beliefs can change so much over time yet their media can still stay so fresh to contemporary society.
I think a large part of my enjoyment of this was down to the knowledge I have of Alexander the Great seeing himself as Achilles and being a massive fan of The Iliad. It provided me with more incentive and extra dimension to my understanding of him as a person.
This is honestly so good. For a story that is mostly concerned with battles and fighting, which usually bores me, it is so engaging. I didn't think I would like it as much as I did. I'll have to read a more traditional translation soon.
I was mainly surprised at how complex and real the emotions and actions of the characters were, as I've read books and stories that are newer than this by hundreds of years that obviously showed their age in the attitudes and ideas displayed about warfare and companionship. Maybe it has something to do with a lack of Christianisation in this period (given that it was composed some 8 centuries before the birth of Christ). It's interesting how religions and beliefs can change so much over time yet their media can still stay so fresh to contemporary society.
I think a large part of my enjoyment of this was down to the knowledge I have of Alexander the Great seeing himself as Achilles and being a massive fan of The Iliad. It provided me with more incentive and extra dimension to my understanding of him as a person.
October 16, 2025
Very readable translation of the Iliad. It was new to me (somehow I have made it this far without having read the Iliad!) so I have no other translations or versions to compare it to, but for me, this worked. Graves’ mostly prose translation includes verse segments when he felt it necessary and there is some of this on almost every page.
In the Iliad, the gods seem even more active than in the Odyssey, clearly choosing sides and meddling in human affairs. In fact, the gods are completely obsessed by this war: in picking sides (Hera loves the Greeks, Apollo loves the Trojans); creating mists to hide their champions; in assuming other forms to give warnings and encouragement. It's odd that they seem much more interested in these mere mortals than in their own affairs.
I can't say that the story and the battle scenes were very interesting to me and the plot is, of course, thin and really doesn't make much sense; rather, this is interesting as a window to ancient Greece: the importance of sacrifice and of pleasing the gods; the ubiquity of slavery; the need for honor and glory in war. Above all is the futility of trying to escape fate. It's a rather grim worldview.
In the Iliad, the gods seem even more active than in the Odyssey, clearly choosing sides and meddling in human affairs. In fact, the gods are completely obsessed by this war: in picking sides (Hera loves the Greeks, Apollo loves the Trojans); creating mists to hide their champions; in assuming other forms to give warnings and encouragement. It's odd that they seem much more interested in these mere mortals than in their own affairs.
I can't say that the story and the battle scenes were very interesting to me and the plot is, of course, thin and really doesn't make much sense; rather, this is interesting as a window to ancient Greece: the importance of sacrifice and of pleasing the gods; the ubiquity of slavery; the need for honor and glory in war. Above all is the futility of trying to escape fate. It's a rather grim worldview.
January 31, 2018
I do love Graves' translation of the Iliad. He has rendered the work into eminently readable prose, with pieces of poetry where appropriate (although his obsession with rhyming these stanzas makes them a little bit doggerel). His experiences in the first world war give him a unique perspective on leadership which he uses deftly to paint Agamemnon and Hector as deeply flawed generals. These are not good leaders; they are simply the leaders that the men must learn to work with. Other heroes stand up to them, coerce and cajole to get their own way or otherwise benefit the fighting men. Diomedes, Sarpedon, Ajax, and Aeneas are shown as kinder princes, while people like Odysseus and Achilles exemplify that particular kind of self-centred 'hero' who barely notices the horrors he causes by his actions (or inactions). If you're put off by verse translations of the Iliad, Graves' delightful prose version is a good option.
March 4, 2019
What I liked:
This was a clear prose exposition of the Iliad, which probably makes the epic more accessible than translations that aim to keep the poesy. In that regard it does help one understand the interactions among the gods and heroes better.
What I didn't like:
Well, epic poetry has its place, and prose translations can never capture the rhythm of dactylic hexameter. However, Graves occasionally interpolates/translates his own version of some of the verses - this is disastrous. His sing-song meter and rhyme schemes are pitiful; he'd have done well to simply elide these.
This was a clear prose exposition of the Iliad, which probably makes the epic more accessible than translations that aim to keep the poesy. In that regard it does help one understand the interactions among the gods and heroes better.
What I didn't like:
Well, epic poetry has its place, and prose translations can never capture the rhythm of dactylic hexameter. However, Graves occasionally interpolates/translates his own version of some of the verses - this is disastrous. His sing-song meter and rhyme schemes are pitiful; he'd have done well to simply elide these.
December 19, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The ILIAD is in my opinion, the most valuable work of art mankind has ever produced. The following reviews and star ratings are specifically for different translations and audiobook narrations of the ILIAD:
————————————
[PART 2: 01/15/25 - present]
NOTE: I’ve read and reviewed the ILIAD so many times now that I’ve passed the 20,000 character limit for Goodreads reviews. I will continue my reviews on another edition of the ILIAD.
Index of reviews and which edition they’re attached to:
PART 1: Wilson translation (ISBN 1324001801)
PART 2: Graves translation (ISBN 0140455604)
————————————
[⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ _ ] [09/09/25 - 12/19/25]
[Murray Translation (revised by Wyatt) with Ancient Greek facing translation] This Loeb facing-translation with Ancient Greek and English on opposing pages is super useful for studying. It’s fun to piece together words or grammar I don’t know out of the ones I do, plotting them within the larger sentences in a sort of literary puzzle.
However, because the English is so good at matching the Greek for study purposes, it doesn’t read quite so well on its own. There are a lot of very flat choices like someone looking “mighty in his mightiness” where you can tell they’re keeping it strangely limp because the Greek uses the word “mighty” both times. Something that surely worked better when spoken in the original.
But since I am studying Ancient Greek, I expect I’ll pull out this two-volume edition quite often to explore the Iliad in an engaging way in the original, while being able to check easily against the meanings.
これは古代ギリシャと英語の反対ページ型。古代ギリシャの言葉チェックと勉強のため，すごく役に立つ。色んな知らない言葉とか名前とかは自然に探せる。だけど英語の翻訳はその古代ギリシャできるだけ近づけてるので，英語翻訳はそんなに自然な感じではない。まだ好き、後この型は勉強のためよく使うと思う。けど普通の物語読むのため1番好きではない
[⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️] [🔥] [07/16/25 - 07/25/25]
[Fitzgerald Translation / Stevens Narration] Always love this translation and this narration. Very smooth language and confidently handled performance.
いつも好き，この通訳とナレーション
[⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️] [🔥] [06/18/25 - 06/27/25]
[Fitzgerald Translation / Guidall Narration] I always enjoy Fitzgerald’s translation. It’s a smooth read, while staying away from many of the oversimplifications I dislike in modern versions. His handling of patronymics (often“Nestorides” here for example, rather than “son of Nestor”) is a strong choice which still reads well while giving it a much more classical feel. And as always George Guidall’s narration is excellent. [AUDIO CD]
フィッツジェラルドの翻訳がいつも好き。読みやすいけど簡単すぎない。たまにイリアスの翻訳は「アカイア人」より「ギリシャ人」と呼ぶ、それは嫌だと思う。このバージョンは父親の名前の書き方も良かった。ギドールのナレーションがいつも通り素晴らしい
[⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️] [🔥] [04/15/25 - 05/15/25]
[Mitchell Translation] Ruthlessly cut down, though almost never feels like it’s missing anything. Mitchell’s sharp translation is powerful and faster paced. His word choices also make the battles particularly brutal, which I think serves the spirit of the story quite well. This was my first time reading the text edition, after listening to Alfred Molina’s narration several times. I appreciated Mitchell’s notes on the translation in the opening, and his later (unobtrusive) annotations after the text. And as always, I love his introduction, which I think is the most beautifully handled of any edition of the ILIAD I’ve read. Can’t wait to read this again.
素晴らしい！初めてのテキストのバージョン読んだ。ミッチェルの翻訳がすごい
[⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️] [🔥] [01/25/25 - 02/15/25]
[Graves Translation] Robert Graves’ translation is bonkers, with most of his choices falling not into the explicitly “good” or “bad” category, but more the “I’ll be damned if I don’t appreciate you” category. He takes a lot of very large swings, most not entirely successful but all adding to the charm of this very eclectic ILIAD.
First, Graves takes it on himself to simplify the language, in an effort to match the popular appeal it would have had in Homer’s time. This sometimes works very well - Graves even sometimes inserting long passages not (in my understanding) in the original text (if the score of other translations I’ve read so far are any indication): like details of Castor & Pollux’s fate (maybe to match up with his HERCULES MY SHIPMATE?)- and sometimes not so well, so severely cutting some lines that they feel nearer abridgment than translation.
I do appreciate his very clean language though. There are some very amusing choices in his presentation specifically. The catalogue of ships and prizes for the funeral games are itemized very rigidly, which somehow rather than making them feel dry elevates them to a new level - perhaps because there are needed breaks in the long lists of names and deeds. Second, despite aiming to keep modern phrases out of the story, Graves can’t help but add a tinge of his WWI experience to the proceedings (ie. “armistice,” “no-man’s land” and soldiers going “on parade”). This is charming, and lends a new perspective to the story when viewed through the bleakness of that other famously bloody and stalemate-driven war.
Most of all, I love Graves’ catty, cynical introduction to this translation, which expresses a love and excitement for the story on purely entertainment terms, though he’s obviously no slouch in Ancient Greek scholarship. Graves also makes his usual bold and definite statements despite playing fast and loose with actual facts, as his wont which I always love about him.
All in all this isn’t necessarily one of my favorite ILIAD translations in terms of communicating the beauty of the language, but it does highlight specific areas better than any I’ve read, and I will always love it.
グレイブズ翻訳者はめっちゃ面白い翻訳作った。たまに変な洗濯、たまに簡単すぎ、けどいつも独特な作品。大好き！
————————————
[PART 2: 01/15/25 - present]
NOTE: I’ve read and reviewed the ILIAD so many times now that I’ve passed the 20,000 character limit for Goodreads reviews. I will continue my reviews on another edition of the ILIAD.
Index of reviews and which edition they’re attached to:
PART 1: Wilson translation (ISBN 1324001801)
PART 2: Graves translation (ISBN 0140455604)
————————————
[⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ _ ] [09/09/25 - 12/19/25]
[Murray Translation (revised by Wyatt) with Ancient Greek facing translation] This Loeb facing-translation with Ancient Greek and English on opposing pages is super useful for studying. It’s fun to piece together words or grammar I don’t know out of the ones I do, plotting them within the larger sentences in a sort of literary puzzle.
However, because the English is so good at matching the Greek for study purposes, it doesn’t read quite so well on its own. There are a lot of very flat choices like someone looking “mighty in his mightiness” where you can tell they’re keeping it strangely limp because the Greek uses the word “mighty” both times. Something that surely worked better when spoken in the original.
But since I am studying Ancient Greek, I expect I’ll pull out this two-volume edition quite often to explore the Iliad in an engaging way in the original, while being able to check easily against the meanings.
これは古代ギリシャと英語の反対ページ型。古代ギリシャの言葉チェックと勉強のため，すごく役に立つ。色んな知らない言葉とか名前とかは自然に探せる。だけど英語の翻訳はその古代ギリシャできるだけ近づけてるので，英語翻訳はそんなに自然な感じではない。まだ好き、後この型は勉強のためよく使うと思う。けど普通の物語読むのため1番好きではない
[⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️] [🔥] [07/16/25 - 07/25/25]
[Fitzgerald Translation / Stevens Narration] Always love this translation and this narration. Very smooth language and confidently handled performance.
いつも好き，この通訳とナレーション
[⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️] [🔥] [06/18/25 - 06/27/25]
[Fitzgerald Translation / Guidall Narration] I always enjoy Fitzgerald’s translation. It’s a smooth read, while staying away from many of the oversimplifications I dislike in modern versions. His handling of patronymics (often“Nestorides” here for example, rather than “son of Nestor”) is a strong choice which still reads well while giving it a much more classical feel. And as always George Guidall’s narration is excellent. [AUDIO CD]
フィッツジェラルドの翻訳がいつも好き。読みやすいけど簡単すぎない。たまにイリアスの翻訳は「アカイア人」より「ギリシャ人」と呼ぶ、それは嫌だと思う。このバージョンは父親の名前の書き方も良かった。ギドールのナレーションがいつも通り素晴らしい
[⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️] [🔥] [04/15/25 - 05/15/25]
[Mitchell Translation] Ruthlessly cut down, though almost never feels like it’s missing anything. Mitchell’s sharp translation is powerful and faster paced. His word choices also make the battles particularly brutal, which I think serves the spirit of the story quite well. This was my first time reading the text edition, after listening to Alfred Molina’s narration several times. I appreciated Mitchell’s notes on the translation in the opening, and his later (unobtrusive) annotations after the text. And as always, I love his introduction, which I think is the most beautifully handled of any edition of the ILIAD I’ve read. Can’t wait to read this again.
素晴らしい！初めてのテキストのバージョン読んだ。ミッチェルの翻訳がすごい
[⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️] [🔥] [01/25/25 - 02/15/25]
[Graves Translation] Robert Graves’ translation is bonkers, with most of his choices falling not into the explicitly “good” or “bad” category, but more the “I’ll be damned if I don’t appreciate you” category. He takes a lot of very large swings, most not entirely successful but all adding to the charm of this very eclectic ILIAD.
First, Graves takes it on himself to simplify the language, in an effort to match the popular appeal it would have had in Homer’s time. This sometimes works very well - Graves even sometimes inserting long passages not (in my understanding) in the original text (if the score of other translations I’ve read so far are any indication): like details of Castor & Pollux’s fate (maybe to match up with his HERCULES MY SHIPMATE?)- and sometimes not so well, so severely cutting some lines that they feel nearer abridgment than translation.
I do appreciate his very clean language though. There are some very amusing choices in his presentation specifically. The catalogue of ships and prizes for the funeral games are itemized very rigidly, which somehow rather than making them feel dry elevates them to a new level - perhaps because there are needed breaks in the long lists of names and deeds. Second, despite aiming to keep modern phrases out of the story, Graves can’t help but add a tinge of his WWI experience to the proceedings (ie. “armistice,” “no-man’s land” and soldiers going “on parade”). This is charming, and lends a new perspective to the story when viewed through the bleakness of that other famously bloody and stalemate-driven war.
Most of all, I love Graves’ catty, cynical introduction to this translation, which expresses a love and excitement for the story on purely entertainment terms, though he’s obviously no slouch in Ancient Greek scholarship. Graves also makes his usual bold and definite statements despite playing fast and loose with actual facts, as his wont which I always love about him.
All in all this isn’t necessarily one of my favorite ILIAD translations in terms of communicating the beauty of the language, but it does highlight specific areas better than any I’ve read, and I will always love it.
グレイブズ翻訳者はめっちゃ面白い翻訳作った。たまに変な洗濯、たまに簡単すぎ、けどいつも独特な作品。大好き！
July 30, 2019
The good news is that it's the most readable translation of The Iliad that I've seen. The introductory essay by Graves is particularly worthwhile, as he discusses some of his decisions and the challenges one faces in trying to translate a work that is thousands of years old.
The bad news is that it's still The Iliad, with way more meaningless name-dropping and spears-protruding-through-the-chest action than you ever needed in one book.
The bad news is that it's still The Iliad, with way more meaningless name-dropping and spears-protruding-through-the-chest action than you ever needed in one book.
August 4, 2019
Mostly Prose Well-rendered
My first Iliad was H D Rouse's prose ( and I have also enjoyed his Aeneid and Odyssey). What Graves does however is offer often "poetic" prose and frequently provides patches of poetry--but he doesn't usually attempt Homeric hexameters. He offers a variety of forms he feels are appropriate to the modern reader.
I liked it and would consider using Graves as a class text were I ever again to teach.
My first Iliad was H D Rouse's prose ( and I have also enjoyed his Aeneid and Odyssey). What Graves does however is offer often "poetic" prose and frequently provides patches of poetry--but he doesn't usually attempt Homeric hexameters. He offers a variety of forms he feels are appropriate to the modern reader.
I liked it and would consider using Graves as a class text were I ever again to teach.
July 9, 2021
I'm glad I read this classical text. Those who know more than I may argue that the Graves version, as a novelization, is a lesser experience. I chose the text that I found in my kindle library, confident that Graves would not deny me an authentic read. In fact, in his introduction, he finds fault with other translations, which he considers parodies. I read it out of curiosity; am grateful for the work, which I read slowly. I won't rule out reading it again from a more recent translation. This text, and The Odyssey, have inspired centuries of literature, and I'd like to approach it more thoughtfully the way a second reading allows.
February 15, 2022
mixed verse and prose translation
Interesting translation. He states in the beginning that he sees the Iliad as more like Shakespeare than epic poetry. He also deletes some portions ( not much) of the poem he tells were added later. He tends to use “modern language” such as commander in chief or privy council. An ok translation I guess but I feel not up to Fagle or Carolyn Alexander or Lattimore.
Interesting translation. He states in the beginning that he sees the Iliad as more like Shakespeare than epic poetry. He also deletes some portions ( not much) of the poem he tells were added later. He tends to use “modern language” such as commander in chief or privy council. An ok translation I guess but I feel not up to Fagle or Carolyn Alexander or Lattimore.
February 29, 2024
Now I see why everyone raves about this book. Famously, Classics are a staple of private schools here in the UK in a way that not much else is. There's no better way to sniff out a private school graduate than by their knowledge of Classics. That's why, reading this book, you can get some sense of their psychology, their hopes, dreams etc.
August 6, 2019
Who knew that Graves was more than the author of I Claudius and Claudius the God? He was so much more. The Anger of Achilles retells the core of the Illiad in a clear, direct manner, and it does it very well. Highly recommended.
sff-ok-bx
September 27, 2025Bx,Rokp
January 12, 2019
I very readable version of the Iliad.
I find it funny how the ancient Greeks never took responsibility for failure of any kind.
It was always some god who tripped them in a race or turned their spear from it's mark.
I did like that all the heroes on both sides were seriously flawed. Achilles is an arrogant spoiled vain prick. Hector runs like a coward when faced with his destiny. It's kind of refreshing that everyone including the gods in this tale have issues. There is no ideal selfless hero who does the right thing no matter the cost.
I find it funny how the ancient Greeks never took responsibility for failure of any kind.
It was always some god who tripped them in a race or turned their spear from it's mark.
I did like that all the heroes on both sides were seriously flawed. Achilles is an arrogant spoiled vain prick. Hector runs like a coward when faced with his destiny. It's kind of refreshing that everyone including the gods in this tale have issues. There is no ideal selfless hero who does the right thing no matter the cost.
July 4, 2012
wierdest book i've ever read!
September 3, 2012
Loved it! :)
November 8, 2018
An interesting and accessible translation of Homer’s The Iliad. Enjoyable read.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews