Pour la première fois, l'intégralité des textes homériques se trouve réunie en un seul volume. Vous y trouverez les deux grands poèmes, l'Iliade, dans une nouvelle traduction donnée par Pierre Judet de La Combe, et l'Odyssée, dans la traduction désormais classique de Victor Bérard, mais également des textes qui, dans l'Antiquité, ont été attribués à Homère ou ont entretenu la légende de Troie. À ces textes viennent s'ajouter les textes épiques « contemporains » du moment homérique (VIIIe - Ve siècle avant notre ère) la plupart inédits, qui permettent de découvrir une facette inattendue d'un Homère divertissant. On lira aussi le « Cycle troyen », les Vies d'Homère, des extraits de commentaires anciens, et l'essentiel des sources littéraires antiques qui racontent la mythologie homérique.
Une occasion unique d'embrasser la beauté de cette œuvre fondatrice et d'en mesurer toute sa modernité.
Ouvrage publié sous la direction d'Hélène Monsacré, en coédition avec Albin Michel.
Homer (Greek: Όμηρος born c. 8th century BC) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the most revered and influential authors in history. Homer's Iliad centers on a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles during the last year of the Trojan War. The Odyssey chronicles the ten-year journey of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, back to his home after the fall of Troy. The poems are in Homeric Greek, also known as Epic Greek, a literary language which shows a mixture of features of the Ionic and Aeolic dialects from different centuries; the predominant influence is Eastern Ionic. Most researchers believe that the poems were originally transmitted orally. Despite being predominantly known for its tragic and serious themes, the Homeric poems also contain instances of comedy and laughter. Homer's epic poems shaped aspects of ancient Greek culture and education, fostering ideals of heroism, glory, and honor. To Plato, Homer was simply the one who "has taught Greece" (τὴν Ἑλλάδα πεπαίδευκεν). In Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, Virgil refers to Homer as "Poet sovereign", king of all poets; in the preface to his translation of the Iliad, Alexander Pope acknowledges that Homer has always been considered the "greatest of poets". From antiquity to the present day, Homeric epics have inspired many famous works of literature, music, art, and film. The question of by whom, when, where and under what circumstances the Iliad and Odyssey were composed continues to be debated. Scholars remain divided as to whether the two works are the product of a single author. It is thought that the poems were composed at some point around the late eighth or early seventh century BC. Many accounts of Homer's life circulated in classical antiquity; the most widespread account was that he was a blind bard from Ionia, a region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey. Modern scholars consider these accounts legendary.
Une nouvelle traduction merveilleuse de l'Iliade, des notes pertinentes et éclairantes, de très bonnes préfaces et une excellente postface. J'avais déjà lu plusieurs fois l'Iliade et l'Odyssée et je ne m'en lasse jamais.