Homer's Iliad is the greatest and most influential epic poem ever written, telling of the tragic and bloody climax to the ten-year siege of Troy. This Penguin Classics edition was originally translated by E.V. Rieu, revised and updated with an introduction and notes by Peter Jones and D.C.H. Rieu.

One of the foremost achievements in Western literature, Homer's Iliad tells the story of the darkest episode in the Trojan War. At its centre is Achilles, the greatest warrior-champion of the Greeks, and his refusal to fight after being humiliated by his leader Agamemnon. But when the Trojan Hector kills Achilles' close friend Patroclus, he storms back into battle to take revenge - even though he knows this will ensure his own untimely death. Interwoven with this tragic sequence of events are powerfully moving descriptions of the ebb and flow of battle, of the domestic world inside Troy's besieged city of Ilium, and of the conflicts between the Gods on Olympus as they argue over the fate of mortals.

The Review

Anger be now your song, immortal one
Akhilleus' anger, doomed and ruinous, 
that caused the Akhaians loss on bitter loss
and crowded brave souls into the undergloom, 
leaving so many dead men-carrion
for dogs and birds; and the will of Zeus was done.

In the book there are several scenes of gruesome battles and people getting beheaded and spears running through peoples bowels, this is one of the things that appealed me into reading the book from cover-to-cover: men bludgeoning other men to pulp, spears right in the eye, Greeks and Trojans basically having the a game of King of the Hill, but instead of a hill it's Patróklos, and instead of just standing on the hill, the guys have to haul the dude to their side of the battlefield. Combat.

                                                          Pênèleos drove his spearhead
into the eye-socket underneath the brow,
thrusting the eyeball out. The spearhead ran
straight through the socket and the skull behind,
and throwing out both hands he sat down backwards.
Pênèleos, drawing his long sword, chopped through
the nape and set the severed helmeted head
and trunk apart upon the field. The spear
remained in the eye-socket. Lifting up
the head by it as one would lift a poppy,
he cried out to the Trojans, gloating grimly:

"Go tell Ilioneus' father and his mother
for me, Trojans, mourn him in their hall.
The wife of Pròmakhos, Alegênor's son,
will not be gladdened by her husband's step,
that day when we Akhaians make home port
in the ships from Troy."

Here, the Greek warrior Pênèleos spears Ilioneus right in the eye, the spear passing through his skull, beheads him, lifting the head like Heracles and Medusa, and gloats over his body and to the Trojans, probably with his foot propped on Ilioneus' headless body. Now that's fucking brutal. This sounds more violent than an X-ray Fatality from Mortal Kombat X, really LOL (Other fighting games are available)

                                                          At this,
Iris left him, running downwind, Akhilleus,
whom Zeus loved, now arose. Around his shoulders
Athêna hung her shield, like thunderhead
with trailing fringe. Goddess of goddesses,
she bound his head with golden cloud and made
his very body blaze with fiery light.
Imagine how the pyre of a burning town
will tower to heaven and be seen for miles
from the island under attack, while all day long
outside their, in brutal combat, pikemen
suffer the war god's winnowing: at sundown
flare by flare is lit, the signal fires
shoot up for other islanders to see,
that some relieving force by see may come:
just so the baleful radiance from Akhilleus
lit the sky. Moving from parapet
to moat, without a nod for the Akhaians,
keeping clear, in deference to his mother,
he halted and gave tongue. Not far from him
Athêna shrieked. The great sound shocked the Trojans
into tumult, as a trumpet blown
by a savage foe shocks an encircled town,
so harsh and clarion was Akhilleus' cry.
The hearts of men quailed, hearing that brazen voice.
Teams, foreknowing danger turned their cars
and charioteers blanched seeing unearthly fire,
kindled by the grey-eyed Athêna,
brilliant over Akhileaus. The great cries
he gave above the moat. Three times they shuddered,
and twelve good men took mortal hurt
from cars and weapons in the rank behind.

Akhilleus' best friend, Patróklos pretends to be Akhilleus, and that means borrowing his armor. But he is killed by Hektor, he takes his armor as a trophy. Upon hearing this, Akhilleus immediately wants to take revenge, but he cannot since Hektor has his armor. But Athêna lends him her shield, Aegis.
Imagine a shinning,  shield glowing (Glowering. At your life choices.) goldenly, bearing the face of the Gorgon in the front, the very sight of it makes great men's knees shake and lesser men to flee, when Zeus shakes the Aegis Mount Ida is cloaked in clouds, thunder rolls and men are struck down with fear.  This is the shield of Zeus and grey-eyed Athêna.

And now imagine Akhilleus, still in a rage from his friend's death, climbing on top of the Greek's camp wall like one of those  bare-chested dudes from 300, standing on the edge, alongside Athêna, thrice they shout with such rage and great emotion that twelve Trojans are actually hurt from it, or indirectly from the chariots going berserk and the chaos that followed.



Riiiiiight, onwards to an actual review.

Robert Fitzgerald's translation isn't as word-for-word translated as Robert Fagles or Richmond Lattimore (Who are the other two most popular translators in this), more of thought-for-thought, if that makes any sense. But he translates the names as accurately as possible, meaning some of the used-to names of heroes such as Achilles and Ajax are written here as Akhilleus and Aias, which might confuse some readers on their first reading (I was confused, I was wondering where Ajax was gonna come in, and then 3/4 into the book I looked it up and turned out that Aias is Ajax!), and this might annoy you guys but for some people it's okay, but with all the diacritic names (Lykáön, Danáäns, Patrókles etc . . .) and embellishments, some of you might get bothered. But there are other publications of Fitzgerald where the names there are as they are commonly known (Oxford World Classics, for one).

Below are the opening lines of some of the famous translations of the Iliad for your consideration and judgement:

Robert Fitzgerald
                                                                        The Lord Marshal
Agamémnon, Atreus' son, and Prince Akhilleus.


Robert Fagles
Rage—Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles,
murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses,
hurling down to the House of Death so many sturdy souls,
great fighters’ souls, but made their bodies carrion,
feasts for dogs and birds,
and the will of Zeus was moving towards its end.
Begin, Muse, when the two first broke and clashed, 
Agamemnon lord of men and brilliant Achilles.


Richmond Lattimore
SING, goddess, the anger of Peleus' son Achilleus
and its devastation, which put pains thousandfold upon the Achaians,
hurled in their multitudes to the house of Hades strong souls
of heroes, but gave their bodies to be the delicate feasting
of dogs, of all birds, and the will of Zeus was accomplished
since that time when first there stood in division of conflict
Atreus' son the lord of men and brilliant Achilleus.


Alexander Pope
Achilles’ wrath, to Greece the direful spring
Of woes unnumber’d, heavenly goddess, sing!
That wrath which hurl’d to Pluto’s gloomy reign
The souls of mighty chiefs untimely slain;
Whose limbs unburied on the naked shore,
Devouring dogs and hungry vultures tore. 
Since great Achilles and Atrides strove,
Such was the sovereign doom, and such the will of Jove! 


Stephen Mitchell
The rage of Achilles—sing it now, goddess, sing through me
the deadly rage that caused the Achaeans such grief
and hurled down to Hades the souls of so many fighters,
leaving their naked flesh to be eaten by dogs
and carrion birds, as the will of Zeus was accomplished.
Begin at the time when bitter words first divided
that king of men, Agamemnon, and godlike Achilles.