La Iliada (versión Manuel Rojas)

Por Homero

Epopeya que narra los hechos y enfrentamientos sucedido en la gran guerra de Troya, entre aueos y troyanos, con Aquiles como héroes principal del texto. Versión de Manuel Rojas.

• Idioma: Español
• Editorial: Zig-Zag
• Fecha de lanzamiento: 11 nov 2015
• ISBN: 9789561222052

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e.I.S.B.N.: 978-956-12-2205-2

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Índice

Homero y sus Poemas

Canto primero - La peste y la ira de Aquiles

Canto segundo - Sueño de Agamenón

Canto tercero – Juramentos. Lo que se ve desde las Murallas. El duelo de París y Menelao.

Canto cuarto - Se violan los juramentos. Inspección de los ejércitos

Canto quinto - Hazañas de Diómedes

Canto sexto - Héctor y Andrómaca

Canto séptimo - Duelo de Héctor y Ayax

Canto octavo - Batalla que se interrumpe

Canto noveno - Envían una embajada a Aquiles

Canto décimo - Dolonia

Canto undécimo - Hazañas de Agamenón

Canto duodécimo - Combate en las Murallas

Canto decimotercero - Lucha junto a las naves

Canto decimocuarto - Zeus engañado

Canto decimoquinto - Nuevos combates

Canto decimosexto - Muerte de Patroclo

Canto decimoséptimo - Patroclo

Canto decimoctavo - Fabricación de armas

Canto decimonoveno - Aquiles olvida su rencor

Canto vigésimo - Los dioses y sus guerreros

Canto vigésimo primero - La batalla y el río

Canto vigésimo segundo - Muerte de Héctor

Canto vigésimo tercero - Juegos en honor a Patroclo

Canto vigésimo cuarto - Rescate del cuerpo de Héctor

Homero y sus Poemas

La Iliada y La Odisea

No se sabe gran cosa de Homero, y lo que se sabe más bien parece una leyenda. Esa leyenda dice que su madre, llamada Criteis, fue tomada por un desconocido en las orillas del río Melesígenes, supuestamente en algún punto de Grecia, y que, encinta del que sería su famoso hijo, la robaron unos piratas que la regalaron al rey de Esmirna quien, enamorado de ella, la hizo su esposa. La leyenda no dice una palabra sobre la vida de Homero, así como no aclara si fue ciego o no. Se supone que no.

Al lado de esta leyenda hay una teoría que dice que Hornero es solo el símbolo de la poesía clásica y eterna, y que tal vez la obra no fue escrita por un solo hombre, sino creada y recitada por muchos hombres, los homéridas, de la isla griega de Quío, que durante siglos la difundieron por las calles de las ciudades del Mediterráneo, principiando esta difusión alrededor del siglo VIII antes de Cristo. Al comenzar el VII se hallan, en cráteras y jarrones, representaciones de escenas de estos poemas, y en el siglo VI, cercana ya la era cristiana, empiezan las primeras representaciones oficiales de sus obras.

 Los dos poemas tienen como punto de partida la guerra promovida por haberse robado el troyano Paris a la hermosa y divina Helena (símbolo de la belleza y la feminidad), mujer de Menelao de Esparta, quien, ayudado por su hermano Agamenón y otros reyes y príncipes trata de recuperarla, asaltando y tomando Troya. Los personajes son, en general, símbolos de alguna fuerza, gracia o don: Penélope, de la virtud y belleza del hogar; Héctor, del héroe defensor de su patria; Aquiles, de la rapidez; Ulises, del ingenio; Patrocio, de la amistad; Paris, del mujeriego, etc. Lo mismo ocurre con los dioses, tan inquietos, tan cambiantes y veleidosos, tan fieles o tan sembradores de odio o amor como los mortales.

Todos estos personajes, tanto como los hechos que se les suponen, eran ya legendarios cuando Homero nació, si es que nació en alguna parte.

Para una mejor comprensión geográfica, ya que no histórica, pues no hay aquí historia propiamente dicha hay que decir que Troya llamada también Ilión, estuvo situada al sur del mar Negro, en las tierras en que hoy se encuentran Turquía, Irán, Siria, Líbano, Arabia Saudita, etc., y es una ciudad desaparecida hace ya mucho tiempo (aunque, según se dice, encontrada hace poco por un arqueólogo).

Los aqueos son los griegos, y las demás nacionalidades mencionadas en los poemas vienen de islas y lugares de esa región La lliada y La Odisea, poema este último que cuenta cómo Ulises pudo volver a su hogar y cómo su hijo Telémaco salió a buscarlo, con las aventuras que ambos tuvieron, forman, juntos, el canto épico primero y más grande y famoso del mundo. El primero es una tragedia; el segundo aparece como una novela

Agregaremos una breve descripción de nombres de cosas, hechos y personajes:

Afrodita (Venus en Grecia), diosa del amor, hija de Zeus y Dione. Se dice que nació de la espuma del mar.

Agamenón, hijo de Atreo, rey de Micenas y de Argos, jefe de los ejércitos que sitian a Troya.

Andrómaca, mujer de Héctor y esclava de Pirro, hijo de Aquiles, después de la toma de Troya; es un símbolo del amor conyugal.

Anquises, padre de Eneas, troyano.

Antenor, príncipe de Troya que fundó después la ciudad de Padua, en Italia.

Apolo, dios de la poesía, de los oráculos, de las artes, llamado también Febo, por serlo asimismo del día y del sol. Hijo de Júpiter y Latona, hermano de Diana. Poseía en Delfos un santuario famoso, tanto como su oráculo.

Aqueos, originarios de Tesalia y, después de apoderarse del Peloponeso, establecidos, luego de ser echados de allí, en la costa de Acaya.

Aquiles, hijo de Tetis y de Peleo, rey de los mirmidones; al par de Ulises, el más famoso de los héroes de La Iliada, símbolo del valor y de la rapidez.

Ares (Marte en la mitología romana), dios de la guerra, hijo de Zeus y Hera, símbolo de la fuerza bruta y del furor guerrero.

Argivos, como los aqueos, griegos.

Argos, ciudad del Peloponeso, al sur de Grecia.

Artemisa (la Diana de los romanos), hija de Zeus y Latona, hermana de, Apolo, símbolo de la castidad.

Asclepios, hijo de Apolo y de Cronis, famoso como médico.

Atenea (Palas), nacida de la cabeza de Zeus, al ser esta abierta por un hachazo de Hefestos. Diosa de la cordura y también de la guerra, de las artes e industrias femeninas.

Atreo, rey de Micenas, famoso por su odio contra Tiestes, su hermano.

Atridas, descendientes de Atreo.

Ayax, hay dos: uno hijo de Telamón y otro de Oileo.

Belerofonte, guerrero mitológico, mató a la Quimera montado en su caballo Pegaso.

Beocios, de una región de la Grecia antigua, famosos por su torpeza.

Briseida, sacerdotisa de Lirneso, entregada a Aquiles cuando tomaron esta ciudad.

Casandra, hija de Príamo y Hécuba, entregada como esclava a Agamenón después de tomada Troya.

Clitemnestra, mujer de Agamenón. Mató a su marido, y ella fue asesinada por su hijo Orestes.

Criseida, hija de Crises, sacerdote de Apolo.

Cronos (el Saturno de los romamos), hijo de Urano y padre de Júpiter, Neptuno, Plutón y Juno.

Deífobo, hijo de Príamo y de Hécuba, esposo de Helena al morir Paris.

Deméter, personificación de la Tierra, la Ceres de los romanos.

Diómedes, rey de los argos.

Discordia, símbolo de la maldad, hija de la Noche y hermana de Marte. Arrojó una manzana (la de la discordia) en las bodas de Tetis y Peleo.

Egida, nombre del escudo de los dioses.

Eneas, príncipe de Troya, semidivino, pues era hijo de Venus y Anquises. Personaje de La Eneida, de Virgilio.

Epeo, constructor del caballo de madera con que los sitiadores de Troya entraron a esta ciudad.

Erinias, diosas de la venganza, hijas de la Tierra.

Escamandro, río de la antigua Troada, región cuya capital era Troya.

Estigia, río de los infiernos que volvía invulnerables a los que eran sumergidos ahí (Aquiles).

Fénix, hijo de Amyntor; refugiado en la corte del padre de Aquiles, se encargó de su educación y lo acompañó a Troya.

Hades (el Plutón romano), rey de los infiernos, dios de los muertos.

Héctor, hijo de Príamo y esposo de Andrómaca.

Hefestos (Vulcano), dios griego del fuego y del metal.

Hélade, nombre antiguo de Grecia

Helena, princesa griega, esposa de Menelao, robada por Paris y recuperada por Menelao después de la caída de Troya.

Helesponto, nombre primitivo del estrecho de los Dardanelos, entre Turquía y Europa.

Hera, esposa de Júpiter.

Hermes (Mercurio), hijo de Júpiter, mensajero de los inmortales y dios de la elocuencia, del comercio y de los ladrones.

Idomeneo, rey de Creta.

Ilos, fundador de llión, después Troya, y rey de ella.

Iris, mensajera divina, convertida por Zeus en el arco iris. Bajaba a la tierra solo por medio de tal fenómeno. Hermes lo hacía de noche.

Itaca, una de las islas jónicas; allí reinaba Ulises al partir para Troya.

Laertes, padre de Ulises y rey de Itaca.

Lemnos, en otro tiempo isla turca, hoy griega.

Lesbos, isla griega, llamada hoy Mitilene.

Licaón, rey de Arcadia, que fue cambiado en lobo por Júpiter por haberle ofrecido, en una comida, los miembros de un niño a quien había degollado.

Lidios, de Lidia, Asia Menor.

Menelao, rey de Esparta y hermano de Agamenón.

Micenas, según la mitología, tierra donde reinó Agamenón.

Mirmidones, de la isla griega de Egina. Aquiles fue su rey.

Néstor, rey de Pilos, ciudad de la antigua Grecia.

Oileo, héroe griego, padre de uno de los Ayax.

Olimpo, cordillera de los límites de Macedonia. Se la tenía por la cima más alta del mundo, y residencia de los dioses.

Paris, hijo segundo de Príamo y Hécuba, llamado también Alejandro.

Robó a Helena y mató a Aquiles, ayudado por Apolo.

Patroclo, hijo de Menetios, amigo de Aquiles, muerto por Héctor.

Peán, himno en honor de Apolo.

Pédaso, caballo de Aquiles, velocísimo.

Peleo, padre de Aquiles y rey de Yolcos.

Pilos, nombre de varias ciudades de la antigua Grecia; en una de ellas reinó Néstor.

Polidamante, atleta, famoso por su fuerza.

Poseidón (Neptuno), dios del mar.

Príamo, degollado por Pirro, hijo de Aquiles, después de la toma de Troya.

Talento, moneda antigua, equivalente a unos mil quinientos dólares de hoy.

Temis, diosa de la justicia.

Ténedos, isla del archipiélago, cerca de la costa del Asia Menor.

Ulises, rey de Itaca, uno de los principales caudillos de la guerra de Troya.

Zeus, padre de los dioses. Venció a los titanes y a su padre, Saturno, y dio el mar a Poseidón, a Hades el infierno, y se quedó con el cielo y la tierra.

Canto primero - La peste y la ira de Aquiles

Canta, Musa, la cólera de Aquiles, hijo de Peleo, cuya venganza tantos males causó a los aqueos y lanzó a los infiernos a muchas almas de héroes, cuyos cuerpos fueron pasto de los canes y de las aves, cumpliendo así la voluntad de Zeus, motivada por la disputa entre el Atrida, rey de guerreros, y el divino Aquiles.

¿Qué dios los llevó a tal lucha? El hijo de Latona y Zeus. Irritado contra el rey, envió al ejército una peste que produjo gran mortandad entre los soldados. El Atrida había ofendido al sacerdote Crises al llegar este hasta las naves aqueas para libertar a su hija, llevando un gran rescate y el cetro de Apolo lleno de insignias sagradas. Allí conjuró a los aqueos y en especial a los dos Atridas, caudillos de pueblos: –Atridas y aqueos de hermosas armaduras: permitan los dioses del Olimpo que destruyáis la ciudad de Príamo y regreséis felices a vuestros hogares; pero devolvedme a mi hija y aceptad mi rescate si tenéis acatamiento para el dios Apolo.

Los aqueos se manifestaron favorables a que se le aceptara el rescate; pero el Atrida Agamenón despidió a Crises de mala manera: –Cuídate de que yo no te vea hoy ni nunca cerca de las naves.

No fíes en el cetro y en las insignias del dios. No te devolveré a tu hija, que llegará a la vejez en nuestra casa de Argos, ocupada en el telar y compartiendo mi lecho. Vete y no me enojes si estimas en algo tu vida.

El anciano obedeció al Atrida, alejándose por la orilla del mar. Rendido de dolor, elevó sus quejas hasta Apolo:

–Dios protector de Crisa, oye mi súplica: ¡que los dánaos paguen sus crímenes! ¡Castígalos con tus flechas!

Al oírlo, Apolo descendió del Olimpo llevando el arco y el carcaj bien cerrado. ¡Parecía la imagen de la noche! Se detuvo cerca de las naves y lanzó un dardo que produjo una vibración terrible, matando mulos y perros. Después hizo blanco en los hombres.

Durante días los dardos divinos castigaron al ejército. Al décimo, Aquiles convocó una asamblea; se levantó por encima de los suyos y habló:

–¡Atrida! Vamos a ser rechazados y deberemos volver a nuestra patria, si es que nos salvamos de la muerte; la guerra y la peste se unen para rendirnos. Consultemos a un adivino y sepamos el motivo del enojo de Apolo: si es por no haber cumplido algún voto o por no haberle ofrecido sacrificios.

Vino Calcas, el de más fama, el que sabía del pasado, del presente y del futuro:

–¡Aquiles, ya que me invitas a explicar la cólera de Apolo, jura defenderme, pues preveo la furia de un hombre a quien todos los aqueos respetan.

–Habla con toda confianza; nadie irá contra ti mientras yo viva.

–Apolo solo protege al sacerdote ultrajado por Agamenón y mantendrá la peste mientras no se le entregue a su hija sin pagar rescate y

Comentarios para La Iliada (versión Manuel Rojas)

[katherinegregg · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

The Iliad takes place in the ninth year of the Trojan War. Achilles avenges the death of his loyal companion Patroclus by killing Hector, son of King Priam.

[goofyocean110 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Media and language have shifted innumerably before, and will in the future, I imagine... the smart phone is just a stone skip of time. Nevertheless, I find the idea of reading ancient greek literature on a kindle app on a smart phone really amusing. Homer basically accomplished what I imagine one of his goals was - to immortalize the heroics and feats of the warriors and document the destruction of Troy for all time. Yet for all that, the Iliad reads like a game of football with the line of scrimmage moving back and forth and the Greeks and Trojans alternating between offense and defense. At first the 'well greaved Greeks' were winning… but now Hector 'of the glancing helm' has turned the tide and most of the Greek heroes are wounded and stuck in sick bay…. and then the tide turns again at the whim of Zeus. There is quite a lot of 'this one killed that one, and another one bit the bloody dust'. There are more creative ways to kill someone with a spear than I ever imagined. Some of the details are actually fairly gory. What's confusing, I find, is that at the moment of each death Homer tells the life story of the slain, or at least the vital information such as where they were from, their lineage, and who their wife was. There's a lot of familiar names and it's interesting to see them all in one place here since they are somewhat more ingrained in my head from elsewhere. Like Laertes (thank you Shakespeare) or Hercules (thank you Kevin Sorbo) or Saturn (thank you GM). There are the other random lesser gods or immortals like Sleep (no thanks to you Starbucks) or Aurora (the borealis is on the bucket list).Homer barely mentions the scene or uses descriptions at all unless it directly relates to the battle. Apparently the only such things worth recording was when the battle was at the Greek ships or Trojan city wall or if the gods were yammering away on Mount Olympus. Descriptions are fairly short and uniform and there is a lot of repetition. I heard on RadioLab that Homer did not use any instance of the color blue and some thought he may have been color blind. I did find, however, two instances of blue - one as "dark blue" and one as "azure" -- though never "blue" by itself. RadioLab gets a bunch of details wrong frequently anyway, which is really neither here nor there. One thing I found interesting is the idea and extent of how involved the Greek gods/immortals were in the lives and fates of the mortals. To the point where there are teams of gods aligned loosely for or against the Trojans. This was completely excised in the movie Troy, which I watched as I neared finishing reading this. I had no interest in seeing the movie when it came out but, figured why not. I was actually impressed with how much Hollywood got right in Troy - but of course my expectations were low to begin, thinking it would be a mixed-up and mushy story. I think the biggest things they told differently was how they treated women characters (nicer than Homer) especially Briseus. Also, Patroclus' relationship with Achilles was changed, and as I mentioned, there was no depiction of the gods. Plotwise, the movie included the Trojan horse episode, which is not actually in The Iliad (it's related in The Aenid, by Virgil). Apparently my memory from elementary school did not serve me well because I was expecting to read about the Trojan Horse and didn't believe what I was reading in front of me when the book ended without it! Even went downloading a few other versions and snooping around online to verify. Just goes to show me that my preconceived notions are not always right! And that things get muddied up when stories and retellings merge. Nevertheless, a lot of the detail and direct actions and even dialogue of the characters in the movie did come straight out of the book, so someone clearly was familiar with it, which was a pleasant surprise.

[tess_w · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

At long last! The Illiad by Homer DIfficult to rate a literary epic. However, the entire book takes place in the 10th and last year of the Trojan War. Achilles’ wrath at Agamemnon for taking his war prize, the maiden Briseis, forms the main subject of this book. It seemed as if there were a lot of introductions to characters we never hear from again. The word refulgent was used dozen of times. All in all I'm glad I slogged my way through this. The novelized from of Song of Achilles was more satisfactory to me than the Illiad. I read the translation by Caroline Alexander because that's the one the library had. 3 1/2 stars 604 pages

[renardkitsune · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

First, I was cheated, since the only thing I know about the Trojan war is that it was won by the Greeks using the "Trojan Horse" and that Achilles was killed by being shot by Paris through the ankle. Neither of these episodes are in the Iliad! I was surprised that it was just a snapshot (about a month) of the ten-year long war. It seemed to end somewhat abruptly, but I read somewhere that the Iliad is focusing on Achilles, and his fall (and the struggle of the Greeks) through his pride. If I remember right, this is a common Greek theme, the hero’s tragic flaw that ruins him. Through this lens, the timespan of the Iliad makes more sense though I wish it would have at least continued to the death of Achilles for some closure.Another common Greek theme is that of our fate being fixed, which is evident for many characters throughout the book. Sometimes it may take the form of Zeus forbidding the gods to interfere so that the predestined fate is not tampered with, and sometimes it is much more literal, where the gods do interfere, creating a fog or whisking someone off the battlefield. I always knew that the gods quarreled along with mortals in the Iliad, but I didn’t realize that they would be quite so vindictive—or also quite so physically involved, getting out on the battlefield and getting wounded!I read the translation by Pope, which I thought was very good. I can’t verify its authenticity, but Pope did justice to the Iliad in his word choice. I noticed another review mentioned that the word “refulgent” was used over and over in the Caroline Alexander translation—it’s used continuously in Pope’s! Pope did mention in his introduction that the Iliad can be repetitive at times, and that he chose to keep the repetition in for authenticity’s sake. I think I like that better. I guess I am the kind of person that, if I had to choose, I would prefer more authentic to easier-to-read. Some of the most tedious parts for me were the listing of all the characters, where they came from and who their parents were. All to promptly kill them off in the next paragraph. I admit I did some skimming over the lists of people. Some of the best parts, however, were the myriad ways that Homer came up with to describe someone dying and their body giving up the ghost. He was most creative. Some even made me laugh out loud. What I don’t want to admit is that the most valuable thing about reading the Iliad is that know I understand the references that other authors make to the Iliad. Just started reading Anna Karenina and they references specific scenes from the Iliad -twice- in the introduction. Now I know what they are talking about! And I can (sort of) understand what they mean when they are comparing Tolstoy to Homer.

[lexmccall · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

I read this on the tail of reading The Song of Achilles by Emmy Miller--I wanted to see if I could detect the homoerotic subtext between Achilles and Patroclus myself. The answer to that is definitely Yes, but now I'm curious what other translations are like. This one--by Stanley Lombardo--is pretty jocular, which suits a poem about battle, I guess. So I wonder how other translators handle it.

[aliceanna-1 · Calificación: 2 de 5 estrellas]

What exactly was the point? War sucks? Yeah, we already knew that. Really depressing, unrelenting testosterone-ridden crap.

[bryndahlquis · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Quite the epic adventure. I love The Iliad, but it sure is long and tedious. All those battle scenes get old. And all that wailing in grief.But despite all the repetition, it really is good. Lots of bickering gods, vengeful heroes, and, well, wailing.

[poquette_1 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

The Iliad is a mixed bag. It is the very wellspring of Western culture, for good and for bad. The storied Olympian gods and heroic mortals who participated in the Trojan War are still alluded to in the written word three thousand years later. But the brutal behavior of those same gods and mortals in that war are also memorialized in the six hundred pages of Homer's epic.The verse translation by Robert Fagles reads very well — like a novel, in fact. The rhythm, the beat is prominent, and presumably if you took the time to read it aloud, it would be powerful indeed. Despite this, The Iliad is not an easy read thanks to the almost one thousand names and epithets of characters and places about which the action takes place and through which that action is conducted. Many of these names are very familiar, some vaguely familiar, but most by far are new to us. The Fagles edition blesses us in this department by providing a pronouncing vocabulary which gives a brief identifying statement about each one. Without this or something like it, The Iliad would be a bewildering swirl of confusion to the modern reader. The Introduction, notes and maps are also helpful.We all know the story of The Iliad — or at least we think we do. Surprisingly to me at least, after nine years of the siege of Troy by the Achaeans, it only covers a brief period of 45 days, and within that the bulk of the poem takes place over six days and nights of intense climactic fighting in which the greatest heroes on both sides are killed. A few of the most famous are left standing: Aeneas, will eventually be the lone survivor of Troy who will go on to found Rome; Odysseus famously takes another twenty years to reach his home in Ithaca; and Achilles, who has slain Troy's greatest hero Hector, is destined beyond the confines of The Iliad to be killed by Paris, the culprit who stole Helen from Menelaus and started the entire conflict to begin with.There are no spoilers here. The destinies of the great and near great are announced early and often throughout the pages of The Iliad. The power of the poem lies not in suspense but in the drama of battle. That drama is conveyed through the driving verse which honors its heroes in the process of butchering them. Battles wax and wane with the rhythm of the poetry. The great Homeric similes, sometimes piled on top of each other, churn and froth with soaring images. Here is an example; italics highlight the "like … so" pattern:"Achilles nowlike inhuman fire raging on through the mountain gorgessplinter-dry, setting ablaze big stands of timber,the wind swirling the huge fireball left and right—chaos of fire—Achilles storming on with brandished spearlike a frenzied god of battle trampling all he killed and the earth ran black with blood. Thundering on,on like oxen broad in the brow some field hand yokesto crush white barley heaped on a well-laid threshing floorand the grain is husked out fast by the bellowing oxen's hoofs—so as the great Achilles rampaged on, his sharp-hoofed stallions trampled shields and corpses, axle under his chariot splashed with blood, blood on the handrails sweeping round the car,sprays of blood shooting up from the stallions' hoofsand churning, whirling rims—and the son of Peleus charioteering on to seize his glory, bloody filthsplattering both strong arms, Achilles' invincible arms."What sets off the episode of The Iliad is a microcosm of the whole arc of the Trojan War itself. The war occurred because Paris, a prince of Troy and a guest at the home of Menelaus, stole Menelaus's wife Helen and spirited her off to Troy together with a vast amount of spoils. Most of the battling within The Iliad occurs without the aid of Achilles who ironically has been humiliated by the brother of Menelaus, warlord Agamemnon, who insists on taking the beautiful Briseis from Achilles for daring to challenge Agamemnon who has behaved badly in capturing the daughter of a priest of Apollo and refusing to give her back, thereby causing the god Apollo to shower down a plague on the Achaeans. Thus The Iliad boils down to an epic tale about men fighting over women!Agamemnon at the beginning of The Iliad is not an attractive figure. Toward the end, Achilles' great friend Patroclus is killed by Hector and that finally brings Achilles into action, particularly as the Achaeans seem to be losing and Agamemnon sees the error of his ways and agrees to return Briseis to Achilles.When The Iliad is reminiscing about the great deeds of one hero or another, it is quite affecting. A great deal of mythology is encompassed here, and the jealousies and machinations of the Olympians behind the scenes are both amusing and annoying.But the battle scenes sometimes amount to a catalog of killing and brutality that go beyond the pleasurable. And while the poem as a whole makes for compelling reading, the blood and gore take it over the top. Compared with The Odyssey, it seems much more primitive in its motivation and unrelenting gratuitous violence. I am glad I read it, and I acknowledge its importance in the literary canon, but it is not one of my favorite reads. Because I personally have a distaste for this level of bloody mindedness doesn't mean it isn't worth reading. Everybody really should read it, and all congratulations go to Robert Fagles for his excellent translation.

[andibook-1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

It's the Iliad; it is what you make of it. If you compare it to modern story telling, I think a lot of readers will find it lacking, especially with the constant battle scenes. We're used to getting petty drama in our petty dramas, tragic deaths in our tragedies, gory action in our gory action thrillers. This oral tradition has it all mashed up together.

[merrymary_1 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Translated into English Prose by Andrew Lang, Walter Leaf and Ernest Myers

[lastcall_1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

One of the corner stones of all of Western Literature

[justyce_1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

The latest Polish translation of one of the most famous epic masterworks ever, by Kazimiera Jezewska. Written in Polish hexameter.

[jimmaclachlan · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

I'm not sure, but I think this was the edition I read & liked the best - I've read several over the years. I liked the 'full' or 'best translated' versions & the highly edited versions the least. There's a happy medium in there. The full versions have a lot characters & stuff going on that doesn't add to the story & just confuses me. When edited too much, the story loses its flavor. The story line, plot, can't be beat. Much of the motivation of the characters seems weak or over-used, but that's only because it is the great-granddaddy of so much of our current literature, of course.

[urquhart_1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

Comments on just finishing the Robert Fagles translation:oPeople say it is a book about anger, but it is certainly also about killing, getting killed, grasping for glory or fame, as well as loving.oFor someone like myself who finds cultural historiography fascinating, the book is an excellent resource.oOne obvious thing is that while all humans have an emotional natures it becomes equally apparent that different cultures in different times respond radically different to age old basic situations like love and death. In the book, the Greeks respond to love or loss of a loved one without any inhibition or effort at self control. By comparison, in our time the practice of keeping a stiff upper lip and a measured middle way would look anemic by comparison. It is strange that this view toward loving and loss are not covered in any of the books of criticism cited at the back of the book.oOn the topic of loss also, it is apparent that it was a totally acceptable custom and even expected for one to give oneself up to publicly and totally grieving-for as long as it takes. The men and women both are expected to weep uncontrollably.When was the last time any of us ever did that?In summary, I loved it and was amazed that I found it so entrancing through out.Would obviously love to hear how those with military background respond to the book.

[legalmove · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

Brilliant.

[tess_schoolmarm · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

At long last! The Illiad by Homer DIfficult to rate a literary epic. However, the entire book takes place in the 10th and last year of the Trojan War. Achilles’ wrath at Agamemnon for taking his war prize, the maiden Briseis, forms the main subject of this book. It seemed as if there were a lot of introductions to characters we never hear from again. The word refulgent was used dozen of times. All in all I'm glad I slogged my way through this. The novelized from of Song of Achilles was more satisfactory to me than the Illiad. I read the translation by Caroline Alexander because that's the one the library had. 3 1/2 stars 604 pages

[justine_3 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

The Fitzgerald translation is pretty much still the standard and it preserves the meter of Homer pretty well.

[mikebridge_1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

This book is one of the few that always seems to be with me. Knowing only that it was about war and that the Odyssey was about a high-seas adventure I thought that I would much prefer the latter. But the Iliad sticks in my mind. I often find myself thinking particularly of Achilles. He is a character whom everyone in the book speaks of as the greatest hero, yet's he's an emotionally-stunted killing machine. I was initially repulsed by his character (and still wouldn't want to be like him or with people like him). Yet I keep thinking about it, and this character---and his enlightenment at the end---made an indelible impression. Achilles vs. Agamemnon is everywhere---in every road rage incident, internet forum flame war, or office blowup. It's one of the handful of books I will read repeatedly and give to my son when he's old enough.(The Fagles translation is clear and readable, which is what I wanted, but it's not particularly poetic.)

[bhalpin_5 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

Gory, long, and strangely moving. The action is pretty much nonstop, and the characters felt like real people. This is the only translation I've read, so I can't compare to others, but it was pretty smooth reading.

[zangasta · Calificación: 2 de 5 estrellas]

An almost hollow drum whose bluster seriously detracts from what worth there is to be found.

[wildbill_1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

The Iliad translated by Stanley LombardoThis translation of the Iliad uses language that is forceful and earthy and departs from the classical niceties of some of the other translations. It is surely a translation that is written to be read aloud to appreciate the impact of the language. Homer wrote a story about the most basic and violent human emotions. It contains graphic depictions of violent death and slaughter. Lombardo portrays this story with language that grabs you by the gut and boils the blood. I strongly recommend this translation. I don't know if it is the best, I am no scholar. I do think it is important in understanding and feeling the emotional impact of this classic poem.

[lyzadanger · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

What is this story? Timeless themes tangled in archaic notions that try the patience, but then wild and rhythmic passages that would hold up against any great poet of the modern age. It's a conundrum. At times so difficult I feared I wouldn't be able to pound through it, at other times stealing nights away until 4 a.m., full maddening fevered reading that left me nervy and with the chants of Greek names going through my dreams. My relationship to The Iliad is far different to my late-summer, torpid tale-spinning romance with The Odyssey. It's full of things that sit funny with me: Achilles, the anti-heroic hero, spiteful, vengeful, unmoved; Zeus, tyrant yet yielding; Athena, a mysteriously fierce female in a time of spurned and maligned women. The span of events is peculiar. We see neither the actions and consequences that launched the Achaean onslaught of Troy, nor do we get to hear the legends of Troy's end (i.e. Trojan Horse) or Achilles downfall (Paris' winged arrow to the ankle). It's assumed we already know that.In fact, you go in already knowing everything. The weight of fate, and the way the characters--knowing full well how things are going to come out--respond is the source of the pathos. Achilles: winding tighter in rage as his days are numbered; the gods batting at Achaeans like bored housecats though they know ultimate victory goes against Troy. Yes, the petty spats of the gods echoing out in massacre of mortals and changing tides of gruesome war. Gore and detailed guts. Rhythm. Ritual. Timelessness.As an aside: the Fagles translation is wonderful. Recommended.

[demiguise · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

The classic story of the Battle of Troy between the Greeks and the Trojans. The long war brought about by the abduction of Helen, who had a "face which launched a thousand ships".

[antiquary_1 · Calificación: 1 de 5 estrellas]

An extremely clumsy translation by an otherwise capable poet. I cannot critique the scholarship. but the word choice is ugly.

[stefany_6 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

The Grand-Daddy of all epic tales!I had never read the Iliad before now, and since it was assigned to me in my current college course, I really had no choice but to embrace it. What a great read! I knew most of the storyline of course through general knowledge of mythology and Greek legend and also (though I cringe a little to say it) from the film, Troy. If you haven't read the Iliad and fancy yourself a fan of legend or fantasy novels, I would highly recommend it. For those out there who aren't purists and want a version that is very easily read and understood, I would stick to the Stanley Lombardo translation over all others. Lombardo has a way of translating the text in such a way that uses more modern language and terms and makes the text much easier to follow than most other translations of older texts that I have attempted to read.As for the story itself, it is filled with action, adventure, war, love, the meddling and politics of the Gods themselves and a great deal more. Achilles is the star of the show so to speak, but I found myself rooting more for Patroclus, Hector and several others as I read through the text. There are a score of likable and detestable characters that all stand out in their own way. Truly a fun read and one that I wish that I had read earlier as I'm sure that it gets better upon subsequent readings.

[josearcadio_1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

Homer's Iliad is an epic in all definitions of the word. Fagles does Homer great justice in preserving the iambic hexameter of the verse while capturing the true essence of the great Trojan War. Despite a difference of almost 3000 years, the nature of the human spirit remains intact and prevails as the motivation for all actions of this great epic. Achilles and numerous other characters reveal the constant nature of the human spirit and its ability to triumph and be defeated.

[saraprindiville · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

Interestingly enough I was able to get through it easily. I didn't skip at all even though there was mostly a lot of fighting. Who killed whom- how they died. Gods were interesting. (I did actually skip the 2nd chapter about who went to the Trojan War- Gods kept switching sides.

[jpsnow · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

I believe I've read all of the major western classical epics. This is the best.

[selfcallednowhere · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

Glad I read it, but it was a long haul getting through.

[seanj_26336 · Calificación: 2 de 5 estrellas]

I read this too quickly and passively. One day I'll give it another shot.