The Iliad: (OWC Hardback)'War, the bringer of tears...' War, glory, despair, and mourning: for 2,700 years the Iliad has gripped listeners and readers with the story of Achilles' anger and Hector's death. This tragic episode during the siege of Troy, sparked by a quarrel between the leader of the Greek army and its mightiest warrior, Achilles, is played out between mortals and gods, with devastating human consequences. It is a story of many truths, speaking of awesome emotions, the quest for fame and revenge, the plight of women, and the lighthearted laughter of the gods. Above all, it confronts us with war in all its brutality - and with fleeting images of peace, which punctuate the poem as distant memories, startling comparisons, and doomed aspirations. The Iliad's extraordinary power testifies to the commitment of its many readers, who have turned to it in their own struggles to understand life and death. This elegant and compelling new translation is accompanied by a full introduction and notes that guide the reader in understanding the poem and the many different contexts in which it was performed and read. |
Contents
BOOKSIX | |
BOOK NINE | |
BOOK | |
BOOK TWENTY | |
BOOK TWENTYONE | |
BOOK TWENTYTWO | |
BOOK TWENTYTHREE | |
BOOK TWENTYFOUR | |
BOOK | |
BOOK | |
BOOK THREE | |
BOOK TWELVE | |
BOOK THIRTEEN | |
BOOK FOURTEEN | |
BOOK FIFTEEN | |
BOOK SIXTEEN | |
BOOKSEVENTEEN | |
BOOK NINETEEN | |
BOOK FOUR | |
BOOK FIVE | |
BOOKSIX | |
BOOK NINE | |
BOOK | |
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Common terms and phrases
Achaeans Achilles addressed Aeneas Agamemnon Ajax anger angry answer Antilochus Argives armour arms arrow Asius Atreus battle beside black ships blameless breast bronze bronze-shirted bronze-tipped spear chariot chest companions courage Cronus Danaans daughter dead dear death Diomedes dragged drove earth Eurypylus father Zeus feet fell fight fire front-fighters fury gave give gleaming glittering helmet glorious Achilles glorious Hector glory goddess godlike gods great-hearted great-spirited grey-eyed Athena grief ground Hades hands heart Hephaestus Hera high sky hold hollow ships honour Idomeneus Ilium immortal killed knees leapt lovely Lycians man’s Menelaus Menoetius Meriones mighty mind mortal Myrmidons Nestor numbers Odysseus Oïleus Olympus Patroclus Peleus Phoebus Apollo Poseidon Priam quickly raging Sarpedon shield shining shoulders shout single-hoofed horses sons splendid spoke stand stood swift ships swift-footed Achilles tell Teucer Thetis took Trojans Troy turn Tydeus wall war-cry well-greaved Achaeans winged words wounded Zeus