The Iliad

We don't know much about Homer, but we do know that he didn't write for readers--he wrote for listeners. Narrator Dominic Keating makes some small concessions to the modern ear, lightening his voice to indicate a female speaker and changing his tone or accent slightly when two or more men are speaking. But mostly he leaves Homer in control, giving us a bardic version as a single singer would have delivered it. Caroline Alexander's faithful and forceful translation is served well by this approach. She approximates the hexameter cadences of the original (within the limits of English) so that Keating can drive us through the action scenes without losing the tenderness of Andromache's few moments of love and loss of Hector. D.M.H. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine


To listen to a good translation of Homer's works artfully rendered by a skilled oral interpreter is always a delight to a spoken-word audiophile. The spirit of the original rhapsodes (literally, stitchers of tales), who were able to "sing" the stories of Achilles, Odysseus, and the battle of Troy while accompanying themselves with a lyre, is now being reborn with wonderful recorded versions. IN Audio's production of Homer's complete work is a very acceptable choice. Using Samuel Butler's nineteenth-century translation, John Lescault's narration is polished and clear, with subdued vocal characterizations. At times Lescault does sound a bit liturgical, as if he were intoning a sacred text in a cathedral instead of entertaining a relaxed company of imbibing guests in a marble palace. Still, the story is so strong that listeners can easily lose themselves in a time when gods and men fought for the beautiful Helen. P.W. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

November 1, 2015

In her controversial The War That Killed Achilles, Alexander, a classicist and prolific author (including books on Ernest Shackleton and the mutiny on the Bounty), argued that Homer's Iliad subverts the notions of heroic glory by its treatment of the tragedy and sadness of war. Emerging from that project is her own full translation of the Iliad, joining a significant field of influential modern versions, most recently those by Stanley Lombardo, Anthony Verity, Stephen Mitchell, Peter Green, and Barry B. Powell, as well as those of Richmond Lattimore, Robert Fitzgerald, and Robert Fagles. Alexander's Iliad closely resembles the spare and vigorous blank verse of Lattimore, following the line structure of Homer. Working from the premise that Homer did not sound archaic to his audience, Alexander's diction and syntax avoids the archaic elements of Fitzgerald or the contemporary tone of Lombardo and occasionally Fagles, seeking a line that sounds natural to the modern reader. VERDICT This powerful and readable version of the Iliad is modern without sacrificing the accuracy, energy, or the seriousness of the original. It is a toss-up between Alexander's translation and Lattimore's version, while Verity's or Powell's editions are desirable for those interested in a more philological translation.--Thomas L. Cooksey, formerly with Armstrong Atlantic State Univ., Savannah

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