Which translation of Homer’s Iliad is the best? Guide to the best & worst editions + recommendations

Which translation of the Iliad you should read from? The best one, right? So then which one is the best translation of the Iliad available? Let's find out. So I started reading the Iliad in the month of June, and I'm still reading the Iliad as I'm filming this video. Before I got myself a translation, I did some research about all the editions available, all the translations available, and I thought I would share that with you because it was very difficult to get any help about the best translation available, and I think this video will be helpful for you if you are planning to read the Iliad and are not sure which edition to buy or which translation to get. So what is the Iliad? The Iliad is an ancient Greek epic poem. It is attributed to Homer. It is believed that it was written around the 7th and 8th century BC. There are so many translations of the Iliad available today in English language that it can be very confusing to pick one. One of the first translations of the Iliad in English was written in 1581, and it was followed by a number of other translations in the 16th and 17th century. Many translations were done in the 18th century, and there are many modern translations available from the 20th and 21st century as well. So which one should we read from? So the Iliad is either translated in the form of verse, as in the form of a poem, or it is translated in the form of prose, meaning the whole verse form is changed into a form of sentence for you to make the reading experience easier. I by no means am an expert on the Iliad or on ancient literature or any sort of literature. I am reading Iliad for pleasure, for fun, not for school, not for university, not for a degree. I'm just here to help you out if you are reading the Iliad for fun as well. So I'm not going into the analytical side of these translations, I just want to see which one is the easiest to read for us as, you know, normal readers. So I decided to read the Iliad in the form of a verse because that was what it was originally written in. I enjoy the rhythm of the poem as I'm reading it. The things you need to keep in mind when getting yourself a copy of the Iliad is to find a translation which you will find accessible and easy to read, and the edition you get the translation in should have an introduction, some background notes to make your understanding of the book easier. Even if we are reading this for pleasure, this book has so many backstories that it is important we get to know them in order to understand the actual story. So feeling comfortable with the text or the verse is important as well as having a good introduction and notes. I'm going to talk about the verse translations first because that is what I researched the most, and then I'm going to share some of the prose translations for the Iliad available as well. I'm only going to talk about the translations which are easily available in the market today. So the first verse translation I'm going to talk about is by George Chapman. He was a British writer and it was originally published during the years 1611 to 15. So it was written way back in the 17th century, and Wordsworth Classics have this translation available in their editions. It took him almost a decade to translate this book and Alexander Pope has praised this translation. But I think it's going to be hard for a modern reader to read this because it was written so long ago and they did tend to use more difficult words back then as compared to now. So if you're getting a Wordsworth edition, this is the translation you will be getting. The best thing you could do is to read the first paragraph from each translation and see which one you are able to connect with more. The second translation is the one I started reading from originally and it is the Alexander Pope translation. You can find this translation in the Collins Classics edition. This translation was published in the year 1715. This translation was very rhythmic and it had very vivid descriptions but the language was honestly very very tough. It was kind of like a song but I did not understand half of what I just read and I had to re-read passages over and over again in order to understand what was actually happening. And I think that was hindering my understanding of the story and the enjoyment overall. So that is why I decided to stop reading it from this translation. But you can always read a couple of passages from here to see what you feel about it. Let me share the first paragraph from book 4 because that is what I was using when I was comparing different translations. I think I will butcher the recital so I am not even going to attempt any others. But you can see that it was very sing-songy and sort of like a poem but it was a bit difficult for me as a modern reader. The next translation which I am going to talk about is by Richmond Latimore. It was published in the year 1951. His first translation is available by University of Chicago Press. It is said that Richard Latimore's translation is more beginner friendly and is more true to the original Greek. This translation is only available in this edition and I couldn't find it anywhere in the bookshops. I guess not easily available everywhere but you can always get it from Amazon. The next translation which I am going to talk about is the Robert Fitzgerald translation. He was an American and his translation came out in the year 1974. You can find this translation in the Oxford Classics and also in the Everyman's Library edition. It is said that this translation has more clarity. Some of the praise for his translation says that his work is accessible. That's good. Ironic and faithful to the original and it makes Homer live as never before. Since it's a modern translation, it's more easier for the modern reader to read from. The Oxford Classics edition which has this translation also has good notes. The next translation I am going to talk about is the one I am reading from. It is the Robert Fagel's translation. I got it in the Penguin Deluxe edition. The Penguin Black Classics also have this translation available. The reason why I chose to buy this is because it has an introduction, it has maps, it has notes, it has glossary and everything that could help me out. And also because it is extremely beautiful and has these beautiful deckled edges. The only two translations I have read from are the Alexander Pope translation and the Robert Fagel's translation. And I have to say it's definitely very very easy to read. Not as poetic as the Alexander Pope translation but I actually understand what I am reading. So I am sharing these translations in a chronological manner. And the next translation was the one published in the year 2011 by an American, Stephen Mitchell. I am going to share the image of the book right here. It is said that this translation is very compelling and it recreates the original. I have found high praise for this translation as well. This translation is a bit difficult to find. The edition is published by Atria Books and also is not very cheap. So if you really want to invest in a good translation, maybe try his out. Stephen Mitchell's translation reminds us that there is always a new and different way to read and interpret the great classics and that they need to be reinvigorated from generation to generation. There's high praise for his translation from so many different people. So you can definitely check it out. I was not able to find a physical edition of the book in order to, you know, judge for myself whether I would love to read this translation. So I did not get myself a copy. The next translation which I am going to talk about is published by Oxford University Press as well. It was written by Barry P. Powell in the year 2013. He was an American as well. It is said that his translation is more poetic, accurate and accessible. And the thing with the Oxford edition is that it has good notes and good introduction. So it's really easy to read when you have notes to help you out. So if it's published by the Oxford University Press, you are good to go. The next translation I am going to talk about is by the only female translator out of all the translators for the Iliad and it is by Caroline Alexander. This translation was published in the year 2015 and it is published by Vintage Classics. She's a British-American writer and her translation is very rhythmic. It is the first translation by a woman. This edition also has extensive notes and is very accessible for a modern reader. The last worst translation which I am going to talk about is by Peter Green and this was published in the year 2018. He wrote it in one year. Awesome job. He was 90 years old when he started translating it which is pretty epic. Anyways, the edition for the Peter Green translation I saw was so beautiful. It was published by University of California Press and again there is a lot of praise for his translation as well. The thing is that all these modern translations have their own pros and cons and you can find massive reviews about these translations and discussions which one is better on Goodreads and on the internet everywhere. I just wanted to tell you how many of these are out there and which edition comes with which translation just to help you guys out. Even if the translation is by a modern writer, the point is that the edition should have good notes because you still need the notes to understand the story. Now I want to talk about the prose translations available for the Iliad. One of the first ones which I came across is by Samuel Butler. He translated it in the year 1898. He was a British writer and you can get his translation in the Barnes & Noble's hardback edition which is a very pretty edition but make sure you find good notes in there if you want to get it. It is one of the earliest modern English prose translations of the Iliad available. So the Samuel Butler translation also comes in this beautiful edition by the Arcturus Publishers. You don't only get it in the Barnes & Noble's hardback edition. So even though this edition is really pretty, it just has a one page introduction, a couple of pages of preface and no notes honestly. If you want to get this translation, I feel like you need to get another edition because this one doesn't have many notes which one would need when reading a classic like the Iliad. The second prose translation available is by Martin Hammond. I'm not sure if I'm pronouncing his name correctly but his prose translation is published by Penguin Classics. Penguin has published a lot of translations for the Iliad so make sure you know which one you are buying before you get it. This translation came out in the year 1987 and it's said to be very easy and accessible so that's good. Another English prose translation for the Iliad is also available in the Penguin Clothbound Classics and it is by E. V. Rue. He was also a British writer and his translation came out in the year 1950 so it is a relatively modern work. You can get his translation in the Penguin Clothbound Classics editions as well as in the Penguin Black Classics. E. V. Rue is the person who started the Penguin Classics along with Ellen Lane. His translation was revised in the year 2003 by Peter Jones. I think a revised translation will have a more modern approach to the Iliad. There is a more recent prose translation for the Iliad by Anthony Verity. He published his translation in the year 2011 and you can find this translation in the Oxford University Press edition as well. Oxford editions also have a lot of translations so make sure which one you are getting before you buy one. The Oxford edition comes with notes on the translation and it also has maps. The introduction is long and I'm pretty sure will be really good because they usually have good introductions in the Oxford editions. The edition also has an index of personal names which would be really helpful while reading the Iliad. There is a very pretty cover for the Iliad available by the Signet Classics. That edition also has a prose translation. It is by a British writer W. H. D. Rue and it is said that he uses a more plainer and simpler English. So these are some of the translations for the Iliad which are available in the English language today. There are so many others as well and you can find out more about them before you actually buy yourself a book. But please do some research before you actually buy it because it's really important. You do not want to be like me getting more translations for one book just because you didn't do your research before buying them. It's a really fun story and a classic. I find it fascinating that this book was written more than 2000 years ago and we can still read it. It's kind of like an epic fantasy book. There are stories about gods and goddesses. It's definitely a fun book to read and if you plan to read it, I hope this video helps you out. Do your research, read some of the passages from the book before you buy one. I hope you find this video helpful and enjoy the Iliad when you are reading it and give this video a like, share this video with your friends if they are planning to read the Iliad and subscribe to my channel if you haven't done it already. I'm going to see you all in my next video very very soon. Bye!