Rating: 
Summary: Succeeds where modern translations have failed!
Review: A professor at Cambridge University summed it up quite nicely. He notes, "You could not memorize Fagles, or Lattimore - or Hobbes, a few phrases apart - while Pope, even at his least Homeric, is memorable." Compare the following VERY BRIEF excerpts to see what I mean. Iliad xxii (483ff.)Robert Fagles: The day that orphans a youngster cuts him off from friends. And he hangs his head low, humiliated in every way. . . his cheeks streaked with tears. Alexander Pope: The Day, that to the Shades the Father sends, Robs the sad Orphan of his Father's Friends: He, wretched Outcast of Mankind! appears For ever sad, for ever bath'd in Tears; Pope clearly conveys the emotion better, and as a poet rather than an academic, he is probably closer to Homer's original, at least in style, than most. It is only too bad that this edition is not available in hardcover, since I would like it to grace my library wall for years to come. Also, I do not know how Penguin can justify such an exhorbitant price for a paperback edition. Perhaps because it is the only edition currently available by Pope.
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Summary: Is to Homer what King James version is to Bible.
Review: Alexander Pope did for Homer what the King James translators
did for the Bible. (Let brevity be the soul of wit.)
Rating:
Summary: Who cares what they say... it's the best translation.
Review: Alexander Pope was undoubtedly the most talented versifier ever to walk the English-speaking portions of this earth. Forget Shakespeare, forget Milton... they don't know anything about iambs compared to Pope. Once you've taken in the first 1000 couplets or so, you'll see what I mean. Plus, this is an excellent, faithful translation of Homer, no matter what the purists think. Sure, Rouse is great for prose, but if you want beauty and grandeur, Pope is your man. This book deserves a special place on your shelf: file under PERFECT.
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Summary: Pope gives Homer his full measure
Review: Alexander Pope's translation of Homer's "Iliad" is, quite simply, superb. We may occasionally hear more of the 18th century in Pope's rhymed couplets than of Homer's ancient Greece; but as editor Steven Shankman points out, Pope's translation conveys the impression of "an unquestionably big and important poem." This is something that many of the modern translations, particularly the prose ones, fail to do, in my opinion. Pope makes Homer sound like someone worth reading, rather than like a mouldy fossil from three thousand years ago. In addition, lovers of Pope's own original poetry will want this book for the light it sheds on his masterpieces, particularly the hilarious "Dunciad." Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Noble and gnarly
Review: Alexander the Great slept with a dagger under his pillow and a copy of the Iliad next to his bed. Along with the Torah, the Iliad is one of the most inspirational texts of all time, its vivid drama suggesting a way of life for those who can attain it. The surprisingly complex ethos of the hero comes alive, moment by shattering moment, in this great work. As long shadowed spears hurtle through the air, arrows leap from straining bows, bronze armour clashes and men fall like great trees, the ground of life and death is portrayed in a way that is still gripping almost three thousand years later. Men move forward towards possible death in support of their comrades and to try to win glory, or to retrieve the bodies of their fallen comrades from the plundering clutches of their killers. Reasonable people differ on translations. Having struggled through part of the original, and having read Lattimore, Fitzgerald, and a bit of Fagles, it is Lattimore who seems to capture best the vivid, occasionally gruesome, quality of the original along with its noble and transcendent aura.
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Summary: Behold the sheer force of Homer! Wheeee!
Review: All the reviews here seem to be about this book's translation. Bah, I say! Don't take it so seriously. In the first month of 1995, my college friends could hear me saying, "I hate the Iliad!" But when I got further into the text, I read the last 14 books (of 24) straight through in one night. Outstanding! Perhaps the translation does indeed lend the words a certain energy, but the true wonder of Homer's masterpiece lies in its characters and stories. Thrill to the adventures of Hector and his alternately tragic and heroic life! This book is an otherworldly triumph and should be enjoyed by everyone. Drop the snobby academic talk and recognize "The Iliad" for its universal dopeness. Yeah, I said it, this book is the raw, uncut dope!
Rating:
Summary: Great Translation of THE Classic
Review: Almost everyone knows the story of the Iliad. A Trojan, Paris, steals a Greek king's wife, Helen. The Greek king, Menelaus, assembles an army of all of the other Greek kings and they sail to Troy to defeat the city and recapture Helen. There is more to the beginning of the story (it all starts with Paris judging a contest between 3 goddesses). There is more to the story (it ends, and the Odyssey and later the Aeneid pick up, after Greece defeats Troy through the device of the Trojan Horse) but Homer does not tell this story. Homer picks up the story in the last year of the war. Much of the story is of bickering Greeks, and especially a spoiled Achilles, and noble Trojans, especially Hector. It has plenty of intrigue, suspense, and, of course war. It makes for fabulous reading. Of course, the Iliad is first and foremost, one of the earliest texts of western literature. It was originally sung by a blind bard during a sort of "dark ages" of Greek history. An earlier Greek civilization had been literate but had fallen. Later on, centuries after Homer, Greek civilization would rise again. Homer would be lost to the world except that the Iliad was repeated throughout the centuries (most likely with various additions and subtractions) and then written down during the golden age. Homer himself was so lost that it was no longer possible even to tell what he had written. Later Greeks thought he wrote both the Iliad and the Odyssey, but modern scholars say no. Of course, a review of the Iliad must spend a decent amount of space on the translation to be complete. I once picked up a different translation of the Iliad while I had my Lattimore translation on me and they looked completely different. My college professor had us read the Lattimore translation of the Iliad and the Fitzgerald translation of the Odyssey. It is, of course, impossible to translate Homer without conveying a sense of the poetry, but Lattimore opts for more of a transliteration of Homer's work, while Fitzgerald is tilted towards poetry. It may be superficial, but it is also a plus to me that Lattimore transliterates the names, so you wind up reading about Achilleus and Klytaimestra rather than Achilles and Klytemnestra. I thought reading the different translation was a great idea and I am therefore partial to both translators but would suggest that you follow my college professor's views and by one Lattimore and one Fitzgerald translation if you are reading both the Iliad and the Odyssey.
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Summary: Totally abridged! Only 3 of the "chapters" present!
Review: Anyone who's ever read Lattimore's translations of Homer knows what a marvelous poet of a translator Lattimore is. If you didn't like Homer when you were forced to read him in high school, you'll love Lattimore's translation. That's why I was so looking forward to having this classic on audio cassette to listen to as I walk -- but unfortunately, ONLY THREE OF THE CHAPTERS are narrated -- 13, 15, and 16, if my memory serves me. SURE, they're some of the meatiest stuff in The Iliad, but it's sort of a rip-off to sell only 3 chapters. What were the editors thinking? I'm very disappointed!
Rating: 
Summary: Outdated
Review: Beautfiul. Clear. Resplendent in its language. But not for most of today's readers. Newer. Better. More emotional translations are now here. Do not huff and puff like a literary elite. Enjoy the the force of Homer as he meant it - choose a newer translation and taste the blood and sorrow and honor of war as he wrote it. Choose a different, newer translation.
Rating:
Summary: One of two of the Greatest literary works in history
Review: Do this. WWrite two books and have them both become number one sellers that are still being taught in the halls of upper academia 5000 years later and have your name known forever. This is Homer and the Iliad is unmatched. The Trojan war was a battle between the hearts of man and pride.
The Trojans defended Helen's right to love as she chose and the Achians fought to defend their honor and their pride because she ran away with Alexander. It is an epic battle lasting ten years and 9000 years later that war is still held so magnificently where the sons of gods fought side by side with mortal men.
Oh yeah! One more thing. After you've been dead for 5000 years Hollywood will make movies about the books you wrote. So, I ask you is that a great work of art or not?
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