Rating: 
Summary: Magnificent translation.
Review: Lattimore's translation captures the rhythm and emotions of the ancient Greek. Achilleus, Odysseus, Hektor, Agamemnon, Alexandros and the rest are presented as Homer devised them. This bedrock of Western literature and thought is a must have for any true student of modern culture.
Rating:
Summary: Accurate, inspired translation
Review: Most are already familiar with the wartorn story of Homer's Iliad, so my only commentary is on this particular translation: it is, by merits of its flow and its close approximation of the original's hexameter, the best ever made into the English language. Lattimore does not attempt to make this 3,000 year-old epic into a flowery sonnet, a Shakespearian drama, or a willfully noble tale--instead, he goes to great lengths to preserve the feeling and the connotation of Homer's story, rendering it in highly readable, fast-paced verse that allows the reader to grasp the melodic and repetitive nature of the Greek. He consistently preserves every flavorful epithet, and thus convey the Iliad's power as closely as one can in translation. I would go so far as to say that this translation outstrips that of couplet extraordinaire Alexander Pope, for the latter's is not Homer, but rather a distant interpretation; unlike Lattimore's, it tries to make the Iliad into what it is not. For a clear picture of the original story of the Trojan War, by all means read the Lattimore version.
Rating:
Summary: Much have I travelled in these realms of gold
Review: My favorite of the modern translations, Lattimore does an excellent job of capturing the muscular beauty of the bard's verses. I have returned to the epic many times for a myriad of reasons and am always struck by the sheer force and beauty of the story. Lattimore has the fine sense to let Homer do the brunt of the work. "Such was their burial of Hector, Breaker of horses."
Rating: 
Summary: Best verse translation of Homer's Iliad
Review: Of all the verse translations of Homer's Iliad that I have read, Lattimore's is certainly the finest. Though Robert Fitzgerald's translation is probably one of the most popular, I think Fitzgerald has taken too much liberties with the language, sprinkling his own metaphors like salt and pepper indiscriminately over the text and thereby distorting Homer's style in a very inexcusable fashion. Fagles's translation is also good, but a bit too "close". Even Homer's contemporaries know that this poem with a heroic age inretrievably lost in the tide of time. Even though Lattimore's translation may seem heavily formulaic and pedantic at the first glance, a little bit of patience and thought will help you in appreciating the power and beauty of this masterpiece.
This paperback edition is probably the only real edition out there. I still cannot understand why nobody bothers to print the hardcover editions from the 50s and 60s any longer. Those give much more space in the margin for notes and scribbles (and who can read the Iliad without being tempted to scribble a line or two!). However, since the paperback is all there is one must be content...
Those who read the Iliad will not fail to see why Homer is considered the first creative genius in the Western Canon. The Iliad is a flawless masterpiece sustaining the same tone from the beginning to the end, tragic in a sense that the tragedy is too great for tears. Book 22, the climactic book of the Iliad, is THE most powerful crescendo ever constructed. There is no doubt to the outcome: Hector WILL die and Troy WILL fall--these are given in Book I. The Iliad does not rely on suspense to captivate the audience. Rather, the experience of reading the Iliad may be summarized as the twillight region between day and night, during which we the readers know what will happen--wait for it to happen--and meanwhile, when faced to death as all the Homeric heroes, reflect on the meaning of life, of death, of glory, and of our common lot.
Rating:
Summary: Apt reading for America today
Review: Perhaps one of the first anti-war works of literature, the Iliad stands as relevant for our world today as it has been for the Greeks of 3000 years ago. Lattimore has given us with a brilliant translation that makes this masterpiece accessible in all its beauty to modern-day English speakers. The introduction provides the necessary understanding of the background and translation scheme, adding to the appreciation of the poem, but concise and short enough to permit the reader to delve into the beauty of the Iliad without much further ado. The Iliad of course is the most famous classic Greek poem. In reading this translation, one vividly moves into the world of the gods and heroes. Though seemingly long, the Iliad is breathtaking in its action and plot sequences. It is easy to get lost imagining the conflicts between Achilleus, Agamemnon, and Hector, or reflecting on the fascinating intrigues of Athena and Zeus. There are many lessons in these tales for everyone today, for we humans still behave within the same parameters of pride, glory, anger, vengeance, and love. After reading it, I was left reflecting about th meaning of victory, and how Achilleus was unsatisfied after obtaining his revenge. Read it, and you will instantly recognized why this epic poem has been deemed a masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Translation
Review: Richard Lattimore presents the clearest translation of Homer that I have ever read. Lattimore's translation is easy to understand and still keeps the verse structure of the poem intact-the way Homer designed it to be. Also look into buying the Companion to the Illiad by Malcolm M. Willcock-an invaluable resource for any student reading the Illiad, especially Lattimore's translation.
Rating:
Summary: If you can't read ancient greek...
Review: Richmond Lattimore brings most people to about as close as they ever wanted to get actually reading Homeric Greek. His version, though perhaps not the best way to get acquainted the Iliad, is the only translation I feel comfortable reading when I need to compare the Iliad's lines. One can still hear the echo of the original poet's voice in this translation.
Rating:
Summary: Lattimore: more than just a translator
Review: Richmond Lattimore in this translation goes beyond mearly translating the Illiad of Homer, but gives deep insight into this epic tale. The introduction to this work is by far the best I have ever seen. Take the time to read it, as it offers excellent examination of the style, culture, and people who appear in the translation.As for the Illiad itself, it is perhaps one of the greatest works ever written. Homer is more descriptive than any other author I have read. While it is very long, anyone with an interest in the classics will find it more than worth their time. To fully apreciate the difficulty and beauty of dactalic hexameter(the style the epic is written in), however, one needs to have written or attempted to write in dactalic hexameter. Without that background, the wording of Homer may apear silly to people who have never done such writing.
Rating: 
Summary: Lattimore's Iliad: admirable, but too close to prose.
Review: Richmond Lattimore tries to give his translation the feel of "Greek-ness" by keeping the "k" in proper names instead of Latinizing them to "c" (and "ai" instead of "ae"), by using "but" where Homer does instead of "and," and by observing many of Homer's formulaic techniques. So one feels closer to the Greek original when reading Lattimore than one does with other translations. But are we really closer? Actually, that's not the question we should ask, because it's quite impossible to duplicate Homer's Greek, to be faithful both to the music and to the sense. Alexander Pope understood this and instead gave us a great poet translating another great poet-- the best we can ask for. Richmond Lattimore is not a great poet and his language is rather tame compared to that of Homer. Lattimore can be admired for not bogging down the work with Shakespearean or Miltonic language, for freeing Homer from archaisms and pseudo-poetic triteness, but the pulse he has chosen for each line is off: he "approximates" dactylic hexameter by allowing six stresses to fall rather at random across the lengthy string of words. This causes the pulse to be very faint, hardly discernible from prose. So when it's all said and done, Lattimore still reads like a novel, and Homer is not a novel. This safe translation beats Fagles and other recent versions and is probably the most recommendable to first-time readers. Yet I still prefer A.T. Murray's prose in the Loeb edition because it is just as musical in many ways as Lattimore's verse. For a truly poetic experience, try to find Alexander Pope's translation, edited by Steven Shankman for Penguin Classics.
Rating:
Summary: Lattimore's Iliad: admirable, but too close to prose.
Review: Richmond Lattimore tries to give his translation the feel of "Greek-ness" by keeping the "k" in proper names instead of Latinizing them to "c" (and "ai" instead of "ae"), by using "but" where Homer does instead of "and," and by observing many of Homer's formulaic techniques. So one feels closer to the Greek original when reading Lattimore than one does with other translations. But are we really closer? Actually, that's not the question we should ask, because it's quite impossible to duplicate Homer's Greek, to be faithful both to the music and to the sense. Alexander Pope understood this and instead gave us a great poet translating another great poet-- the best we can ask for. Richmond Lattimore is not a great poet and his language is rather tame compared to that of Homer. Lattimore can be admired for not bogging down the work with Shakespearean or Miltonic language, for freeing Homer from archaisms and pseudo-poetic triteness, but the pulse he has chosen for each line is off: he "approximates" dactylic hexameter by allowing six stresses to fall rather at random across the lengthy string of words. This causes the pulse to be very faint, hardly discernible from prose. So when it's all said and done, Lattimore still reads like a novel, and Homer is not a novel. This safe translation beats Fagles and other recent versions and is probably the most recommendable to first-time readers. Yet I still prefer A.T. Murray's prose in the Loeb edition because it is just as musical in many ways as Lattimore's verse. For a truly poetic experience, try to find Alexander Pope's translation, edited by Steven Shankman for Penguin Classics.
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