This book has been in the making for 10+ years, if not 3,000.
In a way, you could say The Iliad is my odyssey!
In a rare moment of raw emotion, I don't even know where to begin! How's this?
The Vocabbett Classics annotated edition of The Iliad is the best version that exists, and the only edition that should be used in schools. With more than 750 annotations, it not only defines difficult words but explains all the little-known references that mystify newcomers.
Background, Annotations, and Art
The importance of these 750+ annotations is impossible to overstate. Far too often, simple phrases like "the son of Atreus" confound students into closing the classic, but it's so easy to explain, "He's just referring to Agamemnon Read on!"
And to make sure you know who Agamemnon is, I provide a witty, 15-page backstory describing the casus belli (cause of war) and descriptions of all the primary characters. It even has pictures! You will love it.
I do the same thing at the end of the book, explaining what happened to each character after the war ended. You've invested enough time in them--you should know if they live or die!
The Translation Effect
Now let's discuss the text itself. Until now, there were three famous English-language translations of The Iliad.
And here's the thing about translations: even though they start with the same source material, the final texts look quite different.
Was the translator primarily concerned with maintaining the rhyme? Did he want to modernize the text, making it feel as accessible to us as it was to the ancient Greeks? Or was he simply a literalist, translating the text as faithfully as each word allowed?
For Example (Using Spanish & Italian for Reference)
Imagine you're translating a conversation from Spanish in which the girl is saying she's sixteen years old.
"Tengo dieciséis años," she says.
If want to maintain the meter, you might translate it: "Just sixteen years have I on earth to claim/Yet time has passed like embers into flame."
If want to make the text sound as natural in English as it does in Spanish, you'd probably translate it: "I'm sixteen years old."
If you want to translate every word as literally as possible, you'd probably translate it: "I have sixteen years."
But now let's make it harder.
I was watching an Italian show in which one character yelled at another, "You're worse than taxes!"
If want to maintain the meter, you might translate it: "You nitpick like taxes, relentless and sly/A test of patience no coin could buy."
If want to make the text sound natural in English, you could translate it (as the subtitles did): "You're so annoying."
If you want to translate every word as literally as possible, you'd probably translate it: "You're worse than taxes!"
Do You See the Dilemma?
In my opinion, the "make it sound like English" translation works best in a sentence like, "I'm sixteen years old."
But I prefer the literalist translation of a sentence like, "You're worse than taxes!" Something just gets lost in translation when it's too understandable in English; it's almost sterilizes the text, removing the unique cultural values and sayings that provide a window into another place.
Samuel Butler's 1898 Translation
I don't read ancient Greek, so the Vocabbett Classics annotated edition is based on Samuel Butler's excellent 1898 translation, which long ago entered the public domain.
Having read translations older and newer, I believe Butler does the best job of balancing these conflicting priorities. From there, I made modifications wherever I believed I could make improvements to any of those three categories without detracting from the other two.
In the end, I don't know if there was a single sentence I didn't touch.
Butler's translation of Book I begins:
Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of Jove fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles, first fell out with one another.
The Vocabbett Classics annotated edition of Book I begins:
Sing, O goddess, of the rage of Achilles. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a noble hero did it yield prey to dogs and vultures. Tell us of the day when Agamemnon, king of men, and the great Achilles first fell to fighting.
(My edition also has three footnotes in that passage!).
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Alright, if you've made it this far, you deserve a whopper of a deal! Use code "READ" for 50% off your entire order at Vocabbett. Unfortunately I cannot give you an Amazon code for the paperback, but I do what I can!
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So there you have it. Early access to The Iliad: The Vocabbett Classics Annotated Edition, plus at 50% off for you, my loyal readers. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your support, and I hope and pray that you enjoy The Iliad as much as I do!
I've proofread it 16,000x, but I am a one-woman show, a mom, and a Krav Maga addict. I make mistakes. If you find any typos, please tell me!
XOXO