The Iliad

Emily Wilson’s translation of The Iliad in hardcover delivers something that a lot of versions miss—it lets the story feel immediate without sanding down its brutality.The first thing that stands out is how controlled and deliberate the language is. Like her Odyssey, the verse is clean and readable, but here it carries a heavier weight. There’s a steadiness to the rhythm that fits the subject matter—war, pride, grief—and it builds a kind of pressure as you move through the text. Nothing feels ornamental for the sake of it.What I appreciated most is how human the characters come across. Achilles isn’t just a legendary warrior; he’s volatile, wounded, and often difficult to sympathize with. Hector feels grounded in responsibility and inevitability. Even smaller characters are given just enough clarity that their deaths don’t blur together. The violence isn’t glorified—it’s specific, physical, and often uncomfortable to sit with.Wilson also does a strong job with the emotional undercurrent of the poem. The grief runs through everything, and it’s not treated as an afterthought. Moments of mourning, rage, and exhaustion feel just as important as the battles themselves. It gives the whole work a kind of gravity that lingers even in quieter scenes.Another thing worth noting is how she handles repetition and epithets. Instead of feeling redundant, they come across as intentional, almost ritualistic, reinforcing the structure of the poem without dragging down the pacing.The hardcover edition itself is solid. Good weight, durable binding, and a layout that supports the verse rather than crowding it. It feels like a book you can sit with for a long time without it becoming physically tiring to read.If you’ve found The Iliad difficult or distant in other translations, this version makes it far more accessible without simplifying it. And if you already know the text, it’s still worth reading for how clearly it brings out the psychological and emotional stakes behind the conflict.Overall, this is a powerful, grounded translation that treats the epic not as a distant legend, but as a deeply human story shaped by anger, loss, and consequence.

I read The Iliad annually. It is easily my favorite book and is the one I always choose when people ask questions like, “If you were inexplicably marooned on an island and for some vague reason could only have one book, which one would it be?”I have most of the major translations into English and for a long time gravitated toward Lattimore because it is more poetic than other popular translations like Fagles.This translation does not disappoint. It is more clearly poetic than Lattimore with what are probably better translation choices. I particularly like her use of Iambic Pentameter here. It’s not the same in Greek, but for English readers, it’s great.She really captures the essence of things in new ways that challenged my earlier conceptions—but that could also be a payoff for reading it again, as the Iliad continually rewards me whenever I reread it. The combat is as brutal and heart-wrenching as ever, and this translation lays bare the emotional stakes on both the war front and the domestic front.If you are new to The Iliad, the introduction provides a really good background and discusses the goals of this translation as well as the reasons for stylistic choices. If you’re not new to the Iliad this translation is a rewarding read and provides a fresh perspective.

Perfect condition. And the book is as expected, a great classical read. How could one not like this?

Wilson doesn't mess around. Get it.Somewhat small print but readable.There's a lot of material here as well as maps, summaries, family trees, glossary -- and poetry. And I've only had it a day.

I read the whole thing aloud. I didn't quite mean to: I read the preface and book 1 the night it arrived, and said to my sweetie 'She urges us to read this aloud, and I probably will inflict bits on you. Hmm. Maybe I should just start over and read the whole thing aloud [the way we did with Circe].' So I did.I'm sure I'll have to read it again - silently - but imho the read aloud did add to the experience. It didn't feel like verse and it felt very easy to avoid the singsong of carelessly read rhymed verse - but it was striking how reading the verse aloud made it very obvious when I transposed words or misread names.Wilson got our attention with her Odyssey which eschewed euphemisms like "housekeeper" or "attendant" and called a slave a slave. That was an amazing translation, and this is a thoroughly worthy successor. She does not convert me to her preference for the Iliad over the Odyssey, but her Iliad is a vital, powerful story told in language that probably does feel as natural and unaffected to a modern audience as the original Greek felt to the original audiences. Eyeballs pop, brains jelly, gods and kings bicker - this is no more a guide to how to live well than its rough contemporary from Palestine, but a heck of a lot more fun to read.

In my opinion, this is an absolutely beautiful translation by Emily Wilson. The book itself is very nicely printed and contains lots of reference material to aid in study and understanding. I highly recommend this to anyone wanting to read the Iliad. Even if you're just thinking about - go for it! There is no better way to gain insight into our ancient ancestor's minds and hearts.

Beautiful copy, arrived in mint condition!

This is my first time ever reading the Iliad, though I already knew the story extremely well. I think it was because I knew the story well, but had not read the Iliad, a lot of confusion arose on certain parts of the story. One example is when Agamemnon is trying to appease Achilles. He offers Achilles numerous gifts including one of his three daughters, Chrysothemis, Iphianassa and Laodice. I found it odd that Agamemnon included Iphianassa when she is supposed to be dead at this point. But Wilson clarified and explained a few differences, contradictions, and errors in her notes section at the end of the book. She explained that in Homer, the sacrifice/murder of Iphigenia is not included. Her notes section is very lengthy and detailed. Wilson meticulously goes through each chapter explaining numerous facts, points, ect. Each chapter is also summarized and tied into the notes section.I do believe this translation of the Iliad is a bit longer than the others because Wilson really broke down the story so that it was easily understood as you read. You didn’t have to stop and reread a passage and think over what something meant before continuing on. It was pretty easy to read and I’m very pleased I choose this translation to be my first translation to read. You can tell Wilson put a lot of care and thought into her translation and it was much appreciated.*Also a pronunciation section is included at the end along with a few genealogies. That pronunciation guide was incredibly helpful, the names that begin with Ep and Ph usually trip me up really bad.

Calidad del papel mala, como en estos tipos de libros en inglés, eso me lo esperaba, pero cortado sin guillotina, lleno de rebordes, con varias paginas dobladas que al abrirlas eran más grandes y que el libro cerrado se parecía a la foto de otro que también lo devolvió, como yo. ¿Sería ese el mismo libro que me enviaron después de rechazarlo él por defectuoso?

Good English translation into modern iambic pentameter verse. The Iliad is one of the greatest classics ever written. In depicting the Greek/Trojan war, it deals with themes of the human condition eg., anger, grief, courage, jealousy, love, passion, hate, competitiveness, parenting, violence, compassion, death, and much more. The Iliad is my all-time favourite work of classical literature. I have read several different translations of the Iliad and this one by Emily Wilson is the one I most highly recommend.

A leitura é suave, gostosa e muito direta, sem prejudicar o conteúdo e a proposta original da obra. Melhor tradução disponível!

Tutto perfetto

In the introduction Emily Wilson explains the reasoning behind her translation:“Many modern English translations of Homer use contorted, unnatural language that seems to me quite alien to the experience of the Greek. Many versions create a reading experience that mirrors how first-year language students labor valiantly through each word, but have only a foggy notion of what it all means.”Emily Wilson's Iliad is a translation for the modern reader making it accessible to everyone, especially those who would have loved to read Homer but as she points out been put off by the archaic language of previous versions. There are also extensive notes, a glossary and an introduction well worth reading.It is also beautifully presented with 'French flaps' and 'deckled edging' giving it an antiquarian look and feel. (It isn't as some reviews have presumed just badly cut pages.)