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.

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.

Easy to read and understandable. I saw the movie Troy decades ago and now got interested in reading what the movie was all about. I hope to read more Greek story, history, fiction, etc books!

Unfortunate that Emily Wilson’s translations has been coopted into the culture wars going on today. This wonderful new translation can and should be enjoyed by all, no matter your political leaning or sexual politics. Liberal or Conservative. It is a disservice to her work to be used in such reductive way. Like a composition by Mozart there are many wonderful interpretations and performances and they can all contribute valid perspectives. There is no best but there are the better ones. This is one of them.

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.

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.

I'm posting in the immediate afterglow of having completed the Iliad. I have been on a journey of reading the world's classic books - Don Quixote, War and Peace, the Bible, etc - a literary ultramarathoner is my new profession I say. When I first set out to read the Iliad about a year ago, I made it a quarter of the way through another translation and quit (this despite having listened to the entire lecture series by Elizabeth Vandiver before hand! - which I actually really liked too). Despite the above achievements, just couldn't make it happen. THE ONLY book I have given up on since I began my journey. I was disappointed. But I was acutely aware that now true ultramarathoner can NOT read the Iliad - too important in history. During the course of my readings I have become acutely aware of how important translators are, so when I went back to conquer it again I paid careful attention to that - Dr. Wilson rose to the top. I cannot tell you what a MAGNIFICENT job she did with this book - the introduction, the summaries at the end, and as importantly making the book actually enjoyable to read. Her hard work and accomplishment was instrumental in allowing me to navigate this work - and for that I am very grateful - and you will be too,

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?

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

Very nice. Must have in the shelf

Tutto perfetto

perfect quality!!