The story told in the iliad figured prominently in greek culture long before the epic was ever written down. Four decades after lattimore, robert fagless 1990 translation took the field. The iliad, the opening of book i, translated by robert fagles. Fagles was born in philadelphia, pennsylvania, the son of charles fagles, a lawyer, and vera voynow fagles, the iliad the odyssey by. The iliad and odyssey they form the bedrock of western literature and culture. The iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to homer. The iliad and odyssey are both divided into 24 books. The iliad, together with the odyssey, is one of two ancient greek epic poems traditionally. The great war epic of western literature, in a stunning translation by acclaimed classicist robert fagles a penguin classic dating to the ninth century b. The iliad depicts a roughly 3000yearold warrior culture based on men winning glory by fighting other men and stealing their possessions and enslaving their women, all while placating the touchy gods, though one can never avoid ones long ago decided fate.
In fact, fagles translations of homers the odyssey and virgils the aenied make a sublime trilogy of ancient myth. The iliad is one of the most enduring creations of western civilization and was originally written to be recited or chanted to the accompaniment of various instruments. If you like 1 month unlimited audiobook listening 12. Set during the trojan war, the tenyear siege of the city of troy ilium by a coalition of greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between king agamemnon and the warrior achilles. The iliad audiobook by homer try our site with free audio books. An iliad was originally developed as part of the new york theatre workshop usual suspects program. At its center is achilles, the greatest warriorchampion of the greeks, and his refusal to fight after being humiliated by his leader, agamemnon. In this brilliant translation, robert fagles brings the vigor of contemporary language to homers 2,700 yearold tale. His audiobook has no introduction, but after the poem a professor reads a section of the iliad in the exotic original greek. Soldier and civilian, victor and vanquished, hero and coward, men, women, young, oldthe iliad evokes in poignant, searing detail the fate of every life ravaged by the trojan war. Set in the trojan war, the tenyear siege of ilium, by a coalition of greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between king agamemnon and the warrior achilles. Sep, 2015 the iliad by robert fagles in doc, fb2, fb3 download ebook. The great war epic of western literature, in a stunning translation by acclaimed classicist robert fagles a penguin classic dating to the ninth century.
Properly performed, this work today is just as meaningful, just as powerful, and just as entertaining as it was in the ninth century bc, and it casts its spell upon modern listeners with the same raw intensity as it did upon. The ancients believed it was a bard called homer, although they disagreed about biographical details. What follows is a very brief summary from each book of the iliad. The iliad in this widely acclaimed verse translation of homers great epic, robert fagles combines the skills of poet and scholar. Thankfully, prior to his current death, fagles also translated virgils aeneid. Both works attributed to homer the iliad and the odyssey are over ten thousand lines long in the original. Along with the odyssey, the iliad is among the oldest extant works of western literature, and its written version is usually dated to around the 8th century bc. The iliad is purportedly written by the blind poet homer some time during the eighth century bc. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction. Start a free 30day trial today and get your first audiobook free.
Composed around 730 bc, homers iliad recounts the events of a few momentous weeks in the protracted 10year war between the invading achaeans, or greeks, and the trojans in their besieged city of ilion. Stream and download audiobooks to your computer, tablet or mobile phone. Combining the skills of a poet and scholar, robert fagles brings the energy of contemporary language to this enduring. The result, the winner of the 1991 academy of american poets landon translation award, is a wonderfully accessible iliad that preserves every nuance of homers genius. The iliad by homer part 2 of 2 full audiobook greatest audio books duration. Perhaps the greatest poem of the western world, homers the iliad unfolds the story of fifty critical days near the end of the trojan war. He maintains the drive and metric music of homers poetry, and evokes the impact and nuance of the iliads mesmerizing repeated phrases in what peter levi calls an astonishing performance. Listen to the iliad audiobook by homer, robert fagles translator, narrated by derek jacobi, maria tucci. Listen to the iliad the fitzgerald translation by homer available from rakuten kobo. Composed in twentyfour books of greek hexameter poetry, it portrays the events of the last year.
Its supreme importance in greek literature slowly permeated to the rest of the western world and in time to come, the two epic poems, the iliad and the odyssey became the reference points for. The iliad by homer part 1 of 2 full audiobook greatest audio books the iliad sometimes referred to as the song of ilion or song of ilium is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters. Since it was first published more than forty years ago, robert fitzgeralds prizewinning translation of homers battle ep. So digging around the internet what do i discover but audiobook versions of fagles translations of the iliad and the odyssey. Naxos audiobooks iliad, the unabridged anton lesser. Its supreme importance in greek literature slowly permeated to the rest of the western world and in time to come, the two epic poems, the iliad and the odyssey became the reference points for thousands of works of art. Review listen to homers ancient greek epic poem the iliad, translated by samuel butler. The iliad audiobook by homer, robert fagles translator audible. With her virtuoso translation, classicist and bestselling author caroline alexander brings to life homers timeless epic of the trojan war. The story begins when paris, son of priam, king of troy, carries off the beautiful helen, thereby precipitating the bitter trojan war.
Homer was probably born around 725bc on the coast of asia minor, now the coast of turkey, but then really a part of greece. The iliad is one of the two great epics of homer, and is typically described as one of the greatest war stories of all time, but to say the iliad is a war story does not begin to describe the emotional sweep of its action and characters. The iliad, together with the odyssey, is one of two ancient greek epic poems traditionally attributed to homer. Written by homer, robert fitzgerald translator, audiobook narrated by dan stevens. The iliad by robert fagles in doc, fb2, fb3 download ebook. To hear it as homer must have spoken it it was first an oral composition, of course i recommend the audiobook with derek jacobis interpretation of the. The iliad, by homer full audiobook homers iliad is the first great work of western literature. Aug 17, 2006 combining the skills of a poet and scholar, robert fagles brings the energy of contemporary language to this enduring heroic epic. An iliad by lisa peterson and denis ohare based on homers the iliad, translated by robert fagles the following acknowledgments must appear on the title page in all programs distributed in connection with performances of the play. The iliad audiobook homer, robert fagles translator audible.
Fagles was born in philadelphia, pennsylvania, the son of charles fagles, a lawyer. One of britains leading classical actors, anton lesser has worked extensively at the national theatre, and is an associate artist of the royal shakespeare company, where, over the years, he has played many of the principal roles, including romeo, troilus, petruchio and richard iii. Mar 14, 2014 the iliad is purportedly written by the blind poet homer some time during the eighth century bc. In this brilliant translation, robert fagles brings the vigor of contemporary language to homers 2,700yearold tale. The poem was divided according to what could be transcribed onto one scroll without the scroll becoming too long and thus breaking. It was commonly thought that he lived on chios, an isl. The iliad by homer derek jacobi reads the opening, translated by. If you have never heard of the iliad or the odyssey, do yourself a huge favour and read both, the iliad first, then the odyssey.
Written by homer, robert fagles translator, audiobook narrated by derek jacobi, maria tucci. The iliad audiobook by homer, robert fagles translator. Signin to download and listen to this audiobook today. The poem is commonly dated to the 8th or 7th century bc, and many scholars believe it is the oldest extant work of literature in the greek language, making it the first work of european literature. The iliad is the story of achilles, a greek hero of the trojan war and the iliad is the story of the trojan war and achilles plus a few others. Please note that these chapter divisions did not exist in the original telling of the story. In the iliad homer sang of death and glory, of a few days in the struggle between the greeks and the trojans. It would be a disaster, monet and cost no justification the kindle cost is a giveaway. The iliad audiobook homer, richmond lattimore translator. In the modern vulgate the standard accepted version, the iliad contains 15,693 lines. The iliad audiobook by homer 9781427251558 rakuten kobo. Buy the iliad by robert fagles, homer from amazons fiction books store. Now, with this stunning modern verse translation, fagles has reintroduced virgils aeneid to a whole new generation, and completed the classical triptych at the heart of western civilization.
The result, the winner of the 1991 academy of american poets landon translation award, is a wonderfully accessible iliad that preserves. He brings the energy of contemporary language to this enduring heroic work, but maintains the drive and metric music of homers poetry and evokes the impact and nuance of homers mesmerizing repeated phrases. Homer must have had an amazing memory but was helped by the formulaic poetry style of the time. The identity of the composer of the odyssey and the iliad is a matter of some speculation. Homer was the first greek writer whose work survives. Librivox recording of the iliad of homer, by homer. And now, thanks to ian johnston of vancouver island university, you can find online numerous english translations of homers great epic poems, including some by major literary heavyweights. The iliad by homer robert fagles trans read by derek jacobi. Homer, derek jacobi, robert fagles translator, maria tucci, penguin audiobooks. To hear it as homer must have spoken it it was first an oral composition, of course i recommend the audiobook with derek jacobis interpretation of the iliad as translated by fagles. Achilles has quarreled with agamemnon and sulks in his tent, while hector brings his trojans to the brink of victory. And, as told by homer, this ancient tale of a particular bronze age conflict becomes a sublime and sweeping evocation of the destruction of war throughout the ages. His translations of both the iliad and odyssey have sold hundreds of thousands of copies and have become the standard translations of our era.