One of the most important and influential works of the Western Canon, The Iliad has long been a favorite of scholars and laypeople, embraced by famed artists from Shakespeare to Brad Pitt.
The Iliad opens in the late stages of the Trojan War, and, with reflection on prior battles, follows through the sacking of Troy and the Greeks' bitter victory. Spanning the defeats, allegiances, victories, and vengeances of mortals and Gods alike, this epic poem of the ages still manages to be intensely relevant to modern readers. The major thematic thrusts (glory, honor, wrath, and fate) are both the stuff of legend and part of our ongoing experience.
Now, in an updated prose translation from the original Greek, Blakely focuses his Iliad on the gripping heroics of Achilles and Patroclus, recounting a relatable tale of angry young men striving for glory, trapped by fate into prescribed warrior roles.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
One of the most important and influential works of the Western Canon, The Iliad has long been a favorite of scholars and laypeople, embraced by famed artists from Shakespeare to Brad Pitt.
The Iliad opens in the late stages of the Trojan War, and, with reflection on prior battles, follows through the sacking of Troy and the Greeks' bitter victory. Spanning the defeats, allegiances, victories, and vengeances of mortals and Gods alike, this epic poem of the ages still manages to be intensely relevant to modern readers. The major thematic thrusts (glory, honor, wrath, and fate) are both the stuff of legend and part of our ongoing experience.
Now, in an updated prose translation from the original Greek, Blakely focuses his Iliad on the gripping heroics of Achilles and Patroclus, recounting a relatable tale of angry young men striving for glory, trapped by fate into prescribed warrior roles.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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Overview
One of the most important and influential works of the Western Canon, The Iliad has long been a favorite of scholars and laypeople, embraced by famed artists from Shakespeare to Brad Pitt.
The Iliad opens in the late stages of the Trojan War, and, with reflection on prior battles, follows through the sacking of Troy and the Greeks' bitter victory. Spanning the defeats, allegiances, victories, and vengeances of mortals and Gods alike, this epic poem of the ages still manages to be intensely relevant to modern readers. The major thematic thrusts (glory, honor, wrath, and fate) are both the stuff of legend and part of our ongoing experience.
Now, in an updated prose translation from the original Greek, Blakely focuses his Iliad on the gripping heroics of Achilles and Patroclus, recounting a relatable tale of angry young men striving for glory, trapped by fate into prescribed warrior roles.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781429997287 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Tor Publishing Group |
| Publication date: | 12/08/2015 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 492 |
| File size: | 2 MB |
About the Author
RALPH BLAKELY is proficient in six languages (German, Spanish, French, Italian, Latin and Greek). He has been an organist-choirmaster and a private investor, and currently serves on the board of directors at the Carolina Art Association/Gibbes Museum of Art.
Read an Excerpt
The Iliad
By Homer, Ralph Blakely
Tom Doherty Associates
Copyright © 2015 Keyne CheshireAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4299-9728-7
CHAPTER 1
A
Book 1
Sing, goddess, of the wrath of Achilles Peleusson, the ruinous wrath that brought immense pain to the Acheans and propelled many valiant souls of heroes down to Hades, and made them pickings for dogs and birds of all kinds, that the plan of Zeus might be brought to completion. Tell why they were first separated in quarreling, the son of Atreus, the Supreme Commander — Agamemnon — and noble Achilles.
8 And which one of the gods brought them together to fight in a quarrel? It was the son of Leto and Zeus; he grew angry with the king and raised up a terrible plague upon the camp, and the troops perished. This he did because the son of Atreus dishonored Chryses, Apollo's priest.
10 Chryses came to the swift ships seeking the release of his daughter, and brought with him a priceless ransom. He held in his hands the wreath from the head of far-shooting Apollo, mounted atop a golden staff. And Chryses pleaded with all of the Acheans, most especially with the two sons of Atreus, Marshals of Troops:
"Sons of Atreus, and others of you well-armed Acheans, the gods who dwell in palaces on Olympus might permit you to sack the city of Priam and to return home safely, but you should release to me my dear daughter and receive the ransom. In so doing, you would show reverence for Apollo, the far-shooting son of Zeus."
21 At that, all of the rest of the Acheans applauded the proposal both to pay reverence to things sacred and to receive the magnificent ransom. But this did not please the heart of Agamemnon Atreusson, who profanely dismissed the priest with a harsh command:
"Do not let me find you among the hollow ships, old man, hanging around now, or coming back in the future. The staff and wreath of the god will not protect you. I will not free your daughter until she grows old in our house in Argos, far from her homeland, weaving at her loom and keeping me company in my bed. Get lost! Do not cross me, if you want to get back home safely!"
32 So Agamemnon spoke, and the old man grew fearful, and he obeyed the order. He walked silently along the splashing waves on the beach. When he had gone far off, the old man prayed:
"Lord Apollo, child of fair-haired Leto, hear me, silver bow! It is you who have defended Chryse and sacred Cilla and you who rule mightily in Tenedos. If ever I pleased you who rid Sminthia of rats, when I roofed your shrine, or if ever I burned fat thighs of bulls or goats, fulfill my wish, I implore you. Avenge my tears with your arrows on the Danaans!"
42 So he spoke in prayer, and Phoebus Apollo heard him, and bounded down from the peaks of Olympus with a furiously raging heart. The god had his bow about his shoulders, and his covered quiver. The arrows within rattled as his shoulders shook with anger. His going was like the night.
47 Then Apollo sat down afar off from the ships and dispatched an arrow among them. Dreadful was the twang that came from the silver bow. The mules were the first to drop, and the swift dogs. Then others were hit by the deadly darts he fired off. Constant were the dense fires burning the corpses of those he took down.
52 For nine days the shafts of the god rained upon the camp, and on the tenth, Achilles called for an assembly of the troops. The white-armed goddess Hera placed the idea in his mind, as she was concerned for the Danaans when she saw so many of them dying.
57 And when the assembly was convened, fleet-footed Achilles stood up and addressed them, saying, "Son of Atreus, I think that now we should retrace our steps and return home, if indeed we plan to escape death, for surely both war and plague beat down the Acheans at the same time. But, come now, let us ask of some diviner, or priest, or interpreter of dreams, for a dream is certainly from Zeus, what he might say as to why Phoebus Apollo is so angry. Perhaps there was some error in prayer or in offerings and we might somehow, with smoke of rams or of goats, find a plan to save us from destruction."
67 So, you may be sure, he spoke and then sat down. Calchas Thestorson stood from among them. He was, by far, the best at divining meaning from the behavior of birds; he could tell the things that were, and those that are, and those that are to come. He guided the ships of the Acheans to Troy, using the gift of prophecy that Phoebus Apollo had given him. With a sound mind, he addressed them, saying, "Oh Achilles, dear to Zeus, you tell me to explain the wrath of the far-shooting Lord Apollo. I ask of you directly that you swear to me that you will readily back me up with words and hands if I speak frankly. I think that a man will be very angry, a man who is great in power over all of the Acheans. He is a mightier king when he is angry at a lesser man. Even if he chokes down his anger today, in the future he will retain the fury. In the end it will surface as it would remain in his heart. You must declare that you will save me if that happens."
83 Fleet-footed Achilles spoke in reply to him.
"Take great courage and tell what you know of the prophecy. By Apollo, dear to Zeus, to whom you pray and who reveals prophesies to you, Calchas, I swear that as long as I live and look about on the earth, none at all of the Acheans will put his heavy hands on you near the hollow ships, not even Agamemnon who would likely be the one you're talking about. He now claims to be the best by far of the Acheans."
91 At that, the exceptional diviner took heart and spoke out.
"The god is not unhappy because of errors made in prayers or sacrifices to him, but rather because Agamemnon dishonored Apollo's priest, and did not accept the ransom or release his daughter. On account of that, the far-shooting god delivered misery and still continues to do so. He will not put off the constant suffering from the Acheans until they give back the bright-eyed daughter to her dear father, without ransom or compensation. She must be led back to Chryse accompanied by a sacred offering. Only then, having obeyed him, will we appease him."
100 You may be sure that having spoken thus, he sat down. Up among them stood the hero Agamemnon Atreusson, the eminent prince. He was furious; a black rage filled his heart. His eyes were like a blazing fire. Looking first of all at Calchas, he growled, "You prophet of evils, what you have said does not please me at all. Your heart's delight is to constantly preach evil. You never say anything worthwhile, nor do you accomplish anything. And now among the Danaans, you talk about a prophecy that the far-shooting one has brought them suffering because I did not wish to accept the magnificent ransom for the daughter of Chryses. This, because I very much want to take her back home and I intend to, since she is inferior to my lawful wife Clytemnestra neither in her body nor her face. Nor is she inferior in her spirit, nor her skill. However, even so, I wish to give her back if it is better to do that. I definitely prefer that the troops remain safe than perish. But I must procure for myself a prize immediately, or I would be the only one of the Acheans without one. That would not be seemly. Look around, all of you, and see that the prize comes to me from another source."
120 The noble, fleet-footed Achilles replied to him.
"Most glorious son of Atreus, you are the greediest man alive! How could the greathearted Acheans give you a prize? We don't know of anything at all lying around that is common property. The things from the cities we sacked have been divided. It would not be just for the troops to gather everything together a second time. You must send your prize back to the god. Later, we Acheans will allot to you three or four times as much of the spoils if Zeus grants us the plunder of the well-fortified city that Troy is."
129 Prince Agamemnon responded to Achilles, saying, "Godlike Achilles, brave as you are, in this you rob your mind of sense. You will neither surpass me nor will you persuade me. You want to keep a prize for yourself while I, on the other hand, would sit without one. Are you asking me to return the girl? Then let the robust Acheans give me a prize that suits me and right the inequality. If they do not, I myself am going to choose your prize, or that of Aias, or of Odysseus. Having seized it, I shall carry it away. The man I come to will be furious. But Achilles, you be sure to give these matters some thought and we will get back to them. But now come, let us pull a black ship to the glistening sea, and muster a sufficient number of rowers in it, and put in the offering. And we will go up with the pretty-cheeked daughter of Chryses herself. And there should be a captain for it, a man of sound judgment, either Aias, or Idomeneus or noble Odysseus, or perhaps you, Peleusson, most magnificent of men. These things we should do so that the one who works from far off will be appeased by our pious rites."
147 Scowling, fleet-flooted Achilles spoke up to him once more.
"Oh, damn! How shameless, how disgraced, you are! You're in this for your own gain. How would any of the Acheans who is sound of mind obey your commands, be it setting up an ambush or fighting strenuously against men? Certainly, I didn't come here because Trojan warriors were making war against me, since there are no reasons for that. They have not been driving off my cattle, nor my horses. Never have they eaten my grain in rich-soiled Phthia, sustainer of men, since it is far from here, between the hazy mountains and the crashing sea. Instead, O great, shameless one, I followed you in front of the Trojans to please you, to restore the honor of Menelaus, you dog! For the Trojans, you have no apparent regard and don't care.
160 "You even threaten that you yourself will seize my prize that the sons of the Acheans gave me for my hard work. Whenever the Acheans may sack the teeming city of the Trojans, I will not have a prize equal to yours, even though my hands have directed more of the dreadful fight. Whenever the division comes, your prize will be far superior. I will go with a trifle in my ships, but something I care about, since I am tired of war. Now I shall go to Phthia, since it would be much better that I return home with my beaked ships. I don't intend to stay here to pile up wealth and riches for you without honor."
171 The Supreme Commander Agamemnon answered him, "Run away if your heart is so determined. I will not beg you to stay because of me. There are others who will stay beside me; they revere me, especially Zeus, the counselor. To me you are the most obnoxious of the highborn kings of the Acheans. Your love is for constant conflict, wars, and fighting. If you are so powerful, maybe it is because some god gave you that gift. Order your Myrmidon comrades to go home with your ships. I don't care about you, and your anger does not bother me.
181 "I will command you at your peril thus: since Phoebus Apollo is taking away from me the daughter of Chryses, I shall send her with my ship and my comrades. But, I shall go to your hut and I myself will lead away sweet-cheeked Briseis, your prize, so that you will know that I am more powerful than you. Also, so that any other man would be loath to claim that he is my equal and compare himself to me in front of my face."
187 So Agamemnon spoke. Grief rose up in the son of Peleus. Within the heart inside his hairy chest, his thoughts ranged back and forth considering his dilemma: would he draw the sharp sword hanging on his thigh and slay Agamemnon as he stood among them, or would he check his spirit and curb his anger? He pulled the great sword from its scabbard. Athena came down from the sky; she came on behalf of white-armed Hera. Both of them loved and cared for Achilles equally. She stood behind him and grabbed his orange-red hair. He was aware of her, but none of the others saw her.
197 Achilles was astonished and turned toward her. Instantly, he recognized Pallas Athena, so terribly did her eyes flash. And he spoke to her with winged words, saying, "Why have you who bears the aegis come here, child of Zeus? Is it so that you might see for yourself the arrogance of Agamemnon Atreusson? But I ask you how it will come out, though I think he will soon perish for his insolence."
205 And the sharp-eyed goddess spoke to him.
"I came from the sky to rein in your ardor, if you listen. I came on behalf of white-armed Hera. We both love and care for you equally. But, come, leave off the fighting. Don't raise the sword in your hand. Instead, heap abuse on Agamemnon with words, for that is how it ought to be. I declare to you this is how it will come to pass. And, at some time he will place before you magnificent gifts, threefold as much as this. Hold off, and obey us."
215 Fleet-footed Achilles said to her, "I should be restrained by your command, goddess, and especially so since I am very angry at heart, for it is better this way." He held the silver hilt in his brawny hand and quickly shoved the great sword into its scabbard, in obedience to Athena. But she had already gone to Olympus, and the palace of Zeus who bears the aegis, to be among the other deities.
222 Immediately, the son of Peleus spoke up to the son of Atreus with scathing words, as he had not at all lessened his rage.
"Drunkard, you with the face of a dog and heart of a deer, you never put on armor with the troops for war, nor lie out in ambush with the best of the Acheans. You've not endured suffering in your spirit. This you know in your heart. There is one far braver in the wide army of the Acheans — me — who speaks out to your face, for seizing the gift. You are a king who ravages his own people. You rule over weaklings. And now, son of Atreus, you would stoop to something so low.
232 "But I declare that on account of you I shall swear a great oath. Yes, I swear by this staff that will never sprout any leaves and branches left in the mountains when it was first cut. Now, the sons of the Acheans bear it in their fists for the administration of justice, those raised up in front of Zeus who presides over justice. On it there will be a great oath, on your account, Agamemnon. At some time a longing for Achilles will come to all the sons of the Acheans. They will be unable to ward off great grief, when many have fallen, struck by man-killing Hector. You will claw at your heart in regret that you failed to show respect to the best of the Acheans." Having so spoken, the son of Peleus thrust the staff, mounted with gold devices, down to the ground and sat himself down. Opposite him the son of Atreus seethed with anger.
247 And among them rose up Nestor, lucid and eloquent orator from Pylos. His voice flowed from his tongue sweeter than honey. Two generations of mortal men had been born and raised by him before, and then perished in sacred Pylos. He ruled now over the third.
With careful thought, he addressed them, saying, "Oh blast! What great misery visits on the land of the sons of the Acheans! Ah, yes, Priam and the sons of Priam will be gleeful, and the other Trojans will have great joy in their hearts, if they learn that you two are squabbling over all this, you who outstrip all of the Danaans at counsel and at fighting.
258 "Instead, trust me. Both of you are younger than I am. When I joined others who were better than you in warring against men, I was never looked down on. Never have I seen men such as there were then nor shall I see them in the future. Such men as were Peirithous and Dryas, Shepherds of the Troops. There were Caeneus, and Exadius, and godlike Polyphemus. And there was Theseus Aegeusson, equal of the immortals. Such were the mightiest of the men brought up on all the earth; they fought the exceedingly powerful Centaurs who dwell in the mountains. Those men brought upon the Centaurs the most terrible destruction.
268 "I went from Pylos to muster with them. Theirs was a far-distant land, a long way off from Pylos, but they singled me out to call on me. And I fought by myself. There are not now men on earth who could do battle with the Centaurs as they did.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Iliad by Homer, Ralph Blakely. Copyright © 2015 Keyne Cheshire. Excerpted by permission of Tom Doherty Associates.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents
| Map | vi-vii |
| Translator's Preface | ix |
| Introduction | xvii |
| Iliad | 1 |
| Major Characters | 493 |
| Catalogue of Combat Deaths | 502 |
| Index of Speeches | 506 |
| Suggestions for Further Reading | 514 |