“The Iliad” by Homer (translated by Richmond Lattimore)

I had been meaning to read the Lattimore translations of Homer for a while now. He does not disappoint. I cannot read ancient Greek, so translation is the best I can do. I have read the Fagles, Pope, and Fitzgerald translations at different points in school, but almost every classicist I have spoken to speaks most highly of the Lattimore. The verse is a superb mix of keeping the poetry, while not taking liberties with the story. I cannot get enough of Homer and this was a great excuse to remember the tales of Hector and Achilles.

“War Music” by Christopher Logue

This is billed as “an account” of Homer’s Iliad. In many ways it is more than, as well as less than, a translation. Less than in the fact that Logue could not read ancient Greek himself. More than in the fact that it is a beautifully reworked modern interpretation taken from Logue’s readings of multiple translations and then transformed into something almost entirely new. It keeps the central thrust and flow of the ancient story, mixed in with words and phrases that are thoroughly modern. This is Homer in modern dress at its best. The Gods and heroes of Troy and Greece are there on the battlefield, interspersed with contemporary turns of phrase and asides. Although unmetered, it flows with a constant breakneck pace to match the battle imagery it portrays. It is a shame Logue died before completing his project. Nonetheless, this edition, forty years in the making, “completes” Logue’s vision of his Iliad. It is a magisterial work that stands on its own as one of the finest epics ever written in any language.