HOMER
THE ILIAD
The Greek text with a line-for-line translation on the same page
- For students who wish to study the Greek in detail but have
limited time: with grammatical introduction, synopsis & notes.
- For the general reader, an English translation that’s as near
as you can get to the excitement of reading Homer in the original.
Homer’s epic poem the Iliad is regarded as the foundation of Western Literature because it is the first great piece of story-telling. The Iliad is oral literature, that is to say it was recited from memory by bards long before it was written down.
Andrew Mackay’s translation, hailed as “magnificent” and “outstanding” by dons at both Oxford and Cambridge, and as “the best translation of the Iliad I have ever read” by Peter Jones MBE, is perfect for reading aloud, and is the first and only one to put a line-for-line literal English translation on the same page as the original Greek. Of course it is not possible to be precisely line-for-line, because Greek is an inflected language, but this translation is the closest that has appeared for a century. It is as literal a translation as is possible while still being readable, and is accessible and enjoyable in its own right for those with no Greek.
Both volumes can be purchased online, directly from this website or from Amazon.
“I enjoyed reading this translation. It maintains a good balance between closeness to the Greek and natural and readable English … I am very impressed by the attractive appearance of the work.”
James Diggle, Emeritus Professor of Greek and Latin, Cambridge University
“I’ve read through sample chunks with considerable enjoyment: the translation is both literal (so accurate) and stylish (so very readable).”
Stephen Anderson, Rodewald Lector in Classical Languages, New College, Oxford
“I think this text/translation idea is excellent and will be very useful, particularly because the translation is so close to the Greek, and because the English lines correspond to the Greek lines”.
Andrew Maynard, Emeritus Head of Classics, Eton College
