"Powell, a distinguished Homer scholar and published poet with multiple books on the study of ancient Greek text and classical mythology, faces two challenges common to all translators of Homeric verse: how to capture the essential vigor and concision of oral poetry while remaining readable and how to represent a highly stylized and archaic idiom without sounding stilted. Powell is successful on both counts, offering a clear and energetic translation... Staying true to Homer's poetic rhythms, Powell avoids the modified iambic lines found in Lattimore's, Fagles's, and Mitchell's works. He also avoids Lombardo's tendency to cast Homer in contemporary language and Fitzgerald's anachronisms. This fine version of The Iliad has a feel for the Greek but is more accessible than Verity's translation. Highly recommended." --Library Journal"Barry Powell, the master of classical mythology, has done it again--a powerful translation of the poem that started European literature, His muscular verses are faithful to the original Greek but bring the characters to life. This is a page-turner, bound to become the new standard." --Ian Morris, author of Why the West Rules-For Now"With swift, transparent language that rings both ancient and modern, Barry Powell gives readers anew all of the rage, pleasure, pathos, and humor that are Homer's Iliad -- a reading experience richly illumined by the insightful commentary and plentiful images accompanying the text." --Jane Alison, author of The Love-Artist"Barry Powell's clever translation is simple and energetic: sometimes coarse, sometimes flowing, it is always poetically engaged. He lays bare the semantic background of Homer through felicitous phrasing and delivers us a Dark-Age epic, one more suggestive of Norse sagas than the cultural milieu of archaic Ionia. Fresh and eminently readable, Powell's Iliad is likely to stay." --Margalit Finkelberg, editor of The Homer Encyclopedia"This fine translation of the Il
