The short answer
- Choose our edition if you want the whole Iliad: all 24 books, nothing left out, with a 15-minute summary beside it.
- For study: set a few key passages of the Iliad beside a line-by-line scholarly translation.
How translations differ
The Iliad has about 15,700 lines, each a long six-beat line of dactylic hexameter. A translator must therefore decide how to carry the movement of Greek verse into English while telling the events within that measured form.
What makes the Iliad hard to translate
Homeric poetry repeats fixed phrases and epithets, so repetition is a recurring translation decision rather than an isolated detail. A translator must decide whether to repeat those phrases when they return. Book 2 presents another problem in its catalogue of ships: a long list of Greek contingents and leaders. The task there is to carry a catalogue into English, with its names and its list structure.
The Iliad covers a few weeks in the tenth year of the Trojan War, not the whole war. Its beginning and ending therefore matter to the translation: it opens with the anger of Achilles and closes with the funeral of Hector. Within that frame are encounters such as Hector's parting from Andromache and Priam's visit to Achilles. The English must carry both those encounters and the poem's larger frame.
The kinds of translation of the Iliad
| Kind of translation | What it keeps | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Prose | The story of the Iliad, told plainly | A first read. |
| Verse | The rhythm of the Iliad, as you can hear it | Reading aloud. |
| Line by line | The Greek of the Iliad, as closely as English allows | Study, next to the Greek. |
| Library of Alexandria | The whole story of the Iliad, in clear, modern English | A first read, with a 15-minute summary beside it. Open our edition |
When to set a passage beside a scholarly translation
For study, use our edition for the whole story and set a few key passages beside a line-by-line scholarly translation. At the opening of Book 1, notice Achilles' anger and his quarrel with Agamemnon. In Book 6, compare the wording of Hector and Andromache's parting; in Book 24, compare how Priam's visit to Achilles is expressed.
Questions
Is the Iliad better in prose or in verse?
Prose suits a first read because it keeps the story, told plainly; verse keeps a rhythm you can hear and suits reading aloud. The choice depends on whether the story or audible rhythm matters more to that reading. Line by line suits study next to the Greek.
How long is the Iliad?
Our edition takes about 10 hours to read at an average pace, across all 24 books. The poem has about 15,700 lines, each a long six-beat line of dactylic hexameter.
Do I need to read the Iliad before the Odyssey?
No, each poem can be read on its own. The Odyssey is a separate poem about the journey home of Odysseus after the Trojan War. The Iliad instead covers a few weeks during the war, so it does not tell the whole conflict that precedes that journey.
Why do translations of the Iliad repeat fixed phrases and epithets?
Repeated phrases and epithets belong to Homeric poetry, and every translator must decide whether to repeat them. Their recurrence in English reflects a feature of the Greek poem. When comparing translations, notice whether a recurring phrase stays the same or receives different wording.
Is the Library of Alexandria edition of the Iliad complete?
Yes. The whole story is there, all 24 books, in clear, modern language.
