Dating to the ninth century B.C., Homer’s timeless poem still vividly

conveys the horror and heroism of men and gods wrestling with towering

emotions and battling amidst devastation and destruction, as it moves

inexorably to the wrenching, tragic conclusion of the Trojan War.

Renowned classicist Bernard Knox observes in his superb introduction

that although the violence of the Iliad is grim and relentless, it coexists with both images of civilized life and a poignant yearning for peace.

Combining

the skills of a poet and scholar, Robert Fagles, winner of the

PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation and a 1996 Academy Award in

Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, brings the

energy of contemporary language to this enduring heroic epic. He

maintains the drive and metric music of Homer’s poetry, and evokes the

impact and nuance of the Iliad’s mesmerizing repeated phrases in what Peter Levi calls “an astonishing performance.”