Book Review: The Iliad translated by Emily Wilson
Originally posted on 23 Feb 2024
- Title: The Iliad
- Translator: Emily Wilson
- Year: 2023
- Type: Fiction
As she did with The Odyssey, Wilson has done a masterful job translating The Iliad.
Her rendition of the text is approachable and understandable, without any of the Oxford-esque snobbery you’ll find in many other translations.
It’s been a long time since I read The Iliad in Greek, but I still can tell that Wilson is faithful both to the content and the spirit of the text. She doesn’t shy away from the horrors of death in war, or from the love between Achilles and Patroclus, or from the grief and fear behind the walls of Troy.
These are humans (and human-like gods), both at their best and their worst, and that comes through in her translation. I remain deeply impressed with her knowledge and skills.