The Iliad

By: Homer, Stephen Mitchell - translator

Narrated by: Alfred Molina

Length: 16 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

The power and the beauty of The Iliad resound again across 2,700 years in Stephen Mitchell's exciting new translation, as if the lifeblood of its heroes Achilles and Patroclus, Hector and Priam flowed in every word. And we are there with them amid the horror and ecstasy of war, carried along by a poetry that lifts even the most devastating human events into the realm of the beautiful.

Based on the recent, superb M.L. West edition of the Greek, this Iliad is more accessible and moving than any previous version. Whether it is his exciting recent version of Gilgamesh, with more than 150,000 copies sold, or his unmatched translation of the poet Rilke, still the standard after 29 years, or his Tao Te Ching, which has sold more than 900,000 copies and has itself been translated into six languages, Stephen Mitchell's books are international sensations. Now, thanks to his scholarship and poetic power, which re-creates the energy and simplicity, the speed, grace, and continual thrust and pull of the original, The Iliad's ancient story bursts vividly into new life and will reach an even larger audience of listeners.

Please note: Book 10, recognized since ancient times as a later addition to the Iliad, has been omitted in this translation.

©2011 Stephen Mitchell (P)2011 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

“Stephen Mitchell’s magnificent new translation of the Iliad reminds us that there is always a new and different way to read and interpret the great classics, and that they need to be reinvigorated from generation to generation, just as we need to be reminded that they are, however venerated, above all stories: exciting, full of life and great characters, in short great entertainment, not just great monuments of culture or the Western canon. Mr. Mitchell has accomplished this difficult feat wonderfully well, and produced a book which is a joy to read and an Iliad for this generation.” (Michael Korda, D. Litt., author of Hero, Ike, and Ulysses S. Grant)

"Stephen Mitchell has done a marvelous thing here: he has given fresh energy and poetic force to a work that perennially repays our attention. Without the Iliad the West would be a vastly poorer place; Homer’s achievement speaks to every successive generation with its unflinching understanding of the essential tragic nature of life. Mitchell’s translation is a grand accomplishment.” (Jon Meacham, author of American Lion)

"Mitchell’s wonderful new version of the Iliad is a worthy addition to his list of distinguished renditions of the classics.” (Peter Matthiessen)

incredible translation meets wonderful narrator

Mitchell's translation conveys beauty and depth; Molina's narration encompasses propulsive action, quiet pathos, and wrenching sorrow.

I could hardly stop listening.

As with Gilgamesh, Mitchell has cut the fat and arranged what's left in a beautiful, modern whole. The voice work is perfect. The book comes alive in a way that's impossible for more faithful translations. The scenes are tighter. The boasts no longer sound so ridiculous. And best of all are the insults, which have actual bite in Mitchell's hands. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A great listen!

If you could sum up The Iliad in three words, what would they be?

While Mitchell's translation and the variation of the Illiad it is based on are rather controversial, it is surely a wonderful thing to listen to. The great actor, Alfred Molina, does a splendid job. A true pleasure to listen to. Mitchell's translation in contemporary English makes the text especially alive.

loved it

Alfred Molina performs incredibly. Great experience. Great story. Odyssey comes next with Ian McKellen, cannot wait.

Mostly great

It is well read and written but with an excessively long start which goes over all the people and main events in full dialect and the narrators personal take and opinions

The spirit of the epic, reinterpreted

The last time I experienced the Iliad was when I had to read it as a freshman in high school. It was interesting to return to it with a more adult perspective, and to appreciate Homer's poetic imagery; the ancient ideals of heroic conduct; the timeless tragedy of war and human pride; and the way the ancient mind saw gods as capricious meddlers in human affairs, reaching down to bestir or chill the warrior's heart, or to guide a weapon towards or away from its target. To what extent Homer's audience really believed in the gods of his tale, or recognized them as dramatizations, is unclear to me. Yet, the genius of his story is that the audience can see it both ways. For generations of listeners, this tale must have stood like a Colossus with one foot in the real, solid world and one foot in the mists of myth.

Mitchell's translation aims to capture the way the Iliad was meant to be told: read aloud with feeling. He does so by stripping away a lot of the archaic phrasing and epithets that I remember from high school, leaving behind verse that's simple, tight, dynamic, and speaks directly to modern listeners. Some readers, of course, will be offended by his presumptuousness at "editing" a classic, but others will appreciate his efforts to make the passions of the story more accessible. A good litmus test is the scene where a soldier admonishes Paris as a "sissy" -- do you read that as a coarse, stinging insult (as was intended by the speaker), or a flagrant anachronism? (Most of the language isn't so "modern", but that was a more noticeable example.)

If you can roll with the "spirit of the work" interpretation, then Alfred Molina's masculine but sensitive audiobook performance is a great fit, capturing the frantic motion of combat, the smoldering resentment of Achilles, the feckless golden-boy attitude of Paris, and the anguish of Priam. No longer the dusty archetypes I remember from English class, the characters now come to life as human and flawed.

Returning to the classics: this was a great choice

What made the experience of listening to The Iliad the most enjoyable?

The music in the wording was enjoyable. As soon as I finished, I had to go immediately to the Odyssey.

What did you like best about this story?

I learned what Homer said and not what Hollywood’s distortions

Which character – as performed by Alfred Molina – was your favorite?

Achilles

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It was exhilarating and heightened my imagination. I’m eager to find additional classics from the period.

Any additional comments?

It is kind of fun to revisit all the books I should have read in school.

Sing the Rage of Achilles

Greatest story of all time performed by a fantastic actor! Alfred Molina is stellar in his performance.

Some reviewers were reviewing the introduction

Would you listen to The Iliad again? Why?

Yes, because Alfred Molina does a beautiful job.

Any additional comments?

I just wanted to make it clear that many people gave this recording a bad review and then went on to describe the introduction, which, I agree, was read by someone who I would not go out of my way to listen to, but still, you've got to be patient! That intro was unannounced and went on long enough that it is understandable that someone would think maybe it was just some absurd abridgment/outline if they didn't know that we were just waiting for Alfred to begin.

Skip the intro.

The introduction is written and narrated badly.
The Iliad itself is the Iliad and well narrated.