The Iliad

Listening to Charlton Griffin's reading of Richmond Lattimore's translation of The Iliad was a wonderful experience.

Griffin is good at modifying the pitch and tone of his voice to evoke the different genders and ages and moods and agendas of the various characters. He brings the epic to life. He even makes fascinating the 90-minute introduction by scholar Herbert J. Muller. And the sound effects (ravens cawing over a battlefield) and Greek mood music introducing and concluding the 24 books of the epic immersed me in its world.

As for Homer's story, an epic focused on a short slice of a long war, a tragedy with plenty of humor, it is rewardingly rich, depicting the appalling heroism and horror of war, the full range of human nature (from bravery to cowardice, brutality to mercy, destruction to creation, and hatred to love), the richness of ancient Greek culture, the pettiness and power of the gods, and the mortality and wonder of life. Among the most impressive moments are Hector's meeting with his wife and baby before going out to fight, Hephaestus' crafting of a shield with the heavens and earth and all of human endeavor animated upon it, and Achilles' inability to embrace the ghost of Patroclus in a dream. I hope the following quotation will give an idea of the excellence of Lattimore's translation and the depth of Homer's vision:

As is the generation of leaves, so is that of humanity,
The wind scatters the leaves on the ground, but the live timber
burgeons with leaves again in the season of spring returning.
So one generation of men will grow while another dies.

In conclusion, I thoroughly savored this audio version of The Iliad, often smiling with appreciation for Homer's story, Lattimore's translation, and Griffin's reading. I highly recommend it.

Charlton Griffin is my "go to" man for the classics. He can deliver the haughtiness of Zeus and the self-loathing of Helen.
This is another great title in the Audio Connoisseur catalog.

There is a SIGNIFICANT quality difference between the translations of Iliad. Do yourself a favor and go with this one, the Lattimore translation.

The introduction to this audio version is surprisingly good. It is not the introduction written by Lattimore himself in my print copy of the Iliad, and it is much better as a general stage-setting to the text. I cannot fault the archaeological information, which is basic, or the discussion of literary devices and their origin as well as Homer's particularly fine usage of them. The overview of the first ten years of the Trojan War is excellent. I appreciate some of the ideas expressed about religion and spirituality in Classical Greece but the information given is based upon some outdated interpretations, especially as to the origins of the Olympian and other gods, and should be taken with a large pinch of salt. Other than this consideration--which any interested reader can follow up with his own research, and an uninterested reader will hardly care or remember later--the introduction, as I say, is very good.

The voice of Charlton Griffin is marvelous. It is filled with nobility and authority, richly textured, and precise.

I bought because of a top 100 books list. I did not expect to enjoy, and it was awesome! The early section explains to the novice what to expect, and the story follows exactly as outlined. The writer even tells which parts are tedious. The reader does a remarkable job. I have bought other Greek literature because of this experience. The Odyssey is even better, but read this first.

Great reading, very entertaining tto listen to. The reader really tells the story in a way that makes you feel like those who heard Homer tell it must have felt.

A phenomenal tale! Fierce battles, unstoppable hero's, bronze leaf-headed spears that spill a mans innards out before his before him bringing the clouded mist of darkness to his eyes... arrows shot by mortals and guided by Gods making their mark piercing a mans eye, through his brain and exiting through the back of his skull hurling the chariot driver to the ground face down with a mouthful of dirt as the red mist of darkness comes to him...

If you revel in details, you will enjoy the unabridged version of this story. I sampled all of the readers before downloading to see which narrator would best suite the story. Hands down Charlton Griffin wins again and again. Slight British accent, deep majestic voice that easily convinces you that you are listening to Almighty Zeus himself. He switches the voices up for specific characters to break any potential monotony. Excellent story, excellent narration! His style of narration makes you feel as though you are taken back in time and put into the story itself!

The translation was the version I was hoping would be available.

I like everything about The Iliad, in any translation; the fact that the audible.com version is my favorite (Lattimore) makes it the best thing about this selection.

Just a sample of two tales from Metamorphoses by Ovid. This compares well, to a very high standard of performance.

I imagine this question is more for unfamiliar titles--when the text is encountered for the first time as an Audible.com reading performance. Homer's text in its many different translations never fails to evoke the emotional spectrum no matter how many times it's been experienced before; Charlton Griffin's reading of Homer/Lattimore was excellent.

Minus 1 star for the goofy "music" intros.

The translation is compelling but the reader distracts the listener with maudlin attempts to imitate female voices.

Intellectual, historic, classic

The Odyssey is the obvious choice here, but for those who have not read Homer, it has traces of a Shakespearean sound with powerful descriptive vocabulary, but a more adventurous feel. Great for getting a feel for Greek mythology.

He was incredible. This is not an easy book to read, and he was very articulate, even with difficult Grecian names. Very dynamic and clear, and even did a good job with the female voices.

24 hours? No chance. I listened to this on the way to and from work though, and I really enjoyed it.