The Iliad

By: Homer, Emily Wilson - translator

Narrated by: Audra McDonald

2024 Audie Award Winner for Literary Fiction & Classics

When Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey appeared in 2017―rendering the ancient poem in contemporary language that was “fresh, unpretentious and lean” (Madeline Miller, Washington Post)―critics lauded it as “a revelation” (Susan Chira, New York Times) and “a cultural landmark” (Charlotte Higgins, Guardian) that would forever change how Homer is read in English. Now Wilson has returned with an equally revelatory translation of Homer’s other great epic―the most revered war poem of all time.

Brought to life in vivid audio form, this crisp verse translation of The Iliad roars with the clamor of arms, the bellowing boasts of victors, the fury and grief of loss, and the anguished cries of dying men. It sings, too, of the sublime magnitude of the world―the fierce beauty of nature and deities’ grand schemes beyond the ken of mortals.

Wilson’s musical iambic pentameter verse is brought to life in the evocative voice of narrator and Broadway legend Audra McDonald. In her thrilling reading, this magical and often horrifying tale gallops at a pace befitting its legendary battle scenes. The culmination of a decade of intense engagement with antiquity’s most surpassingly beautiful and emotionally complex poetry, Wilson’s Iliad now gives us a complete Homer for our generation.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Emily Wilson (Translation) (P)2023 Audible, Inc.

Great translation and pdf

Great work on the translation and opening explanations! PDF was also very useful. I tried other versions and did not like them as much

Great translation of a great work

This was not the first time that I listened or read "The Iliad", a book I have always loved, but, this time, the text, not incrusted in a cumbersome translation, felt closer and more alive.

Fantastic new translation

I like the iambic pentameter rhythm of this translation. For me, the careful sensitivity to rhythm informs the reader of a path to a richer connection with the text than what some previous prose versions might offer. Also, the translator’s choices reflect great effort to avoid imposing modern cultural perspectives on Homer’s story telling. I enjoy the narrator: her sense of rhythm, vocal clarity, tonality and emotional emphasis. At times, I am surprised by her interpretation, especially her placement of intensity, pace, etc. but I am not distracted by it. Highly recommend a full listen!

Homer Needed an Editor

An incredible story, but the same length as the Odyssey with a third the plot. By no means bad, but by no means brief

Foundational to any understanding of Greek mythology. I’m glad I read it

Honestly, I really liked the descriptions of ships and men at the beginning. The parts where it started to become more of a soap in book 13-14 were what dragged on the most for me. Excited to read the Odyssey, Theogony, Oresteia, and Aeneid next

poetical, but accessible

this translation both retains the beauty of the original greek's poetry and puts it into language the average listener can understand. the narration is performed with a storyteller's gravitas and humor.

Riveting

Poetry is meant to be read aloud, and I am so pleased with the narration.

Even knowing how it all ends, I’m heartbroken as ever. The characters feel and sound so real. It’s the perfect war drama.

Wilson’s translation felt just modern enough to follow easily.

Oh you, divine Homer

The voice recording was amazing. The lady did well.

Needless to say, the story of the Iliad written by Homer is remarkable.

Read the best. Skip the rest. Wonderfully produced and performed. Excellent in all ways.

If you wish to scale the Literary Alps, this is the place to begin.

The careful and incredibly nuanced “voices” of Audra McDonald

Emily Wilson’s narrative is contemporary and heroic art, delivering both empathy and horror at the same time. The story moves with an inexorable momentum. McDonald is spectacular in conveying the gore and agony of battle while also varying her tone to inhabit the characters of myriad gods and heroes. I have read the Iliad in other translations, but this is the first time I have so viscerally felt the brutality, humanity, and the spectacle of this ever-relevant epic poem. Many thanks to Audible for taking on this project