The failures of leadership… the destructive power of beauty… the quest for fame… the plight of women… the brutality of war… Such themes have endured for over 2,700 years in Homer’s classic The Iliad — from the flight of Helen and Paris, to the fury of Menelaus and Agamemnon, to the fight between Hector and Achilles. We sat down with Barbara Graziosi and Anthony Verity, the writer of the introduction and translator respectively, to discuss the new Oxford World’s Classics edition of The Iliad.
How did the Ancient Greek performance tradition inform the text of The Iliad?
What can you tell us about the writer of The Iliad?
How is the anger of Achilles portrayed in the poem?
How is war, violence, and death portrayed in the poem?
Describe the translation process.