Homer
The Iliad
Translated by Edward McCrorie
Johns Hopkins University Press
2012

[Sample from the Opening of the Poem]

♦  Sing of rage, Goddess, that bane of Akhilleus,
♦  Peleus' son, which caused untold pain for Akhaians,
♦  sent down throngs of powerful spirits to Aides,
   war-chiefs rendered the prize of dogs and every
♦  sort of bird. So the plan of Zeus was accomplished
   right from the start when two men parted in anger--
♦  Atreus' son, ruler of men, and godlike Akhilleus.

   Which of the Gods brought these two into conflict?
♦  Phiobos, the son of Leto and Zeus, enraged at the ruler,
   roused a mauling plague in the camp. Warriors perished
   due to Atreus' son mistreating the God's priest:
   Khruses had gone to the race-fast ships of the Greek force
♦  carrying boundless wealth to ransom his daughter.
   Holding headbands for Far-shooting Apollo
   high on a golden staff, he's begged all the Akhaians,
   mainly the sons of Atreus, who'd marshaled the whole corps:
♦  "Sons of Atreus, you other well-greaved Akhaians,
♦  may the Gods who have their homes on Olumpos
♦  grant you destroy Priam's town and safely return home.
   Free the child I love, though. Welcome my ransom,
   fearing the son of Zeus, Far-shooting Apollo."
   Promptly all the other Akhaians acclaimed him,
   urging regard for the priest and his marvellous ransom.

   Yet the heart of Atreus' son, Agamemnon, was not pleased.
   Sending him off roughly, he weighed him with strong words:
♦  "Let me not find you, old man, stopped by the hollow
   ships for now or coming around here later,
   lest your God's headbands and staff will not help you.
   I won't free her. Aging will come on her sooner
♦  living in Argos, our house, far from her homeland.
♦  There she can shuttle at looms and come to her lord's bed.
♦  Leave now, go home safely, don't be annoying."
   After he stopped, the old one, trembling, obeyed him.
   Soon he quietly walked the noisy shore of the salt sea.
   Once he had gone apart, the old one prayed to his lordly
   Phoibos Apollo, the son of lovely haired Leto.
   "You of the Silver Bow, listen! You guard well
♦ Khruse and sacred Killa, you rule Tenedos strongly.
♦ If I ever roofed a temple that graced you,
♦ if I ever burned for you, Smintheus, fat-rich
   bulls' and goats' thighs, act on my longing.
♦ Make the Greeks pay for my tears with your arrows."

REVIEW COMMENT

McCrorie's translation stays close to the Greek text and the English is generally clear enough, so that the reader does not have to pause from time to time to figure out what a particular sentence means (as she does with Lattimore, for example). I find his habit of ending a line with a modifier (not a common practice in English verse) irritating ( "the hollow/ ships"; "his lordly/ Phoibos Apollo"; "fat-rich/ bulls' and goats' thighs") and his wording of certain phrases seems, well, unidomatic ("she can shuttle at looms"; "a mauling plague"; "you rule Tenedos strongly."

The black diamond symbol at the start of some times indicates that there is a relevant note at the back of the book. This seems unduly distracting, since it gives the symbol unnecessary emphasis and requires the reader who wishes to consult the note to abandon the text momentarily and move to another distant page.

For a longer and more scholarly review, please use the following link: Bryn Mawr Classical Review

For a longer preview of McCrorie's translation, please use the following link: McCrorie Iliad

List of Published English Translations of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey