Homer's The Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson discussion
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The Iliad
Optional Read: The Iliad
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Book 11 of The Iliad
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Kris
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Dec 04, 2017 06:29PM
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"He left them there for dead and just at the point
where most battalions scattered Agamemnon charged,
the rest of his troops in armor quick behind him now,
infantry killing infantry fleeing headlong, hard-pressed,
drivers killing drivers—under the onrush dust in whirlwinds
driven up from the plain, hoofs of stallions rumbling thunder,
bronze flashing, immense slaughter and always King Agamemnon
whirling to kill, crying his Argives on, breakneck on.
Like devouring fire roaring down onto dry dead timber,
squalls hurling it on, careening left and right and
brush ripped up by the roots goes tumbling under
crushed by the blasting fire rampaging on—
so under Atrides’ onslaught Trojans dropped in flight,
stampedes of massive stallions dragged their empty chariots
clattering down the passageways of battle, stallions
yearning to feel their masters’ hands at the reins
but there they lay, sprawled across the field,
craved far more by the vultures than by wives."
Alexander:
"He left them, and where the most battle ranks were roiled,
there he charged, along with the other strong-greaved Achaeans. And soldiers on foot killed those compelled to flee on foot, 150
and horsemen killed horsemen—dust rose beneath them
from the plain, which the far-thundering feet of the horses raised— cutting them down with bronze. But powerful Agamemnon,
killing always, followed with the Argives, urging them on.
As when obliterating fire falls on a thick-wooded forest,
and the wind carries it barreling along in every direction, and the
small trees
fall uprooted, assailed by the blast of fire,
so then at the hands of Atreus’ son Agamemnon the heads fell
of fleeing Trojans; and many high-necked horses
rattled empty chariots after them between the lines of battle, 160
at a loss without their blameless charioteers; for they upon the earth
were lying, for dearer to the vultures than to their wives."
Now I'd like a comparable passage by some modern writer on Syria or Afghanistan? But I'm not reading there right now.I definitely prefer Fagles here, although it is useful to compare the more prosaic wording of Alexander.
From Pope:Then, where the thickest fought, the victor flew;
The king's example all his Greeks pursue.
Now by the foot the flying foot were slain,
Horse trod by horse, lay foaming on the plain.
From the dry fields thick clouds of dust arise,
Shade the black host, and intercept the skies.
The brass-hoof'd steeds tumultuous plunge and bound,
And the thick thunder beats the labouring ground,
Still slaughtering on, the king of men proceeds;
The distanced army wonders at his deeds,
As when the winds with raging flames conspire,
And o'er the forests roll the flood of fire,
In blazing heaps the grove's old honours fall,
And one refulgent ruin levels all:
Before Atrides' rage so sinks the foe,
Whole squadrons vanish, and proud heads lie low.
The steeds fly trembling from his waving sword,
And many a car, now lighted of its lord,
Wide o'er the field with guideless fury rolls,
Breaking their ranks, and crushing out their souls;
While his keen falchion drinks the warriors' lives;
More grateful, now, to vultures than their wives!
Homer. THE ILIAD OF HOMER (non illustrated) (p. 252). . Kindle Edition.
refulgent definition (note example from Milton): (view spoiler)
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And I agree re. your comment about wanting to see a comparable passage about Syria or Afghanistan. I'll keep that in mind -- if I come across one, I'll post it here.
I'm glad you posted this Kris. I was quite struck with this passage and posted a portion of it in my update from Fagles translation. The comparisons are striking.
Lattimore:Hippolochos sprang away, but Atreides killed him dismounted, (145)
cutting away his arms with a sword-stroke, free of the shoulder,
and sent him spinning like a log down the battle. Thereafter
he left them, and toward that place where the most battalions were shaken
drove, and beside him drove the rest of the strong-greaved Achaians,
and footmen killed footmen who fled under strong compulsion (150)
and riders killed riders, and a storm of dust rose up under thm
out of the plain uplifted by the thundering feet of their horses.
They killed with the bronze, and among them powerful Agamemnon
went onward always slaying and urged on the rest of the Argives.
As when obliterating fire comes down on the timbered forest (155)
and the roll of the wind carries it everywhere, and bushes
leaning under the force of the fire’s rush tumble uprooted,
so before Atreus’ son Agamemnon went down the high heads
of the running Trojans, and in many places the strong-necked horses
rattled their empty chariots along the causeways of battle, (160)
and longed for their haughty charioteers, who were lying
along the ground, to delight no longer their wives, but the vultures.
As you probably know, Lattimore has long been one of the respected translators of the Iliad. His translation has been used in places like St. John's in Annapolis, where university students use ancient texts as their textbooks. Today, with the printing of numerous solid translations, we get a fair sampling of the judgment behind the translator's art. One of the things I have not seen is whether the extant "originals" on which translations are based are consistent, or if even they have multiplied over time as discoveries have been made in ancient libraries.
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I find all the work to make manuscripts available digitally fascinating. There's been a lot of attention by some curators, archivists, and scholars about the value of crowd sourcing manuscripts, pooling the joint expertise of many scholars across the world to annotate and research manuscripts. There's a great TED Talk by William Noel, who is Director of the Kislack Center at the University of Pennsylvania: https://www.ted.com/talks/william_noe...
A fascinating article on making a manuscript source for the Iliad available digitally. It's sad that Ross Scaife died so young and before he could see his work reach fruition.Thank you for sharing the link.
Tamara wrote: "A fascinating article on making a manuscript source for the Iliad available digitally. It's sad that Ross Scaife died so young and before he could see his work reach fruition.Thank you for sharing..."
Agree so much, Tamara. If you haven't found the time to listen to it yet, I do suggest the TED talk, too. It blew me away. I'm sharing it widely.
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Thanks for the information Kris and thanks for the rave about the TED talk Lily. I definitely will try to listen soon.
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Fortunately, the TED talk is around 12 minutes long!
Kris, I just watched the TED talk. It was so exciting. This is amazing stuff they're doing. Like Lily, I'm just blown away!
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Tamara, I'm so glad you and Lily shared my reaction to the TED talk. It's such a pleasure to share resources like that with friends who find them equally inspirational.
Kris, you know me well. I can definitely find that amount of time easily.
