#sing o goddess the anger of achilles son of peleus

[intermundia]

do you have a favorite translation of the iliad? i want to read it but want an informed opinion on the best translation to read!!

This is actually a very timely question anon, because I got a new translation of the Iliad for Christmas (Emily Wilson's) and have been enjoying the hell out of it haha so it's on my mind.

In general, I think that the best translation depends on what experience you’re looking for! Homer in Greek is both archaic and formal, and also beautifully dynamic and rapid (like the oral delivery had amazing flow). So translations usually have to kind of pick between the two, and you can lean on whichever side feels best.

This is the Greek of the beginning if you want to read it out loud and get a sense of what two lines of the OG dactylic hexameter are like, and what they’re trying to match:

Mēnin aeide thea pēlēiadeō Akhilēos: oulomenēn, he muri’ Akhaiois alge’ ethēke

Lattimore (1951) is probably the most ~acccurate~ line-for-line translation, I would use it in place of a dictionary if I was in a hurry sometimes haha it’s that loyal to the Greek if you want to know that that's like, but it's also a bit of a clunky slog to read, lacking poetry:

Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus’ son Achilleus and its devastation, which put pains thousandfold upon the Achaians,

Wilson (2023) that I just began today so far has been fresh and engaging, it begins like this:

Goddess, sing of the cataclysmic wrath of great Achilles, son of Peleus, which caused the Greeks immeasurable pain

Fagles (1990) has good flow without sacrificing too much accuracy. It was the first translation I read, and look what happened to me lmao. It starts like this:

Rage—Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles, murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses,

Fitzgerald (1974) is another popular choice, he has good poetic feel:

Anger be now your song, immortal one, Akhilleus’ anger, doomed and ruinous,

Or if you want to feel like Keats, you can go hog wild and hit up some Chapman from the 1600′s:

Achilles’ banefull wrath resound, O Goddesse, that imposd Infinite sorrowes on the Greekes, and many brave soules losd

Basically there's no real right answer, but if you came over to my house and asked to borrow a copy, I would hand you Fagles (1990) (pdf here if you want it).

#classics #hopefully useful answer haha #enjoy!!! nothing better than drinking from the ever-fresh source of western lit

[nums-bird]

Guys guys I did a thing :

Sing O Muse of the rage of Achilles,son of Peleus,prince of the myrmidons,

Sing O Muse of the rage of Achilles,the greatest of his generation,the aristos achaion,

Sing O Muse of the rage of Achilles,Chiron's best and brightest,his studious student in music,

Sing O Muse of the rage of Achilles,Deidamia's half soul who wasn't,

Sing O Muse of the rage of Achilles,a man who brought hope to the Greeks in war,

Sing O Muse of the rage of Achilles,the fear of the Trojans,with his nimble legs and precise aim,

Sing O Muse of the rage of Achilles,a man who lost his song,

Sing O Muse of the rage of Achilles,a grief so deep that the cries were heard by even the gods themselves,

Sing O Muse of the rage of Achilles,for his love has died and half of his soul has gone with him,

Sing O Muse of the rage of Achilles,an anger so strong that caused the fall of men

Sing O Muse of the rage of Achilles,for a man too young to have died,

Sing O Goddess of music,Terpsichore,of the anger and grief of the Greeks best,second to Heracles alone,

Sing O Muse,of the life of Achilles,son of Peleus,prince of Phthia,leader of the myrmidons,savior of the Greeks,soul of Patroclus,father of Pyrrhus ,

Sing O Muse use of his death,for even in death he will never be forgotten

#sing o muse of the rage of Achilles #achilles #aristos achaion #the illiad #homer's iliad #the song of achilles #tsoa #deidamia #peleus #i wrote this at literally 6 am #i am not okay #some screws are loose up here #definitely #briseis

[concupiscience]

Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of Jove fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles, first fell out with one another.

And which of the gods was it that set them on to quarrel? It was the son of Jove and Leto; for he was angry with the king and sent a pestilence upon the host to plague the people, because the son of Atreus had dishonoured Chryses his priest. Now Chryses had come to the ships of the Achaeans to free his daughter, and had brought with him a great ransom: moreover he bore in his hand the sceptre of Apollo wreathed with a suppliant’s wreath, and he besought the Achaeans, but most of all the two sons of Atreus, who were their chiefs.

[aulisdeer]

#just... putting this here : ) #{sing - O goddess - the anger of Achilles son of Peleus - that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans | audio} #{who is in control? | verse: main}

[buildinggsr]

[The Blacklist 4x01]

Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus’ son Achilleus and its devastation, which put pains thousandfold upon the Achaians, hurled in their multitudes to the house of Hades strong souls of heroes, but gave their bodies to be the delicate feasting of dogs, of all birds, and the will of Zeus was accomplished since that time when first there stood in division of conflict Atreus’ son the lord of men and brilliant Achilleus. [Iliad, Homer]

Cantami, o diva, del Pelìde Achille l’ira funesta che infiniti addusse lutti agli achei, molte anzi tempo all’orco generose travolse alme d’eroi, e di cani e d’augelli orrido pasto lor salme abbandonò (così di giove l’alto consiglio s’adempia ), da quando primamente disgiunse aspra contesa il re de’ prodi Atride e il divo Achille. [Iliade, Omero]

#the blacklist #james spader #red reddington #raymond reddington #tbl

[alexndrthecool]

Rating various Iliad translations

This will be long, as we have a lot to get through. I hope you enjoy!

The first one we’ll be working with is by George Chapman, from 1611. First impression is all the weird spellings of words. “Goddesse,” “imposd,” “soules,” “losd.” Classic 1600s. But aside from that, not a fan, 3/10, confusing.

Next we have Mr. Thomas Hobbes, from 1676. This one is surprisingly modern sounding. “O Goddess sing what woe the discontent Of Thetis' son brought to the Greeks.” Not bad huh? 6/10, still a little clunky.

Next is John Dryden, from 1700. Weird, weird, weird. Barely even recognize what’s happening. One notable aspect is the phrase “The Wrath of Peleus Son, O Muse, resound.” That’s not even a plural. Try harder. 2/10.

Let’s skip ahead a little to 1773, from James Macpherson. This one is mostly bland, aside from the inclusion of this lovely letter: “The wrath of the ſon of Peleus,—O goddeſs of ſong, unfold!” He’s the only that did this. Strange choice, fella. 4/10.

William Cowper, 1791. “Achilles sing, O Goddess! Peleus' son.” This is bad. There’s nothing more for me to say. 1/10.

At this point, the quality begins to improve, as does the consistency.

From Henry Cary, 1821. “Sing, Goddess, the destructive wrath of Achilles, son of Peleus, which brought many disasters upon the Greeks.” I actually like this. Good job Henry. 9/10.

Fun fact, in the 1860s alone, 15 iliads were published. Possibly the impact of the renaissance and the growing importance of literature.

William Barter, 1864, is clearly trying to impress his colleagues. “Th' Achæans woes innumerable bring.” I see you using that squished together a and e, you haven’t fooled me! 3/10.

And from Arthur Way, 1886, we have this gem. “The wrath of Achilles, the Peleus-begotten, O Song-queen, sing, Fell wrath, that dealt the Achaians woes past numbering.” What are you talking about? Calm down. 0/10.

William Rouse, 1938, brings in a new beginning. “An angry man—there is my story: the bitter rancour of Achillês.” Interesting choice. Points for creativity. 6/10.

And again with Emile Rieu, 1950. “The Wrath of Achilles is my theme.” Okay great, but this isn’t high school English class. 4/10.

A classic, Richmond Lattimore, 1951. “Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus' son Achilleus and its devastation.” Critically acclaimed, and technically accurate, but I’m not the feeling the spirit. 8/10.

Robert Graves, 1959. “Sing, MOUNTAIN GODDESS, sing through me.” Not sure about this. The caps locks are kinda weird. 5/10.

Another classic, Robert Fitzgerald, 1974. “Anger be now your song, immortal one, Akhilleus' anger, doomed and ruinous.” Not usually my style, but it’s working for me. 7/10.

Stanley Lombardo, 1997. “Rage: Sing, Goddess, Achilles' rage, Black and murderous, that cost the Greeks Incalculable pain.” He’s adding a lot of extra words here. Could work. 6/10.

New century, new Iliad! Let’s go, Stephen Mitchel, 2011. “The rage of Achilles—sing it now, goddess, sing through me.” I like it. Sleek, modern, like a new sports car. Good job. 10/10.

Let’s finish with the first woman everybody! Caroline Alexander, 2015. “Wrath—sing, goddess, of the ruinous wrath of Peleus' son Achilles.” Not bad, but kinda typical. Let’s go with a 7/10.

This was only the top of the barrel! There are so many more Iliads, but I choose the ones I thought were the most interesting. I’m still searching for my perfect Iliad, but of course none of them can hold a candle to Homer’s original. I’m working on getting there.

#the iliad

[terpsikeraunos]

Goddess, sing about the damnable rage of Achilles son of Peleus Which forced sorrows beyond counting on the Achaeans, Flung many strong souls of heroes headlong into Hell, And made them pickings for dogs And all flesh-eating birds; so Zeus’ plan was carried out From the moment they first stood apart, quarreling, The son of Atreus, lord of men, and divine Achilles. And which god pitted them against each other? Zeus and Leto’s son, since he, provoked to anger by the king, Raised a terrible sickness through the army, and the people died, Because the son of Atreus scorned Chryses, a priest. He came to the quick ships of the Achaeans To free his daughter, bringing ransom beyond counting, Holding in his hands the wreaths of far-shooting Apollo Along a golden staff, and he begged all the Achaeans, But most of all the two sons of Atreus, commanders of the people: “Sons of Atreus, and you other fine-greaved Achaeans, May the gods with their Olympian halls grant That you plunder Priam’s city, and come home safe; Just release my dear daughter to me, and take this ransom, With reverence for the son of Zeus, far-shooting Apollo.” Then all the other Achaeans shouted their agreement, To respect the priest and take the splendid ransom, But the heart of Atreus’ son, Agamemnon, was not pleased, And he threw him out rudely, and made a forceful speech: “Don’t let me find you by the hollow ships, old man, Loitering now or coming back later, Or the staff and wreath of the god might not save you next time. I will not free her. Old age will come upon her before that happens, In our house in Argos, far from her homeland, Working the loom and sharing my bed. But go, don’t provoke me, so you may return unharmed.” So he spoke, and the old man was frightened, and took him at his word. He went silently along the dunes of the loud-roaring sea, And then, moving far away, the elderly man prayed urgently To lord Apollo, whom rich-haired Leto bore: “Hear me, o silver-bowed, you who protect Chryse And sacred Cilla and rule over Tenedos by might, O Sminthian, if I ever roofed for you a graceful temple, If I ever burned for you fat thighbones Of bulls and goats, grant this wish of mine: Make the Danaans pay for my tears with your arrows.” So he spoke, praying, and Phoebus Apollo heard him, And went down the peaks of Olympus, seething in his heart, With his bow and close-covered quiver on his shoulders, And the arrows clashed on his shoulders as he moved Infuriated, and he fell like the night.

Iliad 1.1-47

#i took painkillers for a headache and then translated the beginning of the iliad until 2 am #as you do #translation note: i gave the fuck up on preserving the word order of the first two lines #the iliad #long post #my translation

[vierschanzentournee]

Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans

#the song of achilles #tsoaedit #mine #patrochilles #sorry i couldnt resist quoting the actual iliad jfhkhkfghfgsdg #also fun fact i apparently made this at 1am and i have No Recollection of this process #tsoa

[intermundia]

hello bestie will, what version of the iliad would you recommend to someone who has never really read greek literature? or would you recommend some other jumping off point? thanks!!

It depends on what experience you’re looking for! For what it’s worth, this is the Greek of the beginning of the Iliad if you want to read it out loud and get a sense of what two lines of the OG dactylic hexameter are like, and what they’re trying to match:

Mēnin aeide thea pēlēiadeō Akhilēos: oulomenēn, he muri’ Akhaiois alge’ ethēke

Probably Fagles (1990) is the best for everybody, it’s got probably the best flow (his translation of the Oresteia is also v. good). It was the first translation I read, I think, and look what happened to me lmao. His translation looks like this:

Rage—Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles, murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses,

Fitzgerald (1974) is another popular choice, he has good poetic feel:

Anger be now your song, immortal one, Akhilleus’ anger, doomed and ruinous,

Lattimore (1951) is probably the most ~acccurate~ line-for-line translation, I would use it in place of a dictionary if I was in a hurry sometimes haha it’s that loyal to the Greek:

Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus’ son Achilleus and its devastation, which put pains thousandfold upon the Achaians,

Or if you want to feel like Keats, you can go hog wild and hit up some Chapman from the 1600′s:

Achilles’ banefull wrath resound, O Goddesse, that imposd Infinite sorrowes on the Greekes, and many brave soules losd

Other jumping off points, reading the Odyssey and Hesiod's Theogony are good as those three things really help orient yourself with the references that later Greek culture will make. Herodotus is a lot of fun, one of the first histories. Thucydides is less fun but the subject matter is fascinating. Plutarch's Lives are fun too.

Reading tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides is always good, and philosophy by Plato (the Apology is one of the most famous and well worth reading) and Aristotle (his prose is dry but the Politics, Poetics, and Nicomachean Ethics for me is personally important). There are some great translations of lyric poets like Sappho, Anne Carson's is one of the most famous.

I could just keep rambling about different authors for a long time, but pretty much every genre you can think of there's something for that. It all begins with the Iliad, the Odyssey, Hesiod's Theogony, and the Homeric Hymns I guess. Starting there sure can't hurt :)

#classics #thank you for asking! #what are your specific interests anon?? #i can point you better that way

[laidlawsrule]

Achilles' cursed anger sing, O goddess, that son of Peleus, which stated a myriad sufferings for the Achaeans. And then the murders began.

Achilles' cursed anger sing, O goddess, that son of Peleus, which stated a myriad sufferings for the Achaeans. And then the murders began.

— laidlawsrule (@laidlawsrule) January 13, 2021

from Twitter https://twitter.com/laidlawsrule

#SEO #PPC #PPC Marketing

[alexander-suggestions]

(rapping)

Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of Jove fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles, first fell out with one another. And which of the g

#monday moods

[astramessiah]

‘Rage—Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles, murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses, hurling down to the House of Death so many sturdy souls, great fighters’ souls, but made their bodies carrion, feasts for the dogs and birds—‘

              It’s obvious from Anakin’s immaculate birth that he’s meant to be perceived as somewhat messianic, guided by prophecy the same so many have been before him. However I find myself more interested in the fallible divinity of older pantheons, such as the Greek gods, && their half-divine children who shaped classical mythos.

              One such example is Achilles, the titled hero of the Trojan War even though he never saw its end, destined to usher Greek victory with his death. This has clear parallels with the concept of the Chosen One bringing balance to the Force. Often referred to with certain epithets such as godlike, shining, or bright, “&& all around the bronze on him flashed like the gleam of blazing fire or of the Sun as he ariseth” (22, 558), references no doubt to the strange inner luminosity of gods that he himself possesses. This is a quality I often associate with Anakin before his fall. This blazing sun of a boy who glows so brightly he can be no one but the hero the galaxy needs.

              But what they have most is common is their obliterating rage. Which is markedly inhuman in its effect. Like Achilles, Anakin’s anger can break men && battlefronts, && was often the source both of his triumphs && woes.

              Padmé’s death, like Patroclus’, drove Anakin to despair. He allowed his grief to twist him into something cruel && immensely powerful. Towards the end of the Iliad Achilles has begun to shed his mortal empathies, his mind bent on the same mass destruction the Greeks associated with the divine. He kills without mercy, without restraint, driven by vengeance && fear. “But unto him with grim gaze spake Achilles fleet of foot: “Entreat me not, dog, by knees or parents. Would that my heart’s desire could so bid me myself to carve and eat raw thy flesh” (22, 574). The more divine he becomes the less and less mercy he has to offer, until finally Achilles is faced with the choice to honor Hector’s burial rights or refuse them, && he decides to drag the man’s corpse through the streets by chariot. “Fool, prate not to me about covenants. There can be no covenants between men and lions, wolves and lambs can never be of one mind, but hate each other out and out and through” (22, 232).

              The more powerful Anakin became the less control he had over himself && his emotions. Towards the end of ROTS he seems to exist almost completely in a dissociated state, blind to every instinct but survival. Like Achilles, Anakin’s despair is the source of his cruelty, && any threat to what he perceives as his own is met with comfortless rage. It’s the conduit for both his success && his undoing.

#⟨ headcanons. | ARCHETYPE: COSMIC MESSIAH. ⟩ #reposting bc now i have an uglee graphic to go along with it

[kalki-maitreya]

"Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of Jove fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus,king of men, and great Achilles, first fell out with one another."-The Illiad #SquareHammer #TheDivisionGame #DeadEYE   https://www.instagram.com/p/BvfvkPmFePr/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1sozlccaqo6qn

#squarehammer #thedivisiongame #deadeye