Homer: Iliad Book I

Book I of the Iliad marks the beginning of the first surviving work of Greek literature. This edition with commentary enables readers at all levels to interpret the poetry with heightened pleasure and understanding. It provides help with the morphology, grammar, and syntax of Homeric Greek, situates the poem in its historical and poetic contexts, and elucidates its traditional language, meter, rhetoric, and style, as well as its distinctive transformation of traditional mythology and narrative motifs in accordance with its own interests, values, and poetic purposes. It also addresses the programmatic contrast in Book I between gods and humans; the characterization of both major and minor figures; and the thematic significance in Book I and the poem generally of the representation of social, cultural, religious, and ethical institutions and values. Fully accessible to undergraduates and graduate students, this edition also contains much of value for the scholar.

• Offers a thorough introduction to the Homeric language, including explanations of morphology, grammar, and syntax, to help readers translate accurately and respond better to the poetry
• Focuses on literary interpretation of the text and of its representations of social institutions and values, in order to heighten readers' pleasure and understanding
• Places emphasis on metrical form, enabling readers to understand how the fulfilment and disappointment of metrical norms and expectations contribute to meaning