THE ILIAD OF HOMER - University of Chicago Press

1 Richmond Lattimore s Introduction THE ILIAD OF HOMER Richmond Lattimore s introduction to his translation of The ILIAD of HOMER appeared in editions published from 1951 to 2011. This PDF was scanned from the first impression of the 1962 illustrated edition (with drawings by Leonard Baskin). 1951 by The University of Chicago . INTRODUCTIONIHAVE triedinthisintroductiontoputbeforetherea dertheinfor-mationthatwillhelphimtoamore completeunderstandingofthetranslation.'I nformation',though,ifitconcernsHomer,mea nscontro-versy;soI havehadtocuta rathersweepingpaththrougha massofdifficultorinsolubleproblems, shouldlike,insomemoreappropriateplace, ,allthisaside,theintroductionrepresentst hetranslator' selectbibliographyis,accordingly,notcall edforhere,butImaymentiona fewworks,someofwhichI havereferredtobrieflyinthefollowingpages , : HOMER :OriginsandTransmissions,Oxford,Cl arendonPress, :ThePoetryofHomer,Berkeley,UniversityofC aliforniaPress, :TraditionandDesignintheIliad,Oxford,Cla rendonPress, ,London,Macmillan, :FolkTale,Fiction,andSagaintheHomericEpi cs,BerkeleyandLosAngeles,UniversityofCal iforniaPress, :HomerischePoetik:DasHomerprobleminderGe genwart,Wurzburg,1921.

2 (ThisistheauthoritativeaccountofHomerict heoryandcontroversyuptothetimeofitspubli cation.)[11] :Hesiod,theHomericHymns,andHomerica,Lon- donandCambridge,Mass.,HeinemannandHarvar dUniversityPress,revisededition1936.(The LoebeditionofHesiodandthefragmentsoftheE picCycle,GreektextwithEnglishtranslation .)GILBERTMURRAY:TheRiseoftheGreekEpic,Ox fordUniversityPressandLondon,HumphreyMil ford, :TheUnityofHomer,Berkeley,UniversityofCa liforniaPress, :HomericEssays,Oxford,Blackwell, ,the'classical'Greeksandtheirsuccessors, thatis,thoseGreekswhowereliterateandhave leftarticulaterecordsoftheirbeliefs, ,astotheinterpretationofitscausesanditsm eaning,theremightbedisagreement;butformo stpersonsatleast,it wasa pieceofhistory,nota pieceoflegendormyth; :Paris,alsocalledAlexandros,wasthesonofP riam,whowasKingofTroy,a ,andfromtherecarriedaway,withherfullcons ent,Helen, , forceofa thousandormoreships,mannedbyfighters, ,elderbrotherofMenelaos,theKingofMykenai .

3 It includedmanylordsorkingsfromthePeloponne se,CentralGreece,Thessaly,andcertainisla nds, fight, ,keepingtheTrojansonthedefensive, ,Agamemnon,themostpowerfulchief,quarrell edwithAchilleus, , ,theTrojans,ledbyHektor(asonofPriamandbr otherofParis), , ,buthisdeathdidnotsaveTroy, ,thenon-combatantpopulationwascarriedint oslavery, ,besetbyweather,quarrels, :andI callit 'basic'because,whilefurtherdetailsorepis odesmayhavefounduniversalacceptancelater , ,andgreatest, , ;otherepicsmoredoubtfully,as,forinstance ,'theSackofTroy,byHomerorArktinos'.IFort heIliadandOdyssey, ;possibly,andIwouldsayprobably,fromlongb eforethat!Sidebysidewiththetranscription anddisseminationofwrittentextswentdissem inationthroughrecital,thebusinessofprofe ssionalrecitersandinterpretersofHomer, , HOMER ,fortheGreeks, , ,aloneoftheITobediscusseda , ,however,confused, statementoftheevidenceseeAllen, ; ,wassometimesthoughtofashiscontemporarya ndhisequal; ,theIliaddealswiththestoryofTroy,theOdys seywiththehomecomingoftheGreekheroesafte rthecaptureofthecity:inparticular,thehom ecomingofOdysseus,theadventures,temptati ons, thatoftheIliad.

4 Andithasusually,inantiquityasinmoderntim es, ,693lines, ,ashastheOdyssey,intotwenty-fourbooks, ,notonlythefIrstwrittenversionoftheIliad ,butlongafterthetimeofPlato, ,theterminationsmarkclearandcrucialpoint sinthenarrative, ,priestofApolloinChryse,a smallplacenearTroy,comestothecampoftheGr eekstoaskforthereturnofhisdaughter,Chrys eis, , , , ,thoughangry,agreestogivethegirlbackandp ropitiatethegod,butdemandsthatsomeotherl eadergiveuphismistresstohim, ,AgamemnontakesawayBriseis, ;andhepraystohismother,Thetis,a divinityofthesea,thatshewilluseherinflue ncewithZeusandtheOlympianstoseethattheAc hai-ansaredefeatedinhisabsence,sothatthe ymaylearnhownecessaryhehasbeentotheirfor tunes, 'sprayertoZeus, , ,Agamemnon'sarmy,withAchilleusmissing, ,duringa truce,oftheopportunitytobuilda wall, ,theTrojanswiththeassistanceofZeusgainth eupperhand,andbytheendoftheday(endofBook 8)theyareencampedontheplain, , ,whomheswearshehasnevertouched,andtooffe rmanyothergiftsandhonoursaswell, ,Aias,andPhoinixconveythismes-sagetoAchi lleus,whogreetsthemandentertainsthemasfr iends, , Iopensa greatandeventfuldayoffighting, ,butoneafteranotherthegreatchampionsared isabled(Agamemnon,Diomedes,Odysseus,aswe llasEurypylosandMachaon)

5 , ,andsetsoneshipablaze, ,whilestillkeepingoutofthefight,hasbeenw atchingit,andhisdearestfriend,Patroklos, (beginningofBook16).IntroductionPatroklo sistreshandeager, ,noraretheysurethatthenewcomerisnotAchil leushimself( ).Theybreak, ,takenatadisadvantage, ,buttheAchaiansrescuethebodyitselfThatis alltheycando; ,hecannotgoatonceintobattle, ,andbymerelyshowinghimselfandshoutinghis warcryheturnsbacktheTrojans, ' ,attheaskingofThetis,forgesnew,iI! ,slaughtersmany, ,hisnervefailsandheruns, , ,isstrippedanddraggedbytheheelstromAchil leus' ,butthetwogreatdeadmen,PatroklosandHekto r, , ,Hektor'scorpsehasbeenshamefullytreated, ,guidedbyHermes,goestotheshelterofAchill eusatnighttoaskforthereturnofhisson' ,andgivesitback; ,asitwasoutlinedabove, ( )andweend,someweekslater,stillinthetenth year, ,themainplotof~heIliadissome-thingnarrow erthanwouldbethechronicleofa.

6 Ormoreprecisely,itis,ashasbeenfrequently seen,thetragedyofAchilleus,whichdevelops throughhisquarrelwithAgamemnonandwithdra walfrombattle,thesufferingsoftheGreeksin hisabsence,thedeathofPatrokloswhotriedto rescuetheGreeksfromtheplightintowhichAch illeushadputthem,andthevenge-ancetakenby AchilleusonHektor, ,withbeginning,middle, greatmanwhothrougha faultinanotherwisenoblecharacter(andeven thefaultisnoble)bringsdisasteruponhimsel f,sincethedeathofPatroklosistheworkoffre echoiceonthepartofAchilleus,andtheangero fAchilleus,turnedfirstagainstAgamemnon,t henagainstHektor,isatlastresolvedina ,notthefallofTroy, ,Achilleusdidnot,intheIliadoranywhereels e,takeTroy;hediedfirst,buthisdeathisnott oldintheIliad, 'siege, cannotbecompletelytornloosefromthestoryo fTroy, , , , :grantedthattheIliaddoesnottellthestoryo fTroy,theremusthavebeensomeprevious account,ormorethanonesuchaccount, chronicle; ,444, , ILIAD , ,P , , ,andthedatesrange ' ,whichhasprevailedasthe'traditionaldate' ;andHerodotus'( ) , ,forthatmatter,knowwhethertherewasaTroja nWar.

7 ! 'sdate, ,othersmadehimactivesixty,orahundred,orm ore, ( )puthim'400yearsbeforemyowntime,atthemos t',thatis, !ThisHerodoteandatemaythusappeartobe'min imal',thatis, , ,orverynear, ,hehimselfmakesitquiteplainthatwhathespe aksofhappenedlongago,whenmenweredifferen t Tomthemenofhisownage,andcouldlifteasilyw eightsnotwomennowcouldlift( ).Such,too,isthedriftofhisappealtotherem emberingMuses,whomustbringtolifewhatmust otherwisebearumourconfusedintime( ).Butfurther:betweenthetimeofHomer'sstor yandthetimeofHomer,Greeklegend,whichmust ,howeverconfusedly,perpetuatehis-torical fact, ; , , ,anddislodgedtheBoiotians;theseinturnocc upiedtheterritoryoftheKadmeians, ,inconjunctionwithIButsomethinghappenedw hichgaverisetothelegend, ,II-4I,withdataonthelifeofHomertabulated , (the'sonsofHerakles'),camefromthenorthto winSparta,Messenia,Argos, , ,Boiotia,andthePeloponnese, ;ChiosandSmyrna,wherethetwostrainsarehar desttoseparate, ,I think, ,therefore,comesaftertheIonianmigration; theIonianmigrationcomesaftertheDorianinv asion; , ,himselfanAsiaticGreek, inthehandsof'theKariansoftheoutlandspeec h'( ).

8 HomerdoesnotcallthemenofGreeceGreeks(Gra ikoi)aswedo,noragainHellenes,astheycalle dthemselves.'HecallsthemAchaians,Argives , ,norarehisAchaiansnecessarilyfromwhatwas laterAchaia;they,liketheDanaans,arejust' Greeks'.Heavoidstheterm'Dorians',whichap pearsonceintheOdyssey( );andheavoids'Thessalians'. ,Pelasgian,Karian,andbarbarian,heknowsal so, ,I think, ,sparingly,thetermsHellas,Hellenes, ,withtheexceptionofonephrasefoundintheOd yssey,tobeusedofa particularlocality,Achilleus'country,Pht hiainThessaly, ,though, ,becausehewentbacktoanagegenerationsbefo re,whentheancestorsofhisaudience,doubtle sshisownancestorsaswell, , ,itistrue, ,attachedtothedateoftheTrojanWar,a ,though,establishedthata ' ,anditmaybethatwecanfindsomehelpattheoth erend, ,weshouldgobacktotheproblemthatledusinto thischronologicalcon-sideration,thatis,t heproblemofHomer' ,wehavethefinishedproduct.

9 Itmaynothavebeena tenyears'war,itmaynothavebeenpan-Achaian inscale,itmaynothavebeenwagedagainstTroy ,anditmayhavebeena defeat,nota ,I thinkit wasa viking-raid, ,justifiablyornot, ,thelegend,andtromthelegend, HOMER ;butbet weentheeventandHomer,weseenow, questionseriouslydebatedwhetherHomer,com -parativelylateinthetradition, , ,wefindillus-trationsofthewaya ,inordertopointhismoral,relatestoAchille usa pieceofrecent history,thestoryofMeleagros( ).Nestor,witha blandnessthatbecomesalmostunendurable, [20]Introductionhasthehistoryofhisancest or,Bellerophontes,allinhismind,andisread ytopassit ontoDiomedesastheypauseandconverseinthem iddleofa greatbattle( ).Oragain:whenthepeacemakerscometotheshe lterofAchilleus,theyfindhimsingingofthef amousexploitsofmen,andaccompanyinghimsel fona lyre( ).

10 'Thelastcaseisnoteworthy, ,ofcourse,inHomer'shexameters, , ; , ,sothatwhatreachedHomermayhavebeenverydi fferentfromwhatreallyhappened, , ,too,whenhesetouttocompose,withinthestor yofTroy, ; , ,there-fore,thepresumptionofwhatwemaycal la basicstory,whichHomerknew, ,episodes,charactersinthestory,barelyack nowledgeothers, seriesofeventsoccupyinga fewweeksinthetenthyearofthewar,anddoesno tdealwitheitherbeginningIThereissomethin gcomparableinthepictureofHelenworkingint othedesignsheweaves'numerousstrugglesofT rojans,breakersofhorses,andbronze-armour edAcbaians'(p.!O3) (Ael1eid, ).SeeDrerup, , ,towinbackHelenwhomParishadcarriedoffTha tisunderstood, ,andallthechar-actersinhisstoryprettywel lknow, ,thesepartsofthestoryarenotbroughtintoth epoeminanyforthrightway, , 'sspeechtoAthene,whentheAchaiansseemtobe demoralizedandonthepointofgoinghome( ):Asthingsare, ,andthustheywouldleavetoPriamandtotheTro jansHelenofArgos,togloryover, , 'threattoAgamemnon( ):Thenstrickenatheartthoughyoube,youwill beabletodonothing, ,I suppose,gatherfromthisthatHektorwasa formidableTrojan.