Iliad, Book 1

Homer's Iliad has captivated readers and influenced writers and artists for over two-and-a-half millennia. Here is a user-friendly students' edition of Book 1, providing Greek text, extensive notes, a complete glossary, and an extensive introduction to Homer and his epic work.

P. A. Draper presents Homer's text with copious annotations on vocabulary, grammar, meter, historical and mythological allusions, and literary interpretation. The introduction discusses the questions of Homer's identity and his method of composition, the historicity of the Iliad, the transmission of the poem through the centuries, and the plot of the entire poem.

Readers in high school, undergraduate students of Homeric or epic Greek, and graduate students will find this book on reading list requirements. It will be of significance to anyone interested in maintaining Greek reading skills.

P. A. Draper is Humanities Librarian, Cooper Library, Clemson University.

Praise / Awards

• "For 2300 years, Homerists have continued to use [the first book of the Iliad] to try to make first-time readers of Homer feel welcome. The tradition now continues in P. A. Draper's new student edition of Iliad, Book 1, whose object is 'to make it possible for students who have completed elementary Greek to read, enjoy, and appreciate Homer.' If this edition does not do that, nothing will. . . . The thoroughness of the notes is admirable—an average of three per line. It is difficult to imagine a student's question they would not answer, and they remove the need for slogging through the dictionary or learning Homeric grammar by rote. . . . Draper's [text] will cheerfully win many students for Homer who, fresh from Attic-language introductory courses, might otherwise be scared away. It is ideal for upper-level high school classes; and it will allow the enthusiast, reading on his own, the chance to study Homer with understanding."
  —Classical Outlook