• George Chapman

    1611 • verse Public Domain

    First complete English Iliad.

    Notes: The samples are based on the first edition, accessible via the 'Sample Source' link. Note that widely available digital versions (e.g., Project Gutenberg) are often heavily modernized and differ significantly from this original text. For a recommended modern printed copy, consider the Princeton University Press edition ('Chapman's Homer: The Iliad').
    The translation is a delight to read (or at least to browse through)...
    — Ian Johnston

  • Alexander Pope

    1720 • verse • Bernard Lintot Public Domain

    Highly influential translation.

    Notes: Pope's first edition, originally published in six volumes, is the recommended version of this work. Unlike many subsequent reprints and common digital versions (such as Project Gutenberg), the first edition preserves Pope's intended text and includes his extensive scholarly notes. The text used for the samples on this site is taken from a transcribed digital version provided by Michigan University (see 'Sample Source'). While this source offers recommended access to the first edition's text and notes, the most complete reading experience comes from a high-definition digital scan of the first edition. Versions available via platforms like HathiTrust are particularly recommended as they preserve the original 18th-century printing and typography.
    It is certainly the noblest version of poetry which the world has ever seen; and its publication must therefore be considered as one of the great events in the annals of learning
    — Samuel Johnson

  • William Cowper

    1791 • verse • J. Johnson Public Domain

    Formal Miltonic blank verse aiming for strict fidelity to the Greek.

  • Theodore Alois Buckley

    1851 • prose • Henry G. Bohn, London Public Domain

    Accurate prose translation.

  • William Cullen Bryant

    1870 • verse • Houghton, Mifflin and Company, Boston Public Domain

    Fluent, accurate, and readable blank verse aiming for a natural narrative style.

  • W. G. Caldcleugh

    1870 • verse • J. B. Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia Public Domain

    Entertaining and energetic blank verse translation.

  • Samuel Butler

    1898 • prose • Longmans, Green, and Co. Public Domain

    Well-known prose translation; accurate, unpretentious, and fluent.

    Butler’s translation is among the best known and most popular prose translations of the Iliad—and deservedly so.
    — Ian Johnston

  • A.T. Murray

    1924 • prose • Loeb Classical Library Public Domain

    Scholarly, literal prose with facing Greek text (Loeb).

  • W. H. D. Rouse

    1938 • prose • Mentor Books

    Fast-paced and accessible.

  • Emile Victor Rieu

    1950 • prose • Penguin Books

    Clear, accessible modern prose.

  • Richmond Lattimore

    1951 • verse • University of Chicago Press

    Literal verse; formal and syntactically dense.

  • Robert Graves

    1960 • verse • Cassell & Company (UK), Doubleday (US)

    Unusual mix of prose and verse.

  • Ennis Rees

    1963 • verse • Random House (US), Modern Library (imprint)

    Straightforward verse; faithful and readable.

  • Robert Fitzgerald

    1974 • verse • Anchor Books / Doubleday

    Poetic and fluid; loosely faithful.

    One of the finest English renditions of the Iliad available anywhere.
    — Ian Johnston

  • Martin Hammond

    1987 • prose • Penguin Books

    Precise, close-to-Greek prose.

  • Robert Fagles

    1990 • verse • Viking Penguin

    Lyrical, dramatic modern verse.

  • Stanley Lombardo

    1997 • verse • Hackett Publishing Company

    Fast-paced, informal modern verse.

  • Ian Johnston

    2002 • verse • Richer Resources Publications Public Domain

    Modern, accessible public domain verse translation.

    Notes: Johnston's translation was first published online in 2002 and later in print by Richer Resources Publications in 2006.

  • A.S. Kline

    2009 • prose Public Domain

    Simple public domain prose; freely available.

    Sample Source: Homer: The Iliad

  • Anthony Verity

    2010 • verse • Oxford University Press

    Formal verse with prose-like tone.

  • Stephen Mitchell

    2011 • verse • Free Press

    Streamlined, modern verse; abridged Greek.

  • Peter Green

    2015 • verse • University of California Press

    Faithful verse with detailed notes.

    Best characterized as an update on Lattimore’s.
    — James Romm

  • Caroline Alexander

    2015 • verse • Ecco

    Line-matched verse; formal and restrained.

  • Emily Wilson

    2023 • verse • W. W. Norton

    Rhythmic, modern verse; highly readable.

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