From the Renaissance to the present time, there have been over five thousand printed editions of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. The Homeric texts trace back to oral poetry of perhaps the eighth century BCE, which coincides with the traditionally accepted time period of Homer’s life. As we have all learned, questions and theories abound concerning the very existence of a man named Homer, and whether the written texts from the sixth century BCE bear any resemblance to the oral epics of the eighth century. What we do know is the standardization of left to right written Greek traces to ca. 600 BCE, and by that time there were many written versions of the Homeric texts available. Aristotle studied the written text in the fourth century BCE.
The first translation of Homer into English took place in 1581 when Arthur Hall published the first ten Books of the Iliad. Interestingly, he translated from a French translation of 1555 by Hugues Salel, not directly from Greek or Latin. The most well known of these early translations was by George Chapman, who’s Iliad was finished in 1611, and his Odyssey in 1616. Chapman’s translation has been in steady use right up to the present time. Subsequent noteworthy translations were: Ogilby, 1669; Hobbes, 1673-77 (at the age of 85); Dryden, 1700; and significantly, Anne LeFevre Dacier, Iliad,1711, translated into French.
The most reprinted translation is that of Alexander Pope, spanning the years from 1715 to 1720, Iliad, and 1725 to 1726, Odyssey. Pope’s translation departs from most others in that he favored a liberal, poetic approach rather than a strict literary translation. His concern was with contemporary readers, and so chose the heroic couplet which at that time was in favor with his colleagues. His translation has been called a ‘paraphrase’ by some critics, and brilliant by others. It was said he cared more about the sound of his translation than the scholarship. Pope’s translation is poetry, and it is his poetry, and should be taken in that light.
As a side note, Pope was more directly involved with the Iliad translation than the Odyssey, for which he relied on the research of his assistants, Elijah Fenton and William Broome. He translated by reference to the Greek and Latin, and researched all translations to that date, especially the French translation of Anne Dacier.
New translations of the Iliad and Odyssey, story adaptations, novels, and related literary works continue at the rate of twenty or more each year. The fascination and interest in the Homeric works go beyond the academic and research environments. Our earliest oral and written epic, given a new translation or presentation, is as likely to appear on today’s list of recommended new publications as is the latest novel by Dan Brown.
With all of that in mind, and with a desire to produce a meaningful work ‘for the ages’, we at Chester River Press decided to publish a new presentation of the Iliad and Odyssey. We have been living with Homer now for the better part of a year, researching various editions, acquiring permissions, working with scholars, artists, editors, proofers, and printers, and generally becoming obsessed with the nuances of planning, printing and publishing this monumental work. But at the start we had some basic decisions to make.
First, we settled on Mr. Pope’s translation, for a number of reasons: its uniqueness, endurance, poetic beauty, controversy, history, and its reflection of the voice of the original epic. We felt no other translation rivaled Pope’s for the sheer beauty and rhythm of the verse. His translation is an event in itself, and carries on what most certainly was the musical quality of the original. His poetry adds to the reading, rather than distracts from it. Homer should be not only interesting but enjoyable; a pleasure to the senses as well as stimulation for the intellect.
We also knew we wanted to present the Homeric Greek along with the English, even though Pope’s is not a literal translation. Seeing the original Greek along with the English is rare, but it provides an additional sensual value to the presentation and allows for certain reference points which can be intriguing. Those familiar with Greek, as well as novices, will be presented with the opportunity to reference the original and broaden the experience. Besides, it’s fun to impress your fellow literati by stating you read Homer in English and Greek, however minimal!
The third basic decision was that the entire work should be generously adorned with original art pieces. We decided on the format of Greek vase painting of the period: red-figure and black-figure. Each ‘Book’ of the Iliad and Odyssey (there are twenty-four in each) would have a pertinent scene represented on an appropriate vase type. These we envisioned as full page, color, original art pieces. We would need an artist.
We then turned our thoughts to an Introduction for the work. Through our reading we were aware of prominent scholars in the Homeric field, and one in particular who had written several books and pieces on Alexander Pope’s translations. Steven Shankman, Ph.D. was currently at the University of Oregon. In 1997 he edited and introduced the Penguin edition of Pope’s Iliad. We decided to attempt a contact with Dr. Shankman to explain our project.
With these decisions made, we set out to put the pieces together: locate and proof our texts; find an artist to work with; contact Dr. Shankman; plan the design of the book; decide on printing; draw up a budget and time frame; and generally begin to fine tune the publication.
We had much work in front of us, but the Walls of Troy were in our sights.
