Emily Wilson, Edith Hall, Juliet Stevenson & Tobias Menzies: The Iliad

Emily Wilson’s translation of the Odyssey, published in 2017, the first into English by a woman, was hailed as a ‘revelation’ by the New York Times and a ‘cultural landmark’ by the Guardian. With her translation of the Iliad, ten years in the making, she has given us a complete Homer for a new generation. In her hands, this thrilling, magical and often horrifying tale now gallops at a pace befitting its legendary battle scenes, in crisp but resonant language that evokes the poem’s deep pathos and reveals palpably real, ‘complicated’ characters – both human and divine.

Wilson, professor of classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania, is a regular contributor to the LRB and the host of one of our Close Readings series of podcasts, Among the Ancients. She was in conversation with Edith Hall, professor at Durham University and the author of many acclaimed books on Ancient Greek culture and its influence on modernity. The event was chaired by Wilson’s Close Readings co-host, the LRB’s Thomas Jones.

Juliet Stevenson, who recently reprised her role in Robert Icke’s play The Doctor in New York to great acclaim, and Tobias Menzies, star of The Crown, Outlander and Game of Thrones, read passages from Wilson’s Iliad throughout the evening.