"The Iliad" English Translation by Samuel Butler
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From: Book · Samuel Butler · 1898

"The Iliad" is a full transcript of The Iliad hero myth by Samuel Butler in 1898. Butler translated the work into prose from the Homeric Greek for a broad audience. It contains all twenty-four books through 421 pages. Butler's version is readable for a layman audience. This work is attributed to a single man named Homer; however, many scholars do not accept this authorship claim.
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Text: Full Translation, Collation (partial)

Ancient Greek  ⟶  English a b

  • Book I—The Rage of Achilles The quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles—Achilles withdraws from the war, and sends his mother Thetis to ask Jove to help the Trojans—Scene between Jove and Juno on Olympus.
  • Book II—The Great Gathering of Armies Jove sends a lying dream to Agamemnon, who thereon calls the chiefs in assembly, and proposes to sound the mind of his army—In the end they march to fight—Catalogue of the Achæan and Trojan forces.
  • Book III—Helen Reviews the Champions Alexandrus, also called Paris, challenges Menelaus—Helen and Priam view the Achæans from the wall—The covenant—Paris and Menelaus fight, and Paris is worsted—Venus carries him off to save him—Scene between him and Helen.
  • Book IV—The Truce Erupts in War A quarrel in Olympus—Minerva goes down and persuades Pandarus to violate the oaths by wounding Menelaus with an arrow—Agamemnon makes a speech and sends for Machaon—He then goes about among his captains and upbraids Ulysses and Sthenelus, who each of them retort fiercely—Diomed checks Sthenelus, and the two hosts then engage, with great slaughter on either side.
  • Book V—Diomedes Fights the Gods The exploits of Diomed, who, though wounded by Pandarus, continues fighting—He kills Pandarus and wounds Æneas—Venus rescues Æneas, but being wounded by Diomed, commits him to the care of Apollo and goes to Olympus, where she is tended by her mother Dione—Mars encourages the Trojans, and Æneas returns to the fight cured of his wound—Minerva and Juno help the Achæans, and by the advice of the former Diomed wounds Mars, who returns to Olympus to get cured.
  • Book VI—Hector Returns to Troy Glaucus and Diomed—The story of Bellerophon—Hector and Andromache. Hector returns to Troy as the war rages on.
  • Book VII—Ajax Duels Hector Hector and Ajax fight—Hector is getting worsted when night comes on and parts them—They exchange presents—The burial of the dead, and the building of a wall round their ships by the Achæans—The Achæans buy their wine of Agamemnon and Menelaus.
  • Book VIII—The Tide of Battle Turns Jove forbids the gods to interfere further—There is an even fight till midday, but then Jove inclines the scales of victory in favour of the Trojans, who eventually chase the Achæans within their wall—Juno and Minerva set out to help the Trojans: Jove sends Iris to turn them back, but later on he promises Juno that she shall have her way in the end—Hector’s triumph is stayed by nightfall—The Trojans bivouac on the plain.
  • Book IX—The Embassy to Achilles An embassy is sent to Achilles to convince him to join the war again.
  • Book X—Marauding Through the Night Ulysses and Diomed go out as spies, and meet Dolon, who gives them information: they then kill him, and profiting by what he had told them, kill Rhesus king of the Thracians and take his horses.
  • Book XI—Agamemnon's Day of Glory In the forenoon the fight is equal, but Agamemnon turns the fortune of the day towards the Achæans until he gets wounded and leaves the field—Hector then drives everything before him till he is wounded by Diomed—Paris wounds Diomed—Ulysses, Nestor, and Idomeneus perform prodigies of valour—Machaon is wounded—Nestor drives him off in his chariot—Achilles sees the pair driving towards the camp and sends Patroclus to ask who it is that is wounded—This is the beginning of evil for Patroclus—Nestor makes a long speech.
  • Book XII—The Trojans Storm the Rampart The Trojans and their allies break the wall, led on by Hector.
  • Book XIII—Battling for the Ships Neptune helps the Achæans—The feats of Idomeneus—Hector at the ships.
  • Book XIV—Hera Outflanks Zeus Agamemnon proposes that the Achæans should sail home, and is rebuked by Ulysses—Juno beguiles Jupiter—Hector is wounded.
  • Book XV—The Achaean Armies at Bay Jove awakes, tells Apollo to heal Hector, and the Trojans again become victorious.
  • Book XVI—Patroclus Fights and Dies Fire being now thrown on the ship of Protesilaus, Patroclus fights in the armour of Achilles—He drives the Trojans back, but is in the end killed by Euphorbus and Hector.
  • Book XVII—Menalaus' Finest Hour The fight around the body of Patroclus.
  • Book XVIII—The Shield of Achilles The grief of Achilles over Patroclus—The visit of Thetis to Vulcan and the armour that he made for Achilles.
  • Book XIX—The Champion Arms for Battle Achilles is reconciled with Agamemnon, puts on the armour which Vulcan had made him, and goes out to fight.
  • Book XX—Olympian Gods in Arms The gods hold a council and determine to watch the fight from the hill Callicolone, and the barrow of Hercules—A fight between Achilles and Æneas is interrupted by Neptune, who saves Æneas—Achilles kills many Trojans.
  • Book XXI—Achilles Fights the River The fight between Achilles and the river Scamander—The gods fight among themselves—Achilles drives the Trojans within their gates.
  • Book XXII—The Death of Hector Hector is chased around the walled city of Troy by Achilles. Apollo comes to Hector as his uncle and promises to help him in his fight with Achilles. Hector fights Achilles and when in trouble he asks his uncle for a spear to see that no one was there. Hector is then furiously slaughtered by Achilles—Son of Peleus.
  • Book XXIII—Funeral Games for Patroclus A funeral is held for Patroclus, during which everyone plays games.
  • Book XXIV—Achilles and Priam Priam ransoms the body of Hector—Hector’s funeral.
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Source(s) a Crane, "Scaife, urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng4. [Structured XML data] b Homer, Iliad / Butler, 1-421 launch. [Original source]

Record notes

About these data

Data provider Perseus Scaife Viewer
Record no. urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng4 Iliad, The Iliad of Homer rendered into English prose for the use of those who cannot read the original
Retrieval date Jul. 19, 2020
Copyright Perseus Digital Library @ Tufts

Background

The Iliad of Homer (Samuel Butler translation) is a well-known and freely available translation of the Homeric epic known as The Iliad. It was published in 1898 by Samuel Butler and was intended for a broader audience. It is written in prose form, meaning that it is meant to be read in paragraph block form like most people read today. Because it is past its copyright limit, it has been widely distributed and modified.

Cite this page

MLA Modern Language Association (8th ed.)

OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. ""The Iliad": English Translation by Samuel Butler." OMNIKA – World Mythology Index, OMNIKA Foundation, 10 Jul. 2020, omnika.org/stable/875. Accessed 5 Jul. 2024.

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APA American Psychological Association (6th ed.)

OMNIKA (2020, July 10). "The Iliad": English Translation by Samuel Butler. Retrieved from https://omnika.org/stable/875

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CMS Chicago Manual of Style (16th ed.)

OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. ""The Iliad": English Translation by Samuel Butler." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created July 10, 2020. Accessed July 5, 2024. https://omnika.org/stable/875.

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Bibliography

Butler, Samuel, trans. "The Iliad." In The Iliad of Homer: Rendered Into English Prose for the Use of Those Who Cannot Read the Original, 1-421, authored by Homer. London, England: Longmans, Green, & Co., 1898.
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Crane, Gregory R., "Perseus Scaife Viewer: Open Greek and Latin Project by Perseus Digital Library." Department of Classical Studies, Tufts University, Medford, MA. Created March 15, 2018. Accessed July 19, 2023. https://scaife.perseus.org.
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Homer. The Iliad of Homer: Rendered Into English Prose for the Use of Those Who Cannot Read the Original. Translated by Samuel Butler. London, England: Longmans, Green, & Co., 1898.
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About

The Iliad Hero myth Myth icon
Ancient Greek Belief system
Achilles Main deity

Achilles, half man-half deity, fought in the Trojan war for King Agamemnon and quarreled with him over a mistress, among other things. The war featured the Trojans against the Greeks and had lots of action where Achilles was the star. Achilles' close friend Patroclus died at the hands of Hector; consequently, Achilles slaughtered him in order to get his revenge. While not listed in the Iliad, sources say that Achilles suffered his tragic fate at the end of the war by Paris when he was shot with an arrow through the achilles heel. Achilles fulfilled the hero motif of living a short life of glory.

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