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"A man
dies still if he has done nothing,
as one who
has done much."
The following books will introduce you to Achilles, who said
these words in Homer's Iliad (Lattimore trans.)..
To order a book, or for more information, follow the book
title links to Amazon.com,
then return home to browse other
characters. For related books, see Odysseus.
- Homer. The
Iliad of Homer (Robert Fagles, Trans.). New York:
Viking, 1990.
- This widely admired verse translation is in
fast-paced, contemporary English.
- Homer. The
Iliad of Homer (Richmond Lattimore, Trans.). Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1987.
- Paperback. This translation in graceful, stately
verse was the standard for many years. It is
still the best choice for anyone who likes his
Homer sounding a bit more ancient.
- Kitto, H. D. F. The
Greeks. London: Penguin, 1991.
- Excellent introduction to Achilles's world.
- Denby, David. Great
Books. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.
- The best-selling account of critic Denby's
experiences taking Columbia lit. courses and
becoming reacquainted with the classics. Includes
a marvelous essay, which originally appeared in
the New Yorker as, "Does Homer Have
Legs?"
- Walcott, Derek. Omeros.
New York: Noonday Press/ Farrar, Straus & Giroux,
1990.
- Nobel-prize winning poet Walcott transplants
Achilles (with a large dose of Odysseus mixed in)
to a Caribbean setting in this mesmerizing modern
epic.
- Whitman, Cedric. Homer
and the Heroic Tradition. New York: Norton, 1965.
- See especially chap. IX, "Achilles:
Evolution of a Hero," which shows how
Achilles' "creates" himself in the
course of the Iliad as he learns from
his choices.
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