Ilias Latina - Introduction, Text, Translation, and Commentary

The Ilias Latina ('the Latin Iliad') is a condensed Latin version of Homer's epic on the Trojan war, and was likely composed under Nero. Long neglected as a poem worthy of study, there is a growing awareness that it is a sophisticated work of cultural appropriation, systematically reviewing and refashioning the Homeric epic through a Roman lens.

List of contents

• Preface


• A. Introduction


• 1: Translating the Iliad at Rome


• 2: Ilias Latina


• (a) Dating the Poem


• (b) Author, Anonymity, and Acrostic: Reading Identity between the Lines


• (c) Purpose, Generic Affiliation, and Literary Influence: Skimming the Shores of Homer


• (d) Ilias Latina and Iliad: Correspondence, Divergence, and Prioritisation


• (e) Transmission of the Text: Manuscripts, Citations, and Catalogues


• B. Text and Translation


• C. Commentary


• D. Bibliography

About the author

Steven J. Green specializes in Roman literature and culture in the first centuries BC and AD, and is particularly interested in those texts that are typically overlooked, unread, or unappreciated by modern readers. His major research has moved from the relatively conventional world of Ovid (Fasti), to more marginal poems, including the astrological treatise of Manilius, the hunting manual of Grattius and, now, the Ilias Latina.

Summary

The Ilias Latina ('the Latin Iliad') is a condensed Latin version of Homer's epic on the Trojan war, and was likely composed under Nero. Long neglected as a poem worthy of study, there is a growing awareness that it is a sophisticated work of cultural appropriation, systematically reviewing and refashioning the Homeric epic through a Roman lens.

Product details

• Authors: Steven J. Green, Steven J. (Associate Professor Green, Green Steven J.
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 16.08.2025
• EAN: 9780198870777
• ISBN: 978-0-19-887077-7
• No. of pages: 432
• Series: Pseudepigrapha Latina
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature; Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > English linguistics / literary studies; Latin, LITERARY CRITICISM / Poetry, LITERARY CRITICISM / Ancient & Classical, LITERARY COLLECTIONS / General, Classical texts, Literary studies: classical, early & medieval, Literary studies: poetry & poets, Literary studies: ancient, classical and medieval, Literary studies: poetry and poets, BCE to c 500 CE, BCE period – Protohistory, Ancient, classical and medieval texts