Fairly technical accounts of all aspects of Homeric studies can be found in the thirty chapters of Morris and Powell 1997. Each of the six volumes of the Cambridge University Press Commentary on the Iliad (in sequence: Kirk 1985; Kirk 1990; Hainsworth 1993; Janko 1992; Edwards 1991; Richardson 1993) includes several introductory sections on various topics. These publications are intended primarily for readers familiar with ancient Greek, but can usually be understood by others with a keen interest.
Those approaching the Iliad from a general literary viewpoint will find guidance in Edwards 1987 (chapters on various topics, and commentaries on ten books of the poem), Griffin 1980 (especially on characterization, pathos, and the gods), and Taplin 1992 (a detailed study of certain episodes). For the oral aspects of the poem in particular, see Bakker 1997 (especially on language and linguistics), Foley 1999b (including analogies with South Slavic epic), Lord 1960 (the fundamental work on the oral Homer, repr. 2000), Martin 1989 (especially on performance and speeches), Nagler 1974 (on the theory behind repeated phrases and type-scenes), Nagy 1996c (on the development of the Iliad from oral song to written text), and Parry 1971 (the trailblazing study of traditional Homeric expressions; it requires knowledge of ancient Greek). The society appearing in the Homeric poems is studied from different angles in Donlan 1999.
Translations of the Iliad, both in prose and in verse, are plentiful, new versions appearing every year. Virtually all are faithful to the original, include line references to the text, and have sound introductory sections. The choice between them is best left to the reader’s preference for the English style adopted by the translator.
A Companion to Ancient Epic Edited by John Miles Foley Copyright © 2005 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd
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