13 JANUARY 2001, Page 34

Prosaic epic

From Sir Hugh Lloyd-Jones Sir: Mr Peter Jones (Ancient and modern, 16/23 December) finds E.V. Rieu's translation of the Iliad to be 'brilliant'. The gifted American scholar Adam Parry wrote `Rieu made the great discovery that Homer was really Trollope'. Surely Martin Hammond's new translation is greatly superior?

Hugh Lloyd-Jones

Wellesey, Massachusetts, USA