Translating Homer
From Mr Peter Jones Sir: Professor Sir Hugh Lloyd-Jones (Emeritus Regius Professor of Greek at Oxford) raises a typically fascinating question when he asks (Letters, 13 January) if Martin Hammond's 'new' (1987) translation of Homer's Iliad is not 'greatly superior' to E.V. Rieu's 'brilliant' (as I described it) 1950 Penguin translation. As Professor Sir Hugh will know better than many, 'brilliant' is not a comparative term, and my admiration for Martin Hammond's translation is on record (Encounter, January 1988).
Nevertheless, it is with characteristically open-minded generosity that Professor Sir Hugh has admitted elsewhere in his oeuvres that, with some qualifications, 'we should be grateful to Dr Rieu for what he has done to make ancient epic popular' (The Listener, 31 March 1960). His present thoughts on the topic would surely create a surge of interest.
Peter Jones
Newcastle upon Tyne
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