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The Iliad

By Homer & Samuel Butler &
The Iliad by Homer & Samuel Butler &  digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

The Iliad (c. 750 BCE) is one of the oldest works of literature in existence and continues to stir the imagination of contemporary readers thanks to its epic depictions of martial prowess, heroism, and tragedy.

Aiming to bring the legendary story to a new audience, Samuel Butler eschewed the traditional poetical style in favor of a prose translation more akin to that used in the 18th and 19th centuries without losing any of the beauty of the original. The narrative details the fall of Troy and the many tragedies that befall both sides of the war. Heroes clash in sweeping and brutal battle as the Gods watch on in delight, Kings rise and fall by their honor-bound mandates while their men toil in the mundanity of war, and lovers die desperately trying to turn the tides of fate. The Iliad is a meditation on fate, honor, and heroism, painting a world in which the chaos of humanity’s clashing vanities means something greater to not only ourselves, but the Gods above.

Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book.

With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

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About Homer

Homer (8th century CE) was an ancient Greek poet who is most-famously credited as the author of The Iliad and The Odyssey, both epic poems that are still regarded as foundational works of Greek literature. Although many accounts of Homer’s life and deeds are today considered legend and historically dubious, the sheer volume of tales from the period of his life point to the centrality of Homer as a public figure and as a storyteller to Greek culture. Scholars may still debate the veracity and singularity of his authorship, but the Homeric works remain undisputed as central pillars of modern literature, codifying central concepts like the hero’s journey, moral ambiguity, and the novel as cultural memory.

Samuel Butler

Samuel Butler (1835 – 1902) was an English critic and novelist who is best remembered for his satirical utopian novel Erewhon (1872), his semi-autobiographical novel The Way of All Flesh (1903), and his prose translations of the Iliad (1898) and The Odyssey (1900). Despite being born into a long line of yeoman, Butler’s scholarly aptitude was recognized at a young age, and he was afforded the opportunity to study at the Rugby School and then the University of Cambridge. After university, Butler set out to join the Anglican clergy. In a low-income London parish, he discovered to his great disillusionment that baptism made no tangible difference in the moral and behavior of his peers. This dissonance spurred him to leave the church and emigrate to New Zealand, where he owned a farm and began work on his first novel. Throughout his career, he wrote compelling treatises on many subjects, most notably Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, the Homeric poems, theology, and music. His novels have influenced great fiction writers like Aldous Huxley and Frank Herbert, whose “Butlerian Jihad” featured in the Dune series carries his namesake.

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