The Iliad
The Iliad by Homerby Homer
Ranked 3 of 8 poetry books by recommenders
Recommended as one of the most important works of ancient literature, with a translation that reads easier than expected. Critics mainly object to oblique names.
Recommended as one of the most important works of ancient literature, with a translation that reads easier than expected. Critics mainly object to oblique names.
10 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 9
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 90%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 9 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 9 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Major work of ancient literature
“Homer really did smash out an absolute banger with Iliad”
Comment from 20 May 2026 in “Archaeologists Find Egyptian Mummy Buried with the 'Iliad'” “one of the most important works of ancient literature”
Comment from 21 May 2026 in “Archaeologists Find Egyptian Mummy Buried with the 'Iliad'” Broadens perspective and appreciation
“the perspectives you get reading Iliad, Beowulf, Treasure Island, and Tolkien are all very different”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “New Books Aren't Worth Reading” “it gave me an appreciation for the Iliad I would never otherwise have had.”
Comment from 1 Mar 2026 in “Dan Simmons, author of Hyperion and more books, dies at 77” Translation reads easily
“This translation has been a easy read, far easier than I expected.”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” “Fagles' translation of The Illiad worked best for me”
Comment from 28 Jul 2026 in “Which Odyssey translation wins a blind reading test?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Names are frequently oblique
“It's horribly written because names are frequently oblique”
Comment from 16 Nov 2025 in “Where Educational Technology Fails: A seventh-grader's perspective” Story hard to follow
“what is the story of the Iliad, anyway? Something about the wrath of Achilles, right?”
Comment from 21 Jul 2026 in “Who Is America's Homer?”
Other poetry books people recommend
The four most recommended other poetry books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Odysseyby Emily Wilson | 21 | 3 | 88% | 3 | — | — |
| Gilgameshby Simon Armitage | 11 | 4 | 73% | 3 | — | — |
| The Iliadby HomerThis page | 9 | 1 | 90% | 7 | — | — |
| The Claudysseyby Claude Fable 5 | 8 | 5 | 62% | 1 | — | — |
| Beowulf: A New Translationby Maria Dahvana Headley | 5 | 2 | 71% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
9 of the 10 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“This translation has been a easy read, far easier than I expected.”
“Fagles' translation of The Illiad worked best for me”
“what is the story of the Iliad, anyway? Something about the wrath of Achilles, right?”
“one of the most important works of ancient literature”
“I remember that chapter as the worst part of the book”
“Homer really did smash out an absolute banger with Iliad”
“it gave me an appreciation for the Iliad I would never otherwise have had.”
“the perspectives you get reading Iliad, Beowulf, Treasure Island, and Tolkien are all very different”
“It's horribly written because names are frequently oblique”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.