Emily Wilson “Translating the Iliad’s Violence”

Dr. Emily Wilson, renowned translator of Homer's epic poems and Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, will speak on "Translating the Iliad’s violence”.

This talk will argue that there is a large gap between modern and Homeric approaches to physical violence and agency. This difference is legible, I suggest, in influential critical analyses of the Iliad, such as that of Simone Weil, and in prominent translations of the poem. I will suggest that awareness of this difference can help us understand the distinctiveness of modern assumptions about power, force, individuality and humanity. I will also discuss my own approach to translating the Iliad, with particular attention to scenes of massacre.