The Iliad Back-Translated

This chapter examines the continuities and discontinuities between a pre- and post-Winckelmannian classicism by comparing the outline engravings of the Iliad by John Flaxman (1793) to the translation by Alexander Pope (1715–20), from which Flaxman takes the mottoes for his plates. It begins with a discussion of the qualities attributed to Homer as the quintessentially classic author from the time of Pope to that of Flaxman and beyond. The problems of translating Homer are illuminated by the different approaches of the two media discussed in this chapter. The difference between Pope’s and Flaxman’s classical aesthetic is illustrated by Pope’s use of Latinate words and by Flaxman’s outline technique. There are close readings of passages from Pope and, at more length, of individual scenes and sequences of scenes from Flaxman’s Iliad, illustrating, among other things, his adaptation of Pope, and his feminization of the Iliad.