Iliad in Modern Greek - Tranlated by Kazantzakis and Kakridis

The famous translation of the Iliad by Lazatzakis and Kakridis,  produced between 1942 and 1943 while Greece was occupied by Germany. 

The period of the occupation was among the hardest times for Greece, especially for the population of Athens: more than 200,000 Athenians died from famine and malnutrition during the winters of 1942 and 1943.  In an environment of physical and mental abuse, a project centered on translating Homer was a refuge and a consolation, a way to keep the mind of an intellectual productive and occupied.  The translator's choice to focus on Homer rather than any other ancient author signifies a recourse to Homer and, more generally, to epic poetry in a time of crisis.  Kazantzakis and Kakridis desired to communicate through their translation of the ancient epic a part of their own contemporary epic, the Greece's struggle for liberation in WW II. At the same time, the translation project of the Iliad became for Kazantzakis and Kakridis, as it had also served for Pallis, the means to publicize the translators' opinions on the Greek language and its proper use.  Because both Kakridis and especially Kazantzakis were among the most fervent opponents of uncompromising demotiki, both expressed extreme views and caused strong reactions.

In Greek. Paperback