Homer's Iliad went untranslated into Arabic or Ottoman Turkish for centuries. Then, between 1886 and 1904, three Ottoman subjects translated it four times into three languages. Naim Frashëri rendered Book I into Ottoman Turkish prose (Istanbul, 1886) and later into Albanian octosyllabic verse (Bucharest, 1896). Selanikli Hilmi produced a free prose rewriting in Ottoman Turkish (Istanbul, 1898–99). Suleyman al-Bustānī translated all twenty-four books into rhymed Arabic verse, with an extensive introduction and commentary (Cairo, 1904).

In this talk, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Hakkı Suçin reads these four translations side by side for the first time. He looks at how each handles form, proper names, epithets and the legitimation of a pagan epic. The differences, he argues, reflect less the translators' knowledge than what each target culture expected of Homer. In Ottoman Turkish, Homer was a sign of joining the European canon. In Albanian, he was a tool for building a nation and its language. In Arabic, he was a test of the classical language's power in the age of the Nahda.

Scientific Panel "Ditët e Naimit – 30 Years in World Poetry"
30th International Poetry Festival "Days of Naim", Tetova, North Macedonia
Friday, 16 October 2026 · 10:30