THE ILIAD BY HOMER AND ALBANIAN POET NAIM FRASHËRI

Abstract

The Albanian poet Naim Frasheri, showed his admiration and love for the history, culture, Greek literature and mythology even through translating one of the great Homeric epopee, "The Iliad". In 1896 he translates and publishes the first song of The Iliad by Homer, while in 1886 he tried to translate and publish it in Turkish. Translation of "The Iliad" by Homer was accompanied by an introduction and a postscript, in the form of a file printed in the printing house association of Bucharest. This is also confirmed by the Albanian scholar Dhimitër Shuteriqi who says, "Naim was passionate about Homer, whom he will imitate and adapt later into Albanian". A fact that stands also for one of his most important works "History of Skanderbeg" which, for its epic character is similar to the Homeric epopee, Iliad and Odyssey. The writer Naim Frasheri was among those Albanian poets who knew and valued deeply the Greek poet Homer, appreciated the high artistic values of his works, which due to the mythological character and the message they evoke, remain as the cornerstone of European and world literature. They became a source of inspiration and encouragement for the creativity of our poet. The linguistic, cultural and literary knowledge Naim had for the Greek antiquity, encouraged him to try himself in translation. With the translation of "The Iliad" by Homer he wanted to show to Albanians the heroism, bravery and sacrifices of the Greek people through the centuries, with the sole aim to strengthen his people’s conscience to fight for their freedom and independence. In this article we will see the importance of translation in the establishment of intercommunication bridges with different cultures and literatures, by conveying us at any time messages with universal values.

Keywords: Iliad, Homer, greek literature, translation, Naim.