Often material which is studied about the ancient civilizations is in a language which students cannot understand. To overcome this problem people translate the written material into a language which is commonly used, such as English. The study of The Iliad by Homer shows that different translations can create different opinions about the writer, the people in the time period and the events which took place.

The style of writing shows the intelligence and writing capabilities of the author. The translation of a novel can change the content of the work to make is seem more or less intelligent. In The Iliad translated by Samuel Butler one can see that the level of English is different from the translated version by Wordsworth Classics. For instance, "Look, Menelaus, and if Antilochus, son of Nestor, be still living, send him at once to tell Achilles that by far the dearest...