About this Book
I purchased both the ILIAD and Odyssey (boxed set), both books are believed to be written by Homer. These versions of the books were translations by Peter Green. The books are both high quality hard cover books about 9 1/2 inches high and 6 1/2 inches wide. The ILIAD has a long introduction of about 25 pages, before you get into the story which is 437 pages. There is a synopsis of each of the books (chapters), Glossary, Select Bibliography, and Index. The font is small but readable and the book and pages are all high quality. I bought the boxed set (ILIAD and Odyssey) for less than $44 US dollars at Amazon.
Summary
I became interested in reading this book while reading Walden where Henry David Thoreau referred to Homer and the Iliad. I figured if it was good enough for Thoreau, then I should give it a read.
I don’t want to get too deeply into the story as it might spoil it for you. The basic premise of the book is about a war between the Trojans and Greeks, more specifically the Trojan War, which is said to have been over a 10 year period. The story of the ILIAD itself covers only about 2 months of the war. Strangely enough the ILIAD is considered to be a poem or collection of poems.
The primary focus of the ILIAD is about the quarrel between Agamemnon the commander of the Achaian (Greek) forces and Achilles his most fearsome warrior. Achilles is deeply offended when Agamemnon takes away his war prize, a captive woman named Briseis. This causes Achilles to sit out much of the battle during the ILIAD, until the later part of the book. A second part of the plot is that Helen was abducted by the Trojan Paris and brought back to Troy. The Trojans live in the city of Ilion (Troy) and the Achaian’s have sailed to Troy to destroy the city and take back Helen.
There is a preponderance of interference by the Greek God’s Zeus, Apollo, Here (Zeus’s wife), Poseidon, Ares, and Athene just to name a few. The God’s even take sides and actively participate in the war sometimes saving some of the mortals they favor from death and at other times causing deaths. It is as if the whole war is for the God’s amusement, and even their allegiance to one side or another is often compromised. The God’s tend to view the Trojan War as some kind of chess game where they are the Chess Masters. While the God’s are immortal their conduct is juvenile, often unethical, and many times just cruel.
Homer explores the full gambit of human emotions from lust, love, greed, loss, grief, hatred, and resentment. Homer is very descriptive when discussing the battles and deaths of the participants. If the ILIAD was a movie it would at least be “R” rated, primarily for the violent content.
Recommendation
The ILIAD is one of just a few surviving classics of Greek literature. When I first picked up the book it seemed a bit daunting, but in the span of a couple of weeks I had read it from cover to cover, probably spending one or two hours a day reading it. I found it very difficult to put down as it is a fascinating story of human emotions, bravery, and the carnage of war. Should you choose to read the ILIAD be prepared to be exposed to an uncountable number of characters both mortal and immortal (God’s). There were times when I had to really think about what character was on which side, i.e. a Trojan or a Greek as Homer doesn’t always clarify.
Homer has a bit of fun intertwining how the God’s interfered with the outcome of this epic battle between the Trojans and Greeks. There petty desires were all to human as were the conflicts between the God’s. While the ILIAD is often classified as a poem, it reads like an epic story of this well immortalized war. If you have read any of my other book reviews you know I tend to concentrate on what it feels like to experience reading whatever book I am reviewing. The ILIAD will hold your attention from the very first page through the last as you uncover the story page by page.
There is little to criticize about the ILIAD, other than some lengthy descriptions in the beginning of Greek and Trojan forces involved in the conflict or possibly the explicit descriptions of how the combatants died. Overall I highly recommend The ILIAD, so much so as I just started reading the Odyssey. Note it is preferable if you read the ILIAD first and then follow it up with the Odyssey as the stories follow a historical chronology.
About the Author
Homer was an Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the most revered and influential authors in history.
Reference https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer
Peter Morris Green (22 December 1924 – 16 September 2024) was an English classical scholar and novelist noted for his works on the Greco-Persian Wars, Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age of ancient history, generally regarded as spanning the era from the death of Alexander in 323 BC up to either the date of the Battle of Actium or the death of Augustus in 14 AD.
Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Green_(historian)
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