Classic Starts The Iliad by Retold from the Homer original, Abridged by Kathleen Olmstea (2014) Hardcover

by Homer

Hardcover

About the author

Homer (Greek: Όμηρος born c. 8th century BC) was a 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.
Homer's Iliad centers on a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles during the last year of the Trojan War. The Odyssey chronicles the ten-year journey of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, back to his home after the fall of Troy. The poems are in Homeric Greek, also known as Epic Greek, a literary language which shows a mixture of features of the Ionic and Aeolic dialects from different centuries; the predominant influence is Eastern Ionic. Most researchers believe that the poems were originally transmitted orally. Despite being predominantly known for its tragic and serious themes, the Homeric poems also contain instances of comedy and laughter.
Homer's epic poems shaped aspects of ancient Greek culture and education, fostering ideals of heroism, glory, and honor. To Plato, Homer was simply the one who "has taught Greece" (τὴν Ἑλλάδα πεπαίδευκεν). In Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, Virgil refers to Homer as "Poet sovereign", king of all poets; in the preface to his translation of the Iliad, Alexander Pope acknowledges that Homer has always been considered the "greatest of poets". From antiquity to the present day, Homeric epics have inspired many famous works of literature, music, art, and film.
The question of by whom, when, where and under what circumstances the Iliad and Odyssey were composed continues to be debated. Scholars remain divided as to whether the two works are the product of a single author. It is thought that the poems were composed at some point around the late eighth or early seventh century BC. Many accounts of Homer's life circulated in classical antiquity; the most widespread account was that he was a blind bard from Ionia, a region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey. Modern scholars consider these accounts legendary.

French: Homère, Italian: Omero, Portuguese, Spanish: Homero.

Reviews

[Muaad (Jestora)]

This book was a nice story to read. Though it was cut short and very basic, it’s the second time I’ve read but this time I understood each character perfectly. It’s sparked my interest in Greek Literature.

[Alexandra Beckett]

I bought this for my (8yo) son and he stayed up late reading it into the night. I checked on him before bed and he looked up at me and said, “This book is so good!” The next morning I went to wake him up and I found him sitting up in bed reading this book.

We’ve already read The Odyssey by Mary Pope Osborne so he was familiar with many of the characters before picking it up.

We’re starting a study of ancient history, so I’m going to create a shelf of Kids Ancient History to keep track of books we’ve read for this period.

[Bill Stutzman]

Not a bad retelling, though this one is harder to adapt than The Odyssey, unable to capture the depth, beauty, or force of the original quite as well (and can you blame it?). Still, it serves to familiarize younger readers with the essential plot elements, separating it from the best known of the Troy stories among younger readers or popular culture, the Trojan Horse.

[Sarah Hodson]

Wasn’t sure if I wanted to devote my time to the original, so tried this version. Feel like I got a good gist of the story and characters. Both my kids and I have enjoyed all the classic starts that we have read!

[Becky]

Read aloud at bedtime... kids got bored with back and forth btwn sides in the war, gods interfering (though all of this is expected). Gave up when kid protested the trojan horse wasn't in the story ... second kid finished reading on his own.

[Angelica II]

good

[Luci Arbon]

A book about fighting, fighting, and more fighting.

[Cassie Durrance]

We enjoyed the audio version. A nice gentle intro to Greek Literature that was easy to understand.