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Penguin Classics Homer The Iliad by Homer
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First published August 13, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
July 11, 2025
tbh this is just a bunch of gay men fighting to protect their egos #patrochillesforever
February 25, 2024
distinctly mid. disappointing lack of wooden horses. honestly im surprised anyone ever wrote fiction again if this was the result. all subsequent works of fiction have been written out of pure spite. also i probably would have liked a poetic translation more so maybe that would be better.
my friend defended this by saying we stand on the shoulders of giants. i think homer was like 5’9” at best
my friend defended this by saying we stand on the shoulders of giants. i think homer was like 5’9” at best
September 28, 2025
fate vs free will still boggles my mind, what do you mean it was always going to end this way? free my shaylas achilles and patroclus from the shackles of fate :(
April 7, 2025
I can finally say that I’ve read the Iliad cover-to-cover. It only took me about a decade to actually do it (coincidently the same period of time it took the Achaeans to sack Troy’s heights), and this time with a months-long break in the reading.
Rieu’s translation is quite good and readable. I think I like Fagle’s translation best (I listened to the abridged version years back), but Rieu is an able translator of Homer’s martial epic. You get some sense of the rhythm of the original (though it is a prose translation), which is excellent.
The Iliad is, perhaps, the book (other than the Bible) that most inhabits my mind. Though much of this tale of Achilles’ wrath and the great battles between heroes and gods is quite foreign to us now (we would never dream of giving women as prizes for athletic contests nor sacrificing 12 Trojan youth to appease the departed soul of our best friend), much is not so foreign. Achilles’ anger over being slighted by Agamemnon is fed by the feeling of being unappreciated and punished for something entirely outside of one’s control. Priam’s visitation to Achilles’ tent to beg for Hector’s body conjures emotion in every reader - who now would not be moved by the sight of an old man kissing the hands of his son’s killer?
Despite the constant interludes of gods doing reckless and futile Greek-god-things, the Iliad is a deeply human epic.
Rieu’s translation is quite good and readable. I think I like Fagle’s translation best (I listened to the abridged version years back), but Rieu is an able translator of Homer’s martial epic. You get some sense of the rhythm of the original (though it is a prose translation), which is excellent.
The Iliad is, perhaps, the book (other than the Bible) that most inhabits my mind. Though much of this tale of Achilles’ wrath and the great battles between heroes and gods is quite foreign to us now (we would never dream of giving women as prizes for athletic contests nor sacrificing 12 Trojan youth to appease the departed soul of our best friend), much is not so foreign. Achilles’ anger over being slighted by Agamemnon is fed by the feeling of being unappreciated and punished for something entirely outside of one’s control. Priam’s visitation to Achilles’ tent to beg for Hector’s body conjures emotion in every reader - who now would not be moved by the sight of an old man kissing the hands of his son’s killer?
Despite the constant interludes of gods doing reckless and futile Greek-god-things, the Iliad is a deeply human epic.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 8, 2024
I struggled between four and five stars but, based solely on the translation, I went for a four. I found the use of more modern language (slut, naughty little boy, etc.) in place of language that could easily have been translated to fit the time period, a strange choice.
In terms of the book itself, the first 100-200 pages are very battle focused and soldier-centric. Homer talks a lot about people. He introduces a solider, tells their life story with detailed geographical origins - the lakes by their homeland, the names of their siblings, what the local people's opinions of them are - and then kills them off within the same paragraph. This was initially quite frustrating and felt like pointless context but after a while, I grew to like the world-building and how eloquently each solider was named and detailed before they fell. It felt almost like honouring their (mythical) lives.
The story of Achilles and Patroclus is stunning. Being able to read it from the original source and see all of the nuances and motivations behind each of Achilles' actions following Patrocolus's death was heartbreaking and beautiful. I finished the book with a thirst for more of this world that Homer pulls us into so expertly.
In terms of the book itself, the first 100-200 pages are very battle focused and soldier-centric. Homer talks a lot about people. He introduces a solider, tells their life story with detailed geographical origins - the lakes by their homeland, the names of their siblings, what the local people's opinions of them are - and then kills them off within the same paragraph. This was initially quite frustrating and felt like pointless context but after a while, I grew to like the world-building and how eloquently each solider was named and detailed before they fell. It felt almost like honouring their (mythical) lives.
The story of Achilles and Patroclus is stunning. Being able to read it from the original source and see all of the nuances and motivations behind each of Achilles' actions following Patrocolus's death was heartbreaking and beautiful. I finished the book with a thirst for more of this world that Homer pulls us into so expertly.
October 29, 2025
I originally got this book due to my love for Epic the Musical... I wanted to read this book and then read The Odyssey (since epic is based off The Odyssey the second book)
**slight spoiler?**
there was only fighting and a bunch of names you really don't need to remember because they will die right after being mentioned. I haven't read the Odyssey YET but I will assume you don't need to read this to get into The Odyssey
when I started reading this book the language was very confusing and hard to understand but after powering through i started to understand Homer's writing. The death scenes were unique everytime which made it not super boring to read. There's like 400 pages of this crap. I normally read fantasy and romance so ignore my boredom if this is your type of book, but I couldn't stand it, half way through I switched to listening to an audio book just to get through it. the only redeeming quality I would say is the humor I found when they insulted eachother, it was very intricate and rude but hilarious when character would insult or taunt eachother. if you are reading this as an epic fan SKIP (I will update when I read The Odyssey if its really important)
**slight spoiler?**
there was only fighting and a bunch of names you really don't need to remember because they will die right after being mentioned. I haven't read the Odyssey YET but I will assume you don't need to read this to get into The Odyssey
when I started reading this book the language was very confusing and hard to understand but after powering through i started to understand Homer's writing. The death scenes were unique everytime which made it not super boring to read. There's like 400 pages of this crap. I normally read fantasy and romance so ignore my boredom if this is your type of book, but I couldn't stand it, half way through I switched to listening to an audio book just to get through it. the only redeeming quality I would say is the humor I found when they insulted eachother, it was very intricate and rude but hilarious when character would insult or taunt eachother. if you are reading this as an epic fan SKIP (I will update when I read The Odyssey if its really important)
December 18, 2024
Fun to read but kinda had to glaze over the war deaths, it gets tedious
July 5, 2025
This was an unexpectedly difficult read, but not because of the translation. The translation is beautiful, poetic in its own right. Soo many descriptions of death-- each one unique, honored. That's quite a feat.
I read The Iliad without relying on the Internet for anything beyond context. Wanted to apply my own brain to this for a change.
What struck me first were the pastoral descriptions of war. Homer harvests words of war from fields of grain, from flies swarming at cream, from sheep huddled together, from all manner of livestock, trees, stones.
It serves the purpose-- the contrast between what men do in peacetime, versus what these men are actually doing at war.
Iliad could be renamed 50 Shades of Anger. Actually, the emphasis on anger threw me off at first. I clocked pride and honor immediately, (pretty freakin' obvious) but it wasn't until I felt like I was missing something, that I went looking for more masculine themes. This is a story of men, for men. Why did the characters seem same -y and what was I missing? In describing my problem to a coworker, I said Achilles was "angry" and that Agamemnon was "angry" and Hector was "angry" and then I realized it...
That's just not specific enough :
These characters exhibit rage, battle frenzy, outrage, frustration, defensive anger, passive aggressive anger, outright aggression, jealous rage, petty irritation, annoyance, upset, righteous anger, vengeance.
It's unbelievable how that alone unlocked the story for me. All I had to do was pay a little closer attention to their shifts in tone and the "flavor" of each guy's anger problems. Then suddenly all their motivations made more sense, and the cautionary intent of the story became more obvious to me...and questions. So many questions about whose anger was justified and why....
Tangent: The Iliad is such a masculine story that I did not expect the narrative to make me feel as bad for Helen as I did.
Another Tangent: I do believe I need to go back and read about the Greeks and their concept of love in order to fully understand Patroclus and Achilles. I get the feeling that "lovers" is too strong a word to describe then, but "comrades" is not nearly strong enough . I get the whole "they were roommates " phenomenon could also be in play here, but I think
I will research this further at some point.
Honestly, this insight into the emotions of the Greeks was really different and thought provoking overall. Reading this made me consider ALL of the rhetoric: who this was written for, how it was performed/recited and to whom , the purpose or served then versus the purpose it serves now.
This was a tough but thoroughly fascinating read.
I read The Iliad without relying on the Internet for anything beyond context. Wanted to apply my own brain to this for a change.
What struck me first were the pastoral descriptions of war. Homer harvests words of war from fields of grain, from flies swarming at cream, from sheep huddled together, from all manner of livestock, trees, stones.
It serves the purpose-- the contrast between what men do in peacetime, versus what these men are actually doing at war.
Iliad could be renamed 50 Shades of Anger. Actually, the emphasis on anger threw me off at first. I clocked pride and honor immediately, (pretty freakin' obvious) but it wasn't until I felt like I was missing something, that I went looking for more masculine themes. This is a story of men, for men. Why did the characters seem same -y and what was I missing? In describing my problem to a coworker, I said Achilles was "angry" and that Agamemnon was "angry" and Hector was "angry" and then I realized it...
That's just not specific enough :
These characters exhibit rage, battle frenzy, outrage, frustration, defensive anger, passive aggressive anger, outright aggression, jealous rage, petty irritation, annoyance, upset, righteous anger, vengeance.
It's unbelievable how that alone unlocked the story for me. All I had to do was pay a little closer attention to their shifts in tone and the "flavor" of each guy's anger problems. Then suddenly all their motivations made more sense, and the cautionary intent of the story became more obvious to me...and questions. So many questions about whose anger was justified and why....
Tangent: The Iliad is such a masculine story that I did not expect the narrative to make me feel as bad for Helen as I did.
Another Tangent: I do believe I need to go back and read about the Greeks and their concept of love in order to fully understand Patroclus and Achilles. I get the feeling that "lovers" is too strong a word to describe then, but "comrades" is not nearly strong enough . I get the whole "they were roommates " phenomenon could also be in play here, but I think
I will research this further at some point.
Honestly, this insight into the emotions of the Greeks was really different and thought provoking overall. Reading this made me consider ALL of the rhetoric: who this was written for, how it was performed/recited and to whom , the purpose or served then versus the purpose it serves now.
This was a tough but thoroughly fascinating read.
July 11, 2024
Schrijf, Godin, the review van Lander, (geen zoon van Peleus).
Hoewel er veel focus ligt op het vechten zelf - met soms uiterst gedetailleerde en langdradige stukken tekst waarin vermeld wordt hoe Achilles 8 Trojanen doodt -, is dit werk aan te raden voor iedereen die geïnteresseerd is in geschiedenis en mythologie.
Het hoofdpersonage, Achilles, komt in de eerste helft van het boek best weinig aan bod. Pas wanneer Patroclus vermoord wordt door Hector (ik denk niet dat ik hier erge spoilers vermeld), lijkt de plot van het ganse boek duidelijker te worden. Wat dan ontstaat, is een verhaal over wraak, rancune en woede van Achilles' kant.
Teleurstellend tekort aan houten paarden en Achillespezen wel. In de plaats daarvan: Zeus die geil is, Zeus die boos is, Athene die Grieken simpt, Grieken en Trojanen die Zeus simpen.
Persoonlijk vond ik de delen waarin de Goden onderling in dialoog gaan, en trachten de Trojaanse oorlog bij te sturen, de interessantste en leukste delen om te lezen. Als iemand die niet veel kent van Griekse mythologie, hielpen deze dialogen om de Goden te leren kennen en ook hun verhouding tegenover de stervelingen die participeren aan de Trojaanse oorlog beter te begrijpen.
Met al deze lovende woorden, waarom dan slechts een drie-sterren-recensie?
Zoals eerder vermeld, zitten er langdradige passages tussen waarin er veel gevochten wordt, waardoor het vaak als een pingpongspel aanvoelt waarin beschreven wordt hoeveel Grieken de Trojanen vermoorden of verwonden, en vice versa - telkens met naam en afkomst van de vermoordde/verwondde (die als held omschreven wordt).
Laat dit echter geen argument zijn om deze titaan in de (westerse) literatuurgeschiedenis te lezen. Om daarna, Zeusgewijs, de ballen van deze titaan af te snijden.
Hoewel er veel focus ligt op het vechten zelf - met soms uiterst gedetailleerde en langdradige stukken tekst waarin vermeld wordt hoe Achilles 8 Trojanen doodt -, is dit werk aan te raden voor iedereen die geïnteresseerd is in geschiedenis en mythologie.
Het hoofdpersonage, Achilles, komt in de eerste helft van het boek best weinig aan bod. Pas wanneer Patroclus vermoord wordt door Hector (ik denk niet dat ik hier erge spoilers vermeld), lijkt de plot van het ganse boek duidelijker te worden. Wat dan ontstaat, is een verhaal over wraak, rancune en woede van Achilles' kant.
Teleurstellend tekort aan houten paarden en Achillespezen wel. In de plaats daarvan: Zeus die geil is, Zeus die boos is, Athene die Grieken simpt, Grieken en Trojanen die Zeus simpen.
Persoonlijk vond ik de delen waarin de Goden onderling in dialoog gaan, en trachten de Trojaanse oorlog bij te sturen, de interessantste en leukste delen om te lezen. Als iemand die niet veel kent van Griekse mythologie, hielpen deze dialogen om de Goden te leren kennen en ook hun verhouding tegenover de stervelingen die participeren aan de Trojaanse oorlog beter te begrijpen.
Met al deze lovende woorden, waarom dan slechts een drie-sterren-recensie?
Zoals eerder vermeld, zitten er langdradige passages tussen waarin er veel gevochten wordt, waardoor het vaak als een pingpongspel aanvoelt waarin beschreven wordt hoeveel Grieken de Trojanen vermoorden of verwonden, en vice versa - telkens met naam en afkomst van de vermoordde/verwondde (die als held omschreven wordt).
Laat dit echter geen argument zijn om deze titaan in de (westerse) literatuurgeschiedenis te lezen. Om daarna, Zeusgewijs, de ballen van deze titaan af te snijden.
December 21, 2024
My first book on Greek mythology. The story seems a bit too simple to me. The backstories might be interesting however they are not mentioned in the book except the small summaries. Like the small stories about prophecies related to Achilles etc might have been nice.
This book had excellent description of the war scenes. One of the best that I have read. However, I find the story a bit strange in the sense that the gods have so much power that no matter what you are or what you do, you still have to end up with the result that Gods wished for.
I find the meddling by the gods a bit too much. But maybe that's how the Greek epics are. This epic makes me think that no matter what you do or what you are, you cannot change fate (or god's wish). This is something that I don't believe in. So that is a bit strange of a message for me.
Moreover at least in this edition, I am not able to choose a side. Both sides have good reasons to be the wining parties in the war.
I also liked how Achilles stood up to his senior Agemmenon and how devoted he was to his friend Patroclus.
Also I find it interesting that Hector really criticizes Paris for his actions which have led to the war. But at the same time, he recognises his duty and leads the Trojans in war. I still don't fully get, as to why Hector did not banish Paris from kingdom to avoid the war. For this a backstory could have helped
This book had excellent description of the war scenes. One of the best that I have read. However, I find the story a bit strange in the sense that the gods have so much power that no matter what you are or what you do, you still have to end up with the result that Gods wished for.
I find the meddling by the gods a bit too much. But maybe that's how the Greek epics are. This epic makes me think that no matter what you do or what you are, you cannot change fate (or god's wish). This is something that I don't believe in. So that is a bit strange of a message for me.
Moreover at least in this edition, I am not able to choose a side. Both sides have good reasons to be the wining parties in the war.
I also liked how Achilles stood up to his senior Agemmenon and how devoted he was to his friend Patroclus.
Also I find it interesting that Hector really criticizes Paris for his actions which have led to the war. But at the same time, he recognises his duty and leads the Trojans in war. I still don't fully get, as to why Hector did not banish Paris from kingdom to avoid the war. For this a backstory could have helped
July 5, 2025
The Iliad by Homer is a lifelong project in itself, at least for Greek literature lovers who wish to have a proper appreciation of the characters, plot and even of Greek history.
The penguin edition is student friendly for those who wish to start on their Iliad journey. I take it as a concise summary only. I have used the book as a reference material and is studying the real thing with research and online classes.
Homer has created my favorite hero of all time: Achilles. I went from Iliad to Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller in one breath. I even have a scrapbooking project going for 2 years now.
I have never studied Greek literature at school but was always fascinated with it. English literature is heavily influenced by the Greeks after all.
The Iliad is timeless and a must read by all literature lovers.
The penguin edition is student friendly for those who wish to start on their Iliad journey. I take it as a concise summary only. I have used the book as a reference material and is studying the real thing with research and online classes.
Homer has created my favorite hero of all time: Achilles. I went from Iliad to Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller in one breath. I even have a scrapbooking project going for 2 years now.
I have never studied Greek literature at school but was always fascinated with it. English literature is heavily influenced by the Greeks after all.
The Iliad is timeless and a must read by all literature lovers.
August 1, 2025
An achievement to finally finish this, though I skim read a lot of it. The parts with the gods and Achilles were interesting, and some of the insults were plain hilarious. But it really could have been a quarter of the length 😅 the majority of it is just repeated battle deaths and warriors pausing halfway through battle to give their whole genealogy - hilarious in a way, but far from gripping reading.
September 12, 2025
Names are even harder to follow than a Dostoevsky book. Definitely cool to read and to get a historical perspective on these real events, but the role of the Gods is somewhat infuriating as it leaves nothing up to chance and basically spoils the story by Zeus saying what he is going to make happen. Achilles' vengeance tour was pretty awesome. Odysseus was so cool, especially in the beginning, looking forward to reading the Odyssey.
January 14, 2025
A laborious read above my level of reading comprehension ability.
Grand and heavily detailed, the war deaths are numerous and constant so easy to glaze over. Second half really gets somewhat more engaging, but I still struggled with keeping track of who is who and what actually was occurring.
Worth a read once in your life.
Grand and heavily detailed, the war deaths are numerous and constant so easy to glaze over. Second half really gets somewhat more engaging, but I still struggled with keeping track of who is who and what actually was occurring.
Worth a read once in your life.
April 22, 2024
It was the first time I read the Iliad, I did not expect this book to be so wonderful! This is one of the best books about suffering and loss of war. I really enjoyed reading it.
December 12, 2024
Do not read the introduction where this audio book puts it, if you haven't read the Iliad before... if you do, you will feel as compelled as I did to go back to the beginning of the Iliad.
February 26, 2025
Un classique, seulement la traduction est datée, si je dois faire une relecture ce sera avec une traduction plus moderne, voir avec la traduction en vers.
April 7, 2025
Literally 'epic'. Five stars doesn't even come close
July 6, 2025
As hard as it was for Achilles to get into Illium, Finishing this book was harder.
December 3, 2025
Great tragedy- looking forward to tackling The Odyssey! Good translation too.
December 3, 2025
442 pages and still too short. what about achilles death? what about the rest of the war? lost to time my ass I WANT TO KNOW.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 15, 2025
4 stars 🌟
December 11, 2025
One of my favourite books. Filled with wisdom, insight & inspiration that set my heart on fire. I read the campaigns of Alexander and now I see exactly why Alexander was filled with so much valour, his hero was Achilles.
November 20, 2025
“We men are wretched things, and the gods, who have no cares themselves, have woven sorrow into the very pattern of our lives...Zeus the Thunderer has two jars standing on the floor of his palace, in which he keeps his gifts, the evils in one and the blessings in the other.”
I’d hate to sleep in the tent next to Achilles and Patroclus’s (you know what kinda stuff they were getting up to)
I’d hate to sleep in the tent next to Achilles and Patroclus’s (you know what kinda stuff they were getting up to)
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews