6. The Iliad, the Trojan War (Stephanides Brothers' Greek Mythology) by Menelaos Stephanides

by Menelaos Stephanides

Paperback

About the author

Menelaos Stephanides, the author of ‘Greek Mythology’, originally studied economics in Athens but his main preoccupation was writing.

For more than twenty-five years he concentrated, with great success, on the retelling of ancient Greek myths, tirelessly studying the source materials to achieve his literary version of the many stories. Working with his brother, the artist and illustrator Yannis Stephanides, he wrote and published the 18-volume series ‘Greek Mythology’ for children, which was translated into several languages and later reissued as a pocket book for older readers. He then turned his attention to more recent Greek tradition, studying hundreds of folk tales the most appealing of which he retold in the highly successful 10-volume series ‘Folk Tales from Greece’.

Menelaos Stephanides’ name is now familiar in many parts of the world, thanks to the translation of both his mythology and the folk tales into several foreign languages. In 1989 his book ‘Jason and the Argonauts’ was awarded two Pier Paolo Vergerio honourable distinctions by the University of Padua, while in 1998 his entire published work was recommended by the Hellenic Ministry of Education for inclusion in school libraries, having already long been recognised as a source of reference for publishers, the reading public and educationalists.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewing this is a difficult task for me. One of my favorite moves of all time is the 2004 film titled "Troy" which depicts a live action version of the majority of the Iliad. I'm enthralled by this story and love the associated characters and their tales. I will do my best to keep this bias away to review the writing of this story.

Things I liked:
-Loved reading the many different perspectives this book offers. From both the Trojans, the Achaeans, and the gods, there is no shortage of perspective offered in this story. The tale really doesn't separate the Trojans and Greeks as bad/good guys which was different and refreshing.
-Odysseus almost defining the archetype for brain vs brawn but still having incredible wits and battle experience. Overall, his character is done very well and demonstrates why Homer spent a great time detailing his journey home in the Odyseey.
-Achilles being the greatest warrior of all time and the moment he decides to step away from the war, it's essentially a loosing fight for the Greeks.
-Specific Greek gods being partial to either side of the war effort and performing various separate tasks to protect their interests (I.e Aeneas being protected by Poseidon, Priam being protected by Hermes, etc)
-The sense of respect the men give each other in this war. The moment Priam begs Achilles for the proper burial rights to Hector and Achilles decides to grant this wish was really symbolic. Additionally, when Achilles departs, the Trojans reciprocate and grant the Greeks the proper burial rights to the legendary hero.

-Specific parts of the story I really enjoyed:
-The Trojan horse and Odysseus's quest to make this happen
-Paris choosing between Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera
-Odysseus acting crazy to avoid getting drafted into the war


Things I didn't liked:
-It was difficult to memorize the plethora of characters present in this story. At some point, I had no idea who some of the main characters were. Realistically, I blame myself for this since I read this story over a 6 month time frame and definitely forgot some major characters.