Homer

by The Iliad

Excerpt from Homer

Seven rival towns contend for Homer dead, Through which the living Homer begged his bread.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Greek Mythology, School, Audiobook, Poetry

350 pages, Paperback

First published August 13, 2015

Reviews

[evie gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

tbh this is just a bunch of gay men fighting to protect their egos #patrochillesforever

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

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

[ciara · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 :(

[Laura Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Gourob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could have less than 200 page if Homer didn’t do backstories and the characters just fought instead of changing bombastic dialogues.

[Ben Wooding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite the effort, even as an audiobook. Hector and Achilles are iconic characters, but so much fluff around everybody’s very long names. Also two characters called Ajax, thats not confusing at all.

[Ben Holt]

My hot take is that The Iliad is the first Shonen Anime.

A) Every guy is introduced as the toughest guy ever
B) People have flashbacks mid combat and mid conversation
C) People spend more time announcing their lineage and skills than they do actually fighting
D) Several times people unironically tell each other to "summon their fighting spirit" which changes the course of battle
E) Achilles loses his armor but then gets a second stronger form
F) Theres a filler episode in the middle of the war where they all step away to have a tournament of power
G) Honor and fighting for your friends is held as the highest virtue

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk

[Debra Croft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful reading by Anton Lesser.

[Freya Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

to quote zootopia: “blood! blood! blood… and death!”

[Greville Seddon · Rating 4 out of 5]

To avoid doubt, I read the E V Rieu translation in the Penguin Classics edition updated by Peter Jones and D C H Rieu.
I knew a little about the Trojan war and had read some Virgil at school, but did know much about Homer’s Iliad.
First of all I was struck by Homer’s focus - a short period of time beginning with the disagreement between Achilles and Agamemnon and ending with Achilles’ “reconciliation” with Priam. We do not see the beginning of, the middle or the end of the Trojan war, but a snapshot of one episode that it turns out is not even decisive.
Secondly I noticed the repeated epithets. It took a little getting used to, but it helps capture the rhythm of an essentially oral narrative. The teller had to remember his characters just as much as the listener. This is not the approach of modern novels where the author may feel obliged to vary the description of his characters every time they appear to stop us from getting bored. However we are used to certain characters ticks - Hercule Poirot’s references to the “little grey cells” and Colombo’s “just one more thing”.
I to read quickly. I did not read any of the introductions beforehand or look up references or notes while reading. This kept the experience fresh. There are a huge number of characters, mortal and immortal, but I just let them wash over me. You soon get to recognise the “regulars”.
I took the immortals at face value. They are the original superheroes. They do their best to influence the outcome of events but are often acting against each other. They have their own flaws and foibles.
It makes you realise the central problem with monotheism: if god is good, why does he allow bad things to happen? In the polytheistic world events are influenced by the struggles between gods and the outcome can never be certain.
I raced through many of the descriptions of battle order and individual fights. Even Homer found there are a limited number of ways that people can be killed in man to man combat!
I marvelled at some of the turns of phrase used by Rieu in his translation. I have marked phrases on my Kindle app for checking in a parallel text using my school boy Greek and a good dictionary.
Having read a “classic” mid-20th century translation, I am particularly interested in others, particularly those by Robert Fagles (I gave that to my son) and Emily Wilson (recent verse translation). Having long been a fan of Robert Graves I would also like to read his version.
So, in the spirit of Mortimer Adler, what of it?
As the starting point of Western written literature the work is significant. It shows us that it must have been preceded by a sophisticated tradition of oral story telling. Human characteristics, behaviours and feelings have not changed much in that time. Storytellers and poets can illuminate this behaviour so that we can make ourselves better.

[Lander Demonie · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Night veil · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first encountered The Iliad years ago while helping my oldest son through high school, but revisiting it recently via audiobook gave me a completely different perspective. It is staggering to think that a conflict of this magnitude—ten years of war and the fall of a civilization—was sparked by the pursuit of one woman. Listening to the story allowed the scale of the battles and the weight of the tragedy to really sink in. A powerful, timeless read that feels different every time you return to it.

[Helena Moore · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh I loved this! I listened to the unabridged version in an audiobook format and honestly that made the experience so enjoyable. I feel like this is a book that needs to be listened to since that is how it was originally composed. I was so immersed in the tale and oh man the ending..talk about the original cliffhanger. I also loved how much the Gods were in it. They truly determined the fate of everyone instead of just being on the sidelines. So good... I can see why this survived through time.

[Emily Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the great Greek classics, revolving around the final days of The Trojan War. Achilles, Agamemnon, Odysseus, Diomedes, and many others fight for the Greeks, trying to retrieve Helen for Menelaus, after she was taken to Troy by Paris. Now, the Greeks intend to sack the town of Ilium, and destroy the Trojans and their allies. Priam's sons: Paris, Hector, and their many brothers, fight to defend their home, wives, and children. An epic tale that focuses on grief, honour, and family.

[Joshua Clifton · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Avery Babb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book would cover the whole war so I was a little shocked by the lack of conclusion. The only truly moving part of this book happened at the very end.. maybe it’s the translation. The fights scenes could be very vivid and entertaining. It was very repetitive, which is to be expected I guess.

[Oscar Hernandez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy history especially greek history/mythology. This is a very hard read and required tremendous focus. Bc I was having a hard time understanding i had to change from a physical book to audio. However i finished the story and it does not change how i feel and i still search for other reads on the subject! I love this story!

[Thomas Hobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Iliad is a fictional story even though the city of Troy was real. Homer is probably the idea of a person. There is no real proof Homer existed. Homer is like Santa Claus spread my word of mouth through many millenia.

[Cezy Erd · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Roxanne Homayoun · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Lucy S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literally 'epic'. Five stars doesn't even come close

[cog · Rating 3 out of 5]

As hard as it was for Achilles to get into Illium, Finishing this book was harder.

[Mike Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

23

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great tragedy- looking forward to tackling The Odyssey! Good translation too.

[lonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Harry MacDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars 🌟

[Claudia Gonzalez · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not the translation. Too dense and too outdated. It was a chore to read. The only thing I take of this is, I'm willing to find a better translation for me.

[Sapphire Weddell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic book about war and pride. Some very interesting and introspective writing I loved loved it. Greek mythology is freaky asf lol