The Iliad & Odyssey of Homer

by Homer

The Oxfort Children's Classics retold for Children by Barbara Leonie Picard.

Genres: History, Poetry, Classics

1 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1986

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

[Wayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

BEWARE OF GREEKS BEARING GIFTS !!!!!!

ALAS!!!...I DIDN'T BEWARE...
rather I gorged on the food, music,scenic photos,Zorba,both film and novel!!!

...thus one day found myself cast upon barren shores and a polluted city.
I scanned that rocky, barren, treeless landscape from ship and bus and car and tried to penetrate...
what??...the Greek mind ?,the Ancient Greek mind?,the origins of their Gods? their myths?
I had no idea where to start!!
Athens was a loss.
What was I doing here??...teaching English was only an excuse!!
Where was the Inspiration of the Ancient Greek World,its myths, the music, whatever, that had silently seduced me?


I can't recall if I THEN recalled the Two Volumes of Barbara Leonie Picard's that a classmate had shown me at 15 years of age in our classroom... The Iliad and The Odyssey.
I can recall THAT!!!
THAT's where it started!
That first meeting...with the Greeks!!
I fell in love with the books' illustrations IMMEDIATELY...modelled on those found on ancient Greek pottery.
And then I read them, those books!!!
One day I would see the film "Helen of Troy" and be stunned again.
Then the film "Zorba The Greek" added another layer..and who WASN'T seduced by THAT????
Finally,one day I would be living in a run-down pensione in Athens, at the end of Eolou Street where it melted into the Ancient World...and next door was a shop selling re-creations of urns, vases, plates,cups of that Ancient World, where I would go and glory in and drown myself in that strange and amazing World.
Did I ever recall Barbara's books?
I can't recall.I think not.
But I can recall that we could see the Magnificent Fading Glory of the Parthenon seated like a crouching weathered Old Lion on the Acropolis...from our toilet window in our pensione home.
Was that the Greeks' final joke ..or lesson?
BOTH joke AND lesson...the Greeks did nothing by halves!!!

Happily Barbara's books contain nothing of the Homeric detail of the vivid and ghastly ferocity of a Greek v Trojan battles.
(I read a Homeric one recently and felt sick.)
Yes, it was a gentle seduction, followed up by High School Latin classes of Virgil's Aeneid and the cruel slaughter and destruction of Troy. It then became truly Classical.
And it was here I first encountered, was tantalised by and forced myself, wonder of wonders, to learn off by heart these words:

"Quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona ferentes."
Virgil,"Aeneid" Bk.II Verse 48.

Whatsoever it is, I fear the Greeks and(especially) bearing gifts.


The Point of this review being:

Barbara's books are a good place to start to be seduced perhaps,
but don't say I didn't warn you !!!!

[Julie MacKay · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. The stories were interesting, although The Odyssey was more interesting and enjoyable than The Iliad. This is a version of the stories that is written for younger readers, but as an adult reading it, I felt like it was a good, easy read. I haven't read another version of them, so don't know how it compares with regard to understandability, but I would say that it has been well done in this version and was easy to understand. In some cases, there could have been clearer ways to phrase sentences, so there is room for improvement, but on the whole, it is a good version to read if you want to know these classic stories.

[Fletcher Dodge · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can see after reading this why The Odyssey is more popular than The Illiad. Still good to have the Classics in the can.

[Alan Laidlaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books are so accessble, you can read Homer like a novel, gripping tales

[Danieltituscom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic story. Wonderful retelling. I'm so glad I finally read this!

[Fred Klein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Homer's account of the Trojan War between Greece and Troy. Many of the ancient heroes are described.

[Hirosasazaki Sasazaki · Rating 5 out of 5]

It seems tough to read and understand the original The Odyssey. And I chose to read this edition. In conclusion, it was nice choice.

[Kaylon Tuttle · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was at a library book sale. It was a really easy translation and I like it. Now I look fancy with the Iliad on my shelf. The aesthetic joys of books.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was a good book but I wish iliad have a good ending

[Devlin Tay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this when I was twelve. Loved Greek mythology and The Iliad (and I've read several versions) since. Wonderful illustrations too.