J.C.’s review of The Iliad > Likes and Comments
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Ian, thank you for your lovely comment!
Your remark was interesting - that they could always enlist another god on their side. I think in The Iliad there are fairly definite lines laid out as to which of the gods they might approach - depending on who their father or mother was! Mating with mortals (and with a river!) seemed to happen a lot.
Of the big three books in the ancient world, this is my least favourite. However after reading your enjoyable review Jeanne, I may have to reread it. And maybe for the at ekphrasis of the shield….
David wrote: "Of the big three books in the ancient world, this is my least favourite. However after reading your enjoyable review Jeanne, I may have to reread it. And maybe for the at ekphrasis of the shield…."
David, as you know, I am new to ekphrasis - would you say a bit more on this, please? I would not have picked it up when I read The Iliad, as I have only just heard of it in The Aeneid, through you.
Daniel wrote: "Beautifully done, Jeanne."
Thank you, Daniel!
Fantastic review! I was not enthralled by this one, but maybe it should be in my pile for possible re-reads. I'm reading Ovid's Metamorphoses now and have just gotten to the section where he writes his own take on some characters in and around the Iliad.
Chris wrote: "Fantastic review! I was not enthralled by this one, but maybe it should be in my pile for possible re-reads. I'm reading Ovid's Metamorphoses now and have just gotten to the section where he writes..."
Ah, that would be fascinating, Chris. The Metamorphoses is/are on my TBR list. I'll keep an eye open for your review. Thanks for your kind comment.
You perfectly reached to arouse my curiosity, Jeanne, by your insight. After all, I think I don't need to understand every myth, or poetic device, to feel the heartbreak of a father begging for his son's body, or the tension of warriors facing death. And also the tension between fate and free will.
Thank you, Jeanne.
Théo d'Or wrote: "You perfectly reached to arouse my curiosity, Jeanne, by your insight. After all, I think I don't need to understand every myth, or poetic device, to feel the heartbreak of a father begging for his..."
Thank you, Théo, for your kind comment. You are quite right - there is so much in The Iliad that goes beyond a scholarly understanding - and I am no classicist! May I mention Alice Oswald's Memorial; An Excavation of The Iliad, where the dead warriors are raised in poetic elegy, with extended similes such as Homer gives. She conveys the atmosphere and tragedy but the gods are not present, just the men who fought.
Even when the gods are not present, there were plenty of people who thought they are gods ..
Théo d'Or wrote: "Even when the gods are not present, there were plenty of people who thought they are gods .."
Indeed, Théo!
J.C. wrote: "Théo d'Or wrote: "Even when the gods are not present, there were plenty of people who thought they are gods"
Hello there, just wanted to 'budge in' and let you know, how I've enjoyed the Iliad, from a modern perspective, with the translation of Kazantzakis, but I am also aiming to try and rework, it with another author/translator, as well, in the future
there are also various other books, on this subject matter, what caught my eye, was a book, about the lost books, of Odyssey, darn, I can't recall the name of the author now, but I will propose it to ya soon enough, after we've bcn close friends in here!
Hi, Dan, thanks for looking in. I had a hunt for a review you might have done on the Iliad. The Lost Books of the Odyssey? Your follow-up sounds interesting!
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Ian, thank you for your lovely comment! Your remark was interesting - that they could always enlist another god on their side. I think in The Iliad there are fairly definite lines laid out as to which of the gods they might approach - depending on who their father or mother was! Mating with mortals (and with a river!) seemed to happen a lot.
Of the big three books in the ancient world, this is my least favourite. However after reading your enjoyable review Jeanne, I may have to reread it. And maybe for the at ekphrasis of the shield….
David wrote: "Of the big three books in the ancient world, this is my least favourite. However after reading your enjoyable review Jeanne, I may have to reread it. And maybe for the at ekphrasis of the shield…."David, as you know, I am new to ekphrasis - would you say a bit more on this, please? I would not have picked it up when I read The Iliad, as I have only just heard of it in The Aeneid, through you.
Daniel wrote: "Beautifully done, Jeanne."Thank you, Daniel!
Fantastic review! I was not enthralled by this one, but maybe it should be in my pile for possible re-reads. I'm reading Ovid's Metamorphoses now and have just gotten to the section where he writes his own take on some characters in and around the Iliad.
Chris wrote: "Fantastic review! I was not enthralled by this one, but maybe it should be in my pile for possible re-reads. I'm reading Ovid's Metamorphoses now and have just gotten to the section where he writes..."Ah, that would be fascinating, Chris. The Metamorphoses is/are on my TBR list. I'll keep an eye open for your review. Thanks for your kind comment.
You perfectly reached to arouse my curiosity, Jeanne, by your insight. After all, I think I don't need to understand every myth, or poetic device, to feel the heartbreak of a father begging for his son's body, or the tension of warriors facing death. And also the tension between fate and free will. Thank you, Jeanne.
Théo d'Or wrote: "You perfectly reached to arouse my curiosity, Jeanne, by your insight. After all, I think I don't need to understand every myth, or poetic device, to feel the heartbreak of a father begging for his..."Thank you, Théo, for your kind comment. You are quite right - there is so much in The Iliad that goes beyond a scholarly understanding - and I am no classicist! May I mention Alice Oswald's Memorial; An Excavation of The Iliad, where the dead warriors are raised in poetic elegy, with extended similes such as Homer gives. She conveys the atmosphere and tragedy but the gods are not present, just the men who fought.
Even when the gods are not present, there were plenty of people who thought they are gods ..
Théo d'Or wrote: "Even when the gods are not present, there were plenty of people who thought they are gods .."Indeed, Théo!
J.C. wrote: "Théo d'Or wrote: "Even when the gods are not present, there were plenty of people who thought they are gods"Hello there, just wanted to 'budge in' and let you know, how I've enjoyed the Iliad, from a modern perspective, with the translation of Kazantzakis, but I am also aiming to try and rework, it with another author/translator, as well, in the future
there are also various other books, on this subject matter, what caught my eye, was a book, about the lost books, of Odyssey, darn, I can't recall the name of the author now, but I will propose it to ya soon enough, after we've bcn close friends in here!
Hi, Dan, thanks for looking in. I had a hunt for a review you might have done on the Iliad. The Lost Books of the Odyssey? Your follow-up sounds interesting!
I always felt that the polytheistic religions of the Greeks, Romans and other European peoples gave the human participants a fighting chance in a conflict with the gods, because you could always enlist another god on your side...