Modern Good Reads discussion

The brilliant work of Homer has been transcribed and published all across the world.

There is so much to both and interpreted differently by many.

Which aspect of either one, has you most intriqued and why?

I read a version of the Illiad a bit ago and now have a half-finished copy of The Odyssey. I like the Odyssey even though Odysseus is such a huge jerk. Athena is my favorite goddess and her starring role in the thing is a ton of fun to watch. So...I probably fall on the latter side, partly because Achilles annoys me so much.

Achilles was my main man! I steer more toward the Illiad because of all the different things going on. Paris, who is pulled between the three goddess, then steals another man's wife, then wimps out when it came to standing up for himself.

Then there is Hector. A hero amoung his people, beautiful, only to be trampled and humiliated by a pissed off Achilles.

King Agammenon, asshole! I wanted his ass stomped so bad!
So many heros fighting over a stupid cause, I loved it!

Ok I liked both but preferred the Odyssey. The Illiad was just too frustrating for me with all the things the heroes and antiheroes did to each other.

I know I'm being simplistic here by referring to the Illiad as thing being done but as tragic and action packed that Illiad was I preferred the Odyssey because it was just about one central purpose: Odysseus going home. I also preferred him to the other Greek heroes because his true prowess was with his mind and being more clever than anybody else.

He's still revered and emulated in Greek culture to this day.

Athanasios wrote: "Ok I liked both but preferred the Odyssey. The Illiad was just too frustrating for me with all the things the heroes and antiheroes did to each other.

I know I'm being simplistic here by referring..."

He was a brilliant one and I can understand why is he is still revered.

Athanasios wrote: "Ok I liked both but preferred the Odyssey. The Illiad was just too frustrating for me with all the things the heroes and antiheroes did to each other.

I know I'm being simplistic here by referring..."

Absolutely agree, I expressed similar opinion in an earlier post. Odyssey establishes the foundations of a hero's journey that all of us authors follow to some extent no matter the genre we write in or the story we tell it is always a journey that follows some of the paths established by the great Homer.

To me it's apples and oranges. 'Loved them both.

I loved The Iliad and enjoyed The Odyssey. Though someone pointed out to me, that there is conjecture Homer did not tell the story of Odysseus and the 'voice' belonged to another poet. I have yet to investigate this theory, though the differences in the narrative in the two stories make it plausible.

The Illyad, the Song of Illium(Troy) Homer ws a poet that spawned copycats of his art for years to come. He wrote the Illiad as a poem, it became in later years a ballad. The heroes he created were beholden to the gods of Olympus, so was Ulysses. The Odyssey is a fictional account of Ulysses attempt to reach home. Punished by the gods he was waylaid for ten years. The Odyssey was written by one of Homers disciples at least eighty years later, long after his death! Homer was not Greek, he came from Asia Minor, what you call today the region of Istanbul, then it was under Greek rule. As a poem with more lines than on could read in a day, it was turned into a ballad. At the Isthmus where the Greek flotilla landed you can see today the wooden horse, a monument that reminds us of Troy. A plaque retells us the "Song of Illium"

You guys have made very interesting points. Stuff I never heard about....thanks for letting us know.

William wrote: "Odyssey is better, since it is one of the best adventure stories. Though Iliad does have themes on human emotion and war."

Hi William, which adventure of Odysseus stood out to you the most?

Iliad for the scene when Priam begs Achilles for Hektor's body. Incredible.

Carl wrote: "Iliad for the scene when Priam begs Achilles for Hektor's body. Incredible."

That was an awesome scene, Carl. After that, I didn't feel Achilles as the hero too much.