Reviews - Іліада | The StoryGraph

4.92k reviews for:

Іліада

Homer

3.8 AVERAGE

bigaaal's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

wpsreaders's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

The Iliad is an ancient Greek epic by one of the most well-known poets in history. The story is set in ancient Greece, where the Akhaian and Trojan armies are in a military conflict. The conflict begins when Helen, the wife of Meneláos, is abducted by the prince of Troy, Paris. This leads the Akhaian army, commanded by Meneláos’s brother Agamémnon, to launch a full-scale siege on the city of Troy. Both they and their Trojan opponents follow (and occasionally defy) the Greek gods, as they fight through the ten years of bloody battle.

I thought this was an interesting and insightful book. It gives good insight into Greek mythology, and shows the ancient Greek people's views on the world. By incorporating perspectives and ideas back from Homer’s time, The Iliad allows readers to connect with the Greek world. The poetic language and artistic writing by Robert Fitzgerald’s translation adds on to this, making the story more vibrant and engaging for the reader. Although I have never read Homer’s original ancient Greek version, Fitzgerald’s efforts to resemble it best are clear. For example, Fitzgerald’s explanation of how fiercely the Akhaians and the Trojans fought in battle gave me a vibrant image of the war, as if I was there at that time. However, sometimes the poetic writing and unnecessary details made it hard to understand what the heck was going on, like when all the characters are introduced with their entire family history. Anyone who enjoys reading Greek mythology would definitely love The Iliad, but even if you just like history in general, this book should appear interesting to you. It is also a wonderful work of poetry as well—I would suggest this book to most people who love reading books.

spaolic's review against another edition

5.0

Slay achilles ! (Literally)

kimbercble's review against another edition

5.0

a great war epic on nudity

moonmittens's review against another edition

4.0

Continuing my current obsession with Greek mythology, I decided to tackle The Iliad. I did not expect it to take me over a month to read.

As much as I love this story, there were many days that I could not bring myself to pick up this book to read. There were also many nights that I fell asleep with this book in hand. It was very hard to get through, but I’m glad I finished it. I have thoroughly enjoyed many of the modern retellings of The Iliad, with [b:The Song of Achilles|11250317|The Song of Achilles|Madeline Miller|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1331154660l/11250317._SX50_.jpg|16176791] being my favorite book of 2020. I really wanted to get the story from its source by reading the original.

The writing is really incredible, it’s so visual and descriptive that you can actually see the battles as if they are choreographed fights. It’s almost cinematic the way the gods descend from Olympus to assist their chosen champions.

I probably won’t read this book again, but I’m glad that I did and I’ll keep on reading every retelling that I can get my hands on!