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The poetic imagery was exquisite and I love the story.
Here’s my beef: The Iliad, Song of Achilles (book), and Troy (movie) are all SO different. Sure, [spoiler alert] Paris and Helen are doin’ the dirty and she gone, Agamemepoo is piiiisssed, huge war, Achilles (will never picture him as anyone but Brad Pitt... *daydream* ...aaand we’re back) is a badass and owns the battlefield, Hector (also fluent in badassery) kills Patroclus, big no-no, Achilles says, “you gone” and yadda, yadda.
Main issues:
- Gadar broken: In Song, Achilles and Patroclus were head-over-heels infatuated lovers who both had a tiny lapse of heterosexuality. In Troy, they were very much all hetero. In Iliad, they were spoken of as mainly hetero but basically bi.
Pansy Patroclus: In Troy, P was much younger and A’s cousin I believe. He was a good fighter just inexperienced. In Iliad, he was called “our best man” (amazing fighter) by Menelaus and “changed the tide of the war.” In Song, he was a total pansy and didn’t know which side was the business end of a spear.
Patroclus ded: Same in all 3: P wears A’s armor and Hector kills him. Differences: Troy: Achilles didn’t know P was fighting and Hector didn’t know who he killed, Song: Achilles knew he was going, Hector didn’t know, Iliad: both Achilles and Hector knew. What the??
Also, Troy makes it seem like Achilles shows up, is a one man army and war is over in a few days. It was over a decade.
Lastly, Homer, I love you (like a brother not like Ancient Greek love) but, pretty early on in the epic, Zeus foretells all the spoilers do the story to Hera (and to the reader). Oh well, I already knew the story.
And yes, Gabe, if you read this... too many damn names.
Still worth the read.
Here’s my beef: The Iliad, Song of Achilles (book), and Troy (movie) are all SO different. Sure, [spoiler alert] Paris and Helen are doin’ the dirty and she gone, Agamemepoo is piiiisssed, huge war, Achilles (will never picture him as anyone but Brad Pitt... *daydream* ...aaand we’re back) is a badass and owns the battlefield, Hector (also fluent in badassery) kills Patroclus, big no-no, Achilles says, “you gone” and yadda, yadda.
Main issues:
- Gadar broken: In Song, Achilles and Patroclus were head-over-heels infatuated lovers who both had a tiny lapse of heterosexuality. In Troy, they were very much all hetero. In Iliad, they were spoken of as mainly hetero but basically bi.
Pansy Patroclus: In Troy, P was much younger and A’s cousin I believe. He was a good fighter just inexperienced. In Iliad, he was called “our best man” (amazing fighter) by Menelaus and “changed the tide of the war.” In Song, he was a total pansy and didn’t know which side was the business end of a spear.
Patroclus ded: Same in all 3: P wears A’s armor and Hector kills him. Differences: Troy: Achilles didn’t know P was fighting and Hector didn’t know who he killed, Song: Achilles knew he was going, Hector didn’t know, Iliad: both Achilles and Hector knew. What the??
Also, Troy makes it seem like Achilles shows up, is a one man army and war is over in a few days. It was over a decade.
Lastly, Homer, I love you (like a brother not like Ancient Greek love) but, pretty early on in the epic, Zeus foretells all the spoilers do the story to Hera (and to the reader). Oh well, I already knew the story.
And yes, Gabe, if you read this... too many damn names.
Still worth the read.
I listened to the Audiobook of this, and I quite liked the narrator.
The Iliad itself was pretty good and interesting, but it did drag at times, and I got tired of all the names.
The Iliad itself was pretty good and interesting, but it did drag at times, and I got tired of all the names.
A good new translation. Hard to enjoy anything that is a list of names but it’s not a classic by accident.
Both these translations worked for me.
Robert Fagles's Translation
Those looking for a balance between readability and epic tone.
ISBN-13: 978-0140275360
Robert Fitzgerald's Translation
Those looking for a poetic experience with less emphasis on precise adherence to the Greek.
ISBN-13: 978-0385059411
Robert Fagles's Translation
Those looking for a balance between readability and epic tone.
ISBN-13: 978-0140275360
Robert Fitzgerald's Translation
Those looking for a poetic experience with less emphasis on precise adherence to the Greek.
ISBN-13: 978-0385059411
Fagles translation too wordy, didn't know what tf was going on
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
the writing can occasionally be hard to get through but it makes up for it with beautiful lines and it truly is an epic tale.
70/100. An iconic story. It's the tragedy of Hector and Achilles. I think parts of it could've been condensed. Achilles was the best character.