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qiaorui's review against another edition
4.0
Five lessons from Homer:
Lesson 1: Aways remember to steal the weapons and armour of the people you kill and store them safely in your hut before returning to the frontline. The Trojan war has its very own war crimes wall of fame: killing prisoners, taking slaves, goring people through the head and pinning them to the wall, dragging bodies through dust. But looting is the most important pastime.
Lesson 2: Don't mess with Achilles. He is vengeful to the extent that not only will you have to pay for your wrongdoing, you also need to transform into truly understanding that you were wrong, and be prepared to give Achilles everything that you have.
Lesson 3: Never kill someone whose background story you are not familiar with. You might unwittingly be fighting a God. As Achilles is approached by Asteropaios he first wants his opponent to tell him who he is. Offended by Achilles' ignorance, the son of Pelegon gives him his family tree consisting of a river and someone who he 'thinks' is his father. Somehow this is reassuring enough for Achilles who then proceeds to kill him with good conscience.
Lesson 4: All will work out exactly as Zeus wants it too, or will it? The fate gods Moirai will have faith written out for you. I guess Zeus fills in the blanks and makes a story out of it. Other gods can play in the margins, and splash with water to delay Achilles or make Paris fly, but can't stray too far.
Lesson 5: Really, when your father is asked by Agamemnon to send his sons as recruits or else pay, make him pay. It's not worth it.
The war is almost over, and all who remain can soon finally go home. But poor Odysseus and Aeneas, whose adventures and hardship have only just begun.
Lesson 1: Aways remember to steal the weapons and armour of the people you kill and store them safely in your hut before returning to the frontline. The Trojan war has its very own war crimes wall of fame: killing prisoners, taking slaves, goring people through the head and pinning them to the wall, dragging bodies through dust. But looting is the most important pastime.
Lesson 2: Don't mess with Achilles. He is vengeful to the extent that not only will you have to pay for your wrongdoing, you also need to transform into truly understanding that you were wrong, and be prepared to give Achilles everything that you have.
Lesson 3: Never kill someone whose background story you are not familiar with. You might unwittingly be fighting a God. As Achilles is approached by Asteropaios he first wants his opponent to tell him who he is. Offended by Achilles' ignorance, the son of Pelegon gives him his family tree consisting of a river and someone who he 'thinks' is his father. Somehow this is reassuring enough for Achilles who then proceeds to kill him with good conscience.
Lesson 4: All will work out exactly as Zeus wants it too, or will it? The fate gods Moirai will have faith written out for you. I guess Zeus fills in the blanks and makes a story out of it. Other gods can play in the margins, and splash with water to delay Achilles or make Paris fly, but can't stray too far.
Lesson 5: Really, when your father is asked by Agamemnon to send his sons as recruits or else pay, make him pay. It's not worth it.
The war is almost over, and all who remain can soon finally go home. But poor Odysseus and Aeneas, whose adventures and hardship have only just begun.
terryma90's review against another edition
3.0
It wasn't that good since I had to read for school. If I didn't have it as an assignment I would probably like it much, much, much better.
klain's review against another edition
I am really trying to read some of the classics that one should have read in their life as a literature student, but I sometimes simply can't
There is to much going on and I can not follow it
There is to much going on and I can not follow it
sonyerin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
georgialilyw's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Incredibly surprised as to how much I loved this book and how easy it was to read. I love how Wilson created this how it was intended in the first place - an exciting, compelling story not meant to alienate any reader. I haven't been able to stop myself sharing things I learned in Emily Wilson's introduction as it was all so fascinating - the Greeks lost literacy for 300 years? I have so many questions that weren't addressed in the book and wish I had a classicist on speed dial who might be able to answer them for me. Where is the horse? How does Achilles die? Why, if they have been fighting for 9 years, are they still surprised when they are fighting? 0.25 lost for the lists, didn't mind the repetition but all the names definitely deserve a reread.
justjeanettelee's review against another edition
4.0
So I was actually listening to this book, rather than reading it. I was listening to my favourite podcaster, Liv from Let’s Talk About Myths Baby, as she gave me a new book of the Iliad every Friday, since she went into quarantine. Let me tell you this: Liv Albert has one of the most fucking soothing voices I have ever heard. She makes it so bloody dreamy and honestly, helps me get to sleep like that *clicks fingers*. Although she was reading from the Samuel Butler translation, as it is available in the public domain, and was prose heavy, it was still an absolute pleasure to revisit this book that I kinda/kinda didn’t read properly when I wrote my thesis on Helen and the Trojan women (I was mostly just looking at the presence of females at this point).
The Iliad gets 4 stars from me because while it’s a bad ass story featuring some of my favourite heroes and myths of all time, I still feel like “Homer” is a complete asshat for not including more on the female perspective. Yeah yeah yeah don’t at me, I realise this is an epic poem about male heroics but come on! A woman supposedly started this war, why couldn’t she have a say in the matter? (Which is exactly why I did a paper on the Trojan women - duh!)
The Iliad gets 4 stars from me because while it’s a bad ass story featuring some of my favourite heroes and myths of all time, I still feel like “Homer” is a complete asshat for not including more on the female perspective. Yeah yeah yeah don’t at me, I realise this is an epic poem about male heroics but come on! A woman supposedly started this war, why couldn’t she have a say in the matter? (Which is exactly why I did a paper on the Trojan women - duh!)
jscar82's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“The Fates give humans an enduring heart.”
10/10 - I loved this poem and translation! Achilles, I want to yell at him and also give him a hug. His love for Patroclus is moving.
10/10 - I loved this poem and translation! Achilles, I want to yell at him and also give him a hug. His love for Patroclus is moving.
acrickettofillthesilence's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0