Take a photo of a barcode or cover
brew_strong 's review for:
The Iliad
by Homer
Let bygones be bygones. Whats done is done.
A good read. Lots of great imagery used, though getting used to the poems takes a while. Plot wise Achilles is an angry jerk, and Hector is a decent person.
It starts will into the Trojan War, at its 9th year. It includes a lot of the mythos surrounding the Greek gods some of which is the pantheon is one really dysfunctional family. All of the gods are scared of Zeus but try to sneak things around him. Most of the Greek gods exemplify certain attributes and then act like teenagers about most other things. The war can be pictured as a chess game by Zeus with only him in the know of why it will turn up the way he makes it. While the Trojans are treated a little badly by Homer, Hector is portrayed as a much nobler and outstanding person than all the Achaeans. He cares for his wife and his young child. Achilles, well, Achilles rages and that pretty much sums him up.
It does get repetitive but considering that it was originally sung by memory, this makes a lot of sense. Though the one thing I found really irritating was the small little histories given about every person killed. Some of them are characters you only hear of because they get offed. However I do understand the importance of the male line to ancient Greek culture so the inclusion of this is understandable.
The translation was easy to read, and the edition of the book has nice thick, sturdy paper. This one came in a box set so hunt around a bit and you can get it and the Odyssey for a little more than $20.
A good read. Lots of great imagery used, though getting used to the poems takes a while. Plot wise Achilles is an angry jerk, and Hector is a decent person.
It starts will into the Trojan War, at its 9th year. It includes a lot of the mythos surrounding the Greek gods some of which is the pantheon is one really dysfunctional family. All of the gods are scared of Zeus but try to sneak things around him. Most of the Greek gods exemplify certain attributes and then act like teenagers about most other things. The war can be pictured as a chess game by Zeus with only him in the know of why it will turn up the way he makes it. While the Trojans are treated a little badly by Homer, Hector is portrayed as a much nobler and outstanding person than all the Achaeans. He cares for his wife and his young child. Achilles, well, Achilles rages and that pretty much sums him up.
It does get repetitive but considering that it was originally sung by memory, this makes a lot of sense. Though the one thing I found really irritating was the small little histories given about every person killed. Some of them are characters you only hear of because they get offed. However I do understand the importance of the male line to ancient Greek culture so the inclusion of this is understandable.
The translation was easy to read, and the edition of the book has nice thick, sturdy paper. This one came in a box set so hunt around a bit and you can get it and the Odyssey for a little more than $20.