Tuesday, May 13, 2008

THE ILIAD

The Iliad, Homer, Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd, 1938 translation by W D Rose, 297 pp


About all I can say is that I finally got through this classic. I read a chapter a day with a long break in the middle. The translation is in prose and some of the dialogue is a laugh, but it was more readable for me than poetry. Did Homer invent the simile? He sure is big on those.

Who knew (not me) that the Trojan Horse part of the story is not in the Iliad? Will Durant, in The Life of Greece, The Story of Civilization: Part II, just says that the Trojan Horse was covered by other writers. As stunningly boring as this story was to me, I must remark that I understood better than ever the interplay of the gods and men which is inherent in the world view of the ancients.

Achilles is no hero to me, despite his feats. Just a spoiled mama's boy with a goddess for a mother. I am going to now re-read Firebrand by Marion Zimmer Bradley, which is her version of the Trojan War from the female side. Then it will be on to The Odyssey and The Penelopliad by Margaret Atwood.

No comments:

Post a Comment