The Iliad (vuoden 1998 painos)

Well, I am happy to say that I have finally read the Iliad. This was my first Greek poem and I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story flows well and it kept me on edge all the whole way through.

I wasn't familiar with the Trojan War and how it came to be. Imagine my surprise when I read it was all due to a squabble over a woman named Helen. The war rages on in the span of 10 years! A LOT of dudes die over this. Helen must've been one hell of a lady.

The scenes where the soldiers engage in combat were graphic. The Greeks certainly loved their violence! Homer doesn't hold back his descriptions of the battles; head getting lopped off, men trying to hold in their innards from spilling and spears being inserted violently into necks.

I found the monologues that two soldiers would have in the midst of battle before they killed one another hilarious. Imagine two guys with swords in hand engaging in conversation in the midst of bloody chaos. The Greeks were very much about honor and were proud to boast about where they came from and who their father was. This they would shout to the other man before fighting to the death. Removing the armor of the loser was also a popular tradition. I found this fascinating.

Oh, and the Gods? Zeus? Apollo? Poseidon? All of them squabble like children. They cry and beg and want to only interfere in the war, choosing sides and helping a soldier from Troy or helping one out from the Greeks. They would sit back from the comfort of Olympus and watch the battle wage on. It was as if they were playing a game of chess only with human lives hanging in the balance.

I was told to read The Iliad before jumping into The Odyssey and I'm glad I did.

Overall I enjoyed the story and I'm happy I leapt into the world of Greek poetry! ( )

Favorite quote: (this is not an actual quote from the Iliad but from The Triumph Of Achilles by Louise Gluck and I like it a lot)

"In his tent, Achilles grieved with his whole being, and the gods saw he was a man already dead, a victim of the part that loved, the part that was mortal."

It is really hard for me rate my reading experience of The Iliad: there were exciting parts I absolutely loved and would give billions of stars, like Andromache's speeches in book VI and book XVI (actually both left me in tears... I have a lot of feels for Andromache and Hector okay?), Ajax/Hector duel, Achilles after Patroclus' death, Achilles/Hector death match, Priam asking Achilles for the body... however I was bored out of my mind during numerous parts of the book and I realized only later that I could just as easily skip those passages (I'm looking at you Catalog of Ships), the depiction of those scenes were just sleep-inducing. Oh also, it is very important to have an extended knowledge of the Greek/Roman mythology heroes and creatures and gods and goddesses and kings and princes, or else you'll be completely lost.

It could not be described as bad though; Homer is world-class literature, not going to argue with that, the Iliad is entertaining, sexy, funny with multi-dimensional backstabbing nasty and mean characters I loved to hate and fantastic gory fight scenes; for someone who's planning to read the Iliad for the first time, I think it'd be easier for you to take all your sweet time to do it; as far as I can tell, the ancient world used to recite the poetry in bits and pieces as entertainment in fancy parties so it is clearly not meant to be read in one-sitting and only once in your lifetime.

I wish I could take a class to study Homeric works and Latin translations to grasp the whole essence of such an epic tragedy...

Next: THE ODYSSEUS!

Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy (Ilium) by a coalition of Mycenean Greek states (Achaeans), it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles.

Although the story covers only a few weeks in the final year of the war, the Iliad mentions or alludes to many of the Greek legends about the siege; the earlier events, such as the gathering of warriors for the siege, the cause of the war, and related concerns tend to appear near the beginning. Then the epic narrative takes up events prophesied for the future, such as Achilles' imminent death and the fall of Troy, although the narrative ends before these events take place. However, as these events are prefigured and alluded to more and more vividly, when it reaches an end the poem has told a more or less complete tale of the Trojan War. ( )

NA

If I were rating this on its historical significance and undeniable influence on the structure of modern narrative, I’d have been more generous in my rating. However, I’m rating this on aspects of its readability as a work of fiction first, poetry second.

Translation was great. The sheer number of classical names and lineages is a bit daunting in the first few books (chapters). The overall story is a bit...primitive, though I think this is to be expected with all things considered. Similar to novels compiled from a series of short stories, the books of The Illiad are similar in that assemblage and, perhaps due to the posterity of the work, makes for a few jarring transitions (eg. Book 22 -> 23).

From a poetic perspective, all I can really say (in this translation at least) is that the line is relatively transparent throughout the reading. At least a couple times per-book there’s a few verses that come off a little ditty, but (from what I can remember) the words are chosen well. A few verses were quite illustrious and could stand alone (indeed, a few of them I jotted down), particularly during the thick of the siege (books 8 -> 17).

If you’ve been meaning to read this but find you’re always hesitant pick it up next, I’ll tell you the read may not be worth it. ( )