Read The Iliad!

Achilles battling the river, by Max Slevogt. {PD}

“Sing to me, Muse, of the wrath of Achilles…”

– Homer, The Iliad

I was blown away by how good The Iliad is. I’ve read classics before and wondered why they were considered classics, but I have no doubt as to why The Iliad managed to survive for thousands of years. And I’ve never been a major fan of stories full of random violence, or depressing war stories. But somehow the characters of The Iliad leap off the page at you and say something about humanity in general, despite living in a culture that is completely foreign to us.

Yes, I was told to read it for school. But I’m glad I actually did read it, instead of just pretending I did. 🙂


Comments

3 responses to “Read The Iliad!”

  1. […] And if someone randomly references the Battle of Thermopylae, Oedipus clawing out his eyes, or the wrath of Achilles – do you even know what they’re referring to? I know five years ago, I wouldn’t have, […]

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  2. […] check out my previous posts on The Iliad and Mansfield Park, if you’d like to know why I’d be enough of a fan of these works to […]

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  3. […] are my recommendations—your mileage may vary! After all, I thought Lord of the Rings and The Iliad were surprisingly easy to get into, and I know many people who didn’t. And I just struggle with […]

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