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. 🙂