The Iliad - Homer

Me and my boyfriend found Folio editions of The Iliad and The Odyssey in a little bookshop in Cambridge a few years ago, and I finally overcame my intimidation and read the first. The Iliad, dating to the ninth century B.C., is an epic poem written by Homer and depicts the atrocity and bloodbath that was the Trojan war. ⠀

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The epic poem is divided into twenty-four books, much like chapters, and we are introduced to Agamemnon, Priam, Hector, Achilles and Patroclus, to name a few. The Ancient Greeks were pretty brutal - pretty much everyone slept with everyone to gain power, and brutal death was commonplace. The first few books were pretty tough-going in my opinion (oftentimes listing the battle lineup which wasn’t overly exciting), but I particularly liked the last eight or so (when Achilles and Hector are at loggerheads) which were more fast-paced.⠀

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Robert Fagles’ translation is very readable and I highly enjoyed the language he used, and found it both to the point and also descriptive. There are some really witty moments in this text whilst other parts can he extremely dull, so it definitely a mixed bag and not at all an easy read. I noticed the repeated use of the word ‘nipple’, which I found entertaining. ⠀

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Admittedly, I think I’m more excited to read The Odyssey, as I loved Madeline Miller’s Circe, which tells of Odysseus’ journey. The beauty of this Folio edition certainly helped when reading!