Changing blogging domain and site

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Dear blogger friends, Lately, I had a few problems with the Blogger web site for my blog The Content Reader . I took this as a sign that I should finally create a web site of my own. I have been checking out other options, but could not get my act together. Finally, I have managed to create a basic web site with Wix, which I hope will be developed over time.  It has not been easy to find my way around. One thing one can say about Blogger is that it is easy to work with.  This site will no longer be updated Follow me to my new domain @  thecontentreader.com Hope to see you there.  Lisbeth @ The Content Reader

The Iliad by Homer


If there ever was a classical book, I guess this is it. Attributed to Homer and considered to have been written around the 8th century BC. It took me quite some time to read it. There are a lot of descriptions of people, who they are, the son of ... from ..., and fighting scenes which I don't always find very thrilling. However, it is a great story and the writing is fine even with our modern minds. I think most of you are familiar with the theme of the Trojan war, and the story, so will not go into this here. 

In my Penguin Classics edition there is a summary of each book which helps a lot. Throughout the book I noted a few interesting quotes.

Book 9: "My mother, the silver-footed goddess Thetis, says that I have two fates that could carry me to the end of death. If I stay here and fight on round the Trojans' city, then gone is my homecoming, but my glory will never die: and if I come back to my dear native land, then gone is my great glory, but my life will stretch long and the end of death will not overtake me quickly."

Book 13: "But he did soon find godlike Alexandros, husband of lovely-haired Helen, out on the left of the ruinous fighting, urgin on his men and spurring them to battle. Hektor came close and spoke to him with insulting words: 'Paris you pest, good for nothing but looks, you woman-crazed seducer, where are Deiphobos and the mighty lord Helenos, and Asios' son Adamas, and Asios son of Hyrtakos? What have you done with them? And where is Othryoneus? Now the whole of high Ilios is utterly ruined - now your own sheer destructions is assured.'"

Book 16 (Summary): Patroklos, who had seen the crisis from the hut where he was comforting Eurypylos, now comes running to Achilleus and appeals to him with a cumulation of all the emotion that suggested, at least to allow Patroklos to lead the Myrmidons into battle, dressed in Achilleus' own armour. This is the hinge of the Iliad, turning events into a straight and tragic sequence which redirects Achilleus' anger and ensures the fall of Troy."

Book 16: "But you, Achilleus, are impossible to deal with. May I never be taken by an anger like yours, this anger you are feeding! Your pride is ruinous - what good will you do for any other man in time to come, if you do not save the Argives from shameful destruction? Cruel man!"

 The Iliad is a fascinating story, more so with the involvement of the gods. They keep different favourites in the fight, and far too often interfere to make things worse. Zeus is trying to keep them tight, but it does not always help. I love the coming and going to and from Mount Olympus, like when Thetis goes there to ask Hephaistos to make an armour for Achilleus; "She went darting down from the peaks of Olympos...". It gives a feeling of lightness, to be able to move from the dwelling of the gods, down to the people on earth, like a bird almost. 

I am happy I did read this epos. I find The Odyssey much easier to read and grasp. It also contains many different adventures that Odysseus encounter on his long journey back to his wife and son. Nevertheless, The Iliad, is a marvellous story. I imagine that if you are a historian you can find a lot of information on people, families and places during the Antiquity in this story. 


Comments

  1. I like The Odyssey more as well but The Iliad is still a great one too!

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    1. It is indeed. You can imagine how it was told orally in the old days. It must have been fantastic to listen to.

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  2. I am embarrassed to admit that I've read neither the "Iliad" or "The Odyssey." So, kudos for that -- and you may have motivated me. I'm not sure -- but far more interested than before!

    Thanks for coming over to Marmelade Gypsy -- I love your comments and it's good to see you there. The "Anne Frank" book is not without controversy -- it has been pulled from the shelves in Denmark, I believe. But I have to say, the research for the person they decided on (and the research into the other "suspects" seems more exhaustive than anything else I've seen done. Happy week to you.

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    1. No need to be embarrassed. Both books are quite special and I guess you have to have an interest in ancient history to enjoy them fully. However, if you feel like reading one of them, I would go for The Odyssey.

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  3. I attended a writers festival event a number of years ago, where someone retold some of these stories as they were originally designed to be shared - aloud. With no book in front of him, he showed how these stories are built (repetition, rhymes, word cues etc) to make it easy for an oral storyteller. It was a truly magical morning.

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    1. That sounds absolutely fantastic. I wish I could listen to it in this way. I can imagine that it is a total different experience from reading it. I sometimes thought that some of the text would be better and more interesting were it read, or told, aloud.

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  4. I read The Iliad and the Odyssey when I was in college, and, fortunately for me, I had a professor who loved these stories so much that her enthusiasm for them was contagious.

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    1. I think it is so important how you are introduced to them. I am so happy for you to have had this experience. I think it stays with you all your life. They are definitely worth it. The other day I found an interesting book in a second hand shop. It is called Homerisk hemkomst (Homeric Homecoming) and it has two essays on the Iliad and the Odyssey by Sven Delblanc. He is a famous author/literature critic in Sweden. I am looking forward to read his take on these two classics.

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