The ground is dark with blood
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With many books, translations are negligible, with two obvious exceptions, one is the Bible, and surprisingly the other is The Iliad.
For example:
"Rage--Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus' son Achilles,
Murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses,
hurling down to the House of Death so many souls,
great fighters' souls. But made their bodies carrion,
feasts for dogs and birds,
and the will of Zeus was moving towards its end.
Begin, Muse, when the two first broke and clashed,
Agamemnon lord of men and brilliant Achilles."
-Translated by Robert Fagles
"Sing, O Goddess, the anger of Achilles, son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a heroes did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures for so were the counsels of Zeus fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles first fell out with one another."
-Translated by Samuel Butler
Our story takes place in the ninth year of the ongoing war. We get some introduction to the first nine years but they are just a background to this tale of pride, sorrow and revenge. The story will also end abruptly before the end of the war.
We have the wide conflict between the Trojans and Achaeans over a matter of pride; the gods get to take sides and many times direct spears and shields.
Although the more focused conflict is the power struggle between two different types of power. That of Achilles, son of Peleus and the greatest individual warier and that of Agamemnon, lord of men, who's power comes form position.
We are treated to a blow by blow inside story as to what each is thinking and an unvarnished description of the perils of war.
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The best story of all time
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I absolutely love the Iliad. It is a passionate narrative covering the most significant part of the Trojan war; the events leading up to Hector's death. It is a pulsating story where Gods and heros throw themselves passionately into the conflict to give their own side an advantage. It is a tragic story of gory violence, passionate speeches, heroic deeds and divine intervention.
In my view it is also one of the most significant books ever written on the nature of religion and spirituality, demonstrating the duality and ambiguity of the divine. In the story, the Gods have an influence over just about everything that happens, supporting and hindering both Trojans and Greeks in their own interests. In this world, the Gods are both fallible, selfish, vulnerable and not all powerful. It is a lessons that followers of the modern monotheistic religions would do well to learn from.
For those interested in Greek Mythology, it should be compulsory reading. The ancient world is brought to life in a way that makes the reader feel he/she is part of a world where Gods and heros really did walk the earth.
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WAR
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War as it was and still is. Forget it's poetry. Just read and it flows.
This is one of the few books that never leaves the reader.
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Slaughter and an utter blood bath, all over Helen of Troy!
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After the abduction of Menelaus' beautiful wife Helen by Paris of Troy, the various kingdoms of Greece set sail to avenge Menelaus' loss and to reclaim is wife under the agreed command of King Agamemnon. The Iliad begins on the tenth and final year of the Trojan War. After offending Achilles who then refuses to fight, Agamemnon's forces begin to take heavy casualties under the onslaught of Prince Hector, the Commander and Chief of the Trojan army. Back and forth the fortunes of war go as warriors fall victim to the spear and sword. The graphic descriptions of slaughter, mutilation and death are extremely gruesome and Homer describes without compromise the dark side of human nature - fired by the horrors of war. The combatants are mere pawns in the hands of the scheming Olympian gods who fight for their favoured side and rival each other for Zeus' will. Like the battle itself, the highly descriptive text to wade through of many warriors meeting their doom can make the reading a bit of a slog at times. It is only when Prince Hector kills Achilles' best friend does the great man forget Agamemnon's insult and rejoin the war. Achilles' desire for vengeance causes the tide of battle to turn once again and results in a full Trojan retreat to the safety inside Troy. The poem ends after Achilles gets his revenge against Prince Hector and with the Trojan Army routed and under siege. Further reading is required to come across the fate of Achilles, the infamous Trojan Horse and the fall of Troy. Quintus Smyrnaeus' The Fall of Troy describes the city's doom while Homer's Odyssey refers to the Trojan Horse in passing when old Greek comrades recall their previous war exploits over wine and supper.
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Gory, gruesome, and epic
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A millennia-old precursor to the likes of Gladiator, the Iliad is at times a quite gruesome read that doesn't shirk from describing the sheer carnage that war represents. Injuries are described in detail while the body count would have modern film censors writing to their MPs. At times this body count can get tiresome, however - particularly when passages outlining the victims become shopping list-like, complete with the family backgrounds of each victim. However, this is lifted by fascinating passages describing the role of the gods in the proceedings (power politics being as underhand a business Up There as it is down here), and the mania of some of the mortals involved. The style of the Iliad is considerably different from the Odyssey, which is more episodic and therefore perhaps less compelling, so don't let your experience of one put you off the other.
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