16 February 2008

The Iliad - Homer, trans. Butler

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I thought Homer was a pretty poor father on the Simpsons, but the guy can write a pretty mean epic poem!

Look, I don't have too much to say about this one. The story has been around for a few thousand years, so it's not like I have too much to add to it here. The poem has all your usual faces from greek lore - Agamemnon, Achilles, Zeus, Mars, Aphrodite, Hector, Paris, Helen of Troy, and so on. This litany of characters can actually make it difficult to follow, especially if you were raised with their Roman names, - it's Zeus, not Jove.

You should read this if you are in Mrs. Moore's Grade 12 English class, or if you are a big nerd like me.

We everlasting gods . . . Ah what chilling blows we suffer—thanks to our own conflicting wills— whenever we show these mortal men some kindness. Mars, god of war, bitching to the other gods.

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