Why I enjoy The Iliad

Chapters read: 1-8

Pages read: up to 250

            For my first quarter independent reading assignment, I decided to take on The Iliad, an ancient Greek epic poem originally written by the bard Homer, and translated by Robert Fagles (my copy was, at least). This famous work has stood the test of time, having been written nearly three millennia ago. Make no mistake; its fame speaks just as much about the story as it does about its age. Never have I been more engaged with a text.

            The Iliad is set during the mythical Trojan War, in which the Achaeans waged against the city of Troy for Paris’s stealing of Helen. However, this epic poem only begins nine years into the War. The story is difficult to follow; there are so many characters, both Greek and Trojan. There’s Achilles, a fighter; Agamemnon, the Greek king; Hector, the Trojan warrior; the Trojan Paris, “a challenger, lithe, magnificent as a god” (Homer 129); Odysseus “led the island men of Ithaca” (Homer 120). This list is only cursory; the heroes are double and then there are all of the gods. This barraging of figures would be confusing to anyone unfamiliar with Greek literature. However, I appreciated the vast amount of information that Homer throws around. It is what makes this story a page-turner; every page is meaningful to the plot and presents something new. A lot of times Homer will do something called invocation of a muse, which presents a different narrator’s perspective in order to, for example, go through the Greek and Trojan ranks and characterize the heroes. This literary device also captures interest and is unique from anything I’ve ever read (besides The Odyssey); reading is more enjoyable with this novel literary style.

             For me, the mythical nature of The Iliad is the real reason that I love the story so much. Most fiction novels still follow most fundamental principles of the universe, with a few events in the story going outside the bounds of reality. The Iliad is almost as much about gods and goddesses as it is about the mortal men on earth. Thetis, the mother of Achilles, promises to assist Achilles in his conflict with Agamemnon, saying, “I shall go to Olympus crowned with snow and repeat your prayer to Zeus” (Homer 91). The consequence of this is that the gods become entangled in the conflict: Zeus began to ponder “how to exalt Achilles?—how to slaughter hordes of Achaeans pinned against their ships?” (Homer 99); Aphrodite intervenes in the fight between Paris and Menelaus. There is a plethora of other instances of god-mortal interaction. The War was as much among the gods as men.

            I am used to reading books and stories for English class the main character is always the focus, and he develops, evolves, and ultimately becomes an entirely different person. The Iliad is not like this. Instead, there are dozens of characters, each with a personality embodying a different human trait, the gods included. This type of storytelling combined with the mythical nature of The Iliad are the reasons that this story brings me pleasure to a greater extent than any other novel could.