Très belle edition abrégée et en prose, parfaite pour une introduction à l'Iliade et l'Odyssée. De belles illustrations l'accompagnent.

L'Iliade:
L'iliade c'est en fait la dernière année de la guerre de Troie, guerre qui dura 10 ans. Elle oppose les Achéens (les Grecs) aux Troyens (Grecs aussi mais Grèce orientale ou Hittites?). L'objectif est de ramener Helene, la femme du roi Achéen Ménélas qui a été séduite et "volée" par un Troyen.

Je m'attendais à être séduite par Achilles, mais c'est Hector, le grand héros Troyen, qui m'a impressionnée par sa bravoure et son honneur.

L'iliade se termine sur les funérailles d'Hector, tué par Hercules.

L'Odyssée:
C'est le récit du long voyage de retour d'Ulysse après la Guerre de Troie. Que de périples! Ulysse est tenté de se donner la mort, mais il fait preuve de résilience jusqu'au bout. Et après 10 années au fil desquelles il perd tous ses hommes et tous ses vaisseaux, il arrive finalement à Ithaque, l'île dont il est le roi.

Mais il y a un dernier obstacle: il est parti depuis 10 ans et son épouse Pénélope est à bout d'imagination et de ressources pour repousser la myriade de prétendants qui veulent sa main, le trône d'Ulysse et sa fortune avec. Son fils Télémaque n'en mène pas large non plus. Mais Ulysse vient à bout de cette dernière épreuve. La fin est sanglante, mais après l'Iliade et ses tueries, ou l'Odyssée et ses cannibales, on ne va pas faire des chichis.

THE ILIAD

The wrath of Achilles not only begins the oldest piece of Western literature, but is also its premise. The Iliad has been the basis of numerous clichés in literature, but at its root it is a story of a war that for centuries was told orally before being put down by Homer in which the great heroes of Greece fought for honor and glory that the men of Homer’s day could only imagine achieving.

The story of the Trojan War is well known and most people who have not read The Iliad assume they know what happens, but in fact at the end of the poem the city of Troy still stands and a wooden horse has not been mentioned. The Iliad tells of several weeks in the last year of the war that revolve around the dishonorable actions of Agamemnon that leads to Achilles refusing to fight with the rest of the Greeks and the disaster it causes in the resulting engagements against the Trojans. But then Achilles allows his friend Patroclus to lead his men into battle to save the Greek ships from being put to the torch only for Patroclus to advance to the walls of Troy and be slain by Hector. The wrath of Achilles turns from Agamemnon to Hector and the Trojans, leading to the death of Troy’s greatest warrior and the poem ending with his funeral.

Although the actions of Achilles and Hector take prominence, there are several other notable “storylines” one doesn’t know unless you’ve read epic. First and foremost is Diomedes, the second greatest fighter amongst the Greeks but oftentimes overlooked when it comes to adaptations especially to other important individuals like Odysseus, Menelaus, and the pivotal Patroclus. The second is how much the Olympians and other minor deities are thought to influence the events during this stretch of the war and how both mortals and immortals had to bow to Fate in all circumstances. The third is how ‘nationalistic’ the epic is in the Greek perspective because even though Hector is acknowledged the greatest mortal-born warrior in the war on both sides, as a Trojan he has to have moments of cowardice that none of the Greek heroes are allowed to exhibit and his most famous kill is enabled by Apollo instead of all by himself. And yet, even though Homer writes The Iliad as a triumphant Greek narrative the sections that have Hector’s flaws almost seem hollow as if Homer and his audience both subconsciously know that his epic is not the heroic wrath of Achilles but the tragic death of Hector.

The Iliad is the ultimate classic literature and no matter your reading tastes one must read it to have a better appreciation for all of literature as a whole. Although the it was first written over 2500 years ago, it shows the duality of heroic feats and complete tragedy that is war.

THE ODYSSEY

The crafty hero of The Iliad is in the last leg of his long ten year journey home, but it not only his story that Homer relates to the reader in this sequel to the first war epic in literature. The Odyssey describes the Odysseus’ return to Ithaca after twenty years along with the emergence of his son Telemachus as a new hero while his faithful wife Penelope staves off suitors who are crowding their home and eating their wealth daily.

Although the poem is named after his father, Telemachus’ “arc” begins first as the reader learns about the situation on Ithaca around Odysseus’ home and the search he begins for information on his father’s whereabouts. Then we shift to Odysseus on a beach longing to return home when he is informed his long sojourn is about to end and he sets off on a raft and eventually arrives among the Phaeacians, who he relates the previous ten years of his life to before they take him back home. On Ithaca, Odysseus and his son eventually meet and begin planning their revenge on the Penelope’s suitors that results in slaughter and a long-awaited family reunion with Penelope.

First and foremost The Odyssey is about coming home, in both Telemachus’ and Odysseus’ arcs there are tales of successful homecomings, unsuccessful homecomings, and homecoming that never happen of heroes from The Iliad. Going hand-in-hand with homecomings is the wanderings of other heroes whose adventures are not as exciting or as long as Odysseus’. Interwoven throughout the poem with homecomings and wanderings is the relationship between guests and hosts along with the difference between good and bad for both that has long reaching consequences. And finally throughout Odysseus’ long journey there are tests everywhere of all types for him to overcome or fail, but the most important are Penelope’s both physical and intimate.

Even though it is a sequel, The Odyssey is in complete contrast to The Iliad as instead of epic battle this poem focuses on a hero overcoming everything even the gods to return home. Suddenly the poet who gave readers a first-hand account of war shows his readers the importance of returning from war from the perspective of warriors and their families. Although they are completely different, The Odyssey in fact compliments The Iliad as well as completing it which means if you read one you have to read the other.

Other than the gruesome, violent images often presented in magnificent detail (hey, it is a war!), I really enjoy reading Homer's epic poem. Where else are we given such insight into stubborn Agamemnon, noble Hector, intelligent and well-spoken Odysseus, lazy and spineless Paris, guilt-ridden Helen, the wrath of the warrior Achille's and how vain he can be? We can identify with Trojan and Greek alike, agonizing with both sides over the destructiveness of war. We get the inside story on all the Greek and Trojan heroes and what makes them tick. And best of all, we get a behind-the-scenes, humorous look at the Greek gods; their strengths, weaknesses and all the squabbles and fuss that take place between them. The Iliad is really incomplete without The Odyssey, so I will be reading and reviewing that book as well.

I had read a synopsis of the adventures of Odysseus in high school, but it was nice to read the entire epic poem to get the full story. Odysseus is an intelligent, cunning hero and you are really rooting for him by the time he finally makes it home from his long journey and is ready to take action against the usurpers of his household. So many stories of this time period end in tragedy, it's nice that there is a satisfactory end to Odysseus's story after so many years of pain and heartache for him and his family.

I enjoyed The Odyssey more than The Iliad because it seems a more intimate story overall. We really come to know the man Odysseus, his son Telemachus and wife, Penelope through their thoughts and interactions with others. The Iliad takes place during the Trojan war and focuses on the Greek and Trojan warriors and what takes place on the battlefield. The Odyssey is not quite a continuation of the Iliad, but takes place 10 years after the end of the Trojan war from which the great warrior Odysseus never returned. It seems he had some trouble on the high seas and on various islands along the way and has been unable to make it home. In the meantime, his home has been invaded by suitors who think he is dead and want to marry Penelope. Telemachus is not strong or powerful enough to throw them out and goes on a journey to find news of his father. With the help of the gods, Odysseus and Telemachus are finally able to defend their home. I would recommend reading both The Iliad and Odyssey together but if you're only going to pick up one, read The Odyssey.

Loved it

Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Odyssey: 4 stars
Iliad: 5 stars

If your going to read Homer you must read Chapman’s Homer. Chapman, a poet who was contemporary with Shakespeare, brings alive Homer with epic poetry the way Homer would have recited it. Epic poetry at first can be intimidating but once your get into the meter it feels strange without it. The Illiad of I remember correctly is written with 14 syllables per line but the Odyssey is written with 10 syllables per line. The extra four syllables changes the tone and character that distinguishes the Illiad from the Odyssey in a perfect way. A must read to understand western civilization.

لطالما وردت كأمثلة ونماذج على سمعي هذه الملحمة في كتب دراسية وروايات وعرفت عن أبطالها ايضًا، فما شق عليّ بتاتًا تمييزهم ومعرفة جوانبهم فيها. وعلى الرغم من أنها مُختصرة إلا أن خلق النص ونثره عند دريني جاء مُلم بأهم الأحداث متسلسلة وكأنه ما أطاح منها شيئًا ذا بال، لكن مُتأكدة أن الملحمة بصورتها الكاملة أمتع، لذا أرجو أن اقرأها يومًا إذ أنها لا تُمل.

Just finished The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer.

My (slightly cynical) description of each in one sentence:

The Iliad: Lots of fighting and killing to hide the fact it is about the love of two men, Achilles and Patroclus, with Achilles going on a rampage when Patroclus is slain.

The Odyssey: a much too long, albeit well-written, saga of the return of Odysseus, who could have revealed himself in three seconds but chose to torture his family, and the reader, for far too long.

Was super good but omfg we don’t need three chapters dedicated to one fucking battle, and entire pages describing the detail of a shield. I wanna see more of Hera being a diva queen slay boots for your nerves goddess.

Five stars to the Odyssey and 2.5 to the Iliad to be exact. I was very bored with the who-killed-whom parts in the Iliad.
Fitzgerald’s translation of the Odyssey is nowhere as good as Emily Wilson’s although it is still a very powerful translation. Dan Stevens’s narration really brought it to life. I hope an audiobook of Ms. Wilson’s translation is made soon as well.
No matter how many times I read or watch or hear the story of Hector’s death, it makes me sad all over again. Man-eating war indeed.

I like the Iliad much better than the Odyssey.

This was a golden book, actually a giant golden book, given to me one Christmas while in grade school, 1960 or thereabouts. Stories from the illiad and the odyssey that captured my imagination. I reread it almost 50 years later and remembered the shock of Hector being dragged from the chariot of Achilles or the thrill of Odysseus returning home after all those years to drive the greedy suiters from his home and to reclaim his wife.