One of the cornerstones of Western literature, the Iliad was composed about 3,000 years ago, and put into writing several centuries afterwards. It has been translated numerous times, to varying degrees of success, and unless you're fluent in Ancient Homeric Greek, you're going to have to rely on the translation and interpretation of one of the many scholars who have attempted the Herculean (or should that be Achillean) task of turning it into readable English. Set in the tumultuous (and almost certainly partially fictitious) Trojan war, it is but a snapshot of the overarching story with which most of us are familiar. It takes place in the final year of the ...  Read the complete review

I'm sure that if you hadn't heard of the Iliad before the release of this summer's historical epic movie "Troy", you'd certainly have heard enough about Brad Pitt running around in armour to last you a lifetime by now. Certainly, the book has attracted much more attention of recent since its new lease of life via film. *So where did the whole thing start off?* Well, first of all, it didn't start as a book, but was passed down orally. It was only finally committed to paper round about the 7th century BC, with further alterations being made in the 6th century BC. As for Homer, who we credit as the author of the work, he may not even have ...  Read the complete review

Blood, sweat and tears - you ain't seen nothing yet. The Iliad, by Homer, is THE adventure story of all time - its longevity is surely some sign of this. The story of the siege of Troy, from start to finish, this is an all-time classic. Perhaps you've not read much poetry - this is about as close to prose as you'll get. Perhaps you've not read anything older than, say Shakespeare (excepting the Bible). Well, this was an ancient text long before Shakespeare was even born - and the stories have lost none of their lustre for all the time that has passed. The Trojan War lasted 10 years. That's an awfully long time. But ...  Read the complete review

All right, let's see. Who was this weirdoo greek guy that we think we've all heard at a certain point but we don't know anything about him, besides maybe that he is the director of Bradd Pitt's new movie(Yes it has been said!). Homer, is the first ancient greek poet that used written text to write his poems. Until that time, around 8b.c, greek language was found only in spoken form, quite bizzare if you think that it is proven that the Greek language dates back to at least the 14-12 century b.c. Trained musicians used to sing the verses of Iliad through the accompaniament of the lyre by heart(We're talking about more than 10000 verses!!). One of the most ...  Read the complete review