Book Review: The Iliad

By Homer 

4 Stars 

The Iliad by Homer is the most epic poem, but also the most misunderstood. It’s understood by both people who have read it and people who have only heard of it that it is about the Trojan War - but it starts in the middle and ends in the middle of that event. So, who is the star of this epic poem? Achilles, son of Peleus, and his anger. When beautiful Helen, wife of the brave Menelaus, king of Sparta, is kidnapped by the spineless yet dashing Prince Paris, her husband and the good men of Achaea gather themselves for a decades-long siege on the city of Troy. The story begins in the tenth or eleventh year of the siege, in which Agamemnon, son of Atreus, angers Achilles, who takes back his forces. 

One might call this tale heroic, while another might appraise that it is more tragic than heroic, and verily, this opinion is wrong. A third might comment that it is neither heroic nor tragic but an angry poem. All these opinions are correct. From the very first words invoking the gods and goddesses high up on Olympus, the potency of Achilles’ anger is shown, pulling in the reader and almost hypnotizing him or her as they gaze upon the page. Homer’s writing, the prose and the epic heroism and the tragedy and the anger, is what drives us to read on, and it is what captures us in the pages, desperate to reach the end. I would most heartily recommend this to one who likes epic tales of dishevelled chivalry and overwhelming friendship and loyalty. 

Reviewed by Ayesha 

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