/lit/ - Literature

>>16717259
Anon has a point. I enjoyed Rieu's Iliad, and I would sincerely recommend him as well (especially if English isn't your mother tongue, as in my case).

>>16700316
Anon, you must understand the context under which "boring" sequences are presented by Homer. It is an entire world view of politics, culture and warfare that Homer conveys along his verse. It is indeed quite repetetive, but it is the first canon and its legacy has spanned centuries. Indeed, if you feel troubled by the "superfluous" details you can abandon/skip them. But bear in mind: if you want to understand the grandiosity and penetrate in the mindset which built the Western Canon and its development, you must get through the book in its entirety.

I, a non-native English speaker, stick to Rieu's prose translation which is quite explicit, but still handles sublime narrative in book 6 (Hector and Andromache) and book 9 (The Embassy to Achilles). I don't want to fool myself into thinking any translation is better, but some are definetly worse. The best translation would however be nk translation - the Iliad in its Old Greek.

Currently I am at book 12, and I have managed to read this much within a week thus far (considering that I had to read on Homer, the historicity of the Iliad, checked on each of the kingdoms from the Dardanians to Myrmidons and their subsequent leaders. So take your time. If you truly want to start with the Greeks, give yourself time and try to capture the Iliad as Homer wanted for it to be.