The Iliad is the first of Homer’s works that I have read, and I will say that it is well written and is a great read if you are into war or Greek mythology. It is filled with strong and wily heroes, deceitful villains, revenge, death, sadness, romance, adventure, and betrayal. It is a long read so unless you have some time to kill, are reading it for school, or are really dedicated to reading it, (or if you like reading long books and have nothing else to read) I would think again before you pick it up. Although once you start reading it, it's hard to stop.
The Author
From what I understand, Homer lived a very long time ago somewhere in the Asia Minor or Ancient Greece. Not much is known about him. Some people believe that the name “Homer” could be a pen name because of how The Iliad and The Odyssey are written so differently. But then again, no one knows.
Why I Rate It 13+
This was a really good book and I would recommend it, but only if you are up to reading an Ancient Greek book about a war that started because of romance. If you plan on reading it or recommending it to someone I would make sure they understand what is going on and that they are allowed to read it.
The Iliad is pretty much a war book so it is filled with the gruesome deaths of hundreds of men. It always seems to describe that the soldiers were impaled by a spear that went through their neck, broke all their teeth, which fell out, and came out the other side. Most of the book is just explaining who every single characters parents were and how they all died.
The Iliad does have occasional swearing, which is scattered throughout the book, but I wouldn’t say that it is really bad.
The entire reason for the Trojan War was because Prince Paris (or Alexander) stole King Menelaus’ wife Helen, and he wouldn’t give her back. There are some topics in this book such as repetitive violence, sexual content, and profanity. After all it's about Greek Mythology-what else would you expect?
The Characters
There are so many characters in the Iliad that I decided to divide them up.
Those on the Side of the Acheans
Achilles: Most of the book Achilles is sitting at his house next to his ships mourning the loss of his slave girl (Briseis) and being mad at King Agamemnon for stealing her. He later asks his mom (who is a nymph) for help getting revenge on the king. She says that his time will come when the Acheans will need his help. Achilles first sends his best friend Patroclus, wearing his armor, into war before him. Achilles then goes to fight for the Acheans when they need help the most.
King Agamemnon: He is the older brother of King Menelaus. His first action in the book is stealing the daughter of a priest and then later on he steals Achilles slave girl. He fights on the side of the Acheans with his brother King Menelaus.
King Menelaus: He is the younger brother of Agamemnon, and the husband of Helen of Troy. He is fighting this war because Helen was stolen by one of the princes of Troy-Paris.
Patroclus: He is the friend of Achilles and has known him for years. Achilles sends him into the war before going himself.
Odysseus: He is mostly seen as an advisor to King Agamemnon in this book. He left his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus, back in Ithaca when he went to war.
The Ajaxs: Two warriors with the same name, but they aren’t related.
Those on the Side of the Trojans
Prince Hector: He is the oldest son of King Priam and is mostly the main fighter for the Trojans, he has a wife and a baby boy who live inside of Troy.
King Priam: He is the father of Hector, Paris and his 48 other sons, and that’s not even mentioning his daughters!
Prince Paris or Alexander: He first stole the wife of King Menelaus, and then spends almost half the book staying out of the war which he started. King Menelaus challenges him to a duel which he runs away from. He uses a bow and injures a few people, but for the most part he is a coward.
Helen of Troy: She is kind of helpless, hopeless, and self centered. She wants to go back home but doesn’t have the nerve to actually do it. All she does is think about her problems.
The gods
Zeus: He is the most powerful god out of all of them. In the Iliad he is the oldest son of Kronos and the husband of Hera. He favors whoever he feels like helping.
Hera: She is the wife of Zeus and the goddess of family/prosperity. She favors the Acheans just to make Zeus mad.
Poseidon: Is the god of the sea, he causes numerous earthquakes in the Iliad. He favors the Acheans.
Athena: She along with Hera plots against Zeus, she sides with Hera and Poseidon.
Aphrodite: She is the goddess of love and is partially the reason for the war, since Paris chose her over Athena and Hera.
Overall this book is a pretty good read.
The Plot (possible spoilers ahead)
Before the Trojan War began Prince Paris visited King Menelaus and his wife Helen in Sparta. He fell in love with the king’s wife and took her back to Troy with him. The king and his brother, who is also a king, gathered together a large army to attack Troy because Paris wouldn’t give Helen back. The war lasted 10 years and the Iliad is about the last few weeks/year of the Trojan War. In the beginning of the book King Agamemnon and Achilles have a fight which ends with Achilles refusing to fight in the war.
GREAT blog! I'm definitely more interested in reading The Illiad!
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