I am going to join the Homer May 2011 Read-along of Homer's Iliad. The event is sponsored by A Literary Odyssey. I haven't read The Iliad for years, way back in university when I studied Classics. I am really looking forward to this, and appreciate A Literary Odyssey for giving me the push to revisit something that I love so much. So, tonight will head down to my storage closet and dig out my well used copy, probably crumbling, copy of The Iliad in preparation to start reading it tomorrow. My version is the Lattimore translation, written in poetry and follows the Greek syntax fairly closely. For anyone who would like to read along as well, there is also Fagels, which many people think is one of the best English translations around. The best thing to do is to read a page and see how it works for you.The Iliad is an epic poem written in the eighth century BC. It takes place in the tenth year of the Trojan War and covers only a couple of weeks, with Achilleus, the Greek's best warrior, being dishonoured by Agamemnon and withdrawing from the battle. There are battles and fighting, interference by the gods, prophesies, honour and intrigue - it is one of the best stories ever told.
UPDATE: After searching through about 15 boxes of books, I cannot find my Lattimore translation, so will probably use Fagels.
