Pressfiled does to Thermopylae what Homer does to Troy!
590365
This was an excellent and exciting book. Ones emotions really get stirred up. The book contains very descriptive battle scenes and has many sad moments. The book contains a lot of true historical facts well mixed with the fiction. The Spartan warrior code of ethics is the ideal that today's service men pay lip service to and try to emulate. After reading it you will want to one day make a pilgrimage to Thermopylae. Buy it today!
2305710
Ummmm.... could we get anymore classic that the Iliad written by Homer??? The epic about Achilles and the siege on Troy.
2393939
I didn't have any problems at all with the Illium or Olympos and I found Olympos an easier read than Illium. One of these reviews said it slandered gays!  I honestly don't know what they're talking about.  Sure, it went to some weird places, but when I put that book down I was in awe.  Illium and Olympus together were amazing pieces of fiction.
1721138
I don't know what Barber has against Goldhill, but he consistently posts nasty reviews of Goldhill's work that bespeak a certain weird obsession with one of the most important and brilliant classicists working today.  Other readers should just ignore him and judge for themselves.  The book in question, co-edited by Goldhill, breaks new ground in the study of ancient Athens in its focus on the performance aspect of Athenian culture, which is by no means limited to the theater itself.
1514726
Homer is the best, Lattimore is the best.  Too bad UC Press did such a poor job of digitization.  And does any adult look at the insultingly bad and stupid "Book Extras"?
3159312
I'm on a heavy Homer diet at the moment, currently reading Robert Fitzgerald's translation of the Iliad.  I love Derek Jacobi's brilliant reading of Rober Fagles earthier translation.  My only complaint is that too much of the poem is cut.

Now, if there were only a complete reading of Dante's Divine Comedy on CD...
1979893
Let's face it -- there is not much one can say about the substance of "The Iliad", Homer's epic detailing the last period of the siege of Troy.  Everyone should read this seminal tale of war, courage and obstinancy, regardless of the translation you choose.

Which brings us to what we can critique: the translation.  Feagles has done a truly remarkable job here and something may not have been accomplished before -- he makes "The Iliad" accessible.  Feagles' version is a little darker, a little grittier, and a little more "realistic" than other translations.  Whereas earlier translations make the reader feel as if he or she is watching a grand pageant from a nearby hilltop, Feagles invites the reader to join in the action.  It makes "The Iliad" a much more fun and interesting read. I'm sure that Classicists could spend entire Ph. D. dissertations arguing about how Feagles said "THIS helmet" when it should have read "THAT helmet" or whether Achilles' cloak was truly crimson versus scarlet.  What should matter is that Feagles has produced a more readable version of "The Iliad", and one that can be enjoyed by more readers.

I'm not a linguist, a classics professor, or a literary critic.  I just love this story and I've read it about 15 times, several different translations.  So if you're looking to read "The Iliad" just once and really understand it, this is your version and Feagles is your author.
119803
Although I respect Fagles as a modern translator, I cannot recommend his translations of Homer...I would probably only recommend his translations of Sophocles's 3 Theban Plays.

Homer's Iliad and Odyssey don't sound like Epics anymore under Fagles...they are turned into mild nice sounding children stories!  He tones down Homer to the point that I feel that Fagels wants his personality to shine NOT Homer's!  I am gravely disappointed by this.

I also find that he not only forces beauty into the text but adds too much of his personal warmth that gets in the way of the texts and creates a vision of Homer's epics that is truly unsound to the original.

Not only that but the font and design of the print is an eye sore, I don't like the choice the publishers and Fagles gave to the works.  It doesn't make for easy reading...

Stanley Lombardo's translations are unparalleled in their print layout, design and font...not to say vivid and powerful evocative translation.

I continue to find Richmond Lattimore's facinating translations the most accurate to how the Ancient Greek language sounds to English ears. I would buy Lattimore over Fagles (and Fitzgerald).

And I still think Rieu's famous Prose version of the Iliad from 1950 is hard to beat for it's modernity and readibility.

...Find out for yourself by comparing a few versions but don't be duped into this mysterious "Fagles hype"!
4587920
Told following the story of Achilles' squire and lover, Patroclus, this book is both a gripping and excellent take on the Trojan War, and an almost honest continuance of the Homeric tradition of the many additions to the Illiad. It's well written and researched, and is a must read for anyone interested in Ancient Western history.
4829785
I'm enjoying Troy and it's Remains, but only as an historical artifact and as a window into Heinrich Schliemann's character. His writing style is colorful and enthusiastic (he was nothing if not an enthusiast) and I like the "you were there" feeling I get from reading his work. A lot of it came from written on the dig site while Schliemann was actually excavating. This book tells you how and why Schliemann "discovered" Troy, which is valuable information. For the latest theories regarding this ancient, formerly-mythical city and its real role in history, you can start with In Search of the Trojan War by Michael Wood and go on to read many more recent works on the subject. A lot of it is still speculative, but archaeology is revealing more and more each year. Fascinating stuff.
3651664
As said, Zoe has always been an outsider, who is fascinated by digs. So she ends up on a dig in Greece and that's when things start to happen!

I had my "Greek mythology" phase at some point, meaning I read all the Percy Jacksons I could find, watched Percy Jackson movie like ten times in a row and Clash of the Titans, too. So I was little scared that this would be like Percy Jackson.
You can't imagine how happy I was when I noticed I've been wrong! Yes, it's about Greek mythology, but with an original twist.

Zoe makes a great heroine, that I have to say. You probably remember how many times I've been whining about whiny heroines? Well, that I didn't really have to worry about in this book.
Yes, there's some overly sweet moments for Zoe, but even when there's a man by her side, she won't let him do all the job! Refreshing. I heart.

I loved the original approach with the gods and goddesses! They are like a high school clique, except this high school clique has been on for like 500 years.. Clique from hell.
So when Zoe comes up, they aren't really happy about that. Especially since they are all about couples, and Hera and Zeus have been an on-off couple only forever.. Yaicks. That can't be good, and I can promise you, IT'S NOT.
I just wasn't too happy about how Zeus handled things with these two girls. Yeah, you don't want to piss off your ex, who is, you know, a goddess, but c'mon. Just break things up with your ex/whatever, then start new things! Less messy.

Even when I was on the last page, I couldn't stop reading. I was reading acknowledgements and didn't even realize that. I started screaming at that point. It's unfair to put that kind of cliffhanger to the end of the book!!! So unfair. I nearly cried. What happens next?! I have to know. But I just have to wait like everyone else. And try to stay sane.

Love,
Monaliz @ Mind Reading?
4502124
I found some of Professor Vandiver's other works to be more interesting.  I have truly enjoyed her works on "Classical Mythology", "Iliad"  "Odyssey", and "Aeneid".  Greek Tragedy tends to deal heavily on  Agamemnon's sacrificing of  Iphigenia and the aftermath.  One interest in Agamemnon should be a deciding factor in ordering these lectures or not.  One positive attribute of this course was Vandiver's description of the actual theaters themselves and just how the plays might have been performed.
2480661
I was impressed with the dialogue throughout the book, and the obvious research behind it.
Troy did his footwork and his homework to get this to press.
Really well written and presented.

Jim Weaver
Author and Song-writer
2023205
The legend is that when the comedy "The Clouds" by Aristophanes was first performed in Athens in 423 B.C., his target, Socrates, stood throughout the performance so that everyone in the audience was aware that he was there and hearing what was said of him. The portrait of Socrates clearly satirical and most critics consider it to be inaccurate. But Aristophanes is making fun of Athens' renowned "Think-tank" the "Phrontisterion," the school where the rich young men of Athens were taught the fine art of rhetoric. Instead of anything lofty the comic poet suggests the primary purpose of such an education is to be clever and out-reason greedy creditors. This is an especially good translation of the play, which includes insightful notes and essays on both Old Comedy and the Theater of Dionysus that helps readers understand the conventions of staged comedy at the time of Aristophanes.
In this comedy Socrates is consulted by an old rogue, Strepsiades (sometimes translated as "Twisterson"), who is upset with the mountain of debts his playboy son Phidippides, who loves fast horses and fast living. Phidippides agrees to go to Socrates' school of logic where he can learn to make a wrong argument sound right. After graduation is able to use the system of "unjust logic" to outwit his father and kick him out of the family home. The Chorus of Clouds comments on the proceedings and in the end the Phrontisterion is burned to the ground by Strepsiades.
The flaw of the play is Aristophanes is trying to satirize the Sophists, who were popularizing a new philosophy that denied the possibility of ever reaching objective truth, he picked the wrong target. The Sophists were mostly teachers who were not native to Athens, such as Isocartes and Gorgias. "Sophist" basically meant teacher, so while Socrates was a "sophist" he was not a "Sophist." Twenty-four years later, when Socrates was condemned to death for "corrupting the youth of Athens," the only accuser he said he could name was a certain "comic poet." For contemporary audiences who are untutored in the traditions of classical Greek philosophy it is easy to see Socrates as the prototype for the absent-minded professor, but historically that is, of course, far from the truth. Ironically, even today, Socrates is still one of the few "sophists" that a contemporary audience would recognize by name if not by reputation.
The version of "The Clouds" that has passed down to us is not the original version, which was defeated by Cratinus' "Wine Flask" at a comedy competition during the Great Dionysia celebrations. We know this is a revised version because the Chorus complains about Aristophanes finishing third in that competition. However, critics assume it is essentially the same play, albeit a more polished version. Once you forgive Aristophanes for his unfair characterization of Socrates, "The Clouds" is a great comedy employing all of his standard tricks of the trade from fantasy and ribaldry to funny songs and obscene words.
476981
This is, of course, a good, fun story; in fact it's just about the original good, fun story. I doubt I could really add anything to the plot beyond what everyone already knows. There's the famous story of the Sirens, and Odysseus lashing himself to the mast to stop himself from falling prey to their wiles. There's the Cyclops, whose one eye Ulysses gouges out. There are the monsters at the Scylla and Charybdis. And so forth. He's been away at war against Troy for ten years. After Troy falls at the end of the Iliad, Ulysses and others sack the city and take to the seas to return home.

Meanwhile, after so long away from home with no word back to his wife, the locals back on Ithaca (known as "the suitors") believe Ulysses is dead, take up residence in his house, drink his wine, slaughter his animals, bed his maids, and try to woo his wife. She -- Penelope -- is crafty, and tells them that she'll pick a suitor once she's done sewing a burial shroud for Odysseus's father (who's not dead, but who's been devastated by the loss of his son and expects to die soon). Every day she weaves it, and every night she undoes what she made during the day. Eventually one of the maids lets the suitors in on the secret, so they force her to finish her sewing. She's just on the verge of choosing a suitor when Odysseus returns home, disguised as a beggar by the goddess Athena. He wanders around his property, begging for a crust of bread and judging the character of all those who are living in his house. His son, Telemachus, is brave and handsome and everything else you'd expect out of the son of a Greek hero. Penelope has remained true to her husband for twenty years. Various swineherds weep for their departed master, still, after twenty years. All the rest of them are contemptible.

After setting up appropriate dramatic tension really effectively, and leaving Odysseus within just a few feet of his family -- though disguised -- Homer finally lets loose in a cataclysm of blood. All the brutes die.

I love the story because it's so elemental. Throughout The Iliad and The Odyssey, "staid servantwomen" serve hundreds of meals wherein goats and sheep are cut into four pieces and roasted over spits. After eating the meat and drinking the hearty wine, various heroes either fall into peaceful slumber on soft beds, or take baths and get lacquered with oil by nubile servant-girls. Life could be worse for the Greeks.

I didn't realize before reading The Odyssey that nothing much actually happens to Ulysses during the era when the story takes place. Instead, most of The Odyssey is spent in flashback: Ulysses stops off at some island or other on the way home, and while there reminisces about all that's happened to him. Finally he gets so homesick that he simply must return to Ithaca. And he does. Why Homer chose this method, I'm not sure. Borges uses the same method. For that matter, so does The Arabian Nights.

Fagles's translation is workmanlike. It's highly readable, but it's not very inspiring. People do what they're supposed to do, and that's the end of it. I didn't feel the poetry. I've read Fagles's description of the challenges he faced, and I appreciate them. He could have chosen to stick to the literal meaning of the original words, thereby making the book irrelevant to modern readers. He could hack the words to pieces to make them fit with the meter. He could completely adapt The Odyssey to a modern idiom, thereby deleting a lot of the book's original force. Me, I would have liked more music.
433559
This classic retelling of the Trojan War (partly recounted in Homer's epic poem "The Iliad") and the woman with "The face that launched a thousand ships" is a good one, if inconsistent with several major and minor events of the legend. SPOILER WARNINGS: For example, all the characters are referred to by their Greek names, yet Odysseus is called Ulysses, his Roman name. Odysseus does not come up with the idea for the Trojan Horse as the ships land at Troy and puts this idea into execution once Achilles is foully murdered by Paris. Odysseus clearly does not respect Achilles very much, and Patroclus is not murdered by Paris. SPOILER WARNINGS OVER. These are just several inconsistencies with the legend, as related in "The Iliad." Look out for appearances by minor pre-"Ben-Hur" and pre-James Bond actors Terence Longdon and Robert Brown. The score by Academy Award winner Max Steiner ("Gone With The Wind," "Casablanca") is simply beautiful. Directed by Robert Wise. I also recommend "Troy" starring Brad Pitt. This film is Not Rated.
2193396
Wonderful blend of two great myths!  We learn of much of Doc's background and family.  But, if possible, I would penalize it one half star for the authors overtly name dropping of an even greater legend, Tarzan!