Homer.........( Not DOH!)...but Epic

Post by **FizbansTalking_Hat** » Mon May 17, 2004 5:48 pm

So, I'm not here to discuss the movie Troy, or the adaptation fo what was left out or how close it was.

What are your thoughts on our friend Homer, his Iliad, Odessyeus, his grand epic poems, you hate him, love him.

Personally I love the Iliad, but then again I am a fan of the epic poem.

Beuwulf, Cantebury Tales, Dante's Inferno, etc... all beautifully written.

Post by **danlo** » Mon May 17, 2004 5:50 pm

So is this to be considered "fantasy" or should this thread be in Gen. Discussion?"

Post by **FizbansTalking_Hat** » Mon May 17, 2004 5:54 pm

I think it can pass for Fantasy, it is an epic story involving God's descending to the mortal plane and war of a grand scale.

Post by **dANdeLION** » Mon May 17, 2004 5:56 pm

I would call this fantasy, Danlo. Just because it was written before the genre was labelled doesn't disqualify it. I am a fan of Homer, but have not read anything of his in too long.

Post by **danlo** » Mon May 17, 2004 6:01 pm

I agree--but just wanted to make sure: some purists would say Gen. Lit others would say Mythos...

Post by **duchess of malfi** » Mon May 17, 2004 6:04 pm

I had to read most of the ones Fiz listed in college, and the Iliad stands tall.

Post by **Roland of Gilead** » Mon May 17, 2004 8:08 pm

I read and liked The Odyssey, but although I own The Iliad, I've never read it.

I was stunned to learn in an article in the Sunday paper that the Trojan Horse story is not in The Iliad. I always assumed that was where it came from.

Post by **The Leper Fairy** » Mon May 17, 2004 9:53 pm

For band we are playing the ascension bit of dante's inferno... it's pretty neat, with different stages and such, some of which is pretty dark and at the end he meets God... it's a pretty amazing piece.

Post by **Byrn** » Tue May 18, 2004 7:04 pm

I've read Beowulf, The Odessey(sp), and the Illiad. I really like them all. You forgot Gilgamesh. That's another good one.

If you like Beowulf, read Eaters of the Dead. I just finished it yesterday. Fantastic.

Post by **Roland of Gilead** » Tue May 18, 2004 8:38 pm

Byrn, if you liked Crichton's Eaters of the Dead, try Frank Schaeffer's Whose Song is Sung. It's a little gem, similar to Eaters, in which the Beowulf story is told from the viewpoing of an outsider.

Post by **FizbansTalking_Hat** » Wed Jul 14, 2004 3:19 pm

I am currently reading Robert Fagle's Translation of "The Iliad" and wow, the more I read, the more amazed I am at this grand and sweeping story. It's brilliant, so well crafted, adn to think a blind poet told this tale, wow.

Post by **Bucky OHare** » Wed Jul 14, 2004 5:25 pm

I much preferred the Odyssey. Odysseus is such a dude. he goes on all these adventures to reclaim his kingdom, while achilles just sobs like a little girl.

Ihave studied them much more indepth than this, but this is the crux of the books.

Anybody read the Aeneid? I was supposed to read it for my finals but never got round to it. what did you think? the only part i actually read was the bit where Aeneas recounts the destruction of Troy to Dido. that bit was quite good.

Post by **FizbansTalking_Hat** » Wed Jul 14, 2004 6:01 pm

I have yet to give Virgil a chance, but I shall once I get through these epics. The great thing about purchasing books like The Iliad and Odyssey, is that they truly have lasting power and evne though you know the story and can read them now and be finished, in 30 years you can come back and get into them all over again.

The thing with Robert Fagles translation is that theyr'e in English, very enjoyable, they're not poetic prose, and some purists complain about this aspect, but you know what, for the majority of people its difficult to get through prose. While I enjoy the epic poetry at times, Dantes Inferno, Chaucer's Tales, Paradise Lost, etc.. it is nice to have a translation like Fagles in which it is plain to read. But while he has made it more accesible to the everyday reader, he still writes in a very beautiful and flowery type of way, so as he terms it in his introduction:

"Not a line for line translation, my version of the Iliad is, I hope, neither so literal in rendering Homer's language as to cramp and distort my own __ nor so literary as to brake his energy, his forward drive__ though I want my work to be literate, with any luck. For the more literal approach would seem to be too little English, and the more literary seems too little Greek. I have tried to find a cross between the two, a modern English Homer."
- Robert Fagles -

As a side note, the two books I purchased are penguin classic editions and they're beautifully bound soft trade paperback, with the ruffled edges on the pages, its quite nice and looks really cool on the shelf. Cheers.

Post by **Bucky OHare** » Wed Jul 14, 2004 6:03 pm

or you can wait for the film to come out.

I think i prefer a bit of Greek comedy to epic. Aristophanes is another dude. Read any Roman comedy eg Plautus? I find them very funny (though everyone looks down on it as merely derivative of Greek and unimaginative) Its all slapstick.

Post by **FizbansTalking_Hat** » Wed Jul 14, 2004 6:04 pm

I prefer books to movies, not to say that movies don't give me thrills either. I have a massive DVD collection and I am all about movies, but when it comes down to it, I'd still rather read a book, the story is always more vivid in your mind. Cheers.

Post by **Bucky OHare** » Wed Jul 14, 2004 6:09 pm

No, i agree, books are much better. much more scope for imagination.

Post by **FizbansTalking_Hat** » Wed Jul 14, 2004 6:15 pm

I never saw "Troy" and to be honest I don't know if I reallly want to. The books have always been so vivid in my mind, don't know if I want to ruin that image I have of Achilles and Hector battling. Hmm, cheers.

Post by **Bucky OHare** » Wed Jul 14, 2004 6:15 pm

FizbansTalking_Hat wrote:The thing with Robert Fagles translation is that theyr'e in English, very enjoyable, they're not poetic prose, and some purists complain about this aspect, but you know what, for the majority of people its difficult to get through prose. While I enjoy the epic poetry at times, Dantes Inferno, Chaucer's Tales, Paradise Lost, etc.. it is nice to have a translation like Fagles in which it is plain to read.

I agree with the purists. you need to read them as close to the original language as possible, to get a better fell for the culture and author that wrote it. Fagles is fine, but you need to get closer.

Post by **FizbansTalking_Hat** » Wed Jul 14, 2004 6:18 pm

I've read some of the other translations that are pretty much prose word for word, and while they're enjoyable and they do flow well, I am still enjoying this new translation quite a bit, lets you really enjoy the story. Cheers.

Post by **Bucky OHare** » Wed Jul 14, 2004 6:25 pm

i think the translation of the iliad i have is Lattimore's (uni of chicago press) which sticks as close to the original as it can. and it can be very hard going at times. Not sure about my Odyssey, lent it to a friend and never got it back. hohum.

Kevin's Watch

Kevin's Watch

Homer.........( Not DOH!)...but Epic

Homer.........( Not DOH!)...but Epic