Kevin's Watch

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.