Did anyone ever hear of the book "Iliad" By Homer?

Question

i dont understand it because its in old english and its hard for me to understand...
can anyone help?
or give me a website that will help me understand it?

Answer 1

umm I had a project on it I had to pick a paragraph and explain it really their is NOTHING I guarantee you NOTHING that will help you explain it I looked EVERYWHERE for literally 4 hours anywhere you ask I looked their and a friend of mine did the same so here is a websitehttp://classics.mit.edu/Homer/iliad.1.i.html but you have to explain it though cause it doesnt say

Answer 2

Actually it's not in old English, dude, it's in classical Greek. You've been reading a translation. Man, are you f***ed.

First, rent the movie 'Troy'. That's the plot of the Iliad, right there.

Next, get the Robert Fagles translation. That's the easiest to understand. Don't be put off by the fact that it looks like poetry. It's simple. It's about men killing each other, and what happens when they kill each other, and what it costs men to kill other men - emotionally, spiritually, whatever. It's also about pride and arrogance, as well as humility and forgiveness.

Just read it. I know it's difficult, I've been reading it for years and I'm still only half way through. But it is brilliant once you get into it.

You could try the link below. But I've read it and while it's good, if you can't understand the poem, you're not gonna understand the wikipedia entry.

Answer 3

Ok, I read all of the previous answers, and I have to say, most of the people are right, but they still aren't giving you the information you need. First off, if you rent "Troy", you'll still be screwed, because they change A LOT of essential details and characters, and also add in details from The Odyssey and The Aeneid. Since The Iliad was originally a Greek epic poem that was passed on orally for generations, there are many important details that had to be left out to fit the plot into a two-hour movie. So what you need to do is find a translation that is in modern English, but also, and this is key, find a translation that is not written in blank verse, but in prose. The way the Greeks composed poetry was very different from our way, and they did not rhyme their lines, etc. Many translations simply translate the poem essentially line-by-line, which can make for confusing, sometimes long sentences. If you read a version that is written in prose format (ie. regular sentences), the words are rearranged to make the most sense, which can really help if you have a hard time following.

In essence, the story follows Achilles, the Greeks and their allies (Achilles is actually a mercenary, or a warrior for hire) as they attack Troy in order to try to win back Helen, who has been kidnapped by Paris, the prince of Troy. Helen was originally the wife of Menelaus, whose brother Agamemnon was the king of Sparta, and while Paris went to visit them for diplomatic reasons, he was drawn into a debate between three goddesses (all Greek poems, plays and epics have gods and goddesses in them). Hera, Aphrodite and Athena were fighting over who was the most beautiful, and since no male gods were willing to help them decide (they were too smart to get involved!), they went to Paris, because he was the most handsome man in the world. Each of them offered him a bribe that had to do with their power/domain (Hera-wisdom, Aphrodite-love, Athena-war), and Aphrodite promised him the most beautiful woman in the world, who was Helen. He accepts Aphrodite's offer, and she gives him Helen, but incurs the wrath of the Spartans as well as Hera and Athena at the same time. While they are fighting, Achilles has a crisis of conscience and goes to sit on a beach for most of the epic, only coming back 2/3 of the way through, and the battle starts going badly for the Spartans. Once he is convinced to rejoin the fight, he is able to win back the lost ground.

There is a lot of blood and guts, and some really awesome execution scenes (in one, a guy's head gets split in half!), so it is worth it to read. I've really only given you a very rough plot summary, there are a lot more elements to it than that, including why Achilles leaves the battle, the whole conflict within the walls of Troy (a whole other story involving Paris' brother Hector, the best Trojan warrior), and the backstory of the gods and why certain ones support one side and others support the other side. The epic ends WAY before the war ends, although it takes place in the tenth, and last, year of fighting; there is no Trojan horse, no burning of Troy and no rescuing of Helen. Good luck!

Answer 4

Ok, I'm sorry to break this to you, but the Iliad is NOT written in Old English. Not even originally - it's Greek. I don't know what translation you're reading, but there are oodles to choose from. Why not go to a bookstore, look at them, and see which one you can understand the best.

Answer 5

If you think The Iliad is written in Old English and/or you need Cliff/Sparknotes, you're a moron. It's a long, epic poem detailing a ridiculous amount of men killing each other. You don't need much of a road map for that.

Answer 6

Ah, the Illiad is the book before the Odessy. I feel for ya, I had to read the Odessy this year for school and Am currently Reading Great Expectations by Dickens, which has the same old language effect.

http://www.sparknotes.com is a really good site for chapter overviews

the specific site for the Illiad is http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/iliad/

Answer 7

Yes,Homer, of ancient Greece, wrote the Oddeusy and the Illiad,two epics, about the Trojan War.

Answer 8

well, its an epic poem translated from Greek. They make Cliff's Notes. And, I think there's a movie with Brad Pitt, based loosely on the Illiad.

Answer 9

Well it is a very famous book. Perhaps you can find a modern translation. Good luck!

Answer 10

It's mythology.
Try sparknotes.com or wikipedia or library.thinkquest.org or enotes.com/iliad.