Iliad

Zeeke recommended this 1 year, 5 months ago

Homer sees it all - conflict arising out of necessity, the intoxication of the heroes indulging in their anger and skill at violence, the suffering of their victims and everyone's eventual grief.

About as good as it gets. Read with Simone Weil's essay, "The Poem of Force".

antoniof recommended this 1 year, 8 months ago

War stories worth knowing.

arshilegorky recommended this 1 year, 9 months ago

If you read it hermeneutically, it is about 5 stages of dealing with denial of our wishes: rage, denial, isolation, depression and acceptance.

rickroll recommended this 2 years, 7 months ago

The Great Epic from which all other war stories trace there lineage. Also a wonderful portrait of a man's fall and rejoining of humanity
Cons: Parts of it although considered elegant by scholars in Ancient Greek are monotonous in translation. Such as the catalog of ships where Homer lists the strength, leaders, and origins of all the Greeks

jabarrett recommended this 3 years, 5 months ago

A striking combination of what is universal in being human and an almost entirely alien collection of values.

joyewonder recommended this 3 years, 10 months ago

A classic war story
Cons: Violent; long