Will this entertain me?

No, stick to Big Bang Theory and airport novels.

>>9391759
Depends on what you find entertaining

>>9391759
More entertaining than trying to understand Chapman's translation

>>9391759
It's blasphemous, read the Bible instead and praise Jesus.

If you like something that might entertain you but wouldn't jeopardize your 'Start with the Greeks' pledge go ahead and read Anabasis

Read something entertaining and thought provoking instead like John Grisham

>>9391759
ofc it will entertain you, it's an incredible tale.

no you should just play Runescape instead.

>>9391759
It's not worth it if you don't know Greek.

>>9391759
it's the best war book of all times, if you are man, you are going to love it

>>9391788
Listen to this guy, OP. Or read some Clive Cussler, he should be perfect for you.

>he doesn't feel warm and happy every time old nestor starts telling all the heroes how much greater men were in HIS day

If you are reading the Iliad expecting it to be some kind of plot focused page turner your mind is in the wrong place. Ideally you would be familiar with the whole extended universe of the stories of the Greek heroes and the Trojan campaign before starting.

A huge portion of Hellenic writing is all dealing with the same stories and characters, Homer is famous because his telling of those stories was regarded as the best and most inspired recounting of those stories.

>>9391867
>all men love war
Fuck off brute

>>9391759
>one of the founding documents of western canon

No, OP.

>>9391867
That would be three kingdoms actually desu.

Outside of one section early on which is a literal parade of names and nationalities for 15 pages it is very entertaining.

>>9391874
Spotted the pussy

>>9391888
look at me, I'm a big strong warmonger from the safety of my chair
fuck off pussy

File: 1487774568660.jpg (462KB, 1050x1080px) Image search: [Google]

462KB, 1050x1080px

>>9391874
please don't be mad sir, give some poetic licence. War is the most human thing in the world, don't be arrogant

Best thread. Perhaps ever.

>>9391917
Yeah. Don't be an argonaut!

>>9391888
Wow, embarrassing.

I'd say it's about 3/4 entertaining, 1/4 monotonous boring crap.

>>9391888

trips of truth

entertainment is a baby boomer invention to make us stupid.

>>9391759
Both equally

>>9391759
Everyone talking about it ITT is just saying shit, they have no idea.
Don't read it. Don't waste your time. Stick to your vidya.

>>9391759
The Iliad? More like the Ilibad, fuck Homer.

>>9391759
it's better than the odyssey

>>9391909
>fuck off pussy
and so on, you are worst than him

>>9391759
it's entertaining if you skip all the battle descriptions and enjoy lore

>>9394329
So you skipped, what, five sixths of the poem? The battle descriptions are vital to the emotional impact of the book. Every form of courage, cowardice, rejoicing, despair, recklessness, caution, honor, and deceit are meticulously yet economically represented, and any reader with a soul will find themselves taken willingly by the movements of the old song.

>>9394329
>skip all the battle descriptions
that's the whole thing you filthy plebeian

book 2 only good book

>>9391759
Is the Mitchell translation okay? It was the only one I could find at the library, and I can't afford it right now.

>>9391759
whatever you do, don't get that trash translation. lattimore for literal translation, fitzgerald for poetic translation

>>9395493
type out the first few lines here or send a pic and i can tell you if it's good.

>>9395493
Almost certainly not.

>>9395760
don't listen to this guy, just post the first few lines, very few translations are actually as bad as people make them out to be

>>9395780
True, but there are some absolutely abbhorrent translations out there.
Moreover, looking at the Stephen Mitchell, he seems like a real hack.

>>9395780
>>9395796
Oh, and the first few lines are a bad choice- they'll be the most refined, the most stereotyped. Test with some from the middle, from one of the battle scenes.

>>9391876
patrician

>>9395798
>>9395796
http://stephenmitchellbooks.com/translations-adaptations/the-iliad/

I took a look at some lines, it's not great. Like the fagles, it sacrifices both textual accuracy (lattimore) and poetic accuracy (fitzgerald) in favor of plain-spokenness, if you're going to read this kind of translation, fagles is hands down the best (lombardo is the absolute worst translation of this kind).

again, not a terrible translation, I would recommend it if it weren't for the author taking liberties with removing what modern scholars think are interpolations (most likely book 10 is 100% scrapped).

it's good but no transformers.

>>9395493
Fagles is really good. Get the Penguin Deluxe edition.

File: 1492492739856.png (234KB, 545x530px) Image search: [Google]

234KB, 545x530px

>>9395751
>Literal translations.

>>9391779
Chapman's Iliad is still understandable, even if often confusing. Chapman's Odyssey on the other hand is absolutely indigestible.

>homer
more like homo hehehe

>>9391867
>>9391874
Want to know how I know you two have never fought in a war?

>>9396700
o shit, i don't know how to cook so i can't tell if this cookies are good or not

Is the Anthony Verity translation any good for a first time reader or should I try to find a Fagles copy?

>>9391759
It's not accessible but if you're past the pleb level of hating everything that's hard to understand, then it's really entertaining.

>>9397597
War lit is more like a recipe than actual cookies in that metaphor, so yes, you wouldn't be able to tell if the recipe is good without knowing how to cook.

>>9391759
Do you need to ask others how you may experience things?

How programmed are you?

>>9397882
the cookies is the final product, just as the book
i'm reading a finished book, your opinion is pretty dumb, you can enjoy and appreciate a book about war if i'm not a soldier? grow up please

>>9398063
No, real war is the cookies. You've never even had a taste, so your opinion of the written version is absurdly uninformed. You may enjoy it, but you're doing so in the same way that the faggots in /sffg/ enjoy their drivel.

>>9398237
so can't even into simple analogies
how can i take you seriously dummy

>>9398257
no u

>>9391788
yes, or Paulo Coelho

File: 220px-Hector_Astyanax_MN_Jatta.jpg (18KB, 220x220px) Image search: [Google]

18KB, 220x220px

You should read it just alone for that scene when Hector has some respite and gets to spend some time with his wife and child. One of he best portrayals in literature ever.

Daily reminder that Hector did nothing wrong

>>9398913
This guy gets it.

https://youtu.be/qI0mkt6Z3I0

>>9396601
I've read Lattimore several times. Never liked the Fagles.

Lattimore is lucid and faithful to the Greek.

How does Chapman compare? What do you mean indigestible?

>>9397597
"War is sweet to those who have no experience of it"
- Pindar

>>9391759
You don't read great literature to be entertained. It's not supposed to be enjoyable.

>>9399056
Chapman reads like someone just typed out the entire Iliad in prose on a word processor and then just pressed enter at set intervals.

>>9399114
that's great, thanks god i can enjoy a good book about war and thanks god i don't wear a fedora

What is the best translation of the Iliad? I am planning on reading Pope's one but am not sure if I shouldn't read another one.

>>9399207
You should read Pope's after reading Lattimore's. Pope didn't so much translate as rewrite, and while his craftwork is excellent, it isn't properly the Iliad.