‘I honoured Ilion the most..’
I grew up enamoured with mythology. Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Norse. All the mythologies built on intricate and imaginative tales filled with excitemen and glory.
The rage of Achilles — sing it now, goddess
Stories of heroes and heroics have a universal quality and I was no different from the billions attracted over the millenia. We need heroes. We need to imagine that there is a high power, whatever that might be, that gives meaning to our lives. But it was a childhood phase, like wizard stories and fairy tales. I grew out of it.
They were as fast as bird, in age and in colour
But stories can teach us to find meaning and to find joy. They can take us closer to those who first sat down and entertained. It helps us to understand those ideas and experiences that are far beyond our own. They bring despair, hope, tears and pride. We grow through these stories.
When Strife first appears, she is small, but she keeps on growing till her forehead touches the sky while her feet walk the earth
This year, I decided to read The Iliad and I didn’t realise how much I had taken for granted about what I had known or not know about this pillar of world thought and literature, because it’s importance moves beyond the ‘West’ where it was birthed.
Shall we go ahead and once again stir up the war..
I am not going to ‘review’ The Iliad. That is futile. I will say that despite being alive for almost five decades, I didn’t realise how much I didn’t know of it — however much I loved those childhood tales of Troy (or Ilion).
Do you save your courage for stealing men’s wives?
The tale of Achilles’ anger and Priam’s fortitude, Helen’s beauty and Hector’s bravery, Patroclus’ love and Agamemnon’s pride — all well-known but in reading the verses, not through a children’s version, or a new vision of the tale from the point of view of women, or minor characters, remains fresh and clear. An insight into the way that the world has changed and the way that it hasn’t changed, and fundamentally what literature can do to transform the world.
Of cities under the sun and the starry heavens, I honoured Illion most..
The reading of what I had assumed I knew, teaches its own story. It certainly has for me.
