How to Read the Epics of Homer (Introductory Lecture) (Patreon)

'Rage: Sing, Goddess, Achilles' rage, black and murderous, that cost the Greeks incalculable pain, pitched countless souls of heroes into Hades' dark, and left their bodies to rot as feasts for dogs and birds, as Zeus' will was done.'

It’s time to begin our journey through the epics of Homer. We'll be fighting at Troy with Achilles, and then striving to return home with Odysseus.

Our reading will teach us about the epic tradition, oral storytelling, what is worth fighting for, how to return home in our hearts, the influence of Homer, poetic truth, mythology vs history, honour, pride, friendship, love, heroism, and much more.

Today we’re discussing how best to break into these deeply rewarding foundational masterpieces of Western Literature and bring ourselves fully to the Iliad and the Odyssey.

Video Timestamps:

0:00 the Iliad and Odyssey of Homer

2:00 why read the epics of Homer?

5:00 how to read Homer’s epics

6:00 who was the poet Homer? 

7:00 unitarians vs analysts

8:30 reading the epics in sequence

9:30 young Homer vs old Homer

10:30 was Homer a woman? 

12:00 single poet vs multiple tellers

13:30 oral culture vs written record

14:00 Milman Parry and Albert Lord

15:00 oral formulaic composition

16:00 travelling singing bards

16:30 how to memorise the epics

17:00 repetition in Homer’s epics

18:30 how to adapt the epics to film

19:00 importance of poetic formulas

20:00 world’s most musical language

21:00 Homeric dactylic hexameter 

22:30 Ancient Greek vs English verse

24:00 ‘Rage: Sing, Goddess…’

25:00 Iliad as meditation on rage

26:00 what makes an epic an epic?

26:30 analysis of the Iliad’s first line

27:00 opening invocation to the Muse

27:00 who is the Muse of Homer?

28:00 memory as foundation of culture

29:00 great epics are about great heroes

30:00 ‘Speak, Memory, of the cunning hero’

31:00 analysis of the Odyssey’s first line

32:00 ‘tell the story once more in our time’

32:30 why do epics begin in medias res?

33:00 no spoiler warnings in ancient times

35:00 creating suspense vs easing tension

36:00 Achilles withdraws from the battle

37:00 opening Telemachia of the Odyssey

38:00 why did the original audience listen?

39:00 the much larger Epic Cycle

40:00 read Homer to read the tradition

40:30 Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides

42:00 Homer’s influence on theatre

42:30 theory of anxiety of influence

43:30 Plato, Virgil, Ovid, Dante, Milton

45:00 epic prose of Tolstoy and Joyce

46:00 Homer’s Odyssey in Ulysses

47:00 Cervantes, Dumas, Dickens, Tolkien

48:30 mythic archetype of the hero

49:30 these epics are everybody’s stories 

50:00 outlining the plots of the epics

50:30 how to be like the first audience

51:00 what is the story of the Iliad?

53:00 what are the Greeks fighting for?

54:00 Agamemnon vs Achilles

55:00 Greek vs Roman heroes

55:30 why Achilles refuses to fight

56:30 the gods of Mount Olympus

58:00 sense of honour in Ancient Greece 

59:00 having something to fight for

1:00:00 what makes a Homeric hero?

1:03:00 resonance of the hero’s journey

1:05:00 difference in myth vs history 

1:06:00 poetic truth in mythology

1:07:00 did the Trojan War happen?

1:07:30 Schliemann’s discovery of Troy

1:09:00 conflict, fire, evacuation

1:09:30 how myth encodes history

1:10:30 what is the story of the Odyssey?

1:12:00 symbolism of storytelling

1:12:30 homecoming and coming-of-age

1:13:30 theme of Xenia/hospitality

1:14:30 themes of identity and home

1:15:00 Odyssey as rebirth narrative

1:15:30 Odysseus blinds the Cyclops

1:16:00 everyman pretending to be no-man

1:16:30 are you Achilles or Odysseus?

1:17:00 fantastic adventures of the epic

1:18:00 recognition and royal reversal

1:19:00 what I love most about Homer

1:21:00 what is the best translation of Homer?

1:22:00 translators as puritans vs cavaliers 

1:22:30 taste test for Homer translations

1:23:00 lifelong reading assignment for you

1:23:30 my top recommended translation

1:24:00 Stanley Lombardo translation

1:25:30 Robert Fagles translation 

1:27:00 Richmond Lattimore translation

1:28:30 Robert Fitzgerald translation

1:29:30 Emily Wilson translation

1:30:40 E. V. Rieu translation

1:31:30 Daniel Mendelsohn translation

1:33:00 George Chapman translation

1:34:00 which translation was your favourite?

1:34:30 more quick tips for reading Homer

1:35:00 maps, rabbit holes, resources

1:35:30 how to make your reading communal

1:36:00 pacing for book club lecture series

1:38:00 book club back catalogue lectures

1:38:00 what is your experience with Homer?

Resources:

• Translations & Editions: There are many wonderful translations of Homer. We are absolutely spoilt for choice. My lifelong reading assignment for you is this: pick up a new translation of Homer every year, or every other year, and use it as an opportunity to re-immerse yourself in the epics. The translations that we compared in the video are as follows: Lombardo, Fagles, Lattimore, Fitzgerald, Wilson, Rieu, Mendelsohn, Chapman. Let us know which one sang to you the most. You may even want to have a couple on hand to unlock some extra nuance. I'll be working primarily from the Lombardo for our read-through, whilst also making comparisons with some of my other favourites along the way. Remember that the right translation is the one that gets you reading the work. Another reading recommendation would be to read the little translator's note that comes at the beginning of your choice to understand their translation philosophy. For more translation options, I conducted another taste test for Homer here.

• Meet the Translators: Stanley Lombardo gave readings of Homer and discussed his translation with a panel that included Christopher Hitchens here. Emily Wilson is part of a great discussion on translating Homer here, with readings from Juliet Stevenson and Tobias Menzies. Robert Fagles gave an inspiring recorded interview to The Paris Review here. And Daniel Mendelsohn talks about his incredible new translation of Homer here.

• Great Audiobooks: The epics of Homer were originally recited aloud, rather than read. So audiobook lovers are honouring the oral storytelling tradition and culture. The following are just a few stellar narration options for Homer: Ian McKellen, Charlton Griffin, Anthony Heald, Audra McDonald, and Claire Danes. For fun, here is Emily Wilson powerfully reading some of the original Homeric Greek and following it up with her translation.

• Music Appreciation: Have a listen to this hymn to the Muse Calliope and Apollo with an ancient lyre. And here's a musician who brings ancient music alive playing and talking about the Ancient Greek kithara. Here is a short documentary that shows how the music of Ancient Greece actually sounded (and it might surprise you). And, just for fun, here's how the Game of Thrones soundtrack would sound if it were played during ancient times. And, for something modern, here is an awesome contemporary playlist of songs inspired by the ancient myths.

• Film, Documentary & Theatre: The 2004 film Troy, directed by Wolfgang Petersen and boasting a star-studded cast, is a loose adaptation of Homer's epic, but makes for compelling watching. If you haven't seen it already, I'd recommend reading the Iliad first, thinking about how you would adapt the epic to film, and then giving it a watch. For a great historical documentary series, there is a six-part 1985 BBC series presented by Michael Wood called The Real Trojan War (there is also a book version). If you're interested in the development of Ancient theatre, you can find some excellent stagings of Aeschylus' Agamemnon from the Oresteia here and here, and Sophocles' Oedipus Rex here. Speaking of film adaptations, what are you expecting from the upcoming Christopher Nolan adaptation of The Odyssey?

• Complementary Books: Stephen Fry's Greek Myths series (Mythos, Heroes, Troy, Odyssey) is excellent if you want contemporary retellings of these old stories. You can check them all out here. I recently picked up the new illustrated edition of the Greek Myths. Edith Hamilton's Mythology also continues to be a great go-to resource for learning about the gods and heroes of classical antiquity. If you're interested in checking out the maps of the locales mentioned in the epics, and learning about Ancient Greek culture, then the Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece is excellent. For an excellent essay on Homer's storytelling techniques, the opening chapter of Erich Auerbach's Mimesis, 'Odysseus' Scar', is very illuminating. This is also one of the foundational works of literary criticism in the modern era, so it's a fantastic one to have on hand. And if you're ever interested in learning a bit of the original Homeric Greek, I've found this book and this book are very good for that. Another one of my favourite works that gives great context to Homer is Albert Lord's The Singer of Tales.

• Book Club Complementary Reads & Reflection: Whilst you're working through the epics of Homer, keep in mind some of the other titans of literature we have met together. Think about their relationship to this Great Original and how Homer's influence is the backbone of Western Literature. You may also want to make a mental note of any writers you've not met yet and plan to check one of them out in the near future. Here are some fun ones to bring to the conversation with Homer: Ovid, Dante, Milton, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Goethe, Cervantes, Dumas, Joyce, Morrison, Dickens, Tolstoy.

Reading Assignment:

Our next discussion will cover books one to eight of the Iliad, and will be this coming weekend. So start making your way into the work, reading steadily, meeting the characters, and noting down any themes, ideas, or passages that personally resonate with you.

Questions for You:

1) What is your current relationship with Homer? Is this your first reading or a rereading of these powerful epics?

2) What themes from your wider reading would you like to pull into the Iliad and Odyssey?

3) What does it mean to be a hero for you?

4) What are you hoping to get out of your deep reading of Homer?

Happy reading, everybody!