Mastodawn

As our friends at the nearby Filmhouse
prepare libations to the Cinema Gods, ahead of the Christopher Nolan film adaptation (in 70mm print, no less!), it's a good time to remind everyone of Emily Wilson's superb, much-acclaimed translations of The Iliad & Odyssey.

Very much recommended reading

#books #livres #film #EmilyWilson #translation #TheIliad #TheOdyssey #ChristopherNolan #ClassicalMythology #Classical #Homer #bookshops #librairies #bookstodon

Random Thoughts 3d ago

What is myth? Is it an embellished version of historical events, or a symbolic language created by humans to tell the truth?

I think the biggest problem with Troy begins right here. The film tried to make Homer "rational." It removed the gods, toned down the prophecies, and reduced the sense of fate. The result is a well-made film about an ancient war, but the spirit of the Iliad is missing.

Because in Homer's world, the question is not a simple "Did the Trojan War happen?"
The real issue is the bargain between glory and death, man's insignificance in the face of fate, whether anger makes a person divine or animalistic, and the fact that heroism is actually a curse.

Now consider:
What happens when you remove the gods? Poseidon is no longer the sea, only bad weather.
Athena is no longer wisdom, but "strategic thinking."
Fate is no longer a cosmic web, but "political outcome."

And the story shrinks.

Modern cinema, especially after the 2000s, has loved to make myths realistic. Because they wanted to give the audience the feeling of "look, these things could actually have happened." But the purpose of myth is not to be a documentary. Myth magnifies and tells the story of human psychology, fear, and desires.

That's why many people love Troy but don't get that "Homeric feel."

The new crucial question for The Odyssey will be:
“Will Odysseus’s journey be a psychological and metaphysical test, or simply a long homecoming adventure?”

Because the Odyssey is actually less a sea adventure and more an epic about post-war trauma, loss of identity, the inability to be the same person upon returning home, and the disintegration of humanity in the face of temptation.

For example, the Cyclops isn't just a giant. He's a symbol of uncivilized, crude power. Sirens aren't just "women with beautiful voices." They're the call of self-destructive desires.

If you take these completely literally, it becomes fantasy. If you rationalize them completely, their spirit dies.

I think the fundamental problem of the modern world is partly this:
We don't believe in symbols, but we can't live without them either.
That's why we either marvel at myths or turn them into historical documentaries.

However, the world Homer describes is an echo of an era where humans felt they were sitting at the same table with the gods.
There, the storm isn't meteorological; sometimes it's truly the wrath of Poseidon. Because for the people of that era, nature and the sacred weren't separated.

And to be honest, when we reduce myths entirely to reason, all we're left with is the "plot," not the spirit.

#cinema #myth #homer #theodyssey #theiliad #mythology #hollywood

Show thread

David Cantrell 🏏Mar 20

@gutenberg_org #WinnieThePooh is one of the greatest works of #literature ever. It's up there with John's #gospel and #TheIliad.

I will die on this hill.

The Disney version can fuck off though. I will die on this hill too.

Seven more hills and I shall become cat.

bsmall2 Feb 10

I have to figure out how to log in and borrow Archive.org books one day:

It's nice when you can download books onto your own HD and caliber library.. but sometimes, you can't...

https://archive.org/details/wrathofachilles0000iari/page/6/mode/1up

#TheIliad #WrathOfAchilles #IARichards

cont.
https://archive.org/details/iliadofhomerwrat0000iari/page/6/mode/1up

Ashley Halliwell Feb 3

I’ve stumbled upon an adaptation of the Iliad that is Castor-approved, which has been a lifelong task.

His standards are ridiculously high because he’s a stickler for accuracy, especially considering I read the original poem in college at Maryland school. It’s called Troy: Fall of a City and it’s on Netflix. I highly recommend it, especially since it can satisfy Castor’s pedantic ass.

-Allēna (hi, I’m back!)

#Castor #MarylandSchool #theIliad #TroyFallOfACity

skua Jan 22

Looking for info about a Latin translation of Homer, more likely The Iliad, used to teach Latin in South African Catholic girls schools in the mid to late 1940s.

#Homer #TheIliad #Latin #LatinPedagogy #SouthAfrica #UrsulineConvent #StUrsula #StUrsulasConvent

Anson Dec 22

It's a circuitous route via Greek, Latin, Boccaccio, Chaucer, and Shakespeare (and others) to get from Pandaros in the Iliad to "pander" in English.

#TheIliad #Greek #Latin #Boccaccio #Chaucer #Shakespeare #Pandaros #pander #etymology

https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2025/12/21/how-an-obscure-character-in-the-iliad-gave-us-the-english-word-pander/

How an Obscure Character in the 'Iliad' Gave Us the English Word 'Pander' - Tales of Times Forgotten

In the Iliad, Pandaros, son of Lykaon, is a Lykian archer who is allied with the Trojans. In Book 4 of the epic, the goddess Athena tricks him into firing an arrow at the Akhaian king Menelaos, which breaks a truce between the Trojans and Akhaians and causes fighting to resume. Pandaros briefly shows up … Continue reading "How an Obscure Character in the ‘Iliad’ Gave Us the English Word ‘Pander’"

Tales of Times Forgotten