Greek
epic poem by Homer; widely considered the first work in Western literature. Tells the story of a small
period of time during the Trojan
War, focusing mainly on the character Achilles.
The original Greek version was spoken in rhythm to a lyre by a traveling musician-writer known as a rhapsode, not unlike a modern rapper. In fact, the term rapper comes from the word rhapsode.
There are many
English translations, many of which are in the form of prose rather than poetry.
It is a very slow-moving story, regardless of translation, mostly because half of it is spent shouting out the names of hundreds of different Greeks and Trojans who died during the war, due to the fact that it would have been recited for Greek aristocrats who believed they had ancestry from that
period.
Student 1: My English
teacher's making me read the Iliad.
Student 2: Bummer, dude!
Homer: Thus ended Erophobus of Lesbos. Holla!
Greek Nobleman: Dude! He was totally my great-great-
uncle!
