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The Iliad

Penguin Classics

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

This Penguin Classic is performed by Steve John Shepherd, whose theatre credits include Much Ado About Nothing at the Globe, The Good Canary directed by John Malkovich, Bomber's Moon and Piaf. His TV and film credits range from the iconic This Life to Silent Witness and Eastenders. This definitive recording includes an introduction by E V Rieu.

One of the foremost achievements in Western literature, Homer's Iliad tells the story of the darkest episode in the Trojan War. At its centre is Achilles, the greatest warrior-champion of the Greeks, and his refusal to fight after being humiliated by his leader Agamemnon. But when the Trojan Hector kills Achilles' close friend Patroclus, he storms back into battle to take revenge - although knowing this will ensure his own early death. Interwoven with this tragic sequence of events are powerfully moving descriptions of the ebb and flow of battle, of the domestic world inside Troy's besieged city of Ilium, and of the conflicts between the Gods on Olympus as they argue over the fate of mortals.

 Ancient, Classical & Medieval Literature Death, Grief & Loss Epic Poetry Themes & Styles War Classics Ancient Greece Ancient History Greek Mythology Greece Greek Classics
All stars
Most relevant
A must read/listen. This version has excellent narration. I will definitely come back to this one again.

Excellent!

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I was worried that it was going to be massive bore like some classics are but there was a surprising amount of action and gore in it (maybe even too much so that it lost its effect).

Fun story that was really well narrated

Good story, very well read

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I was a little reluctant to buy this audiobook; I was looking for Derek Jacobi's reading of the Robert Fagles translation, which is not currently avaialable. I read the EV Rieu translation many years ago and remember it being more prosaic than poetic – how would it fare in the spoken medium? I needn't have worried. Rieu's work has amply stood the test of time, and Steve John Shepherd invests every line with the maximum dramatic effect – just what Homer needs. Rieu's introduction (which appears at the end) is a nice bonus. Highly recommended.

Superb

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Whether it was written by Homer or not does not matter. What is accepted is that it was written millenniums ago. It is a magnificent read/listen, well read, and as powerful a tale as it is possible to be.

An Extraordinary Story

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I greatly enjoyed listening to this recording. The story is magnificent and the narrator does a terrific job. Five stars.

Beautifully read epic.

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