[Pocket Edition] World Literature Masterpieces Library - Homer's Iliad

Author: (Ancient Greece) Homer
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: Homer's epics (including The Iliad and The Odyssey) are a glorious representation of Ancient Greek literature, with rich and diverse content, often hailed as an "encyclopedia of the 'childhood' of human society." The Iliad is a monumental work depicting ancient warfare, narrating the war between the Ancient Greeks and the Trojans, and celebrating the heroes who fought against foreign tribes. Homer's epics are the of European narrative poetry and are considered the greatest ancient epic, holding an irreplaceable position in the history of world literature. Marx called them works of "enduring charm" and a "norm and an unattainable model." Homer's epics have had a profound influence on later literature. Renowned world literary figures such as Dante, Shakespeare, Goethe, and Tolstoy held Homer's epics in high esteem and drew rich literary nourishment from them. Homer, along with Dante, Shakespeare, and Goethe, is regarded by Western literary circles as the "Four Great Poets of the World." Dante even hailed Homer as the "King of Poets" in The Divine Comedy. Homer's epics and all his myths—this is the main legacy that the Greeks brought from the barbaric age to the age of civilization.—Engels
Because of the excellence of Homer's epics, almost all later poets seemed to pause their writing, as if only writing epics could immortalize their names.—Chernyshevsky
When I first read Homer's epics, it was as if an astronomer suddenly discovered a new constellation floating into his vision.—Keats