# So I just finished the Illiad... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 22, 2004, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-finished-the-illiad/246536 "2004-05-22T16:19:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bsane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@bsane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bsane)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-finished-the-illiad/246536/1 "2004-05-22T16:19:31Z")
I just finished listening to the Illiad (unabridged). I thought this book ended with the sack of Troy, not with a cease fire. I know what happens to Troy and Achilles, but apparently I don’t know where the tale is told… Anyone care to enlighten me on ancient greek literature? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-finished-the-illiad/246536/2 "2004-05-22T16:24:54Z")
The fall of Troy is seen in flashbacks in both _The Odyssey_ (ostensibly by the same Homer) and _The Aeneid_ (by Vergil). After both of those, a poet named Quintus of Smyrna wrote an \*Iliad \*sequel, published in English as _The War at Troy_, based on material from those earlier sequels. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-finished-the-illiad/246536/3 "2004-05-22T17:04:47Z")
Some scholars insist that the real central character of the _Iliad_ is not Achilles, but Hector. Consider how Hector is consistently shown as the noblest warrior, and that the poem ends abruptly with the weeping and wailing that takes place at his funeral. Hector’s death, of course, forshadows the inevitable downfall of Troy. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-finished-the-illiad/246536/4 "2004-05-22T19:31:11Z")
Other sequels include **The Trojan Women** by Euripides- Hecuba (Priam’s queen), her daughters and daughter-in-law, now captive, discuss life, the universe & everything (with everything including Andromache’s son Astyax being flung from the walls of Troy). Unusual in that in this version, Helen gets it in the end. **Agamemnon** by Aeschylus- tells the story of Agamemnon’s “triumphant” return home to his queen Clytemnestra (Helen’s mortal twin/half-sister- same mother but different egg [literally- their mama Leta laid two eggs, one containing two demigods and one containing two mortals]) with his prize Cassandra (daughter of Priam) and other Trojan booty. If you haven’t read it, it’s one of my favorite of the Greek tragedies (though you’ll need to read its prequel, **Iphigenia at Aulis** , to understand it). ---
**Author:** ![bsane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@bsane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bsane)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2004, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-finished-the-illiad/246536/5 "2004-05-22T22:27:39Z")
Thanks for the information… I liked the Illiad so I’ll probably continue with the Odyssey and see where that goes although the others sound intriguing as well. As a side note, I saw Troy right after I finished the book. The film ended where I thought the Illiad was supposed to. All in all it was a pretty bad movie. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-finished-the-illiad/246536/6 "2004-05-23T02:07:56Z")
> [@Kizarvexius](#): > > Some scholars insist that the real central character of the _Iliad_ is not Achilles, but Hector. Consider how Hector is consistently shown as the noblest warrior, and that the poem ends abruptly with the weeping and wailing that takes place at his funeral. Hector’s death, of course, forshadows the inevitable downfall of Troy. Hector is, I think, the only male character in the “Iliad” who doesn’t come off as an ass, but I think he’s the foil for Achilles rather than being the central character. What a great poem. Must go read for the bajillionth time. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2004, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-finished-the-illiad/246536/7 "2004-05-23T02:09:34Z")
> [@bsane](#): > > Thanks for the information… I liked the Illiad so I’ll probably continue with the Odyssey and see where that goes although the others sound intriguing as well. Most people I’ve talked to prefer the “Odyssey.” It has more fun stuff, I’ll admit, but the character of Odysseus never appealed to me. And it lacks the grandeur of the “Iliad.” But read it! Then read Vergil. And then read Dante. You won’t regret it. 🙂