Goddess, sing of the cataclysmic wrath
of great Achilles, son of Peleus,
which caused the Greeks immeasurable pain
and sent so many noble souls of heroes
to Hades, and made men the spoils of dogs,
a banquet for the birds, and so the plan
of Zeus unfolded-- starting with the conflict
between great Agamemnom, lord of men,
and glorious Achilles.
This is from the new translation of The Iliad by Emily Watson. At over 700 pages, it’s pretty hefty, but something I’ve never read all the way through. I even had it in my Christmas-wish list. I know the basic story, but not all of the smaller parts. I’ll be reading summaries of the 24 books as I go along just so I don’t get totally lost. Wish me luck.