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[decemberthirty]

I've always sided with the Trojans in the Trojan War. That's an absurd thing to say, of course, but it's true. Maybe I have a thing for underdogs. Or, more likely, it's because I read Virgil before I read Homer. By the time I got to The Iliad, the Greeks were already the enemy. So I was surprised, when I read David Malouf's novel Ransom, to

Comments

[zenbaker]

That sounds amazing - Im a total sucker for both Homer and Virgil.

Thanks for the insight, its going on the Amazon list :)

[decemberthirty]

Sounds like this book will be right up your alley!

[decemberthirty]

I've been pretty geeky over Greek and Roman stuff for a long time. It started with this book I had called D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths, which I read obsessively when I was in maybe 5th grade or thereabouts. It's definitely geared for "young readers," so it might not be the thing to bring you beyond the beginner level, but I remember the illustrations being really amazing and the book as whole being really awesome. I would love to get my hands on a copy of it again!

Bullfinch's Mythology is pretty much the classic text in this area. It's thorough and huge. Sometimes all three volumes are published together, but the volume that's focused on Greece and Rome is called "The Age of Fable."

Other than that, your best bet is probably to go to the original classical texts. The story of the Trojan War itself is all in The Iliad, but I've always found it a little boring--lots and lots of names, and long passages about how so-and-so slew somebody-or-other on the battlefield in order to avenge the death of some other guy, etc, etc. The

[decemberthirty]

No, you definitely should not be embarrassed about starting with D'Aulaire's! It's a great book! One of those high quality children's books that no one should be embarrassed to read.

If you're interested in contextualizing some of the mythic/epic material, then I will double my recommendation of Le Guin's Lavinia--a big part of the appeal of that book was the way it depicted everyday life in pre-Roman Italy, not just grand heroic goings-on.

It's interesting stuff. I think you'll have fun with your digging!

[icelore]

I read Homer before Virgil, and still had to root for the Trojans. :) I will definitely put Ransom on my to-read list!

[decemberthirty]

Ha ha! Is it just their status as historic underdogs that makes the Trojans more appealing?

If you like contemporary rewritings of classical material, I would also recommend Ursula K. Le Guin's Lavinia, which tells the story of the last little bit of The Aeneid from the perspective of Aeneas's second wife.

[icelore]

I have to admit I generally root for the underdogs, but the Trojans were depicted better then just your classic "never give up, keep fighting when you're down" type, you know?

Definitely interested in Lavinia, it sounds awesome. Thanks very much for the recommendation!!

[elfinecstasy]

Hope you don't mind me adding you from the friending frenzy! Fellow book lover and writer here :-)

[decemberthirty]

No, I don't mind! I'll go add you too, and we can see if we hit it off. :)