So I've started reading this for the first time...

So I've started reading this for the first time. I read 'A Brief History of Ancient Greece' and 'Mythology' to warm myself up but nothing prepared me for the absurd amount of names dropped, of people and places, in the part where he's listing off the battalions in book 2. I just know I'll struggle to keep track of all this. Any tips to improve my reading of this Anons?

You only need to really know a handful or two of the characters

Well thank fuck. Can anyone confirm?

This. Just let it flow over you.

One thing that happens a lot is Homer will introduce a guy, go over his whole genealogy and life story, then have him impaled by a spear in the next verse.

So don't sweat all the characters, they won't be around long.

The gods, Achilles, Agammemnon, Odysseus, Patroclus, Priam, Hector, and Menelaus are probably the important names you wantto know.

The others not so much though I might be forgetting some.

Oh, plus Paris and Helen too

I haven't looked bit you probably only need to know the ones that made the Wikipedia page.

Off the top of my head you should know
Achilles
Patroclus
Agamemnon
Menelaus
Odysseus
Ajax
Ajax
Idomeneus
Teucer
Priam
Hector
Paris
Helen
Aeneas
And the gods

There are some more that it wouldn't hurt to know, like Phoenix and antenor, but it's not necessary.

Damn, and my favorite character Diomedes

Thanks fellas. This is all very encouraging considering I already have knowledge of all these characters.

This question might be impertinent but why does he do this exactly?

Andromache and Nestor are important too. Nestor especially since he's in the Odyssey.

Homer's extensive listing of the Greek participants in the war is likely due to the typically verbal performance of the story, with such exhaustive lists acting as a nod to each of the varied listeners of different Greek origins

Not to mention Diomedes and Aeneas. Diomedes fucks up some of the gods and Aeneas is the hero of the Aeneid, so I'd say they are both worthy of mention.

There's an obvious thematic reason for it, too.

Which is?

What translation did y'all read for your first read? What would you recommend for a beginner. I don't really want to read a prose version but I'm worried I won't be able to follow the story through fully poetic versions.

>Inb4 learn ancient greek

Ah that's very neat. Thank you.

Yeah, what is it?

Oh yeah and I'm reading Fagles' translation myself. On majority recommendation of course. Also I'm not a very good or experienced reader and I can tell you that I learnt to adjust to the form pretty quickly and it becomes not so difficult. In fact it massively enhanced the whole thing for me.

Eagles, Fitzgerald or lattimore for first read

Pope or Chapman for second

Use a map to enhance the experience.

Understand you don't need to remember everyone

Great map

making you familiar with someone's background as you read about their death

This is great, thank you.

Could you expand on that please? If it's not a bother.

here. There are two major reasons for it. The first is that Homer wants to show that the Trojan War was extraordinary—it's full of heroes, demi-gods, and gods. Giving you the genealogies of characters shows that these people have descended from a long line of heroes.
The second reason relates to this. Homer doesn't shy away from death and the sorrows of war in the Iliad at all, so he drives home both that and the previous idea of the war being extraordinary by killing off all of these people that can trace their lineages back so far, and are all immensely powerful themselves. The clearest example is that the greatest hero of the war dies.

Not the guy you're replying to, but just wanted to say thanks for the reply. I've read a lot of Greek content, but only read Homer once, and only at the start of my readings, so I never really grasped those themes of war in the Iliad.

Much obliged!

No problem, man. I hope you get around to re-reading Homer at some point. He's definitely worth visiting again when you're a more mature reader, or just after some span of time where you're a new person. I haven't encountered any work comparable in richness, with fresh discoveries to be made all the time, than the Iliad.

Yeah I definitely plan on it. When I first came to Homer I knew nothing about the ancient world besides some mythology. Now I have the majority of ancient (both Greek and Roman) historians under my belt now, loads of drama and philosophy (almost done with all of Plato), and am also learning Latin. When I revisit Homer it will be as a totally different reader, and I'm planning on following up with minor epic poetry (already have Statius, Lucan, Ovid, and the rest of Virgil ready) to explore the genre itself as well, and hopefully warm up for later writers like Dante and Milton.