Homer and His Iliad, Robin Lane Fox
Homer and His Iliad, Robin Lane Fox
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Homer and His Iliad

Author: Robin Lane Fox

Narrator: Steve John Shepherd

Unabridged: 16 hr 44 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 10/24/2023


Synopsis

A groundbreaking reassessment of the Iliad, uncovering how the poem was written and why it remains enduringly powerful 

The Iliad is the world’s greatest epic poem—heroic battle and divine fate set against the Trojan War. Its beauty and profound bleakness are intensely moving, but great questions remain: Where, how, and when was it composed and why does it endure? 

Robin Lane Fox addresses these questions, drawing on a lifelong love and engagement with the poem. He argues for a place, a date, and a method for its composition—subjects of ongoing controversy—combining the detailed expertise of a historian with a poetic reader’s sensitivity. Lane Fox considers hallmarks of the poem; its values, implicit and explicit; its characters; its women; its gods; and even its horses. 

Thousands of readers turn to the Iliad every year. Drawing on fifty years of reading and research, Lane Fox offers us a breathtaking tour of this magnificent text, revealing why the poem has endured for ages. 

About Robin Lane Fox

Robin Lane Fox is an emeritus fellow at New College, Oxford. He's the author of many books on ancient and classical history, including Augustine, Alexander the Great, and The Classical World, which was named one of the Top Ten Nonfiction Books of 2006 by the Washington Post Book World. He lives in Oxford, England.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Cleo on December 05, 2024

Ah, this was a little bit tedious, which was a complete surprise because, if I was stranded on a desert island, The Iliad would be one of five books I would love to have. So what was it about this book didn’t resonate with me? First of all, speculation. We just don’t know tons about Homer and we know......more

Goodreads review by Victoria on August 31, 2023

The magic of old books...priceless treasures!💖......more

Goodreads review by Mmetevelis on April 16, 2024

Fox has done a wonderful job giving us a "commentary track" for the Iliad. The book traces Homer's influence, deals with issues related to authorship, composition, dating, and theme before tracing into an engaging if encyclopedic reading of the poem. Fox puts a great deal of scholarship in your hand......more


Quotes

“Lane Fox is an Oxford don, and his book the result of a lifetime’s dedication to the Iliad — personally and professionally. As such it is rigorously academic, but also winningly idiosyncratic…. This is a compelling and impressive work.”—Times (UK)

“This is a compelling and impressive work.”—Sunday Times (UK)

“A bold reassessment of how [the Iliad] came to life.” —The Spectator (UK)

“Excellent … This book is the expression of [Fox’s] lifelong love for the poem.”—Country Life

“An engaging, scholarly commentary.”—The Oldie

“A lucid, scholarly exploration into an immortal work.”—Kirkus

Homer and His Iliad is rich, imaginative, perceptive and gorgeously written.”—Literary Review