A review by friends2lovers
The Iliad of Homer by Elizabeth Vandiver

informative reflective medium-paced

3.5

Overall, this lecture series was valuable and helpful as I progressed through the Iliad.  Vandiver points out and explains the meaning or context behind significant passages, character arcs, imagery, etc.. I did not agree with, or am skeptical about, some of V.’s interpretations. But there were also many elements of the story that I would not have appreciated had I read the Iliad on my own. For example, V. explains the importance of honor (τῑμή, tīmḗ) and glory (κλέος, kléos) in the Homeric warrior ethos, which helps make Achilles a more understandable and sympathetic character. My favorite lecture was № 12 where V. discusses how the final scenes, which focus on the grief of Achilles and Priam, tie in beautifully with the major themes—mortality and humanity—of the whole epic. I teared up when V. read an excerpt from Tennyson’s poem, In Memoriam.

Each lecture covers a particular section of the Iliad, so you’re meant to complete the 'essential reading' then listen to the corresponding lecture. Unfortunately, V. doesn’t state at the beginning of each lecture what books are being covered. Since I borrowed the audiobook from Hoopla, I had to scour the internet for a copy of the course guidebook in order to get the intended reading/listening order (listed below in the endnotes).

I would listen to Vandiver’s other Great Courses lecture series, and am particularly interested in: Greek Tragedy, The Odyssey of Homer, and The Aeneid of Virgil.

Series: The Great Courses > Literature and Language > Western Literature
Genre: Nonfiction, Literary Criticism
Subject: Homer’s the Iliad, Greek Mythology, Ancient Greece, the Homeric Epics
Format: audiobook, published in 1999, borrowed from MCLS via Hoopla, Course Guidebook (PDF)
Length: 6h, 4m (12 lectures, ~30m each)
Read Date: May 29, 2022

Recommended Reading/Listening Order:
  • Lecture One: Introduction to Homeric Epic
  • Lecture Two: The Homeric Question
  • Books 1–2
  • Lecture Three: Glory, Honor, and the Wrath of Achilles
  • Books 3–6
  • Lecture Four: Within the Walls of Troy
  • Books 7–9
  • Lecture Five: The Embassy to Achilles 
  • Books 10–12
  • Lecture Six: The Paradox of Glory
  • Books 13–15
  • Lecture Seven: The Role of the Gods
  • Lecture Eight: The Longest Day
  • Books 16–17
  • Lecture Nine: The Death of Patroklos
  • Books 18–21
  • Lecture Ten: Achilles Returns to Battle
  • Book 22
  • Lecture Eleven: Achilles and Hektor
  • Books 23–24
  • Lecture Twelve: Enemies’ Tears: Achilles and Priam 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings