The War That Killed Achilles

The War That Killed Achilles: The True Story of Homer's Iliad and the Trojan War by Caroline Alexander

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I purchased this book thinking that I would get background information on the Trojan War. At the time, I was reading the Illiad as part of the Online Great Books program. OGB advises against reading anything other than the text itself for information about the text, but I thought that reading the historical circumstances of the war would be useful.

In fact, this book is not about the history of the war; it is actually a summary of the Illiad with the author's insights into the text. For the most part, the author quotes the relevant text and then provides the background or results of the text. By and large, this results in a fairly tedious reading experience.

However, I did find some of her observations to be insightful. For example, she argues that Achilles was not the bloodthirsty murdering barbarian we see after the slaying of Patroclus by Hector. Thus, when Achilles tells a son of Priam that previously he had been content to mercifully spare those who surrendered (to be mercifully ransomed or sold into slavery), he was not striking a dramatic pose, but actually was describing his comparatively more merciful approach to a war which he generally was indifferent to.

When I read the Illiad, I had thought that this was all bluster on the part of Achilles, but I can see where she comes up with her interpretation and it does nuance Achilles' character, although Achilles dive into capturing Trojans to sacrifice on the tomb of Patroclus does tend to contradict this interpretation.

I listened to this book as an audiobook only after I finished the actual text. I recommend that approach. If you read the Illiad first without someone else's interpretation, you will approach the text without the constraints set by someone else.

By all means, after you have read the text, then read or listen to this book. I found it to be a useful way of reminding me of the text and cementing in place the characters and scenes, and, therefore, to be more worthwhile as a check on my reading rather than a substitute.