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How accessible would you say the book is? I want to read it but I'm scared of it at the same time haha

Absolutely accessible, Laura! There's nothing, at least in this translation, that would trouble the modern reader; particularly one as adept as yourself.
Just be prepared for some heavy verbatim repetition and an avalanche of epithets describing attributes of important characters every time they speak and/or are spoken to. These are a result of the fact that Homer's works are believed to have been orally performed and then later transcribed :)
But yeah, you'll have no problems whatsoever.

Also, *you're told on. That's gonna kill me seeing that every time I see this post! 🙈

Thank you so much for taking the time to explain it to me :) I am so excited to get it now haha. I wonder though, The Iliad first or the Odyssey?

Definitely Iliad. It comes first, chronologically. This is the wrath of Achilles and the Trojan War; The Odyssey is Odysseus' journey home, after said War. It seems to be more popular than the Iliad but I was always going to read both so I'd prefer to do it in order :)

Thank you!! It'll be quite the journey after reading The Song Of Achilles haha

I've been tossing up whether to read that immediately after this or just continue on with the classics first. I'll see how I feel when I'm finished.

Fascinating, Vanessa! I'll withhold judgement on Hector until I've finished, I would sooner avoid making an uninformed call on the man in the presence of someone who has written a thesis on him! 😅 Though I know the story in a number of modern forms and Hector does seem to be more the "hero" than Achilles. I will say, as a youngster I was always drawn to Achilles but as one ages and begins to see the true nature of things, our "heroes" are not always all they're cracked up to be.

AZ (Saïd) wrote: "Ah, see, one of the reasons I love Achilles so much is because he's such an awful person—the embodiment of the ancient Greek concept of a 'hero,' which was much more similar to our modern concept o..."

Yeah, I totally get that, Said! I think he's a very compelling character, I just find it interesting, the change in perspective through a modern lense. That's a great point! What once was to be idolised as a "hero" is, to us, just a celebrity. This takes away any moral requirements for the individual. Though, having said that, I don't think anything Achilles does would've been frowned upon in Homer's time. Would there have even be a moral question?
I'm sure there are countless examples of this kind of "immoral" hero in the old tales. Gilgamesh is another "hero" that's not to be idolised by today's standards. He was a royal rapist and all-too-quick-to-smite. Actually, if I idolise anyone from that epic, it's Enkidu and Shamhat *stands and applauds*... If you know, you know!

Loooool! I remember being SO annoyed by Achilles while reading The Iliad. And I was team Hector throughout.

But Said has a very good point. Doesn't make me like Achilles any better though. And unpopular opinion: I also hated Achilles in The Song of Achilles is.

Prerna wrote: "Loooool! I remember being SO annoyed by Achilles while reading The Iliad. And I was team Hector throughout.

But Said has a very good point. Doesn't make me like Achilles any better though. And unp..."

There hasn't been much of Achilles to go off so far, as you would know, but what has been displayed so far is definitely unfavourable! 😄
I can get on board with both good and bad characters though. He'll probably win me over as he slays his way through hoards of Trojans, in defiant style, later on. Something about overwhelming displays of power and blind vengeance, from Fictional characters, really gets me on board. I'm not sure what this says about me; I'm working on it.
I haven't decided if I'll read 'The Song of Achilles' straight after this or continue with the classics first. It's the subject of immense hype but not from a demographic of readers that I would typically correlate my reading tastes with.

But remember Jonathan, Achilles also had one eye on Patroclus!

Mark wrote: "But remember Jonathan, Achilles also had one eye on Patroclus!"

I'd suggest it was more than just an eye, Mark! 😏

Always thought Achilleus was a pouty little poop. Good fight, true, but what. a. drama llama!

The most dangerous type of Drama llama, Steve! Who'd have the nerve to suggest he calm his farm?!

Didn’t Menalaus try? Or maybe it was Odysseus? Been a while since college world lit.

Achilles was a spoiled brat. I was rooting for Hector.