A few weeks ago Marshmallow read and reviewed The Odyssey: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Gareth Hinds, a retelling of an iconic tale from the Ancient Greeks. Today she discusses with Sprinkles The Iliad: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, published nine years later, in 2019.
Sprinkles: So Marshmallow, here we are, with yet another book about Greek mythology.
Marshmallow: Yes, this is the famous Iliad, also credited to the blind poet Homer, and it tells the story of the Trojan War, the war that is supposed to have happened before the events of The Odyssey. So yes, it is mythology but also kind of like history.
S: Yes, it does seem like in those times, history and myth got quite intimately intertwined. So tell us a bit about the main story. What is it really about?
M: Well, it starts with a Prologue explaining some historical facts about the Trojan War. And there we are told that the book (The Iliad) will not really be about the War itself, but mainly about the two main heroes, Achilles and King Agamemnon both fighting on the Achaean side.
S: Oh I see. So then tell us a bit about these two men and what is going on between them that deserves an epic poem.
M: Basically Agamemnon and Achilles are both fighting to help their common ally, Menelaus, whose wife Helen was kidnapped by Paris, the son of the Trojan king. Menelaus won Helen as his wife in what seems to me to be a primitive competition, and all his competitors swore to protect the eventual winner. So now Menelaus calls in all these people to help him get Helen back from Troy.
S: So Helen is supposed to be the reason for the Trojan War, according to this account, right?
M: Yes. That is the main idea, but of course there were a lot of other more political reasons, like control over trade routes. But it is of course more romantic to explain everything as a man fighting to get his wife back.
S: I can see that.
M: I think both the gods and the people are very petty in the whole story. The main story of the book is not even about the cause of the war. Achilles and Agamemnon, even though they are fighting on the same side, start fighting over spoils of war, and in particular a young woman. I would like to mention that Achilles claimed this woman after killing her husband, her brothers, and her parents.
S: Ugh. She seems to be seen mainly as a reward, as property. And it seems Helen is the same.
M: Yes, I was quite annoyed by that through the whole story really. They fight over her without really letting her decide who she wants to end up with. And she is not really too free either. She is kind of coerced into loving Paris by Aphrodite. She also did not like her husband much to start with, it seems like.
S: And from what you are telling me, it seems like it really did not matter what she felt or thought. From some versions of the story, I had understood her to have fallen in love with Paris, but yes, by Aphrodite’s nudging. Which is kind of coercive. Then again, she is the goddess of love, so how does anyone fall in love with anyone?
M: Hmm, I do not know. That is a good question. But in some stories Aphrodite makes people fall in love with inanimate objects or horrible people, so it is not always a natural love.
S: Okay, so you had some misgivings about the story line, but overall what did you think?
M: Well, I liked it. I’d rate it 100% because it is an important and well-revered story of Western Civilization, and the book is well done. And we see very clearly the follies of war. There is also a lot of violence. So probably younger bunnies should not try to read this. Even though it is a graphic novel, it is a bit too graphic in that other meaning of the word.
S: I see.
M: It was also pretty important for me to read this and see how women were seen as rewards, as spoils of war, and as property.
S: It has been that way in many cultures, societies, and times, unfortunately.
M: I am happy that I am not living in those times.
S: Me, too. What else would you like to tell us?
M: It is really annoying how gods think of humans as their own playthings. Of course I also knew this from all the Percy Jackson books, but this is real war, and there are a lot of real people dying because of the gods’ interventions. Also the humans themselves are extremely violent. They take revenge, empathy and mercy are viewed as weakness. What they think is honor is too violent. It is a terrible terrible world. The only good person in the whole book seems to be Hector, and even he dies because he believes dying is honorable and his wife and son are left defenseless.
S: I see. Thank you for all your thoughts Marshmallow. Last but not the least, can you comment on the drawings?
M: Sure, the drawings are in the same style as those in The Odyssey, as you would expect. It is after all the same artist. I liked how especially in this book, the characters were quite distinct in how they were depicted. Apparently he worked the first letter of each character’s name into their armor, which is a neat idea, but it is a little difficult to see them sometimes. Overall, though, this was a good book to read as a graphic novel.
S: I can see that it would be important to be able to distinguish all those characters. There are so many! Anyways, this is probably a good time to end this review. What would you tell our readers Marshmallow?
M: Stay tuned for more amazing reviews from the book bunnies!
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