A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about the movie Troy. At the time, I noted some of the discrepancies between the movie and the Iliad, and urged people to use the movie as an opportunity to go back to the poem.
For those who don’t have the time or the inclination, I can now recommend a substitute: a Teaching Company lecture course on the Iliad by Elizabeth Vandiver.
If you are not familiar with the Teaching Company, it is an extraordinary company which produces first-rate college-level lecture courses on tape and video. I have listened to scores of these courses, and they are generally quite good. It is really fun and a timesaver to listen to their 48 thirty minute tapes on the History of Ancient Rome or their 36 tapes on World War II. The range of courses is extensive.
Elizabeth Vandiver’s 12 lecture course on the Iliad is excellent. After listening to so many different courses, I can say with some confidence that she is a great lecturer. She tells the story of the Iliad, but also addresses other fascinating questions such as whether Homer wrote the Iliad, the role of the gods in the poem, and, of course, the Iliad’s view of the human condition.
I am just finishing the Iliad lecture series now, and am anxious to start my next one – Vandiver on the Odyssey, of course.
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