Student Reader: The Iliad and the Odyssey

The Iliad and the Odyssey is set before the flourishing of Greek art and democracy. These epic tales deal with the triumphs, frustrations, conflicts, and hatreds of violent, warlike heroes and their tortured relationships with the gods and destiny itself. These stories provide vital grounding for understanding the later development of dramatic and character archetypes in Western fiction: archetypes such as the antihero Achilles, tortured by the consequences of his own wrathful pride, or clever Odysseus, cursed to be cast into a land of gods and monsters with only his own wits to guide him.