Why Homer matters
"In this passionate, deeply personal book, Adam Nicolson explains why Homer matters--to him, to you, to the world--in a text full of twists, turns and surprises. In a spectacular journey through mythical and modern landscapes, Adam Nicholson explores the places forever haunted by their Homeric heroes. From Sicily, awash with wildflowers shadowed by Italy's largest oil refinery, to Ithaca, southern Spain, and the mountains on the edges of Andalusia and Extremadura, to the deserted, irradiated steppes of Chernobyl, where Homeric warriors still lie under the tumuli, unexcavated. This is a world of springs and drought, seas and cities, with not a tourist in sight. And all sewn together by the poems themselves and their great metaphors of life and suffering. Showing us the real roots of Homeric consciousness, the physical environment that fills the gaps between the words of the poems themselves, Nicholson's is itself a Homeric journey. A wandering meditation on lost worlds, our interconnectedness with our ancestors, and the surroundings we share. This is the original meeting of place and mind, our empathy with the past, our landscape as our drama.
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What Hacker News says
- If anyone is interested in this idea, Adam Nicolson spends a few entertaining pages covering the story of Goliath in his book Why Homer Matters. He makes an argument that the Goliath story is basically a satirical take on the battle scenes in the Iliad.
- If you want to understand where Homer comes from, the bardic traditions,and his cultural importance, I can highly recommend Adam Nicolson's "The Mighty Dead: Why Homer Matters". It is both really insightful and a cracking read.
- Can I also recommend Adam Nicolson's "The Might Dead: Why Homer Matters", as an excellent read, which explains how and why Homer is still relevant today.
- I would also recommend any ancient history written by Tom Holland - "Persian Fire" about the Persian invasion of Greece is a good introduction to the era. Also, Adam Nicholson's "The Might Dead: Why Homer Matters" is a brilliant read, linking such disparate topics as Albanian and Scottish bardic traditions, and LA gang culture.
