[BOOK OF THE DAY] Ancient Greece - Iliad and Odyssey

How's it going fellow steemians? Take a look at this beautiful picture with some ancient Greek atmosphere imbued all over!

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I have finally decided how and what to write about here. It's been quite a long time since my last post because I had a few questions and uncertainties regarding my activity on this platform. As I've initially stated, this was supposed to be a literature-oriented profile, but now, things have changed a little.

I'm a noob writer. I still have a lot to work, so it's pointless to actually post "unfinished literature".

Considering that my writing is still hmm.... questionable, unlikable and incomplete, I thought that my journey here was over. Blame me, when it comes to writing I'm like an oversized mule - very one-track-minded.

However, it struck me that there would be no reason to quit this community since I've only had nice interactions with you guys. And so... well, this was born. Since I can't simply abandon literature subjects, this book of the day thingie will cover some nice novels, poetry volumes, epics, theatrical plays and so on, in a fashionable, organized manner.

Chronologically!

Well, let's get to it then. Since the cradle of modern civilization is Greece, we will start our journey through literature here.

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ILIAD

Iliad and Odyssey are the first ever written epic poems, and also the first European literary works. The writer, known only as Homer decided about 800 years before Christ was born to write about a mythical war that may have taken place, (history's very controversial and there are hundreds of theories) the Trojan War. Most of you have probably seen the blockbuster movie starring Brad Pitt, so you probably know what the story's all about. Of course, Hollywood didn't stick to the story, but the main plot points are there.

The greatest addition in Homer's Iliad is the presence of Gods. All hail Zeus!

Iliad describes the beginning of the war, the heroes, kings and the tools of the time then the narrative moves towards prophecies regarding Achilles' death and the fall of Troy. In actuality, the story never reaches its conclusion, but as a whole, it depicts a more or less complete war tale.

Iliad can't be mentioned without its ancient sequel, Odyssey. These two epics are the tightest couple in literature. They are the Sherlock and Watson of the grand scheme of ancient writings. It's relatively pointless to read one without the other. Of course, you could do it, but you would miss out a lot of juicy, warmongering, ancient Greek-like content.

ODYSSEY

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Odyssey is the little sister of the Iliad. Whereas the tale of the Trojan War received the main spotlight in the society of Platon and Socrates, Odyssey was just mentioned, it was around, it was considered as a great work of art, but never managed to overcome her sister.

Personally, I found Odyssey to be more entertaining thanks to its main character, Ulysses ( or Odysseus), the King of Ithaca. The epic poem follows this mischievous, highly intelligent king (who was portrayed by none other than Sean Bean in the movie), on his way home from the war. It takes years for him to reach Ithaca and due to my wish to be as secretive as I can about the plot, I'll just say that it's a hell of a journey with tons and tons of interesting and mysterious events.

To end this marvelous, illustrious article, I want to add my personal thoughts and feelings. As a person hyped by literature, these two epics were a must. However, I must stress the fact that these two are tough to read. If you're passionate about Greek mythology, then it should work as a charm, cause there's a ton of mythology in there, but if you're a fan of Young Adult novels, these epics might not fit your taste.

I encourage everyone to give them a try, you may or may not like them, but we should all agree that Iliad and Odyssey have their special place in history because they're the forefathers of what we know today as literature.