Toolbox: The Iliad

Books

  • Black Ships Before Troy retold by Rosemary Sutcliff (Angie)
    My favorite. Beautifully written. Listed for all ages, but this version is rather intense. I’d recommend age 12 and up.
  • The Iliad of Homer retold by Barbara Leonie Picard (Angie)
    This one is lovely too and not nearly as graphic. Great author. Copyright 1960.
  • The Children’s Homer retold by Padraic Colum (Angie)
    A homeschool favorite. A retelling combining The Iliad and The Odyssey. Listed for ages 10 and up. Younger as a read aloud.
  • The Iliad for Boys and Girls retold by A.J. Church (Angie)
    “Told from Homer in Simple Language”
  • The Odyssey for Boys and Girls retold by A.J. Church (Angie)
    Fine old prose. Copyright 1907. Listed for ages 8-10
  • Classical Kids: An Activity Guide to Life in Ancient Greece and Rome by Laurie Carlson
  • The Odyssey, DK Classics
    not particularly beautiful prose, informative,
  • The Odyssey, Barefoot Books,
    better prose, story from first person perspective
  • Gods and Goddesses of Olympus by Aliki
    Good background on the gods and how they came about. Similar to D’Aulaires Book of Greek Myths?
  • Adventures in Ancient Greece (Good Times Travel Agency) by Linda Bailey (Jeff)
    Good one on Greek history

Field Trips

  • The Walters Art Museum (Angie)
    I might be stating the obvious, but this is an amazing treasure trove of ancient civilizations and free!

Games

  • Achilles
    Action adventure where you are Achilles fighting the Trojans. [Gail]
  • The Iliad Game
    Doesn’t seem to work very well. [Gail]

Movies

  • Troy (2004)
    For adults, Orlando Bloom, Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Sean Bean. Not a great adaptation, but may be a fun way to visualize some of the story. [Ken]

Audio Book

  • Iliad Unabridged, Stanley Lombardo (2006)
    Several copies in BCPL. Good enough for listening. I like the Fagles translation better, but unlike the Fagles, this is unabridged. [Ken]