100 must-read books for college students

Chapter 4 Great Books of European Literature
Chapter 3 The first literary masterpiece in Europe: "Homer's Epic"

"Homer's Epic" is the earliest work preserved in ancient Greek literature, which "covers almost the entire series of classical mythology, making
Later European classical literature, from Greek tragedies to Roman epics, has a faint shadow of Homer.

"Homer's Epic" takes historical stories and myths and legends as the theme, uses concise and ingenious layout, and natural and simple language to convey to us

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It presents thrilling war scenes and outlines the images of immortal heroes that have been sung through the ages, such as Achilles, the son of man and god, and the brave

The warlike Trojan prince Hector and the witty and brave leader Odysseus, etc., so Homer's epic is also called "

Heroic Epic".

troubadour epic

Whether Homer, the author of epic poems, existed or not has been debated for thousands of years.There are many stories in ancient Greece vying to be Homer
Township.There are no further records of Homer's life.According to legend, Homer was a blind poet in ancient Greece from the 9th century BC to the 8th century BC.

people.This is quite possible.Professional musicians in ancient times were often blind.Because blind people cannot choose other occupations, they have to rely on memory
Memories, singing poetry to sustain life.Homer lived around the 9th century BC, in eastern Greece near Asia Minor

, his status and identity are similar to the old musician he described in Volume [-] of "The Odyssey".these blind
Old entertainers, often with a harp, went into and out of noble halls and sang poems about heroic deeds.homer according to folk oral

Creation, collection and arrangement of epics were passed down from generation to generation, and they were not recorded in writing until the 6th century BC.3 BC to 2 BC
The epic was compiled into 24 volumes by the scholars of Alexandria in the [-]th century. This is the final version of Homer's epic as we see it today.
.

Homer has long been recognized as the author of the epics "Iliad" and "Odyssey", and his two epics are also called "Homer".

"Epic". "Homer's Epic" is universally recognized as the earliest artistic treasure in the history of European literature.

"Iliad" is a real war in history, that is, the story of the Greek expedition to the city of Troy, Troy is located in

A city on the northwestern coast of Asia Minor captured by a coalition of Greek tribes to plunder wealth and labor, ca.
At the turn of the 12th century BC to the 11th century BC.Through myths and heroic legends, the original appearance of history has been vaguely seen.

The famous Trojan War originated from a quarrel: According to legend, Peleus, the king of Phthia in ancient Greece, and the daughter of the Aegean Poseidon

When Thetis married,

Forgot to invite the goddess of discord, Eris.She came disgruntled and dropped a discordant golden apple written "To the fairest woman"

After the fruit, he left, which caused a quarrel among the queen Hera, the goddess of wisdom Athena, and the god of love Aphrodite.Zeus asked them to find
Prince Loya Paris judged.The three goddesses came to Paris and each promised to repay him with the greatest reward.Paris
The golden apple was awarded to Aphrodite, the god of love, and Aphrodite helped him abduct Helen, the beautiful queen of Sparta, and took away a large number of
wealth.The Greeks were furious and formed a coalition to attack the city of Troy.The gods are also divided into two hostile groups, each helping

Help both sides.The war lasted for 10 years. In the end, the Greeks used Odysseus' Trojan horse trick to capture the city of Troy.

The heroic epic "The Iliad", through the description of the Trojan War, extols the heroic and good at war, and established meritorious deeds for the tribe.

hero.Magnificent momentum, vast scenes, vivid description of characters, flesh and blood, fascinating myths and legends, war scenes
Heroic and colorful, it broadly reflects the life of the ancient Greek clan society at the end of the period, and reflects the thoughts of the clan nobles.

The whole poem of "Iliad" has 15693 lines.This epic extols the might and bravery of ancient heroes and shaped Achilles

The glorious image of the first hero in Western literature.The epic is majestic and grand in scale, although what it describes is only a history
an unimportant local battle, "yet, standing next to it, we feel that the book is 10 feet tall, which is amazing.

Can oneself. "

"Odyssey" tells the story of a Greek hero, Odysseus, who went through all kinds of hardships and dangers on his way back to his hometown after the Trojan War.

story.

In the article "Odyssey", it describes the return journey of Odysseus (also translated as Odysseus), the king of Idajia, after the end of the Trojan War.

In the story of 10 years drifting at sea.Odysseus encountered a storm at sea, drifted to the land of the lotus eater, and later came to
He entered the cave where the Cyclops lived, drunk the giant with wine, stabbed the eyes of the Cyclops with a burning stick, and hid himself.

It escaped under the belly of the sheep.He came to the Witch Island, traveled through hell, and met monsters with a human head and a bird body.

Fascinated by the banshee's singing, he sealed the ears of his companions with wax and tied himself to the mast to escape from the danger.Odysseus is out
During the adventure, many noble children pursued his wife Penelope at home, eating, drinking and having fun and spending his family wealth.Odysseus returns home
Finally, he dressed up as a beggar, tested his wife, and proved his wife's loyalty.Finally, Odysseus and his son killed all the suitors
After his death, he became the king of Yidajia.The whole poem praises Odysseus' wit, ability and tenacity of daring to fight against nature
spirit.

The Iliad and the Odyssey have long served as models of European epic poetry, transmitted orally from generation to generation,
It was processed and enriched, and it was recorded in writing by people around the 6th century BC.

Homer's epics broadly reflect the ancient Greek
The social situation in the transition period from primitive communes to slavery in Greece is an important and precious history for us to study ancient Greek society.

historical documents.These two epics are cleverly tailored, delicately described, vivid in language, and good at using metaphors.

Epic Paragon Art Treasure

Obviously, the social capacity of Homer's epic is quite large, which extensively reflects the social form and all aspects of human life in the Homer era

.

Homer's epic is not only a narrative poem of human childhood, full of fantasy and mythology, but also reflects the history that all Greek people participated in
Events - the Trojan War and the social life and ideological sentiment of the Greeks at that time, it is an encyclopedia of the life of the ancient Greek people

. For more than 2000 years, Homer's epic has been regarded as a model of European narrative poetry and a model of epic poetry.Homer's epic has
When the artistic level is high, its aesthetic value is manifold.Both epics are heroic epics with major themes and lofty themes

. "The Iliad" writes about war throughout and praises the brave spirit of ancient clan heroes. It is the first great work on military subjects.

"Odyssey" tries its best to write wandering, praising the wisdom and power of human beings to overcome nature.

A masterpiece of main content, it became the forerunner of medieval tramp novels.

Throughout the entire epic, the scale is grand, the structure is complete, and the tailoring is appropriate.The story time span of both epics is 10 years. "I
Arter focuses on the 51 days before the end of the war. The focus is only on 4 days, but it summarizes the appearance of the 10-year war.

Focus on cutting and selecting typical events, the whole story has no sidelines, and the events develop in a straight line, in line with the praise of heroes

The theme needs. The structure of "Odyssey" is more ingenious than that of "Iliad". There are two plot lines developing in parallel in the whole poem,

One is Odysseus returning home, and the other is Telemaco looking for his father, which is somewhat similar to the Chinese way of writing "two flowers bloom, each representing a branch".most
The last two clues merged into one and unified into the fight against the suitors. The father and son worked together to kill 118 suitors, and the whole family reunited.
round.The whole story adopts both flashback and direct narration, and 10 years of experience are compressed into 42 days.backtracking in epic
Undoubtedly, it has a great influence on later dramas and novels.

The epic contains elements of both realism and romanticism.Real social life intertwined with fantasy plots
Together, the descriptions of war scenes, family life scenes, and labor scenes are all realistic, which can be said to be simple reality

The description of myths and legends, ideal characters, bizarre experiences, and fantasy stories is magnificent and can be said to be romantic.

Achievement. The style of "The Iliad" is more majestic, the war scenes are magnificent, majestic, fast-paced, and masculine

The style of "Odyssey" is calm, the scenes are magnificent, changeable, the rhythm is light and slow, and it has the beauty of femininity.two histories
Poems use direct description, indirect description and third-person narration.Pay attention to scene description, detail description, artistic generalization

And psychological portrayal, laid the foundation for later novel creation.

Comparing the two, the language of "The Iliad" has many repetitions, which makes it feel lengthy to read.This repetition is what rap needs
Mainly, it is reflected in the use of adjectives, conveying orders, relaying the words of a third party, and the appearance of characters on the family tree. Today's readers read
Can not help but feel dull.However, we can see the evolution of literature from complex to simple. Narrative in The Odyssey

It is more mature, overcomes the verbosity of the language, and the details are concise and vivid.Compare
When Odysseus meets his family, the poet only
In 20 words: "He felt a sweet emotion, he wanted to cry, he knew everyone", put Odysseus

The inner emotions mixed with sorrow and joy are vividly expressed.

Homer's epic has influenced generations of European literary works with its unique artistic appeal, just as Marx commented: From "a certain
On the one hand," the Iliad and the Odyssey are "unattainable" and display "permanent charm."

"Homer's Epic" is the earliest civilization heritage of mankind. It is not just a book, but one of the eternal treasures of the human spirit.
one.As Marx said, to this day, "they continue to provide us with artistic enjoyment, and in some respects
as a standard and unattainable norm".

For more than 2000 years, Homer's epic has excited the world with its profound content, solemn and smooth style, and touching stories.
Generation after generation of readers, many literary artists in Europe have extracted materials and absorbed nourishment from it. So far, it has become a

A standard in art and a model for people to learn from.

(End of this chapter)