Questions About Ilium (Ilium, #1)

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Ilium, please sign up.

Answered Questions (1)

Just wondering... Is it necessary (or better) to have read The Iliad (and The Odyssey) before reading Ilium and Olympos?

Eladir Not necessary but certainly better. Simmons often does this intertextuality, connections with other literary works. In this case, the Iliad is the big…moreNot necessary but certainly better. Simmons often does this intertextuality, connections with other literary works. In this case, the Iliad is the biggest but there are a few key others. Odyssey and in general the more Greek mythology you know the better (eg. Hesiod's Theogony, Aeneid), Shakespeare in general but especially Tempest, Proust's In Search of Lost Time and Nabokov's novel Ada or Ardor. The latter two are harder to go through but having read and understood Iliad-Odyssey-Tempest is rather basic for a western reader and it's a solid basis for going into this duology.(less)

flag

Unanswered Questions (1)

Sounds like the first part of the intestine, doesn't it?

Answer

Flag

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more