Homer's Iliad, the earliest Greek poem, narrates the archetypal war between 'Europeans' and 'Asiatics' divided by the Hellespont. Looking at Wolfgang Peterson's blockbuster Troy (2004), the lecture describes the genesis of the Iliad between the Mycenaean Late Bronze Age and the 8th century, when it was first written down with the aid of the new, phonetic script adapted from the Phoenician civilisation of the Levant. It explores the poem's plot, tragic perspective on the human condition, and the despair caused by untimely death on an immense scale.

The transcript and downloadable versions of the lecture are available from the Gresham College website: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/homers-iliad-via-the-movie-troy-2004

Gresham College has been giving free public lectures since 1597. This tradition continues today with all of our five or so public lectures a week being made available for free download from our website. There are currently over 2,000 lectures free to access or download from the website.

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