A random thought about The Iliad

I think most people misinterpret "The Iliad." I know Hollywood did ("Troy," anyone?). Homer's epic isn't about Achilles' greatness, or power, or fall. It's about Achilles' weakness and how it leads to his fall. No, not his heel. His heel was his fleshly weakness, yes, but not his true weakness. It was Achilles' rage that ultimately lead to his downfall.

The Robert Fagles translation of "The Iliad" is my favorite for many reasons, the biggest of which is his strong focus on that theme.

The first lines of the Fagles translation read:

"Rage - Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus' son Achilles,
murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses,
hurling down to the House of Death so many sturdy souls,
great fighters' souls, but made their bodies carrion,
feasts for the dogs and birds,
and the will of Zeus was moving toward its end.
Begin, Muse, when the two first broke and clashed,
Agamemnon lord of men and brilliant Achilles.

Very blunt. "The Iliad" is a tragedy about a flawed hero, much like "Hamlet." It's unfortunate that too many see it as a swashbuckling adventure. Thanks for that, Brad Pitt.