Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of The Iliad

Black Ships Before Troy, by Rosemary Sutcliff is an exciting short-version of the complete myth "The Iliad", by Homer. The vibrant water-color illustrations by Alan Lee, is astounding because they bring out the excitement in the story. His illustrations also fully describe and complement the epic events that happen during the story. Rosemary Sutcliff mainly focuses around the Trojan War and adds astonishing details in each page. The main characters such as Achilles, Hector, Patroclus, Helen, Odysseus, and Paris are frequently mentioned throughout the book and are accurately described as heroes that are not to be forgotten. Starting off from "The Golden Apple", this book covers most of the major events and scenes of the full version of "The Illiad" such as: the dilemma between Achilles and King Agamemnon, Patroclus wearing Achilles armor into battle, Achilles vs. Hector, the luck of troy, Achilles' heel, Achilles death, the wooden horse, and the fall of troy. The dialogues between the characters are filled with deep, meaningful, and enthralling metaphors that are easy to comprehend for most ages. Some of the main themes in support of this book are: the glory of war is the predominance of military glory over family, the destructive nature of excessive emotion, and the power of war. I chose to read this book simply because I became obsessed with the movie "Troy" and Greek mythology. There are some parts in the movie that were left out in reference to this book such as: How the Trojan War started, the horses of King Rhesus, the luck of troy, the alliance between the Trojans and the Amazonian women warriors, and the Greeks' confrontation with Calchas the soothsayer. If anyone is deeply interested in Greek Mythology, I would recommend "The Iliad" by Homer, and "The Odyssey" also by Homer.

Rosemary Sutcliff and Alan Lee do such a good job in this book. Sutcliff tells the story so that it is real to kids and actually tells the story for what it is. Lee does the most awesome drawings, I was so happy when they came out with the sequal, The Wanderings of Odysseus. This is truly a masterpiece.

Most anyone knows that they are supposed to read Homer's Iliad at some point in their life, but many are intimidated by its complexity. For starters, try Rosemary Sutcliff's Black Ships Before Troy. It is a beautiful and delightful read for all ages. You can easily sort the characters and get a grip on the plot without wading through the epic or the longer narrative. Once you have done this, you may muster the courage to attack the Iliad itself and impress all of your friends, or you can just let them think you are an expert in ancient literature after Black Ships Before Troy.

My review is intended to be helpful to all those who have been unsuccessful in finding an edition with the much sought after illustrations by Alan Lee.

The illustrated editions are:

Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of The Iliad
ISBN 978-0711207783 hardcover 1993 1st UK edition
ISBN 978-0711215221 paperback 2000

ISBN 978-1845073596 hardcover 2004 US edition

The Wanderings of Odysseus: The Story of The Odyssey
ISBN 978-0711208629 hardcover 1995 1st UK edition
ISBN 978-0711218468 paperback 2002

ISBN 978-1845073602 hardcover 2005 US edition

The illustrator is Alan Lee. The publisher is Frances Lincoln Children's Books.

These illustrated editions have been re-published this year as:

The Iliad
ISBN 978-1847805287 hardcover 2014 revised edition

The Odyssey
ISBN 978-1847805294 hardcover 2014 revised edition

"Look inside" is available for all of the above books.

Black Ships Before Troy is one of many retellings of The Iliad. This one rises to the status of special keepsake. The text is wonderful, suitable for a read aloud or for an older elementary student to read alone. But the pictures are just stunning, and they really make the book what it is. These are the type of storybooks you want to keep for your grandchildren one day.

We recently read through this, and my child said, they should do one of these for The Odyssey. I was able to pull out The Wanderings of Odysseus by the same author and illustrator, and he happily ran off with it! Seal of approval from him as well. :)

The story is told so that even those of us who suffered through the original text in the government schools can now enjoy reading the story with our children and understand it as well! My children enjoyed the story and the illustrations. Mrs. Sutfliffe does an excellent job with the story in the same way that Alan Lee brings the story to life and adds a huge dimension with his artistic talent. This was recommended by Carole Joy Seid. We will also be purchasing the Odyssey also illustrated by Alan Lee. (Check out the Lord of the Rings he illustrated - WOW).

Black Ships Before Troy delivers all the epic legendary drama of Homer's Iliad in a package sure to appeal to kids between the ages of 8 and 13.

If you say "Homer" to most kids these days, the most immediate response is "Simpson". "Ajax" is a cleaning product and names like "Hector", "Achilles", and "Priam" evoke blank stares. To counteract this, I recommend that you get them a copy of Black Ships Before Troy by renowned children's author Rosemary Sutcliffe. Given that the Trojan War cycle is, after Sacred Scripture, one of the main fonts of the Western literary canon, it is important that kids have a basic knowledge of the legends, heroes and villains associated with it. While the Iliad itself may be a tough read for kids, Black Ships Before Troy is not. The writing, however, is not pedestrian. It maintains a poetic quality that is well-suited to the subject matter. The illustrations are also superior and held my children captivated.

For homeschoolers, this book is a great way to introduce your kids to ancient Greece and great literature at the same time. It also provides numerous opportunities to discuss morals and the virtues and flaws of the numerous characters. We read the book out-loud as part of our ongoing studies of Bronze-age Greece and it was interesting to see which characters my kids identified with and which they despised. It was also a chance to examine the pagan religions of the ancients and introduce the kids to the differences between the pagan and Judeo-Christian views of the world.

One further bonus is that Black Ships Before Troy actually goes beyond the text of the Iliad and tells the story of the entire war through the fall of Troy.

So overall, I highly recommend this book as a fantastic appetizer to the feast of ancient history and Western literature. Once your kids have read it, they will be ready to move on to other similar books such as [[ASIN:B001TK6XFG The Wanderings of Odysseus: The Story of the Odyssey]] also by Rosemary Sutcliffe, [[ASIN:184507792X In Search of a Homeland: The Story of the Aeneid]] by Penelope Lively, and [[ASIN:1889758744 The Laviniad: An Epic Poem]] by Claudio Salvucci.

I teach this book. The boys love it and the girls do, too. There's literally something for everyone. The hardback has the most beautiful pictures which is suitable for 6-9th grades. The language is upper level and a thorough knowledge of Greek mythology is necessary. This book should never go out of print. A parent bought me about 25 copies so I could continue teaching it. The kids take one look at the pictures and are hooked. Such a delight! Thank you Rosemary Sutcliffe.

I teach this book. The boys love it and the girls do, too. There's literally something for everyone. The hardback has the most beautiful pictures which is suitable for 6-9th grades. The language is upper level and a thorough knowledge of Greek mythology is necessary. This book should never go out of print. A parent bought me about 25 copies so I could continue teaching it. The kids take one look at the pictures and are hooked. Such a delight! Thank you Rosemary Sutcliffe.

I have read several versions of The Iliad and after checking this book out from the library, decided this was the one I wanted in my permanent library. The illustrations (in the hardback version) are really beautiful and emotive and the story itself has maintained the integrity of the original with the fluency of language even young children can understand. Highly recommended.