posted
I got to thinking about the many retellings of The Iliad. The film Troy and David Gemmell's Troy series are a few examples. Although I enjoyed these they did change a lotof the original story.
My point is: Is there any modern day version of The Iliad which sticks to the original story? If not, would it be feasible to write one? ie Copyright law, likelihood of being published.
I feel that there are many interesting stories which could be modernised and therefore appeal to a wider audience.
posted
I don't think you have to worry about copyright; you have to worry about selling it. There are so many translations, that it smacks cliche. Granted I love the tale (and have even considered doing a re-telling myself), but will publishers? David Gemmell had a quarter of a century of International Bestsellers backing him--so I imagine he could've written whatever he chose. And David Gemmell's Troy series wasn't supposed to be a re-telling; it was supposed to be an alternate story which Homer's telling derived from.
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posted
Yes, there's no copyright issue--it's considered public domain at this point (unless, perhaps, you refer specifically to a particular translation.)
I think you have to put some spin on it. Try to explain events as they could have happened without uncanny influences, for instance. Or focus on a particular character. I suppose it depends on what you mean by wanting to "modernize" it.
Otherwise, to just rewrite Homer? I agree with 'Babbler--I don't think it would be an easy sell.
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There was a good modern retelling from the Trojan side.
WHOM THE GODS WOULD DESTROY by...uh...I think it's Richard Powell. If I can find it among my paperbacks and the name is different, I'll note it here.
Wonderful story. Then Thomas Burnett Swann drew on the Iliad for some of his fantasy novels and stories. Especially the idea that Anneas escaped, went to first Carthage and finally on to found Rome.
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There was a 1979 movie, THE WARRIORS, about a street gang from Coney Island that goes to a unify-the-gangs gathering in Central Park (I think) where the unifying leader is assassinated for which the Coney Island gang is blamed. The movie is about trying to get back to Coney Island through all the different gang territories with everyone after them.
It's supposed to be based on THE ODYSSEY, but it might give you some ideas of how something like that could be modernized. (I believe there was a video game based on the movie that came out in 2005 with the same title.)
I've also heard that COLD MOUNTAIN is supposed to be a reinterpretation of THE ODYSSEY as well.
Maybe people who like to do reinterpretations don't think THE ILIAD will modernize as easily as THE ODYSSEY. <shrug>
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Just thinking about it, it is easier to think of re-using the Odyssey, which is about trying to overcome a lot of obstacles and get back home (The Warriors, The Out Of Towners, Escape From New York , etc.); the people trying to get home don't have to be warriors / soldiers. It's seems easy to put various characters in a number of different settings and still see the similarities to the Odyssey.
The Iliad is almost entirely about the war, and it is hard to think of re-using / adapting it without putting it in a war setting. I suppose it could be re-used and modernized; you would need to have a hero with an Achilles' heel (a politician with a skeleton in the closet?), a demonstration of an opponent humiliated by being dragged around in front of the world, a point of contention and theft (Helen), 2 groups fighting it out (with the Trojans being entrenched in the power position). Without the actual use of a war setting I don't think the parallels would be as obvious, and using war makes the re-use too obvious. Perhaps that is why it seems the Odyssey is more often used?
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I can see the appeal. Most translations seem to be just that - Translations from the original text into english. I've yet to see a translation into 'modern prose' (Maybe there are some out there.) It would be an interesting read, and probably would appear to a wider audience. Every translation I've read is similar to reading Shakespeare. And like shakespeare, lots of people don't have the patience for it.
Getting it published though. That's the tricky part.
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Don't forget "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" which, aside from being a really entertaining movie, is "The Odyssey" set in the depression-era South.
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posted
There are plenty of re-tellings from the Trojan side as well...
Maybe it would be interesting to write a book that lists all the different versions and translations of The Iliad and the Odyssey, as well as books like "Cold Mountain" that are actually based on them, but you wouldn't know it.
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