For me the main translation issue turned out to be the names. You have to be familiar with the Greek and Roman versions of the names of the gods and men–e.g. Athena = Athene = Minerva, Aias = Ajax, Zeus = Jove. Butler uses the Roman and Rieu the Greek, and I’m torn between them because I prefer Ajax to Aias, but also Athena to Minerva. But other than those personal preferences, they’re really all of great quality.

@Kelly *slapping my own forehead* Wow I can’t believe I forgot to mention Simmons’ Ilium and Olympos! Very interesting sci-fi take on the Trojan War, of course it really veers off after a bit but Simmons does rather interestingly zoom in on the Achilles character….

Finally, another really interesting book I forgot to mention earlier, and probably my all-time favourite book–Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita. I picked up the Richard Pevear & Larissa Volokhonsky (husband-and-wife team) translation ( http://www.amazon.com/Master-Margarita-Penguin-Classics-Paperback/dp/B002YDFIDK/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262424542&sr=1-6 ) at an unbelievable discount at a grocery store and read it in a couple of gulps. The story is set in ancient Jerusalem and communist Moscow … the Master, a writer ostracised by the communist literary establishment of Moscow, writes a story about Pontius Pilate and Yeshua Ha’Nozri (Jesus of Nazareth), while simultaneously, the Devil comes to Moscow in the character of Woland, a visiting foreign sorcerer with a retinue of demonic servants. Actually, I could go on and on about it just from memory, but I blogged about it: http://yawar.blogspot.com/2008/05/master-and-margarita.html

Also, I believe you ought to read the Iliad before Ulysses. I didn’t, maybe that was the problem.

The Iliad – I plan on reading this, since I just finished Dan Simmons’ (yep, same guy mentioned by Yawar) take on Homer’s epics. “Ilium” and “Olympos” aren’t translations or anything, they are Sci-Fi re-imaginings of those events (well, until Hockenberry goes and changes the timeline).

“The Oxford History of the Classical World” & “Daily Life in Ancient Rome” – I’ll have to read these, they should fit in nicely with “The Civilization of the Middle Ages”, “The Muslim discovery of Europe” and “Ancient Mesopotamia : new perspectives” which I read this year (all very good, btw).

Thanks also for the Dan Simmons suggestions.

I finally finished The Iliad a few months ago. It’s quite graphically violent and bloody–but also very descriptive of the scenes of battle preparations, debates among the gods and men etc. Very interesting read.

If you like The Iliad, don’t miss The Odyssey. I just finished it and I have to say Odysseus quickly became my favourite character in fiction. His natural guile and craftiness, even facing adversity, had me reading with a grin on my face.

The Wheel of Time series–wow, that’s a lifetime commitment :-) I started reading the books five years ago, got upto book 10, then had to start over because I forgot over half the characters and events, and on top of that I wanted to re-read the most interesting story points that Jordan had covered in the earlier books as some of them were really quite fascinating. Making my way through book 2 now.

Here’s something you might not have come across before: Dan Simmons’ Hyperion and Endymion books (sci-fi, Amazon listing: http://www.amazon.com/Dan-Simmons/e/B000APQZD6/ref=sr_tc_2_0 ). The two latter books, Endymion and The Rise of Endymion, deal with a far future where communion with a crucifix-shaped symbiotic organism guarantees endless resurrections, resulting in entire planets converting to Christianity.

Happy reading and happy new year!