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The Iliad Live An examination of performance styles of the "Rapsode" or "Story Teller" of Homer's time, and how Homer might have performed. Also how performing THE ILIAD in the style of Homer works for a modern audience. Aristotle wrote,
The Iliad is the oldest complete story in its original language in our Western heritage. It was composed by Homer around mid 8th Century BC, and for two centuries thereafter, the ‘Sons of Homer’ continued to perform The Iliad and Homer’s later poem The Odyssey throughout the early Hellenic world. The Iliad is about serious conflicts, but most importantly, it is about the character, and nature, of man. It is about man in nature and his relationship to the Gods, the nature of the Gods and fate, and man’s ability to choose freely. Homer created a poem which is mostly dialogue, one character speaking to another, then the other character answering. The dialogue is passionate, charged with emotion, spoken by people with strong desires. This method of presenting a story was new in Homer’s time. It allowed an audience to see deeply into the hearts and souls of the characters in a way that had never before been possible. Eldon,
performing in the style of Homer, brings life to this ancient poem by
becoming, as Homer did, the characters in the story and speaking with their
passion and motivation.
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