The Iliad Dispatches
The Iliad Dispatches is my ongoing reading project: The Iliad treated like a series, as if I’m watching the war unfold in real time. Each post is an “episode” that tracks what the poem does to the mind when I stay with it. This isn’t a retelling. It’s a modern interpretation, and it isn’t meant to replace the original epic’s story. It’s meant to sit beside the poem, like someone reading with you, not for you. Think less “what happened” and more “a war brief” — listen to the people inside it, what they think they’re doing, and what they want next.
S0 — Gods Plot, Mortals Inherit
Pilot season: a prequel to the main narrative.
The Iliad begins in the tenth year of war, assuming you know the backstory. Before Book 1, this pilot season covers the mythological setup: Paris’s judgment, Helen’s abduction, the Greek fleet’s gathering, Iphigenia’s sacrifice — choices that made the war inevitable.
Ep 1: The war begins upstairs
Coming soon…
The war’s origin story: the wedding, the golden apple, Paris’s choice, Helen, the oath, and how a divine rivalry turns into human obligation. When The Iliad Book 1 begins with a quarrel over a captive woman, the war isn’t starting. It’s repeating itself.
Ep 2: So what kind of war is this, exactly?
Nine years into the Trojan War, the Iliad opens mid-crisis. The war sustains itself through fear of losing face. This explains why the first conflict isn’t Greeks vs Trojans, but a leadership crisis inside the Greek camp.
Ep 3: Meet the Iliad’s cast
An introduction to the key cast the Iliad sets in motion: who wants what, what each person can’t tolerate, and what they keep doing anyway.