Skip it and begin with the greeks.

Nah jump right in, read the intro after if you're interested

>>7528508
the blurb kinda implies the intro is more focused on the history of the work rather than the contents so i'll just read it afterwards, thanks

>>7528494
>Should i read the introduction?
Yeah.
>pros and cons
You would know something you hadn't knowed before
>i'm just about to start it, i don't want spoilers but if the introduction is necessary then i will
There's really nothing to be spoiled (Hector dies), so I'd just read the introduction.
Don't read for plot, prose, or anything else. Read for ideas.
>thanks in advance senpaitachi
You're welcome read the

>>7528528
*introduction

>>7528528
>Don't read for plot, prose, or anything else. Read for ideas.
lol kill yourself PLEASE

>>7528537
stay pleb, champ

>>7528528
i'm reading for pleasure more than anything tbqh but i will read it after i'm finished

thanks

>>7528494
Honestly, yeah I don't think I would have understood the Iliad nearly as well if I hadn't known beforehand the history of the Trojan war and had a complete understanding of the story

If you skip the Introduction in any book, I consider that cheating. You didn't really read the whole thing. The same way you wouldn't skip the footnotes in a non-fiction book, or any supplementary material or appendices, if you want to claim to have "read" a book, you read all of its pages that is meant to be read. The index isn't meant to be read, so you can skip that, but if you say you "read" a book, but you skipped the Introduction, sorry, but you didn't read it.

>>7529553
That's stupid.

>>7530434
Is it?

>>7530656
Yes. If one wants to read the Iliad, and they read the Iliad, then they have read it. Reading is not a game, you can't cheat by not reading part of a book as you aren't cheating anyone.

>>7529553
Nice bait. Introductions for classic works are obviously going to vary according to the publisher/translator/whatever.
I suppose the ancient greeks didn't read the Illiad since they didn't have a preface by Penguin Classics.
Kill yourself my man

>>7530667
thanks

>>7529536
thanks but i've started it now lol, i think i will go through it if i get stuck

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48 KB, 750x707

You should certainly read the introduction what is there to spoil in one of the oldest and most well known stories ever told? Memes aside it's more important to understand and contextualise what you read in something like the iliac then just gasp at every plot twist. If the edition you have is the picture you posted even more reason as it is a brilliant introduction which provides context and prepares you for the book itself.

>>7529553
Undiscerning Reader: The Post.

I usually skip the intros until afterward, because you never know whether or not the publisher is going to throw their own ideas of what you were supposed to get out of it. Fine to read that afterwards, but I don't like going in with that bias.

Skip the Catalogue of Ships. It is useless information for the present day; just know that there was a very large army sent to attack Troy. That's really the only thing you can safely skip in-story that won't impact what you gain from the epic.

>>7533798
But the Catalogue of Ships is great, in Fagles’s translation at least. And it’s rather short anyways.

>>7528508
>after you're interested
>implying the iliad at any point gets interesting

>>7529536
>Honestly, yeah I don't think I would have understood the Iliad nearly as well if I hadn't known beforehand the history of the Trojan war and had a complete understanding of the story
What is there to understand really?? Yeah i know, Paris helped to choose winner in beauty competition. Reward was Helena he kidnapped her from Spart and it ignites conflict. Honestly i dont think story in Illiad is more important than themes of fate and "everything is in hands of gods" theme, and mythical heroes role models