Try free for 30 days

1 credit a month to use on any title, yours to keep (you’ll use your first credit on this title).
Stream or download thousands of included titles.
Access to exclusive deals and discounts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
The Mighty Dead: Why Homer Matters cover art

The Mighty Dead: Why Homer Matters

By: Adam Nicolson
Narrated by: Dugald Bruce Lockhart
Try for $0.00

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $25.82

Buy Now for $25.82

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Editorial reviews

Long listed for the Samuel Johnson Prize, The Mighty Dead: Why Homer Matters is the essential audiobook guide to Homer, written by award-winning author Adam Nicolson and narrated by Dugald Bruce Lockhart. Irrespective of time, poets have always attempted to catch the best and worse elements of humanity in their writing, perhaps none more so than the ancient Greek poet Homer who’s most notable works include Iliad and Odyssey. In this book, listeners learn of the profound significance Homer’s epic war poems have been to our understanding of humanity through the ages. Available now from Audible.

Publisher's Summary

Longlisted for the 2014 Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction

"A thrilling and complex book, enlarges our view of Homer.... There's something that hits the mark on every page." (Claire Tomalin, Books of the Year, New Statesman)

From where does Homer come? And why does Homer matter? His epic poems of war and suffering can still speak to us of the role of destiny in life, of cruelty, of humanity and its frailty, but why they do is a mystery. How can we be so intimate with something so distant?

The Mighty Dead is a magical journey of discovery across wide stretches of the past, sewn together by some of the oldest stories we have - the great ancient poems of Homer and their metaphors of life and trouble.

In this provocative and enthralling book, Adam Nicolson explains why Homer still matters and how these vital, epic verses - with their focus on the eternal questions about the individual versus the community, honour and service, love and war - tell us how we became who we are.

©2015 Adam Nicolson (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic Reviews

"A thrilling and complex book, enlarges our view of Homer.... There's something that hits the mark on every page." (Claire Tomalin, Books of the Year, New Statesman)
"Bursting with enthusiasm, erudition and eccentricity: a travelogue, a memoir, a work of literary criticism and, at bottom, an archaeology of the western imagination. Completely thrilling." (Susan Hill, Books of the Year, Spectator)
"Only the hardiest immune systems will be able to resist his unselfconscious adoration of the poet. Anyone who feels they never 'got' Homer should read this book." (Books of the Year, Sunday Times)
"Astounding. Scholarly, but so up-close and personal that you feel it in the guts...it transcends genre...you come away exhilarated." (Sofka Zinovieff, Books of the Year, Spectator)
"A brilliant, passionate, world-wandering love letter to Homer...far more inspirational than any dry academic exegesis. If the only real test of any book about Homer is that it should make you want to go back to Homer, then The Mighty Dead passes in a blaze of glory." (Sunday Times)
"A hosanna to Homeric wandering and wanderlust...breathes new life into an ancient adventure." (Observer)

What listeners say about The Mighty Dead: Why Homer Matters

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.