Iliad. Odyssey. Homer

None of the many literary works of antiquity had such a strong influence on the further development of world culture as the immortal poems of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. The centuries passed, however, the attractive power of the poems of the legendary epic poet of ancient Greece is inexorable. The world, separated from our days by dozens of centuries, still seems unusually close thanks to the genius of the poet, who retained in verses the playing of modern life to him. In the Iliad and the Odyssey there was a place for everything: dramatic conflicts, and dangerous adventures, and gentle feelings. All this again and again attracts the attention of readers and inspires poets and artists.

Among the illustrators of Homer's poems was John Flaxman (1755–1826) - an English artist, whom Erwin Panofsky called a "romantic classicist." A wonderful draftsman and sculptor, Flaksman carefully studied the monuments of ancient art. A series of illustrations for Iliad and Odyssey, included in the present publication, is classified as the best works in the artist’s creative heritage.