News at Eleven: Today's students at West Point,

the elite US military academy where one may minor in "terrorism studies", study The Iliad as part of their literature course. In her 2007 book Soldier's Heart, Elizabeth Samet, literature professor at the institution, recalls a visit by the late translator-poet Robert Fagles, who recited, in Greek, the first 1,000 lines of the epic. The plebes in his audience must now be in command positions in Iraq and Afghanistan. The military language of the conflicts even brings with it distant echoes of Homer: Operation Achilles was a Nato offensive in 2007 aimed at clearing Helmand province of the Taliban.

from The Guardian: The Iliad and what it can still tell us about war

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