Junior Micah Thomas stayed for all 24 hours of the Homerathon — the only student to make it through the entire epic reading of Homer’s epic poem on Oct. 4 and 5.

“The things that make Homerathon so great are experiencing a Homeric epic as a cohesive whole and the camaraderie the participants who stick around develop,” Thomas said.

Hillsdale’s classics honorary, Eta Sigma Phi, hosted the event in the outdoor amphitheater, beginning at 4 p.m. Friday and ending at 4 p.m. the following day. Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics Joshua Benjamins read the opening lines of “The Iliad” in Greek and students took turns reading each book. Through the night, there was a fire burning in the center of the stage.

Thomas said although he was tired, he managed to stay awake for most of the 24 hours.

“It was pretty tough to go all 24 hours,” Thomas said. “I kept nodding off, even while standing or walking around. In the morning, I was so tired that I fell asleep standing up and almost fell into the fire. Fortunately, Zack Chen grabbed me and I didn’t get burned.”

“The Iliad” is an epic poem of 15,793 lines written by Greek poet Homer more than 2,500 years ago.

Alumna Emily Rose Willis ’24, attended the event and was invited to read a couple books. Willis said she liked the atmosphere of attending the late-night hours.

“I really liked the vibe of reading in the dark with the fire,” Willis said. “I also really like ‘The Iliad,’ and enjoy reading it with other people, despite classics not often being what I do.”

Freshman Masha Logvin said she also enjoyed the feeling of attending late into the night. She stayed from midnight until one in the morning.

“It was dark and cold, the stars were bright, and the fire was blazing, and Homer was being read aloud,” Logvin said. “As a classics and history double major, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my Friday night.”

Many of the readers spoke with impassioned tones as they read from “The Iliad.” It was one of her favorite things about attending the Homerathon, Logvin said.

“I really enjoyed how passionately the readers were reading from the text,” said Logvin. “Homer was done great justice with their readings.”

Willis said the group of students who attended found the epic much funnier while reading it late into the night. 

“It was probably 12:30 a.m. and everything is funnier that late,” Willis said. “It’s great.”