The Iliad

Front Cover
Collector's Library, 2004 - Fiction - 542 pages
The Iliad is one of the finest of all the great works that have been handed down to us from Classical Antiquity. Paris, a Trojan prince, having won Helen as his prize for judging a beauty contest between the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, abducted her from her Greek husband Menelaus and transported her to Troy. The Greeks, enraged by this audacity and devastated by the loss of the most beautiful woman in the world, set sail to Troy and began the long siege of the city. The Iliad narrates the events ten years into the war, describing the anger of Achilles, which results in the death of Patroclus and Achilles's mourning of him and avenging of his murder. It has had a far-reaching impact on Western literature and culture, inspiring writers, artists and classical composers across the ages. Even though it was written more than two thousand years ago, The Iliad remains both powerful and enthralling.
 

Selected pages

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2004)

Homer is the author of The Iliad and The Odyssey, the two greatest Greek epic poems. Nothing is known about Homer personally; it is not even known for certain whether there is only one true author of these two works. Homer is thought to have been an Ionian from the 9th or 8th century B.C. While historians argue over the man, his impact on literature, history, and philosophy is so significant as to be almost immeasurable. The Iliad relates the tale of the Trojan War, about the war between Greece and Troy, brought about by the kidnapping of the beautiful Greek princess, Helen, by Paris. It tells of the exploits of such legendary figures as Achilles, Ajax, and Odysseus. The Odyssey recounts the subsequent return of the Greek hero Odysseus after the defeat of the Trojans. On his return trip, Odysseus braves such terrors as the Cyclops, a one-eyed monster; the Sirens, beautiful temptresses; and Scylla and Charybdis, a deadly rock and whirlpool. Waiting for him at home is his wife who has remained faithful during his years in the war. Both the Iliad and the Odyssey have had numerous adaptations, including several film versions of each.