The Iliad

Homer c. 750 BCE

This epic poem follows the Greek warrior Achilles and his anger during the Trojan War. In one scene, King Priam enters the enemy camp to ask Achilles for his son's body.

541 pages 10h 30m reading time

One of the oldest and most important works in Western literature, and a model for nearly every war story and epic poem since.
Shows that war brings glory and terrible loss together, giving full human feeling to both the Greeks and the Trojans.
Asks what a short human life is worth, as heroes choose between a long quiet life and fame that outlives them.
Shaped Greek education and culture for centuries, and later poets such as Virgil, who wrote the Aeneid, built their own epics on its pattern.

Sung before it was written

Singers likely performed it from memory for generations, using repeated phrases to help them recall thousands of lines.
Covers only a few weeks

The poem tells of just a few weeks in the war's tenth year, not the whole ten years of fighting.
Author still a mystery

No one knows for sure who Homer was, or whether a single poet made the whole poem.
Troy may have been real

In the 1870s, Heinrich Schliemann dug up ruins in Turkey that many believe were the city of Troy.