• The Iliad is an epic poem, attributed to Greek poet Homer, set in Turkey during the final year of the siege of Troy.

• Fast Facts

  1. Author: Homer (attributed)
  2. Genre: Epic Poem
  3. Originated: circa 8th or 7th century BC
  4. Publisher: (Penguin Classics (Robert Fagles translation)
  5. Pages: 704 (Penguin Classics edition
  6. ISBN 0140275363 (Penguin Classics edition
  7. First extant work of European literature
  8. Divided into 24 books
  9. Originally an oral history
  10. Adaptations: Troilus and Cressida (play), Kassandra (novel), Troy (film)

• Plot Synopsis

  The Iliad tells of the events of the last year of the decade-long siege of the city-state of Troy by the Greeks. The inciting event of the work is Achilles' abandonment of the battle out of his anger with King Agamemnon over possession of a Trojan slave girl. Without Achilles, the battle goes against the Greeks to the point of their nearly abandoning the fight. Only later, with the urging of the goddess Athena, does Achilles rejoin the fight and turn the tide in favor of the Greeks.

• Critical Reception

  The Iliad is considered a classic of western literature, the inspiration for dozens of later works, and a semi-historical document of ancient Greek history. It is required reading in many American high schools. Many translations, both prose and verse, have been published.

• Characters of The Iliad

  Achilleus | Hektor | Agamemnon | Patroklos | Thetis | Odysseus | Nestor | Diomedes | Menelaos | Paris | Helen | Priam | Aias | The Gods

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Homer | Helen of Troy | The Odyssey | Greek Mythology | Achilles | Troy | Greece | Epic Poetry | Trojan War | Agamemnon | Odysseus | dactylic hexameter | Brad Pitt | Orlando Bloom | John Rhys-Davies | Sienna Guillory | pedagogy | Beowulf

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