The Iliad

Plot

The Greeks considered the 'Iliad' their greatest literary achievement, and no epic poem in any language has ever rivalled it. Out of a single episode in the Tale of Troy, Achilles' withdrawal from the fighting and his return to kill the Trojan hero Hector, Homer created a timeless, dramatic tragedy. His characters are heroic but their passions and problems are human and universal, and he presents them with compassion, understanding, and humour against the harsh background of war. E V Rieu's prose translation has the same direct simplicity and subtle elegance which distinguishes his 'Odyssey'; it moves swiftly and confidently through the greater complexity of the 'Iliad' and never falls short of the nobility of Homer's theme.