The Iliad

The Iliad is the culmination of a long-standing oral tradition. The oral technique enabled a master bard like Homer to develop what may historically have been an event of minor importance into a fully fledged epic.

So, out of a single episode in the legendary Trojan War—Achilles' withdrawal from the fighting and his return to kill the Trojan hero, Hector—Homer generated the 24 books of The Iliad.

What the oral technique does not automatically provide, however, is the genius of the poem which is rendered here in E.V. Rieu's translation, revised for this edition by his son, D.C.H. Rieu, and Peter Jones.

Homer has created a timeless, dramatic tragedy. His characters are heroic, but their passions and problems are human and universal. He presents them with compassion, understanding, and humour against the harsh background of the war and the quarrels of the gods.