The Iliad

With her virtuoso translation, classicist and bestselling author Caroline Alexander brings to life Homer’s timeless heroic tale of the Trojan War.

Composed around 730 B.C., Homer’s Iliad recounts the events of a few momentous weeks in the protracted ten-year military war between the invading Achaeans, or Greeks, and the Trojans in their besieged city of Ilion. From the explosive confrontation between Achilles, the greatest warrior at Troy, and Agamemnon, the inept leader of the Greeks, through to its tragic conclusion, this foundational work of ancient Greek literature explores the abiding, blighting facts of war.

Soldier and civilian, victor and vanquished, hero and coward, men, women, young, old—The Iliad evokes in poignant, searing detail the fate of every life ravaged by the Battle of Troy. And, as told by Homer, this ancient epic of a particular Bronze Age conflict becomes a sublime and sweeping evocation of the destruction of war throughout the ages.

Carved close to the original Greek, acclaimed classicist Caroline Alexander’s new English translation is swift and lean, with the driving cadence of its source—a Homeric epic in scale and yet devastating in its precision and power.

This essential translation of the foundational ancient epic offers:

A New Translation: Experience the Trojan War through the eyes of acclaimed classicist Caroline Alexander, whose swift and lean prose is carved close to the original Homeric Greek. The Wrath of Achilles: Witness the explosive confrontation between the godlike warrior Achilles and the Greek leader Agamemnon—a bitter feud that changes the course of the war. Greek Mythology: Enter a world of gods and mortals, where the fates of soldiers, civilians, victors, and vanquished are tangled in a devastating conflict. Ancient Poetry: Discover the power of Homers enduring Bronze Age masterpiece, a sublime and sweeping evocation of the destruction of war that resonates through the ages.