17 h 10 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 421 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 421 pagesAbout this book
What happens when an army’s greatest warrior lets his wounded pride matter more than the men beside him?
The Greek army besieges Troy, but a quarrel within its own camp threatens its strength. Agamemnon insults Achilles, his finest fighter, and Achilles withdraws from battle. In The Iliad, the long epic poem credited to Homer, a few weeks of war expose the terrible cost of anger and honour.
Across the battlefield stands Hector, Troy’s chief defender, a husband and father who fears for his city. Patroclus grieves for the suffering Greeks, while Odysseus tries to bring Achilles back. Above them, Zeus and the other gods shape mortal fortunes. Battles and councils carry the same urgent question: what does greatness demand from a human life?
What you’ll discover
- The anger of Achilles Follow a wounded sense of honour as it puts an entire army at risk.
- Hector beyond the battlefield Meet Troy’s defender as he turns from fighting to the family he loves.
- Gods in the struggle Enter a world where divine quarrels and promises weigh upon warriors facing death.
- Words before the weapons Hear warriors argue, plead, and challenge one another before they strike.
- The price of glory Explore how pride, loyalty, grief, and sacrifice complicate the desire to be great.
Who will love it
For readers who love epic battles, meddling gods and heroes torn between honour and anger, and anyone exploring the poem’s plot and ideas for study, curiosity or a first reading.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A quarrel splits the Greek camp
- Achilles withdraws and Zeus makes a promise
- A duel is offered and a truce fails
- Diomedes fights and even gods bleed
- Hector says goodbye to his family
- Zeus tips the scales against the Greeks
- Achilles refuses the embassy
- Honour, anger and the shadow of death
- How Homer builds the poem for the ear
Who’s who
- AchillesThe strongest Greek warrior, son of the sea goddess Thetis, who withdraws from the war after Agamemnon takes his prize and wants his honour restored.
- AgamemnonKing of Mycenae and leader of the Greek army, a proud and powerful man who must learn the cost of insulting his best fighter.
- HectorPrince of Troy and its chief defender, a devoted husband and father who fights for his city though he fears its fall.
- PatroclusAchilles' dearest companion, a gentle and loyal man who grieves for the suffering Greeks and longs to help them.
- OdysseusThe clever king of Ithaca, a patient speaker and planner who tries to bring Achilles back to the Greek cause.
- PriamThe aged king of Troy, father of Hector and Paris, who rules a city under siege and sees his sons go to war.
- HelenThe woman whose departure with Paris led to the war, she lives in Troy ashamed and longs for her old home.
- ZeusKing of the gods, who grants Thetis her request and tries to keep the other gods from taking sides in the fighting.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 17 h 10 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in, 421 pages: USD 13.95 when you start free, USD 20.95 on its own.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in, 421 pages: USD 21.95 when you start free, USD 27.95 on its own.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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The Iliad
by Homer
Achilles withdraws after a king insults him, and his anger puts his friends and the Greek army at risk.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
The Iliad is a long poem in twenty-four books, composed in ancient Greek and credited to Homer. It was shaped in the eighth or seventh century BC, out of songs that bards had sung for generations.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A quarrel splits the Greek camp
The poem opens in the tenth year of the siege. A priest of Apollo named Chryses comes to the Greek ships with ransom, hoping to buy back his daughter Chryseis. Agamemnon, who holds her as a prize of war, refuses and sends the old man away with harsh words. Chryses prays to Apollo, and the god answers by sending a plague that falls first on the mules and dogs and then on the men.
For nine days the funeral fires burn. On the tenth day Achilles calls the army to an assembly and asks a seer to say why Apollo is angry. The seer, Calchas, fears the wrath of the king and asks Achilles for protection before he speaks. Achilles promises it, and Calchas names the cause: Agamemnon has dishonoured the priest and must return the girl.
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What is the Iliad about?
It is about a few weeks in the tenth year of the Trojan War, when Achilles quits the fighting after a quarrel with Agamemnon. The poem follows the anger, loss and grief that result on both the Greek and Trojan sides.
Who is Achilles in the Iliad?
Achilles is the greatest Greek warrior at Troy, the son of King Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis. He is swift, proud and quick to anger, and he knows he may live a long life or win lasting fame, but not both.
Is the Iliad a true story?
It is a work of poetry, not history. A city at Troy did exist and was probably attacked in the Bronze Age, but the heroes and gods are legend. The poem took shape in the eighth or seventh century BC.
The author
Homer
900 BC–800 BC · Ancient Greek epic poet
Reputed author of the Iliad and the Odyssey.
More by Homer
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