Introduction

The heroic story of the siege of Troy is as enthralling today as it ever was.

The Greeks are entering the tenth year of their war with the Trojans, but their armies are fractured and their best warrior Achilles has abandoned the battle on a mission of revenge. Only the death of his best friend Patroclus persuades Achilles to return to battle and confront the Trojan leader Hector in single combat.

The Iliad is the oldest surviving work of Western literature and provides a powerful glimpse into the horrors and heroics of war - a message which undoubtedly endures today. This edition provides an accessible prose translation by the classical scholar and novelist Samuel Butler. Butler is considered one of the finest English writers of the late Victorian era, and his translation one of the most accessible and satisfying.