An account, in the form of an epic poem written in dactylic hexameter, long thought to be pure Greek mythology, of a Bronze-Age conflict between the Greeks of Sparta, and those of Troy, in Phrygia, (in modern times, northwestern Anatolia, Turkey). Attributed to a sightless poet simply known as Homer, …
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An account, in the form of an epic poem written in dactylic hexameter, long thought to be pure Greek mythology, of a Bronze-Age conflict between the Greeks of Sparta, and those of Troy, in Phrygia, (in modern times, northwestern Anatolia, Turkey). Attributed to a sightless poet simply known as Homer, of which little is known, this epic poem was most probably created over several centuries, perhaps during the so-called Geometric Age (c. 900-700 BCE), by many authors in an oral tradition, before the adoption of writing, when it was not uncommon to be able to recite (or sing), verbatim, book-length poetic works, which were passed down by recitation over generations.
Eventually, when the Greeks adopted and modified the Phonecian alphabet for their own language, the Iliad (literally, 'The Saga [or Song] of Ilium') took on a codified, written form around 735±25 BCE. Since then it has been rendered in countless versions and translations from ancient times to the present and remains one of the earliest and most well-known works of Western literature.
From this tale spring the legends of the beautiful Helen of Troy ('the face that launched a thousand ships'), swift-footed Achilles, the Trojan Horse, the humiliation of Hector and such memorable literary tropes as 'the rosey fingers of dawn'.
Famously, Alexander the Great (358-323 BCE), slept with a copy of the Iliad under his pillow and his campaign of revenge against the Persian Empire may have been motivated in part by his identification with the heroic exploits of Achilles.
In the 19th century, Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890) was inspired to prove the reality of the Iliad, although his methods and results have been highly criticized, he did much to establish that a Trojan War, in one form or another, had probably acted as the initial inspiration for the Iliad.
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The Iliad of Homer
Paperback, 527 pages
English language
Published Nov. 8, 1961 by University of Chicago Press.
- ISBN:
- 978-0-226-46940-9Copied ISBN!
- OCLC Number:
- 4921224
Iliad
Paperback, 516 pages
Published March 12, 1997 by Hackett Publishing Company, Inc..
- ISBN:
- 978-0-87220-352-5Copied ISBN!
The Iliad
Hardcover, 624 pages
English language
Published March 9, 1992 by Everyman's Library.
- ISBN:
- 978-0-679-41075-1Copied ISBN!
- OCLC Number:
- 24503411
Iliad of Homer
Hardcover, 456 pages
English language
Published July 30, 2005 by 1st World Library.
- ISBN:
- 978-1-4218-0698-3Copied ISBN!
- OCLC Number:
- 70136655
The Iliad
704 pages
English language
Published Oct. 31, 1998 by Penguin Classics.
- ISBN:
- 978-0-14-027536-0Copied ISBN!
The Iliad of Homer
529 pages
English language
Published Nov. 8, 1977 by Bobbs-Merrill Educational Pub..
- ISBN:
- 978-0-672-61414-9Copied ISBN!
- OCLC Number:
- 885044
The Iliad of Homer
Paperback, 296 pages
English language
Published June 8, 2002 by IndyPublish.com.
- ISBN:
- 978-1-4043-0953-1Copied ISBN!
- OCLC Number:
- 51933843
The Iliad (Ultimate Classics)
Audio cassette
English language
Published Feb. 8, 2002 by New Millennium Entertainment (CA).
- ISBN:
- 978-1-59007-004-8Copied ISBN!
- OCLC Number:
- 48985632
Iliad: Volume II. Books 13-24 (Loeb Classical Library)
Hardcover, 652 pages
English language
Published June 4, 1985 by Loeb Classical Library.
- ISBN:
- 978-0-674-99189-7Copied ISBN!
The Iliad
309 pages
English language
Published Nov. 8, 1950 by Mentor.
- ISBN:
- 978-0-451-62723-0Copied ISBN!
The Iliad
Paperback, 248 pages
English language
Published March 27, 2007 by Wilder Publications.
- ISBN:
- 978-1-934451-44-1Copied ISBN!
The Iliad of Homer
1212 pages
English language
Published Nov. 8, 1848 by A.S. Barnes & Co..
- ISBN:
- 978-0-14-044504-6Copied ISBN!
The Iliad of Homer
548 pages
English language
Published Nov. 8, 1902 by A.L. Burt.
- OCLC Number:
- 11945341
The Iliad of Homer
413 pages
English language
Published Nov. 8, 1877 by Longmans.
- OCLC Number:
- 11167092
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