Overview

A timeless tale of war, pride, and the cost of glory Homer's Iliad stands as one of the greatest achievements in Western literature. Set during the final weeks of the Trojan War, the epic centres on Achilles, the Greeks' greatest warrior, whose pride and wrath threaten the fate of his comrades. As the armies of Troy and Greece clash, the poem explores the heroism and horror of battle, the bonds of friendship, and the tragic consequences of vengeance. With gods intervening at every turn and legendary figures such as Hector, Agamemnon, and Patroclus shaping the conflict, The Iliad is both a gripping war story and a profound meditation on mortality, honour, and fate. Inside the book: The dramatic conflict between Achilles and Agamemnon, and the complexities of heroism Scenes of epic battles, duels, and the fall of heroes Themes of pride, wrath, honour, and the intervention of the gods Modern translation and Introduction by Prof. Ian Johnston Ideal for readers drawn to epic poetry, classical history, and the enduring questions of human nature, The Iliad is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the roots of Western storytelling.

Full Product Details

Author:   Homer ,  Tom Butler-Bowdon
Publisher:   John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Imprint:   Capstone Publishing Ltd
ISBN:  

9781907326530

ISBN 10:   1907326537
Pages:   720
Publication Date:   30 April 2026
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Awaiting stock  

Table of Contents

Introduction by Ian Johnston vii Translator's Note xxxvii Editor's Note xxxix About Ian Johnston xli About Tom Butler-Bowdon xliii The Iliad xlv Book One The Quarrel by the Ships 1 Book Two Agamemnon's Dream and The Catalogue of Ships 27 Book Three Paris, Menelaus, and Helen 61 Book Four The Armies Clash 81 Book Five Diomedes Goes to Battle 105 Book Six Hector and Andromache 141 Book Seven Hector and Ajax 165 Book Eight The Trojans Have Success 185 Book Nine Peace Offerings to Achilles 209 Book Ten A Night Raid 239 Book Eleven The Achaeans Face Disaster 265 Book Twelve The Fight at the Barricade 299 Book Thirteen The Trojans Attack the Ships 317 Book Fourteen Zeus Deceived 351 Book Fifteen The Battle at the Ships 373 Book Sixteen Patroclus Fights and Dies 405 Book Seventeen The Fight Over Patroclus 441 Book Eighteen The Arms of Achilles 475 Book Nineteen Achilles and Agamemnon 503 Book Twenty Achilles Returns to Battle 523 Book Twenty-One Achilles Fights the River 545 Book Twenty-Two The Death of Hector 571 Book Twenty-Three The Funeral Games for Patroclus 595 Book Twenty-Four Achilles and Priam 635 Glossary of People and Places 671

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Author Information

Homer was an ancient Greek poet believed to have lived in the 8th century BCE. He is the author of two of the most significant epic poems in Western literature, The Iliad and The Odyssey, celebrated for their narrative depth and exploration of human experience. Ian Johnston is Professor Emeritus of Vancouver Island University (formerly Malaspina University-College) in British Columbia, Canada, where he taught Classics and English. He has translated Aeschylus, Aristophanes, Aristotle, Homer, Ovid and Sophocles, and modern works by Kant, Kafka, Montaigne and Nietzsche. He is the author of The Ironies of War: An Introduction to Homer's Iliad (1987). Tom Butler-Bowdon is editor of the Capstone Classics series and has written introductions to Machiavelli's The Prince, Marcus Aurelius' Meditations, Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich, and Wallace Wattles' The Science of Getting Rich. A graduate of the London School of Economics, he is also the author of 50 Self-Help Classics, 50 Success Classics, and 50 Psychology Classics.

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