Iliad

Greek The name of the epic poem by Homer, who is thought to have lived during the eighth century b.c. The name derives from Ilion, one of the names for Troy, an ancient city on the northwestern tip of Asia Minor. The 24 books of the Iliad tell of the last few days of the Trojan War, focusing especially on the Greek hero Achilles, who withdrew from the conflict, causing severe setbacks to the Greeks. However, Achilles rejoined the war, and slew Hector, the hero of the Trojans. The Iliad also tells of other leaders of the Greeks, such as Odysseus, Diomedes (1), Ajax (1), and Menelaus, who was the leader of the Achaeans. It does not tell of the beginning of the Trojan War, which was supposed to have been caused by the abduction of Helen, a Spartan princess, by the Trojan Paris. Homer never calls the victors of the Trojan war "Greeks." That was a name the Romans later gave to the people of the peninsula in southern Europe that would eventually become the nation of Greece. The Iliad tells not only of the war but of the peaceful lives of shepherds, fishermen, and woodcutters of an era that is now supposed by historians and archaeologists to have been between 1200 and 1300 b.c. According to many scholars, the Iliad is one of the greatest works of literature, and certainly the earliest. Achilles is the first hero of Western literature. The poem tells of petty rages and jealousies, but also speaks of heroism and nobility in a memorable narrative.