The Illiad by Homer

One of the foremost achievements in western literature, Homer's Illiad tells the story of the darkest episode of the Trojan War.

Troy

Trojan War itself is a part of Greek mythology so one can argue that the city of Troy did never exist. But there are certain facts about a powerful nation, who used to live in the western shores of the modern day Turkey, and collected taxes from the ships which sailed near their coast. There are written documents about Alexander the Great visiting the ancient city of Troy on his way to Persia. Modern day archaeologists have discovered remnants of an ancient city which they suspect that to be of Troy.

The Trojan War

Helen, the young and beautiful Greek princess and her Trojan lover Prince Paris, started the prelude to crisis. Helen was the wife of Menelaus, King of the Greek kingdom Sparta. Members of the Trojan royal family visited Sparta inorder to broaden the friendship between the two kingdoms. Prince Paris, the younger son of King Priam of Troy, came with them and for the astonishment of all found himself in love with fair Helen, the Queen of Sparta. One thing led to another and finally Helen ran away to Troy with Prince Paris.

As soon as Menelaus discovers that his beloved wife has been 'stolen' he joins forces with his fierce brother Agamemnon, the King of Greece, and summon all the Greek warlords and declare war on Troy.

There are memorable characters on both sides such as 'Great' Ajax, 'Lesser' Ajax, Diomedes, Idomeneus, Nstor, Odysseus and Tucer but at it's centre is mighty Achilles, the greatest warrior champion of the Greeks.

On the other side there is Hector, the elder son of King Priam and the greatest warrior of the Trojans, Aeneas, the son of goddess Aphrodite, Polydamas and Sarpedon. Most of them meet the dust at the battlefield but Aeneas survives the war and makes his way to Italy to begin the race of the great Romans.

The Plot

The book describes the incidents that took place in the final year of the 10 year long siege of the city of Troy. Achilles, the greatest warrior of all time, refuses to fight for the Greeks after being humilated by his leader Agamemnon. But when the Trojan Hector kills Achilles' close friend Patroclus, he storms back into battle to take revenge-although knowing this will ensure his own early death.

Interwoven with this tragic sequence of events are powerfully moving descriptions of the ebb and flow of battle, of the domestic world inside Troy's besieged city of Ilium and of the conflicts between the gods on Olympus as they argue over the fate of mortals.

"Look at me. I am the son of a great man. A Goddess was my mother. Yet Death and inexorable destiny are waiting for me"-Achilles