The Iliad: A New Translation

In this major new translation, classicist and bestselling author of The Enduranceand The Bounty uses her superb narrative gifts to bring Homer’s timeless, enduring story of the devastation and exultation of war to life as never before.

Composed around 730 B.C, Homer’s Iliad recounts the dramatic events, over the course of a few days, in the war of the Achaeans, or Greeks, against the Trojans in their besieged city of Ilion. From the explosive confrontation between Achilles, the greatest warrior at Troy, and Agamemnon, the inept leader of the Greeks, to its tragic conclusion,The Iliad explores eternal themes about the nature of man and warfare. Is a warrior ever justified in challenging his commander? Must he sacrifice his life for another man’s cause? Does a man betray his family by sacrificing his life for his country? Does winning glory compensate a warrior for death in battle?

Warrior and civilian, hero and coward, victor and vanquished, man and woman, youth and elder—The Iliad evokes in poignant, searing detail the fates of those ravaged by the Trojan War. Homer’s ancient tale of this famous Bronze Age conflict becomes a sublime and sweeping evocation of the devastation of war that resonates through the ages to our own time.

Hewing closely to the original Greek and epic voice, acclaimed classicist Caroline Alexander has created a riveting translation of Homer’sIliad, told in driving, lyrical language devastating in its power.