“Sing, Goddess, of the wrath of Pēleús’ son

Akhilleús, the accursed wrath that caused

Akhaíans countless woes and hurled headlong

To Hāḯdēs a host of heroes’ souls

And left their bodies spoil for dogs and all

The birds of carrion. The will of Zeús

Was brought to pass from when Agamémnōn,

The Lord of men, opposed the consummate

Akhilleús. Which God was it that set the two

At odds?”

So begins the Íliad, Homer’s epic song about the invasion of Troy by a force of Greeks led by Agamémnōn, King of Mykḗnē. They are seeking revenge for the abduction from Spártē of Helénē, the most beautiful woman on earth, by Páris, Prince of Troy. The walls of Troy seem to be impregnable and the fortunes of the Greeks are further set back when their greatest warrior, the fleet-of-foot Akhilleús, falls out with King Agamémnōn and withdraws from the battle. The Íliad recounts what happens in the next fifty days at the beginning of the tenth and final year of the war.

By the end of this first volume, the fortunes of the Greeks are at a low ebb. The Trojans are storming the Argive wall and breach it to pour through and fight close to the ships, though Akhilleus still refuses to join the battle.

This new translation adheres closely to the original text, rendering it in iambic pentameter, with attention to the dramatic similes characteristic of Homer. A detailed Introduction is provided together with Notes for Books I-XII.