The Originals: The Illiad - Om Books

Homer’s Iliad is one of the greatest literary works of antiquity. This epic poem, consisting of 24 books that correspond to the 24 letters of the Greek alphabet, grapples with the crucial final phase of the Trojan war and its ramifications.The warrior hero Achilles, son of Peleus (a mortal) and Thetis (a sea goddess), is the central figure of The Iliad. Given a choice, Achilles bravely embraces a short and glorious life in war over a long life lacking heroic glory. The Iliad depicts the Trojan war as not just a battle between the Greeks and the non-Greeks, the gods are both keen watchers and active participants in the unfolding conflict.While exploring the themes of love, friendship, honour, fate, will in this magnificent epic, Homer masterfully dissects the darkest human impulses and lays bare the horrors of war.


The Greek poet Homer is believed to have been born sometime between the 12th and 8th centuries BC somewhere along the coast of Asia Minor. Though very little is known about this enigmatic figure, he is renowned for his epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey. The Iliad tells the tale of the siege of Troy, the Trojan war, and Paris’ kidnapping of Helen – the world’s most beautiful woman. The Odyssey, set in the period after the fall of Troy, traces the trajectory of the life and exploits of the Greek hero, Odysseus. The Iliad has a strictly formal structure while The Odyssey adopts a more colloquial style. Both epics are laden with startling insights into early human society and human nature.