War is raging between the Greeks and the Trojans, and Achilles, the great champion of the Greek army, is angrily sulking in his tent and refusing to fight after a furious rove with his commander, Agamemnon. But when the Trojan prince Hector kills Achilles' beloved friend, Achilles plunges back into the battle to seek his bloody revenge – even though he knows it will bring about his own doom. Robert Graves's gripping retelling of The Iliad uses dark, satirical humour to take a revered epic back yo its roots as popular entertainment, portraying a world of quarrelling kings and tarnished heroes, who leave suffering women behind them and are watched over by cunning gods and goddesses.
Interspersing clear, vigorous prose with lyrics, this brilliantly readable translation is accompanied by an introduction discussing The Iliad as part of the bardic tradition and shedding light on Homer's cynical view of power. This edition also contains a map of the Ancient Mediterranean world.
