Homer’s Iliad, one of Western literature’s greatest triumphs, relates the narrative of the Trojan War’s bloodiest period. After being humiliated by his captain Agamemnon, Achilles, the greatest warrior-champion of the Greeks, refuses to fight. When the Trojan Hector assassinates Achilles’ close friend Patroclus, he goes back into combat, knowing full well that he will die young. E. V. Rieu’s famous translation of The Iliad was one of the first Penguin Classics titles, and it has since become a classic.
