Epic · 8th century BCE
The Iliad
Homer
Aya Saleh · Ink & Ivy
Epic · 8th century BCE · Greek · Ancient
The Iliad
Sing, goddess, of the wrath of Achilles.
Read the book
English reading edition · Alexander Pope, translator
Full Project Gutenberg text, newly typeset—not a publisher scan. Public-domain status varies by country; check local laws. The source license is included.
Edition and sourceHow to read it
The final book — Priam kissing the hands that killed his son — turns a war poem into the founding text of mercy.
Complete section guide
Alexander Pope English translation; 24 books. Summaries contain spoilers; descriptive headings are editorial.
Book 1The quarrel
Apollo’s plague forces Agamemnon to return Chryseis. Taking Briseis from Achilles provokes his withdrawal and Thetis’s appeal to Zeus.
Book 2The armies
A deceptive dream encourages Agamemnon, whose test nearly sends the Greeks home. Odysseus restores order before the armies are catalogued.
Book 3The duel
Paris and Menelaus fight over Helen. Aphrodite saves Paris when Menelaus gains the advantage.
Book 4Broken truce
Athena induces Pandarus to shoot Menelaus. The armies resume fighting after the sworn truce is violated.
Book 5Diomedes
Diomedes kills Pandarus and wounds Aeneas, Aphrodite and Ares with divine assistance.
Book 6Hector’s farewell
Diomedes and Glaucus recognize inherited hospitality. Hector returns to Troy and bids farewell to Andromache and their child.
Book 7Hector and Ajax
Their duel ends at nightfall without a victor. A burial truce allows the Greeks to build defenses around the ships.
Book 8Zeus intervenes
Zeus forbids the gods to intervene and favors Troy. Hector drives the Greeks back and camps on the plain.
Book 9The embassy
Agamemnon offers restitution. Odysseus, Phoenix and Ajax plead with Achilles, but he refuses to return.
Book 10The night raid
Odysseus and Diomedes capture and kill Dolon. They raid the Thracian camp and steal Rhesus’s horses.
Book 11Wounded leaders
Several Greek commanders are wounded. Nestor urges Patroclus to seek permission to fight in Achilles’s armor.
Book 12The wall falls
Polydamas warns against a troubling omen. Sarpedon breaches the defenses and Hector smashes the gate.
Book 13Poseidon’s support
Poseidon secretly rallies the Greeks while Zeus looks elsewhere. Idomeneus and Meriones resist the Trojan advance.
Book 14Hera’s deception
Hera distracts Zeus and Sleep renders him unconscious. Poseidon assists the Greeks and Ajax strikes Hector with a stone.
Book 15At the ships
Zeus awakens, dismisses Poseidon and has Apollo restore Hector. The Trojans push the Greeks back to their ships.
Book 16Patroclus dies
Patroclus fights in Achilles’s armor, drives the Trojans back and kills Sarpedon. Advancing too far, he falls through Apollo, Euphorbus and Hector.
Book 17The body
Both sides struggle over Patroclus’s corpse. Hector takes Achilles’s armor, but the Greeks recover the body.
Book 18New armor
Achilles resolves to avenge Patroclus despite his own foretold death. Hephaestus makes new armor and the elaborate shield.
Book 19Reconciliation
Achilles ends his quarrel with Agamemnon, who returns Briseis. His horse Xanthus predicts his death before battle.
Book 20The gods fight
Zeus allows divine intervention. Poseidon saves Aeneas, and Apollo prevents Hector’s premature death.
Book 21The river
Scamander rises against Achilles’s slaughter until Hephaestus subdues the river with fire. Apollo gives fleeing Trojans time to enter the city.
Book 22Hector’s death
Athena tricks Hector into standing against Achilles. Achilles kills him and drags the corpse before the grieving city.
Book 23Funeral games
Achilles burns Patroclus’s body. Athletic contests commemorate him, with disputes over the chariot-race prizes.
Book 24Priam’s appeal
Priam asks Achilles to remember his own father. Achilles returns Hector’s body and grants time for the funeral that closes the poem.
