The Iliad

Abstract

Abstract The Iliad’s title may suggest an epic about the Trojan War, or even the classic epic about the Trojan War. But although the tale is set at Troy during the war, and much fighting is described, the city’s fate remains in the background. It is not the real theme. The poem does not tell of the capture or sack of Troy, or of any major stage in the progress of the war. It is true that the death of Troy’s greatest defender, Hector, forms its climax. But this gain for the Achaeans’ cause was achieved at high cost, and it was soon to be cancelled out by the loss of their own supreme hero, Achilles.