The Iliad

Homer’s monumental epic set at the end of the Trojan War explores love, heroism, and the intricate relationship between gods and mortals—now in a beautiful clothbound hardcover edition designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith.

The Iliad is the first and the greatest literary achievement of Greek civilization—the cornerstone of Western culture and an epic poem without rival in world literature. The story centers on the critical events in the last year of the Trojan War, which lead to Achilleus’s killing of Hektor and the fall of Troy. But Homer's theme is not simply war or heroism. With compassion and humanity, he presents a universal and tragic view of the world: human life lived under the shadow of suffering and death set against a vast and largely unpitying divine background.

This edition presents Penguin Classics founder E. V. Rieu’s lively translation of Homer’s great epic.

Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Seven Greek cities claim the honor of being the birthplace of Homer (c. 8th–7th century BC), the poet to whom the composition of the Iliad and the Odyssey are attributed. The Iliad is the oldest surviving work of Western literature, but the identity—or even the existence—of Homer himself is a complete mystery, with no reliable biographical information having survived.

E. V. Rieu initiated Penguin Classics with Allen Lane, and his famous translation of the Odyssey was the first book published in the series in 1947. The Iliad followed in 1950.

Coralie Bickford-Smith is an award-winning designer at Penguin Books, where she has created several highly acclaimed series designs. She studied typography at Reading University and lives in London.