How to Read The Iliad: Themes, Structure and Questions to Ask

What the Iliad is, and why it still matters

The Iliad is an ancient Greek epic poem attributed to Homer and usually dated to the eighth century BCE, which makes it one of the oldest surviving works of European literature. It runs to about 15,700 lines of dactylic hexameter and came out of a long tradition of oral poetry, which is why it repeats phrases, stock scenes and even whole speeches. Its title means the poem of Ilion, another name for Troy.

Despite its reputation, it is not the story of the Trojan War. It covers a few weeks in the war's tenth year, and its subject is the anger of Achilles: his quarrel with Agamemnon, his withdrawal from battle and the chain of deaths that follows. The wooden horse never appears, Troy does not fall, and Achilles' own death is foretold but not shown.

Readers return to it because it looks at war without looking away, and its last book turns not on a victory but on two enemies weeping together. If you have read the Odyssey, Homer's poem of homecoming, this is the earlier and darker work; the guide to starting the great books shows where it fits in a wider reading list.

How the Iliad is structured: five movements in 24 books

The 24 books, a division probably made by later editors, group naturally into five movements. Knowing where the long middle stretch is heading helps.

Two scenes are worth knowing in advance. Book 6 shows Hector back inside Troy, saying goodbye to his wife and baby son at the city gates, so every later step toward his death carries what he leaves behind. Book 18 describes the shield the god Hephaestus makes for Achilles, decorated with a city at peace, a city at war, harvests and dancing: a whole world set against the battlefield.

• Books 1–2, the quarrel: Agamemnon takes the captive Briseis from Achilles, who withdraws and asks his mother, Thetis, to have Zeus favor the Trojans. Book 2 ends with long catalogs of the Greek and Trojan forces.
• Books 3–7, the war in miniature: Paris duels Menelaus, Helen names the Greek leaders from the walls, Diomedes has his great day, and Hector says goodbye to Andromache.
• Books 8–15, the Greeks pushed back: Zeus turns the battle, Achilles refuses rich gifts from an embassy in Book 9, and the Trojans fight their way to the Greek ships.
• Books 16–22, the turn: Patroclus fights in Achilles' armor and is killed by Hector; Achilles returns in new armor and kills Hector.
• Books 23–24, the aftermath: funeral games for Patroclus, then Priam's night journey to Achilles' tent to ransom his son's body.

Main themes in the Iliad

Each theme below comes with the scenes that show it, to test against the text yourself.

Key characters in the Iliad, by side

The cast is enormous, and many minor warriors appear only to die. Learn the figures below first; the table groups them by side, because the gods take sides too.

How to read the Iliad: a practical plan

The usual place to stall is the long run of battle books in the middle, roughly Books 11–17. A plan that expects them, and gives you something to look for, gets you through. For the key books, use the slow, line-level method in our close reading guide.

1. 1Read Book 1 twice. The quarrel sets up every later decision, and a second pass shows how carefully both men's arguments are built.
2. 2Skim the Catalog of Ships in Book 2 on a first read; note that it exists and why an audience might have valued it, then move on.
3. 3For one or two battle books, list each death and whether the poem gives the man a home, a father or a simile. The pattern appears quickly.
4. 4Mark every extended simile. Many compare battle to farming, weather or animals, bringing the world outside the war into it.
5. 5In Books 11–17, follow one thread at a time: the threatened ships, Patroclus, or Hector's growing confidence.
6. 6Slow right down for Books 9, 16, 22 and 24: the embassy, Patroclus's death, Hector's death and Priam's visit.
7. 7After each book, write one sentence on what changed for Achilles, even in books where he never appears.

Questions to ask about the Iliad

Good questions about the Iliad point to a specific book. Use these to prepare for class or to find an essay topic.

• Is Achilles right to withdraw in Book 1? Does your answer change after he rejects the embassy in Book 9?
• What does his refusal of Agamemnon's gifts suggest about the warrior code of honor?
• Why does the poem give so much space to Hector's family in Book 6?
• Who is responsible for Patroclus's death: Hector, Apollo, Achilles, or Patroclus himself?
• How do the gods compare with the humans in seriousness and dignity?
• What is the shield of Achilles doing in Book 18, in the middle of a war poem?
• How is Helen presented? Does she blame herself, and does the poem blame her?
• Why does Achilles mistreat Hector's body, and why do the gods step in?
• Why end with Hector's funeral rather than the fall of Troy or Achilles' death?
• Does the Iliad glorify war, mourn it, or both?

Choosing a translation of the Iliad

The Iliad is long enough that a translation you enjoy can decide whether you finish. Decide first whether you need line numbers close to the Greek, which matters if a teacher cites passages by book and line, or whether readability comes first.

Richmond Lattimore's version stays close to the Greek line by line and is common in classrooms. Robert Fagles writes looser, more dramatic verse; Stanley Lombardo's is fast and colloquial; Caroline Alexander's and Emily Wilson's more recent translations aim to be faithful and readable at once. Alexander Pope's eighteenth-century version in rhyming couplets is a classic of English poetry in its own right, but sits further from Homer's directness.

Look for a glossary of names, a map of Troy and the Greek camp, and book-by-book summaries. To compare two versions, read Hector and Andromache in Book 6 in each before deciding.