Homer and His Iliad

A compelling and impressive (Sunday Times) reassessment of the Iliad, uncovering how the poem was written and why it remains enduringly powerful The Iliad is the worlds greatest epic poemheroic battle and divine fate set against the Trojan War. Its beauty and profound bleakness are intensely moving, but great questions remain: Where, how, and when was it composed and why does it endure? Robin Lane Fox addresses these questions, drawing on a lifelong love and engagement with the poem. He argues for a place, a date, and a method for its compositionsubjects of ongoing controversycombining the detailed expertise of a historian with a poetic readers sensitivity. Lane Fox considers hallmarks of the poem; its values, implicit and explicit; its characters; its women; its gods; and even its horses. Thousands of readers turn to theIliadevery year. Drawing on fifty years of reading and research, Lane Fox offersus a breathtaking tour of this magnificent text, revealing why the poem has endured for ages.