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One of the first and greatest literary achievements of Greek civilisation, The Iliad focuses on the pivotal four days towards the end of the ten-year war between the Greeks and the Trojans. In a series of dramatic set pieces, it follows the tragic story of the humiliation of Achilleus at the hands of Agamemnon and his slaying of Hector- a barbarous act with repercussions that ultimately determine the fate of Troy. The Iliad not only paints an intimate picture of individual experience, but also offers a universal perspective in which human loss and suffering are set against a vast and unpitying divine background where fickle, quarrelsome gods decide the fate of men. Martin Hammond's acclaimed prose translation is accompanied by an introduction which discusses the central themes of The Iliad and provides a lucid synopsis of the work.