The Iliad

Attributed to Homer, the Iliad is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems to survive and is often called the first substantial work of European literature. Set near the end of the ten-year Greek siege of Troy, it traces the anger of Achilles, the greatest Achaean warrior, after a quarrel with King Agamemnon over the captive Briseis. The poem moves between wide battle scenes and private moments inside Troy and the Greek camp, while the Olympian gods take sides and intervene. Its 24 books are written in dactylic hexameter. Scholars still argue over when and how it was composed, a dispute known as the Homeric Question.

Elon Musk included it in a post of audiobook recommendations on X, and in an interview Ted Turner named it among the Greek classics that fascinated him as a college classics major.