High on Olympus, Zeus and the assembled deities look down on the world of men, to the city of Troy where a bitter and bloody war has dragged into its tenth year, and a quarrel rages between a legendary warrior and his commander. Greek ships decay, men languish, exhausted, and behind the walls of Troy a desperate people await the next turn of fate.

A new translation of Homer's great epic, set during the Trojan War. Supported by detailed notes, maps, a list of characters and genealogies, as well as suggested further reading and an index.