The Iliadis one of the finest of all the great works that have been handed down to us from Classical Antiquity. Paris, a Trojan prince, having won Helen as his prize for judging a beauty contest between the goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, abducted her from her Greek husband Menelaus and transported her to Troy. The Greeks, enraged by this audacity and devastated by the loss of the most beautiful woman in the world, set sail to Troy and began the long siege of the city. The Iliad narrates the events ten years into the war, describing the anger of Achilles which results in the death of Patroclus and Achilles' mourning of him and avenging of his murder. It has had a far-reaching impact on Western literature and culture, inspiring writers, artists and classical composers across the ages. Even though it was written more than 2,700 years ago, The Iliad remains both powerful and enthralling.

The identity of the writer of The Iliad is a matter of some speculation. The ancients were convinced it was Homer, although they tended to disagree as to biographical details. The best supported evidence suggests he lived in Chios, an island off the west coast of Turkey, some time between 1100 and 700 BC, probably closer to the latter. Traditionally portrayed as revered, old and blind, he is said to have composed The Iliad and The Odyssey and possibly the Homeric Hymns, a series of choral addresses to the gods.

The handsome volumes in The Collectors Library present great works of world literature in a handy hardback format. Printed on high-quality paper and bound in real cloth, each complete and unabridged volume has a specially commissioned afterword, brief biography of the author and a further-reading list. This easily accessible series offers readers the perfect opportunity to discover, or rediscover, some of the world's most endearing literary works.

The volumes in The Collector's Library are sumptuously produced, enduring editions to own, to collect and to treasure.