Willcock provides a line-by-line commentary that explains allusions and Homeric conventions that a student or general reader could not be expected to bring to an initial encounter with the Iliad.

An essential handbook for any reader of the Iliad.

Those who are able to read Homer in Greek have ample recourse to commentaries, but the vast majority who read the Iliad in translation have not been so well served--the many available translations contain few, if any, notes. For these readers, Malcolm M. Willcock provides a line-by-line commentary that explains the many factual details, mythological allusions, and Homeric conventions that a student or general reader could not be expected to bring to an initial encounter with the Iliad.

The notes, which always relate to particular lines in the text, have as their prime aim the simple, factual explanation of things the inexperienced reader would be unlikely to have at his or her command (What is a hecatomb? Who is Atreus' son?). Second, they enhance an appreciation of the Iliad by illuminating epic style, Homer's methods of composition, the structure of the work, and the characterization of the major heroes. The "Homeric Question," concerning the origin and authorship of the Iliad, is also discussed.

The book's accessible commentary can be used with any translation of the poem, though it is based on Richmond Lattimore's landmark translation, which is regarded as the outstanding English-language version. This clearly written commentary, which includes an excellent select bibliography, makes of the touchstones of Western culture accessible to a wider audience.