Homer’s Iliad is divided into 24 books, the traditional structural units of the epic.
The poem does not narrate the entire Trojan War. Instead, it focuses on a short period during the war’s tenth year, especially Achilles’ quarrel with Agamemnon and its consequences. The 24-book division was established in antiquity and corresponds to the 24 letters of the Greek alphabet.
The Iliad’s ending describes the funeral of Hector, not the fall of Troy. The Trojan Horse, Achilles’ death, and the destruction of the city belong to other parts of the wider mythic tradition rather than appearing as full episodes in Homer’s surviving poem.
Readers sometimes confuse the Iliad with the Odyssey, which is also divided into 24 books. The Odyssey follows Odysseus’s return journey after the war.