The Iliad is the ancient Greek epic about Achilles conventionally divided into 24 books.
Attributed to Homer, the poem focuses on a short but decisive period near the end of the Trojan War, especially Achilles’ conflict with Agamemnon and the consequences of Achilles’ withdrawal from battle. Its narrative includes the death of Patroclus, Achilles’ return to combat, the killing of Hector, and King Priam’s appeal for Hector’s body.
The Iliad is written in dactylic hexameter, the traditional meter of Greek epic poetry, and contains about 15,693 lines in the standard text. Its 24-book division is a conventional editorial arrangement rather than evidence that the poem was originally written as 24 separate volumes. The Odyssey is also divided into 24 books, which can make the two epics easy to confuse.
The title does not mean “the story of Achilles” in a complete biographical sense. It comes from Ilios, another name for Troy, and the poem covers only part of the larger Trojan War tradition.