Iliad and Odyssey

This volume pairs the two ancient Greek epics attributed to Homer. The Iliad is set in a few weeks of the tenth year of the Trojan War: Agamemnon quarrels with Achilles over a captive woman, Achilles withdraws from battle, the Trojans drive the Greeks onto their ships, Patroclus fights in Achilles' armour, and Achilles returns to meet Hector before the walls. The Odyssey follows Odysseus after the city's fall as he is delayed by the Cyclops, Circe, Calypso, and the Phaeacians, while in Ithaca Penelope holds off suitors and Telemachus seeks news of his father. Both are narrative poems of wrath, homecoming, and the gods' interference in human lives.

Quarter bound in goatskin leather (orange for Iliad, light blue for Odyssey) with silver spine titling and illustrated paper covers. Black cloth covered presentation box, silver foil blocked with four designs, illustrated lining.