The product of more than a decade's continuous work (1598-1611) Chapman's translation of Homer's great poem of war is a magnificent testimony to the power of The Iliad. In muscular onward-rolling verse Chapman retells the story of Achilles the great warrior & his terrible wrath before the walls of besieged Troy & the destruction it wreaks on both Greeks & Trojans. Chapman regarded the translation of this epic & of Homer's Odyssey (also available in Wordsworth Editions) as his life's work & dedicated himself to capturing the 'soul' of the poem.