The Iliad by Homer, translated by Robert Fagles, with Introduction by Bernard Knox. 1990, ISBN 0-14-027536-3. A massive poem (this translation is about 540 pages), considered one of the foundation stones of western culture and literature. Composed 3200 years ago, first written down at about 800 BC. It is an excerpt of the story of the Trojan war, where the Greeks attacked the city of Troy for more than 10 years because Paris had taken Helen from Menelaus. The story told in the poem starts with an argument between Achilles and Agamemnon (brother of Menelaus and primary Greek king.) The poem describes several battles in gruesome detail and ends with the funerals of Patroclus and Hector (son of Trojan king Priam.) Here is a partial list of the characters in the story. The story is mythological, but may be based originally on some similar real events. In this story much of the action is influenced by the Greek gods, for example Zeus, Hera, etc. Two other important characters are Odysseus (main character of Homer's Odyssey) and Ajax. This is the first time I have read this completely. I have collected several translations. This copy was purchased from Borders, probably about ten years ago.