虽然本书故事只是讲述了特洛伊战争最后一年几周内发生的事情，但《伊利亚特》提及或暗喻了许多关于围城的希腊传奇；在早先的事件中，例如勇士们为围攻集合，战争的由来，以及相关的顾虑等等都在故事开始之时出现。史诗的叙述随后给出了预言，例如阿基琉斯将会遇到的不幸以及特洛伊的沦陷，这些预言在事件发生前给出，暗示生动鲜活，因此当故事到结尾处，史诗基本上诠释了整个特洛伊战争。

The Iliad is an ancient Greek epic poem in dactylic hexameter, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy (Ilium) by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles.

Homer is best known as the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey. He was believed by the ancient Greeks to have been the first and greatest of the epic poets. Author of the first known literature of Europe, he had a lasting effect on the Western canon. Whether and when he lived is unknown. The importance of Homer to the ancient Greeks is described in Plato's "Republic", which portrays him as the protos didaskalos, "first teacher", of the tragedians, the hegemon paideias, "leader of Greek culture", and the ten Hellada pepaideukon, "teacher of all Greece". Homer's works, which are about fifty percent speeches, provided models in persuasive speaking and writing that were emulated throughout the ancient and medieval Greek worlds. Fragments of Homer account for nearly half of all identifiable Greek literary papyrus finds in Egypt.