Embarking on an epic: Homer's Iliad for February's Reading group

The motherlode of western literature has kept readers and translators busy for 3,000 years. Now it’s our turn

This month on the Reading group – deep breath – we’re going for the big one: the Iliad. The ur-text of the western canon. The beginning of everything.

If you’ve read Homer’s epic poem, you’ll have a good idea about why it’s been the bedrock of our literary tradition for so long. But if you haven’t, be prepared to be surprised.

Related: Guardian Books podcast: Rhetoric and the Iliad

Related: My hero: Homer by Madeline Miller

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