Arcadia Public Library

Patroclus, an awkward young prince, follows Achilles into war, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they have learned, everything they hold dear. And that, before he is ready, he will be forced to surrender his friend to the hands of Fate. Set during the Trojan War.

"Gillian Cross's fine retelling of Homer's epic story captures all the heroism and savagery of war and shows why the 'Iliad' has been called the first tragedy and the greatest literary achievement of Greek civilization"--

When Prince Paris of Troy claims the beautiful Helen from Greek king Menelaus and war ensues, Achilles, a demigod prince and celebrated warrior, is charged with leading his Greek countrymen to victory against the Trojans.

The centuries old epic about the wrath of Achilles is rendered into modern English verse by a renowned translator and accompanied by an introduction that reassesses the identity of Homer. In Robert Fagles' beautifully rendered text, the Iliad overwhelms us afresh. The huge themes -- godlike, yet utterly human of savagery and calculation, of destiny defied, of triumph and grief -- compel our own humanity. Time after time, one pauses and re-reads before...