The Iliad is divided into twenty-four books, and contains nineteen thousand four hundred and sixty-five lines.
As a work of art the Iliad has never been excelled; moreover, it possesses what all works of art do not,—"the touches of things human" that make it ours, although the centuries lie between us and its unknown author, who told his stirring story in such swift-moving verses, with such touches of pathos and humor, and with such evident joy of living. Another evidence of the perfection of Homer's art is that while his heroes are perfect types of Greeks and Trojans, they are also typical men, and for that reason, still keep their hold upon us. It is this human interest, simplicity of style, and grandeur of treatment that have rendered Homer immortal and his work imperishable.
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE ILIAD.
M. Arnold's Essay on Homer, 1876, pp. 284-425;
H. Bonitz's Origin of the Homeric Poems, tr. 1880;
R. C. Jebb's Introduction to Homer, 1887;
F. B. Jevons's History of Greek Literature, 1886, pp. 7-17;
A. Lang's Homer and the Epic, 1893;