Iliad Book 12

Translator’s note:

This is a translation of the twelfth book of Homer’s Iliad and continues the sequence of books already available. 

Its focus is the Trojan assault on the Greek camp, and culminates with Hektor breaking down a gate into the camp after fierce defence. The Trojan army then begins to pour into the camp intending to set fire to the ships and wipe out the defenders.  

The book is oddly structured, starting with a flash-forward to a time post-war when the camp is washed into the sea by the combined efforts of Poseidon and Apollo, aided by Zeus as the sponsor of rain sent to swell the rivers used to obliterate what is left of the camp.

There is then a disconnected set of episodes where various attempts are made to broach the Greek wall, with differing degrees of success until a final breach is made by Hektor in the final lines of the book. 

The book is also notable for one of the rare instances where the poet momentarily allows himself (or herself according to  Samuel Butler) to be a presence.