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Curriculum details
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The Iliad is the precursor to The Odyssey, and narrates a sequence of events that took place during the Trojan War. Unlike The Odyssey, The Iliad focuses on the theme of war, and is dominated by battle scenes. It is far more poignant and sophisticated than other ancient war epics, however.
While we recommend reading The Odyssey in its entirety, it is fine to skip sections of The Iliad (such as the listing of ships in Book 2). If you do not have time to read the entire work, you may read just Book 1 (which sets up the plot), the Hector and Andromache scene in Book 6, the fight between Hector and Achilles in Book 22, and Book 24 which contains the resolution of the epic.