While The Iliad is a fictional tale of the Trojan War between the Trojan and Achaean warriors during the Late Bronze Age (circa 1500-1200 BC), it is set in a real location: the eastern Mediterranean, along the Aegean Sea. We present a brief slideshow of maps from Barry B. Powell’s new translation of the ancient epic, which illustrate the geographic regions mentioned, from towns and cities, to character origins, and even allied battle grounds. This topographical backdrop to Homer’s poem provides a rich context for the story, and a greater understanding for modern readers.
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The Aegean
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Mainland Greece
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The Troad
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The Catalog of Ships
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Origins of Heroes
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The Trojan Catalog
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The Mediterranean
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The Ancient Near East
Who writes this stuff?
“it is set in a real location: Mycenae, today known as modern Turkey,”
Surely someone at OUP knows that Mycenae is today known as Mycenae, in modern Greece? It is across the Argolid, the Saronic Gulf, Attica, and the Aegean from modern Turkey.
Thank you so much for posting these on a public page! I am re-reading the Iliad and I’ve been searching for maps to make sense of the catalogue of ships, these are beautiful.