Homer's Iliad was printed many times during the eighteenth century. Along with the Odyssey, it is one of the earliest surviving pieces of Western literature. It tells the story of the legendary Greek siege of the city of Troy and an argument between the leader of the siege, King Agamemnon, and the Greek hero Achilles.

The Iliad was first translated into Italian in 1544 by Francesco Gussano; this translation of 1736 is by Scipione Maffei, Italian archaeologist, dramatist and scholar.