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.
This edition of the Iliad, by the philosopher Samuel Clarke, was published shortly before his death in 1729, with the final twelve books of the poem completed by his son and namesake in 1732. Clarke's edition was supplemented by extensive footnotes to the Greek text and was dedicated to Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland.
Due to its splendid binding, this was one of the books selected by Olwen Hedley in the 1960s as a fine example of bookbinding in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle. Hedley’s ‘Additional Bookbindings’ serve as a supplement to the catalogue of fine bindings compiled in 1893 by the Royal Librarian Richard Rivington Holmes.