Homer · 750 BCE · mediterranean

Homer's Iliad tells of the Trojan War and the rage of Achilles, sung centuries after a bronze-age siege on the coast of Anatolia. The route follows the Achaean cause from Sparta and Mycenae to the mustering at Aulis, and across the Aegean to the walls of Troy.

1. 1
   Sparta

   From Sparta the Trojan prince Paris carries off Helen, wife of King Menelaus, and lights the spark that will burn for ten years.

2. 2
   Mycenae

   At Mycenae, Agamemnon, king of men, gathers the wrath and the armies of the Achaeans to reclaim his brother's stolen queen.

3. 3
   Aulis

   At Aulis a thousand black ships muster, and the wind is bought with a terrible sacrifice before the fleet can sail.

4. 4
   Troy

   On the windy plain before Troy the war grinds through its tenth year, and the rage of Achilles decides the fate of heroes.