Few warriors, in life or literature, have challenged their commanding officer and the rationale of the war they fought as fiercely as did Homer’s hero Achilles. Today, the Iliad is celebrated as one of the greatest works in literature, the epic of all epics; many have forgotten that the subject of this ancient poem was war — not merely the poetical romance of the war at Troy, but War, in all its enduring devastation.Using the legend of the Trojan War, the Iliad addresses the central questions defining the war experience of every age. Is a warrior ever justified in challenging his commander?

Caroline Alexander (born 3 March 1968)[1] is a cross country mountain biker and road cyclist born in Barrow in Furness, Lancashire. She represented Great Britain at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.[1] She was a reserve for the British Cycling team at the 2001 UCI Road World Championships[2] Alexander also represented Britain at the UCI Women's Road World Cup events in 2002.[3] Alexander represented Scotland in the first mountain bike event in the Commonwealth Games in 2002.[4] Alexander retired from cycling in 2004