The Iliad
At your speed≈ 10 hrs
Pages267
Audiobook≈ 17 hrs
Every reading time on the site updates to your pace. Page counts are an estimate, so treat the hours as a good guide, not a stopwatch.
The complete text runs to 153,347 words, counted word for word. At an average 250 words a minute that is 10 hrs — a week or more of evenings.
Readers on Hardcover rate it 3.86 out of 5, from 650 ratings.
Worth-it score 5.9/10 — Worth it for some readers. Readers 6.2 (Hardcover's 3.86★ from 650 ratings) − length 0.3 = 5.9. How the score works →
How long does it take to read The Iliad?
The complete text of The Iliad runs to 153,347 words — about 267 pages in the edition we list. How long that takes depends on how fast you read:
| Your pace | Words per minute | Time to finish |
|---|---|---|
| Slow | 175 | 14½ hrs |
| Average | 250 | 10 hrs |
| Fast | 400 | 6½ hrs |
Counted word for word from the complete public-domain text on Project Gutenberg, so these times don't depend on any one edition's page count. Most adults read between 200 and 300 words a minute — set your own pace and every time on the site adjusts. Prefer to listen? At a typical narration pace of 150 words a minute the audiobook runs about 17 hrs — an estimate from the word count, since narrators vary.
Common questions
- How long does it take to read The Iliad?
- About 10 hrs at an average reading speed of 250 words per minute. The complete text of The Iliad runs to 153,347 words — so at a slower 175 wpm it is nearer 14½ hrs, and at 400 wpm closer to 6½ hrs.
- How many pages is The Iliad?
- About 267 pages, though editions of a book this old vary a great deal — which is why its reading time comes from the complete text instead: 153,347 words, about 10 hrs of reading at an average pace.
- Is The Iliad worth reading?
- We score it 5.9 out of 10 for the time it takes — worth it for some readers. Readers on Hardcover rate it 3.86 out of 5 from 650 ratings, which counts for 6.2; at about 10 hrs at an average pace it gives back 0.3 for its length.
- How long is The Iliad audiobook?
- About 17 hrs, estimated from the 153,000 words at a typical narration pace of 150 words a minute. Real editions vary by narrator, usually by well under an hour.
From the publisher
Set in the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of Ilium by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles.
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