An epic poem is a long narrative poem, normally dealing with a serious subject while covering heroic deeds and events important to a culture or nation. Homer, the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, is perhaps the most famous and notable writer of epic poems. Inspired directly by stories passed down orally over the centuries, Homer wrote these epic poems telling the stories of the last year of the Trojan War and Odysseus' journey home after the Trojan War. These epics are filled with supernatural events such as gods lending their power to a hero, allowing him to kill row after row of troops, and gods going straight to the battlefield to help turn the tide of a battle. The grandeur of these events is indicative of fictional superhero stories rather than fact. However, if you compare the events described in the Iliad with the historical facts known from ancient Greece and current scientific evidence, Homer's Iliad may have basis in real history. Homer's description of the geography of ancient Greece, his depiction of divine interference, his depiction of warfare and use of technology can be supported and show that the Trojan War and many of the events that take place in the Iliad were they real historical events or can be justified. The Iliad tells the story of the final weeks of the final year of the Trojan War, after nine long years of fighting between the Trojans and the Achaeans (Greeks). The fighting first began with Paris of Troy taking Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world, to Troy and away from her husband, King Menelaus of Sparta. Outraged, King Menelaus gathered the kings and armies of Greece and set sail for Troy, to make war and take back Helen. Although the Greeks had brought with them enormous quantities of paper... there is little evidence of direct trade between the Mycenaeans and the Hittites, large quantities of both Mycenaean and Hittite goods have been found at Hissarlik. While archaeological evidence found in Troy appears to imply mostly peaceful relations with both the Hittites and Mycenaeans, Hittite documents found in the Hittite capital of Hattusa appear to reveal more warlike relations. The first probable mention of Troy actually comes from the records of a military expedition led by the Hittite king Tudhaliya I. This expedition was against the Assuwa Confederation during the 15th century BC. Two of the listed cities belonging to the confederation were Taurisa and Wilusiya. The Assuwa region is identified as Asia, known as the northwestern province of Anatolia in Greco-Roman times. Wilusiya, or Wilusa, is known from later Hittite texts and is considered