The Iliad
The Iliad playing cards by Kings Wild Project are set to the theme of the ancient Greek epic poem of the same name, attributed to Homer.
The poem is set during the Trojan War, where the Achaeans engaged with the city of Troy in a ten-year battle. In the telling of the war, the Iliad portrays the gods and goddesses of Olympus fighting amongst themselves. The deities participate in the human warfare, often interfering with humans in order to counter the gods.
This deck encompasses the beauty and art of this epic and serves as a wonderful tribute to the work itself.
The tuck is black and white with a Greek theme. Personally, the first time I saw it, it felt more Mayan than Greek -- though I had just returned from a trip to Mexico so maybe that's why. The font used on the box uses the common Greek angles and The Iliad itself is Greek, so Greek it is!
The cards themselves aren't actually white like a standard deck, instead they've got an orangish-brown backing to them like clay or Terracotta pots, also with the same design from the tuck. The faces of the cards are completely custom from top-to-bottom. Custom pips, custom courts, custom everything. Even the borders around each card -- and they all have borders -- incorporate the pip design.
While the number cards are very well designed, the true art is in the courts. Each suit features three different people on the courts:
- K♠️: Achilles
- Q♠️: Athena
- J♠️: Patroclus
- K♥️: Agamemnon
- Q♥️: Helen
- J♥️: Menelaus
- K♣️: Zeus
- Q♣️: Hera
- J♣️: Hector
- K♦️: Priam
- Q♦️: Hecuba
- J♦️: Paris
Each person or god has custom artwork depicting them in all their glory.
The deck consists of 56 cards:
- 52 playing cards
- Two non-identical jokers that, together, make a complete image of the Trojan horse
- One non-identical double backer
- One ad card with a QR code that links to kingswildproject.com/iliad (the link on the card is invalid, but the link here works)
Where to buy?
At the current time of writing, this deck is not available for purchase. It was received as part of the KWP Standard Edition - No. 13 Club subscription. Though, there's always eBay.