The Odyssey is more like a spin-off than a sequel and that is one of the reasons why it's better. Odysseus wasn't the leading actor in the Iliad, he was only a

The Odyssey is more like a spin-off than a sequel and that is one of the reasons why it's better. Odysseus wasn't the leading actor in the Iliad, he was only among the main cast (I'm not even sure if there is any person in the Iliad besides Odysseus that is in the Odyssey). The pacing is different, the Iliad tells a story of a few weeks, the Odyssey takes 10 years. Most importantly though is that the themes are completely different in the two poems.