Trauma surgery is among the oldest technical disciplines in medicine. Concepts such as airway compromise, haemorrhage control, and wound dressing are pervasive throughout the earliest texts in Western Literature: the Homeric epics, the Iliad and Odyssey (8th century BCE). To understand the roots of modern trauma surgery, we examine these texts to uncover what our ancestors understood of this complex speciality. Homer demonstrates recognition of airway and cervical trauma as immediately fatal and tactically decisive. When Ajax strikes Hector to the neck “the breath left him, and he sank to his knees, coughing blood” (Iliad 7.271-272). Injuries to this region are portrayed as unsurvivable, reflecting an understanding its the anatomical importance. Principles of wound management are often described. Treating Eurypylus, Patroclus “cut the arrow from his thigh with a knife and washed it with warm water” (Iliad 11.844-848), indicating careful foreign-body extraction and irrigation. Similarly, Machaon treats Menelaus by removing the arrow and applying “soothing medicines which Chiron once gave to Asclepius” (Iliad 4.218-221), suggesting the use of prepared topical therapies with analgesic and antiseptic intent. Haemostasis is a recurring concern. Patroclus applies “a bitter root that eased pain and stopped the bleeding” (Iliad 11.846-847), corresponding to yarrow, while Helenus’ arm wound is managed by application of “a well-twisted bandage” (Iliad 13.599-600), demonstrating an early understanding of the tourniquet. Homer also articulates the value of wartime physicians. When Machaon is wounded, Idomeneus observes: “A healer is worth many men, for he knows how to cut out arrows and apply remedies” (Iliad 11.514-515), representing the earliest recorded recognition of the value of trauma surgeons. It is clear that trauma surgery is not just a modern science, but an art innate to humanity itself, and, as Homer suggests, perhaps one bequeathed upon us by great Asclepius himself.