How we can retrieve historical information from Homer's Iliad?

The Iliad reflects more than one historical period. First,
the Bronze Age (around 1200 B.C.) is the setting for the Trojan War that is recounted in
the epic. Because the Iliad was preserved orally for centuries until it was written down
sometime in the early eighth century, it changed over time as bards altered people,
places, and situations to please their changing audiences. The result is that some
elements found in the poem reflect different time periods. Archeology recently supports
that many descriptions found in the Iliad were effectively passed down from the Bronze
Age, while some reflect later Greek traditions from a time when the population was
recovering from the devastation that ended the Mycenaean era. In any case, the epic
reflects several centuries of rich early and archaic
history.

You can retrieve historical information from the
Iliad by focusing on certain themes in the epic. For example, note the clear class
distinction between the warlords and the common soldier, the roles of noble women, and
the myriad of gods and goddesses. These all accurately describe what we know to be true
of aristocratic life in ancient Greece. Homer is also credited with organizing the
complex relationships of the Greek pantheon of gods.