The photo has been used for illustrative purposes.

Gulf Today Report

In a bizarre turn of events, a would-be burglar was caught after putting hold on robbery to read a book on Greek mythology in Rome, Italian media reported on Sunday.

The young man got distracted by Homer's Iliad on a bedside table when he entered a flat in the Prati district of Rome through a balcony.

The elderly homeowner woke up and confronted the suspect, who was engrossed in the book.

The burglar was surprised by the homeowner's presence and managed to escape through the same balcony. However, the police arrested him afterwards.

The news of the hilarious robbery attempt caught the attention of the book's author Giovanni Nucci.

Nucci said that he wanted to send the man a copy of the book so he could finish his reading.

At the detention, the thief told police a made-up story claiming to climb the building to visit someone he knew and, "I thought I had ended up in a B&B, saw the book, and started to read it."

Nucci, the author of The Gods at Six O'Clock, which explores the Iliad from the gods' perspective, told the media, "I'd like to find the person caught red-handed and give him the book because he was likely arrested halfway through reading it. I'd like him to be able to finish it. It's a surreal story, but also full of humanity."

The police said the thief was also carrying a bag containing expensive clothing, allegedly stolen from another house earlier that evening.