Of all prizes, why does Finny choose to sacrifice the lliad?

This book is burned by Finny to create "the sacred fire of Olympus" thus opening the First Annual Devon Winter Carnival.

Finny says they can't begin the carnival without a sacred fire from Olympus. He pours hard cider on one of the prizes (the Iliad), lights it on fire and declares the games have officially begun. The Iliad is a Greek saga, which praises the heroes of the trojan war; the burning itself is a symbolic act; Finny burns the book in protest of the war they're involved it.