AI: Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid Compared: Trojan War (Part I, The Iliad: “The Rage of Achilles”)

 

Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid

Homer Reciting his Poems by Thomas Lawrence, 1790

(Wiki Image By Thomas Lawrence – Art UK, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=91871712) 

Three monumental epic poems form the cornerstone of classical literature: the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Aeneid. While the first two are seminal works of Greek literature attributed to Homer, the last is a Roman epic penned by Virgil. Together, they weave a grand narrative of heroes, gods, and the founding of civilizations, with the Trojan War as their common crucible.

The Iliad: The Rage of Achilles

The Iliad is an intense and dramatic account of a brief but pivotal period in the ten-year Trojan War. It does not cover the entire war but focuses on a few weeks in the final year, centering on the wrath of the Greek hero Achilles.

Plot: The narrative ignites with the dispute between Achilles, the greatest warrior of the Achaean (Greek) army, and Agamemnon, the commander of the Greek forces. Agamemnon seizes Achilles’ war prize, the maiden Briseis, prompting Achilles to withdraw from battle in a rage. This absence proves disastrous for the Greeks, who suffer heavy losses at the hands of the Trojans, led by their valiant prince, Hector. The poem vividly details the brutal realities of ancient warfare, the personal duels between heroes, and the frequent interventions of the Olympian gods, who take sides in the conflict. The climax is reached after the death of Achilles’ beloved companion, Patroclus, at the hands of Hector. Consumed by grief and a thirst for vengeance, Achilles returns to battle, slays Hector, and desecrates his body. The epic concludes not with the end of the war, but with the poignant scene of Priam, the Trojan king, begging Achilles for his son’s body, and the funeral of Hector that follows.

Main Characters:

• Achilles: The central figure, a formidable and proud warrior whose anger drives the plot.
• Agamemnon: The leader of the Greek forces, whose arrogance incites the central conflict.
• Hector: The noble and courageous prince of Troy and its greatest defender.
• Priam: The aged king of Troy, a figure of tragic dignity.
• Paris: The Trojan prince whose abduction of Helen sparked the war.
• Helen: The beautiful queen of Sparta, whose face “launched a thousand ships.”
• Odysseus: A cunning and wise Greek chieftain.
• The Gods: Figures like Zeus, Hera, Apollo, and Athena who actively manipulate the course of the war.

The Odyssey: The Long Journey Home

A thematic sequel to the Iliad, the Odyssey shifts its focus from the battlefield to the arduous, ten-year journey of the Greek hero Odysseus as he attempts to return to his kingdom of Ithaca after the fall of Troy.

Plot: The epic begins in medias res, with Odysseus held captive by the nymph Calypso on her island. Back in Ithaca, his wife, Penelope, is beset by arrogant suitors vying for her hand and the throne, while their son, Telemachus, comes of age and seeks news of his father. The narrative then recounts Odysseus’s fantastical and perilous travels, including his encounters with the Cyclops Polyphemus, the sorceress Circe, the monstrous Scylla and Charybdis, and his journey to the underworld. After enduring immense hardship and losing all his men, Odysseus finally returns to Ithaca disguised as a beggar. With the help of Telemachus and a few loyal servants, he slaughters the suitors and reclaims his throne and his family.

Main Characters:

• Odysseus: The resourceful, intelligent, and enduring hero.
• Penelope: Odysseus’s faithful and clever wife.
• Telemachus: Odysseus’s son, who embarks on his own journey of maturation.
• The Suitors: A collective of arrogant nobles who overrun Odysseus’s palace.
• Athena: The goddess of wisdom, who serves as Odysseus’s divine protector.
• Poseidon: The god of the sea, who is Odysseus’s primary divine antagonist.

The Aeneid: The Founding of a Nation

Written centuries after Homer’s epics, Virgil’s Aeneid is a Latin epic that serves as a foundational myth for the Roman Empire. It follows the journey of the Trojan hero Aeneas, who escapes the sacked city of Troy and, guided by fate, travels to Italy to establish a new civilization.

Plot: The Aeneid begins with the Trojan fleet scattered by a storm stirred up by the goddess Juno, a staunch enemy of the Trojans. Aeneas and his followers find refuge in Carthage, where he recounts the fall of Troy to the queen, Dido. Aeneas and Dido fall in love, but the gods command Aeneas to fulfill his destiny. His departure leaves Dido heartbroken, and she tragically takes her own life. Aeneas then travels to the underworld to consult the spirit of his father, Anchises, who reveals the future glory of Rome and its illustrious descendants. Finally reaching Italy, the Trojans are initially welcomed by King Latinus but soon face a brutal war with the native Latins, led by the proud warrior Turnus, who was betrothed to King Latinus’s daughter, Lavinia. The epic culminates in a single combat between Aeneas and Turnus, with Aeneas emerging victorious, thus securing the future of the Roman people.

Main Characters:

• Aeneas: The pious and duty-bound Trojan prince, son of the goddess Venus.
• Dido: The tragic queen of Carthage.
• Turnus: The valiant but hot-headed king of the Rutulians and Aeneas’s primary mortal antagonist.
• Anchises: Aeneas’s wise father.
• Ascanius (Iulus): Aeneas’s young son, from whom the Julian clan of Rome would claim descent.
• Juno: The queen of the gods and a relentless antagonist to Aeneas.
• Venus: The goddess of love and Aeneas’s divine mother and protector.

In essence, the Iliad is a story of war and the destructive power of wrath, the Odyssey is a tale of homecoming and the triumph of cunning and perseverance, and the Aeneid is an epic of destiny and the founding of an empire. Together, these three poems offer a profound and enduring exploration of human nature, heroism, and the forces of fate.

 

Homer and Virgil

Homer and Virgil are the two foundational poets of the ancient Greco-Roman world. While separated by centuries, they are inextricably linked, with Homer’s Greek epics serving as the direct inspiration and model for Virgil’s Roman masterpiece.

Homer

Homer is the poet traditionally credited with composing the two great Greek epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey.

• Historical Context: Homer’s identity is shrouded in mystery. Ancient Greeks believed he was a blind bard from Ionia (the coast of modern-day Turkey). Modern scholars are uncertain whether a single person named Homer ever existed or whether the name represents a long tradition of oral poets.
• Time Period: The epics are believed to have been composed in the 8th or 7th century BCE.
• The “Homeric Question”: This is the scholarly debate over the authorship of the poems. The epics were developed through a long oral tradition in which bards memorized and performed stories, using specific formulas and poetic structures. The Iliad and Odyssey are the written culmination of this centuries-old tradition.
• Major Works:
  • The Iliad: Set in the final year of the Trojan War, this epic focuses on the “rage of Achilles” and explores themes of glory (kleos), honor, fate, and the brutal reality of war.
  • The Odyssey: A thematic sequel to the Iliad, this epic follows the Greek hero Odysseus on his ten-year struggle to return home from the Trojan War, facing monsters, gods, and temptations. It explores themes of homecoming (nostos), cunning, and identity.

Virgil

Publius Vergilius Maro, known as Virgil, was the most celebrated and revered poet of ancient Rome.

• Historical Context: Virgil lived during one of the most turbulent and transformative periods in Roman history. Born in 70 BCE, he witnessed the bloody civil wars that destroyed the Roman Republic.
• Patronage: Virgil became a key member of Maecenas’s literary circle, a close advisor to Octavian (later the Emperor Augustus). He lived until 19 BCE, and his work was created under the direct patronage and influence of the new imperial regime.
• Major Work:
  • The Aeneid: This national epic was commissioned by Augustus to serve as the foundational myth of Rome. It follows the Trojan hero Aeneas, who escapes the fall of Troy and, after a long journey (mirroring the Odyssey), wages a brutal war in Italy (mirroring the Iliad) to found the civilization that would one day become Rome. The poem’s purpose was to legitimize Augustus’s rule by linking him (as a supposed descendant of Aeneas) to a heroic and divine bloodline.

The Connection: Homer’s Influence on Virgil

Virgil did not just imitate Homer; he actively “competed” with him, re-imagining the Homeric epics for a new, Roman context.

Aspect	Homer (Iliad & Odyssey)	Virgil (Aeneid)
Heroic Model	Achilles is driven by personal glory and rage. Odysseus is a survivor, driven by a longing for home and family.	Aeneas is a new kind of hero. He is driven by pietas—a Roman virtue of selfless duty to his people, his gods, and his future. He often suffers and suppresses his personal desires for this greater mission.
Structure	The Odyssey (journey) and The Iliad (war).	The Aeneid is a “two-part” epic. Books 1-6: Aeneas’s wanderings (an Odyssey). Books 7-12: Aeneas’s war in Italy (an Iliad).
Purpose	To preserve the cultural memory, oral traditions, and foundational myths of the Greek people.	To create a foundational myth for the Roman Empire. It serves as a piece of political propaganda, celebrating Roman virtues and justifying the (often bloody) price of creating the Augustan peace.
The Gods	The gods are capricious, passionate, and often petty, interfering in human affairs based on personal grudges and favoritism.	The gods, especially Jupiter (Zeus), are agents of destiny. Their primary goal is to ensure that Aeneas fulfills his fate and that the Roman Empire is established.

In short, Homer was the wellspring of the epic tradition, exploring the nature of Greek heroism. Centuries later, Virgil drank deeply from that spring, adapting Homer’s tools to build a distinctly Roman epic that championed Roman duty and glorified its new empire.

This video explores the oral tradition from which Homer’s epics are believed to have emerged.

Homer and the Oral Traditions

 

Iliad 10 Famous Quotes

Here are 10 famous quotes from The Iliad with their speakers, themes, and brief context:

#	Quote	Speaker	Theme	Context
1	“Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles, son of Peleus.”	Homer (Narrator)	Wrath	Opening line invoking the Muse, setting the epic’s central theme — Achilles’ destructive anger.
2	“Let me not then die ingloriously and without a struggle.”	Hector	Honor	Hector resolves to face Achilles bravely rather than flee, embodying the warrior’s code of honor.
3	“The gods envy us. They envy us because we’re mortal.”	Achilles	Mortality	Achilles reflects that human life’s brevity gives meaning to courage and love.
4	“Everything is more beautiful because we are doomed.”	Achilles	Fate / Mortality	Achilles accepts his short life and the glory it brings.
5	“Even a fool learns after the event.”	Hector	Wisdom / Fate	Hector admits hard lessons often come too late — a tragic insight into his doomed courage.
6	“My honor lies in obeying Zeus.”	Hera	Divine Order	Hera declares loyalty to Zeus, highlighting divine hierarchy and conflict among the gods.
7	“A man dies still if he has done nothing, as one who has done much.”	Achilles	Mortality / Heroism	Achilles ponders the futility and equality of death for all, heroic or not.
8	“You, sir, are a coward and a liar.”	Agamemnon to Achilles	Pride / Conflict	Early quarrel showing the pride and tension that drive the Greek camp apart.
9	“It is not right for a man who is a leader to harm his people.”	Nestor	Leadership / Wisdom	Nestor tries to restore unity, appealing to reason and duty.
10	“There is nothing alive more agonized than man.”	Zeus	Suffering / Fate	Zeus laments human pain, acknowledging divine indifference to mortal struggle.

 

Iliad Gods table

Of course. Here is a table detailing the gods and goddesses who play a significant role in Homer’s Iliad, their allegiances, and their key actions during the Trojan War.

The central divine conflict stems from the “Judgment of Paris,” where the Trojan prince Paris was asked to choose the most beautiful goddess. He chose Aphrodite, who had promised him the most beautiful mortal woman (Helen), earning the eternal enmity of the two goddesses he had slighted: Hera and Athena.

The Gods of the Iliad

God / Divine Being	Roman Name	Allegiance	Key Actions & Role in the Iliad
Zeus	Jupiter	Neutral (Officially)	King of the Gods. He presides over the war, attempting to ensure fate unfolds as decreed. Other gods often manipulate him, but ultimately control the larger course of events, honoring a promise to Thetis to let the Greeks suffer, and later sealing Hector’s doom.
Hera	Juno	Pro-Greek (Achaean)	Queen of the Gods. She hates the Trojans due to the Judgment of Paris and relentlessly works to ensure their destruction, often deceiving or defying her husband, Zeus, to aid the Greeks.
Athena	Minerva	Pro-Greek (Achaean)	Goddess of Wisdom and Warfare. Also spurned by Paris, she is the Greeks’ most active divine champion. She inspires Diomedes, helps Achilles, and famously tricks Hector into his fatal duel.
Poseidon	Neptune	Pro-Greek (Achaean)	God of the Sea. He holds a grudge against the Trojans for not paying him for building their city walls. He defies Zeus to rally the Greek troops and help them push back the Trojans.
Hephaestus	Vulcan	Pro-Greek (Achaean)	God of the Forge. Loyal to his mother, Hera, he aids the Greeks. His most crucial action is forging a new, magnificent set of armor for Achilles. He also fights the river-god Scamander with fire to save Achilles.
Thetis	(N/A)	Pro-Greek (For her son)	A Sea Nymph; Mother of Achilles. Her entire focus is on her son’s fate and glory. She petitions Zeus to punish the Greeks for dishonoring Achilles, and later has Hephaestus forge his new armor.
Aphrodite	Venus	Pro-Trojan	Goddess of Love. She is the divine patron of Paris, whom she chose. She famously rescues Paris from his duel with Menelaus. She is wounded by the Greek hero Diomedes while trying to save her son, Aeneas.
Apollo	Apollo	Pro-Trojan	God of the Sun and Archery. He is the Trojans’ greatest divine protector. The epic begins with him sending a plague on the Greeks. He actively aids Hector, protects his body after death, and helps in the killing of Patroclus.
Ares	Mars	Pro-Trojan	God of War. He fights on the side of the Trojans at Aphrodite’s request. He is portrayed as brutal and is wounded by Diomedes (with Athena’s help).
Artemis	Diana	Pro-Trojan	Goddess of the Hunt. The twin sister of Apollo, she sides with him in support of the Trojans, though her role is less active.
Scamander (also Xanthus)	(N/A)	Pro-Trojan	The God of the River at Troy. He becomes enraged when Achilles clogs his waters with the corpses of Trojans. He rises up and attacks Achilles, nearly drowning him, but is forced to retreat by the fire of the god Hephaestus.
Hermes	Mercury	Neutral / Pro-Greek	Messenger God. Hermes acts as a guide. He does not take a side in the fighting but is sympathetic to the Greeks. His most important role is guiding King Priam safely to and from Achilles’ tent to ransom Hector’s body.

 

Iliad Zeus History

Zeus holding a thunderbolt. Zeus de Smyrne was discovered in Smyrna in 1680.

(Wiki Image By Marie-Lan Nguyen – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=913510)

 

Zeus, the King of the Gods, is arguably the most important divine figure in the Iliad. He does not function as a simple partisan for one side, but as the ultimate arbiter of fate, ensuring the war unfolds according to a larger, preordained plan. His history before the war directly impacts his actions during the war.

Zeus’s Backstory (History Before the Iliad)

To understand Zeus’s role in the epic, two key pieces of his history are essential:

1. Rise to Power: Zeus was not always king. He was the son of the Titan Cronus, who, fearing a prophecy, swallowed his children. Zeus’s mother, Rhea, hid him, and he was raised in secret. He later returned, forced Cronus to regurgitate his siblings (Hera, Poseidon, Hades, etc.), and led the Olympian gods in a ten-year war against the Titans (the Titanomachy). His victory established him as the undisputed, all-powerful ruler of the cosmos. This history gives his decrees in the Iliad their absolute authority.
2. Debt to Thetis: The Iliad‘s plot is set in motion by a favor Zeus owes to the sea-nymph Thetis (Achilles’ mother). Long before the war, some of the other Olympians (led by Hera and Poseidon) attempted a coup to overthrow and bind Zeus. It was Thetis who saved him by summoning Briareus, the hundred-handed giant, to his aid. This act placed Zeus in her debt, a debt she comes to collect in Book 1 of the Iliad.

Zeus’s Role During the Iliad

Zeus’s actions in the epic are a constant balancing act between his personal affections, the bickering of the other gods, and the unchangeable path of fate.

Key Action or Role	Description
The Promise to Thetis	This is his primary motivation for much of the epic. After Agamemnon dishonors Achilles, he asks his mother, Thetis, to intervene. She goes to Zeus and calls in her old favor, asking him to grant the Trojans victory until the Greeks are forced to beg Achilles for his return and restore his honor. Zeus reluctantly agrees.
Enabling the Trojans	To fulfill his promise, Zeus actively helps the Trojans. He sends a false, “lying dream” to Agamemnon to trick him into attacking. He forbids the other gods from interfering and then, from Mount Ida, he turns the tide of battle, allowing Hector and the Trojans to break the Greek defenses and push them all the way back to their ships.
Being Deceived by Hera	Zeus’s pro-Trojan plan is temporarily thwarted by his wife, Hera. In a famous scene (Book 14), Hera, who passionately hates the Trojans, devises a plan. She seduces Zeus and, with the help of the god of Sleep, causes him to fall into a deep slumber. While he is asleep, Poseidon and Hera rally the Greeks, who wound Hector and drive the Trojans back.
Reasserting Control	When Zeus awakens, he is furious. He violently reasserts his authority, stops the other gods from interfering, and sends Apollo to heal Hector and restore his strength. This leads to the Trojans’ most dominant moment as they set the Greek ships on fire.
The Golden Scales of Fate	As the final duel between Achilles and Hector approaches (Book 22), Zeus’s role shifts from active participant to the administrator of destiny. He unfurls his golden scales and places the “fates of death” for both heroes on them. Hector’s side sinks, signaling that his time has come. At this moment, Zeus gives up his personal affection for Hector and allows Athena to ensure Achilles’ victory.
The Final Command	After Achilles has brutally desecrated Hector’s body, Zeus is offended. He sends the messenger god Hermes to guide King Priam safely into the Greek camp, commanding Achilles to accept a ransom and return Hector’s body for a proper burial. This final act of divine will brings the epic to its poignant and humane conclusion.

This article offers a more in-depth examination of the complex role Zeus plays in the epic.

Homer’s Iliad: The Role of Zeus

 

 

Iliad Hera History

In Homer’s Iliad, Hera, the queen of the gods, is a primary divine antagonist to the Trojans and a relentless, powerful supporter of the Achaean (Greek) army. Her “history” in the epic is one of deep-seated animosity, cunning manipulation, and unwavering determination to see the city of Troy utterly destroyed.

Her motivations and key actions are not random; they are rooted in a personal vendetta that predates the war itself.

1. The Origin of Her Hatred: The Judgement of Paris

Hera’s “history” with Troy begins long before the Iliad. In mythological terms, the entire Trojan War is attributed to her, along with Athena and Aphrodite.

• The Golden Apple: At the wedding of Peleus and Thetis (the future parents of Achilles), Eris, the goddess of discord, threw a golden apple inscribed “To the Fairest” among the goddesses.
• The Contest: Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite all claimed the apple. Zeus, refusing to judge between his wife, his daughter, and the goddess of love, delegated the choice to a mortal: Paris, a prince of Troy.
• The Bribes: The three goddesses attempted to bribe Paris:
  • Hera offered him political power and rule over all of Asia and Europe.
  • Athena offered him wisdom and supreme skill in war.
  • Aphrodite offered him the most beautiful mortal woman in the world, Helen of Sparta.
• The Choice: Paris chose Aphrodite, sealing Helen’s fate (and his own). This act earned him and his entire city the “deathless hate” of both Hera and Athena. The Iliad is, in many ways, the story of Hera’s long-awaited and violent revenge.

2. Hera’s Role and Key Actions in the Iliad

Throughout the Iliad, Hera’s primary goal is to ensure the Achaeans win and Troy is annihilated. She is portrayed as headstrong, conniving, and willing to challenge even her husband, the mighty Zeus, to achieve her aims.

• Chief Antagonist to Zeus: Hera’s leading role in the epic is to antagonize and undermine Zeus. Zeus is bound by a promise to the nymph Thetis (Achilles’ mother) to let the Trojans win for a time, so that the Greeks will feel the loss of Achilles. Hera cannot stand this. She constantly argues with, deceives, and manipulates her husband to break this promise.
• Inciting the Breaking of the Truce (Book 4): When the Greeks and Trojans agree to a truce to be decided by single combat between Paris and Menelaus (which would end the war), Hera is furious at the prospect of a peaceful resolution. She and Athena conspire to have the Trojan archer Pandarus shoot an arrow at Menelaus, violating the truce and ensuring the war continues to its bloody conclusion.
• The Seduction of Zeus (Book 14): This is Hera’s most famous and audacious act in the Iliad. With the Trojans, led by Hector, overwhelming the Greeks, Hera devises a plan. She borrows an enchanted breastband from her rival, Aphrodite, that makes her irresistibly seductive. She then lures Zeus to Mount Ida, seduces him, and, with the help of Hypnos (Sleep), causes him to fall into a deep slumber.
• Aiding the Greeks: With Zeus asleep, Hera seizes the opportunity. She rallies the gods, specifically Poseidon, to intervene on the Achaeans’ behalf. The tide of battle turns, and the Greeks, led by Ajax, successfully beat back the Trojans and wounded Hector. When Zeus awakens, he is furious, but Hera’s goal was achieved: she bought the Greeks precious time and proved she would stop at nothing.
• Unrelenting Fury: Even at the epic’s end, in Book 24, when all other gods feel pity for the desecrated body of Hector, Hera remains relentless. She is disgusted that Apollo would even suggest the gods save Hector’s body, arguing that Hector, a mere mortal, is not worthy of the same respect as the god-born Achilles. Her hatred for Troy is absolute and never wavers.

 

Here are four images representing the goddess Hera, who plays a major role in The Iliad as a powerful and fiercely pro-Greek advocate in the Trojan War.

 

Iliad Athena History

In Homer’s Iliad, Athena is one of the most significant and active divine figures. As the goddess of wisdom, strategic warfare, and heroic endeavor, her “history” in the epic is defined by her fierce, unyielding support for the Achaeans (Greeks) and her profound hatred for the Trojans.

Her actions are not random; they are driven by a personal insult that occurred before the war even began, and her primary role in the poem is to ensure the destruction of Troy.

1. The Origin of Her Hatred: The Judgement of Paris

Athena’s “history” with Troy is rooted in the same event that motivated Hera: the Judgement of Paris. This event is the mythological cause of the entire Trojan War.

• The Contest: At a divine wedding, Eris, the goddess of discord, threw a golden apple inscribed “To the Fairest.” Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite all claimed it.
• The Bribes: Zeus deferred the judgment to the mortal prince Paris of Troy. To win his vote, each goddess offered a bribe:
  • Hera offered him political power over all of Asia and Europe.
  • Athena offered him supreme wisdom and victory in battle.
  • Aphrodite offered him the most beautiful mortal woman in the world, Helen.
• The Choice: Paris chose Aphrodite, a decision that not only led to his abduction of Helen but also earned him and his entire city the eternal, burning hatred of both Athena and Hera.

From that moment, Athena’s divine mission became the total annihilation of Troy. In the Iliad, she pursues this goal with cunning, ruthlessness, and direct, hands-on intervention.

2. Key Actions and Role in the Iliad

Throughout the epic, Athena acts as the Achaeans’ divine champion, strategist, and patron. She is often contrasted with her half-brother, Ares, who represents the bloody, chaotic, and brutal side of war. Athena describes the strategy, skill, and “heroic” side of combat.

• Book 1: Preventing Achaean Self-Destruction: Athena’s very first appearance is critical. As the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon reaches its peak, Achilles draws his sword to kill his commander. Athena descends from Olympus, visible only to Achilles, grabs him by his hair, and persuades him to use words, not his sword. This action saves the Achaean leadership from collapsing before the war has even truly begun.
• Book 4: Breaking the Truce: When the Greeks and Trojans agree to end the war with a one-on-one duel between Menelaus (Helen’s husband) and Paris (her abductor), Athena is furious. A peaceful resolution is unacceptable. Disguised as a Trojan soldier, she finds the Trojan archer Pandarus. She tempts him into shooting an arrow at Menelaus, breaking the truce and ensuring the war will continue to its bloody conclusion.
• Book 5: The Aristeia (Finest Hour) of Diomedes: Athena actively “sponsors” the Greek hero Diomedes, turning him into a one-man army. She gives him the power to distinguish gods from mortals on the battlefield. She then personally rides into battle with him in his chariot, guiding his spear to wound two gods:
  1. First, she helps him wound Aphrodite as the goddess tries to save her son, Aeneas.
  2. Second, she directs his spear to impale Ares himself, who flees to Olympus, screaming in pain. This is Athena’s ultimate demonstration of her strategic superiority over her rival.
• Book 22: The Deception and Death of Hector: This is Athena’s most decisive and ruthless act. As Achilles chases Hector around the walls of Troy, Athena intervenes to guarantee her champion’s victory.
  1. Retrieves the Spear: When Achilles throws his spear and misses, Athena snatches it and returns it to him, unseen by Hector.
  2. The Deception: She then takes the form of Hector’s most trusted brother, Deiphobus. She appears at Hector’s side, promising to fight with him. This trick gives Hector the courage to stop running and face Achilles. When Hector turns to his “brother” for a spear, Athena has vanished. Hector realizes he has been deceived by the gods and is doomed, and Achilles strikes the killing blow.

In short, Athena’s “history” in the Iliad is that of a divine puppet master and military strategist. A personal grudge drives her and uses her wisdom and power to manipulate both mortals and gods, ensuring that her enemies are not just defeated, but utterly crushed.

Here are four images of Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war, a fierce supporter of the Greeks in The Iliad.

 

Iliad Poseidon History

In Homer’s Iliad, Poseidon is a powerful and adamant supporter of the Achaean (Greek) army and a bitter enemy of the Trojans. As the god of the sea and earthquakes, his “history” and motivations are tied to a deep-seated, personal grudge against the city of Troy itself.

1. The Origin of His Hatred: The Betrayal of King Laomedon

Poseidon’s “history” with Troy long predates the Trojan War. His hatred isn’t a whim; it’s a vendetta based on a broken contract.

• Building the Walls: According to myth, Poseidon and Apollo were once forced by Zeus to serve the Trojan king Laomedon (King Priam’s father) for a year.
• The Contract: The two gods agreed to build the massive, “unbreakable” walls around Troy, and Laomedon promised them a handsome payment.
• The Betrayal: When the gods’ year of labor was finished and the magnificent walls were complete, King Laomedon refused to pay them, threatening and insulting the two powerful deities.
• The Grudge: Apollo, though angered, eventually sided with the Trojans in the Iliad (for other reasons). Poseidon, however, never forgave this insult. His support for the Greeks is his long-awaited revenge, an opportunity to see the city he built and was cheated out of, utterly destroyed.

2. Key Actions and Role in the Iliad

Poseidon is one of the most active pro-Greek gods in the epic, second only to Hera and Athena. He is characterized by his stubborn defiance of the gods, particularly Zeus.

• Defying Zeus (Book 13): After Zeus forbids the gods from interfering in the war, he turns his back on the battlefield. Poseidon immediately seizes this chance. Disguised as the prophet Calchas, he moves among the Achaean ranks, inspiring the two heroes named Ajax and filling the army with new strength and courage to hold the line against Hector’s assault.
• Leading from the Front (Book 14): During the battle at the ships, Poseidon becomes even more direct. He is so enraged by the Trojans’ success that he personally leads the Achaeans, “shaking” the earth and rallying them. His intervention comes at a critical moment when Hera has successfully distracted Zeus, allowing the Greeks to wound Hector and push the Trojans back from their ships.
• Reluctant Obedience (Book 15): When Zeus awakens and sees Poseidon on the field, he is furious. He sends his messenger, Iris, to demand that Poseidon retreat. Poseidon responds with indignation, arguing that he, Zeus, and Hades are three equal brothers and that Zeus has no right to order him around. He only backs down, grumbling, when Iris reminds him of the fury of the Fates and the folly of challenging the king of the gods directly.
• Saving Aeneas (Book 20): In a surprising move, Poseidon intervenes to save a Trojan. When the Trojan hero Aeneas is about to be killed by Achilles, Poseidon rescues him. He does this not out of love for Troy, but because Aeneas is fated to survive the war so that his descendants (the future Romans, in later tradition) can carry on the Trojan line. This shows Poseidon is aware of fate, even as he pursues his own grudge.
• The Trojan Horse (Post-Iliad): Although the Iliad ends before the fall of Troy, Poseidon is crucial to its capture. He is associated with the horse (one of his titles is “tamer of horses”), and he sends two giant sea serpents to kill the Trojan priest Laocoön and his sons after Laocoön warns the Trojans not to bring the wooden horse into the city.

Here are four images representing Poseidon, the God of the Sea, who aids the Achaeans (Greeks) in The Iliad.

 

Iliad Hephaestus History

In Homer’s Iliad, Hephaestus, the god of fire, metalworking, and craftsmanship, plays a unique and crucial role. He is not a primary political force like Hera or Athena, but his “history” and his divine skills as an artisan are essential to the epic’s plot, particularly to the story of Achilles.

He is the son of Zeus and Hera, famous for his lameness, and is the smith of the gods, crafting their weapons, palaces, and automatons.

1. The Origin of His Lameness and Loyalties

Unlike Hera and Athena, Hephaestus’s hatred for the Trojans is not a primary motivation. His loyalties in the Iliad are personal, stemming from his own dramatic “history” with the other gods, which the epic itself recounts in two different, famous episodes.

• Thrown by Zeus (Book 1): In Book 1, Hephaestus himself tells the story of how he was crippled. He once tried to intervene in a quarrel to protect his mother, Hera, from Zeus’s anger. Enraged, Zeus grabbed Hephaestus by the foot and hurled him from the threshold of Olympus. He fell for an entire day, finally landing on the island of Lemnos, “and there was little life left in me.” This history makes him wary of challenging Zeus, and he uses this story to urge Hera to make peace.
• Thrown by Hera (Book 18): A different version of his history is presented in Book 18, which recounts his most significant action in the epic. When Achilles’ mother, the sea-nymph Thetis, comes to beg Hephaestus for new armor, he enthusiastically agrees. He explains to his wife that he owes Thetis an immense debt of gratitude. He says that when he was born, his own mother, Hera, was “mortified” by his lameness and threw him from Olympus into the sea. He would have died had he not been rescued and cared for by Thetis and her sister Eurynome.

These two pieces of his past define his role: he is loyal to his mother, Hera (but fears Zeus more), and he is bound by an unbreakable bond of reciprocity to Thetis, Achilles’ mother.

2. Key Actions and Role in the Iliad

Hephaestus’s appearances in the Iliad are few but immensely significant, showcasing his three main functions: peacemaker, artisan, and warrior.

• The Peacemaker (Book 1): After Zeus threatens Hera for conspiring against him, the gods on Olympus are terrified and tense. Hephaestus breaks the tension. He hobbles around, acting as the cupbearer, and tells the story of Zeus throwing him from heaven. His clumsy, good-natured attempt to soothe his mother and serve the gods makes them all burst into laughter, restoring peace to the divine hall.
• The Divine Smith (Book 18): This is Hephaestus’s most famous and critical role. After Patroclus is killed and Hector strips Achilles’ armor from his body, Achilles is left with nothing to wear in battle. Thetis goes to Hephaestus’s forge to ask for a new set.
  • The Debt: Because Thetis saved his life, Hephaestus owes her everything. He drops all other work and promises her the finest armor ever seen.
  • The Forging: Hephaestus and his robotic assistants create a magnificent breastplate, greaves, and a helmet.
  • The Shield of Achilles: Most importantly, he forges a massive, intricate shield. Homer spends over 100 lines describing its creation in a famous passage known as an ekphrasis. The shield depicts the entire world in miniature: two cities (one at peace, one at war), the cosmos (earth, sky, sea, sun, moon), and all of human life (farming, judging, dancing, fighting). It is a symbol of the world Achilles fights for but will never fully enjoy.
• The Warrior (Book 21): Hephaestus makes one major battlefield appearance. When Achilles, in his rage, chokes the river Scamander (Xanthus) with Trojan corpses, the river god rises up and attacks Achilles, nearly drowning him. Hera commands Hephaestus to intervene. Hephaestus unleashes a “celestial fire,” setting the plains ablaze, boiling the river, and scorching its banks until Scamander begs for mercy, swearing an oath to save Achilles. This act shows his raw, elemental power is a match for any god.

Here are four images representing Hephaestus, the God of the Forge and Fire, who creates the magnificent new armor for Achilles in The Iliad.

 

Iliad Thetis History

In Homer’s Iliad, Thetis is one of the most pivotal, if infrequent, characters. She is not one of the Olympian goddesses who wage war, but, as a divine mother, her “history” and actions drive the epic’s central plot.

She is a Nereid (a sea-nymph), a daughter of the Old Man of the Sea. Her entire “history” in the Iliad is defined by her tragic relationship with her mortal son, Achilles.

1. The “History” (Pre-Iliad) – A Fated Marriage

Thetis’s own past is the ultimate source of the Trojan War’s greatest hero and, in a way, the war itself.

• The Prophecy and Forced Marriage: Thetis was so beautiful that both Zeus and Poseidon desired her. However, a prophecy was revealed (by Themis or Prometheus) that Thetis was fated to bear a son who would be “greater than his father.” To prevent the birth of a divine heir who could overthrow him (just as he had overthrown his own father, Cronus), Zeus forced Thetis to marry a mortal, King Peleus. Her son, Achilles, would thus be “greater than his father,” but as a mortal, he would pose no threat to the gods. This forced marriage to a mortal is the source of Thetis’s perpetual sorrow.
• The Wedding of Peleus and Thetis: This wedding was the event that mythologically triggered the Trojan War. All the gods were invited except Eris (Discord). In revenge, Eris threw the Golden Apple inscribed “To the Fairest” into the party, leading directly to the Judgement of Paris, the abduction of Helen, and the war.
• A History of Saving the Gods: The Iliad establishes that Thetis holds immense influence on Olympus because she has a “history” of rescuing other gods. These acts are the “favors” she calls upon during the epic.
  • She Saved Zeus (Book 1): She is the only one who came to Zeus’s aid when Hera, Poseidon, and Athena tried to overthrow him. She summoned the hundred-handed giant, Briareus, to free him from his chains.
  • She Saved Hephaestus (Book 18): She and her sisters rescued the god Hephaestus when his own mother, Hera, threw him from Olympus in disgust at his lameness.
  • She Saved Dionysus: She also gave sanctuary to the god Dionysus when he was pursued.

2. Key Actions and Role in the Iliad

Thetis is the embodiment of divine grief. She is an immortal mother who knows her son is doomed to die. Her every action is an attempt to manage his fate and secure his glory. She appears three crucial times.

• Book 1: The Supplication to Zeus:
  • Action: After Agamemnon dishonors Achilles, he weeps by the sea and calls for his mother. Thetis rises “like a mist” to comfort him.
  • Significance: This is her most important act. She agrees to go to Zeus and call in the favor she is owed for saving him from the divine coup. She formally supplicates herself—grasping his knees and chin—and begs him to grant the Trojans victory until the Achaeans are forced to beg for her son’s help and give him the honor he is due. Zeus reluctantly agrees, setting in motion the “Will of Zeus” that causes the Greeks’ massive suffering and forms the main plot of the Iliad.
• Book 18: The Forging of the Armor:
  • Action: Thetis hears Achilles’s bone-chilling cry of grief after Patroclus is killed. She again rises from the sea, leading a procession of mourning Nereids, to find him.
  • Significance: She confirms his fate: if he fights to kill Hector, he will die soon after. Achilles accepts this. Since Hector took his original armor, Thetis goes to Hephaestus to request a new set of armor. Hephaestus joyfully agrees, calling in the favor he owes her for saving his life. He forges the divine armor and the legendary Shield of Achilles. Thetis delivers this armor to her son, enabling him to return to battle and reach the climax of the epic.
• Book 24: The Ransoming of Hector:
  • Action: The gods are outraged by Achilles’s continued mistreatment of Hector’s corpse. Zeus summons Thetis and gives her a command: she must go to her son and tell him it is the will of the gods that he release Hector’s body to Priam for ransom.
  • Significance: Thetis acts as the divine messenger who begins the epic’s resolution. She gently convinces her grieving son to obey, ending his mēnis (rage) and allowing for the final, human moment of reconciliation between Achilles and Priam.

Here are four images representing Thetis, the sea nymph who is the mother of Achilles and frequently intervenes on his behalf in The Iliad.

 

Iliad Aphrodite History

In Homer’s Iliad, Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty, and desire, serves as the Trojans’ primary divine patron. Her “history” and involvement in the war are not strategic but deeply personal, stemming from her vanity and her desire to protect her favorites.

She is portrayed as a powerful force in the realm of love but as an ineffectual, “soft” goddess on the battlefield —a direct contrast to the warrior goddesses Hera and Athena.

The Origin of Her Allegiance: The Judgement of Paris

Aphrodite’s “history” with Troy is the direct cause of the Trojan War. This backstory, known as the Judgement of Paris, is the single most important motivator for her actions.

1. The Contest: At the wedding of Peleus and Thetis (Achilles’s parents), Eris, the goddess of discord, threw a golden apple inscribed “To the Fairest.”
2. The Bribes: Three goddesses claimed it: Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Zeus deferred the judgment to a mortal, Paris, a prince of Troy. Each goddess offered him a bribe:
   • Hera offered him political power over all of Europe and Asia.
   • Athena offered him wisdom and supreme skill in war.
   • Aphrodite offered him the most beautiful mortal woman in the world: Helen of Sparta.
3. The Choice: Paris chose Aphrodite. This act secured her eternal loyalty to him and his city, Troy, but it also earned the Trojans the permanent, vengeful hatred of Hera and Athena. When Aphrodite fulfilled her promise by helping Paris abduct Helen, she triggered the war.

Key Actions and Role in the Iliad

Throughout the epic, Aphrodite’s main function is to protect her favorites and interfere in matters of love, not war.

1. Rescuing Paris (Book 3)

This is her first major intervention. The Greeks and Trojans agree to end the war with a one-on-one duel between Menelaus (Helen’s husband) and Paris.

• The Duel: Menelaus easily overpowers Paris and drags him by his helmet strap to kill him.
• The Rescue: Just as Paris is about to die, Aphrodite snaps the chinstrap, shrouds Paris in a “thick mist,” and magically transports him off the battlefield and back into his bedroom in Troy.
• The Seduction: She then goes to Helen, who is watching from the walls, and compels her (partly by threats, partly by magic) to go to Paris’s bedroom. This act not only saves her favorite but also ensures the conflict will not be resolved, forcing the war to continue.

2. Rescuing Aeneas and Being Wounded (Book 5)

This is Aphrodite’s most famous and humiliating moment in the Iliad. During the rampage of the Greek hero Diomedes (who is being guided by Athena), Diomedes wounds Aphrodite’s son, the Trojan hero Aeneas.

• The Attempt: Aphrodite, acting as a loving mother, rushes onto the battlefield to shield her son’s body.
• The Wound: Diomedes, knowing he has Athena’s permission, does the unthinkable: he lunges with his spear and stabs Aphrodite in the wrist.
• The Retreat: In agony, Aphrodite drops Aeneas (who is then saved by Apollo) and flees the battlefield, crying. She goes to Olympus, where her father, Zeus, gently scolds her, telling her that warfare is not her domain. He says: “No, my child, not for you are the works of warfare. / Stick to your own work, the sweet business of marriage.” This scene definitely establishes that Aphrodite has no place in the violence of war.

3. Lending the Enchanted Girdle (Book 14)

In this scene, Aphrodite’s power is (unknowingly) used against the Trojan cause. Hera, desperate to help the Greeks, devises a plan to distract Zeus.

• The Deception: Hera goes to her rival, Aphrodite, and lies, claiming she needs to borrow her kestos himas (an enchanted girdle or breastband) that contains all her powers of desire, longing, and seduction, to help settle a divine squabble.
• The Result: Aphrodite agrees and lends Hera the girdle. Hera then uses this overwhelming power to seduce her husband, Zeus, and put him to sleep. With Zeus incapacitated, Poseidon is free to help the Greeks rally and turn the tide of the battle.

Here are four images of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Beauty, who supports the Trojans in The Iliad because she protected Paris.

 

Iliad Apollo History

In Homer’s Iliad, Apollo is the primary divine protector of the Trojans and their greatest hero, Hector. He is a god of prophecy, archery, and pestilence, and his actions are decisive, often terrifying, and directly responsible for setting the entire epic in motion.

His role defines his “history” in the Iliad as a divine patron who punishes disrespect and defends his favorites with deadly force.

1. The Origin of His Allegiance (The Plague)

Unlike Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, Apollo’s allegiance isn’t based on the Judgement of Paris. His “history” and motivation are established in the very first book of the Iliad.

• Dishonoring His Priest (Book 1): The epic begins with Chryses, a priest of Apollo, coming to the Achaean camp to ransom his daughter, Chryseis, who was captured and given to Agamemnon as a war prize.
• The Rebuff: Agamemnon brutally rejects the old priest, insulting him and threatening him with violence.
• Apollo’s Wrath: Chryses prays to Apollo for vengeance. Enraged that his priest was dishonored, Apollo descends from Olympus “like night” and unleashes a devastating plague upon the Achaean army, shooting his “silver bow” to kill their mules, dogs, and then the soldiers themselves.
• The Catalyst: This plague is the event that forces the plot of the Iliad. To stop the plague, Agamemnon must return Chryseis. To compensate for this loss, he seizes Achilles’s prize, Briseis. This act ignites Achilles’s mēnis (rage), which is the central theme of the entire poem.

2. Key Actions and Role in the Iliad

Throughout the epic, Apollo acts as Troy’s most powerful champion, the direct counterpart to the Achaean-supporting Hera and Athena.

• Saving Aeneas (Book 5): When Diomedes wounds Aphrodite as she tries to save her son Aeneas, Apollo steps in. He envelops Aeneas in a “dark mist,” warns Diomedes (a mortal) to “think again” before challenging a god, and transports the hero to be healed.
• Rallying the Trojans (Book 15): After Zeus forbids the gods from interfering, he sends Apollo to personally lead the Trojan charge. Apollo fills Hector with divine power, shatters the Achaean’s defensive wall, and leads the assault on their ships.
• Slaying Patroclus (Book 16): This is one of his most direct and crucial interventions. As Patroclus rages across the battlefield in Achilles’s armor, it is Apollo who stops him. Shrouded in mist, Apollo strikes Patroclus between the shoulders with the flat of his hand, stunning him, knocking his helmet off, and shattering his spear. This leaves Patroclus defenseless, allowing him to be speared by a Trojan and finally killed by Hector.
• Guiding the Arrow that Kills Achilles (Post-Iliad): While this event happens after the Iliad ends, it is foreshadowed. Apollo is the god who guides the arrow shot by Paris that strikes Achilles in his only vulnerable spot—his heel—fulfilling the hero’s fate.
• Protecting Hector’s Body (Book 24): After Achilles kills Hector and defiles his body by dragging it behind his chariot, it is Apollo who works to protect the corpse. He shrouds it in a “golden cloud” to prevent it from being torn, rotted, or damaged by the sun, preserving it for its eventual ransom.

Here are four images representing Apollo, the god who sends a plague upon the Greek army with his arrows in the opening of The Iliad.

 

Iliad Ares History

In Homer’s Iliad, Ares is the divine personification of war’s most brutal, chaotic, and bloody aspects. He is not a strategist or a noble warrior; he is the god of pure bloodlust, slaughter, and the “reek of blood.”

His “history” in the epic is one of humiliation and ineffectiveness. He is a primary supporter of the Trojans. Still, he is consistently portrayed as impulsive, whiny, and inferior to his half-sister and rival, Athena, who represents the strategic, skillful side of warfare.

“History” and Motivation

Unlike other gods who harbor deep-seated, historical grudges (such as Hera, Athena, and Poseidon), Ares’s motivation for supporting Troy is simpler and more personal.

1. His Affair with Aphrodite: Ares’s chief allegiance is to his mistress, Aphrodite. Since Aphrodite is the Trojans’ most passionate divine patron (due to the Judgement of Paris), Ares fights on her side to please her.
2. Love of Strife: As the god of slaughter, Ares is simply drawn to the most violent conflicts. He revels in the chaos of the battlefield and supports the side that is, at the moment, causing the most carnage.
3. Despised by the Gods: Ares is almost universally hated on Olympus, even by his own parents. In Book 5, his father, Zeus, scolds him, saying:
   “To me, you are the most hateful of all the gods who hold Olympus. Forever strife is dear to you, and wars, and battles… I would have blasted you out of the sky long ago, had you been born of any other god; you are so destructive.”

Key Actions and Role in the Iliad

Ares’s “history” in the Iliad is defined by three key episodes, all of which end in his humiliation.

1. The Humiliation by Diomedes (Book 5)

This is Ares’s most famous and definitive scene. He is on the battlefield, fighting alongside Hector and the Trojans, when he is confronted by the Greek hero Diomedes.

• Athena’s Intervention: Athena, who despises Ares, actively “sponsors” Diomedes. She guides his chariot and directs his spear.
• Wounding a God: With Athena’s help, Diomedes, a mortal, hurls his spear and impales Ares in the stomach.
• The Divine Retreat: Ares “bellowed as loud as nine or ten thousand men” and flees the battlefield in agony, a “storm cloud” of pain. He goes to Olympus to complain to Zeus, who promptly scolds him for being a “renegade” who deserves his pain.

2. The Impulsive Rage (Book 15)

Later in the epic, Zeus forbids all gods from interfering in the battle. While on Olympus, Ares learns that his mortal son, Ascalaphus, has been killed.

• Defying Zeus: In a fit of blind rage, Ares begins to strap on his armor, vowing to go to the battlefield for revenge, a direct violation of Zeus’s command.
• Athena’s Rebuke: Athena has to physically intervene, chase him down, and strip the armor from his body. She calls him a fool who is “out of his mind,” reminding him that Zeus’s wrath is far worse than his grief. This scene shows him as pure, uncontrolled impulse, lacking any of Athena’s wisdom.

3. The Theomachy (Battle of the Gods) (Book 21)

At the epic’s climax, Zeus finally allows the gods to join the fight. Ares, burning for revenge, immediately charges his main rival, Athena.

• The Attack: He insults her and hurls his spear at her shield, the Aegis.
• The Defeat: Athena, unimpressed, steps back, picks up a “huge, black, jagged boundary stone,” and hurls it at Ares. It hits him in the neck, and he collapses, his armor clattering as he covers “seven acres” of ground.
• The Mockery: As he lies defeated, Athena stands over him and mocks him for daring to challenge her. When Aphrodite tries to lead the dazed Ares off the field, Athena (egged on by Hera) punches Aphrodite, knocking them both to the ground.

 

Here are four images representing Ares, the brutal God of War, who frequently fights on the side of the Trojans in The Iliad.

 

Iliad Artemis History

Artemis’s history in the Iliad is primarily that of a divine supporter of the Trojans, acting alongside her twin brother, Apollo.

Motivations and Allegiance

Artemis’s allegiance to Troy appears to be primarily driven by her strong familial bond with her brother, Apollo, who is the Trojans’ primary divine protector. She often acts in concert with him. Additionally, the Trojans held Apollo and Artemis in high regard, which likely cemented their support for them. Unlike Hera and Athena, she doesn’t have a deep-seated personal grudge originating from the Judgement of Paris.

Key Actions and Role in the Iliad

Artemis is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, archery, and childbirth. While powerful, her direct interventions in the Iliad are fewer than those of the major players like Hera, Athena, or Apollo. Her most significant appearances highlight her connection to Apollo and her humiliating clash with Hera.

1. Healing Aeneas (Book 5): When Diomedes wounds the Trojan hero Aeneas (son of Aphrodite), he is first rescued by Aphrodite, then Apollo. Apollo transports Aeneas to his temple in Troy, where Artemis and her mother, Leto, heal him and restore his strength. This shows her acting in coordination with her family to aid a key Trojan ally. 🏹
2. The Theomachy (Battle of the Gods) (Book 21): During the climactic battle where the gods directly confront each other, Artemis is involved in a remarkably one-sided and embarrassing encounter.
   • The Confrontation: Artemis initially boasts to her brother, Apollo, about not fighting Poseidon. However, her presence angers Hera.
   • The Humiliation: Hera confronts Artemis, calling her a “shameless bitch” and mocking her archery skills compared to Hera’s might. Hera then grabs both of Artemis’s wrists, takes her bow, and physically beats Artemis about the ears with it. 😲
   • The Retreat: Humiliated and weeping, Artemis drops her bow and arrows and flees Olympus. Her mother, Leto, has to gather her discarded weapons. This scene starkly contrasts Artemis’s power as a hunter goddess with her vulnerability in confrontation with the queen of the gods, highlighting Hera’s fierce pro-Greek stance.

Overall Characterization

In the Iliad, Artemis functions mainly as an extension of Apollo’s pro-Trojan efforts and as a member of the divine family unit supporting Troy (along with Apollo, Aphrodite, and sometimes Ares). While respected as the archer goddess, her role is less central to the war’s strategic direction than that of other deities. Her most memorable moment, unfortunately, is her defeat at the hands of Hera, which emphasizes the intense divine conflicts that mirror the mortal war.

Here are four images of Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt, who sides with the Trojans and her twin brother, Apollo, in The Iliad.

 

Iliad Scamander History

Scamander, also called Xanthus by the gods, is the god of the main river that flows across the plain before the city of Troy.

History Before the Iliad

As a river god (potamos), Scamander’s history is tied to the land itself. He is an ancient, local deity representing the lifeblood of the Trojan plain. Unlike some Olympian gods with elaborate backstories influencing their actions (like Poseidon’s grudge over the walls), Scamander’s primary history is his existence as the river. He is a child of Oceanus and Tethys, like other river gods. He had offspring, including King Teucer, an early king in the Troad. His presence defines the landscape where the Trojan War unfolds.

Role During the Iliad

Scamander remains mainly in the background until Book 21, where he plays a dramatic and crucial role during Achilles’ furious rampage (aristeia) after the death of Patroclus.

• Provocation by Achilles: Achilles, slaughtering Trojans mercilessly, drives them into the Scamander River. He kills so many that the river’s channel becomes choked with corpses, blood, and armor, angering the god. 🩸
• Scamander’s Plea: The river rises up in divine form and speaks to Achilles, pleading with him to take his gruesome killing onto the plain and stop defiling his sacred waters.
• The Battle: Achilles defiantly leaps back into the river to continue the slaughter. Enraged, Scamander swells his waters into a massive, churning flood to attack and drown Achilles. He pursues Achilles across the plain, overwhelming him with waves and debris. 🌊 Achilles is nearly killed.
• Hephaestus Intervenes: Achilles cries out to the gods for help. Hera sends Hephaestus, the god of fire, to fight Scamander. Hephaestus unleashes an inferno, boiling the river, scorching the plain, burning the corpses, and tormenting Scamander with heat. 🔥
• Scamander Yields: Overcome by Hephaestus’s fire, Scamander pleads for mercy and promises Hera he will no longer aid the Trojans or interfere in the battle.

Significance

Scamander’s confrontation with Achilles serves several purposes:

• It demonstrates the sheer, almost unnatural scale of Achilles’ destructive fury, which literally chokes a river and provokes nature itself.
• It highlights Achilles’ immense power, as he can fight (though not defeat) a god alone.
• It underscores the power hierarchy among the gods, as Hephaestus easily overpowers Scamander at Hera’s command.
• It represents the violation of the natural and sacred order caused by the brutality of war, particularly Achilles’ excessive vengeance.

 

Here is an image of the modern Scamander River (also called the Karamenderes River), located near the ancient site of Troy in Turkey. The river is famous in the Iliad as the home of the river god Xanthus, who fought Achilles in Book 21.

Opens in a new window www.alamy.com

 

Iliad Hermes History

Hermes’s role in the Iliad is primarily that of a divine messenger and guide, faithfully executing Zeus’s commands. He doesn’t have a substantial personal stake or a deep-seated grudge, unlike many other gods involved in the Trojan War.

Background and General Role

Hermes is the son of Zeus and Maia, known for his speed, cunning, and role as the herald of the gods. He presides over boundaries, travelers, thieves, merchants, and the passage between worlds (including guiding souls to the underworld, though this role isn’t prominent in the Iliad).

Key Actions and History in the Iliad

Unlike gods driven by personal vengeance or favoritism (like Hera, Athena, Poseidon, or Apollo), Hermes generally acts neutrally or on direct orders from Zeus.

1. Leading the Goddesses to Paris (Backstory): Although not depicted in the Iliad, Hermes played a crucial role in the Judgement of Paris, which sparked the war. It was Hermes whom Zeus commanded to escort Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite to Mount Ida, where the Trojan prince Paris would judge which was the fairest. 🍎
2. Guiding Priam to Achilles (Book 24): This is Hermes’s most significant and memorable action within the Iliad.
   • The Command: After the gods agree that Hector’s body must be returned, Zeus orders Hermes to escort King Priam safely through the enemy Achaean camp to Achilles’s tent to offer ransom.
   • The Escort: Hermes descends, disguised as a young Myrmidon soldier. He meets Priam and his herald near the Greek camp. He reassures the terrified old king, uses his magic wand to put the Greek sentries to sleep, opens the gates of the camp, and leads Priam directly to Achilles’s lodging. 🪄
   • The Departure: After Priam successfully ransoms Hector’s body, Hermes reappears to warn Priam that he shouldn’t sleep in the enemy camp and guides him safely back out before dawn.

Characterization

In the Iliad, Hermes is portrayed as efficient, diplomatic, helpful, and loyal to Zeus. His actions facilitate crucial transitions: guiding the goddesses to the judgment that starts the war and guiding Priam through enemy lines to achieve the reconciliation that ends the Iliad‘s central conflict. He embodies movement, communication, and safe passage across dangerous boundaries.

Here are four images representing Hermes, the Messenger God, who performs various duties in The Iliad, most notably guiding King Priam through the Greek camp to ransom Hector’s body.

 

Iliad Greek Hero table

Here is a table of the major heroes on the Greek side (the Achaeans) in the Iliad.

The Achaean (Greek) Heroes

Hero	Description / Key Role in the Iliad
Achilles	The central character of the epic is the greatest warrior of the Achaean army. His rage, after a dispute with Agamemnon, drives the plot. His withdrawal from and later return to the battle ultimately determine the war’s fate.
Agamemnon	King of Mycenae and the supreme commander of the Achaean forces. His decision to take Achilles’ war prize, Briseis, sparks the central conflict of the epic.
Menelaus	King of Sparta and the brother of Agamemnon. The war was started to recover his wife, Helen, whom the Trojan prince Paris took.
Odysseus	King of Ithaca, known for his cunning, intelligence, and skillful rhetoric. He is a key strategist, diplomat, and warrior, often chosen for critical missions.
Diomedes	King of Argos and one of the youngest but most formidable Greek heroes. He has a major “aristeia” (moment of glory) where, with Athena’s help, he wounds two gods, Aphrodite and Ares.
Patroclus	Achilles’s closest and most beloved companion. His decision to wear Achilles’ armor to save the Greeks from defeat ultimately leads to his death at Hector’s hands, which in turn forces Achilles to return to the war for revenge.
Ajax (The Greater)	A giant of a man, he is the second-strongest Achaean warrior after Achilles. He is a purely defensive fighter, often described as a “bulwark,” and he famously duels Hector to a draw.
Nestor	The elderly King of Pylos. He is a revered and wise counselor, though too old for the front lines. He uses his experience and long-winded stories to advise and motivate the other Greek commanders.

 

Iliad Achilles History

Triumphant Achilles dragging Hector’s lifeless body in Troy. (A fresco in the Achilleion, Corfu)

(Wiki Image By Painter: Franz Matsch (died 1942). Franz Matsch’s info is also here. Photographer: User: Dr K. – Own photograph by uploader. The original painting is a fresco on the upper level of the Achilleion’s main hall in Corfu, Greece. Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16265221) 

 

Ancient Greek polychromatic pottery painting (dating c. 300 BCE) of Achilles during the Trojan War

(Wiki By Jona Lendering – Livius.org Provided under CC 0 license (notice under the photograph in the description page of the photograph)., CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73610598) 

Achilles is the central character and the greatest warrior in Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad. The entire epic is a study of his character, defined by its opening word, mēnis (rage). His “history” within the poem is not a biography but a powerful character arc, moving from godlike rage to profound humanity.

The Son of a Goddess

Achilles’ history begins before the poem. He is the son of Peleus, a mortal king, and Thetis, a sea-goddess. This semi-divine nature makes him the strongest and fastest of all the Greek heroes, but it doesn’t make him immortal. His mother has told him he has two fates:

1. He can return home from Troy, live a long, peaceful, and inglorious life.
2. He can stay and fight, die young at Troy, and win eternal glory (kleos).

By choosing to be at Troy, he has already chosen glory over life.

Key Events in the Iliad

1. The Quarrel and Withdrawal (Book 1)

The Iliad begins with Achilles’ first rage. The Greek commander, Agamemnon, publicly dishonors him by seizing his war prize, the captive woman Briseis.

• The Insult: For Achilles, this isn’t about losing a woman; it’s a public stripping of his honor and status.
• The Reaction: Enraged, Achilles nearly kills Agamemnon but is stopped by the goddess Athena. He instead withdraws himself and his entire army (the Myrmidons) from the war.
• The Vow: He swears the Greeks will “long for Achilles” as the Trojans slaughter them, and he asks his mother, Thetis, to get Zeus to punish the Greeks and grant the Trojans victory.

2. The Refusal (Book 9)

With the Greek army on the verge of total collapse, Agamemnon sends an embassy (Odysseus, Ajax, and Phoenix) to Achilles’ tent. They offer him immense treasures, the return of Briseis, and an apology if he will only come back.

• The Rejection: In a famous speech, Achilles furiously rejects them all. He states that no amount of wealth is worth his life and repeats his “two fates.” He claims honor is more important, and his has been irrevocably broken.

3. The Death of Patroclus (Book 16)

Achilles’ withdrawal has a fatal consequence. His beloved companion, Patroclus, cannot stand to watch the Greeks be destroyed. He begs Achilles to let him borrow his divine armor and lead the Myrmidons into battle.

• The Fateful Decision: Achilles agrees but warns Patroclus only to push the Trojans from the ships and come no further.
• The Tragedy: Patroclus, heady with success, ignores the warning and is killed by Hector, the Trojan prince.

4. The Second Rage: Vengeance (Books 18-22)

When Achilles learns of Patroclus’s death, his character undergoes a profound transformation. His first rage was about honor; his new rage is a black, inhuman grief that demands only vengeance.

• The Return: He reconciles with Agamemnon, saying he wishes Briseis had died. His only purpose is to kill Hector.
• The New Armor: His mother, Thetis, gets the god Hephaestus to forge him a new set of divine armor, including a magnificent shield.
• The Rampage: Achilles re-enters the battle like a force of nature, slaughtering so many Trojans that he clogs the Scamander River with corpses. The river-god himself rises up to fight him, but Achilles, aided by the gods, is unstoppable.
• The Climax: He confronts Hector, chases him around the walls of Troy, and kills him in a one-on-one duel. Blinded by rage, he refuses Hector’s dying wish to return his body for burial. Instead, he ties Hector’s corpse to his chariot and drags it in the dust, brutally desecrating it for days.

5. The Return of Humanity (Book 24)

Achilles’ arc concludes in the final book. The gods, appalled by his actions, intervene. They guide Hector’s father, the elderly King Priam, on a secret journey into the heart of the Greek camp to Achilles’ tent.

• The Ransom: Priam kneels, kisses Achilles’ “man-killing hands,” and begs for his son’s body, invoking the memory of Achilles’ own father, Peleus.
• Shared Grief: This act finally breaks Achilles’ rage. He sees his own father in Priam and his own grief in the Trojan king’s. They weep together—Achilles for his lost father and Patroclus, Priam for his lost son, Hector.
• Resolution: In this moment of shared humanity, Achilles’ rage is cleansed. He respectfully returns Hector’s body to Priam and agrees to a truce for the funeral. The epic ends not with the fall of Troy, but with the restoration of humanity in its greatest hero.

 

Iliad Agamemnon History

Agamemnon, King of Mycenae and son of Atreus, is the commander-in-chief of the Achaean (Greek) armies in the Iliad. His history is defined by a dark family legacy, immense political power, and a fateful conflict with his greatest warrior, Achilles.

History Before the Iliad

Agamemnon’s story begins long before the Trojan War, with a family steeped in violence and betrayal.

• The Curse of the House of Atreus: Agamemnon’s family was cursed. His ancestor, Tantalus, offended the gods by trying to feed them his own son, Pelops. The curse continued when Agamemnon’s father, Atreus, quarreled with his own brother, Thyestes. In a horrific act of revenge, Atreus murdered Thyestes’ sons and fed them to him in a stew. This cycle of kin-slaying and vengeance haunted the family for generations.
• King of Mycenae: Agamemnon and his brother, Menelaus, fled their cursed home and took refuge in Sparta. There, they married two sisters: Agamemnon married Clytemnestra, and Menelaus married Helen. Agamemnon eventually reclaimed his father’s throne at Mycenae, becoming the most powerful and wealthy king in all of Greece.
• The Sacrifice of Iphigenia: When the Trojan prince Paris abducted Helen, Agamemnon, as the supreme commander, assembled the Greek fleet at Aulis to sail for Troy. However, the winds would not blow. He had offended the goddess Artemis, who demanded the sacrifice of his own daughter, Iphigenia. Agamemnon chose his duty to the army over his family; he lured Iphigenia to the camp under the pretense of marrying her to Achilles, then sacrificed her to appease the goddess. This act secured his passage to Troy but earned him the undying hatred of his wife, Clytemnestra, which would later seal his doom.

Role and Actions in the Iliad

In the Iliad, Agamemnon is the central political authority, but his leadership is flawed. He is portrayed as arrogant, stubborn, and often more concerned with his own status and honor than with the well-being of his men.

Key Action or Role	Description
The Quarrel with Achilles (Book 1)	This is the event that ignites the entire epic. When Agamemnon is forced to return his war prize, the captive woman Chryseis, to her father (a priest of Apollo) to stop a plague, he feels publicly dishonored. To reassert his authority, he seizes Achilles’ war prize, Briseis. This act of supreme arrogance wounds Achilles’ pride, leading him to withdraw from the war and resulting in catastrophic losses for the Greeks.
Flawed Leadership (Books 2-9)	After Achilles leaves, Agamemnon’s leadership is tested and often fails. He is tricked by a false dream from Zeus, and his attempt to test his troops’ morale backfires, nearly causing a full-scale mutiny. He is shown to be a capable fighter in battle (Book 11) but prone to despair, even suggesting the Greeks abandon the war and sail home.
The Embassy (Book 9)	Pushed to the brink of defeat, Agamemnon finally admits his mistake. He sends an embassy (Odysseus, Ajax, and Phoenix) to Achilles, offering him a mountain of treasures, the return of Briseis, and his own daughter in marriage if he will only return to the fight. However, his “apology” is hollow, and Achilles furiously rejects it.
The Reconciliation (Book 19)	The death of Patroclus is what finally brings Achilles back, not Agamemnon’s gifts. The two formally reconcile in a public assembly. Agamemnon gives a famous non-apology, blaming his actions on Fate and Ruin (a spirit of delusion sent by the gods). He hands over the promised gifts, including Briseis, and Achilles formally re-enters the war to seek revenge on Hector.

This video provides an excellent summary of the curse that defined Agamemnon’s family and set the stage for his tragic life.

The Curse of the House of Atreus

 

Here are four images representing Agamemnon, the King of Mycenae and commander-in-chief of the Achaean (Greek) forces in The Iliad. His conflict with Achilles sets the entire plot in motion.

 

Iliad Menelaus History

Menelaus is the King of Sparta, the brother of Agamemnon, and the central, aggrieved party of the Trojan War. His history is the reason for the conflict, as the entire Greek (Achaean) army has sailed to Troy to reclaim his wife, Helen, and restore his honor.

History Before the Iliad

• King of Sparta: Menelaus is the son of Atreus (making him and Agamemnon the “Atreidae”) and the rightful King of Sparta.
• Marriage to Helen: He was the victor in the contest for the hand of Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world. All her suitors had sworn a mighty oath (the “Oath of Tyndareus”) to defend her chosen husband against any who would wrong him.
• The Abduction: Before the Iliad begins, Menelaus was hosting the Trojan prince Paris. Paris violated the sacred laws of hospitality (xenia) by abducting (or eloping with) Helen and stealing a large portion of Menelaus’s treasure.
• The Catalyst for War: This personal insult and violation of honor is the catalyst for the entire war. Menelaus and his more powerful brother, Agamemnon, invoked the Oath of Tyndareus to rally the Greek armies and launch the thousand ships to Troy.

Role During the Iliad

In the Iliad, Menelaus is a brave and respected warrior, although he is consistently overshadowed by top-tier fighters such as Achilles, Diomedes, and Ajax. His motivation is always the most personal on the battlefield.

• The Duel with Paris (Book 3): This is Menelaus’s most important scene. To end the war, he and Paris agree to a one-on-one duel for Helen and the treasure. Menelaus is by far the superior warrior and completely dominates Paris. He shatters his sword on Paris’s helmet and is dragging him by the chinstrap to his death when the goddess Aphrodite (Paris’s patron) intervenes, snaps the strap, and spirits Paris away in a mist, returning him to Helen’s bedroom.
• The Broken Truce (Book 4): Menelaus officially wins the duel by default, which should have ended the war. However, the gods (Hera and Athena) plot to ensure Troy’s destruction. Athena tricks the Trojan archer Pandarus into shooting an arrow at Menelaus. The arrow wounds him, the truce is broken, and the full-scale war restarts.
• A Steadfast Warrior (Book 17): Menelaus shows his true courage and loyalty during the brutal fight over the body of Patroclus. He is one of the first to stand and defend the corpse, and he is compared to a mother cow protecting its calf, showing a fierce, protective bravery.

Character and Motivation

Unlike the rage-driven Achilles or the prideful Agamemnon, Menelaus is a more dutiful and honorable figure. His motivation is clear, just, and personal: he wants to avenge the deep insult to his honor and his household, and to reclaim his wife. While not the greatest fighter, he never shies from battle and is a steadfast leader for the Achaean cause.

Here are four images representing Menelaus, the King of Sparta and husband of Helen, whose honor the Achaean (Greek) forces fight to defend in The Iliad.

 

Iliad Odysseus History

In Homer’s Iliad, Odysseus (known to the Romans as Ulysses) is not the central protagonist, but he is one of the most essential Achaean (Greek) heroes. While the epic’s main “history” focuses on the rage of Achilles, Odysseus is the figure who consistently works to hold the Greek war effort together through his unique combination of skills.

Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, is portrayed as the ultimate strategist, orator, and diplomat. He is the hero of mêtis (cunning intelligence), a counterpart to Achilles, who is the hero of bíē (brute force). He is also a brave and capable warrior, but his primary value is his mind.

1. The Origin of His Involvement (Prequel to the Iliad)

Odysseus’s “history” with the Trojan War began with his own cleverness.

• The Oath of Tyndareus: Before the Iliad, Odysseus was one of the many suitors vying to marry the beautiful Helen. To prevent a war among the suitors, he proposed the “Oath of Tyndareus”: all suitors would swear to defend the marriage of whomever Helen chose. In exchange, Odysseus was given help in marrying Helen’s cousin, Penelope.
• Feigning Madness: When Helen was abducted by Paris, Menelaus (her husband) and his brother Agamemnon invoked the oath. An oracle had prophesied that if Odysseus went to Troy, he would not return home for twenty years. To avoid the war, he feigned madness, plowing his fields with an ox and a donkey, and sowing salt instead of seeds.
• Palamedes’s Test: The Achaean envoy Palamedes exposed his ruse by placing Odysseus’s infant son, Telemachus, in front of the plow. Odysseus was forced to swerve, proving his sanity and compelling him to honor his oath and join the war.

2. Key Actions and Role in the Iliad

Within the Iliad itself, Odysseus is the Achaeans’ indispensable problem-solver, second only to Agamemnon in authority and to Achilles in prestige.

• Rallying the Troops (Book 2): After a disastrous “test” by Agamemnon, the Greek army panics and makes a run for their ships, ready to abandon the nine-year siege. It is Odysseus who saves the entire expedition. Taking the scepter from Agamemnon, he runs through the ranks, using his powerful oratory—bullying the common soldiers and respectfully persuading the chieftains—to shame them all into returning to the assembly.
• Beating Thersites (Book 2): In the same scene, he establishes his authority by publicly and brutally beating the insubordinate commoner Thersites, who was mocking Agamemnon. This act quells the army’s mutinous spirit and restores order.
• The “Embassy to Achilles” (Book 9): This is Odysseus’s most famous scene in the Iliad. After the Greeks are beaten back to their ships, Agamemnon despairs and agrees to send an embassy to Achilles to beg him to return to the fight. Odysseus is chosen as the lead speaker.
  • He delivers a masterful, persuasive speech, artfully presenting Agamemnon’s offer of vast treasures.
  • His speech is a perfect example of his character: logical, eloquent, and diplomatic. He appeals to Achilles’ sense of pity for the Achaean army, his honor, and his self-interest.
  • Although Achilles ultimately refuses, Odysseus’s speech is a masterpiece of rhetoric and defines the conflict between Achilles’ inflexible rage and Odysseus’s pragmatic worldview.
• The Night Raid (Book 10): Odysseus teams up with the warrior Diomedes for a stealth mission into the Trojan camp. This episode highlights his cunning and bravery. They capture a Trojan spy named Dolon, interrogate him for intelligence, and then kill him. Afterward, they use the information to find and kill a group of sleeping Thracian soldiers and steal their magnificent horses.
• Fighting and Being Wounded (Book 11): Odysseus is also a formidable warrior. He is featured in a battle scene where he is surrounded, wounded by a spear, and fights bravely until he is rescued by Ajax and Menelaus.
• Patronage of Athena: Throughout the epic, Odysseus is the clear favorite of the goddess Athena. She admires his intelligence and cunning, and she frequently aids him, just as she aids the Achaeans as a whole.

Here are four images representing Odysseus, the King of Ithaca and the cunning, diplomatic hero of the Achaean (Greek) army in The Iliad.

 

Iliad Diomedes History

Diomedes, son of Tydeus and King of Argos, is one of the youngest but most formidable Achaean (Greek) commanders in the Iliad. He’s known for his exceptional courage, skill in battle, and his close relationship with the goddess Athena.

History Before the Iliad

• Son of Tydeus: Diomedes’ father, Tydeus, was one of the famous “Seven Against Thebes,” known for his ferocious bravery but also his hubris, which led to his death in that failed expedition. Diomedes carries the weight of his father’s legacy, striving to honor his father while avoiding his mistakes.
• King of Argos: Following his father, Diomedes became the King of Argos, an influential Greek city-state.
• Suitors of Helen: Like Odysseus and Menelaus, he was one of the original suitors of Helen and thus bound by the Oath of Tydeus to defend her marriage, obligating him to join the expedition to Troy.

Role During the Iliad

Diomedes steps up as a primary Greek hero, especially during Achilles’ absence. He is often seen as second only to Achilles in martial prowess among the Achaeans.

• The Aristeia (Book 5): This book is Diomedes’ “moment of glory” and his most significant contribution.
  • Empowered by Athena: The goddess Athena grants him superhuman strength, courage, and the unique ability to distinguish gods from mortals on the battlefield.
  • Wounding Aphrodite: Athena permits him to attack Aphrodite. When the goddess tries to save her son Aeneas, Diomedes lunges and wounds her wrist, sending her weeping back to Olympus. 😮
  • Confronting Apollo: He even charges the god Apollo three times before being warned off.
  • Wounding Ares: Later, with Athena personally driving his chariot and guiding his spear, Diomedes wounds Ares, the god of war himself, who was fighting for the Trojans. Ares screams and flees to Olympus. Wounding two gods in a single day is an unparalleled feat for a mortal. 🔥
• The Night Raid (Book 10 – The Doloneia)
  • Volunteering: When Nestor calls for volunteers for a dangerous nighttime spy mission into the Trojan camp, Diomedes is the first to step forward.
  • Choosing Odysseus: Given his choice of companion, he selects the cunning Odysseus, valuing intelligence alongside bravery.
  • Success: Together, they capture the Trojan spy Dolon, extract information, and then infiltrate the camp of the newly arrived Thracian allies, killing their king, Rhesus, and stealing his prized horses.
• Bold Counselor: Despite his youth, Diomedes is unafraid to speak his mind in the Greek council. He boldly rebukes Agamemnon in Book 9 when the commander despairs and suggests sailing home, reminding him of his duty and rallying the troops’ morale.
• Wounded in Battle (Book 11): During heavy fighting, Diomedes is injured in the foot by an arrow shot by Paris. Though the wound isn’t fatal, it forces him to withdraw from the front lines for a time.

Character

Diomedes embodies many ideal heroic qualities:

• Brave and Skilled: He is consistently shown as one of the most effective warriors on the battlefield.
• Pious (Mostly): He has a strong relationship with Athena and generally follows her guidance, though his battle-fury sometimes pushes him close to hubris (like attacking Apollo).
• Wise and Eloquent: He speaks well in council and offers sound strategic advice.
• Loyal: He is steadfastly committed to the Achaean cause.

Diomedes is often contrasted with Achilles. While Achilles fights for personal glory and is driven by rage, Diomedes fights bravely out of duty and loyalty, largely free from the destructive pride that plagues Achilles and Agamemnon.

Here are four images representing Diomedes, the young Greek hero who has a major, god-fighting aristeia (a moment of battlefield excellence) in The Iliad.

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Opens in a new window www.thecollector.com

Opens in a new window dustinsimmons.blogspot.com

Opens in a new window www.worldhistory.org

 

Iliad Patroclus History

Patroclus is a major Achaean (Greek) hero in the Iliad, primarily known for his incredibly close and loving relationship with Achilles. His death is the central turning point of the epic.

History Before the Iliad

• Son of Menoetius: Patroclus was the son of Menoetius, one of the Argonauts.
• Exile: As a boy, Patroclus accidentally killed another child during a game involving knucklebones. To avoid reprisal, his father sent him into exile.
• Upbringing with Achilles: He was taken in by Achilles’ father, King Peleus, in Phthia. Patroclus grew up alongside Achilles, becoming his closest companion, confidant, and squire (therapon). Although older than Achilles, Patroclus served him with deep loyalty and affection.

Role During the Iliad

Patroclus serves as Achilles’ moral compass, representing the more compassionate side of the heroic world.

• Concern for the Greeks: While Achilles isolates himself in his rage against Agamemnon, Patroclus witnesses the suffering of the Greek soldiers with growing distress. He tends to the wounded and feels deep sympathy for their plight.
• The Plea to Achilles (Book 16): As the Trojans, led by Hector, breach the Greek wall and set fire to their ships, Patroclus goes to Achilles in tears. He begs Achilles to either return to the fight himself or allow him (Patroclus) to wear Achilles’ divine armor and lead their soldiers, the Myrmidons, into battle to save the Greeks.
• Wearing Achilles’ Armor: Achilles agrees but gives Patroclus a strict warning: push the Trojans back from the ships, but go no further. Do not pursue them to the walls of Troy, lest he steal Achilles’ glory or anger the gods.
• The Aristeia (Moment of Glory): Clad in Achilles’ terrifying armor, Patroclus leads the Myrmidons in a furious charge. The Trojans panic, thinking Achilles has returned. Patroclus fights brilliantly, killing many Trojans, including the formidable Sarpedon, a son of Zeus.
• Ignoring the Warning & Death: Flushed with success and battle-fury (menos), Patroclus forgets Achilles’ warning. He pursues the fleeing Trojans all the way to the walls of Troy. There, the god Apollo intervenes, striking Patroclus and stunning him. The Trojan Euphorbus wounds him with a spear from behind, and finally, Hector delivers the fatal blow.
• The Battle for His Body (Book 17): A fierce and desperate battle erupts over Patroclus’s corpse, with Hector stripping Achilles’ armor from him. The Greeks, led by Menelaus and Ajax, eventually manage to recover his body.

Significance

Patroclus’s death is the most crucial event in the Iliad. It shatters Achilles’ detachment and transforms his rage. Grief-stricken and consumed by guilt and the need for vengeance, Achilles immediately reconciles with Agamemnon and returns to the war with the sole purpose of killing Hector. Patroclus’s gentle nature and tragic fate highlight the devastating human cost of the war and the destructive nature of Achilles’ pride. His funeral games in Book 23 form a significant part of the epic’s latter half.

Here are four images representing Patroclus, the close companion of Achilles whose death is the turning point of The Iliad.

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Opens in a new window www.nationalgalleries.org

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Opens in a new window www.mediastorehouse.co.uk

 

Iliad Ajax (The Greater) History

Ajax the Greater, son of Telamon and King of Salamis, is a towering figure in the Iliad, second only to Achilles in strength and fighting prowess among the Achaean (Greek) warriors. He’s often called the “bulwark of the Achaeans” due to his immense size, strength, and reliability in defense.

History Before the Iliad

• Son of Telamon: Ajax’s father, Telamon, was an Argonaut and a friend of Heracles.
• King of Salamis: He ruled the island kingdom of Salamis, near Athens.
• Suitors of Helen: Like most major Greek heroes, he was one of Helen’s suitors and bound by the Oath of Tyndareus to defend her marriage, obligating him to join the Trojan expedition.

Role During the Iliad

Ajax is less flashy than Achilles and less cunning than Odysseus, but he is the Greeks’ most dependable defensive fighter. He represents pure strength, courage, and steadfastness.

• Duel with Hector (Book 7): When Hector challenges any Greek hero to single combat, Ajax is chosen by lot (after Menelaus is dissuaded). They fight ferociously all day, perfectly matched. Ajax wounds Hector slightly with his spear and knocks him down with a huge boulder. As night falls, heralds intervene to stop the duel, declaring it a draw. Impressed by each other’s skill and valor, the two heroes exchange gifts as a sign of respect—Ajax gives Hector his purple belt, and Hector gives Ajax his silver-studded sword.
• The Embassy to Achilles (Book 9): Ajax is part of the delegation sent to persuade Achilles to return to battle. While Odysseus uses eloquent speeches and Phoenix uses emotional appeals, Ajax’s approach is blunt and soldierly. He essentially tells Achilles to stop sulking, remember his duty to his friends, and accept the generous gifts, criticizing his stubbornness. Though Achilles still refuses, he seems to respect Ajax’s directness.
• Defending the Ships (Books 13-15): Ajax’s finest hour comes when the Trojans, led by Hector, breach the Greek defensive wall and push the Achaeans back to their ships. With Achilles absent, Ajax becomes the literal and figurative bulwark. He rallies the troops, stands his ground relentlessly, and single-handedly holds off waves of Trojan attackers, moving from ship to ship to prevent them from being set ablaze. 🔥 His sheer endurance and defensive might are crucial in saving the Greek fleet from destruction.
• Battle for Patroclus’s Body (Book 17): After Patroclus falls, Ajax is instrumental in defending his body from the Trojans. Alongside Menelaus, he stands over the corpse, driving back attackers with his massive shield and spear, ensuring the Greeks can eventually carry the body back to their camp.

Character

Ajax is characterized by:

• Immense Strength and Size: He is physically huge and relies on brute force.
• Courage: He never backs down from a fight and stands firm even when others retreat.
• Reliability: He is the dependable rock of the Achaean defense.
• Bluntness: He is not known for fancy speeches but speaks his mind directly.
• Defensive Prowess: While a capable offensive fighter, his greatest strength lies in holding the line and protecting his comrades.🛡️

He serves as a contrast to both Achilles (skill and speed vs. brute strength) and Odysseus (brawn vs. brains). While he doesn’t have Achilles’ divine speed or Odysseus’s cunning, his unwavering courage and power make him indispensable to the Greek cause.

Here are four images representing Ajax the Greater, the massive, imposing Greek hero who is second only to Achilles in strength and a bulwark of the Achaean defense in The Iliad.

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Opens in a new window www.dailyartmagazine.com

Opens in a new window medium.com

 

Iliad Nestor History

Nestor is the wise, elderly King of Pylos and the oldest Achaean (Greek) commander in the Iliad. He is highly respected for his wisdom, experience, and oratorical skills, serving as the primary counselor to the Greek leaders.

History Before the Iliad

• King of Pylos: Nestor inherited the throne of Pylos after Heracles killed his father, Neleus, and all his brothers.
• A Link to Past Heroes: Nestor belongs to an older generation of heroes. He often boasts of his youthful exploits, mentioning his participation alongside legendary figures in events like the battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs and the Calydonian Boar Hunt. Some traditions also place him among the Argonauts.
• Three Generations of Rule: Homer mentions that Nestor has already ruled over two generations of men and is now ruling the third. This emphasizes his vast age and experience, making his counsel highly valued.

Role During the Iliad

Nestor’s main function is not as a warrior (he’s too old for heavy fighting) but as a counselor, mediator, and strategist. He often uses long anecdotes from his past to illustrate his points.

• Attempted Mediation (Book 1): Nestor tries to mediate the explosive quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon. He respectfully advises both men to calm down, urging Agamemnon not to take Briseis, as Achilles must respect the commander’s authority, though his advice is ultimately ignored.
• Strategic Advice (Books 2 & 4): He gives Agamemnon sound tactical advice, such as organizing the troops by clans and tribes to increase morale and accountability. He also advises on battle formations.
• Advocating Reconciliation (Book 9): Nestor is the first to advise Agamemnon to appease Achilles’ anger. He plays a key role in organizing the embassy sent to Achilles’ tent, hoping to persuade him to return to battle.
• Inspiring Patroclus (Book 11): After seeing the Greeks suffer heavy losses and many heroes wounded, Nestor gives a long speech to Patroclus, recounting past glories and lamenting Achilles’ absence. This conversation directly inspires Patroclus to ask Achilles for permission to wear his armor, a pivotal moment leading to Patroclus’s death and Achilles’ return.
• Moral Support: Throughout the epic, Nestor offers encouragement and rallies the troops with his speeches, drawing on his long experience in warfare.

Character

Nestor is characterized by:

• Wisdom and Experience: His age gives him an unparalleled perspective. 👴
• Eloquence: He is a renowned speaker, though often very long-winded. 🗣️
• Piety and Respect: He shows proper respect for the gods and tradition.
• Loyalty: He is steadfastly loyal to the Achaean cause.

While sometimes mocked (even gently by Homer) for his tendency toward lengthy reminiscing, Nestor represents the voice of experience, reason, and continuity, connecting the current generation of heroes to the glorious past.

Here are four images representing Nestor, the wise and aged King of Pylos, renowned as an orator in The Iliad.

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Opens in a new window messinia.mobi

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Iliad Trojan Hero table

Here is a consolidated table of the prominent Trojan figures and Helen from the Iliad.

The Trojan Figures & Helen

Hero / Figure	Description / Key Role in the Iliad
Hector	Prince of Troy and the commander of the Trojan army. He is the greatest warrior on the Trojan side and the city’s chief defender. He is portrayed as a noble patriot and a loving family man, and his duel with Achilles is the climax of the epic.
Paris	Prince of Troy and Hector’s brother. His abduction of Helen from Menelaus (aided by Aphrodite) is the event that caused the Trojan War. He is a skilled archer but is often criticized for his cowardice and preference for love over battle.
Priam	The aged King of Troy, father of Hector and Paris. He is a tragic and sympathetic figure, best known for his courageous journey to Achilles’ tent to beg for the return of his son, Hector’s, body.
Aeneas	A Trojan nobleman and the son of the goddess Aphrodite. He is a formidable warrior who is saved from death by the gods multiple times because he is fated to survive the war and found a new city (which would become Rome).
Sarpedon	A son of Zeus and a co-leader of the Lycians, Troy’s most important allies. He is a mighty and respected warrior whose fated death at the hands of Patroclus causes great grief to his father, Zeus.
Andromache	The wife of Hector and mother of their son, Astyanax. She is a central, non-combatant figure who represents the tragic fate of the Trojan families. Her final, poignant conversation with Hector highlights the personal stakes of the war.
Glaucus	A co-leader of the Lycians, along with his cousin Sarpedon. He is a brave warrior best known for his encounter with the Greek hero Diomedes, where they discover their grandfathers were friends and exchange armor as a sign of respect.
Helen	The Greek wife of Menelaus and the “cause” of the war. She lives in Troy as the partner of Paris, protected by the Trojans. Her allegiance is complex; she is Greek by birth and filled with self-loathing and regret for the war she caused, yet she is also under the protection of Trojan figures like Hector and Priam, whom she respects.

 

Iliad Hector History

Cassandra (on the left) is offering a libation while her brother Hector (on the right) prepares to go to battle. Attic red-figure kantharos by the Eretria Painter, ca. 425–420 BC. From Gravina in Puglia, Botromagno. Stored in the Pomarici Santomasi Foundation in Gravina in Puglia.

(Wiki Image By Jastrow – own work, from the Iliade exhibition at the Colosseum, September 2006–February 2007, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1284853) 

Hector, prince of Troy, is the greatest warrior and commander of the Trojan army in Homer’s Iliad. More than just a soldier, he is the epic’s primary model of a civilized hero, a man who fights not for personal glory but out of a deep, tragic sense of duty to his family, his people, and his city.

Hector’s Family and Role

• Family: He is the eldest son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy.
• Heir to the Throne: As the firstborn son, he is the heir to Troy’s throne and the acting commander-in-chief of its armies.
• Wife and Son: He is married to Andromache, with whom he has an infant son, Astyanax. His deep love for them stands in stark contrast to the brutal world of war.

Character: The Ideal Hero

Unlike the rage-driven Achilles, Hector is a complete man. He is a patriot, a loving husband, a devoted father, and a dutiful son.

• The Family Man: The most famous scene defining his character is in Book 6. Before returning to battle, Hector seeks out his wife and son. His wife, Andromache, begs him not to go, fearing his death. He comforts her but explains that he cannot escape his duty. The tender, human moment when he removes his gleaming helmet, which frightens his baby son, is one of the most poignant scenes in all of Western literature.
• A Reluctant Warrior: Hector openly expresses his disapproval of the war, which was started by his brother Paris. He rebukes Paris in Book 3 for his cowardice and wishes the conflict could be resolved without more bloodshed.
• Man of Duty: Despite his personal feelings, Hector fights relentlessly because he knows he is the “mainstay of Troy.” He believes that if he falls, the city will fall with him. His guiding principle is protecting his home.

Key Moments in the Iliad

Hector’s story in the Iliad is a tragic arc, chronicling his rise to the peak of his power and his subsequent fall.

1. Duel with Ajax (Book 7): When the Greeks offer a champion for single combat, Hector steps forward. He fights the Greek hero Ajax the Greater to a standstill. They battle all day, and neither can gain the upper hand. As night falls, they call a truce, exchange gifts as a sign of mutual respect, and part as equals.
2. The Trojan Counter-Attack (Books 8-15): After Achilles withdraws from the war, Zeus grants the Trojans a period of dominance. Hector seizes this opportunity, leading the Trojan army in a furious assault. He shatters the Greek defenses, breaches their wall, and pushes them all the way back to their ships, nearly winning the war.
3. The Slaying of Patroclus (Book 16): This is the fatal turning point. Patroclus, Achilles’ dearest friend, wears Achilles’ armor into battle to save the Greeks. Hector confronts him at the peak of the fighting. With the help of the god Apollo, Hector spears and kills Patroclus, sealing his own doom. He strips Achilles’ armor from Patroclus’s body and wears it as a trophy.
4. The Final Duel and Death (Book 22): Achilles, consumed by grief and rage, returns to the war with one goal: to kill Hector. As Achilles approaches, the entire Trojan army flees into the city—except for Hector, who stands alone at the gates, bound by honor and shame.
   • The Chase: When Achilles charges, Hector’s nerve breaks, and he flees. Achilles chases him around the walls of Troy three times.
   • Athena’s Deception: The goddess Athena tricks Hector by appearing in the guise of his brother, Deiphobus, promising to fight by his side. This gives Hector the courage to stop and face Achilles.
   • The Duel: Hector realizes the deception too late. He charges Achilles with his sword, but Achilles, wearing new divine armor, knows the one weak spot in his old armor that Hector is wearing. He drives his spear through Hector’s throat.
   • Final Words: In his dying breath, Hector begs Achilles to return his body to his parents for a proper burial. Achilles coldly refuses, promising that dogs and birds will maul his corpse.

Hector’s history concludes with the brutal desecration of his body, which Achilles drags behind his chariot for days. This act is so offensive to the gods that Zeus finally intervenes, sending Hermes to guide King Priam to Achilles’ tent to ransom his son’s body, which brings the Iliad to its end.

 

Iliad Paris History

Paris, also known as Alexander, is a prince of Troy and a central figure in the Iliad, primarily because his actions directly cause the Trojan War.

History Before the Iliad

• Prophecy and Abandonment: Before Paris was born, his mother, Queen Hecuba, dreamed she gave birth to a flaming torch that would burn down Troy 🔥. Seers interpreted this to mean the child would cause the city’s destruction. Fearing the prophecy, King Priam ordered the infant Paris to be left exposed on Mount Ida to die.
• Life as a Shepherd: Paris was found and raised by shepherds, unaware of his royal lineage. He grew up known for his remarkable beauty and fairness.
• The Judgment of Paris: While living as a shepherd, Paris was chosen by Zeus to settle a dispute between the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. They quarreled over a golden apple inscribed “To the Fairest.” Each goddess offered Paris a bribe:
  • Hera offered political power.
  • Athena offered wisdom and victory in war.
  • Aphrodite offered the love of the most beautiful mortal woman in the world. Paris chose Aphrodite, awarding her the apple. This decision earned him the eternal hatred of Hera and Athena, but secured his favor with Aphrodite.
• Return to Troy and Abduction of Helen: Paris was eventually recognized and welcomed back into the Trojan royal family. Later, on a diplomatic mission to Sparta, and with Aphrodite’s divine assistance, he persuaded or abducted Helen, the wife of King Menelaus, and brought her back to Troy, along with a significant amount of Spartan treasure. This violation of hospitality (xenia) and the insult to Menelaus directly led the Greeks to launch their massive expedition against Troy.

Role During the Iliad

Within the epic, Paris is portrayed less as a heroic warrior and more as a lover, often shirking his responsibilities on the battlefield, much to the frustration of his noble brother, Hector.

• Skilled Archer: His primary martial skill is archery 🏹, which was sometimes considered less honorable than close-quarters combat by the Greeks.
• Cowardice and Rebuke (Book 3): When the Trojan and Greek armies first meet, Paris boldly steps forward to challenge any Greek hero. However, when Menelaus eagerly accepts, Paris shrinks back into the ranks in fear. Hector fiercely rebukes him for his cowardice and for causing the war only to run from the consequences.
• Duel with Menelaus (Book 3): Shamed by Hector, Paris agrees to a one-on-one duel with Menelaus to decide the fate of Helen and end the war. Menelaus soundly defeats Paris and is dragging him away when Aphrodite intervenes, shrouding Paris in mist and magically transporting him back to his bedroom in Troy.
• Relationship with Helen: The relationship between Helen and Odysseus within the Iliad is complex and often strained. Helen frequently expresses regret and self-loathing for leaving Sparta and causing the war. She sometimes treats Paris with contempt, especially after Aphrodite forces her to go to his bed following his humiliating rescue from the duel.
• Contrast with Hector: Paris serves as a significant foil to his brother Hector. While Hector is driven by duty, patriotism, and family honor, Paris often prioritizes his own comfort and his relationship with Helen over his city’s needs. Hector frequently has to shame Paris into joining the battle.

Character

Paris is primarily defined by his extraordinary good looks and his connection to Aphrodite. He is often seen as irresponsible, selfish, and lacking the courage and sense of duty expected of a prince and warrior. While not entirely villainous, his actions prioritize personal desire (love, beauty) over the collective good, leading directly to the suffering and destruction depicted in the Iliad.

Here are four images representing Paris, the Prince of Troy, whose abduction of Helen sparked the Trojan War in The Iliad. He is often depicted as a handsome but somewhat cowardly archer.

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Iliad Priam History

King Priam is the aged and tragic ruler of Troy during the Trojan War, as depicted in Homer’s Iliad.

History Before the Iliad

• King of Troy: Priam ruled Troy during a period of great prosperity and power. He was known for his wealth and his large family.
• Father of Many: According to tradition, Priam had fifty sons and numerous daughters with his primary wife, Hecuba, and various concubines. His most famous sons are the noble warrior Hector and the prince Paris, whose actions trigger the war.
• The Prophecy and Paris: Before Paris was born, Hecuba dreamed he would cause Troy’s destruction. Priam initially ordered the infant to be exposed on Mount Ida but later welcomed him back when he survived and was recognized. This fateful decision allowed the prophecy to unfold.
• The Arrival of Helen: Priam allowed Paris to bring Helen back to Troy, perhaps influenced by Aphrodite or swayed by his son. This decision sealed the city’s fate, committing Troy to a devastating war against the assembled Greek forces.

Role During the Iliad

By the time of the Iliad, Priam is too old to fight. He presides over the besieged city, witnessing the suffering of his people and the deaths of many of his sons.

• The Teichoskopia (View from the Wall – Book 3): In a famous scene, Priam kindly asks Helen to sit with him on the city walls and identify the mighty Greek warriors arrayed below. He shows no bitterness towards her, famously stating, “I don’t blame you. I blame the gods.” This highlights his gentle nature and resignation to fate.
• Witness to Slaughter: As the war drags on in the Iliad‘s narrative, Priam watches from the walls as his sons, including the mighty Hector, lead the defense and often fall in battle. His grief is immense.
• The Ransom of Hector (Book 24): This is Priam’s most significant and moving role. After Achilles kills Hector and desecrates his body, the gods intervene. Guided by Hermes, Priam undertakes an incredibly brave, nigh-suicidal night journey into the heart of the enemy camp to Achilles’ tent.
  • The Supplication: In a powerful act of humility, the old king kneels before Achilles, kisses the “man-killing hands” that slaughtered his son, and begs for Hector’s body back in exchange for a rich ransom.
  • Shared Grief: His plea, invoking the memory of Achilles’ own aged father, moves Achilles to pity and tears. The two enemies share a moment of profound, shared grief over their losses.
  • Success: Achilles agrees to return Hector’s body and grants a truce for the funeral rites.

Character

Priam is depicted as a dignified, pious, and deeply loving father. He bears the immense weight of the war and the loss of his children with tragic nobility. Unlike many other figures driven by pride or rage, Priam is primarily motivated by love for his family and his city. His courageous journey to ransom Hector’s body is one of the most powerful displays of paternal love and humanity in the epic.

Here are four images of Priam, the aged King of Troy and father of Hector and Paris, from The Iliad. He is famous for his courageous visit to Achilles to beg for his son’s body back.

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Opens in a new window www.greeklegendsandmyths.com

Opens in a new window www.prints-online.com

Opens in a new window www.greeklegendsandmyths.com

 

Iliad Aeneas History

Aeneas is a prominent Trojan warrior in Homer’s Iliad, second only to Hector in renown. His history within the epic highlights his divine heritage and his destined future.

History Before the Iliad

• Divine Parentage: Aeneas is the son of the goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to Venus in Roman mythology) and the mortal Trojan nobleman Anchises. This sacred connection grants him special protection and favor from certain gods.
• Trojan Royalty: Through Anchises, Aeneas is a cousin of King Priam and part of the extended Trojan royal family.

Role During the Iliad

Aeneas is a brave and capable warrior who leads the Dardanian contingent of the Trojan forces. His most notable appearances involve confrontations with top Greek heroes, in which divine intervention saves him because of his fated destiny.

• Fight Against Diomedes (Book 5): Aeneas confronts the raging Greek hero Diomedes. Diomedes severely wounds Aeneas with a massive stone, shattering his hip socket. Aeneas would have died, but his mother, Aphrodite, sweeps down to rescue him. Diomedes, empowered by Athena, actually wounds Aphrodite, forcing her to drop Aeneas. Apollo then steps in, shields Aeneas in a cloud, and transports him away to be magically healed by Leto and Artemis before returning him to the battle, stronger than before. 💪
• Fight Against Achilles (Book 20): Encouraged by Apollo, Aeneas confronts the seemingly invincible Achilles. After exchanging boasts and lineage, they begin to fight. Achilles is clearly superior, and Aeneas is again on the verge of death. This time, the god Poseidon intervenes. Despite normally favoring the Greeks, Poseidon recognizes that Aeneas is fated to survive the fall of Troy and carry on the Trojan line, establishing a new kingdom. Poseidon obscures Achilles’ vision with mist and whisks Aeneas away from the battlefield. 🌫️

Character and Significance

In the Iliad, Aeneas is depicted as:

• Pious and Brave: He respects the gods and fights courageously for Troy.
• Destined: His primary significance within the Iliad is as the survivor. The gods repeatedly save him because he is fated to escape Troy’s destruction and ensure the continuation of his people.

While a significant warrior in the Iliad, his role primarily foreshadows his later, much larger destiny as the hero of Virgil’s Roman epic, the Aeneid, where he journeys to Italy and becomes the ancestor of the Roman people. His history in the Iliad establishes his divine protection and marks him for a future beyond the doomed city of Troy. 🏛️

Here are four images representing Aeneas, the Trojan hero and second-greatest warrior of Troy after Hector, whom the gods in The Iliad save multiple times. He later becomes the hero of Virgil’s Aeneid.

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Opens in a new window www.ancientworldmagazine.com

Opens in a new window www.britannica.com

Opens in a new window classicalassociationni.wordpress.com

 

Iliad Sarpedon History

Sarpedon is the King of Lycia and the most prominent and powerful ally of the Trojans in Homer’s Iliad. He is a respected leader and a formidable warrior, known for his noble character and his divine parentage.

History Before the Iliad

• Divine Parentage: Sarpedon is a demigod, the son of Zeus, King of the Gods, and Laodamia, a mortal woman (daughter of Bellerophon). This divine connection makes him a figure of particular interest to Zeus.
• King of Lycia: He co-rules the wealthy kingdom of Lycia (in modern-day Turkey) alongside his cousin and close friend, Glaucus.
• Ally of Troy: As a treaty ally, Sarpedon brings a large contingent of Lycian warriors to Troy to aid King Priam in the war against the Achaeans (Greeks).

Role During the Iliad

Sarpedon is portrayed as one of the bravest and most honorable warriors on the battlefield, second only to Hector among the defenders of Troy.

• Leader of the Lycians: He commands his troops bravely and effectively.
• Speech on Heroism (Book 12): Sarpedon delivers a famous and poignant speech to Glaucus as they prepare to assault the Greek wall. He reflects on the heroic code: why do heroes receive the best honors, land, and food back home? Because they must be willing to risk their lives on the front lines. He notes that if they could escape death and aging, he wouldn’t fight, but since death is inevitable for all mortals, the only choice is to fight bravely and win glory, or die trying. This speech perfectly encapsulates the warrior ethos of the Iliad.
• Breaching the Wall (Book 12): Inspired by his own words, Sarpedon leads the charge against the Greek defensive wall. He is the first to breach it, tearing down a battlement with his bare hands, paving the way for Hector’s subsequent breakthrough.
• Death at the Hands of Patroclus (Book 16): This is Sarpedon’s most significant moment. During Patroclus’s rampage (while wearing Achilles’ armor), he confronts Sarpedon.
  • Zeus’s Dilemma: Watching from Olympus, Zeus laments the impending doom of Sarpedon. He loves his son dearly and momentarily considers snatching him away from the battle, defying fate. Hera sternly reminds him that meddling with a mortal’s destiny will invite chaos and the resentment of other gods whose own children fight and die.
  • The Killing: Zeus reluctantly accepts his son’s fate. Patroclus strikes Sarpedon with his spear, killing him.
  • Divine Intervention for the Body: After Sarpedon’s death, Zeus sends Apollo down to retrieve his body from the battlefield. Apollo washes the corpse, anoints it with ambrosia, and gives it to the twin gods Sleep (Hypnos) and Death (Thanatos), who swiftly carry it back to Lycia for proper funeral rites. 😴💀

Character and Significance

Sarpedon embodies the ideal ally and a truly noble hero.

• Brave and Honorable: He fights for glory and duty, fully understanding and accepting the risks.
• Reflective: His speech in Book 12 shows a deep understanding of the heroic code and the nature of mortality.
• Tragic Figure: His death highlights the constraints even on Zeus, demonstrating that fate is a power greater than even the king of the gods. His demise underscores the grim reality of war and the loss of noble individuals on both sides.

Here are four images representing Sarpedon, the Lycian Prince and son of Zeus, whose death at the hands of Patroclus is a moment of high drama in The Iliad.

Opens in a new window www.worldhistory.org

Opens in a new window www.worldhistory.org

Opens in a new window www.britannica.com

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Iliad Andromache History

Andromache is a major female figure in the Iliad, known as the loyal and loving wife of the Trojan hero Hector. She represents the perspective of the Trojan families and the profound human cost of the war.

History Before the Iliad

• Princess of Cilician Thebe: Andromache was the daughter of Eetion, the king of Cilician Thebe, a city located near Troy.
• Tragedy of Her Family: Before the events detailed in the Iliad, her city was sacked by Achilles and the Greeks. During this raid, Achilles killed her father, Eetion, and all seven of her brothers. Her mother, who was initially ransomed, later died of illness (or, in some accounts, was killed by Artemis). This devastating loss left Andromache entirely dependent on her husband, Hector.
• Marriage to Hector: She married Hector, the eldest son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy, and bore him a beloved infant son, Astyanax (whose birth name was Scamandrius, but the people of Troy called him Astyanax, meaning “Lord of the City,” in honor of his father).

Role During the Iliad

Andromache appears primarily in two deeply moving scenes that highlight her love for Hector and her dread of the war’s consequences.

• The Farewell Scene (Book 6): This is Andromache’s most famous appearance. Hector returns briefly from the battlefield and finds her with their son on the ramparts of Troy.
  • Her Plea: Terrified, Andromache clings to Hector, weeping, and begs him not to return to the fighting. She reminds him that he is all she has left—father, mother, brothers, and husband. She urges him to stay and defend the city from a safer position on the walls, fearing he will be killed and leave her a widow and their son an orphan. 💔
  • Hector’s Response: Hector expresses his deep love for her and their son but explains that his honor and duty compel him to fight on the front lines. He shares his own terrible fear – not of his own death, but of the day Troy will fall and she will be dragged away as a slave by the Greeks.
  • Astyanax: The scene includes the touching moment where the baby Astyanax is frightened by his father’s bronze helmet and plume. Hector laughs, removes the helmet, kisses his son, and prays that Astyanax will grow up to be an even greater warrior than himself.
• Lament for Hector (Books 22 & 24): After Achilles kills Hector, Andromache witnesses Achilles dragging her husband’s body behind his chariot from the city walls. She faints in horror. Later, when Hector’s body is returned (Book 24), she leads the formal laments, mourning her husband, predicting a terrible future for their son, and recalling Hector’s tenderness.

Character and Significance

Andromache embodies the suffering of women and families caught in the devastation of war.

• Loving and Loyal: Her devotion to Hector is absolute.
• Tragic Awareness: Unlike many characters focused on glory, Andromache sees the war primarily through the lens of potential loss and future suffering.
• Vulnerable: Having lost her entire birth family, her identity and security are completely tied to Hector and Troy.

She provides a crucial counterpoint to the male heroic code centered on glory (kleos). Her perspective emphasizes the domestic sphere, the bonds of love, and the terrible price paid by non-combatants for the conflicts waged by men.

Here are four images representing Andromache, the devoted wife of Hector, whose heartbreaking farewell scene highlights the human cost of the war in The Iliad.

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Opens in a new window web.sas.upenn.edu

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Iliad Glaucus History

Glaucus is a notable Lycian warrior and co-commander of the Lycian forces allied with Troy in Homer’s Iliad.

History Before the Iliad

• Noble Lineage: Glaucus comes from a distinguished heroic line. He is the grandson of the famous hero Bellerophon, known for taming the winged horse Pegasus and slaying the Chimera. His father was Hippocleus. This ancestry plays a crucial role in his most famous scene.
• Co-King of Lycia: Alongside his close friend and cousin, Sarpedon (son of Zeus), Glaucus led the Lycian contingent, a significant and powerful ally to the Trojans.
• Ally of Troy: Lycia was bound by treaty to support Troy in the war against the Achaeans (Greeks).

Role During the Iliad

Glaucus is portrayed as a brave and capable warrior who fights alongside Sarpedon; however, his most memorable contribution is a unique encounter that highlights ancient Greek values.

• Encounter with Diomedes (Book 6): This is Glaucus’s defining moment.
  • He meets the formidable Greek hero Diomedes on the battlefield, and they prepare for combat.
  • Diomedes, impressed by Glaucus’s bearing, asks about his lineage before they fight.
  • Glaucus proudly recounts his ancestry, tracing it back to Bellerophon.
  • Upon hearing this, Diomedes realizes that their grandfathers, Oeneus (Diomedes’ grandfather) and Bellerophon (Glaucus’s grandfather), had been guest-friends (xenoi), having exchanged gifts and hospitality in the past. 🤝
  • Bound by this inherited bond of guest-friendship, which transcended even the enmity of war, they declare they cannot fight each other.
  • As a sign of their renewed friendship and mutual respect, they agree to exchange armor right there on the battlefield. Famously, Glaucus exchanges his gold armor (worth a hundred oxen) for Diomedes’ bronze armor (worth nine oxen). Homer remarks that Zeus must have taken Glaucus’s wits away for him to agree to such an unequal trade. ✨ bronze.
• Assault on the Wall (Book 12): Glaucus fights bravely alongside Sarpedon during the intense battle to breach the Achaean defensive wall around their ships. Sarpedon’s speech, motivating Glaucus to fight for glory in this section, is one of the most famous articulations of the heroic code.
• Defending Sarpedon (Book 16): When Patroclus kills Sarpedon, Glaucus is overcome with grief. He prays to Apollo to heal a previous wound so he can rally the Lycians and Trojans to defend his cousin’s body, which Apollo does.

Character and Significance

Glaucus exemplifies several key aspects of the heroic world:

• Importance of Lineage: His identity and actions are deeply rooted in his ancestry.
• The Heroic Code: He fights bravely for honor and glory, as articulated in Sarpedon’s speech.
• Xenia (Guest-Friendship): His interaction with Diomedes is the prime example in the Iliad of how the sacred bonds of hospitality passed down through generations could override even the immediate demands of war.
• Loyalty: He shows deep loyalty to his friend and co-commander, Sarpedon.

 

Here are four images representing Glaucus, the Lycian co-leader (with Sarpedon) of the Lycian contingent fighting for Troy, famous for his exchange of armor with Diomedes in The Iliad.

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Opens in a new window www.britannica.com

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Iliad Helen History

Helen’s history is the very reason the Trojan War—the backdrop of the Iliad—occurred. She is famed as the most beautiful mortal woman in the world.

History Before the Iliad

• Divine Parentage: Helen was the daughter of Zeus, king of the gods, and Leda, the queen of Sparta. According to the most famous version of the myth, Zeus seduced Leda in the form of a swan 🦢, and Helen was hatched from an egg. This divine parentage contributed to her legendary beauty.
• Marriage to Menelaus: Her beauty attracted suitors from all over Greece. To avoid conflict, her stepfather, King Tyndareus, made all suitors swear an oath (the “Oath of Tyndareus”) to defend Helen’s chosen husband against anyone who wronged him. Helen chose Menelaus, who became King of Sparta.
• The Judgment of Paris: The Trojan prince Paris, chosen by Zeus to judge a divine beauty contest, awarded a golden apple to the goddess Aphrodite. In return, Aphrodite promised him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world—Helen.
• The Abduction/Elopement: Paris later visited Sparta as a guest of Menelaus. While Menelaus was away, Paris, with Aphrodite’s help, persuaded Helen to leave her husband and daughter (Hermione) and sail with him back to Troy, taking much of Menelaus’s treasure with them. This act violated the sacred laws of hospitality (xenia) and was the direct catalyst for the Trojan War. Menelaus and his brother Agamemnon invoked the Oath of Tyndareus, gathering the Greek armies to retrieve Helen and sack Troy.

Role During the Iliad

By the time the Iliad begins (the tenth year of the war), Helen has been living in Troy as Paris’s partner for nearly a decade.

• Regret and Self-Loathing: Homer portrays Helen not as a villain but as a tragic figure, deeply aware of the suffering her actions have caused. She often expresses self-blame and wishes she had died before causing the war.
• Complex Relationships in Troy:
  • Paris: Her relationship with Paris is strained. She often shows contempt for his cowardice, particularly after Aphrodite saves him from his duel with Menelaus (Book 3).
  • Hector: She shares a relationship of mutual respect and kindness with Hector, who treats her gently and never blames her for the war. She mourns him deeply after his death (Book 24).
  • Priam: Like Hector, the Trojan king treats her with compassion, blaming the gods rather than her for the conflict (Book 3).
• The Teichoskopia (View from the Wall – Book 3): In her most significant scene, Priam asks Helen to identify the Greek heroes on the battlefield below. This highlights her Greek origins and her painful position, caught between her past and present.
• Divine Influence: She remains under the influence of her patron, Aphrodite, who intervenes to protect Paris and occasionally forces Helen to comply with her wishes, reminding her of the divine power that controls her fate.

Helen’s history makes her the symbolic prize of the war, but in the Iliad, she is a complex character burdened by guilt and the devastating consequences of her beauty and the choices she made.

Here are four images representing Helen of Troy, whose abduction by Paris is the cause of the Trojan War in The Iliad. She is often depicted as a woman of immense, tragic beauty.

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The Iliad of Homer: Chapters table

Thetis at Hephaestus‘s forge waiting to receive Achilles’s new weapons, fresco from Pompeii, 1st century

(Wiki Image By Marie-Lan Nguyen, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1283776)

Homer’s Iliad is not divided into chapters in the modern sense, but into 24 sections, or “Books,” one for each letter of the Greek alphabet.

Here is a table summarizing the main events of each Book.

The 24 Books of the Iliad

Book	Title / Key Event	Summary
Book 1	The Quarrel	Agamemnon seizes the captive Briseis from Achilles. In a rage, Achilles withdraws from the war. His mother, Thetis, persuades Zeus to punish the Greeks.
Book 2	The False Dream & Catalogue of Ships	Zeus sends a false dream to Agamemnon, urging him to attack. After a morale test, the armies prepare for battle. The book lists all the Greek ships and Trojan allies.
Book 3	The Duel of Paris and Menelaus	Paris challenges Menelaus to a duel to end the war. Menelaus wins, but Aphrodite rescues Paris and returns him to Helen.
Book 4	The Truce is Broken	The gods plot to break the truce. Athena, disguised, convinces the Trojan archer Pandarus to shoot an arrow at Menelaus, wounding him and restarting the battle.
Book 5	The Aristeia of Diomedes	The Greek hero Diomedes, empowered by Athena, rages across the battlefield. He wounds two gods: Aphrodite (while saving Aeneas) and Ares.
Book 6	Hector and Andromache	Hector returns to Troy to organize a sacrifice. He has a famous, poignant conversation with his wife, Andromache, and son, Astyanax, on the city walls.
Book 7	The Duel of Hector and Ajax	Hector duels the Greek hero Ajax (the Greater). They fight to a draw and exchange gifts. The Greeks built a defensive wall around their ships.
Book 8	Zeus Turns the Tide	Zeus forbids the gods from interfering and tips the battle in the Trojans’ favor. The Greeks are beaten back to their new wall.
Book 9	The Embassy to Achilles	Desperate, Agamemnon sends an embassy (Odysseus, Ajax, and Phoenix) to offer Achilles immense gifts to return to battle. Achilles refuses.
Book 10	The Night Raid	Diomedes and Odysseus conduct a nighttime spy mission into the Trojan camp. They capture and kill the Trojan spy Dolon and kill the Thracian king Rhesus.
Book 11	The Day of Wounding	Agamemnon, Diomedes, and Odysseus are all wounded in the fighting. Achilles sends Patroclus to Nestor, setting in motion Patroclus’s tragic fate.
Book 12	The Attack on the Wall	The Trojans, led by Hector, successfully breach the Greek wall and push the Achaeans back toward their ships.
Book 13	The Battle at the Ships	Poseidon defies Zeus and rallies the Greeks, who fiercely defend their ships from the Trojan assault.
Book 14	The Deception of Zeus	Hera seduces Zeus and, with the help of the god of Sleep, lulls him to sleep. While he is out, the Greeks rally, and Ajax badly wounds Hector.
Book 15	Zeus Awakens	Zeus awakens in a rage, reasserts his control, and sends Apollo to heal Hector. The Trojans, re-energized, push the Greeks back and set a ship on fire.
Book 16	The Death of Patroclus	Patroclus convinces Achilles to let him wear his armor and lead the Myrmidons. He routs the Trojans and kills Sarpedon, but is ultimately killed by Hector.
Book 17	The Battle for Patroclus’s Body	A brutal and desperate battle rages over the body of Patroclus and the armor of Achilles.
Book 18	The Shield of Achilles	Achilles learns of Patroclus’s death and is consumed by grief and rage. His mother, Thetis, gets the god Hephaestus to forge him a new set of divine armor.
Book 19	The Reconciliation	Achilles formally reconciles with Agamemnon, accepts his gifts, and arms for battle, ignoring the prophecy of his own looming death.
Book 20	The Gods Join the Battle	Zeus allows the gods to join the fight openly. Achilles begins his terrible, god-like rampage (his aristeia).
Book 21	The Battle with the River	Achilles slaughters so many Trojans that he clogs the river Scamander. The river-god attacks him, but Hephaestus saves Achilles with fire.
Book 22	The Death of Hector	The final duel. Achilles chases Hector around Troy and, with Athena’s help, kills him. He then ties Hector’s body to his chariot and desecrates it.
Book 23	The Funeral Games for Patroclus	Achilles holds a truce for the funeral of Patroclus, which is followed by elaborate athletic games in his honor.
Book 24	The Ransom of Hector	The god Hermes guides King Priam to Achilles’ tent. The old king begs for his son’s body. Achilles relents, and the two men weep together—the epic ends with the funeral of Hector.

 

Iliad Book 1 Quotes and Highlights, “The Quarrel”

Here are key quotes and highlights from Book 1 of Homer’s Iliad, often called “The Quarrel.”

Highlights

• The Invocation: The epic begins by asking the Muse to sing of Achilles’ destructive rage. 🎤
• The Plague: Apollo sends a plague upon the Achaean army because Agamemnon dishonored his priest, Chryses, by refusing to return Chryseis, his daughter.
• The Assembly: Achilles calls an assembly to find the cause of the plague. The seer Calchas reveals Agamemnon’s fault but only after Achilles promises protection.
• The Quarrel: Agamemnon agrees to return Chryseis but demands Achilles’s war prize, Briseis, as compensation. This sparks a furious argument.
• Athena Intervenes: As Achilles is about to draw his sword and kill Agamemnon, the goddess Athena appears (visible only to him) and stops him, urging him to use words instead.
• Achilles Withdraws: Feeling deeply dishonored, Achilles vows he will no longer fight for Agamemnon and the Achaeans. He withdraws himself and his Myrmidon warriors from battle.
• Thetis’s Plea: Achilles appeals to his divine mother, the sea-nymph Thetis. She agrees to ask Zeus to grant the Trojans victory until the Achaeans are forced to honor her son.
• Divine Conflict: Zeus reluctantly agrees to Thetis’s request, angering his wife Hera, who passionately supports the Achaeans.
• Olympian Peace: The god Hephaestus diffuses the tension between Zeus and Hera, restoring peace among the gods on Olympus, in contrast to the discord among mortals.

Key Quotes

1. The Opening Lines:
   “Rage—Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles, murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses…” (Lines 1-2)
   • Establishes the central theme: Achilles’s destructive anger (mēnis).
2. Agamemnon Refuses Chryses:
   “Never let me find you again, old man, beside these hollow ships… The girl I will not release; sooner will old age come upon her in my own house, in Argos, far from her native land…” (Lines 26, 29-31)
   • Shows Agamemnon’s arrogance and impiety, sparking Apollo’s wrath.
3. Apollo Sends the Plague:
   “Down he strode from Olympus’ peaks, storming at heart… Down he sat, then, apart from the ships, and let fly an arrow: terrible was the clash that rose from the silver bow.” (Lines 44, 48-49)
   • Depicts the terrifying power of the angered god.
4. Achilles Accuses Agamemnon:
   “Staggering drunk, with your dog’s eyes, your fawn’s heart! Never once have you taken courage in your heart to arm with your people for battle… Always dearer to you is the gain that comes from plundering.” (Lines 225-227, paraphrased)
   • Highlights the core of Achilles’s complaint: Agamemnon takes the rewards while others take the risks.
5. Agamemnon Takes Briseis:
   “…since Phoebus Apollo takes Chryseis away from me, I will come myself to your tent and take your own prize, Briseis in all her beauty, so that you may learn well how much greater I am than you…” (Lines 183-186)
   • The ultimate insult that breaks Achilles.
6. Athena Restrains Achilles:
   “I have come down from heaven to stop your fury… Come, stop this quarrel, and do not draw the sword.” (Lines 207, 210)
   • Divine intervention preventing the Achaean leadership from imploding immediately.
7. Achilles’s Oath:
   “But I will tell you this and swear a great oath upon it… surely a day will come when the sons of the Achaeans will miss me, all of them… Then, heartsick as you are, you will be powerless to help them, when multitudes fall dying before man-slaying Hector.” (Lines 233, 240-243)
   • His solemn vow to withdraw, foreshadowing the suffering to come.
8. Thetis Appeals to Zeus:
   “Father Zeus, if ever before in word or deed I have served you… Grant me this prayer: Honor my son, doomed to the shortest life of all men. For now the king of men Agamemnon has dishonored him… But you, Olympian Zeus, counselor supreme, grant him honor. Give might to the Trojans, until the Achaeans respect my son and magnify him with honor.” (Lines 503-510)
   • The pivotal request that shapes the epic’s plot.

 

Iliad Book 2 Quotes and Highlight, “The Great Gathering of Armies”

Here are key quotes and highlights from Book 2 of Homer’s Iliad, often titled “The Great Gathering of Armies” or “The Trial.”

Highlights

• The False Dream: Zeus sends a deceptive dream (disguised as Nestor) to Agamemnon, urging him to launch a full-scale attack, promising victory. 😴
• Agamemnon’s Flawed Test: Agamemnon decides to test his troops’ morale by suggesting they abandon the siege and sail home. This backfires spectacularly.
• The Rout: The war-weary soldiers eagerly rush to their ships, threatening to end the expedition prematurely.
• Hera and Athena Intervene: Seeing the chaos, Hera sends Athena to stop the retreat.
• Odysseus Rallies the Army: Athena inspires Odysseus. He takes Agamemnon’s scepter, shames the common soldiers, and persuades the chieftains to return, saving the army from collapse. 🗣️
• The Beating of Thersites: Thersites, depicted as an ugly, insubordinate commoner, loudly criticizes Agamemnon. Odysseus rebukes him sharply and beats him with the scepter, silencing dissent and restoring order.
• The Catalogue of Ships: Homer provides a long, detailed list of the Achaean contingents, naming their leaders, homelands, and the number of ships each brought to Troy. This emphasizes the scale and unity (however fragile) of the Greek forces. 🚢
• The Catalogue of Trojans: A similar, though shorter, catalogue lists the Trojan forces and their allies.

Key Quotes

1. Zeus Sends the False Dream:
   “Go, deadly Dream, along the swift black ships, seek out Agamemnon, son of Atreus… Tell him to arm his long-haired Achaeans, to attack at once, full force. Now he can take the broad streets of Troy.” (Lines 8-13, paraphrased)
   • Zeus sets his plan in motion to honor Achilles by misleading Agamemnon.
2. Agamemnon’s Ill-Advised Test:
   “Come, let us test our troops… I will test them with words, urge them to run and cut and run in their ships! But you, the rest, must hold them back with orders…” (Lines 75-79, paraphrased)
   • Agamemnon misjudges his army’s mood, leading to near disaster.
3. The Army Rushes to the Ships:
   “With that cry he stirred the passion in the hearts of all… And the whole assembly surged, like the long breakers of the Icarian Sea…” (Lines 149, 151)
   • Captures the overwhelming desire of the troops to go home.
4. Odysseus Rebukes a Common Soldier:
   “You fool! Sit still and listen to what your betters tell you! You are weak and cowardly, you count for nothing either in battle or council.” (Lines 200-202, paraphrased)
   • Odysseus enforcing the heroic code’s strict hierarchy.
5. Odysseus Persuades a Chieftain:
   “Friend, it is not right to quail like a coward. Sit down yourself and make the rest of the people sit.” (Lines 190-191, paraphrased)
   • Odysseus using respect and reason with the leaders.
6. Description of Thersites:
   “The ugliest man who came to Troy. Bandy-legged he was, lame in one foot, his shoulders hunched and curving inward… Above this, his head rose to a point, with straggling stubble.” (Lines 216-219)
   • Homer physically marks Thersites’s moral and social inferiority.
7. Odysseus Beats Thersites:
   “…he struck him with the scepter across the back and shoulders. Thersites flinched, bursting into tears… A bloody welt swelled up along his back beneath the golden scepter.” (Lines 265-268)
   • A brutal but effective restoration of authority.
8. Introduction to the Catalogue of Ships:
   “Sing to me now, you Muses who hold the halls of Olympus! You are goddesses, you are everywhere, you know all things— all we hear is the distant ring of glory, we know nothing. Who were the captains of Achaea? Who were the kings?” (Lines 484-487)
   • Homer invokes the Muses for the monumental task of listing the entire army, grounding the epic in specific details.

 

Iliad Book 3 Quotes and Highlights, “The Duel Between Paris and Menelaus”

Here are key quotes and highlights from Book 3 of Homer’s Iliad, featuring the duel between Paris and Menelaus.

Highlights

• Paris’s Challenge: As the armies advance, Paris (also called Alexander) strides out and challenges any Achaean champion to single combat. 💃
• Menelaus Accepts, Paris Flees: Menelaus, Helen’s rightful husband, eagerly accepts. Seeing him, Paris shrinks back into the Trojan ranks in fear.
• Hector’s Rebuke: Paris’s brother, Hector, sees his cowardice and delivers a blistering rebuke, shaming him for causing the war and then refusing to fight.
• Agreement for a Duel: Shamed, Paris agrees to fight Menelaus. A truce is called, and both sides agree that the winner of the duel will take Helen and her treasures, ending the war.
• Teichoskopia (View from the Walls): The goddess Iris summons Helen to the Scaean Gate. King Priam kindly asks her to identify the Achaean heroes on the plain below. She points out Agamemnon, Odysseus, and Ajax. 🔭
• The Oaths: Oaths are sworn by both sides, sealing the agreement that the duel’s outcome will decide the war.
• The Duel: Paris and Menelaus fight. Menelaus shatters his sword on Paris’s helmet, but then grabs him by the helmet crest and begins dragging him.
• Aphrodite Rescues Paris: Just as Menelaus is about to kill Paris, the goddess Aphrodite snaps the helmet strap, shrouds Paris in mist, and magically transports him off the battlefield and into his bedroom in Troy. ✨
• Aphrodite Compels Helen: Aphrodite then appears to Helen, commanding her (with threats) to go to Paris’s bedroom. Helen reluctantly obeys.
• Menelaus Declared Victor: Back on the battlefield, Menelaus searches for Paris in vain. Agamemnon formally declares Menelaus the winner and demands that the Trojans honor the oath by returning Helen and her wealth.

Key Quotes

1. Hector Shames Paris:
   “Paris, you handsome, woman-mad deceiver, you shouldn’t have been born, or died unmarried… Can you not stand up to warlike Menelaus? You would learn what kind of man he is whose blossoming wife you have. Your lyre will not help you, nor the gifts of Aphrodite, your locks, your beauty, when you mix with the dust.” (Lines 39-40, 47-51, paraphrased)
   • Hector’s cutting words force Paris to face the consequences of his actions.
2. Paris Proposes the Duel:
   “Since you abuse me rightly… pit me against warlike Menelaus in single combat. Let us fight for Helen and all her possessions. Whichever one wins… let him take the woman and all her wealth home with him. Let the rest swear oaths of friendship.” (Lines 67, 69-73, paraphrased)
   • Paris, shamed, offers the terms that could end the war.
3. Priam Speaks Kindly to Helen:
   “Come here, dear child, sit beside me… I don’t blame you. I blame the gods. They drove this dreadful war against the Achaeans upon me.” (Lines 162, 164-165)
   • Shows Priam’s gentle nature, contrasting with the conflict.
4. Helen Describes Odysseus:
   “That is Laertes’ son, crafty Odysseus… Though he is shorter by a head than Agamemnon… When he weaves his cunning words, the flakes of snow fall from his lips… no mortal man could rival Odysseus.” (Lines 199, 216-217, 221-223, paraphrased)
   • Highlights Odysseus’s famous intelligence and eloquence during the teichoskopia.
5. Aphrodite Rescues Paris:
   “But Aphrodite snatched Paris away, easily, as a goddess can, shrouded him in thick mist, and set him down in his own fragrant, vaulted bedroom.” (Lines 380-382)
   • Divine intervention cheating Menelaus of his rightful victory.
6. Agamemnon Declares Menelaus the Winner:
   “Hear me, Trojans, Dardanians, and allies! Clearly victory rests with warlike Menelaus. So give back Helen of Argos and the treasure with her, and pay a fitting penalty…” (Lines 456-459)
   • The Achaean demand based on the broken oath, setting up the conflict’s continuation.

 

Iliad Book 4 Quotes and Highlights, “The Truce Erupts in War”

Here are key quotes and highlights from Book 4 of Homer’s Iliad, which details how the truce is broken and fierce fighting resumes.

Highlights

• Divine Council: The gods debate the war’s outcome. Zeus suggests letting Troy stand, infuriating Hera and Athena, who demand its destruction. 😠
• Breaking the Truce: Zeus sends Athena down to provoke the Trojans into breaking the oaths sworn in Book 3.
• Athena Incites Pandarus: Disguised as the Trojan warrior Laodocus, Athena finds the archer Pandarus and tempts him to shoot an arrow at Menelaus, promising glory. 🏹
• Menelaus Wounded: Pandarus fires his bow. Athena deflects the arrow slightly, ensuring Menelaus is wounded but not killed. The sight of his blood enrages the Achaeans.
• Agamemnon Rallies His Troops: Seeing the truce broken and his brother wounded, Agamemnon inspects his forces (epipolesis). He praises the eager warriors (like Odysseus and Diomedes) and sharply rebukes those he perceives as lagging (like Menestheus and Odysseus, initially, though Odysseus corrects him).
• Battle Resumes Fiercely: With the oaths broken, the armies clash again in brutal combat, described with vivid, bloody detail. The gods also begin to take sides on the battlefield.

Key Quotes

1. Hera Insists on Troy’s Destruction:
   “Dread son of Cronus, what is this you say?… How can you wish to make void and fruitless the toil… for which I sweated, my horses weary, gathering the host to bring Priam sorrow and his sons?” (Lines 25-29, paraphrased)
   • Hera reminds Zeus of her investment in the war and refuses to let Troy be spared.
2. Athena Persuades Pandarus:
   “Will you now listen to me, brave son of Lycaon? Dare you shoot a swift arrow at Menelaus? You would win thanks and glory from all the Trojans, especially from prince Alexander [Paris]…” (Lines 93-96)
   • Athena appeals to Pandarus’s vanity and desire for reward to break the truce.
3. The Arrow Hits Menelaus:
   “…the sharp arrow struck him where the golden buckles of his belt clasped and the doubled cuirass overlapped… But the arrow flew on and grazed the man’s outermost flesh; straightway dark blood flowed from the wound.” (Lines 132-133, 139-140)
   • The critical moment: the truce is broken, and war is inevitable.
4. Agamemnon Rallies the Troops (Praising Diomedes):
   “Ah, son of wise Tydeus, tamer of horses! Why do you shrink back? Why stare, cowering, at the battle lanes? Not like this was Tydeus used to cower…” (Lines 370-372)
   • (Note: This seems like a rebuke, but it’s actually Agamemnon inciting Diomedes by comparing him unfavorably (at first glance) to his famously brave father, a common rhetorical tactic.)
5. Agamemnon Rebukes Odysseus (Initially):
   “Son of Laertes, Odysseus of many wiles! Why do you stand apart, shrinking from the fight? Waiting for others to fight before you?” (Lines 338-340, paraphrased)
   • Agamemnon’s initial, mistaken assessment of Odysseus shows his tension.
6. The Clash of Armies:
   “As when waves crashing on a resounding shore, driven by the West Wind, pile up, one after another… so the dense lines of Danaans moved into battle, rank after rank… But the Trojans, like sheep… bleated incessantly…” (Lines 422-428, paraphrased)
   • A famous simile describing the sound and fury of the armies meeting.
7. Apollo Rallies the Trojans:
   “Forward, Trojans, tamers of horses! Don’t yield your fighting spirit to the Argives! Their flesh is not stone, not iron…” (Lines 509-511)
   • The god Apollo encourages his favored side.

 

Iliad Book 5 Quotes and Highlights, “Diomedes Rages”

Here are key quotes and highlights from Book 5 of Homer’s Iliad, known for the aristeia (finest hour or display of excellence) of the Achaean hero Diomedes.

Highlights

• Athena Empowers Diomedes: The goddess Athena grants Diomedes immense strength, courage, and the ability to distinguish gods from mortals on the battlefield. She permits him to attack Aphrodite but warns him not to challenge any other Olympian. 🔥
• Diomedes’s Rampage: Inspired by Athena, Diomedes goes on a killing spree, cutting down numerous Trojan warriors, including Pandarus (the archer who broke the truce). He dominates the battlefield like a raging fire or a flooding river.
• Wounding Aphrodite: When Diomedes wounds the Trojan hero Aeneas, Aeneas’s mother, the goddess Aphrodite, rushes to save him. Diomedes, following Athena’s explicit permission, lunges and stabs Aphrodite in the wrist. 🩸 She flees to Olympus in pain.
• Apollo Rescues Aeneas: Apollo then intervenes to save Aeneas, warning Diomedes not to “fight with the gods.” Apollo transports Aeneas off the field to be healed by Leto and Artemis.
• Ares Enters the Fray: The god of war, Ares, joins the Trojans, fighting alongside Hector and rallying their forces.
• Athena Rides with Diomedes: Seeing Ares turn the tide, Hera and Athena get permission from Zeus to intervene. Athena finds Diomedes, rebukes him for momentarily hesitating against Ares (reminding him of her earlier command), dismisses his charioteer, and takes the reins herself.
• Wounding Ares: Athena, hidden by the Cap of Hades, guides Diomedes’s spear directly into Ares’s stomach. The god of war lets out an immense bellow of pain and flees to Olympus. 💥
• Ares Complains to Zeus: Ares complains to Zeus about Athena’s violence, but Zeus scolds him, calling him the most hateful god due to his love for strife and bloodshed.

Key Quotes

1. Athena Inspires Diomedes:
   “Then Pallas Athena gave Tydeus’ son Diomedes strength and daring, so he would shine forth… She made weariless fire blaze from his shield and helmet, like the star of summer that rises bathed in the ocean, burning brightest.” (Lines 1-6)
   • Athena empowers her chosen champion for his aristeia.
2. Diomedes Wounds Aphrodite:
   “Knowing she was a god without strength, not one of those goddesses who control the battles of men… the son of great-hearted Tydeus lunged after her… and stabbed her delicate hand at the wrist.” (Lines 331-336, paraphrased)
   • Diomedes attacks the goddess of love, crossing a major boundary.
3. Zeus Scolds Aphrodite:
   “No, my child, not for you are the works of warfare. Stick to your own work, the sweet business of marriage. Leave all this fighting to violent Ares and Pallas Athena.” (Lines 428-430)
   • Zeus reminds Aphrodite that her domain is love, not battle.
4. Apollo Warns Diomedes:
   “Think, son of Tydeus, and shrink back! Don’t try to match your spirit against the gods! Never the same race, the immortal gods and men who walk the earth.” (Lines 440-442)
   • Apollo asserts the unbridgeable gap between mortals and gods.
5. Athena Encourages Diomedes Against Ares:
   “Fear nothing, Diomedes… Don’t even fear Ares, that raving madman, that evil incarnate, that turncoat!” (Lines 829-831, paraphrased)
   • Athena gives Diomedes specific permission to attack the god of war.
6. Diomedes Wounds Ares:
   “Then Pallas Athena, leaning hard on the spear-shaft, drove it deep in Ares’s flank, just under the loin-guard… Ares bellowed, loud as nine or ten thousand warriors cry in battle…” (Lines 856-860)
   • The climactic moment where a mortal, aided by Athena, wounds the god of war.
7. Zeus Rebukes Ares:
   “Do not sit beside me and whine, you renegade. To me you are the most hateful of all the gods who hold Olympus. Forever strife is dear to you, and wars, and battles.” (Lines 889-891)
   • Zeus confirms Ares’s unpopularity even among the gods.

 

Iliad Book 6 Quotes and Highlights, “Hector Returns to Troy”

Here are key quotes and highlights from Book 6 of Homer’s Iliad, which focuses on Hector’s return to Troy amidst the fighting.

Highlights

• Achaean Dominance: The fighting continues, and the Achaeans, without divine interference, begin to push the Trojans back decisively. Menelaus captures Adrestus but Agamemnon convinces him to show no mercy.
• Glaucus and Diomedes: In a famous interlude, the Trojan ally Glaucus and the Achaean hero Diomedes meet on the battlefield. They discover their grandfathers were guest-friends (xenoi). Honoring this ancestral bond, they refuse to fight each other and exchange armor as a sign of respect (though Glaucus gets the worse end of the bargain, trading gold armor for bronze). 🤝
• Hector Returns to Troy: The Trojan seer Helenus advises Hector to return to the city and instruct the Trojan women, led by his mother Hecuba, to make offerings and prayers to Athena to stop Diomedes’s rampage.
• Hector with Hecuba: Hector finds his mother and delivers the instructions, refusing her offer of wine as he is battle-weary and doesn’t want to dishonor the gods.
• Hector with Paris and Helen: Hector finds Paris polishing his armor, having withdrawn from battle. Hector delivers another sharp rebuke. Helen expresses her own shame and sorrow for the war she caused. Paris agrees to rejoin the fight.
• Hector with Andromache and Astyanax: Hector seeks out his wife Andromache and their infant son Astyanax at the Scaean Gate. This is the emotional core of the book.
  • Andromache begs Hector not to return to battle, fearing his death and her widowhood. She reminds him he is all she has left.
  • Hector acknowledges the grim fate awaiting Troy but explains he must fight for honor (kleos) and duty.
  • Astyanax initially cries, frightened by his father’s plumed helmet. Hector removes it, laughs, and prays for his son’s future glory.
  • Hector and Andromache share a tearful farewell, knowing they may never see each other again. 💔
• Hector and Paris Return to Battle: Hector, now joined by Paris, leaves Troy and returns to the battlefield with renewed determination.

Key Quotes

1. Diomedes to Glaucus (Honoring Guest-Friendship):
   “So, I am your host-friend in the heart of Argos, you are mine in Lycia, when I visit that land. Let us avoid each other’s spears, even in the close fighting. There are plenty of Trojans and famed allies for me to kill… and plenty of Achaeans for you to kill, if you can. Let us exchange armor, so that these men too may know we claim to be guest-friends from our fathers’ days.” (Lines 224-231)
   • Illustrates the sacred bond of xenia even amidst war.
2. Hector Instructs Hecuba:
   “But you, go to the temple of Athena… Gather the elder women, and lay the robe that seems to you the loveliest… on the knees of fair-haired Athena. Vow to sacrifice twelve heifers… if she will take pity on the city of Troy… and hold back the son of Tydeus [Diomedes].” (Lines 269-277, paraphrased)
   • Shows Hector fulfilling his duty and coordinating religious appeals.
3. Hector Rebukes Paris:
   “Strange man! It’s not fair, this anger you nurse in your heart. Our people are dying, fighting around the city… while you lounge here! … Up, before the city goes up in flames!” (Lines 326-331, paraphrased)
   • Hector’s frustration with his brother’s lack of responsibility.
4. Helen Laments Her Fate:
   “My brother-in-law—of a scheming, cold-hearted bitch! I wish that on the day my mother bore me some evil storm wind had hurled me away… Since the gods ordained these evils, I wish I had been the wife of a better man…” (Lines 344-350, paraphrased)
   • Helen expresses self-loathing and acknowledges the suffering she has caused.
5. Andromache Pleads with Hector:
   “Reckless one, your own valor will destroy you! Have you no pity for your infant son, for me, your doomed wife, who will soon be your widow?… Hector, you are my father, my noble mother, you are my brother, and you are my blooming husband!” (Lines 407-409, 429-430)
   • Andromache’s desperate plea for him to prioritize family over glory.
6. Hector’s Sense of Duty and Fate:
   “All this weighs on my mind too, dear woman. But I would die of shame to face the men of Troy and the Trojan women trailing their long robes if I would shrink from battle now, a coward… I have learned to be brave always and to fight in the front ranks winning great glory for my father and myself.” (Lines 441-446)
   • Hector explains the inescapable demands of honor in the heroic code.
7. Hector on Troy’s Fall and Andromache’s Fate:
   “For I know this well in my heart and soul: the day will come when sacred Troy must die, Priam must die and all his people… But the pain I will feel for the Trojans… is nothing next to the pain I’ll feel for you, when some bronze-armored Achaean leads you off, weeping, robbing you of your free life.” (Lines 447-455)
   • His tragic foresight and deep love for his wife.
8. Hector Prays for Astyanax:
   “Zeus, all you gods! Grant that this my son may be, as I am, foremost among the Trojans… And someday may men say, ‘He is far better than his father.'” (Lines 476-479)
   • A father’s universal hope for his child, poignant given the city’s doomed future.

 

Iliad Book 7 Quotes and Highlights, “The Duel of Hector and Ajax”

Here are key quotes and highlights from Book 7 of Homer’s Iliad, focusing on the duel between Hector and Ajax and the subsequent truce.

Highlights

• Hector’s Challenge: Inspired by Apollo and Athena, Hector (advised by his brother Helenus) challenges any single Achaean champion to a duel to the death. 💪
• Menelaus Volunteers, Agamemnon Stops Him: Menelaus bravely volunteers, but Agamemnon dissuades him, knowing he is no match for Hector.
• Nestor’s Shame: The aged hero Nestor laments the younger Achaeans’ lack of courage compared to his own youth, shaming them into action.
• Lots are Cast: Nine Achaean heroes volunteer (including Agamemnon, Diomedes, Odysseus, and the two Ajaxes). Lots are cast, and Ajax the Greater (Telamonian Ajax) is chosen.
• The Duel of Hector and Ajax: Hector and Ajax fight fiercely. Ajax uses his massive shield and brute strength, while Hector relies on skill. They trade blows with spears and rocks, both drawing blood but neither gaining a decisive advantage. 🛡️ vs ⚔️
• Duel Ends in a Draw: As night falls, heralds intervene to stop the fight. Hector and Ajax, respecting each other’s skill and bravery, exchange gifts (Hector gives a sword, Ajax a belt) as a sign of mutual respect before parting.
• Council and Truce: Both sides hold council. Nestor proposes building a defensive wall and trench around the Achaean ships and calling a truce to bury the dead.
• Paris’s Offer Rejected: In the Trojan council, Paris offers to return Helen’s treasures but not Helen herself. Priam orders this offer relayed, but the Achaeans reject it outright.
• Burying the Dead: A truce is agreed upon, and both armies gather and burn their dead on funeral pyres, a somber moment of shared grief. 🔥
• Achaeans Build the Wall: During the truce, the Achaeans quickly construct their defensive wall and trench, an act that displeases Poseidon.

Key Quotes

1. Hector’s Challenge:
   “Hear me, Trojans and bronze-greaved Achaeans!… Let him who challenges me come forth from the host of Achaeans to fight me, man to man… If he kills me, let him strip my armor and carry it to the hollow ships, but give my body back home… If I kill him… his armor I will hang in the temple of Apollo, but his body I will give back…” (Lines 67, 71-72, 77-81, paraphrased)
   • Sets the terms for the heroic duel, focusing on honor and proper treatment of the dead.
2. Nestor Shames the Achaeans:
   “Ah, gods! Great sorrow comes to the land of Achaea!… How the old horseman Peleus… would groan aloud if he learned that all these Argives shrink before Hector!” (Lines 124-128, paraphrased)
   • Nestor uses the past glory and the potential shame felt by the elders to incite the heroes.
3. Ajax Accepts the Challenge:
   (After the lot falls to him) “My friends! The lot is mine, and I myself rejoice in my heart, for I think I shall vanquish godlike Hector!” (Lines 179-180)
   • Ajax’s confidence and eagerness for battle.
4. Ajax Confronts Hector:
   “Hector! Now you will learn, man to man, what kind of champions are left among the Danaans, even after Achilles, breaker of battle lines, lion-hearted.” (Lines 226-229)
   • Ajax asserts Greek strength even without their greatest warrior.
5. Heralds Stop the Duel:
   “Fight no longer, dear sons, nor do battle; Zeus the cloud-gatherer loves you both, and both are warriors. This we all know well. Night is now upon us. It is good to yield to night.” (Lines 279-282)
   • The formal intervention recognizing the skill of both combatants and the coming darkness.
6. Hector Proposes Exchanging Gifts:
   “Let us give each other glorious gifts, so that any Achaean or Trojan may say of us: ‘They fought in soul-consuming strife, then parted, joined in friendship.'” (Lines 299-302)
   • Mutual respect between elite warriors transcends the immediate conflict.
7. Nestor Proposes the Wall and Truce:
   “Let us cease fighting… and gather the corpses… Then let us build a high wall close around our ships… and dig a deep trench nearby…” (Lines 327-340, paraphrased)
   • Nestor’s practical advice for defense and honoring the dead.
8. The Achaeans Reject Paris’s Offer:
   (Diomedes speaking) “Let no one accept the possessions of Alexander [Paris], nor Helen; for it is clear now, even to a fool, that the cords of destruction hang over Troy.” (Lines 400-402)
   • The Achaeans see Paris’s refusal to return Helen as proof of Troy’s doomed fate.

 

Iliad Book 8 Quotes and Highlights, “The Trojans Break the Lines”

Here are key quotes and highlights from Book 8 of the Iliad, “The Trojans Break the Lines.”

Key Quotes

“Listen to me, all you gods and goddesses… Let no lovely goddess, no god either, try to fight my iron will. Whoever I pick out, breaking ranks and coming to the rescue of Trojans or Achaeans— back he comes to Olympus, whipped, disgraced. Or I will snatch and hurl him down to black Tartarus… Then you will see how far my power tops all other gods!“

Context: Zeus issues a stern command to all the Olympians, forbidding them from interfering in the battle. He forcefully asserts his supreme authority and threatens severe punishment for disobedience.

“Father Zeus held out his sacred golden scales. In them he placed two fates of death that lay men low— one for the Trojan horsemen, one for Argives armed in bronze— he seized the scales mid-beam, and the Argives’ doom sank down, Achaea’s day of destiny settling down on the earth…”

Context: From Mount Ida, Zeus weighs the fates of the two armies. The Achaeans’ side sinks, signaling that their day of suffering has come, fulfilling (for now) Zeus’s promise to Thetis.

Then Hera burst out to the god of the earthquake, Poseidon: “What now, lord of the sea? Shaker of the earth! Even your own heart won’t grieve for the Danaans dying?… If only the two of us… were willing now to throw the Trojans back and block Zeus…“

Context: Seeing the Greeks routed, Hera tries to incite Poseidon to join her in defying Zeus’s command and intervening to save the Achaeans. Poseidon, however, wisely refuses, fearing Zeus’s power.

[Zeus warns Hera and Athena] “But let me tell you this… I’ll lame the plunging stallions underneath your chariot! I’ll toss you, goddesses, out of the driver’s box, I’ll smash your chariot—“

Context: Hera and Athena attempt to arm themselves and sneak down to help the Greeks despite Zeus’s order. Zeus sees them and sends Iris with this furious threat, forcing them to turn back in fear.

“Now Trojans, Lycians, Dardans famed in close assault— be men, my friends, call up your battle-fury! … I know in my bones Zeus helps me on to glory.” … “Tomorrow, stallions, pay me back for your keep!… so I can seize that famous shield of Nestor… wrench the burnished breastplate off Diomedes…“

Context: Hector, empowered by Zeus’s favor, delivers a rousing speech to his troops as night falls. He confidently urges them to fight bravely, certain of victory, and boasts of the spoils he expects to capture from the Greek heroes the next day.

Highlights

1. Zeus Forbids Interference: The book opens with Zeus gathering the gods on Olympus and issuing a strict command: no god or goddess is to interfere in the battle. He threatens severe punishment for any disobedience, emphasizing his supreme power. 💪
2. Zeus Favors the Trojans: Zeus travels to Mount Ida, overlooking the battlefield. He takes out his golden scales and weighs the fates of the Achaeans and Trojans. The Achaeans’ side sinks, indicating a day of defeat for them. Zeus confirms this with thunderbolts hurled at the Greek army, causing panic. ⚡
3. Greek Retreat: Under pressure from Zeus’s intervention and Hector’s fierce attacks, the Achaean lines break. Heroes like Diomedes and Odysseus fight bravely but are eventually forced to retreat behind the defensive wall they built around their ships.
4. Hera and Athena Stopped: Seeing the Greek rout, Hera tries to persuade Poseidon to defy Zeus, but he refuses. Hera then convinces Athena to prepare her war chariot to go down and help. Zeus spots them leaving Olympus and sends his messenger Iris with furious threats, forcing the goddesses to abandon their plan and return, fuming. 😠
5. Trojans Camp on the Plain: As night falls, the Trojans have achieved a massive victory, pushing the Greeks back to their ships. Hector commands the Trojans not to retreat into the city but to camp out on the plain, ready to finish off the Greeks in the morning. The Trojan watchfires light up the night sky, a symbol of their dominance and the Greeks’ perilous situation. 🔥🏕️

 

Iliad Book 9 Quotes and Highlights, “The Embassy to Achilles”

Here are key quotes and highlights from Book 9 of the Iliad, “The Embassy to Achilles.”

Key Quotes

“Cronus’ son has entangled me in madness, blinding ruin— Zeus is a harsh, cruel god. He vowed to me, he bowed his head, that I should never embark for home till I had sacked King Priam’s Troy… But now he’s plotted brutal treachery: he orders me back to Argos in disgrace, whole regiments of my armies slain.“

Context: Agamemnon, utterly defeated and despairing after the Trojan successes in Book 8, addresses the Greek council, blaming Zeus and admitting his own delusion.

“Mad, blind I was! Not even I would deny it. Worth armies, the man Zeus loves in his heart… But since I was mad, blinded by my own reckless fury, I will appease him now, I will give him boundless gifts.“

Context: Spurred by Nestor’s advice, Agamemnon finally admits his fault in dishonoring Achilles and offers a massive compensation package to win him back.

“Royal son of Laertes, Odysseus, great tactician… I must say what I have to say straight out. I hate that man like the very Gates of Death who says one thing but hides another in his heart. I will say it clearly… Not Agamemnon, not all the rest of Achaea’s armies will ever persuade me…”

Context: Achilles begins his powerful rejection of Agamemnon’s offer, presented eloquently by Odysseus. He emphasizes his hatred for Agamemnon’s perceived deceit and his absolute refusal.

“Mother tells me, the immortal goddess Thetis with her glistening feet, that two fates bear me on to the day of death. If I hold out here and lay siege to Troy, my journey home is gone, but my glory never dies. If I voyage back to the fatherland I love, my pride, my glory dies… true, but the life that’s left me will be long, the stroke of death will not come on me quickly.“

Context: This is Achilles’ famous articulation of his “two fates.” He explains his choice: he values his life more than the gifts offered and the glory won through fighting for an honorable leader.

“No, deadly destiny, with the son of Leto [Apollo], has killed me, and of men it was Euphorbos; you are only my third slayer. And put this other thing in your heart that I tell you. You yourself shall not live long, but now already death and powerful destiny are standing beside you, to go down under the hands of Aiakos’ great son, Achilleus.”

Context: Phoenix, Achilles’ old mentor, tells the cautionary tale of Meleager, another hero who withdrew from battle in anger and returned too late, losing the rewards offered. He pleads with Achilles not to make the same mistake.

Then Ajax, the giant son of Telamon, broke forth: “Royal son of Laertes… let’s be gone. … Achilles—he’s made his own proud spirit so wild… so hard. He shows no regard for his comrades’ love, the very love we lavished on him by the ships… Pitiless man!“

Context: After the failures of Odysseus’s logic and Phoenix’s emotion, Ajax delivers a blunt, soldierly appeal, criticizing Achilles’s hardness and lack of loyalty to his friends.

Highlights

1. Greek Despair: Following the Trojan victories and Hector’s advance in Book 8, the Greek army is demoralized. Agamemnon weeps before the assembly and suggests giving up and sailing home.
2. Nestor’s Plan: Diomedes rebukes Agamemnon for his cowardice. The wise Nestor then advises Agamemnon that their only hope is to appease Achilles.
3. Agamemnon’s Offer: Agamemnon admits his folly in taking Briseis and lists an enormous treasure trove of gifts he will give Achilles if he returns: tripods, gold, horses, women, the return of Briseis (untouched, he swears), and even one of his own daughters in marriage with a rich dowry. 🎁👑
4. The Embassy: Nestor selects Odysseus, Ajax the Greater, and Achilles’ old tutor, Phoenix, to travel to Achilles’ tent and present the offer.
5. Achilles’ Tent: The embassy finds Achilles relaxing, playing the lyre and singing tales of heroes, with his dear friend Patroclus. Achilles greets them warmly but suspiciously.
6. Odysseus’s Speech: Odysseus skillfully lays out Agamemnon’s offer, emphasizing the desperation of the Greeks and appealing to Achilles’ sense of pity and duty.
7. Achilles’ Great Refusal: Achilles delivers a long, passionate, and famous speech utterly rejecting the offer. He states his hatred for Agamemnon, claims no gifts can compensate for the insult to his honor, and explains his “two fates”—choosing a long life over short-lived glory under Agamemnon. He declares he will sail home. ⛵
8. Phoenix’s Appeal: Phoenix makes a tearful, personal plea, reminding Achilles of how he raised him and telling the cautionary story of Meleager, urging him not to let his anger consume him until it’s too late.
9. Ajax’s Appeal: Ajax makes a brief, direct appeal to comradeship, criticizing Achilles’ stubbornness and lack of concern for his friends who have honored him.
10. Final Answer & Return: Achilles remains unmoved regarding Agamemnon but softens slightly towards Ajax and Phoenix. He says he will not sail home immediately but will only fight if Hector reaches his own ships. Phoenix stays behind, while Odysseus and Ajax return to Agamemnon with the grim news of their failure.

 

Iliad Book 10 Quotes and Highlights, “Doloneia”

Here are key quotes and highlights from Book 10 of the Iliad, often called the Doloneia (The Story of Dolon).

Key Quotes

“Sleep failed to overcome Agamemnon, shepherd of the people— torment churning, deep in his churning chest…”

Context: The opening lines establish the restless anxiety of the Greek high command after the defeats in Book 8.

“What if some fighter would undertake the task? All on his own nerve… creep up on the Trojans? He might just catch some enemy straggler lost outside, or overhear some talk—what are their plans?”

Context: Nestor proposes the idea of sending spies into the Trojan camp during the council meeting.

“My heart and fighting spirit prompt me now to infiltrate the camp of enemy Trojans…” “But if another man would volunteer to go with me, there’d be more warmth, more daring too.“

Context: Diomedes is the first and most eager to volunteer for the dangerous mission, but wisely asks for a companion.

“If you command me, then, to select a man myself, how could I overlook godlike Odysseus? His heart is staunch, his spirit too… Pallas Athena loves him.“

Context: Given the choice, Diomedes selects Odysseus as his partner, valuing his courage, cunning, and divine favor.

“Take me alive!” Dolon begged, bursting into tears. “I’ll ransom myself! Treasures are piled up in my father’s house, bronze and gold and plenty of well-wrought iron— father would give you anything, gladly, priceless ransom if only he learns I’m still alive…”

Context: The Trojan spy Dolon, caught by Diomedes and Odysseus, desperately pleads for his life, offering information and wealth.

But Diomedes scowled at him, “Think no more of escape, Dolon, clear as the news is that you bring. You’ve fallen into our hands. If we set you free or spare your life now, you’d come back down again to the fast Achaean ships, either to spy on us or fight us face-to-face. But if I snuff your life out in my hands, you’ll never plague the Argives again.” As Dolon reached out… to stroke his beard and beg, Diomedes struck him square across the neck with a flashing sword-thrust… Dolon’s head went tumbling in the dust.

Context: Despite Dolon giving them valuable information, Diomedes ruthlessly kills him to prevent him from causing future trouble, showing the harsh realities of war and espionage.

Odysseus stripped him [Dolon] clean… then lifting the spoils high, prayed to Athena: “Rejoice, goddess, in these! Your trophy first of all the gods on high Olympus!“

Context: After killing Dolon, Odysseus dedicates the spoils to their patron goddess, Athena.

“Up, son of Tydeus! Why still lost in sleep? Haven’t you heard? The Thracians sleep hard by… Their king is Rhesus, Eioneus’ son. And such horses I’ve seen, the best, the biggest… Whiter than snow… Kill the men or steal the team—it’s your affair.”

Context: Athena appears to Diomedes, urging him to hurry with the raid on the Thracian camp that Dolon had revealed.

Highlights

1. Greek Council at Night: Unable to sleep due to the dire situation, Agamemnon and Menelaus wake the other Greek leaders (Nestor, Odysseus, Diomedes, etc.) for an emergency council.
2. Spy Mission Proposed: Nestor suggests sending spies into the Trojan camp to gather intelligence on their plans and positions.
3. Diomedes and Odysseus Volunteer: The brave Diomedes immediately volunteers and chooses the cunning Odysseus as his partner. They arm themselves and receive good omens from Athena.
4. Trojan Spy Mission: Meanwhile, Hector also calls for a volunteer to spy on the Greek camp. A Trojan named Dolon agrees, hoping to win Achilles’ immortal horses as a reward.
5. Capture and Interrogation of Dolon: Diomedes and Odysseus intercept Dolon in the no-man’s land between the camps. After a brief chase, they capture him. Terrified, Dolon reveals the layout of the Trojan camp and, crucially, the location of the newly arrived Thracian allies and their magnificent horses, led by King Rhesus.
6. Dolon Killed: Despite Dolon’s pleas and cooperation, Diomedes kills him to prevent him from returning.
7. Raid on the Thracian Camp: Using Dolon’s information, Diomedes and Odysseus sneak into the sleeping Thracian camp. Diomedes brutally kills Rhesus and twelve of his men while Odysseus unties the famous white horses. 🐎
8. Escape and Return: Alerted by Athena (and pursued briefly by Apollo, who rouses the remaining Thracians), the two heroes escape with the horses and Dolon’s spoils, returning triumphantly to the Greek camp. Their comrades praise them and offer thanks to Athena. 🙏

 

Iliad Book 11 Quotes and Highlights, “Agamemnon’s Day of Glory”

Here are key quotes and highlights from Book 11 of the Iliad, often referred to as “Agamemnon’s Day of Glory” or “The Achaeans Meet Disaster.”

Key Quotes

“Zeus flung Strife on Achaea’s fast ships— the brutal goddess gripping her bleeding banner high…”

Context: Zeus actively sends the goddess of Discord to stir the Greeks into battle, signaling a day of intense fighting.

“[Agamemnon] Charged the Trojan lines like a lion cornering frightened herds…”

Context: The narrator describes Agamemnon’s initial, powerful rampage (aristeia) at the start of the day’s fighting, where he cuts down numerous Trojans.

“Now Agamemnon—if you are Agamemnon!” Coon cried, Antenor’s eldest son, glaring down at the king, grief for his fallen brother swept his eyes… He lunged out… stabbing Atrides’ forearm just beneath the elbow— the spearhead’s gleaming point ripped through the flesh!

Context: After Agamemnon kills Coon’s brother, Coon manages to wound the Greek commander in the arm, forcing Agamemnon to eventually withdraw from the battle.

[Hector speaks] “Zeus the Father, Cronus’ high son, grants me glory now! Hemming them against the ships, hemming the Argives in—a victory all my own!“

Context: After Agamemnon withdraws wounded, Hector, encouraged by Zeus via the messenger Iris, rallies the Trojans for a counter-attack, believing victory is at hand.

Paris, lord of lovely-haired Helen, just strung his bow and shot from cover… an arrow piercing the right foot of Diomedes… Paris leaped from ambush, laughing, shouting in triumph, “Yes! A bull’s-eye!“

Context: While Diomedes is stripping armor from a fallen foe, Paris shoots him in the foot with an arrow from a hiding place, wounding another top Greek champion. 🏹

“[Odysseus speaks to himself, surrounded] What’s to become of me? A terrible fate, if I should run in fear… But worse if I am captured here alone. Zeus routed all the rest of the Danaans. But why debate, my friend? Cowards, I know, would quit the fighting, but a man who hopes to win glory in battle must stand his ground—give or take his wounds.“

Context: Odysseus, wounded and isolated on the battlefield, debates whether to flee or stand his ground, ultimately choosing the path of honor despite the danger.

“Up, Patroclus, dear to Zeus!” Achilles called… “Now I think they will grovel at my knees, the Achaeans—disaster bears down on them past endurance. But go, Patroclus… Ask Nestor who’s that wounded man he’s rushing out of battle.”

Context: Seeing the wounded being carried back to the ships (including Machaon), Achilles finally shows some concern and sends Patroclus to investigate, setting the stage for the crucial conversation in Nestor’s tent.

[Nestor speaks to Patroclus] “Why, does Achilles pity the Achaeans now?… Does he wait till the fast ships burn along the shore?… How I wish I were young again, my strength unbroken!” [Nestor recounts a long story of his youthful battles] “…But Achilles—great man that he is— reaps the rewards of his own valor. Yet surely he’ll weep his heart out… when the armies are destroyed.” “…If Achilles still shrinks from action… let him send you into the fighting… Let him give you his armor… Perhaps the Trojans might hang back…”

Context: In his tent, Nestor delivers a long, impassioned speech to Patroclus. He reminisces about his own heroic past, criticizes Achilles’ inaction, and crucially plants the idea that Patroclus could wear Achilles’ armor to save the Greeks.

Highlights

1. Zeus Ignites the Battle: Zeus sends Strife (Eris) to rouse the Greeks, and a fierce battle begins.
2. Agamemnon’s Aristeia: Agamemnon fights with exceptional prowess, killing many Trojans. He dominates the early fighting. 💪
3. Agamemnon Wounded: While stripping armor, Agamemnon is wounded in the arm by Coon, son of Antenor, forcing him eventually to withdraw from the battle.
4. Hector Counter-Attacks: Seeing Agamemnon leave, Hector, spurred by Zeus, launches a powerful Trojan counter-attack.
5. Diomedes Wounded: The Trojan prince Paris shoots an arrow from cover, wounding Diomedes in the foot. Though injured, Diomedes continues to fight briefly before also withdrawing. 🏹🦶
6. Odysseus Wounded and Surrounded: Odysseus is then wounded by a spear thrust and finds himself isolated and surrounded by Trojans. He fights bravely until Ajax and Menelaus come to his rescue.
7. Machaon Wounded: Paris strikes again, wounding Machaon, the Greeks’ primary healer, with another arrow. This is a significant blow to Greek morale and capacity.
8. Nestor Rescues Machaon: The elderly Nestor rescues the wounded Machaon, driving him back to the ships in his chariot.
9. Achilles Sends Patroclus: Achilles, watching the battle from his ship, sees Nestor carrying a wounded man (whom he suspects is Machaon). He sends his companion Patroclus to Nestor’s tent to confirm the wounded man’s identity. This is a pivotal moment, drawing Patroclus towards his tragic fate.
10. Nestor’s Speech to Patroclus: Patroclus arrives at Nestor’s tent. Nestor launches into a very long speech, recalling his youthful exploits and lamenting the current disastrous situation. He strongly criticizes Achilles’ inaction and plants the fateful suggestion: if Achilles won’t fight, Patroclus should ask to wear his armor and lead the Greeks into battle to save them. This idea resonates deeply with Patroclus. 🤔

 

Iliad Book 12 Quotes and Highlights, “The Trojans Storm the Rampart”

Here are key quotes and highlights from Book 12 of the Iliad, “The Trojans Storm the Rampart.”

Key Quotes

“Just as they were striving to cross the ditch, an omen flew past… an eagle clutching a serpent, huge and blood-red, in its talons, still alive, still struggling… The serpent writhed back and struck its captor… The eagle… hurled it down… and flew off screaming…”

Context: A dramatic bird omen appears as the Trojans are about to cross the ditch before the Greek wall. An eagle (symbolizing the Trojans/Zeus) holds a snake (symbolizing the Greeks/resistance), but the snake wounds the eagle, forcing it to drop its prey.

Then Polydamas, the prudent counselor, stood beside bold Hector: “Hector, you always attack my counsel in assembly… Now I tell you, let’s obey this omen… If the bird meant the Trojans… we may break the Argive lines… but we’ll never make it back from the ships in good formation. We will leave battalions of Trojans behind…”

Context: The cautious Polydamas interprets the omen negatively, warning Hector that even if they breach the wall, they will suffer heavy losses trying to return, just as the eagle dropped the snake.

Hector glared at him and stormed back in fury: “Polydamas, your pleading repels me.… You tell me to put my trust in birds? … One omen is best: fight for your country! … Better by far to stand up to them, kill them, defending our own ships!“

Context: Hector angrily rejects Polydamas’s cautious interpretation of the omen. Driven by battle-fury and Zeus’s favor, he dismisses bird signs and declares patriotic duty as the only true guide. This quote famously encapsulates Hector’s unwavering commitment.

Then Sarpedon called out to Glaucus… “Glaucus, why are we two awarded the highest honors?… Why do they carve us first-rate cuts… look up to us like gods?… So that now we must stand in the Lycians’ front ranks and bear the brunt of the blazing, brutal fighting! … Ah my friend, if you and I could escape this war and live forever, ageless, immortal… I would never fight on the front lines again… But now, as it is, the fates of death await us… So let us go— whether we yield glory to others or they yield it to us!“

Context: Sarpedon, the Lycian king and son of Zeus, delivers his famous speech on the heroic code to his comrade Glaucus. He explains that heroes receive honors because they accept the duty to risk their lives in battle. Since death is inevitable, the only choice is to fight bravely for glory.

“Trojans, Lycians, Dardans—now be men, my friends! Call up your battle-fury! … It’s hard for a single man, strong as he is, to breach the wall and carve a path…” [Hector picks up a massive boulder] “…not even two men, the best in the land, could pry it… But Hector hefted it lightly… He took a stance, rammed it home on the doors, dead center… shattering both hinges… the heavy gates broke… Hector leaped inside, his face like sudden night, blazing with awesome fire…”

Context: After Sarpedon breaches the wall elsewhere, Hector, empowered by Zeus, lifts an enormous stone that normally requires multiple men and smashes the main gates, becoming the first Trojan to burst through the Greek defenses.

Highlights

1. Trojan Assault: The Trojans, led by Hector and encouraged by Zeus’s favor, prepare to assault the massive defensive wall and ditch the Greeks built around their ships. They are divided into five battalions.
2. The Omen: As one group tries to cross the ditch with chariots, a bird omen appears: an eagle carrying a live serpent is bitten and drops the snake among the Trojan soldiers. 🦅🐍
3. Polydamas’s Warning: The cautious Trojan advisor Polydamas interprets the omen negatively, warning Hector that while they might breach the wall, they will suffer greatly and fail to return safely, just as the eagle lost its prey.
4. Hector Rejects the Omen: Hector angrily dismisses Polydamas’s interpretation, declaring, “One omen is best: fight for your country!” He urges the Trojans forward, trusting in Zeus’s support over bird signs.
5. Sarpedon’s Speech and Attack: The Lycian allies, led by Sarpedon (son of Zeus) and Glaucus, target a different section of the wall. Sarpedon delivers his famous speech on the heroic code, explaining that honor demands they risk their lives. He then leads a fierce assault and is the first to breach the wall, tearing down a section of the battlement. 💪
6. Hector Breaks the Gates: Inspired by Sarpedon’s success and granted immense strength by Zeus, Hector finds a huge, pointed boulder near the main gates. Lifting it easily, he smashes it against the gates, shattering the hinges and bars. He leaps through the breach, his face dark as night, leading the Trojans inside the Greek fortifications. 🔥

Book 12 ends on a cliffhanger, with the Greek defenses broken and Hector leading the triumphant Trojans inside, seemingly on the verge of destroying the Greek ships.

 

Iliad Book 13 Quotes and Highlights, “Battle at the Ships”

Here are key quotes and highlights from Book 13 of the Iliad, “Battle at the Ships.”

Key Quotes

But Zeus… turned his shining eyes away, gazing off at the land of the Thracian horsemen… Never dreaming for a moment, deep in his heart, that any god would dare to wade into the chaos and fight for Trojans or Achaeans.

Context: Zeus, confident that the battle’s course is set against the Greeks, stops watching closely, creating an opportunity for other gods to interfere.

But the god of the earthquake, Poseidon, kept no blind watch. High on the crest of wooded Samothrace he sat… watching the dogfight. And he pitied the Achaeans, beaten down by the Trojans—he flared in rage at Zeus. Straightaway he plunged down from the craggy peak…

Context: Poseidon, seeing the Greeks suffering and angry at Zeus, decides to intervene despite Zeus’s prohibition. 🌊

[Poseidon speaks, disguised as Calchas] “Ajax—you two can save the Achaean armies if only you’ll think of courage, not cold, bone-breaking fear. … But you—I have no fear you’ll hang back. Rouse the fighters! Drive their courage hard!” With that the god of the earthquake struck both men with his staff and filled their lungs with fighting strength, made their legs light, their arms, their feet…

Context: Disguised as the seer Calchas, Poseidon inspires the Greater and Lesser Ajax, filling them with divine power and resolve to hold the line.

The two Ajaxes stood their ground… Firm as a wall they braced… a dense mass of shields and spears, they fused, helmet to helmet, shield to shield, buckling, man to man locked tight… bristling crests brushing… so dense they stood, shoulder-to-shoulder…

Context: The narrator describes the steadfast defensive formation of the two Ajaxes and their troops, highlighting their crucial role in stopping Hector’s advance. 🛡️🛡️

[Idomeneus speaks] “Where is our prowess now, our fighting fury gone? … But I—I blame no Danaan, none who shirks the war from trembling fear. The man I blame is the man who hangs back gladly, clinging to his life… Come, follow me! No time for standing fast, not now—disaster’s closing, closing!“

Context: Idomeneus, the Cretan king, rallies his men before launching his own counter-attack (aristeia), emphasizing the need for courage in the face of imminent danger.

Again Polydamas stood by Hector, saying: “Hector, you are impossible to persuade. … We’re cut off here from the main Trojan force. … Wheel around. Call back our chiefs right here. Then we can map our tactics out together.“

Context: The cautious Polydamas once again advises Hector to pause and regroup, concerned that their advance has left them isolated and vulnerable, but Hector remains focused on attack.

Highlights

1. Zeus Looks Away: Believing the Trojans are assured victory and the Greeks are routed, Zeus turns his attention away from the battlefield.
2. Poseidon Intervenes: Seeing his chance, Poseidon, who favors the Greeks and resents the Trojans, emerges from the sea. Driven by pity for the Greeks and anger at Zeus, he decides to defy the divine prohibition on interference.
3. Rallying the Greeks: Disguised first as the seer Calchas and then as the warrior Thoas, Poseidon moves among the hard-pressed Greek forces fighting near the ships. He delivers rousing speeches, particularly inspiring the two Ajaxes and Idomeneus, filling them with fresh strength and determination. 💪
4. The Line Holds: Inspired by Poseidon, the two Ajaxes form a solid defensive line —a “wall” of shields and spears —that successfully halts Hector’s seemingly unstoppable advance near the center of the ships.
5. Idomeneus’s Aristeia: On the Greek left flank, the veteran Cretan king Idomeneus, also invigorated by Poseidon, launches a fierce counter-attack. He kills several prominent Trojans, including Ajax and Ulysses, demonstrating significant prowess.
6. Intense Fighting: Brutal, close-quarters combat rages along the entire battle line near the ships, with heavy casualties on both sides. The Greeks, despite being pushed back earlier, fight desperately to defend their last line of defense.
7. Hector Stalled: Though Hector continues to fight ferociously, urged on by Zeus’s favor, the renewed Greek resistance, particularly the stand by the Ajaxes, prevents him from achieving a decisive breakthrough and setting the ships ablaze. Polydamas advises caution, but Hector is determined to press the attack.

 

Iliad Book 14 Quotes and Highlights, “Hera Outflanks Zeus” 

Here are key quotes and highlights from Book 14 of the Iliad, “Hera Outflanks Zeus.”

Key Quotes

“What’s our next move?” the old man cried, deeply troubled. “How can we save the ships?“

Context: Nestor, hearing the sounds of fierce battle reaching even the wounded leaders’ tents, expresses the dire situation and the urgent need for a plan.

“No hope for us,” Agamemnon the warlord groaned. “No escape from death. Zeus must hate us now… Better to flee… Better that way by far than be trapped and slaughtered here by the ships.”

Context: Seeing the Greek lines breaking, a despairing Agamemnon once again suggests abandoning the war and sailing home, earning a sharp rebuke from Odysseus.

Then Hera, her eyes flashing bright, thought fast— how could she pale the wits of Zeus who bears the storm-shield… This was the plan that struck her plotting mind as best: deck herself in dazzling finery and go to Ida— perhaps the old desire would overwhelm the king… distract his mind with all the bliss of love.

Context: Seeing Zeus watching from Mount Ida and favoring the Trojans, Hera decides to use seduction to neutralize him and give the Greeks a chance. ✨

[Hera speaks deceitfully to Aphrodite] “Give me Love, give me Desire… the magic powers you use to overcome all gods and mortal men! I am off to the ends of the fruitful, teeming earth to visit Ocean, fountainhead of the gods, and Tethys, our mother… I’ll resolve their bitter marital feud.“

Context: Hera lies to Aphrodite, claiming she needs her powers of attraction for peacekeeping, to borrow her enchanted, irresistible breastband (cestus himas).

[Hera speaks to Sleep] “Sleep, you master of all gods and mortal men… come, now, lull Zeus for me, his shining eyes asleep! Soon as he lies in my embrace. And I will give you gifts…”

Context: Hera bribes Hypnos (Sleep) with the promise of marriage to one of the Graces if he will put Zeus into a deep slumber after she seduces him. 😴

“Come, let’s go to bed, let’s lose ourselves in love! Never has such desire, for goddess or mortal woman, swept over me, flooded my pounding heart…”

Context: Zeus, completely overwhelmed by Hera’s divinely enhanced beauty and the power of Aphrodite’s charm, passionately urges her to lie with him immediately on Mount Ida.

[Poseidon speaks] “Argives! Never give up your lust for war! … Follow me! All ranks close!” With that command the god of the earthquake led the way… a terrifying, long, sharp sword in his grip, like lightning flashing… No one dared face that blade.

Context: With Zeus asleep, Poseidon seizes the moment to openly lead the Achaeans, wielding his power and inspiring them to launch a fierce counter-attack. 🔱

Highlights

1. Greek Despair: The battle rages fiercely near the ships. Nestor leaves the wounded Machaon to investigate the worsening situation. He meets the other wounded leaders (Agamemnon, Diomedes, Odysseus), and Agamemnon again despairs, suggesting they prepare ships to flee. Odysseus and Diomedes strongly object.
2. Poseidon Continues: Poseidon, still disguised, encourages Agamemnon and the Greeks, strengthening them.
3. Hera’s Plan: Hera, watching from Olympus, sees Zeus on Mount Ida directing the battle in favor of the Trojans. She devises a plan to seduce Zeus and neutralize him, giving the Greeks (and Poseidon) a chance to turn the tide.
4. Borrowing Aphrodite’s Charm: Hera beautifies herself lavishly. She then deceives Aphrodite, asking to borrow her magical embroidered breastband, which holds the irresistible powers of Love and Desire, claiming she needs it to reconcile the elder gods Oceanus and Tethys. Aphrodite lends it to her.💖
5. Bribing Sleep: Hera finds Hypnos (Sleep) and bribes him with the promise of marriage to Pasithea, one of the younger Graces, if he agrees to put Zeus into a deep sleep after she has seduced him. Sleep reluctantly agrees after making her swear a solemn oath.
6. The Seduction of Zeus: Hera flies to Mount Ida. Zeus is instantly overcome with overwhelming desire upon seeing her (enhanced by Aphrodite’s charm). He insists they make love right there. Hera feigns modesty but agrees. After they embrace, Sleep casts his spell over Zeus, who falls into a deep slumber. 😴
7. Poseidon Unleashed: Sleep immediately reports his success to Poseidon, who now openly and powerfully leads the Achaean counter-attack, wielding his trident and roaring encouragement.
8. Hector Wounded: The Greeks surge forward with renewed fury. In the fierce fighting, Ajax the Greater strikes Hector in the chest with a massive rock. Hector collapses, spitting blood, and is carried out of the battle by his comrades, severely wounded. This major setback demoralizes the Trojans. 🤕

Book 14 concludes with Zeus incapacitated, and the Greeks, led by Poseidon, achieve a dramatic reversal of fortune, wounding the Trojans’ greatest champion.

 

Iliad Book 15 Quotes and Highlights, “The Achaean Armies Take to the Ships”

Here are key quotes and highlights from Book 15 of the Iliad, “The Achaean Armies Take to the Ships.”

Key Quotes

“You weavers of intrigue, you masters of deceit!” Zeus flared, his rage mounting. “So it was your treachery, Hera, yours, that stopped noble Hector… Have you forgotten how I strung you up on high?… I’ll give you another taste of the lightning crack… so you can learn… how little your loving touches, your lures of love will help you then…”

Context: Zeus awakens from his enchanted sleep, sees the Trojans routed and Hector wounded, and immediately realizes Hera has tricked him. He furiously threatens her.

“You must know this now… the plan of Zeus’s Moira [Fate]… Not till Achilles’ son rises up in battle will Hector quit the field… Patroclus first will kill my own dear son Sarpedon… Then Patroclus will be killed by Hector… Then Achilles will kill Hector. From that time on I’ll make the Trojans lose ground… until the Achaeans capture Troy…”

Context: After Hera submits, Zeus outlines the unchangeable course of fate, revealing key future events of the epic: Sarpedon’s death, Patroclus’s death, Hector’s death, and the eventual fall of Troy.

[Iris speaks Zeus’s command to Poseidon] “Give up the war and conflict… Go back now to the rank and file of gods… Or if you refuse… He warns he’ll come down here himself and fight you… He is far stronger than you…“

Context: Zeus sends his messenger Iris to Poseidon with a direct, forceful command to withdraw from the battle immediately or face Zeus himself.

“Outrageous!” the god of the earthquake roared in fury. “Strong as he is, what overweening arrogance! To force me, his equal in honor, against my will?… We are three brothers… We drew lots… I received the gray sea… Let him keep… the sky! But I, I won’t submit to the will of Zeus!” … “But yield I must? Under compulsion? Is that my command?… Now, I’ll give way—outraged, but I’ll give way.“

Context: Poseidon reacts furiously to Zeus’s command, asserting his own equal status. However, recognizing Zeus’s superior power, he ultimately, though grudgingly, obeys and withdraws from the battlefield.

[Apollo speaks to Hector] “Courage, Hector, son of Priam! Don’t back down!… I am Apollo… Zeus sends me down to save you!… Rouse your drivers now… whip your teams straight for the hollow ships! I’ll speed before you, clearing the whole way for the chariots…”

Context: Zeus sends Apollo to aid the Trojans. Apollo finds the wounded Hector, breathes divine strength into him, instantly healing him, and urges him to lead a massive counter-attack on the Greek ships.

So Hector swooped… like a mountain eagle diving, plunging into the flocks… So Hector charged, plunging into the thickest ranks… Withering fire… they fought their way to the ships.

Context: The narrator describes the terrifying speed and force of Hector’s renewed assault, inspired and aided by Apollo.

But Ajax stood his ground. Like a huge brooding landmark… He strode along the decks of the fast ships, wielding a long pike in his hands, a massive pole… twenty-two forearms long… shouting his shattering war cries…

Context: As the Trojans reach the ships, Ajax the Greater becomes the last line of defense, moving along the ship decks, fighting desperately with a long sea-pike to repel the attackers.

But Hector lunged, seized the stern of a ship… And Hector would not loose his grip… calling out, “Bring fire! Raise the battle cry—now! All together! Zeus has granted us a day that pays for all… to take the ships…”

Context: Hector finally breaks through the defense and physically grabs hold of the stern of one of the Greek ships, demanding his men bring fire to burn the fleet.

Highlights

1. Zeus Awakens: Zeus wakes up on Mount Ida, sees the battlefield situation (Trojans routed, Hector wounded, Poseidon helping the Greeks), and realizes Hera has deceived him. He is furious. 😡
2. Zeus Reasserts Authority: He summons Hera back to Olympus and angrily threatens her. He then lays out the course of Fate, predicting the deaths of Sarpedon, Patroclus, and Hector, and the eventual fall of Troy. He dispatches Iris to order Poseidon out of the battle and Apollo to heal and inspire Hector.
3. Poseidon Withdraws: Iris delivers Zeus’s ultimatum to Poseidon. Poseidon protests vehemently, claiming equal status, but ultimately yields to Zeus’s superior power and retreats into the sea. 🌊
4. Apollo Aids Hector: Apollo finds Hector recovering, breathes divine power into him, instantly healing him. He urges Hector to lead a massive assault on the Greek ships, promising to clear the way. ✨
5. Trojan Counter-Attack: Inspired by Apollo and led by the revitalized Hector, the Trojans charge with renewed fury. Apollo easily kicks down the banks of the Greek trench and smashes parts of their defensive wall, allowing the Trojans to surge through.
6. Battle Reaches the Ships: The fighting becomes desperate as the Trojans reach the first line of Greek ships drawn up on the beach. The Greeks fight fiercely to defend their last refuge. 🛡️🔥
7. Ajax’s Stand: Ajax the Greater performs incredible feats of valor, moving along the decks of the ships and using a long naval pike to hold off the Trojans almost single-handedly, becoming the Greeks’ last hope.
8. Hector Seizes a Ship: Despite Ajax’s heroic defense, Hector breaks through, grabs the stern of the Greek ship captained by Protesilaus, and roars for his men to bring fire to burn the fleet. 🔥

The book ends at a moment of extreme crisis for the Achaeans, with Hector poised to destroy their ships and end the war.

 

Iliad Book 16 Quotes and Highlights, “Patroclus Fights and Dies” 

Here are key quotes and highlights from Book 16 of the Iliad, “Patroclus Fights and Dies.” This is one of the most pivotal and tragic books in the epic.

Key Quotes

Patroclus stood beside him [Achilles], streaming tears, like a dark spring running down some desolate rock face… “Pity the Argives!… They are dying in the camp! But you, Achilles—what use is your valor?… Ruthless man! … At least send me out, let me lead your Myrmidons… And give me your own famous armor… The Trojans might just mistake me for you, Achilles…”

Context: Seeing the Greeks’ desperation as their ships burn, Patroclus weeps and begs Achilles to either fight or let him wear Achilles’ armor to save the Achaeans.

“But obey this word of command… Win great honor, great glory for me… But once you have driven the Trojans from the ships, you must come back. … Don’t lead them further… Don’t press on toward Troy… You must not rob me of my glory!“

Context: Achilles agrees to let Patroclus wear his armor but gives him a strict and fatal warning: drive the Trojans from the ships, but go no further. Do not attack the city walls.

“Ah me, that it is destined that the dearest of men, Sarpedon, must go down under the hands of Menoetios’ son Patroclus.” … Hera answered, her eyes wide, “Dread majesty… Do you wish to bring back a man who is mortal, one long since doomed by his destiny, from ill-sounding death and release him? Do it, then; but not all the rest of us gods shall approve you.“

Context: Zeus laments that his beloved son Sarpedon is fated to die at Patroclus’s hands. He considers saving him, but Hera sternly reminds him not to interfere with fate, lest other gods do the same for their mortal children.

“Die, Sarpedon, son of Zeus!” Patroclus shouted… Sarpedon hurled his spear but missed… Patroclus charged—his spear was not hurled in vain— it struck Sarpedon… right where the midriff packs the beating heart. He crashed as an oak… crashes down…

Context: Patroclus confronts and kills the mighty Lycian king Sarpedon, son of Zeus, a major victory but one that pushes him closer to his own doom.

But Patroclus, heedless, swept on, insane— Oh the utter folly! If only he had obeyed Achilles’ strict command… But the will of Zeus will always overpower the will of men.

Context: The narrator explicitly laments Patroclus’s fatal mistake of ignoring Achilles’ warning and pursuing the Trojans towards the city walls, driven by battle-fury (menos) and ultimately by fate.

Three times Patroclus charged the jutting rampart… Three times Apollo battered the man, his shimmering shield flung back… But when Patroclus charged the fourth time… the god shrieked down his terrifying commands: “Back, Patroclus, back! Born of the gods, noble seed! It is not your destiny to sack the Trojans’ city…”

Context: As Patroclus attempts to scale the walls of Troy, Apollo directly intervenes, physically striking him and warning him off.

First Apollo struck him… a stunning blow… smashed the helmet off his head… shattered the spear… stripped the breastplate… Apollo stunned his wits— Then Euphorbus hit him… a spear-thrust… And Hector, seeing… Patroclus, trying to pull back… charged him… stabbed him low in the flank…

Context: Patroclus’s death comes in three stages: Apollo disarms and stuns him, the Trojan Euphorbus wounds him from behind, and Hector delivers the final, fatal blow.

“Vaunt away, Hector! Yours is the victory now! Zeus and Apollo gave it to you… They stripped my gear… No, deadly destiny, with the son of Leto [Apollo], has killed me, and of men it was Euphorbus; you are only my third slayer. And put away in your heart this other thing that I tell you. You yourself are not one who shall live long, but now already death and powerful destiny are standing beside you, to go down under the hands of Aiakos’ great son, Achilleus.“

Context: In his dying breath, Patroclus defiantly tells Hector that gods and fate, not Hector’s own prowess, brought him down, and he prophesies Hector’s imminent death at the hands of Achilles. 💀

Highlights

1. Patroclus’s Plea: Seeing the Greeks overwhelmed and their ships burning, a tearful Patroclus begs Achilles to relent or at least allow him to wear Achilles’ armor and lead the Myrmidons into battle.
2. Achilles Agrees with a Warning: Achilles, moved by Patroclus’s tears and the dire situation, agrees. He allows Patroclus to wear his divine armor but gives a strict command: drive the Trojans from the ships, then return immediately. Do not pursue them to Troy. ⚠️
3. Patroclus Arms: Patroclus joyfully puts on Achilles’ famous armor (except for the heavy Pelian ash spear, which only Achilles can wield) and rallies the Myrmidons, who eagerly charge into battle.
4. Trojans Panic: Seeing the armor and the fresh Myrmidon troops, the Trojans panic, believing Achilles himself has returned to the fight. Their lines break, and they begin to retreat from the ships.
5. Patroclus’s Aristeia: Patroclus fights magnificently, routing the Trojans and killing many, including Sarpedon, the son of Zeus. Zeus grieves but allows fate to take its course, sending Apollo to ensure Sarpedon’s body is returned honorably to Lycia.
6. The Fatal Mistake: Flushed with victory and battle-fury, Patroclus forgets Achilles’ warning and pursues the fleeing Trojans all the way to the walls of Troy.
7. Apollo Intervenes: As Patroclus tries to storm the city walls, Apollo actively intervenes, striking him three times, warning him back, and finally knocking off his helmet and shattering his spear.
8. Hector Kills Patroclus: Dazed and disarmed by Apollo, Patroclus is wounded from behind by the Trojan Euphorbus. Hector then steps in and delivers the fatal spear thrust.
9. Patroclus’s Prophecy: Dying, Patroclus tells Hector he was merely the third to strike him (after Apollo and Euphorbus) and prophesies Hector’s own death at the hands of Achilles. His death marks the tragic climax of the book and the turning point of the entire epic. 💔

 

Iliad Book 17 Quotes and Highlights, “Menelaus’ Day of Glory”

Here are key quotes and highlights from Book 17 of the Iliad, “Menelaus’ Day of Glory,” which focuses on the brutal battle over Patroclus’s body.

Key Quotes

“Menelaus strode on through the front ranks, geared in flashing bronze, bestriding the corpse the way a mother cow lowing stands above her first-born calf she’s brought into the world— So yellow-haired Menelaus stood bestriding Patroclus…”

Context: Immediately after Patroclus’s death, Menelaus is the first to stand over and defend his body, showing fierce protective courage.

“Back, Euphorbus! … Yield the corpse! I was the first Danaan to strike Patroclus down… Let me seize my glory among the Trojans now!” But Menelaus, his voice grim, warned him darkly: “Zeus, Father Zeus! What vicious pride!“

Context: The Trojan Euphorbus, who first wounded Patroclus, tries to claim the body and armor. Menelaus confronts him, leading to a fight where Menelaus kills Euphorbus.

“Hector! Now you’ve stripped the armor off Patroclus… But glory’s not for you, not for long, I swear!” … Hector ignored him, quickly stripping from Patroclus’ shoulders Achilles’ magnificent arms… Now Hector pulled them on, strapping the gear to his own back.

Context: Menelaus tries to stop Hector from taking Achilles’ armor from Patroclus’s body. Hector ignores him, strips the divine armor, and puts it on himself—a fateful act of hubris.

And Zeus… seeing him [Hector] glorious in the gear of Peleus’ godlike son, shook his head and muttered low to his own heart: “Poor doomed fool. Never a thought of death. Death is close beside you… But for now I grant you great power… a victory pay-off… no return from battle.”

Context: Zeus pities Hector as he puts on Achilles’ armor, knowing it seals his doom. However, Zeus temporarily fills Hector with immense fighting power as a final compensation.

“Ajax, my friend, what fighting man’s our peer? If only we could fight our way back now… rescue the corpse for Peleus’ son Achilles. That would be some relief… in all this horror.“

Context: Menelaus calls to Ajax the Greater for help, highlighting the desperate struggle to recover Patroclus’s body for Achilles.

“Fly now, Menelaus, bred of the gods, find Antilochus… Tell him… Patroclus is dead. Tell him to run, quickly, tell Achilles…”

Context: Surrounded and desperate, Menelaus realizes they need Achilles’ intervention. He instructs Antilochus, Nestor’s swift son, to deliver the devastating news to Achilles.

Highlights

1. Menelaus Defends Patroclus: Immediately after Hector kills Patroclus, Menelaus stands over the body, fiercely defending it like a mother cow protecting her calf. He kills Euphorbus, the Trojan who first wounded Patroclus. 🐄🛡️
2. Hector Takes Achilles’ Armor: Hector arrives, forces Menelaus back, and strips the divine armor of Achilles from Patroclus’s corpse. Hector then puts the armor on himself. Zeus watches, pities Hector’s impending doom, but fills him with temporary fighting power. ✨
3. Intensified Battle: A brutal and chaotic battle rages around Patroclus’s undefended body. Hector, empowered by Zeus and wearing Achilles’ armor, leads the Trojan charge, aiming to seize the corpse and mutilate it.
4. Ajax Joins the Fight: Menelaus calls for Ajax the Greater, who arrives and becomes the main anchor of the Greek defense around the body. The fighting surges back and forth, with immense slaughter on both sides. 💪
5. Divine Involvement: Apollo urges Hector on, while Athena, disguised as Phoenix, encourages Menelaus. The gods continue to influence the mortal struggle.
6. Fight for the Horses: The Trojans also try to capture Achilles’ immortal horses, which weep for Patroclus. Automedon, the chariot driver, struggles to control them until Ajax provides cover. 🐎😭
7. Retrieving the Body: Realizing they cannot hold out indefinitely, Menelaus and Ajax devise a plan. Menelaus sends Antilochus to run and tell Achilles the news of Patroclus’s death. Meanwhile, Menelaus and Meriones lift Patroclus’s body while the two Ajaxes fight a desperate rearguard action to protect them as they carry the corpse back towards the Greek ships.

The book ends with the Greeks, though barely, successfully retrieving Patroclus’s body under extreme pressure from Hector and the Trojans, while Antilochus races to deliver the tragic news to Achilles.

 

Iliad Book 18 Quotes and Highlights,  “The Shield of Achilles”

Here are key quotes and highlights from Book 18 of the Iliad, “The Shield of Achilles.”

Key Quotes

“Antilochus reached Achilles, choked with tears, and gave the fighter the terrible news at last: ‘Son of royal Peleus, what unbearable news you must hear now! Oh if only it were not true! Patroclus has fallen. They’re fighting over his corpse.** He’s stripped, naked—Hector with that flashing helmet, Hector has your armor!‘”

Context: Antilochus delivers the devastating news of Patroclus’s death and Hector’s capture of Achilles’ armor.

A black cloud of grief engulfed Achilles. Both hands clawing the ground for soot and filth, he poured it over his head, fouled his handsome face… And stretched out in the dust… Achilles lay there, fallen… tearing his hair…

Context: The narrator vividly describes Achilles’ immediate, overwhelming physical reaction to the news—a profound display of grief and despair. 😭

“Soon, soon / Achilles’ mother heard him… She cried out, piercingly, and all her sisters surged around her, all the Nereids…” And Thetis cried, “Oh my son, my sorrow, why are you weeping? What grief has come to you?”

Context: Thetis, Achilles’ goddess mother, hears his anguished cries from the depths of the sea and comes to him with her Nereid sisters to mourn.

“Yes! Let me die at once” Achilles burst out, “since it was not my fate to save my dearest friend… Now, since I shall not return to my fatherland… Now let me seize great glory! … First I will kill the fighter who destroyed my friend—Hector! Then I will meet my death…”

Context: Achilles expresses his guilt and confirms his choice of fate. He accepts his own imminent death as the price for avenging Patroclus by killing Hector.

“Then I am doomed to have you die an early death, my child,” Thetis wailed, tears starting, “as you say— your doom comes close on the heels of Hector’s own.“

Context: Thetis acknowledges and mourns her son’s fated short life, directly linked to Hector’s death.

But blazing Achilles, dear to Zeus, sprang up, and over his powerful shoulder Pallas slung the shield, the tasseled storm-shield… crowned his head with a golden cloud and ignited it with dazzling, burning fire… Nine times Great Achilles gave his shattering cry— and nine times the Trojans stumbled back in panic…

Context: Unarmed, Achilles goes to the ditch surrounding the Greek camp. Athena helps him unleash a terrifying, divinely amplified war cry, which throws the Trojans into chaos and allows the Greeks to finally secure Patroclus’s body. 🗣️🔥

“My friends! What folly is this?” Polydamas spoke out… “Pull back to the city! … Now—Achilles! I dread that man’s overwhelming spirit.“

Context: After Achilles’ terrifying appearance, the cautious Trojan advisor Polydamas wisely urges the Trojans to retreat inside the city walls before Achilles returns fully armed.

Hector glared at him… “No backsliding now! … Tomorrow at dawn, we arm… and rouse the dogs of war along those hollow ships! I, for one, I’ll never run from Achilles.“

Context: Hector, driven by pride and recent success, foolishly rejects Polydamas’s sound advice, vowing to face Achilles in the open field.

“Oh Hephaestus, come! Thetis needs your help!” The God of the Lame Arm answered her at once, “Always my honored, awesome goddess comes to grace my house! She saved my life… Yes, I owe her my life. Now, by heaven, it’s time I paid my debt…”

Context: Thetis arrives at the forge of Hephaestus, the smith god. He warmly welcomes her, recalling how she saved him when he was thrown from Olympus, and eagerly agrees to forge new armor for Achilles.

Highlights

1. News Reaches Achilles: Antilochus arrives and tells Achilles that Patroclus is dead and Hector has stripped his armor.
2. Achilles’ Overwhelming Grief: Achilles collapses in agony, pouring dust and ashes over himself, tearing his hair, and letting out a terrible cry of sorrow and despair. 😭
3. Thetis Consoles Her Son: His mother, the sea-goddess Thetis, hears his cry and comes from the sea with her Nereids (sea nymphs). She mourns with him, lamenting his fated short life, now sealed by his desire for revenge.
4. Vow of Vengeance: Achilles declares his intention to abandon his quarrel with Agamemnon and rejoin the war immediately to kill Hector, fully accepting that his own death will soon follow Hector’s.
5. New Armor Promised: Since Hector has Achilles’ original armor, Thetis promises to go to the smith god Hephaestus and have him forge a new, magnificent set of divine armor for Achilles. ✨
6. Achilles’ Terrifying Appearance: While unarmed, Achilles goes to the trench surrounding the Greek camp. Athena wreaths his head in divine flame and amplifies his voice. He lets out three tremendous war cries. The sound alone terrifies the Trojans, causing chaos in their ranks and forcing them back, allowing the Greeks to finally recover Patroclus’s body.🗣️🔥
7. Trojan Council – Hector’s Folly: The wise Polydamas urges the Trojans to retreat behind the city walls now that Achilles is back. Hector pridefully rejects this counsel, insisting they face Achilles on the open plain.
8. Thetis Visits Hephaestus: Thetis arrives at Hephaestus’s forge. Hephaestus gratefully recalls how Thetis saved him in the past and readily agrees to craft the finest armor ever made for her son.
9. The Forging of the Armor: Hephaestus and his robotic helpers set to work, crafting greaves, a breastplate, and a magnificent helmet. 🔥⚒️
10. The Shield of Achilles: The centerpiece is the Shield of Achilles. Homer provides a long, detailed description (ekphrasis) of the images Hephaestus crafts onto the shield: the earth, sea, sky, sun, moon, constellations; two cities (one at peace with weddings and justice, one at war with siege and ambush); scenes of plowing, harvesting, vineyards, feasting, dancing; and the great Stream of Ocean encircling it all. It represents a microcosm of the entire world, both peace and war, order and chaos. 🌎🛡️

The book ends with the completed armor ready for Thetis to deliver to Achilles, setting the stage for his devastating return to battle.

 

Iliad Book 19 Quotes and Highlights, “The Champion Arms for Battle” 

Here are key quotes and highlights from Book 19 of the Iliad, “The Champion Arms for Battle.”

Key Quotes

“My son, we must let this man [Patroclus] lie here, for all our grief. He’s dead once and for all. It’s the gods’ will. Now you must accept this splendid armour from Hephaestus— no man has ever had such gorgeous armour to wear around his shoulders.”

Context: Thetis delivers the newly forged divine armor to Achilles, urging him to accept Patroclus’s death and prepare for battle. ✨🛡️

“Son of Atreus, has it been good for us, for you and me, to continue squabbling in a heart-rending quarrel full of grief…? I wish she’d [Briseis] been killed by Artemis’ arrow right beside my ships, the day I got her… But now, I am ending my anger. We must let it go.”

Context: Achilles formally addresses the Achaean assembly, renouncing his rage against Agamemnon and blaming their feud for the Greek losses. He expresses a chilling indifference to Briseis compared to his grief for Patroclus.

“It was not I who was to blame,” Agamemnon countered, “but Zeus and Fate and the Fury who walks in darkness! They are the ones who drove that savage madness in my heart, that day in assembly when I seized Achilles’ prize. What could I do? A god is always the stronger.”

Context: In response to Achilles, Agamemnon offers his famous “non-apology.” He publicly shifts the blame for his actions onto divine forces (Zeus, Fate, and Ruin/Madness – Atë), rather than taking personal responsibility.

“You talk of food? I have no taste for food— what I really crave is slaughter and blood and the choking groans of men!“

Context: Odysseus wisely insists the army must eat before fighting, but Achilles, consumed by grief and impatient for vengeance, refuses, declaring his hunger is only for battle.

Then Briseis, looking for all the world like golden Aphrodite, saw Patroclus, mutilated by the cutting bronze, and flung herself on his body, gave a piercing cry and tore her breasts, her tender neck and lovely face… “You were always gentle.“

Context: Briseis, returned to Achilles’ tent, sees Patroclus’s body and mourns him deeply, recalling his kindness to her when she was first captured. Her lament adds another layer of pathos to the tragedy.

“Roan Beauty, Balios! Famous Driving Team! Children of the Wind-swift Mare! Promise me now, do better this time—bring your charioteer back alive when the fighting’s done… Don’t leave him dead on the field like Patroclus.“

Context: As Achilles mounts his chariot, he speaks to his immortal horses, urging them not to let him fall as they did Patroclus.

And Roan Beauty the horse with flashing feet spoke out now from under the yoke… Athena the white-armed goddess gave the horse a voice: “Yes! we will save you, mighty Achilles—at least for now! But the day of your death is near… Not through our speed or lack of care… It is decreed that you, Achilles, will be brought down by a god and by a man.“

Context: Granted speech by Hera (or Athena in some translations), Achilles’ immortal horse prophesies his master’s impending doom, reminding him that his fate is sealed regardless of their efforts. 🐎🗣️

Highlights

1. Divine Armor Delivered: Thetis brings the magnificent armor forged by Hephaestus to Achilles. She promises to preserve Patroclus’s body from decay while Achilles fights magically.
2. Achilles Renounces His Rage: Achilles calls a formal assembly of the Achaeans. He publicly renounces his anger against Agamemnon, blaming their destructive feud for the Greek losses, and declares himself ready to fight.
3. Agamemnon’s “Apology”: Agamemnon addresses the assembly, delivering his famous non-apology, in which he blames Zeus, Fate, and Madness (Atë) for his actions in taking Briseis, rather than accepting personal responsibility.
4. Gifts Presented: Agamemnon has all the promised gifts brought out and formally presented to Achilles, including the return of Briseis. Agamemnon swears a solemn oath that he never slept with her.
5. Call to Battle vs. Need for Food: Achilles, burning with grief and rage, wants to attack immediately. The pragmatic Odysseus insists that the army must eat and rest first to have the strength for battle. Achilles refuses to eat or drink until he has avenged Patroclus. 🍽️⚔️
6. Mourning Patroclus: While the army eats, Achilles mourns Patroclus. Briseis also laments over Patroclus’s body, recalling his kindness. Zeus sends Athena to secretly instill Achilles with divine nectar and ambrosia so hunger won’t weaken him.
7. Achilles Arms: Achilles puts on his new, gleaming divine armor. The description highlights its terrifying brilliance. He takes his father’s great Pelian ash spear, which only he can wield. 🔥🛡️
8. The Horses Prophesy: As Achilles mounts his chariot, he rebukes his immortal horses, Xanthus (Roan Beauty) and Balius, for leaving Patroclus on the field. Granted voice by a goddess, Xanthus replies that it was a god (Apollo) who killed Patroclus, and that Achilles’ own death, at the hands of a god and a man, is fast approaching. Achilles acknowledges his fate but drives furiously into battle. 🐎➡️💀

 

Iliad Book 20 Quotes and Highlights, “Olympian Gods in Arms”

Here are key quotes and highlights from Book 20 of the Iliad, “Olympian Gods in Arms.”

Key Quotes

“Now Zeus commanded Themis to call the gods to council… ‘Listen to me, all you gods and goddesses!’ Zeus began. ‘Go down now… range the ranks, Trojans, Achaeans, and help whichever side you please. If Achilles fights the Trojans—unopposed—not a moment longer will they hold his breakneck force!'”

Context: Zeus, fearing Achilles might sack Troy before its fated time, lifts his ban and gives the gods permission to openly join the battle on either side they choose. ⚡️

“Aeneas! What drives you, charging Achilles… His descent is nobler, his power is greater. Pull back now!” But Aeneas retorted, “Don’t try to frighten me… I know my own fine lineage too!“

Context: Apollo, disguised as Priam’s son Lycaon, urges Aeneas to challenge Achilles, reminding him of his own divine heritage (son of Aphrodite).

“Aeneas—why do you stand so far from the shock of battle?” Achilles shouted… “Come, try me!” Aeneas answered Achilles… “Don’t think for a moment your arrows of words can panic me… Come— no more childish nonsense. Let our spears decide!”

Context: Achilles taunts Aeneas, challenging him to direct combat. Aeneas responds defiantly, citing his own noble birth.

“Come, let us ourselves get him [Aeneas] away from death,” Poseidon urged… “It is destined that he shall be the survivor, that the generation of Dardanus shall not die out… Aeneas and his children’s children shall rule the Trojans in the years to come.“

Context: As Achilles is about to kill Aeneas, Poseidon convinces the other gods to save him. Despite favoring the Greeks, Poseidon intervenes because Aeneas is fated to survive and lead the Trojan descendants. He then whisks Aeneas away in a mist. 🌫️

“Stand up to him? No, my friend, not I!” Hector cried out… “I know Achilles’ power… But all this lies on the gods’ great knees. And I will hurl my spear as well— my weapon can cut deep too, I tell you!“

Context: Apollo warns Hector not to challenge Achilles directly in the open but to wait for him within the ranks. Hector initially expresses fear but then resolves to fight if necessary.

“Don’t you dare stand up to me, you fool!” Achilles roared… “Back to your own lines—now! Before you taste some real pain! Once the blow lands, even a fool knows better!“

Context: Achilles delivers a furious threat, attempting to intimidate Hector after killing his younger brother, Polydorus.

Highlights

1. Zeus Permits Divine Intervention: Zeus, concerned that Achilles’ unstoppable rage might lead him to sack Troy before its fated time, summons the gods. He lifts his previous ban and explicitly permits them to join the battle openly, aiding whichever side they favor. 🏛️➡️⚔️
2. Gods Take Sides: The gods descend to the battlefield. Hera, Athena, Poseidon, Hermes, and Hephaestus join the Achaeans. Ares, Apollo, Artemis, Leto, Scamander (Xanthus), and Aphrodite join the Trojans. Their arrival causes the earth to tremble.
3. Achilles Begins His Rampage: Achilles charges into battle, seeking Hector. His fury is terrifying, and he cuts down the Trojans mercilessly.
4. Achilles vs. Aeneas: Spurred on by Apollo, the Trojan hero Aeneas (son of Aphrodite) confronts Achilles. They exchange taunts and boasts about their divine lineage before engaging in combat.
5. Poseidon Saves Aeneas: Achilles proves to be the superior fighter and is about to kill Aeneas. However, Poseidon, despite generally favoring the Greeks, intervenes. Knowing Aeneas is fated to survive Troy’s fall and found a new dynasty (the future Romans), Poseidon rescues him by shrouding the battlefield in mist and whisking Aeneas away. 🌊🛡️
6. Achilles’ Slaughter Continues: Thwarted, Achilles continues his devastating rampage, killing numerous Trojans, including Priam’s young son Polydorus.
7. Hector Confronts Achilles (Briefly): Seeing his brother killed, Hector moves to challenge Achilles, despite Apollo’s earlier warning not to fight him head-on. They exchange spear throws, but Apollo intervenes again, snatching Hector away in a mist before Achilles can harm him.

The book ends with Achilles continuing his furious, frustrated pursuit, slaughtering any Trojan in his path. At the same time, his main targets, Aeneas and Hector, have been saved (for now) by divine intervention.

 

Iliad Book 21 Quotes and Highlights, “Achilles Fights the River” 

Here are key quotes and highlights from Book 21 of the Iliad, “Achilles Fights the River.”

Key Quotes

“No,Die, you Trojans, die!… till I storm the walls of Troy! You fleeing headlong—I behind you, slashing, killing! Nor will this rolling silver river save your lives…”

Context: Achilles, in the grip of his berserk rage, shouts this as he drives terrified Trojans into the Scamander River, showing his merciless intent.

“Fool, don’t talk to me of ransom! No more speeches! Before Patroclus met his day of destiny, true enough, I preferred to spare the Trojans… But now not a single one will escape his death… least of all the sons of Priam! … Come, friend, you too must die. Why moan about it so? Even Patroclus died, a far, far better man than you.“

Context: Achilles coldly rejects the desperate pleas of Lycaon (a son of Priam whom Achilles had captured and ransomed earlier in the war). He states that Patroclus’s death has ended all possibility of mercy and then kills him.

“Stop, Achilles! Greater than any man on earth, greater in outrage too! … My lovely channels are crammed with corpses now, no path for me to roll my waters… You’re choking me! … Leave my currents alone!“

Context: The river god Scamander (Xanthus) rises up and speaks directly to Achilles, pleading with him to stop clogging his waters with the bodies of the slain.

Achilles… leaped in mid-channel—the river charged him, swirling, turbulent, raging, rearing up in a mammoth wave, hurling his Argive dead against the banks… But safe in his depths he kept the living wrapped… Crashing down upon Achilles… the breakers battered his shield…

Context: Achilles defies the river god, leaping back into the water. Scamander responds with his full divine power, attacking Achilles with a massive flood. 🌊

“Father Zeus! To be saved by not one god as I go down in this river!“

Context: Achilles, overwhelmed by the river’s power and close to drowning, cries out in despair, fearing an inglorious death.

“Quickly, Hephaestus, rise! … Rouse your fires! Let loose your flames! … Burn the Trojan dead… Torch the river banks… Attack the river himself!“

Context: Hera commands her son Hephaestus, the god of fire, to intervene and save Achilles by attacking Scamander with fire. 🔥

Then the famous god of the two strong arms unleashed his fire… First fire burst blazing… burning hordes of corpses… The whole plain dried up, the glistening water stopped… Then he turned his blazing fire against the river. Elms burned… willows… tamarisks… The eels and fish… writhed in the boiling flood… The river’s strength was burning out. He cried out… “Hephaestus! No god can stand against you!“

Context: The narrator describes Hephaestus’s devastating fiery assault on Scamander, boiling his waters and scorching the landscape until the river god begs for mercy.

But Hera… snapped at her hunting sister: “Daring, shameless bitch! How could you…? A bow and arrow? Zeus made you a lion to women… Go kill deer on the mountains… Fighting your betters?” With her left hand Hera grabbed both wrists of Artemis, with her right she ripped the bow and quiver… whipped her ears… Artemis fled like a dove in tears…

Context: After the main river battle, the gods begin fighting amongst themselves. This quote shows Hera physically dominating and humiliating Artemis.

Highlights

1. Achilles’ River Slaughter: Achilles continues his furious rampage, driving half the fleeing Trojan army into the Scamander (Xanthus) River. He leaps in after them and begins a horrific slaughter, choking the river with blood and corpses. 🩸 He takes twelve young Trojans alive to be sacrificed later at Patroclus’s funeral pyre.
2. Killing Lycaon: Achilles captures Lycaon, a son of Priam whom he had previously captured and ransomed. Lycaon desperately begs for his life, but Achilles, hardened by grief for Patroclus, coldly refuses any mercy and kills him, throwing his body into the river.
3. Scamander Attacks Achilles: The river god Scamander, enraged that his waters are being defiled, rises up and attacks Achilles with a massive, churning flood, trying to drown him. Achilles is swept away and nearly overcome. 🌊
4. Hephaestus Saves Achilles: Achilles prays for help. Hera sends Hephaestus, the god of fire, to fight the river. Hephaestus unleashes a conflagration, boiling Scamander’s waters and burning the riverbanks until the river god yields and promises not to aid Troy further. 🔥💧
5. The Gods Fight: With Scamander defeated, the gods who had come down to the battlefield begin fighting amongst themselves along partisan lines. Athena easily defeats Ares and Aphrodite. Poseidon challenges Apollo, but Apollo refuses to fight over mortals. Hera physically attacks and humiliates Artemis.
6. Achilles Nears Troy: While the gods fight, Achilles continues his pursuit of the Trojans towards the city. King Priam orders the city gates to be opened, allowing the fleeing army to enter.
7. Apollo Saves Agenor/Deceives Achilles: Achilles almost takes the city, but Apollo inspires the Trojan hero Agenor to stand and face him briefly. Apollo then rescues Agenor and takes on his appearance, luring Achilles away from the city gates in a futile chase across the plain. This diversion allows the rest of the Trojan army to escape safely inside the walls. 🏃💨

The book ends with the entire Trojan army, except for one man, safely inside Troy, while Achilles realizes Apollo has tricked him.

 

Iliad Book 22 Quotes and Highlights, “The Death of Hector”

Here are key quotes and highlights from Book 22 of the Iliad, “The Death of Hector.”

Key Quotes

“Hector, my child! Look—have some respect for this! Pity your mother too, if I ever gave you the breast… Beat back that savage man from safe inside the walls! Don’t go forth, a champion pitted against him—“

Context: Hecuba, Hector’s mother, bares her breast and pleads with him from the walls of Troy not to face Achilles alone outside the city.

“I would die of shame to face the men of Troy and the Trojan women trailing their long robes… Someone less of a man than I will say, ‘Our Hector— staking all on his own strength, he destroyed his army!’ … So now, better by far for me to stand up to Achilles, kill him, come home alive or die at his hands in glory out before the walls.“

Context: Hector, standing alone outside the gates as Achilles approaches, debates his options. He rejects retreating, knowing he ignored Polydamas’s advice, and feels bound by honor and shame to face Achilles, win or lose.

Hector looked up, saw him, started to tremble, nerve gone, he could hold his ground no longer, he left the gates behind and away he fled in fear— and Achilles went for him, fast, sure of his speed… as the wild mountain hawk… swooping down on a cringing dove…

Context: Despite his resolve, the terrifying sight of the charging Achilles overwhelms Hector, and he instinctively turns and runs. The simile compares Achilles to a predator and Hector to prey.

“Father Zeus… how can you bear it? A man I love, born for sorrow, circles his own city— I grieve for Hector… Come, you immortals! Decide! Shall we save him from death…?”

Context: Zeus, watching the chase from Olympus, pities Hector and considers saving him, asking the other gods for counsel.

“No more running from you, Achilles!” Hector shouted back. “Not as before. Three times I fled around Priam’s walls, never waiting for your charge. But now my spirit stirs me to meet you face-to-face. Now kill or be killed!“

Context: After being deceived by Athena (disguised as his brother), Hector finds new courage and stops running, ready to fight Achilles.

“No pacts between lions and men. No peace between wolves and lambs… So there can be no love between you and me… First one of us must fall and glut with blood Ares…”

Context: Achilles brutally rejects Hector’s plea for an oath that the victor will return the loser’s body for burial, emphasizing his absolute hatred and desire for vengeance.

“So Achilles poised and hurled his spear far-shadowing— but glorious Hector, keeping a sharp eye out, crouched down and the bronze spear flew harmless over his head… Pallas Athena snatched it up and passed it back to Achilles.“

Context: Hector skillfully dodges Achilles’ first spear throw, but Athena secretly retrieves the spear for Achilles, giving him an unfair advantage.

“You’ve missed!” Hector exulted. “…Well you know how to talk! … Now you try my spear!” … He hurled his spear… It struck Achilles’ shield—a dead center hit— but the spear glanced off.

Context: Hector hits Achilles’ divine shield squarely, but the god-made armor is impenetrable.

“No use. Here’s a god who calls me down to death. I thought he was at my side, the hero Deiphobus… But he’s behind the walls, Athena’s tricked me. Death is close, and there’s no way out… But let me at least go down fighting, after some great deed that men to come will hear of down the years!“

Context: Hector, realizing Athena (disguised as Deiphobus) has abandoned him and that he is doomed, resolves to die bravely and gloriously.

Achilles charged… aiming… right at the gullet where the collarbones split the neck… That spot alone lay bare… And the bronze point… punched clean through… But the spear’s bronze point didn’t cut the windpipe, so Hector could still gasp out a few last words…

Context: Achilles knows the weak spot in his old armor (which Hector is wearing) and delivers the fatal blow through Hector’s throat.

“I beg you, beg you by your life, your parents— don’t let the dogs devour me by the Argive ships! Wait, take the princely ransom of bronze and gold… Give my body back… so the Trojans… can give me rites of fire.” But Achilles glared at him and snarled, “Beg no more, you fawning dog… Would to god my rage, my fury would drive me now to hack your flesh away and eat you raw… Dogs and birds will rend you…”

Context: Hector’s final plea is for his body to be returned for burial. Achilles, consumed by rage, utterly refuses, promising horrific desecration. 💀

Highlights

1. Hector Waits Alone: While the rest of the Trojan army retreats inside the city, Hector, bound by shame and honor (having rejected Polydamas’s advice to retreat earlier), waits alone outside the Scaean Gates to face Achilles.
2. Parental Pleas: From the walls, King Priam and Queen Hecuba desperately plead with Hector to come inside and save himself, but he refuses. 🙏
3. The Chase: As Achilles, blazing in his divine armor, charges towards him, Hector’s nerve breaks, and he flees. Achilles pursues him, and they run three times around the walls of Troy. 🏃‍♂️💨
4. Zeus Weighs the Fates: On Olympus, Zeus pities Hector and considers saving him, but Athena insists that Hector’s fate is sealed. Zeus takes out his golden scales, and Hector’s fate sinks down, confirming his doom. ⚖️
5. Athena’s Deception: Athena descends to the battlefield. She appears to Hector disguised as his brother, Deiphobus, promising to stand and fight with him. This trick gives Hector the courage to stop fleeing and face Achilles. 😈
6. The Duel: Hector proposes a pact that the victor return the loser’s body, but Achilles furiously rejects any terms. Achilles throws his spear and misses, but Athena secretly returns it to him. Hector throws his spear, hits Achilles’ shield, but it glances off the divine armor.
7. Hector’s Realization and Death: Hector calls for “Deiphobus” to give him another spear, realizes he has been tricked by the gods, and knows he is doomed. He draws his sword and charges Achilles bravely. Achilles, knowing the weak spot in his old armor (now worn by Hector), stabs him through the neck. 💔
8. Achilles’ Brutality: As Hector lies dying, he pleads for his body to be returned for burial. Achilles coldly refuses, promising to let dogs and birds devour him. After Hector dies, the other Greeks gather and stab his corpse.
9. Desecration: Achilles pierces Hector’s ankles, ties them with straps to his chariot, and drags the body in the dust around the city walls as Hector’s family and the Trojans watch in horror from the ramparts. Andromache faints upon witnessing the horrific sight. 😭

Book 22 marks the climax of the Iliad‘s main action, fulfilling Achilles’ vengeance but also showcasing his descent into brutal, excessive rage.

 

Iliad Book 23 Quotes and Highlights, “The Funeral Games for Patroclus”

Here are key quotes and highlights from Book 23 of the Iliad, “The Funeral Games for Patroclus.”

Key Quotes

“Greetings, Patroclus! I greet you even in the House of Death! Look, I am keeping all my promises… Hector—I dragged him here for the dogs to rip raw… And twelve high-born sons of Troy I decapitated all before your pyre…”

Context: As the funeral preparations begin, Achilles addresses the spirit of Patroclus, reaffirming his brutal vengeance, which includes human sacrifices.

Then the ghost of unhappy Patroclus rose before him… likeness in every way… the build, the eyes, the voice… “You sleep, Achilles, you have forgotten me?… Bury me quickly—let me pass the Gates of Hades. … And give me your hand, I beg you… Never again will I return from Hades…”

Context: The ghost of Patroclus appears to Achilles in a dream, urging him to complete the funeral rites so his spirit can rest and lamenting their eternal separation. 👻💔

“No, Nohbdy, Nohbdy’s tricked me! Nohbdy’s ruined me!“

Context: This quote is famously from the Odyssey, Book 9, when the Cyclops Polyphemus shouts after being blinded by Odysseus, who gave his name as “Nohbdy” (Nobody). This quote does not appear in the Iliad, Book 23. Book 23 focuses entirely on Patroclus’s funeral.

“[Achilles speaks during the chariot race dispute] “No, my friends! It’s wrong. Let’s trade the prizes… Eumelus finished last, but the man is first-rate. So let him take the second prize. First prize goes to Diomedes.” …But Antilochus… flared up at Achilles: “Achilles, I’ll be furious if you carry out that plan! You’re about to rob me of my prize…”

Context: During the prize ceremony for the chariot race, Achilles initially suggests giving the second-place prize to Eumelus (who crashed but is an excellent driver), bumping the actual second-place finisher, Antilochus, down. Antilochus objects strongly, asserting his rightful claim based on the race results, showcasing the competitive spirit of the games.

“Come, try me, any Achaean who fancies his chances! Let him step up and fight me hand-to-hand!” …So Epeus vaunted… the only one who rose to take him on was Euryalus… …Epeus squared off, lunged and clipped him on the jaw— Euryalus couldn’t stand… down he went…

Context: This describes the boxing match. The boastful Epeus challenges anyone and quickly knocks out his opponent, Euryalus. 🥊

“Two bulls we were, matched like antagonists…”

Context: This quote doesn’t appear exactly as it is presented here in standard translations of Book 23. It might be a paraphrase or from a different source. The wrestling match between Ajax the Greater and Odysseus is described as an epic, evenly matched struggle.

“Enough!” Achilles stopped the match at once. “No more struggling—don’t exhaust yourselves for nothing. Victory goes to both. Share the prizes. Now leave the ring…”

Context: Achilles calls the grueling wrestling match between Ajax and Odysseus a draw after neither can gain a clear advantage, awarding prizes to both. 🤼‍♂️

Highlights

1. Continued Mourning: The Greeks, led by Achilles, continue to mourn their fallen comrade, Patroclus. Achilles refuses to wash the blood from his body until Patroclus is buried. He leads the Myrmidons in a ritual lament around the corpse.
2. Patroclus’s Ghost Appears: Achilles falls asleep and is visited by the ghost of Patroclus. The ghost urges Achilles to bury him quickly so he can enter the House of Hades and asks that their bones be buried together in the same urn, emphasizing their deep bond. 👻
3. Building the Pyre: Achilles orders his men to gather vast amounts of timber to build a huge funeral pyre for Patroclus.
4. The Funeral Procession: Patroclus’s body is carried to the pyre. Achilles cuts off a lock of his own hair, a promised offering to his home river, and places it in Patroclus’s hand.
5. Sacrifices: Numerous sheep and cattle are sacrificed. Achilles adds jars of honey and oil. Most shockingly, he slaughters twelve captive Trojan youths and places their bodies on the pyre as a brutal offering to Patroclus. He also sacrifices two of Patroclus’s own dogs. 🔥🐶👱‍♂️
6. Lighting the Pyre: The pyre initially fails to light properly. Achilles prays to the winds (Boreas and Zephyrus), who come and fan the flames into a massive blaze that burns all night.
7. Collecting the Bones: The next day, the fire is extinguished with wine, and Patroclus’s bones are carefully collected and placed in a golden urn, awaiting Achilles’ own ashes.
8. The Funeral Games Begin: Achilles lays out magnificent prizes from his own treasures and announces the start of athletic contests in Patroclus’s honor. 🏆
9. Chariot Race: The most prestigious event. Diomedes wins first prize, aided by Athena. Antilochus (Nestor’s son) finishes second using clever (and slightly unfair) tactics. Menelaus finishes third and initially disputes Antilochus’s prize but is satisfied when Antilochus apologizes gracefully. Achilles awards a special prize to Eumelus, who crashed. 🐎🏁
10. Boxing: The boastful Epeus quickly knocks out Euryalus. 🥊
11. Wrestling: Odysseus and Ajax the Greater grapple intensely, but neither can secure a fall. Achilles declares it a draw. 🤼‍♂️
12. Foot Race: Odysseus wins, aided by Athena, who trips Ajax the Lesser. Antilochus finishes third. 🏃‍♂️💨
13. Armed Combat: Diomedes and Ajax the Greater fight in full armor with spears. They fight fiercely until the worried Achaeans ask Achilles to stop the duel and declare it a draw, awarding shared prizes. ⚔️
14. Discus Throw: Polypoetes wins the iron discus weight.
15. Archery: Meriones wins by skillfully shooting a dove tethered to a mast, after Teucer hits the string but misses the bird (having failed to pray to Apollo). 🏹🕊️
16. Spear Throw: Agamemnon intends to compete against Meriones. However, Achilles immediately declares Agamemnon the undisputed winner due to his supreme rank, awarding him the top prize without a contest, showing respect for the commander.

The book concludes with the games finished, honoring Patroclus and temporarily channeling the Achaeans’ grief and aggression into ritualized competition.

 

Iliad Book 24 Quotes and Highlights, “Achilles and Priam” 

Here are key quotes and highlights from Book 24 of the Iliad, “Achilles and Priam,” the epic’s final book.

Key Quotes

“Twelve days he had dragged the body round his friend’s tomb… But Apollo pitied the man, dead though he was, and shielded his flesh from any foul abuse.”

Context: The gods observe Achilles’ continued, excessive desecration of Hector’s body. Apollo actively protects the corpse from decay and damage.

“Hard, heartless gods!” Apollo flared… “You side with this madman Achilles… He has no shred of decency in his heart… like a lion he launches Savage attacks… Achilles has lost all pity!**”

Context: Apollo argues passionately with the other gods, condemning Achilles’ brutality and urging them to intervene to allow Hector’s body to be ransomed.

“Go, Iris, quickly!” Zeus commanded… “Fly down to Thetis… Tell her from me the gods are angry… Achilles must accept a ransom from Priam, release Prince Hector’s body.” … “Then fly to Priam… Tell him to go… to Achilles’ ship but go alone…”

Context: Zeus makes the final decision: Hector’s body must be returned. He sends messengers to both Thetis (to order Achilles) and Priam (to instruct him on the ransom mission).

“[Hecuba pleads with Priam] Where have your senses gone?… How can you think of going down to the ships, alone? To face the killer of so many of your gallant sons? You have a heart of iron!“

Context: Hecuba, Hector’s mother, tries desperately to dissuade Priam from undertaking the dangerous mission into the enemy camp, fearing he will be killed.

“Don’t try to hold me back from the fighting, mother, not when I’m straining to go. Nor be a bird of ill omen in my own house. You’ll never persuade me.”

Context: Priam firmly rejects Hecuba’s pleas, determined to ransom his son’s body despite the immense risks.

[Hermes speaks to Priam] “Where are you heading, father?… Have you no fear of the Achaeans breathing hate and fury? … But come, I’ll escort you myself…”

Context: The god Hermes, disguised as a young Myrmidon soldier, meets Priam and offers to guide him safely through the Achaean camp. ✨

Priam, the great king of Troy, passed by the guards and entered… walked right up to Achilles. And kneeling down beside him grasped his knees and kissed his hands, those terrible, man-killing hands that had slaughtered Priam’s many sons in battle.

Context: The incredibly tense and moving moment as Priam enters Achilles’ lodge and performs the act of supplication to his son’s killer.

“Remember your own father, Achilles… in your godlike youth… I have endured what no one on earth has ever done before— I put to my lips the hands of the man who killed my son.“

Context: Priam begins his plea, appealing to Achilles’ memory of his own father, Peleus, and emphasizing the extraordinary and heartbreaking nature of his supplication. 🙏

Those words stirred within Achilles a deep desire to grieve for his own father… taking the old man’s hand he gently moved him back. And overpowered by memory both men gave way to grief. Priam wept freely for man-killing Hector, throbbing, crouching before Achilles’ feet as Achilles wept himself, now for his father, now for Patroclus once again, and their sobbing rose and fell throughout the house.

Context: Priam’s words break through Achilles’ rage. Achilles finally sees their shared humanity and grief. The killer and the victim’s father weep together for their respective losses. 😭💔

“Come, old man, sit down… Let us put our griefs to rest in our hearts… No use in weeping… It is the gods’ lot to suffer… They spin out the thread of life for wretched mortals.“

Context: Achilles, his rage calmed, speaks compassionately to Priam, acknowledging their shared suffering under the will of the gods and urging him to rest.

“How many days do you need for the rites of Hector?… I will hold back the Argive camp and war that long.“

Context: Achilles generously offers Priam a truce and asks how much time is needed for Hector’s funeral, promising to restrain the Greek army for the duration.

[Helen laments Hector] “Hector! Dearest brother-in-law to my cursed heart! … Never once did I hear from you a taunt, an insult. No, you restrained them… You were always kind.“

Context: Helen, during Hector’s funeral rites, delivers a poignant lament, remembering Hector as the only Trojan who consistently treated her with kindness and respect.

Highlights

1. Continued Desecration: The book opens with Achilles still venting his grief by dragging Hector’s body around Patroclus’s tomb each morning. However, Apollo miraculously protects the corpse from decay or damage.
2. Divine Council: The gods pity Hector. Apollo argues for intervention. Zeus agrees that Hector’s body must be returned. He sends Iris to summon Thetis.
3. Zeus’s Plan: Zeus instructs Thetis to tell Achilles he must accept ransom for Hector. He then sends Iris to Priam, telling him to gather rich treasures and go alone (with only an old herald) to Achilles’ camp to ransom his son. 💰
4. Priam Prepares: Despite his wife Hecuba’s fears and protests, Priam is determined. He gathers a magnificent ransom from his treasuries and prepares his chariot. He prays to Zeus, who sends a favorable eagle omen. 🦅
5. Hermes Guides Priam: As Priam travels through the night, the god Hermes, disguised as a young Myrmidon, meets him. Hermes puts the Greek sentries to sleep and safely guides Priam through the enemy camp directly to Achilles’ lodge. ✨
6. The Supplication: Priam enters Achilles’ lodge unnoticed, falls to his knees, grasps Achilles’ knees, and kisses the hands that killed his son. He delivers a moving plea, asking Achilles to remember his own father and pity him. 🙏
7. Achilles Relents: Priam’s words and actions break Achilles’ rage. Moved by memory and shared grief, Achilles weeps with Priam. He lifts the old king up, speaks words of comfort about the shared suffering of mortals under the gods, and accepts the ransom. 🤝
8. Shared Meal & Truce: Achilles has Hector’s body washed, anointed, and dressed. He shares a meal with Priam, marveling at the king’s courage. Achilles asks how many days Priam needs for Hector’s funeral and promises to hold back the Greek army for a truce (agreed at 11 days).
9. Return to Troy: Hermes escorts Priam and Hector’s body safely out of the Greek camp. Cassandra, watching from the walls of Troy, sees them returning and cries out.
10. Laments: The Trojans bring Hector’s body into the city. The three main women who lead formal laments in his life: his wife Andromache, his mother Hecuba, and his sister-in-law Helen. Each recalls his bravery, kindness, and the doom that now awaits Troy, now that he is gone. 😭
11. Hector’s Funeral: For nine days, the Trojans gather wood. On the tenth day, they place Hector’s body on the pyre and burn it. They collect his bones, place them in a golden urn wrapped in purple robes, and bury the urn in a grave mound. A great funeral feast follows. 🔥

The Iliad ends not with the fall of Troy, but with the solemn funeral of its greatest defender, Hector, made possible by Achilles’ profound, if temporary, return to humanity.

 

Iliad Themes

The Iliad is a rich and complex epic that explores profound themes of human nature, fate, and conflict. The central themes are inextricably linked to the core subject: the rage of Achilles and its consequences.

Here are the most important themes of the Iliad:

1. The Heroic Code and Honor (Timē)

This is the epic’s foundational theme.

• Timē (Honor/Status): A hero’s worth and social standing were measured by the public acknowledgment and material prizes (géras) they received. War prizes (such as Briseis) were a visible manifestation of this honor.
  • The Theme in Action: The conflict in Book 1 centers on Agamemnon’s theft of Achilles’ timē, which Achilles views as an insult worse than death. His withdrawal is an extreme act meant to force the Greeks to acknowledge his worth.
• Kleos (Undying Glory/Fame): The ultimate goal for a hero was to achieve eternal glory through heroic deeds, ensuring they would be remembered forever after death.
  • The Theme in Action: Achilles’ famous choice between a long, inglorious life and a short life with undying kleos (Book 9) is the ultimate expression of this theme.

2. The Rage (Mēnis) and its Consequences

The Greek word mēnis (divine/catastrophic rage) is the very first word of the poem and the engine of the plot.

• Destructive Force: The Iliad tracks the destructive power of wrath. Achilles’ initial rage against Agamemnon cripples the Greek army, leading to Patroclus’ death.
• Transformation: Achilles’ rage deepens into a more brutal, inhuman fury after Patroclus’s death (his rage shifts from pride to vengeance). The desecration of Hector’s body is the savage climax of this wrath.
• Resolution: The rage is finally purged in Book 24 when Achilles weeps with Priam, restoring his humanity and allowing the epic to conclude.

3. Fate (Moira), Free Will, and the Gods

The relationship between destiny, divine action, and mortal choice is constantly explored.

• Moira (Fate): Fate is a power that even Zeus cannot ultimately overturn. The fated death of Hector, Achilles, and the eventual fall of Troy are all predetermined.
• Divine Intervention: The Olympian gods constantly interfere, fighting, tricking mortals, and manipulating the battle. However, their actions often enforce or accelerate a fate that was already set (e.g., Zeus must let his son Sarpedon die).
• Mortal Choice: While fate is fixed, heroes are responsible for how they meet it. Hector chooses duty and courage; Achilles chooses glory and vengeance.

4. The Human Cost of War and Compassion

The Iliad is not a simple glorification of war but a profound lament for its victims.

• Pathetic Contrast: The stark contrast between the glory of the battlefield and the sorrow of the home is particularly evident, as seen through the Trojans.
• Hector’s Humanity: Hector is the primary representative of this theme. His scenes with his wife, Andromache, and son, Astyanax (Book 6), show that the war tears apart families and cities, contrasting his sense of duty with his desire for domestic safety.
• Shared Grief: The theme finds its final expression in Book 24, where the deepest enemies, Achilles and Priam, transcend their hatred to share the universal human experience of grief, achieving a moment of tragic compassion.

5. Mortality and Transience

• The Inevitability of Death: The heroic code is based on the knowledge that all mortals must die. Heroes fight for kleos because it is the only form of immortality available to them.
• Destruction of Civilization: The poem repeatedly foreshadows the fall of the beautiful city of Troy, reminding the audience that even the greatest human creations are transient.
• Achilles’ Wisdom: In his conversation with Priam, Achilles reflects on the two jars on Zeus’s floor (one of blessings, one of evils), concluding that suffering is the fundamental condition of human existence.

 

Iliad Alexander the Great Sleeping Under the Pillow

Yes, according to ancient sources, such as Plutarch, Alexander the Great kept a special copy of Homer’s Iliad under his pillow while on campaign. 📜

Alexander’s Iliad

• Annotated by Aristotle: This wasn’t just any copy; it was reportedly prepared and annotated for him by his famous tutor, Aristotle.
• Kept with a Dagger: He is said to have slept with this copy of the Iliad and a dagger under his pillow.
• Valuable Casket: Alexander apparently kept this treasured copy inside a magnificent, valuable casket he had captured from the Persian King Darius III, deeming the Iliad the only possession worthy of such a container.
• Inspiration: This habit showcases Alexander’s profound admiration for the Iliad, particularly its hero, Achilles. He viewed the epic as a guide to military virtue and aspired to emulate Achilles’ courage and quest for eternal glory (kleos). ⚔️

 

Iliad YouTube Video Links Views

Here are several YouTube links for popular documentaries and video essays about The Iliad, selected for their high view counts and educational value:

Highly Viewed Overviews & Summaries

These videos are popular for providing comprehensive summaries of the story and its context.

Title	Channel	Views (Approx.)	Link
**The ENTIRE Story of the Trojan War Explained	Best Iliad Documentary**	The Life Guide	Over 2 Million
The Iliad – what is it really about?	Lindybeige	Over 1.6 Million	The Iliad – what is it really about?

Academic Lectures & Full Documentaries

These videos offer a more in-depth, documentary-style approach from academic sources.

Title	Channel	Description	Link
Troy Story: The Iliad (1/2)	OpenLearn from The Open University	A detailed documentary from The Open University exploring the epic’s story, characters, and historical background.	Troy Story: The Iliad (1/2)
Homer’s Iliad via the Movie Troy (2004) – Professor Edith Hall	Gresham College	An academic lecture that uses the 2004 film Troy as a lens to discuss the original epic’s plot and themes.	Homer’s Iliad via the Movie Troy (2004)
Imaging the Iliad: A Digital Renaissance (Full Documentary)	VisCenter	A documentary about the Venetus A manuscript, the oldest complete text of The Iliad.	Imaging the Iliad: A Digital Renaissance (Full Documentary)
The Iliad (Books 1-6), the Epic Cycle, & the history of the Trojan War	Eric Luttrell	A detailed breakdown of the first six books of The Iliad and its place within the larger Epic Cycle.	The Iliad (Books 1-6), the Epic Cycle, & the history of the Trojan War