Download Iliad Study Guide Chapters I – III

Iliad Study Guide Chapters I – III
AUTHOR
Homer – Supposedly, Homer is the author of the Iliad. Although the war was probably fought
around the year 1250 BC, Homer did not exist till around 800 BC. He never wrote the story. He
memorized it and would recite the story, as per the oral tradition. The epic poem was finally written down
in 55o BC. Many people assume that Homer was blind because of a character in the Odyssey (Tiresius),
who many scholars feel is a self-insert.
CHARACTERS
Achilles (Greek) – The son of Peleus and Thetis. He is the most skilled of the Greek warriors.
His best friend is Patroclus. He is supposedly immune to physical damage to any area except his
heel. However, despite this advantage he is told that he will die during the war.
Agamemnon (Greek) – The King of Mycenae, the most powerful of the Greek kings. Menelaus
is his brother. Many of the other Greeks consider him to be too arrogant. He is the Commanderin-Chief of the Greek army.
Ajax (Greek) – The largest of the Greek warriors. He is considered the strongest. At one point
in the war, he will duel Hector to a draw. This is significant because he was fated to die by
Hector’s sword. Hector gives him the sword at the end of the duel. Ajax will commit suicide with
it toward the end of the war.
Aphrodite/Venus (Olympian) – The goddess of love. Her involvement in the Trojan War is
huge because of several factors. She supports Troy, because Paris is the one who gave her the
golden apple, and the second-best warrior in the Trojan army is Aeneas, who is her son.
Apollo (Olympian) – The god of the sun. He is on the side of the Trojans. Early on in the
story, he inflicts plague on the Greek camp because they insulted his priest, Chryses.
Briseis (Trojan) – She is a beautiful woman who was given to the Greek warrior Achilles after
her town was captured. She is later taken by Agamemnon as a replacement for Chryseis.
Calchas (Greek) – The seer of the Greeks. He speaks to the gods, and he is the one who
informs the Greek army that Apollo was angry with Agamemnon.
Chryseis (Trojan) – The daughter of Chryses, a priest of Apollo. It is her abduction that causes
Apollo to give plague to the Greek Camp.
Hector (Trojan) - The oldest child of Priam and successor to the King of Troy. He is the
Trojan’s best warrior. He is a brave man and a good father. He is married to Andromache.
Helen (Greek) – The queen of Sparta. She married Menelaus, making him King of Sparta.
However, she eventually fled with Paris. However, in the Iliad it is clear that she feels that
Aphrodite made her love him.
Hera/Juno (Olympian) – Queen of the Gods. She is very bitter about losing the Judgment of
Paris, and seeks to destroy the Trojans. She is constantly getting into arguments with Zeus, as he
does not want to see Troy destroyed.
Hermes/Mercury (Olympian) – The messenger of the gods. He does not have a particularly
big role in the Iliad, but does have prominent appearances in Homer’s second story, The Odyssey.
Menelaus (Greek) – The King of Sparta (by marriage). The Trojan War is being fought at his
behest, because all of the Greek kings and princes signed a contract to assist Sparta if anyone ever
attacked them. His brother, Agamemnon, is the leader of the Greek Army.
Nestor (Greek) – The eldest of the Greek kings. He is too old to fight, and leaves that job to his
two sons. However, he is considered wise and acts as an advisor to Agamemnon.
Odysseus/Ulysses (Greek) – The King of Ithaca. Considered one of the wisest of the Greek
warriors, Odysseus plays a major part in ending the war. He is the main character of Homer’s
second epic story, The Odyssey.
Paris (Trojan) – The second oldest child of Priam. Essentially, he caused the war by accepting
Aphrodite’s bribe, the love of the most beautiful woman, Helen. He dumped his current nymph
girlfriend Oenone, and stole Helen from Menelaus, king of the Spartans.
Philocetes (Greek) – A powerful archer who is not actually at the fight at Troy. He was left on
an island due to a snake bite that incapacitated him.
Poseidon/Neptune (Olympian) – The god of the sea. He wants to destroy the city of Troy
because of a slight committed by a previous king of the city.
Priam (Trojan) – The King of Troy. He is an old man with around 50 children. He is too old to
fight, and relies upon his eldest son, Hector to save his city.
Thetis (Olympian) – An ocean goddess who marries a mortal, Peleus, because Zeus did not
want her to marry any gods. She is the mother of Achilles.
Zeus/Jove/Jupiter (Olympian) – The King of the Olympian gods. He is not happy with the
Trojan War because he knows it will result in the destruction of Troy, a city he loves.
Additionally, he has to deal with tension from the other gods, as half of them support the Greeks,
and the other half support the Trojans.
BOOK I
1.
The story begins with the priest, Chryses, going to Agamemnon to ask for the return of his
daughter, Chryseis. His daughter had been given to the Greek king as a prize after their town had
been captured.
2. Agamemnon refuses to give the daughter back to the priest and even threatens to kill him, should
he ever see him again. As a result, Chryses prays to the god, Apollo, for vengeance.
3. Apollo responds by sending plague into the Greek camp. (Apollo is not only the god of the sun,
but of disease as well.) At first it affects the animals, and then the soldiers themselves.
Eventually, it becomes so bad, that Achilles asks the seers why the gods are so angry.
4. The seer, Calchas comes forward and agrees to explain if Achilles will protect him. Achilles
agrees, and Calchas explains how Apollo is angry at Agamemnon for the treatment of Chryses.
5.
Achilles tells Agamemnon that he should return Chryseis to her father Chryses. They get into an
argument because Agamemnon feels that he should not lose his woman, and threatens to take
someone else’s prize.
6. Agamemnon and Achilles seem to have a distinct dislike for each other. Achilles seems to be a bit
jealous of the rewards heaped upon Agamemnon, while Agamemnon is obviously bothered by
Achilles’ prowess as a warrior. He dislikes the fact that he has to listen to him. The Iphigenia
incident at Aulis probably has to do something with this enmity as well.
7.
When Agamemnon threatens to take Achilles’ prize girl, Briseis, Achilles draws his sword, with
the intent to kill Agamemnon. However, Hera sees this, and sends Athena down to Achilles.
Athena tells Achilles that he should NOT kill Agamemnon, and they will reward him for his
patience later.
8. Achilles complains to his mother about his treatment. He tells her that he wants her to use her
influence with Zeus to make the Greeks lose the war, so that they will need to apologize to him.
9. As an example of Thetis’ influence, Achilles talks about the time when Zeus was captured and tied
up by several of the other gods. Thetis is the one who called the Hecatonchiere, Briareus to free
Zeus from his bonds.
10. Thetis demands that Zeus make the Greeks lose until they apologize to her son. Zeus agrees, but
complains that Thetis is going to get him in trouble with Hera.
11. When men come to take Briseis away from Achilles, he does not resist because he knows the gods
told him to be patient.
BOOK II
12. Athena gives Agamemnon a vision where he rallies the army by testing their loyalty and
dedication. This fails miserably. When he attempts to use reverse psychology and tells the men
they can go home, they are ecstatic and begin to pack.
13. The rout of the Greek soldiers is stopped largely by Odysseus. He tells the men that they should
hang in there, as the war is almost over anyway. He tells them that Agamemnon was just testing
them, and that they should show resolve.
BOOK III
14. Paris, in an uncharacteristic show of bravery, challenges anyone in the Greek army to duel him.
The consequences of the duel are that if the Greeks lose, they have to go home, and if the Trojans
lose, they must return Helen and the Spartan treasure. Of course, Menelaus is thrilled to accept
the challenge.
15. Once Paris sees that Menelaus has accepted the challenge, he attempts to back out of it. However,
his older brother Prince Hector, calls him a coward and goads him into fighting.
16. Before the duel commences, Priam overlooks the event from Troy’s battlements. He asks Helen
about the Greek warriors in front of him. He is significantly impressed by Achilles, Odysseus and
Ajax.
17. The duel is significantly one-sided. Paris is no match for Menelaus, who despite some setbacks in
the fight, manages to overpower Paris and then proceeds to drag him towards the Greek lines.
Paris is rescued by Aphrodite who returns him to Troy.
18. Aphrodite takes Paris back to his suite, and then demands that Helen make love to him, to
brighten up his day. Helen actually refuses at first, being ashamed of Paris’ cowardice. However,
Aphrodite threatens her and she complies.
19. After the duel, Agamemnon marches his army to the gates of Troy, and demands Helen and the
treasure, as Menelaus had decisively won the duel.