Download The Iliad By Homer I. Homer invokes the Muse Calliope, Muse of

The Iliad
By Homer
I. Homer invokes the Muse Calliope, Muse of epic poetry.
The Achaeans sack a Trojan city: Agamemnon takes Chryseis; Achilles takes Briseis.
Chryses, father of Chryseis, offers ransom for his daughter; Agamemnon refuses.
Apollo sends a plague on the Achaeans.
Calchas, a seer, tells Agamemnon that he must give up Chryseis to end the plague.
Agamemnon demands Briseis from Achilles; Achilles gets angry.
Athena, sent by Hera, stops Achilles from killing Agamemnon.
Agamemnon sends Chryseis back to Chryses on a boat piloted by Odysseus.
Achilles prays to Thetis, his mother, to ask Zeus punish the Achaeans.
Achilles refuses to fight.
After 12 days, Thetis asks Zeus, and he agrees to help the Trojans.
Hera becomes angry, but Hephaestus calms her down.
II. Zeus makes Agamemnon dream that Nestor is telling him that a full out assault on Troy will
result in Achaean victory.
Agamemnon, to test the courage of the men, tells them the war is ending.
The men eagerly run to their ships, disheartening Agamemnon.
Hera has Athena inspire Odysseus to deliver a speech the raises their morale.
Nestor convinces Agamemnon to arrange ranks by clans.
The poet catalogues the Achaean cities and their warriors.
Zeus informs the Trojans of the Achaean formation.
The poet catalogues the Trojan army.
III. The Trojans march out to meet the Achaeans.
Paris, who stole Helen from Menelaus, challenges any Achaean warrior to single combat.
Menelaus steps forward; Paris shrinks back.
The Trojan hero, Hector, chastises his younger brother, Paris; Paris agrees to the duel.
The goddess Iris, disguised as Helen’s sister, Laodice, tells Helen to go watch the duel.
Helen identifies the Achaean heroes for the Trojan King, Priam.
Menelaus begins to beat Paris, dragging him by the helmet through the dirt.
Aphrodite rescues Paris and takes him to Helen’s bedroom.
Agamemnon insists that Menelaus won.
IV. Hera is unsatisfied with the Achaeans just getting Helen back.
She convinces Pandarus to fire an arrow at Menelaus, but she then deflects it.
The two sides fight again, with no important heroes dying.
Athena helps the Greeks, Apollo the Trojans.
V. Pandarus (Trojan) wounds Diomedes (Achaean).
Athena gives Diomedes super strength and ability to see gods.
Diomedes kills Pandarus and wounds Aeneas.
Aphrodite comes to aid Aeneas; Diomedes wounds her too.
Apollo comes to take Aeneas; Diomedes tries to fight Apollo, but fails.
Apollo gets Ares to join the Trojans on the field.
Odysseus and Hector slay large numbers.
Athena and aids Diomedes in challenging Ares in a chariot; Ares is wounded.
VI. Greece begins to take the upper hand.
The seer Helenus tells Hector to return to Troy and ask the women to pray to Athena.
Hector insults his brother Paris and Paris goes back out to fight.
Hector visits his wife, Andromache, and his son, Astyanax.
VII. Hector challenges any Achaean warrior to a duel.
Menelaus steps forward, but Agamemnon stops him.
Nestor exhorts the Greeks; 7 step forward; Great Ajax is selected.
Before the end of the battle, heralds sent by Zeus call off the battle because it is night.
The heroes exchange armor and become friends.
The two sides agree on a day of truce to bury the dead.
The Trojans exhort Paris to give up Helen, but he refuses.
The Achaeans build fortifications around their camp.
VIII. Zeus prohibits the gods from interfering any further.
Zeus weighs the fates of Troy and Greece; Troy wins.
Zeus sends thunder bolts down the aid the Trojans, who gain the upper hand.
Diomedes, in a chariot, saves Nestor from being killed by Hector.
Hera inspires Agamemnon to rouse his troops and pray.
At the appearance of an omen, an eagle with a fawn in its talons, the Greeks fight.
The Trojans continue to dominate, pushing the Greeks back to their ships.
Iris, sent by Zeus, prevents Hera and Athena from interfering.
The Trojans camp outside the city and light fires to keep the Greeks from escaping.
IX. Agamemnon admits defeat and suggests returning to Greece.
Nestor and Diomedes urge them to persevere, reminding them that Troy is fated to fall.
Agamemnon sends an embassy to Achilles, but Achilles refuses.
X. At Nestor’s suggestion, Diomedes and Odysseus go to the Trojan camp as a spy.
The Trojans send Dolon as a spy to the Greeks.
Diomedes and Odysseus meet Dolon and learn from him that the Thracians are week;
They kill Dolon.
The two Greeks kill the Thracian, Rhesus, and ride his chariot back to the Greek camp.
XI. Zeus rains blood on the Achaeans.
They initially loose the battle, but start to gain an upper hand.
Iris tells Hector to wait till Agamemnon is wounded.
Coon wounds Agamemnon; Hector charges.
Diomedes almost kills Hector with a thrown spear.
Paris wounds Diomedes with an arrow.
The Trojans surround and would Odysseus.
Great Ajax rescues Odysseus.
The Trojans wound the Greek healer Machaon, and Nestor takes him back to the camp.
Achilles sends Patroclus to see if Machaon is ok.
Nestor convinces Patroclus to appeal to Achilles or at leas to join the battle in his armor.
XII. The Achaean fortifications hold against Trojan chariots.
Zeus rains blood on the Greeks again, and he allows Hector to cross the fortifications.
Hector, despite a negative omen form Zeus (a serpent dropped by an eagle), orders the
riders to storm the ramparts on foot.
Hector breaks one of the gates with a boulder and the Trojans pour in.
XIII. Zeus leaves and Poseidon, in the disguised as Calchas, rouses the scared Greeks.
Hector is driven back, but kills Poseidon’s grandson in the process.
Poseidon gives Idomeneus rage to fight the Trojans.
Hector and his army are is driven back the Greeks receive a favorable eagle omen.
XIV. Agamemnon, joined by Nestor, surveys his losses and suggests retreat.
Odysseus and Poseidon rally the troops.
Hera gets a seductive breastband from Aphrodite and lies with Zeus.
Sleep, employed by Hera, lulls Zeus to sleep.
Hera signals Poseidon, who regroups the Greeks.
Great Ajax wounds Hector with a boulder, and the Trojans carry him back.
The Trojans retreat and take heavy casualties.
XV. Zeus wakes up and gets mad; He then reminds Hera of the fate of Troy and Hector.
Iris, sent by Zeus, tells Poseidon to leave the field.
Apollo gives Hector and his men new strength.
When this is not enough, Apollo joins the battle and the Trojans storm the ramparts.
Teucer, the archer, aims at Hector, but Zeus snaps his bow string.
Hector gets close enough to touch a Greek ship.
XVI. Patroclus, unable to sway Achilles, dons his armor.
Achilles sends the Myrmidons to accompany Patroclus.
A ship is incinerated.
Zeus does not stop Patroclus from slaying Sarpedon, but decides that Patroclus must die.
Zeus makes Hector a coward for a few moments, and the Trojans retreat.
Patroclus peruses them all the way to the gates of Troy.
Apollo wounds Patroclus, and Hector easily kills him.
XVII. Both sides fight over Achilles’ armor.
Great Ajax keeps Hector from taking the body of Patroclus, but Hector gets the armor.
Hector offers half the spoils to any Trojan that can get the body of Patroclus (which can
be traded for Sarpedon’s).
Zeus gives Hector superhuman strength, but the Trojans retreat nonetheless.
Aeneas tries to rekindle the spirits of the Trojans, but they never reach Patroclus’ body.
Hector fails at killing Automedon and taking Achilles’ chariot.
Zeus allows the body to be carried back, but helps the Trojans advance.
XVIII. Antilochus brings word to Achilles of Patroclus’ death.
Achilles is enraged and filled with sorrow.
Thetis hears his cries and says she will have Hephaestus make him a new set of armor.
Iris, sent by Hera, tells Achilles to make an appearance on the field.
Achilles lets out a cry of rage that sends the Trojans into retreat.
In a council that night, since Athena has robbed the Trojans of their sense, Hector rejects
Polydamas’ wise idea to go back to the city and insists on another assault.
Patroclus’ body is prepared for burial, but Achilles will not allow it until he has revenge.
Hephaestus forges an awesome set of armor for Achilles, including a shield with images.
XIX. Achilles receives his new armor and readies his men for battle.
Achilles is reconciled with Agamemnon, who gives Achilles Briseis and other gifts.
Achilles refuses to eat until he has revenge, but Zeus sends Athena to fill him with nectar
and ambrosia.
Achilles chastises his horses, Roan Beauty and Charger, for leaving Patroclus’ to die.
Roan Beauty tells Achilles it was the work of the gods, as will be the death of Achilles.
XX. Since Achilles is so strong, Zeus gives the gods permission to interfere.
The gods, however, sit on opposing hills and wait to see how things will fare.
Apollo gets Aeneas to duel Achilles, but when Achilles is about to win, Poseidon takes
Aeneas away.
Hector tries to challenge Achilles, but Apollo tells him to do so in front of the men.
Later, since Achilles is killing so many Trojans, Hector challenges Achilles anyway, and
must be saved by Apollo.
XXI. Achilles slaughters many Trojans and chokes the river Xanthus with blood.
The river god complains to Apollo.
Achilles attacks the god, but the god drags Achilles downstream and almost kills him.
Hephaestus, sent by Hera, uses fire to boil the river and save Achilles.
The gods fight: Athena defeats Ares and Aphrodite; Apollo will not fight with Poseidon
over mortals; Hera attacks Artemis.
Priam opens the gates to allow the retreating Trojans to enter.
Agenor challenges Achilles to single combat, but must be saved by the gods.
Apollo then fights Achilles disguised as Agenor.
XXII. Hector refuses to retreat into the city since it has he who gave the order to camp outside.
Hector tries, hopelessly, to negotiate with Achilles.
Achilles chases Hector around the city three times.
Hera convinces Zeus not to save Hector.
Zeus weighs Achilles’ fate and Hector’s fate, and Achilles wins.
Athena, disguised as Deiphobus, convinces Hector that the two of them can fight Achilles.
After throwing spears, Athena disappears and leaves Hector without a weapon.
Achilles thrusts a spear through Hector’s throat (Achilles knows the weak points of his
old armor, the armor Hector is wearing).
Hectors begs to have his body returned to Troy, but Achilles refuses.
Achilles drags Hector’s body behind his chariot.
King Priam, Queen Hecuba, and Hector’s wife, Andromache, weep.
XXIII. Achilles eats again, but will not bathe until Patroclus has been buried.
Patroclus appears to Achilles in a dream, asking for a swift funeral so that he can descend
to the dead.
Achilles sacrifices the 12 Trojan prisoners and burns Patroclus on a funeral pyre.
Funeral games are held in Patroclus’s honor: Boxing, Wrestling, Archery, Chariot Race.
Achilles suggests taking Antilochus’ 2nd place prize and giving it to the last finisher,
since Athena causes the last place racer to loose so that Diomedes can win.
Antilochus refuses, and he and Achilles exchange heated words, but they make up.
XXIV. Achilles drags Hector’s body around Patroclus’s grave, but Apollo protects it from
damage and rot.
Apollo persuades Zeus to let Priam ransom Hector’s body.
Zeus sends Thetis to Achilles and Iris to Priam, telling them what will happen.
Zeus reassures Hecuba that Priam will be alright with a favorable eagle omen.
Hermes, disguised as a Myrmidon, escorts Priam and a chariot full of treasure through the
Achaean camp.
Priam begs for Hector’s corpse, evoking the memory of Achilles’ father, Peleus, whom
Priam knew and loved; Achilles accepts the ransom.
Priam stays the night, but Hermes warns him to leave.
The Trojans (even Helen) weep and spend ten days preparing Hector’s funeral pyre.
Lesser Characters and Other Terms
Calchas’ Prophesy – a water snake devoured a nest of 9 sparrows, symbolizing that 9 years
would pass before the Achaeans could sack Troy.
Chryseis – a maid taken by Agamemnon during a raid on a Trojan-allied city.
Chryses – father of Chryseis. He offers Agamemnon a large ransom, but when he is refused, he
prays to Apollo, who brings a plague upon the Achaeans.
Briseis – a maid taken by Achilles during the same raid. When Agamemnon demands her in
compensation for Chryses
Thetis – a sea nymph that is the mother of Achilles. She persuades Zeus to punish the Achaeans,
and she has Hephaestus make Achilles a new suit of armor.
Myrmidons – the warriors of Achilles.
Phthia – Achilles’ homeland.
Helenus – a Trojan seer that, during the first major battle, convinces Hector to return to Troy and
ask the women to pray.
Phoenix – a great Greek warrior that helped rear Achilles in Phthia.
Meleager – a warrior of the past that, like Achilles, also refused to fight when insulted. Phoenix
uses him as an example to try and convince Achilles to return to battle.
Rhesus – the Thracian King that Diomedes and Odysseus kill.
Machaon – a Greek healer that is wounded. His wound makes Patroclus join the fight disguised
as Achilles.
Polydamas – a young Trojan commander that advises Hector during the battle around the Greek
ships.
Amphimachus – the grandson of Poseidon that Hector accidentally kills. In response, Poseidon
gives Idomeneus rage.
Idomeneus – given rage by Poseidon. He tried to kill, but only wounds Deiphobus.
Teucer – a great Greek archer whose bow string is snapped by Zeus when he tries to kill Hector
Sarpedon – son of Zeus and hero of the Trojans that is killed by Patroclus.
Automedon – Achilles’ charioteer. Hector tried to kill him, but Automedon dodges and kills a
Trojan instead.
Antilochus – a Greek hero that brings word to Achilles of Patroclus’ death. He finishes second
in the Chariot race and refuses to give up his prize.
Roan Beauty and Charger – Achilles’ wise, talking horses. Ancestors of Mr. Ed.
Xanthus / Scamander River – (Xanthus to the gods, Scamander to mortals) this is the river that
Achilles chokes with blood.
Lycaon – a son of Priam, whom Achilles kills and throws into the river Xanthus.
Agenor – a son of Priam that challenges Achilles to single combat and must be swept away by
the gods. Apollo then fights Achilles disguised as Agenor.
Deiphobus – Athena disguises herself as this Trojan hero and appears to Hector while he is
running around Troy. She convinces Hector that the two of them can fight Achilles.
Idaeus – Priam’s chariot driver. He helps Priam load Hector’s body into the chariot.
Peleus – Achilles’ father, who was a friend of Priam.
Partisan Gods:
Achaean Side – Hera, Athena, Poseidon
Trojan Side – Aphrodite, Apollo, Ares