Download Iliad Major Characters List

Major Characters
Blue name: On the Greek side
Red name: On the Trojan side
Black name: Neutral (no side)
Achilles: Son of Peleus and Thetis. Leader of the Greek Myrmidons. World’s most powerful warrior.
Friend of Patroclus. Prideful, full of rage, and disdainful of Agamemnon.
Aeneas: Son of Aphrodite. Skilled Trojan warrior.
Agamemnon: King of Mycenae and leader of the Greek army. Older brother of Menelaus. Prideful,
selfish, and impulsive. Disdainful of Achilles and his arrogance.
Ajax (The Greater): Second most powerful Greek warrior (behind Achilles). Able to challenge the best
Trojan warriors, including Hector.
Ajax (The Lesser): Skilled and swift Greek warrior who often fights alongside Great Ajax.
Andromache: Hector’s wife. Unwilling to see Hector go off to war and die.
Aphrodite: Goddess of love. Daughter of Zeus. Wife of Hephaestus and lover of Ares. Favors the
Trojans because Paris chose her as the most beautiful goddess. Ineffectual in battle but able to save
favored Trojans from death, including Paris and Aeneas.
Apollo: God of the sun and the arts. Favors the Trojans because the Greeks dishonored his priest.
Ares: Bloodthirsty god of war. Son of Zeus. Fights mortals on the battlefield.
Athena: Goddess of wisdom and battle strategy. Daughter of Zeus. Favors the Greeks because the Trojan
prince Paris did not choose her as the most beautiful goddess. Ally of Hera. Empowers favored Greeks on
the battlefield.
Diomedes: Skilled and bold Greek warrior. Empowered by Athena on the battlefield.
Hector: Elder son of Hecuba and Priam. Prince of Troy. Rivals Achilles’ power and skill in battle.
Devoted to family. Resents Paris for causing the Trojan War.
Hecuba: Wife of Priam. Mother of Hector and Paris. Queen of Troy.
Helen: Former wife of Menelaus. Current wife of Paris. Most beautiful woman in the world. Becomes
subject of the Trojan War after Paris steals her from Menelaus. Regrets the pain she has caused for the
Greeks and Trojans.
Hephaestus: God of fire and metalworking. Crafts armor for Achilles and calms arguments between the
gods.
Hera: Queen of the gods. Wife of Zeus. Favors the Greeks because the Trojan prince Paris did not choose
her as the most beautiful goddess. Ally of Athena. Conniving and headstrong in her disagreements with
Zeus.
Menelaus: King of Sparta. Younger brother of Agamemnon. Former husband of Helen. Feels dishonored
by Paris, who abducted Helen to Troy.
Nestor: King of Pylos. Oldest Greek commander. Uses wisdom to advise the other Greeks.
Odysseus: Skilled warrior from Ithaca. Widely known for his speaking ability and cleverness.
Paris: Younger son of Hecuba and Priam. Prince of Troy. Started the Trojan War by choosing Aphrodite
as the most beautiful goddess and then taking Helen away from Menelaus. Much less skilled than Hector
in battle.
Patroclus: Friend of Achilles. Uses Achilles’ armor to terrify the Trojans. Killed by Hector.
Poseidon: God of the sea. Favors the Greeks because the Trojans failed to honor him for his role in
building the city of Troy.
Priam: King of Troy. Husband of Hecuba. Father or Paris and Hector.
Thetis: Mother of Achilles. Sea nymph. Able to convince Zeus to bring honor to Achilles by temporarily
helping the Trojans.
Zeus: God of thunder and hospitality. King of the gods. Husband of Hera. Remains neutral in the war
except to fulfill Thetis’ request for Achilles. Authoritative and domineering towards disobedient gods.