Exposition (Books 1–4)
(1) The story begins with an invocation to the Muse. The events begin in medias res towards the end of the Trojan War, fought between the Trojans and the besieging Achaeans. The Achaean forces consist of armies from many different Greek kingdoms, led by their respective kings or princes. Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, acts as commander for these united armies.
Chryses, a priest of Apollo, offers the Achaeans wealth for the return of his daughter Chryseis, held captive by Agamemnon. Although most of the Achaean kings are in favor of the offer, Agamemnon refuses. Chryses prays for Apollo's help, and Apollo sends a plague to afflict the Achaean army. After nine days of plague, Achilles, the leader of the Myrmidon forces and aristos achaion ("best of the Greeks"), calls an assembly to deal with the problem. Under pressure, Agamemnon agrees to return Chryseis to her father, but decides to take Achilles' slave, Briseis, as compensation. Because war prizes were correlated with honor, Agamemnon's decision dishonors Achilles in front of the assembled Achaean forces. Achilles furiously declares that he and his men will no longer fight for Agamemnon. Odysseus returns Chryseis to her father, causing Apollo to end the plague.
In the meantime, Agamemnon's messengers take Briseis away. Achilles becomes very upset and prays to his mother, Thetis, a minor goddess and sea nymph.[3] Achilles asks his mother to ask Zeus to allow the Achaeans to be beaten back by the Trojans, until their ships are at risk of burning. Only then will Agamemnon realize how much the Achaeans need Achilles, and restore his honor. Thetis does so, and Zeus agrees. (2) Zeus then sends a dream to Agamemnon, urging him to attack Troy. Agamemnon heeds the dream, but first decides to test the Achaean army's morale by telling them to go home. But nine years into the war, the soldiers' morale has worn thin. The plan backfires, and only the intervention of Odysseus, inspired by Athena, stops a rout. Odysseus confronts and beats Thersites, a common soldier who voices discontent about fighting Agamemnon's war.
The Achaeans deploy in companies upon the Trojan plain. When news of the Achaean deployment reaches King Priam, the Trojans respond in a sortie upon the plain. (3) The armies approach each other, but before they meet, Paris offers to end the war by fighting a duel with Menelaus, urged by Hector, his brother and hero of Troy. Here, the initial cause of the entire war is explained: Helen, wife of Menelaus, and the most beautiful woman in the world, is either through seduction or by force, taken by Paris from Menelaus' home in Sparta. Menelaus and Paris agree to duel; Helen will marry the victor. However, when Paris is beaten, Aphrodite rescues him and leads him to bed with Helen before Menelaus can kill him.
(4) The gods deliberate over whether the war should end here, but Hera convinces Zeus to wait for the utter destruction of Troy. Athena prompts the Trojan archer Pandarus to shoot Menelaus. Menelaus is wounded, and the truce is broken. Fighting breaks out, and many minor Trojans are killed.
Duels of Greek and Trojan Heroes (Books 5–7)
(5) In the fighting, Diomedes kills many Trojans, including Pandaros, and defeats Aeneas. Aphrodite rescues him before he can be killed, but Diomedes attacks her and wounds the goddess' wrist. Apollo faces Diomedes and warns him against warring with gods, which Diomedes ignores. Apollo sends Ares to defeat Diomedes. Many heroes and commanders join in, including Hector, and the gods supporting each side try to influence the battle. Emboldened by Athena, Diomedes wounds Ares and puts him out of action.
(6) Hector rallies the Trojans and prevents a rout. Diomedes and the Trojan Glaucus find common ground after a duel and exchange unequal gifts, while Glaucus tells Diomedes the story of Bellerophon. Hector enters the city, urges prayers and sacrifices, incites Paris to battle, and bids his wife Andromache and son Astyanax farewell on the city walls. He then rejoins the battle. (7) Hector duels with Ajax, but nightfall interrupts the fight, and both sides retire. The Trojans quarrel about returning Helen. Paris offers to return the treasure he took and give further wealth as compensation, but not Helen, and the offer is refused. Both sides agree to a day's truce to burn the dead. The Achaeans also build a wall and trench to protect their camp and ships.
The Rout of the Greeks (Books 8–15)
(8) The next morning, Zeus prohibits the gods from interfering, and fighting begins anew. The Trojans prevail and force the Achaeans back to their wall. Hera and Athena are forbidden to help. Night falls before the Trojans can assail the Achaean wall. They camp in the field to attack at first light, and their watchfires light the plain like stars.
Iliad, Book VIII, lines 245–253, Greek manuscript, late 5th, early 6th centuries AD(9) Meanwhile, the Achaeans are desperate. Agamemnon admits his error, and sends an embassy composed of Odysseus, Ajax, Phoenix, and two heralds to offer Briseis and extensive gifts to Achilles, if only he will return to the fighting. Achilles and his companion Patroclus receive the embassy well. However, considering the slight to his honor too great, Achilles angrily refuses Agamemnon's offer and declares that he will only return to battle if the Trojans reach his ships and threaten them with fire. The embassy returns empty-handed.
(10) Later that night, Odysseus and Diomedes venture out to the Trojan lines, kill the Trojan Dolon, and wreak havoc in the camps of some Thracian allies of Troy. (11) In the morning, the fighting is fierce, and Agamemnon, Diomedes, and Odysseus are all wounded. Achilles sends Patroclus from his camp to inquire about the Achaean casualties, and while there, Patroclus is moved to pity by a speech by Nestor. Nestor asks Patroclus to beg Achilles to rejoin the fighting, or if he will not, to lead the army wearing Achilles' armor.
(12) The Trojans attack the Achaean wall on foot. Hector leads the terrible fighting, despite an omen that their charge will fail. The Achaeans are overwhelmed and routed, the wall's gate is broken, and Hector charges in. The Achaeans fall back to their ships.
(13) Poseidon pities the Achaeans, and decides to disobey Zeus and help them. He rallies the Achaeans' spirits, and they begin to push the Trojans back. Poseidon's nephew Amphimachus is killed in the battle; Poseidon imbues Idomeneus with godly power. Many fall on both sides. The Trojan seer Polydamas urges Hector to fall back because of a bad omen, but is ignored.
(14) Hera seduces Zeus and lulls him to sleep, allowing Poseidon to help the Greeks. The Trojans are driven back onto the plain. Ajax wounds Hector, who is then carried back to Troy. (15) Zeus awakes and is enraged by Poseidon's intervention. However, he reassures Hera that Troy is still fated to fall once Hector kills Patroclus. Poseidon is recalled from the battlefield, and Zeus sends Apollo to aid the Trojans. The Trojans once again breach the wall, and the battle reaches the ships.
The Death of Patroclus (Books 16–18)
(16) Patroclus cannot stand to watch any longer, and goes to Achilles, weeping. He briefly admonishes him for his stubbornness, then asks Achilles to allow him to fight in his place, wearing his armor so that he will be mistaken for Achilles. Achilles relents and lends Patroclus his armor, but sends him off with a stern admonition to come back to him, and not to pursue the Trojans. Achilles says that after all has been made right, he and Patroclus will take Troy together.
Patroclus leads the Myrmidons into battle and arrives as the Trojans set fire to the first ships. The Trojans are routed by the sudden onslaught, and Patroclus begins his assault by killing Zeus's son Sarpedon, a leading ally of the Trojans. Patroclus, ignoring Achilles' command, pursues and reaches the gates of Troy, where Apollo himself stops him. Patroclus kills Hector's brother Cebriones, is set upon by Apollo and Euphorbos, and is finally killed by Hector.
(17) Hector takes Achilles' armor from the fallen Patroclus. The Achaeans fight to retrieve Patroclus' body from the Trojans, who attempt to carry it back to Troy at Hector's command. Antilochus is sent to tell Achilles the news, and asks him to help retrieve the body.
Thetis at Hephaestus' forge waiting to receive Achilles' new weapons. Fresco from Pompeii, 1st century(18) When Achilles hears of Patroclus' death, he screams so loudly in his grief that his mother, Thetis, hears him from the bottom of the ocean. Thetis grieves, too, knowing that Achilles is fated to die young if he kills Hector. Though he knows it will seal his own fate, Achilles vows to kill Hector in order to avenge Patroclus.
Achilles is urged to help retrieve Patroclus' body, but has no armor to wear. Bathed in a brilliant radiance by Athena, Achilles stands next to the Achaean wall and roars in rage. The Trojans are terrified by his appearance, and the Achaeans manage to bear Patroclus' body away. Polydamas urges Hector again to withdraw into the city; again Hector refuses, and the Trojans camp on the plain at nightfall.
Achilles mourns Patroclus, brokenhearted. Meanwhile, at Thetis' request, Hephaestus fashions a new set of armor for Achilles, including a magnificently wrought shield.
The Rage of Achilles (Books 19–24)
(19) In the morning, Thetis brings Achilles his new set of armor, only to find him weeping over Patroclus' body. Achilles arms for battle and rallies the Achaean warriors. Agamemnon gives Achilles all the promised gifts, including Briseis, but Achilles is indifferent to them. The Achaeans take their meal; Achilles refuses to eat. His horse, Xanthos, prophesies Achilles' death; Achilles is indifferent. Achilles goes into battle, Automedon drives his chariot.
(20) Zeus lifts the ban on the gods' interference, and the gods freely help both sides. Achilles, burning with rage and grief, slays many. (21) Achilles cuts off half the Trojans' number in the river and slaughters them, clogging the river with bodies. The river god, Scamander, confronts Achilles and commands him to stop killing Trojans, but Achilles refuses. They fight, until Scamander is beaten back by Hephaestus' firestorm. The gods fight amongst themselves. The great gates of the city are opened to receive the fleeing Trojans, and Apollo leads Achilles away from the city by pretending to be a Trojan. (22) When Apollo reveals himself to Achilles, the Trojans have retreated into the city, all except for Hector.
Despite the counsel of Polydamas and the pleas of his parents, Priam and Hecuba, Hector resolves to face Achilles. When Achilles approaches, however, Hector's will fails him. He flees, and is chased by Achilles around the city. Finally, Athena tricks him into stopping, and he turns to face his opponent. After a brief duel, Achilles stabs Hector through the neck. Before dying, Hector reminds Achilles that he, too, is fated to die. Achilles strips Hector of his own armor, gloating over his death. Achilles then dishonors Hector's body by lashing it to the back of his chariot and dragging it around the city. The Trojans grieve.
A detail of fresco from the François Tomb at Vulci, showing the sacrifice of Trojan slaves. From left to right: Agamemnon, ghost of Patroclus, Vanth, Achilles beheading a slave, Charun, Ajax the Great, a slave, Ajax the Lesser. 350-330 BC(23) The ghost of Patroclus comes to Achilles in a dream, urging him to carry out the burial rites so that Patroclus' spirit can move on to the underworld. Patroclus asks Achilles to arrange for their bones to be entombed together in a single urn; Achilles agrees. Patroclus' body is burned. The Achaeans hold a day of funeral games, and Achilles gives out the prizes.
(24) Achilles is lost in his grief, and spends his days mourning Patroclus and dragging Hector's body behind his chariot. Dismayed by Achilles' continued abuse of Hector's body, Zeus decides that it must be returned to Priam. Led by Hermes, Priam takes a wagon filled with gifts out of Troy, across the plains, and into the Achaean camp unnoticed. He clasps Achilles by the knees and begs for his son's body. Achilles is moved to tears, and finally relents in his anger. The two lament their losses in the war. Achilles agrees to give Hector's body back, and to give the Trojans twelve days to properly mourn and bury Hector. Achilles apologizes to Patroclus, fearing he has dishonored him by returning Hector's body. After a meal, Priam carries Hector's body back into Troy. Hector is buried, and the city mourns.
