Plot Summary

Homer's Iliad begins nine years after the Greek armies first arrived at Troy. A plague has overcome the
Greek armies because Agamemnon has refused to return the daughter of a Priest of Apollo. Achilles
the epic's central character e!poses this fact and confronts the king. Agamemnon agrees to release this
girl if and only if Achilles gives him his '"ar#pri$e' %riseis in return. Achilles finds this to be
tremendously un&ust and "ithdra"s from battle taking "ith him all of his soldiers. He asks the gods to
grant him revenge and make the Greeks re'uire his assistance in order to "in Achilles remains
"ithdra"n for the greater portion of the epic.
Agamemnon is encouraged to attack by a dream and after some trouble "ith his troops rallies them.
The Tro&an side rallies also. The t"o armies move to"ards each other but are stopped by a challenge
from Hector( Paris and )enelaus are to fight one on one to decide the "ar. Paris flees the battle "ith
the help of a divinity and )enelaus rages on "ith his brother demanding the release of Helen and her
treasure.
*eus the king of the gods calls an assembly of the gods and orders them to stop helping the battle
because he has decided ho" it is going to turn out. )ean"hile the battle continues near Troy. The
Greek +iomedes makes a heroic stand and kills many Tro&ans. The Tro&an Aeneas fights +iomedes and
is "ounded but eventually rescued by his mother Aphrodite. Ares reenters the battle on the Tro&an
side. ,ith Ares at his side Hector goes on a rampage. Ares is "ounded by +iomedes as Hera and
Athena enter to help the Greeks.
Telamonian A&a! &oins +iomedes and the Greeks begin to repulse the Tro&ans. Hector returns to Troy
to pray for +iomedes to be taken from battle. He chastises Paris for co"ardice speaks to Helen and
spends some time "ith his "ife Andromache. Paris and Hector return to "ar. The Tro&ans rally again
and then Hector challenges a Greek captain to a duel. A&a! fights him but the duel is ended by nightfall
and a truce. %oth sides debate the follo" day of the "ar e!pressing the need for a truce to care for their
dead. The Tro&ans propose a settlement. The Greeks re&ect this but agree to a truce day for burials.
*eus again threatens the assembled gods and for a "hile they heed him. The battle begins and the
Tro&ans "ith the blessing of *eus push the Greeks back to their earthen "alls. *eus gives an omen to
the Greeks and they rally. The Tro&ans rally again and continue to push on"ard. -ight comes and the
Tro&an army camps outside the city. The Greeks send an embassy to Achilles re'uesting his return to
battle in e!change for treasure and an unharmed %riseis. Achilles refuses. The Greeks go to sleep but
the captains stay a"ake and .dysseus and +iomedes raid the Tro&an camps. They kill the Tro&an +olon
and steals horses from the Thracian camp.
The battle begins the ne!t day "ith a Greek rally led by Agamemnon. *eus instructs Hector not to fight
until Agamemnon is "ounded. ,ith this omen fulfilled Hector rallies the Tro&ans and pushes to"ards
the ships. .dysseus and +iomedes are also "ounded. Achilles "atches the battle and sends Patroclus to
see "ho has been "ounded. The Tro&ans continue attacking and "ith e!traordinary feats of strength
and bravery by Hector and Sarpedon they storm the Greek camp. The fighting remains fierce near the
Greek ships. ,ith *eus turned a"ay from the battle Poseidon inspires A&a! and Idomeneus to fight
more fiercely. Hector is driven back and "ounded.
-estor "ounded goes back to the battle "ith other Greek captains in order to rally the troops. Hera
plots to seduce Poseidon and put him to sleep. ,ith the king of the Gods sleeping Poseidon enters the
battle on the Greek side and the Tro&ans are routed.
*eus "akes and reinvigorates the Tro&an line. Apollo helps Hector back into battle and the Tro&ans
again push to the Greek Ships. A&a! defends these valiantly and -estor continues to spur on the
Troops. Hector calls for torches to burn the boats as Patroclus observes the panic in his compatriots.
Patroclus returns to Achilles and re'uests to enter the battle. Achilles lets him go leading the
myrmidons. A&a! and Hector continue to fight each other near the ships "hen the myrmidons enter
battle led by Patroclus easily mistaken for Achilles in the hero's armor. Patroclus kills the Tro&an son
of *eus Sarpedon and the battle centers around his body. *eus has Apollo rescue the corpse of his son.
The battle is pushed back to the "alls of Troy Paris attempts to storm the "alls of the city ignoring the
advice of Achilles. Patroclus is killed by a combination of the Tro&an /uphorbus Apollo and Hector.
,ith the death of Patroclus the Tro&ans regain some ground as the t"o sides struggle for the body.
Hector follo"s Achilles' chariot desiring his horses. Hector is "ounded and must retreat. The Greeks
save the body of Patroclus. A runner brings the ne" of Patroclus' death to Achilles and the hero mourns
re'uesting revenge from his mother. Thetis goes to Hephaestus and gets a ne" set of armor for her son
"hich she besto"s on him even though she finds him lying on the ground "eeping.
Achilles goes to battle and *eus releases the gods to fight as they desire. Aeneas stands up to Achilles
but is "ounded saved again by a god. Achilles and Hector clash "ith their troops follo"ing and
Achilles rampage continues.
Achilles splits the Tro&an line and murders many in the near#by river 0anthus. The river god gets angry
"ith him and Achilles eventually attacks the god himself. The god retaliates and chases Achilles only
to be stopped by Hephaestus "ho repulses him at Hera's bidding. Achilles presses to the very "alls of
Troy. Hector e!its to meet his adversary but then flees him running around the city three times. Athena
tricks him into facing Achilles "ho kills him after a short struggle. The Greeks dishonor Hector's body
and Achilles drags him back to their camp behind his chariot.
The Greeks have a feast and build a pyre for Patroclus. They burn and then bury his body. After this
Achilles hosts a set of funeral games for his fallen friend. At night *eus has Thetis tell her son that
Hector ought to be ransomed and Iris tell Priam to ransom his son. ,ith divine help Priam comes to
Achilles' camp and ransoms the body of his son. The t"o share a meal together and go to sleep. Priam
leaves at the goading of Hermes before day break and the epic ends "ith the funeral of Hector.
1or all practical purposes ,estern literature begins "ith the Iliad. The /pic of Gilgamesh "hile at
least 2333 years older is neither as "ell#kno"n nor as influential as Homer4s "ork. ,e still use
e!pressions like 5Achilles4 heel6 5Tro&an horse6 or 5the face that launched a thousand ships6 all "ith
roots in the Iliad or the mythic cycle on "hich it is based nearly 7333 years after the poem "as
"ritten. And at least in terms of the number of copies to survive from anti'uity the poems of Homer
are second only to the %ible in popularity.
Although 5Iliad6 means 5the story of Ilion6 or Troy the poem has much more to say about Achilles
and Hector than it does about Troy. As the first "ord of the Greek te!t suggests 859age: Goddess sing
the rage of Peleus4s son Achilles6; this poem has a lot to do "ith anger. Honor glory and fate are also
fre'uent themes.
Among the things for "hich the Iliad is most famous are its use of epithets or formulaic phrases to
describe an individual an ob&ect or even some events. Also note"orthy is the poem4s masterful use of
similes.
1or more than 2<33 years the Iliad and the Odyssey set the standard by "hich epic poetry if not all
poetry of any kind "as &udged. The epic form in poetry has not been "idely practiced since the
appearance of =ohn )ilton4s Paradise >ost in 2??@ but the story of the fall of Troy has remained a
perennial favorite to the present day.
Iliad Summary
The Background of the Story
The goddess /ris 8+iscord; "as not invited to the "edding of Peleus and Thetis 8Achilles4 parents; so
in revenge she thre" a golden apple inscribed 5for the fairest6 into the ban'uet hall kno"ing it "ould
cause trouble. All the goddesses present claimed it for themselves but the choice came do"n to three
AAphrodite Athena and Hera. They asked *eus to make the final decision but he "isely refused.
Instead *eus sent them to )ount Ida "here the handsome youth Paris "as tending his father4s flocks.
Priam had sent the prince a"ay from Troy because of a prophecy that Paris "ould one day bring doom
to the city. /ach of the three goddesses offers Paris a bribe if he "ill name her the fairest( Hera
promises to make him lord of /urope and AsiaB Athena promises to make him a great military leader
and let him rampage all over GreeceB and Aphrodite promises that he "ill have the most beautiful
"oman in the "orld for his "ife. Paris picks Aphrodite. 1rom then on both Hera and Athena are dead#
set against him and against the Tro&ans in general.
The most beautiful "oman in the "orld at the time is Helen a daughter of *eus and >eda. Helen is
already marriedAto )enelaus the king of Sparta. Helen4s adoptive father Tyndareus had re'uired all
the men "ho "anted to marry her s"ear a solemn oath that they "ould all come to the assistance of
Helen4s eventual husband should he ever need their help.
Paris visits )enelaus in Sparta and abducts Helen taking her back to Troy "ith him seemingly "ith
her active cooperation. Paris also takes a large part of )enelaus4 fortune. This "as a serious breach of
the la"s of hospitality "hich held that guests and hosts o"ed very specific obligations to each other. In
particular the male guest "as obligated to respect the property and "ife of his host as he "ould his
o"n.
)enelaus his brother Agamemnon and all the rest of Helen4s original suitors invite others to &oin
them on an e!pedition to Troy to recover Helen. An armada of some 2C33 ships eventually sails to
Troy "here the Achaeans fight for years to take the city and engage in skirmishes and plundering
raids on nearby regions. The story opens in the tenth year of the "ar.
Book 1: The Wrath of Achilles
Agamemnon offends Dhryses the priest of Apollo by refusing to ransom back his daughter. Apollo
sends a plague on the Achaeans in retribution. At a gathering of the "hole army Agamemnon agrees to
give the girl back but demands another "oman as compensation and takes %riseis Achilles4
concubine.
Achilles is enraged and pulls his "hole army out of the "ar. In addition he prays to his mother the
goddess Thetis to beg *eus to avenge his dishonor by supporting the Tro&ans against the Achaean
forces. *eus agrees though not "ithout angering his "ife Hera.
Book 2: Agamemnons Dream and the Catalogue of Shis
*eus sends a false prophetic dream to Agamemnon indicating that if he "ill rouse the army and march
on Troy he can capture the city that very night. As a test Agamemnon calls another assembly and
suggests instead that the "hole army pull up its tents and sail back home.
This turns out to be a very bad idea. The troops rush a"ay to get ready for the voyage home and their
leaders have a very hard time restoring them to order. The army is eventually mobili$ed for "ar and a
catalogue of the Achaean and Tro&an forces involved in the fight follo"s.
Book !: The Duel "et#een $aris and %enelaus
In "hat is most likely a flashback episode a truce is called so that )enelaus and Paris can meet in
single combat the "inner to take Helen and all her treasures home "ith him. Solemn oaths are s"orn
by both sides to abide by the outcome of the duel. Helen "atches the fight "ith Eing Priam from the
"alls of Troy and points out the chief leaders of the opposing forces. =ust as )enelaus is on the point
of killing Paris his protector the goddess Aphrodite takes him safely out of the battle and back to his
bedroom in Troy.
Book &: The Truce is Broken
Hera schemes "ith some of the other gods and goddesses to break the truce. Athena tricks Pandarus an
ally of the Tro&ans into shooting an arro" at )enelaus "ounding him slightly.... F Domplete Iliad
Summary
Book ': (dysseus Sets Sail for )ome* and is Shi#recked
At another council of the gods *eus orders Hermes to go to Dalypso and tell her to let .dysseus leave
for Ithaca. Dalypso is unhappy but obeys the order. She offers .dysseus a chance to become immortal
and to live "ith her foreverB "hich he declines. .dysseus builds a raft "ith tools and materials she
provides and sails off. Poseidon comes back from feasting "ith the /thiopians and "recks the raft in a
storm. .dysseus "ith the help of a sea goddess is "ashed safely ashore in the land of the Phaeacians.
Book +: ,ausicaa -ncounters a Stranger
The Phaeacian Princess -ausicaa finds the ship"recked .dysseus asleep behind a bush. .dysseus asks
-ausicaa for help. She gives him some clothing to "ear and sends him into to"n to find the palace of
her father Alcinous.
Book .: (dysseus and the /ing of $haeacia
.dysseus arrives at the palace and begs the assistance of Eing Alcinous and Gueen Arete. He gives an
edited version of his HadventuresH to date but does not disclose his identity. He deftly turns aside
Alcinous's suggestion that he should remain in Phaeacia and marry -ausicaa.
Book 0: The $haeacians -ntertain (dysseus
The Phaeacians treat .dysseus to a day of feasting song and athletic events. ,hen .dysseus begins
"eeping during +emodocus's tale of the Tro&an ,ar Alcinous cuts the ban'uet short. At dinner that
evening .dysseus speaks highly of +emodocus's skill and offers him a prime cut of his o"n portion.
,hen +emodocus sings the story of the Tro&an Horse .dysseus begins crying again... F Domplete
The .dyssey Summary