The Iliad

Agamemnon - King of Mycea, Brother to Menelaos

Achilleus - Swift footed demi-god, mother is Thetis

Patroklos - Achilleus' lover

Odysseus - cunning, smart, founder of Trojan Horse

Diomedes - son of Tydeus, favourite of Athene

Menelaos - King of Sparta, Helen's Husband, Agamemnons brother

Nestor - King of pylos, wise old man 

Priam - King of Troy

Hektor - Son of Priam, Prince of Troy, leader of the Trojan Army

Andromache - Wife of Hektor

Paris - Brother of Hektor, son of Priam, wants to marry Helen

Helen - Wife of Menelaos, taken to Troy by Paris

Hekabe - Wife of Priam, Mother of Hektor and Paris, 50 Children

Zeus - God and King of Olympus

Athene - Goddess of Wisdom

Hera - Sister of Zeus, Goddess of Women

Apollo - Son of Zeus, God of Archery, Sun

Hephaistos - Son of Zeus and Hera, God of Fire and the Forge

Hermes - Son of Zeus, god of theives and commerce

Poseidon - Brother of Zeus, God of the Sea

Thetis - Mother of Achilleus, Sea Goddess

Aphrodite - Goddess of Fertility

Hades - God of the Underworld.

- Ninth year of the Trojan War

- Plague sent by Apollo, Agamemnon refused to give back chryseis to chryses, chryses had prayed to apollo and apollo has sent a plague

- Achilleus calls upon an assembly and asks kalchas to reveal what has caused the plague. Kalchas reveals that Agamemnon has caused the plague

- Agamemnon agrees to give chryseis back but wants bryseis

- Agamemnon and Achilleus quarrel and Achilleus refused to fight. 

- Achilleus prays to Thetis to ask Zeus to help the Trojans so that the greeks will lose in battle and want Achilleus back.

- Zeus agrees to this request.

- Gifts and prizes heroes recieved when the bounty was shared out after battle was for pleasure and profit but most importantly STATUS SYMBOLS

- when agamemnon has to give up his prize he feels threatened by loss of honour

- agamemnon was best leader, achilleus was best warrior

- achilleus still had a prize whilst agamemnon didnt, balance of power might change

The book symbols the start of ACHILLEUS' ANGER

D.I

- Chryses appeal to apollo

- Athene calms achilleus

- Thetis asks zeus to make greeks fail in war

RAGE

- Achilleus and Agamemnon

- Kalchas prophecy blames agamemnon for the plague, only a true leader can ask for a prophecy - challenges agamemnons leadership.

- Paris offers a challenge to fight any greek who would fight him,

- See's menelaos and loses courage and runs away.

- Hektor sees the cowardice in paris and begins to taunt him

- paris agrees to offer a challenge of single battle to menelaos

- Menelaos accepts.

- Helen visited by Iris, helen has conference with priam

- Treaty confirmed with offering to gods

- Menelaos gains upper hand, aphrodite intervenes and hides paris in a mist, aphrodite goes to helen and warns her to welcome paris, menelaos demands a prize for his victory against paris

- flashily dressed, boastful, sly, coward

- hektor tells him this. recaps original cause of trojan war

- homer gives us severeal clues on his opinions of paris

- 'paris you pest, good for nothing but looks, you woman crazed seducer'

- paris very womanly and vain. 

- blames gods for everything

- more concerned with pleasures in life

- seducer

- weak character

- homer presents helen as being very self loathing, afraid of aphrodite

- intellegent, strong, stands up for herself

- skilled at weaving, beautiful, blames herself for the war

- poor self opinion

- causes reader to sympathise in her 

- afraid her brothers are too ashamed to come fight for her 

- respected by priam, strong willed.

DI

- aphrodite rescues paris

- would have died otherwise

- oath brakers (outcome of war)

- iris disguised as Laodike visits helen

RAGE 

- paris rescued from battle, rage overcomes menelaos, wants helen

SIMILE

- Trojans like birds, unorganised, loud

- Achaians silent, organised

-Zeus argues that Menelaos has won

- Hera wants to destroy troy completely

- Zeus sends athene to rekindle fighting

- Searches for pandaros to aim at menelaos

- athene deflects arrow so that it does not kill menelaos

-agamemnon rallies achaian ranks

- challenges their pride, recounds deeds of their fathers to get them to fight

- achaians kill many, none of main characters.

- odysseius and aias kill many

- athene helps greeks, apollo helps trojans

- Athene + pandoros

- Intervention reinstates battle, seals the fate of troy.

- Greeks fairing well in battle

- Helenos tells Hektor to tell the women to take a robe to Athene

- Glaukos and Diomedes meet but do not fight - FAMILY FRIENDSHIP

- hektor meets his mother and asks her to prepare the robe

- Hektor visits paris and helen, shames paris

- Paris informs hektor that helen had already convinced him to return to battlefield.

Hektor and Hekabe

- Loving Generous, Caring and Obedient

Hektor and Andromache

- Truly committed to each other, hektor only man for andromache

Helen and Paris

- Traditional house wife, influeces paris, upper hand.

- Greeks in despair - Agamemnon suggests they go home

- diomedes opposes view, council held

- Nestor suggests that agamemnon recompensates achilleus for insult

- Aias, Odysseus and Phoinix go as abassadors

- Dont succeed

Odysseus - Toasts to achilleus, afraid that the greeks are going to lose, tells him what is happening in the war, asks achilleus to let go of his anger, tells him what gifts agamemnon is giving him, pity other members of achaian army

Achilleus - loved bryseis, agamemnon robbed him of her. hates agamemnon, will not marry his daughter, could offer infinite gifts and he wouldnt accept them, if he sails home he would live a long life, wants phoinix to go home with him too. still angry about when agamemnon took bryseis away. wont carry on fighting til hector comes to him. 

Phoinix - emotional, wants achilleus to stay, brought achilleus up, cursed by father to not have children, emotional blackmail, made achilleus his own son, story of meleagros similar to achilleus, come while gifts are yours, dont wait until its too late. 

Aias - doesnt think they will succeed in winning achilleus over, achilleus has no love for his companions, cold hearted because of a girl.