The Iliad: Notes
Becca Dvorak
H211
Introduction
Summary:
 A poem about “the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles” (3)
 Achilles, son of Peleus
 Incident occurred at the end of the Achaean attack on Troy (3)
 Chryses, priest of Apollo
o Daughter kidnapped by Achaean army
 Agamemnon, king
o Attempts to ransom her with no luck
o Apollo plagues Achaeans
o Achilles, leader of Myrmidons
 Myrmidons, branch of Achaean army
o Agamemnon wants compensation for giving the girl back
 Achilles recommends waiting until they get more plunder
 They fight
 Agamemnon takes Achilles’ girl from the plunder
 Briseis, booty of Achilles and later Agamemnon
 Achilles gets pissed off
o All returns to normal except that Agamemnon keeps Briseis
 Thetis, goddess, mother of Achilles
 Zeus, “father of gods and men”
 Achilles prays to Thetis to plead with Zeus to screw over the Achaeans
o Zeus agrees
 Hera, wife of Zeus (4)
o opposes infliction upon Achaeans
o hates the Trojans
 Athena, daughter of Zeus and Hera
o Hates the Trojans
 Hector, Trojan leader
o Son of King Priam
o pushes the Achaeans back
 Agamemnon pleads with Achilles
o Bribes him with money and his daughter
o Wants him to return to fight for him because of Hector
o Refuses offer, but chooses not to leave
 Trojans overtake Achaean wall of defense
 Agamemnon wounded
o Also Menelaus, Diomedes, and Odysseus
 Patroclus, Achilles’ best bud
o sent to do recon in Achaean camp
o asks Achilles to pull back
o wears Achilles’ armor into battle
 scares Trojans
o killed by Apollo, god, Troy’s protector
o killed by Hector
 takes off Achilles armor and wears it
 Achilles hates Hector
 Achilles works it out with Agamemnon
 Achilles has a big funeral ordeal for Patroclus
 Achilles kills Hector and drags his body around
o Gods (except Hera and Athena) want him to stop
 King Priam brings the ransom himself for his son’s body
 Makes Achilles think of his own father
 Agrees to the ransom
 Thetis (mother) tells Achilles his death is soon after Hector’s (5)
Background:
 Homer was blind
 Poet, not song-writer
 Troy
o Coast of Asia Minor
Book 1: The Rage of Achilles
 Achaeans attack a Trojan town (78)
 Take two women as booty
o Chryseis, for Agamemnon
o Briseis, for Achilles
 Apollo plagues the Achaeans (79)
 Chryseis given back, but Briseis takes her place
 Plague lifted from Achaeans when Chryseis is returned
 Thetis asks for Zeus’ help in helping the Trojans (94)
o His wife wants the Greeks to win
o He hurts the Achaeans anyway
 Hera gets pissed when she finds out Zeus helped the Trojans (96)
o Hephaestus, son of Hera and Zeus
 Calms her down
Book 6: Hector Returns to Troy
 Gods abandon Trojans (195)
o Achaeans advance
 Menelaus, Achaean warrior kills an Achaean soldier held hostage
 Paris, brother of Hector
o Gets crap for not fighting in the war
 Andromache, wife of Hector
o begs Hector not to return to the war
 Astyanax, son of Hector
 Andromache mourns for Hector when he leaves, before he even dies (212)
 Hector and Paris meet before going into battle together (212)
Book 7: Ajax Duels with Hector

Apollo and Athena create a final fight to end the battle for the day (216)
o Hector asks an Achaean to fight him
o Menelaus is willing, but Agamemnon convinces him not to
o Nestor encourages people
 9 volunteer
 Ajax is chosen
 Ajax injures Hector
 Zeus calls off the fight with the night (223)
 Hector and Ajax become buddies (223)
 Nestor wants a day to bury people and build a fortification
 King Priam wants a day to bury people and build a fortification
 They agree
o Zeus and Poseidon plan to tear down the forts
Book 8: The Tide of Battle Turns
 Zeus weighs the fates of Troy and Achaea
o Achaean side is heavier
 Zeus brings a shower of lightning on the Achaeans (232)
o Turns tide to Trojans’ favor
 Diomedes saves Nestor from Hector
 Hector pursues them to the ships
 Hera wants the Achaeans to do well (237)
o Has Agamemnon encourage his troops
 Agamemnon prays to Zeus
o Zeus sends an eagle carrying a fawn
o They fight back
 Teucer, Achaean archery warrior
o Kills a lot of Trojans
o Injured by Hector
 Turns the tide again (242)
 Athena and Hera want the Greeks to do well and contemplate intervening
o Zeus warns them not to
 Achilles is the only hope for the Greeks
 The Greeks (Trojans) camp outside of their fortress wall
 Hector makes fires to see them (250)
o Leaves them alone in the night, waiting for morning
Book 15: The Achaean Armies at Bay
 Hera and Poseidon screwed things up during Zeus’ nap
o Zeus gets pissed
o Hera blames Poseidon
o Zeus doesn’t care
 Zeus claims he has no personal interest in the war
o But the Trojans will win over the Achaeans and Hector will die after
killing Patroclus
 Zeus sends Iris to pull Poseidon out of the war, intervening
o He is unhappy but complies


Apollo encourages Hector and gives him and his fellow fighters new strength
Hector attacks the Achaeans
o Achaeans do well until they actually see Apollo, who helps the Trojans
 They start cat-fighting by the ships
 Ajax and Hector fight again
 Teucer kills a bunch of Trojans
o Zeus won’t let him kill Hector
 Snaps his bow string
 Trojans continue to advance
Book 16: Patroclus Fights and Dies
 Patroclus asks to wear Achilles armor because he refuses to fight
 Achilles prays that Zeus will protect Patroclus and the ships
o Only one
 Hector retreats after seeing “Achilles”
 Patroclus kills a lot of Trojans
o Zeus wants to save his son, Sarpedon
 Doesn’t
 The Trojans and Achaeans fight over his armor
 Hector tries to get the armor
 Zeus wants to kill Patroclus for revenge
 Hector gets scared, because Zeus wants him to be
 Patroclus attacks the Trojans and pushes them back to Troy
o Apollo intervenes and injures Patroclus
 Hector kills Patroclus
o Patroclus tells Hector he will die soon
Book 17: Menelaus’ Finest Hour
 Both sides fight over Patroclus’ body
 Euphorbus, Trojan
o Tries to take Patroclus’ armor
o Killed by Menelaus
 Apollo gets Hector worked up
 Hector tries to help Euphorbus
 Ajax keeps Hector away
o Keeps body from being messed with
o Hector takes the armor
 Hector wants Patroclus’ body
 Zeus makes Hector temporarily powerful
 The Achaeans overpower the Trojans
 Aeneas, Trojan warrior
o Apollo makes him encourage them to fight
 Achaeans end up with the body
 Hector kills a Trojan trying to kill Automnedon, Achilles’ chariot driver
o Takes his armor to give Patroclus peace
 Athena encourages Menelaus
o Disguised as Phoenix
 Apollo enourages Hector
o Disguised as a Trojan
 Zeus intervenes and gives the Trojans the leg up
 Menelaus and Meriones take Patroclus’ body
Book 18: The Shield of Achilles
 Achilles freaks out about Patroclus’ death
 He is so upset that his mother hears his (Thetis)
 Thetis says she will have new armor made for Achilles to get his revenge
o He just has to wait a day
 Achilles scares the Trojans away
 Polydamas, Trojan leader
o Wants to give up because Achilles is back
o Hector says no
 Wants to try the same thing that just failed
 Achaeans mourn for Patroclus
 Thetis has a new set of armor made for Achilles
Book 21: Achilles Fights the River
 Achilles attacks the Trojans
o Splits them up
 Achilles murders Lycaon, son of Priam
 Achilles is pissed and set on revenge
 River god gets mad about so many bodies in the river
o Calls on Apollo
 Achilles gets mad at the river and attacks it
o River god fights back and almost kills him
o Gods intervened by boiling the river
 Gods argue over the human warfare
o Athena wins over Ares and Aphrodite
o Poseidon wants to fight Apollo
 Apollo thinks it’s dumb for the gods to fight over mortal issues
 Artemis tries to piss him off to get him to fight, but Hera
(mother) steps in
 Priam lets the Trojans come into Troy
 Achilles fights Agenor one-on-one
o Agenor is really Apollo in disguise
o Gives the Trojans enough time to get to Troy
Book 22: The Death of Hector
 Hector is the last Trojan standing outside of Troy
 Hector wants to talk to Achilles
o Doesn’t go so well
o Achilles tries to kill him
 Zeus wants to save Hector
o Athena reminds him that he has to die
o Hector’s side of the scale sinks



Athena deceives Hector into fighting Achilles
Hector tries to attack Achilles
Achilles knows the weak spots in Hector’s armor
o It’s his old armor
 Achilles kills Hector
o Hector begs to have his body taken back to his people
o Achilles lets the animals eat him
 Achaeans continue to desecrate Hector’s body
 Achilles drags Hector’s body around
 Priam and Hecuba see their son’s body like this
o Andromache sees it too
o They all cry
Book 23: Funeral Games for Patroclus
 Achaeans mourn for Patroclus
 Patroclus appears to Achilles in a dream
o Wants a funeral
 Achilles puts on a big, fancy funeral
 Achilles puts on a sports contest in his honor
o Diomedes wins
 Athena helps
o Achilles wants to take the second place finisher’s prize to give to the
last
 He got ripped off because of Athena
 Antilochus (secon place) gets mad
 Menelaus says he fouled
 They make up
Book 24: Achilles and Priam
 Achilles continues to drag around Hector’s body
o Apollo protects it from desecration
 Apollo convinces Zeus to give Hector back to the Trojans
o Thetis tells Achilles
 Priam goes to the Achaean camp with a bunch of riches
o Protected and guided by Zeus
 Priam goes directly to Achilles
o Makes Achilles think of his own father
 Achilles accepts the ransom for Hector’s body
 Priam sleeps in Achilles’ tent
o Hermes warns Priam not to
o They escape in the middle of the night
 Women mourn for Hector
 They have a funeral for Hector