“The Iliad”
(In Short)
Characters
 Achilles:
 Very powerful Achaean warrior
 Flaw: cocky and prideful
 In later myths, we find out he had a weak heel
 Has two fates:
 Live a long life with a family
 Die young but in victorious battle
Characters
 The Story of Thetis & Zeus:
 Zeus, the god of all gods, loved thetis, the goddess of the sea
 The prophets said if they had a son, he would be stronger than
zeus
 Zeus said “Heck no!”
 Zeus pawns thetis off on a mortal, peleus
 Together they have Achilles, a demi-god
Characters
 Agamemnon:
 King of Mycenae
 Brother of Melelaus, king of Sparta
 Bully Toward Achilles
 Patroclus:
 Achilles’ Best friend
 Dies in battle fighting Hector
Characters
 Odysseus:
 King of Ithaca (Greek Island)
 Strong like Achilles, but has more Brains
 Builds the Trojan Horse and leads the Achaeans to
destroy Troy
 Convinces Achilles to fight in the war against Troy
Characters
 Priam:
 Paris & Hector’s father
 The king of Troy
 A pushover for Paris; he does whatever Paris wants him
to do
Characters
 Paris:
 Prince of Troy
 “Kidnaps” Helen, queen of Sparta, because he loves her
 Everyone dislikes him because he puts Troy in Harms way
 He brings Helen to Troy and causes the war between the Trojans
and Achaeans
 When Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and Athena, the goddess of
wisdom and war, ask him who is prettier, he says Aphrodite, which
makes Athena very angry
Characters
 Menelaus:
 King of Sparta
 Wife, Helen, is kidnapped by the Trojan Prince, Paris

Hector:
 Paris’ brother
 Other prince of Troy
 Very prideful and loyal to his family
 Fights Achilles in a one-on-one battle
Characters
 Helen:
 The “Most beautiful woman in the world”
 Leaves her husband, Menelaus, king of Sparta, for Paris,
Prince of Troy
 Means trouble for the Trojans – the war is partially her
fault because she left her country
Characters
 Homer’s Gods & Goddesses:
 Not bound by fate like mortals are
 Have close bonds with mortals
 EX: Aphrodite & Paris, Athena & Odysseus
 Immortal
 Their veins are full of ichor instead of blood
 Eat ambrosia and drink nectar
 Also “eat” smoke from animal sacrifices and spilled wine as
offerings from mortals
 Repay mortals by helping in battle, guiding them on quests,
etc.
Characters
 Athena:
 Goddess of wisdom and war
 Angry at Paris because he said Aphrodite was prettier
than her
 She allies with the Achaeans because of this
 Ares:
 The god of war
 Allies with Trojans
Characters
 Aphrodite:
 The goddess of love
 Allies with Trojans
 Apollo:
 The god of Poetry
 Allies with Trojans
Characters
 Thetis:
 The goddess of the sea
 Achilles’ mother
 Allies with the Trojans
 Poseidon:
 God of the sea
 Allies with the Achaeans
Characters

Zeus:
God of all gods
 Neutral party


Hephaestus:
God of fire and metal-working
 Neutral Party


Hades:
God of the underworld
 Neutral party

Timeline of Events
1.
Paris insults Athe4na by saying Aphrodite is prettier.
2.
Menelaus doesn’t want to go to war; Agamemnon is
trying to get Thessaly (Formerly known as Aeolus) to
join their alliance.
3.
Paris “Steals” Helen.
Timeline of Events
4.
Agamemnon and Menelaus declare war on Troy;
Thessaly joins.
5.
The Achaeans and Trojans fight for nine years.
6.
Agamemnon captures two maidens, Chryseis and
Briseis; he gives Briseis to Achilles and keeps Chryseis for
himself.
Timeline of Events
7.
Chryses, Chryseis’ father and a priest, asks Agamemnon to let
his daughter go; Agamemnon says no.
8.
Chryses prays to Apollo to put a plague on the Achaeans;
plague lasts for nine days.
9.
The Achaeans get angry about the plague and make
Agamemnon give Chryseis back; Agamemnon does, but takes
Briseis
Timeline of Events
10.
Achilles lets Briseis go, but gets angry and refuses to fight in the
battle anymore.
11.
Achilles prays to his mother, Thetis, to “pull some strings” in
battle and sabotage the Achaeans to teach Agamemnon a
lesson.
12.
Thetis gets Zeus to make the Achaeans weak and lose the battle
led by Hector, Prince of Troy and Paris’ brother.
Timeline of Events
13.
Patroclus asks to fight in Hector’s battle, disguised as Achilles,
in order to trick and scare the Trojans.
14.
The Trojans are scared and retreat; Hector does not and he kills
Patroclus.
15.
Achilles finds out Patroclus has dies and swears revenge on
Hector; Thetis asks Hephaestus to make Achilles a new suit of
armor to fight in.
Timeline of Events
16.
Achilles fights Hector and kills him.
17.
Achilles ties Hector’s body to the back of his Chariot and drags
it across the battlefield for nine days; he is trying to make a
point as he is very upset over Patroclus’ death at Hector’s
Hands.
18.
Achilles angers the Gods with his vengeful actions and they
demand he cease.
Timeline of Events
19.
Priam visits Achilles and Begs for Hector’s body
back so the Trojans can give him a proper burial;
Achilles agrees.
20.
“The Iliad” ends with Hector’s funeral.
What Happens Between…?

Paris dies in an attack; he is struck by a poisoned arrow of
Philoctetes, the Prince of Thessaly.

Paris goes to his first wife, Oenoe, who has promised to heal his
would after he left her for Helen.

Oenoe refuses to heal his wounds because he hasn’t been back
for her for ten years; he’s been too focused on Helen.
What Happens Between…?

Paris returns to Troy to die; Oenoe regrets her decision and tries
to save Paris but it’s too late.

Helen is forced to remarry – she marries Deiphobus, Paris’
brother-in-law.

Odysseus, at the advice of Athena and with the help of Epeius, a
Greek artist, leads the Achaeans in a build of a giant hollow
wooden horse, known as the Trojan horse.
What Happens Between…?

Some Achaeans hid inside and the rest sailed away in
the ships to trick the Trojans into thinking they
surrendered.

Sinon, a Greek, was left behind to convince the Trojans
that the Greeks deserted him and that the horse was a
sign of good luck.

The majority of the Trojans believed Sinon and partied
all night.
What Happens Between…?

While they slept in a drunken stupor, the Achaeans
broke out of the horse and killed everyone, destroying
Troy.

Deiphobus, Helen’s new husband, is killed in the fall of
Troy by King Menelaus.

Helen returns to Sparta to live with Menelaus again.
What Happened to Achilles?

When he was an infant, Thetis attempted to make Achilles
immortal by dipping him into the River Styx.

She held him by his left ankle, which made his heel the only
body part to not be dipped in the magical waters; this was the
only are4a capable of a mortal wound.

In a battle, Achilles is shot in the hell by a stray arrow shot by
Paris; Achilles dies.