Bulfinch’s Mythology · Chapter
The Iliad explained
The chapter recounts the events of Homer's Iliad, focusing on the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon over the captive maidens Chryseis and Briseis, which leads Achilles to withdraw from the Trojan War.
What happens
The chapter recounts the events of Homer's Iliad, focusing on the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon over the captive maidens Chryseis and Briseis, which leads Achilles to withdraw from the Trojan War. The Greeks suffer defeats until Patroclus, wearing Achilles' armor, is killed by Hector. Achilles, grief-stricken and vengeful, returns to battle, slays Hector, and drags his body. Eventually, moved by King Priam's plea, he returns Hector's body for proper funeral rites.
Themes in this chapter
Hubris and Divine Retribution
Agamemnon's refusal to release Chryseis brings Apollo's plague; Achilles' pride leads to withdrawal and tragedy; Hector's overconfidence in facing Patroclus contributes to his fall.
Fate and Free Will
The gods intervene but fate ultimately decrees Troy's fall; Achilles chooses revenge yet is bound by destiny; Jupiter yields to fate regarding Sarpedon's death.
Mortality and Immortality
Achilles grapples with his friend's mortality and his own; Hector's body is preserved by the gods; the funeral rites honor the dead while the gods remain eternal.
Characters to notice
- Achilles
Central Greek hero who withdraws from battle after a quarrel with Agamemnon, later returns to avenge Patroclus's death, slays Hector, and eventually yields Hector's body to Priam.
- Hector
Trojan prince and champion; kills Patroclus, is slain by Achilles, and his body is dragged before being ransomed by his father Priam.
- Patroclus
Achilles' close friend who dons Achilles' armor, leads the Greeks, and is killed by Hector, prompting Achilles' return to battle.
- King Priam
Aged king of Troy who bravely ventures to Achilles' tent to ransom his son Hector's body, successfully moving Achilles to compassion.
- Agamemnon
Greek commander whose refusal to return Chryseis sparks the quarrel with Achilles; later sends an embassy to seek reconciliation.
- Jupiter
King of the gods who initially favors the Trojans at Thetis's request, later pities Priam and sends Mercury to guide him to Achilles.
- Thetis
Mother of Achilles; appeals to Jupiter to aid the Trojans after Achilles is wronged, and later comforts Achilles after Patroclus's death.
- Ajax
Greek hero who defends the ships and the body of Patroclus, and famously prays for daylight during the battle.
Key passages
“Think, O Achilles, of thy own father, full of days like me, and trembling on the gloomy verge of life.”
Consider your own aged father, who is as old and frail as I am, standing at the edge of death.
Priam's plea to Achilles, appealing to his filial piety to gain sympathy.
“Father of heaven and earth! deliver thou Achaia's host from darkness; clear the skies; Give day; and, since thy sovereign will is such, Destruction with it; but, O, give us day.”
O supreme god, free the Greek army from this darkness and restore daylight; even if destruction is our fate, let us at least see the light.
Ajax's desperate prayer to Jupiter during the battle over Patroclus's body.
