Iliad

Books

• The Wrath of Achilles

  Agamemnon seizes Achilles' war-prize Briseis, and Achilles withdraws from battle. His mother Thetis persuades Zeus to turn the tide of war against the Greeks.

  611 lines
• The Catalogue of Ships

  The armies muster. The longest catalogue in ancient literature names every Greek contingent and its commanders — then turns to the Trojan side.

  877 lines
• The Duel of Paris and Menelaus

  Paris and Menelaus agree to settle the war in single combat. Paris is losing until Aphrodite snatches him from the battlefield. The duel solves nothing.

  461 lines
• The Breaking of the Truce

  Athena tricks the Trojan Pandarus into shooting Menelaus with an arrow, shattering the truce. Agamemnon rallies his commanders and the battle begins in earnest.

  544 lines
• The Aristeia of Diomedes

  Diomedes rages across the battlefield, wounding Aphrodite and Ares themselves. For one day, a mortal fights on equal terms with gods.

  909 lines
• Hector and Andromache

  Hector returns to Troy. His meeting with Andromache and their infant son is the most human scene in the poem — a husband and wife who both know what is coming.

  529 lines
• Ajax and Hector

  Ajax and Hector fight in single combat but neither can prevail. The Greeks build a wall around their ships — the first sign they fear they might lose.

  482 lines
• The Trojans at the Ships

  Zeus turns the battle against the Greeks. The Trojans drive them back to their camp. For the first time, fire threatens the ships.

  565 lines
• The Embassy to Achilles

  Agamemnon offers to return Briseis and give Achilles vast treasure. Odysseus, Ajax, and Phoenix plead with him. Achilles refuses everything.

  709 lines
• The Night Raid

  Diomedes and Odysseus slip into the Trojan camp at night, kill the Thracian king Rhesus, and steal his horses. A brief, brutal episode between two desperate days.

  579 lines
• The Wounding of the Chiefs

  Agamemnon, Diomedes, and Odysseus are all wounded. The Greek position collapses. Achilles watches from his ship and sends Patroclus to find out what is happening.

  847 lines
• The Fight at the Wall

  The Trojans storm the Greek wall. Hector smashes through the gates with a boulder. The ships are now within reach.

  471 lines
• The Battle at the Ships

  Poseidon intervenes to rally the Greeks. The fighting is savage and chaotic. Ajax holds the line almost alone.

  837 lines
• The Deception of Zeus

  Hera seduces Zeus and puts him to sleep so Poseidon can help the Greeks unchecked. When Zeus wakes, he is furious.

  521 lines
• The Firing of the Ships

  Zeus drives the Greeks back. Hector reaches the ships and sets them on fire. Patroclus begs Achilles to let him fight.

  746 lines
• The Death of Patroclus

  Patroclus borrows Achilles' armour and leads the Myrmidons into battle. He drives the Trojans back to their walls — then Apollo strikes him down, and Hector delivers the killing blow.

  867 lines
• The Fight over the Body

  Greeks and Trojans battle over Patroclus' corpse. Menelaus and Ajax defend the body while Antilochus runs to tell Achilles.

  761 lines
• The Shield of Achilles

  Achilles' grief is absolute. Thetis commissions new armour from Hephaestus. The shield he forges depicts the entire world — cities at peace and war, harvests, dances, the ocean.

  617 lines
• The Reconciliation

  Achilles renounces his anger and reconciles with Agamemnon — not because he has forgiven him, but because Patroclus is dead and nothing else matters. He arms for battle.

  424 lines
• The Battle of the Gods

  The gods choose sides and fight openly. Achilles rampages across the plain. Even the river Scamander rises against him.

  503 lines
• Achilles and the River

  Achilles fills the Scamander with corpses until the river god tries to drown him. Hephaestus saves him with fire. The Trojans flee behind their walls.

  611 lines
• The Death of Hector

  Achilles chases Hector three times around the walls of Troy. Athena tricks Hector into standing his ground. Achilles kills him and drags the body behind his chariot.

  515 lines
• The Funeral Games

  Achilles holds funeral games for Patroclus — chariot races, boxing, wrestling, javelin. A pause in the killing, but the grief has not lifted.

  897 lines
• The Ransom of Hector

  Priam crosses the battlefield at night to beg for his son's body. Achilles sees his own father in the old king's face. They weep together — enemies sharing the same loss.

  804 lines