Iliad

Front 1

Achilles

Back 1

Hero of the Iliad; son of Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis; leader of the Myrmidons; withdraws from battle out of pride as a result of the quarrel with Agamemnon, but after the death of his friend Patroclus, returns and slays Hector

Front 2

Agamemnon

Back 2

King of Mycenae; son of Atreus; husband of Clytemnestra; commander in chief of Greek forces at Troy; quarrels with Achilles in the 10th year of war, but finally acknowledges he was in the wrong; on the day of his return to Mycenae after the war, he is murdered by his wife and her lover, Aegisthus

Front 3

Ajax

Back 3

Leading Greek warrior in the Trojan war who goes mad after losing a contest to Odysseus for Achilles’ armor

Front 4

Menelaus

Back 4

Brother of Agamemnon; first husband of Helen; King of Sparta. After the fall of Troy, he is reconciled with Helen

Front 5

Nestor

Back 5

Aged King of Pylos, located on the western coast of the Peloponnesus; great hero of the Trojan war; counsels harmony and compromise; talkative; reminisces about his youth

Front 6

Odysseus

Back 6

Son of Laertes and Anticleia, husband of Penelope, father of Telemachus, King of Ithaca, and favorite of Athene, he is celebrated for his prudence, ingenuity, and resourcefulness among the Greek forces at Troy, the fall of which he engineers. Hero of the Odyssey, he demonstrates an endurance and adaptability that determines his successful return to Ithaca

Front 7

Calchas

Back 7

Official prophet of the Achaeans in the expedition against Troy; Thestor’s son

Front 8

Chryseis

Back 8

War captive of Agamemnon at Troy; the request for her ransom by her father (Chryses) leads to the quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles

Front 9

Briseis

Back 9

Beloved war captive of Achilles; dispute over possession of her leads to the sulking of Achilles at Troy

Front 10

Hector

Back 10

Son of Priam and Hecuba; husband of Andromache; father of Astyanax; leading Trojan hero; slays Achilles’ friend Patroclus and is killed in revenge by Achilles

Front 11

Polydamas

Back 11

Trusted comrade and seer of the Trojan army

Front 12

Priam

Back 12

King of Troy, husband of Hecuba, father of Hector, Paris, Cassandra, and (by various concubines) 50 sons

Front 13

Apollo

Back 13

Greek god of the sun, prophecy, music, medicine; aids on behalf of the Trojans

Front 14

Athene

Back 14

Greek goddess of wisdom, household arts, and defensive war. Supports Achaean side in Trojan war; virgin daughter of Zeus, born from her father’s brain; a patron of human ingenuity and resourcefulness

Front 15

Hephaestus

Back 15

Greek divinity, the lame smith of the gods; god of fire and the patron of craftspeople; husband of Aphrodite; son of Hera; he sides with the Achaeans

Front 16

Hera

Back 16

Wife of Zeus; queen of gods; sides with Achaeans in the Trojan war

Front 17

Hermes

Back 17

Son of Zeus and Maia, primarily his father’s messenger, as well as guide of dead souls, and patron of travelers, merchants, highwaymen, gamblers, and thieves

Front 18

Iris

Back 18

Personification of the rainbow and Hera’s special messenger. She is married to Zephyrus, the West Wind

Front 19

Thetis

Back 19

Daughter of Nereus; a sea nymph; mother of Achilles

Front 20

Zeus

Back 20

Youngest son of Cronos and Rhea, king of Olympian gods, a personification of atmospheric phenomena—particularly storms and lightening—and the cosmic guarantor of justice, oath-keeping, civic order, and kingship. As head of the Greek pantheon, he is the ultimate court of appeal for both humans and gods. All other Olympians are either his siblings or children, including his sister-wife Hera.