The Iliad — Book 1
Characters
- Achilles — Greek, leader of the Myrmidons
- Agamemnon — Greek leader
- Apollo — God, favors the Trojans
- Athena — Goddess, favors the Greeks
- Briseis — Trojan, captive of Achilles
- Chryses — Trojan, priest of Apollo, father of Chryseis
- Chryseis — Trojan, captive of Agamemnon
- Nestor — Greek king, too old to fight
- Jove / Zeus — God, husband of Juno
- Juno / Hera — Goddess, wife of Jove
- Thetis — Goddess, mother of Achilles
- Ulysses / Odysseus — Trojan leader
- Vulcan / Hephaestus — God of blacksmithing, son of Juno and Jove
Synopsis
The story “starts in the middle” of the Trojan War, with the Greeks arguing amongst themselves. Chryses has offered a rich ransom to the Greeks for return of his daughter Chryseis. Agamemnon has refused to do this, and the Trojan-favoring Apollo sends a plague — and arrows — to convince them otherwise.
The Greeks having had enough of this decide that they should take the ransom, pissing off Agamemnon who has taken a shine to Chryseis (who doesn’t seem to be too upset with the situation captivity-wise). Achilles and Agamemnon start shit talking each other, and even though more captive girls are offered in the next round of raids, Agamemnon says if he loses Chryseis, he’s going to be Captain Steal-Yo-Girl to Achilles’ favorite captive, Briseis.
This almost causes the Greeks to come to blows, with Achilles torn between taking his ball and going home, or just killing Agamemnon to teach him a lesson. Nestor tries to talk to sense into them, but it’s the intervention of Juno directly to Achilles that stops the situation from getting worse, telling him to suck it up.
Agamemnon sends a ship with Ulysses to return Chryseis to the Greeks. They’re greeted by Chryses (the dad), and they have a big BBQ / load-up on the beach, a small component of which is a sacrifice to Apollo who seems pleased enough with the situation.
Meanwhile, Agamemnon sends soldiers to Achilles’ camp to take Briseis. Achilles is chill enough about this to the soldiers — just doing their job and all that — but is seething in anger on the inside. He calls upon his mommy, the Goddess / Sea Nymph Thetis, and whines a lot that he lost his girl, and asks her to intervene with Jove at the next Meetup.
When the time comes, Thetis does some not-so-low key flirting with Jove and asks him to help the Greeks. Jove is not too keen on this, or in talking to Thetis in general, because he’s basically afraid Juno is going to start ragging on him and making his life miserable. Which in fact is what happens when she finds out, but Jove has basically said he’s going to figure out how to give Achilles and the Greeks what they want.
Book 1 ends with Vulcan — maker of beds and other useful things to the Olympians, repaid with laughter at his limp — sucking up to Juno, asking Mom not to fight with Dad.
