-
Before the Poem: Why Troy?
SetupParis carried off Helen from Sparta. The Greek coalition sails to the Troad to demand her return.
ConsequenceNine years of stalemate. Our story opens in the tenth.
EvidenceIliad 1 (prologue); Epic cycle tradition.
-
I. A Prayer and a Plague
SetupGreek camp on the beach. Priest Chryses begs ransom for his daughter.
ProvocationAgamemnon insults the priest and refuses.
ResponseChryses prays; Apollo sends a plague.
ConsequenceForced assembly; Agamemnon must return the girl and demands a replacement prize.
EvidenceBook 1: “Apollo heard him” — plague-arrows on the camp.
-
II. The Wrath of Achilles
SetupWith the plague raging, Agamemnon returns Chryseïs but insists on recompense.
ProvocationHe seizes Briseïs, Achilles’ prize.
Response“I shall not fight.” Achilles withdraws from battle.
ConsequenceGreek strength collapses without its greatest warrior.
EvidenceBook 1: the assembly quarrel; Briseïs led from Achilles’ hut.
-
III. Thetis and Zeus
SetupOn Olympus after Achilles’ appeal to his mother.
ProvocationThetis kneels to Zeus: make the Greeks lose until they honor Achilles.
ResponseZeus nods assent — a binding sign among gods.
ConsequenceTrojans surge; the war tilts toward Troy.
EvidenceBook 1: Zeus “bent his dark brows” and agreed.
-
IV. Menelaus vs. Paris
SetupA truce: one duel to end the war.
ProvocationMenelaus overpowers Paris.
ResponseAphrodite rescues Paris, breaking the truce.
ConsequenceFighting resumes; trust dissolves.
EvidenceBook 3: Aphrodite whisks Paris away to Helen.
-
V. Hector and Andromache
SetupTroy’s walls.
ProvocationAndromache begs Hector to stay off the plain.
ResponseHector chooses duty over safety.
ConsequenceForeboding of his death — and Troy’s.
EvidenceBook 6: their farewell with infant Astyanax.
-
VI. The Embassy to Achilles
SetupGreeks falter; hope turns to Achilles.
ProvocationOdysseus, Phoenix, Ajax offer rich gifts and honor.
ResponseAchilles refuses: no price for a dishonored life.
ConsequenceGreeks face the next assault without him.
EvidenceBook 9: Achilles vows to “sail home at dawn.”
-
VI½. Poseidon’s Aid
SetupAt the ships; Zeus distracted.
ProvocationPoseidon defies Zeus’s tilt toward Troy.
ResponseHe breathes strength into Ajax and Odysseus.
ConsequenceThe Greek line holds — barely.
EvidenceBooks 13–14: the earth-shaker rallies the Greeks.
-
VII. Patroclus in Achilles’ Armor
SetupShips burn; the Greeks beg.
ProvocationAchilles lets Patroclus wear his armor to save the fleet.
ResponsePatroclus drives Trojans back but presses too far.
ConsequenceHector kills Patroclus; Achilles’ grief turns to rage.
EvidenceBook 16: “Bring fire no nearer” — then the fatal charge.
-
VIII. The Death of Hector
SetupHector stands outside Troy’s walls.
ProvocationAthena tricks Hector to face Achilles.
ResponseAchilles gives chase; duel and death.
ConsequenceAchilles defiles the body; mourning in Troy.
EvidenceBook 22: “Darkness veiled his eyes.”
-
IX. Priam’s Ransom
SetupBy night in the Greek camp.
ProvocationGuided by Hermes, Priam begs for Hector’s body.
ResponseAchilles weeps with him and relents.
ConsequenceTrojan funeral honors close the poem.
EvidenceBook 24: “Remember your own father.”