Name____________________________
The Iliad
by Homer
TROJANS
GREEKS
(Also referred to
as Achaeans,
Argives, or
Danaans)
Athena
Goddess of
wisdom; favors
the Greeks
Zeus
King of the
gods; tries to
stay neutral
Hera
Queen of the gods;
wife of Zeus; favors
the Greeks
Aphrodite
Goddess of
love; favors the
Trojans
Apollo
God of the sun &
prophecy; favors
the Trojans
Chryseis
Daughter of
Apollo’s priest,
Chryses; war
prize taken by
Agamemnon
after the Greeks
won a battle
Agamemnon
Leader of the Greek
army; also referred
to as son of Atreus
or Atreides
Thetis
Peleus
Achilles’ father
Achilles’ mother; sea
nymph goddess
Priam
King of Troy
Achilles
Strongest Greek
warrior; also
referred to as son of
Peleus
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Chryses
Apollo’s priest
Patroclus
Briseis
Achilles’ best friend
and cousin; also
referred to as son of
Menoitios
She was a war
prize taken by
Achilles after
the Greeks
won a battle
Other Key Characters
Odysseus – Greek warrior
Ajax - Greek warrior
Diomedes - Greek warrior
Nestor – Advisor to the Greek military
Calchas (Kalchas) – Famous seer
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Hector
Prince of
Troy;
strongest
Trojan
warrior
Hecuba
Queen of Troy
Paris
Prince of
Troy; steals
Helen, which
causes the
start of the
Trojan War
Other Key Characters
Andromache – Hector’s wife
Astyanax – Hector’s son
Deiphobos
Prince of
Troy
The Iliad by Homer
Book 1: The Wrath of Achilles
Background: The story begins in the ninth year of fighting. The Greeks have recently won a battle,
and Agamemnon has taken Chryseis (Apollo’s priest’s daughter) as a war prize. As is typical of
Homer’s epics, the story begins with an invocation to the muse. In Greek mythology, there were nine
muses, all sisters, who were believed to inspire poets, historians, flutists, dancers, singers,
astronomers, philosophers, and other thinkers and artists. If one wanted to write a great poem, play
a musical instrument with bravado, or develop a grand scientific or philosophical theory, he would
ask for help from a muse. When a poet asked for help, he was said to be “invoking the muse.”
1. In the invocation to the muse, we get a preview of some key events that will happen in the
story. According to the invocation to the muse:
a. Who will suffer because of the anger of Achilles?
b. Between which two characters will there be a conflict?
2. Why does Apollo cast a plague on the Greeks?
3. What request does Chryses make of Agamemnon? What does he offer to give the Greeks in
return? How does Agamemnon respond to Chryses’s request? What does this reveal about
Agamemnon’s character?
4. After Chryses leaves, what does Apollo do to the Greeks?
5. Why does Achilles call for a seer? What promise does Calchas ask Achilles to make before he
reveals his vision? What does Calchas say the Greeks must do to appease Apollo?
6. How does Agamemnon respond to this? How does this cause a conflict between Agamemnon
and Achilles? What oath does Achilles make as a result of this conflict?
7. What are your first impressions of Agamemnon and Achilles so far?
Book 6: Interludes in Fields and City
Background: The Greeks are finding success in battle and the Trojans retreat. On the battlefield, the
Greek warrior, Diomedes, is about to fight Glaukos. Since Diomedes is a threat to the Trojans, Hektor
returns to Troy to ask the women to make sacrifices to Athena in hopes that she will restrain
Diomedes.
1. How were Glaukos’ wits “stolen away” in the trade with Diomedes?
2. Why does Hektor go to Paris’ home? What excuse does Paris give for not fighting? Why does
Helen say such horrible things about herself to Hektor?
3. Pay attention to the scene where Hektor is with his wife and child. Why does Andromakhe ask
Hektor to stay home? What reasons does Hektor give for returning to war? What does Hektor
tell Andromakhe to do?
4. In Hektor’s speech to his men, how does he rally his troops?
Book 9: The Embassy to Achilles
Background: Achilles has stayed true to his oath and withdrawn from the battle because he refuses
to fight under Agamemnon’s leadership. As a result of losing their strongest warrior, the Greeks have
suffered great losses in battle. When you will pick up your reading in Book 9, the commanders of the
Greek army are holding a meeting to discuss how they can turn things around and find a way to win
the war against the Trojans.
The Iliad by Homer
1. What advice does Nestor give Agamemnon? How does Agamemnon respond?
2. What does Agamemnon plan to offer Achilles? Why do you think Agamemnon experiences
this change of heart?
3. How does Achilles greet Odysseus and Ajax when they arrive?
4. What news does Odysseus share with Achilles about how the battle is going?
5. Odysseus reminds Achilles of the advice his father, Peleus, gave Achilles before he died. What
was Peleus’s parting advice for his son Achilles?
6. How does Achilles respond when Odysseus shares Agamemnon’s offer? Have his views about
fighting under Agamemnon’s leadership changed?
7. According to Achilles’ mother Thetis, what possible fates await Achilles?
Book 16: Patroclus Fights and Dies
Background: As the battle between the Greeks and Trojans wages on, Hector wreaks havoc on the
battlefield. As he watches his fellow Greeks suffer and sees that the Greeks will likely lose the war
against the Trojans, Agamemnon realizes that it was a mistake to steal Briseis from Achilles.
1. Why does Patroclus come to Achilles in tears at the beginning of Book 16?
2. What request does Patroclus make of Achilles? What does Patroclus want to do?
3. Achilles agrees to grant Patroclus’s request, but only under one condition. What does Achilles
tell Patroclus he must do?
Book 18: Achilles’ Shield
Background: Hector sees Achilles’s famous armour and slays Patroclus in battle, thinking it is Achilles.
Hector takes the armor from Patroclus’s body and wears it to taught Achilles, and Menelaus goes to
tell Achilles that his best friend Patroclus has been slain.
1. What advice did Achilles give Patroclus before he went into battle?
2. What message does Antilochus deliver to Achilles? How does Achilles react?
3. Thetis comforts her son Achilles, but she also acknowledges that he is not blameless in this
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
situation. What does Thetis remind Achilles? How does Achilles respond to Thetis?
What does Achilles decide to do? What must Thetis be prepared for—because it has been
decreed?
Where is Achilles’ armor? Where is he going to get new armor?
What does Hector do to dishonor Patroclus’ dead body?
Hera sends a godly messenger named Iris from Mt. Olympus to give Achilles a message. What
warning does Iris give Achilles? What is Hector planning to do? How does Achilles respond to
Iris’ message? What does Athena do to help Achilles?
When Achilles decides to rejoin the war, he lets out three loud battle cries. How do the
Trojans react to the cries of Achilles? How many of the best men died? How did they die?
What happens by the end of this passage with regards to the body of Patroclus?
The Iliad by Homer
Book 22: The Death of Hector
Background: Achilles is very upset about how the Trojans disrespected Patroclus’s dead body, so
Achilles vows to kill Hector in order to avenge Patroclus’s death. Achilles’s decision to re-enter the
battle allows the Greeks to gain an advantage over the Trojans, which forces the Trojans to retreat
behind the walls of Troy. Hector realizes that he cannot hide from Achilles forever and decides that
the time has come to face Achilles in battle. Hector is the only remaining Trojan outside the walls of
Troy when Book 22 begins.
1. Which God stands up to Achilles in an attempt to protect Hector and the Trojans?
2. As Priam watches Achilles approach Troy, what does he beg his son Hector to do? What does
Priam think is going to happen?
3. Why does Hector choose to ignore to his parents’ pleas? What thoughts run through Hector’s
mind as he watches Achilles approach?
4. What does Hector do right before Achilles reaches him? Why does he do this?
5. When Hector stops running and finally decides to face Achilles in battle, what request does
Hector make of Achilles right before the battle begins? How does Achilles respond?
6. How does Athena trick Hector?
7. During his battle with Hector, what knowledge does Achilles use to his advantage? How does
this knowledge help Achilles kill Hector?
8. What is Hector’s final request of Achilles? Does Achilles grant this request? What does Hector
tell Achilles right before he dies?
9. What does Achilles do to Hector’s dead body? What does this reveal about Achilles’ character?
10. How does Hector’s father, Priam, react to his son’s death? His mother, Hecuba? His wife,
Andromache?
Book 24: Achilles and Priam
Background: Achilles cannot let go of his anger over the death of his friend Patroclus, so he continues
to drag Hector’s dead body through the dirt behind his chariot. Zeus is disturbed by the situation and
wants to find a solution; therefore, he sends a messenger who tells Priam to bring a wagon full of
riches to offer Achilles as ransom in return for Hector’s body. Priam is worried for his safety since he
does not know how Achilles will respond, but he gathers courage because the request came straight
from Zeus. You will pick up your reading in Book 24 as Priam approaches Achilles’s tent to ask for his
Hector’s body back so that he can give his son a proper burial.
1. How does Priam try to convince Achilles to give Hector’s body back to him? How does Achilles
respond? Why?
2. Why doesn’t Achilles give Hector’s body back to Priam right away? Why is he stalling?
3. In addition to giving Hector’s body back, what favor does Achilles do for Priam?
4. What does Hermes, the messenger god, worry about as he watches Priam lay sleeping?
5. How do the people of Troy respond when they see that Priam has brought Hector’s body back?
6. Priam calls for the men to bring timber to light the funeral pyre. What do they do for the first
9 days of the funeral services? What happens on the 10th day? on the final days?
7. How does the story of The Iliad end? How does this ending fit the characteristics of an epic?