BOOK ONE
In the tenth and final year of the Trojan War,
the fighting is temporarily stalemated. While on a previous raid, Agamemnon,
commander-in-chief of the Achaean forces, has taken as plunder the beautiful
girl Chryseis. Chryseis' father, Chryses, is a priest of the god Apollo.
Chryses pays a visit to Agamemnon, treating him with great respect and courtesy
and offering an opulent ransom in exchange for the freedom of his daughter.
Although the Achaeans cry out their approval for Chryses' request, Agamemnon
refuses to grant it. He threatens to kill Chryses if the priest should ever
come into Agamemnon's presence again. Chryses flees, but he prays to Apollo for
vengeance and justice. The god, angered by Agamemnon's disrespect for his
priest, rains arrows on the Achaeans. The result is a horrible plague, as men
and animals die mysteriously for nine days.
On the tenth day, Achilles calls the Greeks to
assembly, the idea put into his head by the goddess Hera, who sides with the
Achaeans against Troy. Achilles asks for some prophet or seer to tell them what
has caused the plague and what must be done to end it. Calchas, a great
prophet, says that he knows the answer, but he makes Achilles vow to protect
him once he has revealed it. Achilles vows, and Calchas tells them that the
plague has been sent by Apollo in punishment for Agamemnon's treatment of
Chryses. To atone for the sin, the Achaeans must give Chryseis back without
accepting any ransom and in addition they must give a hundred sacred bulls to
Chryses for sacrifice. Agamemnon is furious with Calchas, saying that the seer
enjoys delivering evil prophecies, but the king agrees to give up the girl. He
insists, however, that one of the Achaeans give him a prize to compensate him
for his loss.
Achilles is enraged by the request. The plunder
has already been distributed, he argues, and a good man does not take back what
he has given. Agamemnon and Achilles argue, each man insulting the other.
Agamemnon threatens to take a prize if one is not given to him, and Achilles
reminds him that all of the Achaeans are fighting against foes who have only
wronged Menelaus. For the sake of the two royal brothers, the Argives bloody
their hands against men who have done them no wrong. Achilles also complains
that though he bears the heaviest burden in battle, it is the king who is
always greedy for prizes. Achilles refuses to fight anymore: he will go home to
Phthia. Agamemnon responds that to compensate for the loss of Chryseis, he will
take Achilles' own prize, the girl Briseis.
Because of this dishonor, anger seizes Achilles
and he strides toward Agamemnon to kill him. Hera sends the goddess Athena to
stop him. Only Achilles can see Athena, who tells him not to kill the king. She
promises that Achilles will be justly compensated for this great dishonor.
Achilles obeys her, but he vows to Agamemnon that one day the Achaeans will
come begging Achilles for help. They will need his protection from Hector, the
greatest of the Trojan warriors, and Agamemnon will regret his pride.
Nestor, oldest of the Achaean kings, rises and tells the two men that they must listen to him, because he is old and has lived and fought with warriors greater than any now living. He asks Agamemnon not to take Briseis, Achilles' fairly won prize, and he tells Achilles that he must respect Agamemnon's position as commander-in-chief.
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KEY: EPITHETS
One of the key features of Homer's language is
the use of ornamental epithets, labels that accompany the names of heroes,
gods, or objects. The epithets are made to fill in the line in a way that fits
the poetic meter, dactyllic hexameter, easing the job of the poet by giving him
a list of ready-made phrases that can be used according to how many syllables
are left on the line. The epithets, some have argued, indicate that Greek oral
poetry may have included strong elements of improvisation. A poet would have a
wide range of set passages, short phrases and whole mini-narratives, to draw
from as he improvised an epic on the spot right in front of an audience.