A summary of Book 1 in Homer's The Iliad. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of The Iliad and what it means. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans.

HOMER was a semi-legendary Greek poet from Ionia who the Greeks ascribed with the composition of their greatest epics--The Iliad and The Odyssey. The date of these works is disputed by modern scholars, but they are usually placed in the C8th or C7th B.C.

Who then of the gods was it that brought these two together to contend? The son of Leto and Zeus; for he in anger against the king roused throughout the host an evil pestilence, and the people began to perish, [10] because upon the priest …

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Chryses, the father of Chryseis, and priest of Apollo, comes to the Grecian camp to ransom her; with which the action of the poem opens, in the tenth year of the siege. The priest being refused, and insolently dismissed by Agamemnon, entreats for vengeance from his god; who inflicts a pestilence on the Greeks.

In Book I, the initial quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles, mediated by Nestor, is paralleled at the end of the book by the quarrel between Zeus and Hera, mediated by Hephaistos. The quarrel among the gods breaks down into a humorous scene that ironically accentuates the seriousness of the human quarrel.

Ἀτρεΐδης τε ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν καὶ δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς. ἁζόμενοι Διὸς υἱὸν ἑκηβόλον Ἀπόλλωνα. ἀλλ᾽ ἴθι μή μ᾽ ἐρέθιζε σαώτερος ὥς κε νέηαι. τίσειαν Δαναοὶ ἐμὰ δάκρυα σοῖσι βέλεσσιν. αὐτοῦ κινηθέντος: ὃ δ᾽ ἤϊε νυκτὶ ἐοικώς. βάλλ᾽: αἰεὶ δὲ πυραὶ νεκύων καίοντο θαμειαί. κήδετο γὰρ Δαναῶν, ὅτι ῥα θνήσκοντας ὁρᾶτο. βούλεται ἀντιάσας ἡμῖν ἀπὸ λοιγὸν ἀμῦναι.

Homer begins his Iliad by bidding his Muse to sing of the wrath of Achilles and how his anger has done much more harm to the Greeks than the war with the Trojans over the abducted Helen. With this first line, Homer establishes one of the main themes in the Iliad: the implications and consequences of one’s pride. Achilles himself embodies this ...

Book I. ARGUMENT.(40) THE CONTENTION OF ACHILLES AND AGAMEMNON. In the war of Troy, the Greeks having sacked some of the neighbouring towns, and taken from thence two beautiful captives, Chryseis and Briseis, allotted the first to Agamemnon, and the last to Achilles.

Feb 23, 2025 · Quick Summary: The Iliad tells the story of the conflict between the Greek hero Achilles and Agamemnon, the leader of the Greek forces, during the Trojan War, highlighting themes of pride, honor, and the consequences of anger.