In the tenth year of the siege of Ilion — Achilles' wrath against Agamemnon, Patroclus fallen in borrowed armour, Hector slain before the walls and dragged behind the chariot, until old Priam kissed the hands that had killed his son.1
The tenth summer
Homer's Iliad opens in the tenth year of the siege: the Achaean host ringed Ilion, their kings quartered on the plain, the Trojans safe behind the walls Priam's son Hector defended — and already the quarrel that would nearly lose the war was burning between Agamemnon and Achilles.2
Wrath and plague
Agamemnon dishonoured Achilles over Briseis, Apollo wasted the host until Chryseis was restored, and Thetis bound Zeus to favour her son — then the false dream, Thersites' rail, and the Catalog of Ships. The nested episode on Wrath and Plague tells Books 1–2.3
Duel and broken truce
Paris and Menelaus fought for Helen; Aphrodite snatched the prince away; Pandarus' arrow broke the oaths and the war reopened. The nested episode on Duel and Broken Truce tells Books 3–4.4
Diomedes' day
Athena kindled Diomedes to wound Aphrodite and Ares in a single aristeia; Glaucus and he exchanged golden armour for bronze; Hector heard Andromache's plea at the Scaean Gate. The nested episode on the Aristeia of Diomedes tells Books 5–6.5
Hector and the wall
Hector fought Ajax to a draw and the armies buried their dead; Zeus drove the Trojans to the ships and the Achaeans dug their wall. The nested episode on Hector and the Wall tells Books 7–8.6
The embassy
Agamemnon sent Odysseus, Phoenix, and Ajax with gifts to Achilles' tent — and the son of Peleus refused. The nested episode on the Embassy tells Book 9.7
Wounding of the chiefs
Agamemnon's aristeia broke; Diomedes and Odysseus fell wounded; Ajax held the wall while the Trojans assaulted the gates. The nested episode on the Wounding of the Chiefs tells Books 11–12; the Night Raid in Book 10 lives in its own episode.8
Battle for the ships
Poseidon roused the Achaeans; Hector broke the wall and fired the fleet; Patroclus wept at Achilles' door. The nested episode on the Battle for the Ships tells Books 13–15.9
The fall of Patroclus
Patroclus wore Achilles' armour and drove the Trojans from the ships until Hector killed him and took the arms of Peleus. The nested episode on the Fall of Patroclus tells Book 16.10
Achilles and Hector
Thetis brought new armour; Achilles returned to war, filled the Scamander with slain, and chased Hector three times around Troy before dragging the body behind his chariot. The nested episode on Achilles and Hector tells Books 17–22.11
Priam and the ransom
Funeral games honoured Patroclus; old Priam came alone through the camp at night and kissed the hands that had killed his son — and Troy buried Hector. The nested episode on Priam and the Ransom tells Books 23–24, and Homer's poem ends with the hero's rites.12
Beyond the Iliad
Homer's poem ends with Hector's rites, but the Epic Cycle continued — the Aethiopis brought Penthesilea, Memnon, and the death of Achilles; the nested episode on Ajax and the Arms tells the contest for the panoply and the Telamonian's suicide; the nested Little Iliad carried Philoctetes' bow, the theft of the Palladium, and Epeius' horse before the Sack.13
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Episodes
How the centuries saw it
Hector Taking Leave of Andromache
Angelica Kauffman, 1768
The farewell of Iliad 6 — Hector and Andromache at the Scaean gate before the champion of Troy returns to the battle from which Achilles will fetch him home dead.
Triumphant Achilles
Franz Matsch, c. 1892
Achilles drags Hector before the walls — the wrath that burned through ten years of siege and poisoned every victor's homecoming.