The Iliad, attributed to Homer, explores themes of love, friendship, honor, rivalry, free will, and fate amidst the backdrop of the Trojan War. It begins with the discord introduced by Eris and highlights the choices of Paris, ultimately leading to the siege of Troy as Menelaus seeks to reclaim his wife Helen. The epic culminates in the conflict between Achilles and Hector, emphasizing personal loss, vengeance, and the tragic consequences of war.

1. THE
ILIAD

2. LOVE FRIENDSHIP HONOR
RIVALRY FREE WILL FATE

3. HOMER
Homer is the presumed author of
the Iliad and the Odyssey, two
hugely influential epic poems of
ancient Greece.

4. THE ILIAD
Zeus, the chief of gods and the immortal King of Mt.
Olympus, held a celebration in honor of the marriage of
Peleus and Thetis without inviting Eris, the goddess of chaos.

5. It was in the middle of this feast
that Eris arrived uninvited and
resentful. Therefore, to sow
discord among the gods, she
threw a golden apple into the
banquet on which it was written
“For the fairest.”

6. Three of the goddesses
demanded the apple.
Hera, Athena and Aphrodite.
Zeus, knowing that choosing one
over the other two will result in
more conflict, assigned the task
to Paris, prince of Troy.

7. Paris had a reputation for being
a fair judge among the gods.
As each goddess wanted to
have the apple, they each
showed themselves to Paris in all
their beauty and appeared
naked before him. Each of them
offered the prince a gift as an
incentive in return for the apple.

8. Hera, the sister-wife of Zeus, and queen of the
Olympian gods promised Paris all the kingdoms of
Europe and Asia minor.

9. Athena, the Olympian
goddess of wisdom and
war and the adored
patroness of the city of
Athens offered Paris
wisdom in battle.

10. Goddess Aphrodite who
held the powers of fertility,
pleasure and eternal youth,
along with extraordinary
beauty promised Paris the
love of the most beautiful
woman in the world –
Helen , queen of Sparta,
who was already married
to King Menelaus.

11. Who would you
give the apple to if
you were Paris?

12. Paris gave the
apple to
Aphrodite and
asked for
Helen’s love in
return.
The story has it that when
beautiful Helen came to
age, every king and
nobleman in the Greek
world wanted to marry her.

13. When Menelaus found out that in his absence,
young Paris had taken his wife, Helen to Troy, he
raised a massive army from every corner of the
Greek world.

14. Menelaus gave the army’s command
to his ambitious brother, Agamemnon.
And that is how the siege of
Troy started.
After ten years of bloodshed and constant
skirmishes, the siege of Troy resulted in
nothing but carnage for the Greeks.

15. The impenetrable walls of Troy stood tall and
behind them, Priam, King of Troy, reliant on the
bravery of his eldest son, Hector, remained
unabated and defiant in the face of the foe.

16. On the other hand, the Greeks
have Achilles, a physically
invulnerable hero who was
himself the son of goddess Thetis.
However, Achilles refused to take
any further part in the Trojan
war as he was upset towards
Agamemnon.

17. Thetis, the goddess of water
complained to Zeus about
Agamemnon’s betrayal and asked
the great god to punish him.
Zeus, in return, sent a false dream to
Agamemnon and convinced him that
he would be victorious if he
attacked the city’s walls with all of
his forces in the morning.

18. On the day of the battle, Menelaus,
King of Sparta, who had lost his wife
to Paris, challenged the Trojan prince
to a duel.
Paris answered the call but failed to
defeat Menelaus. When he was
about to lose his life, Aphrodite
helped him escape and took him
back to his room in his father’s palace
where he was joined by Helen.

19. Meanwhile, among gods, Zeus
argued that Menelaus must be
declared the winner and the
war should end as the mortals
had agreed before the duel.
But Hera, who was still furious at
Paris over choosing Aphrodite over
her, wanted nothing but the total
annihilation of Troy and persuaded
Zeus to rekindle the flame of war.

20. Therefore, Athena disguised as a
Trojan soldier, convinced a Trojan
archer named Pandarus to take aim at
Menelaus and kill him. However, as
Pandarus shot the arrow, Athena
deflected it so that it would only
wound Menelaus and give the Greeks
a reason for war.
Following this, the Greek army
launched an all-out assault against the
Trojans and a bloody battle started.

21. The Trojans, under the leadership of
Hector, pushed the Greeks back to their
ships and almost destroyed the Greek
camp. Right at this moment when the
Greek army was losing heart, Achilles’
best friend and long-time battle
companion, Patroclus begged him to
join the battle and save the day. Achilles, who
was still angry at Menelaus, refused to fight but
agreed to exchange armors with his friend,
Patroclus so that the Greek soldiers would think
Achilles had returned the battle and would rally
around him.

22. With the arrival of Patroclus in Achilles'
disguise, the turn of events quickly
changed in favor of the Greeks. The
Trojans retreated to the city and Patroclus
pushed forward against the enemy and
killed everyone in his way including the
mortal son of Zeus, Sarpedon.
Apollo first convinced Hector to charge the enemy then he appeared
behind Patroclus and wounded him. When Hector arrived, Patroclus was
on his knees, defeated and ready to accept his destiny. Hector humiliated
the fallen man and finished him off only to hear Patroclus foretelling
Hector's bitter end with his last breath.

23. Achilles wept so loud for his friend,
that his mother, Thetis, heard his
lamentations. She appeared
before him and promised him that
if he delays his revenge for one
day, she will go to the temple of
Vulcan and return with new
powerful weapons for him to
defeat Hector.
Zeus, fearful of Achilles' rage summoned the gods to Mount Olympus and
asked them to interfere in battle should Achilles try to destroy Troy
before its time.

24. However, upon arriving on earth, the gods decided to stand on
opposing hills and only witnessed the battle between the mortals.
Achilles ruthlessly attacked the Trojans and destroyed their
formation. After a short battle, the entire Trojan army that was
camped outside the walls of Troy routed before him.

25. Finally, the fateful hour when Hector and Achilles
met face to face arrived. Hector, at first, tried
negotiating with Achilles but the Greek hero did not
show any interest in conciliation. Hector knew that
he has no match for his opponent so he ran away
and Achilles chased after him.
At this moment, Zeus was determined to save Hector,
but Athena convinced the great god that the
mortal's life must end. Zeus placed the destiny of
both heroes on a golden scale and when the fate of
Hector sank lower, he agreed with Athena. Achilles
chased Hector around the city walls three times.

26. During Hector's fourth circle around Troy,
Athena disguised as Hector's friend
Deiphobus, appeared before him and
convinced the Trojan prince that they could
defeat Achilles together. At that moment,
Hector stopped running and decided to
face his enemy. The two heroes finally
engaged in battle. For a while they fought
with spears, and never one managed to
overcome the other.

27. In his last attempt for glory and in
desperate effort to make up for
fleeing, Hector charged Achilles
but he was still wearing Achilles'
armor that he took from Patroclus
body. Achilles knows the weakness
of the armor and in a swift move
puts his spear through Hector's
throat.

28. King Priam and the rest of the Trojans who were witnessing the
final chapter of Hector’s life wailed with grief and the sound
of their mourning rose to the heavens. After burying his friend
Patroclus’ body, Achilles held a series of competitions in his
honor. Hector’s corpse, however, was dragged behind chariots
and stabbed by every Greek soldier.

29. Finally, Apollo asked Zeus to intervene
and force Achilles to return Hector’s
body to his father. Following Zeus’
instructions, King Priam went to Achilles
with a chariot full of treasures. Then he
tearfully begged the Greek hero and
asked him to think of the bond between
him and his father. Achilles accepted
the ransom and gave the body back.

30. Amidst the tears and wailing, the Trojans prepared
nine days for Hector’s funeral. On the tenth day,
they lit the pyre on fire and mourned the loss of
their legendary hero.

31. the trojan horse