OUTLINE OF THE ILIAD
Book 1
1-7: Homer calls upon the goddess of poetry and inspiration (the MUSE) to sing of Achilleus' anger.
8-52: Chryses, priest of Apollo , comes to the Greek camp to ransom his daughter, Chryseis , held captive by Agamemnon . He is insulted and sent away, and Apollo sends a plague on the Greeks.
53-305: Inspired by the goddess, Hera , Achilleus calls an assembly to deal with the plague, and the prophet, Kalchas , reveals that Apollo was angered by Agamemnon's refusal to return the daughter of his priest. Agamemnon reluctantly agrees to give her back, but demands compensation. This provokes Achilleus' anger, and, after they exchange threats and angry words, Agamemnon decides to take Achilleus' "prize", the captive woman, Briseis . The goddess, Athene , prevents Achilleus from killing Agamemnon by promising that he will one day be compensated with three times as many prizes. Nestor 's efforts to make peace fail.
306-430: Agamemnon's men take Briseis from Achilleus, and Achilleus prays to his divine mother, Thetis , for help. He says he will not fight, and he asks her to persuade Zeus to make the battle go badly for the Greeks so they will see that they should not have dishonored him.
430-87: Odysseus leads a group of Greeks to Chryse (the place!) to return Chryseis (the daughter!) to Chryses (the priest!). Meanwhile, Achilleus isolates himself from the other Greeks.
488-611: Thetis, begs Zeus to honor her son, Achilleus, by turning the battle against the Greeks so they will see that they need him. Afterwards, Zeus' wife, Hera , bickers with him over his plan, and the lame god, Hephaistos , tries to make peace among them.
Book 2
Zeus begins to fulfill his promise to Thetis to bring honor to Achilleus. First, he deceives Agamemnon with a dream that promises victory. Agamemnon calls the Greek leaders together to tell them his dream. He proposes to test the soldiers by saying that they are going home. When he does this, the soldiers run for the ships; only Odysseus is able to rally them and shame them into staying. A common soldier, THERSITES, protests and urges his fellow Greeks to go home, but Odysseus beats him down and reminds the Greeks that they had been promised victory when they set out. The troops assemble and Homer lists all of the contingents in "the CATALOG OF THE SHIPS". The Trojans arm to meet the Greeks, and Homer names their warriors and troops as well.
Book 3
Paris challenges Menelaos to a duel; Helen is to be awarded to the winner. Helen joins Priam on the walls of Troy and names the Greek warriors for him. Then, Priam goes to the battlefield to swear an oath with Agamemnon to respect the results of the duel. Menelaos and Paris fight, but Aphrodite snatches Paris away, deposits him in his bedroom, and brings Helen to him.
Book 4
At a council of the gods on MOUNT OLYMPOS, Zeus considers bringing the Trojan War to an end and sparing the city of Troy. Hera angrily objects, and Zeus sends Athene to break the truce. Athene persuades PANDAROS, a Trojan, to shoot an arrow at Menelaos. Menelaos is wounded, the truce is broken and, as Agamemnon rallies the troops, fighting breaks out.
Book 5
Diomedes ' exploits on the battlefield dominate this section. After he wounds Aphrodite, Ares, the god of war, intervenes to help the Trojans. The goddesses, Hera and Athene, join in on the Greek side.
Book 6
Diomedes and GLAUKOS , an ally of the Trojans, meet, but do not fight because they discover they are "GUEST-FRIENDS": their grandfathers had visited each other and exchanged gifts. Hektor returns to Troy to ask the Trojan women to make a sacrifice to Athene to win her pity. He visits Helen and scolds his brother, Paris, for abandoning the battlefield. In a moving scene, Hektor explains his duty to fight, and says an emotional good-bye to his wife, Andromache , and their baby, ASTYANAX, before returning to battle.
Book 7
Hektor proposes a duel with one of the Greeks. Aias is chosen by lot, but the duel ends in a draw as night falls. Both sides agree to a truce to bury the dead, and the Greeks fortify their camp.
Book 8
The battle resumes. Zeus orders the gods to stay out, and the Trojans gain the advantage. Hera and Athene try to help the Greeks, but are stopped by Zeus who foretells Patroklos ' death and Achilleus' return to the fighting. At nightfall, Hektor persuades the Trojans to camp outside of the city in the hope of decisively defeating the Greeks the next day.
Book 9
The Greek leaders hold an assembly. Agamemnon proposes to go home, but Diomedes and Nestor dissuade him. The aged king, Nestor, convinces him to return Briseis to Achilleus and offer him gifts in reconciliation. Odysseus , Aias and Phoinix , Achilleus' tutor, go to Achilleus' tent and offer him many gifts from Agamemnon, if he will return to battle. Achilleus rejects their appeals.
Book 10
Diomedes and Odysseus volunteer to spy on the Trojan camp. They meet DOLON, a Trojan spy, and kill him, after he gives them information. They sneak into the Trojan camp, brutally murder Rhesos and twelve of his warriors, allies of the Trojans, and lead off their horses as spoils.
Book 11
When battle resumes, several prominent Greek warriors are wounded and must leave the fighting. Achilleus watches and sends Patroklos to find out who was wounded. Nestor urges him to persuade Achilleus to return to battle or at least let Patroklos and his men fight for the Greeks.
Books 12-15
Hektor and the Trojans storm the fortifications surrounding the Greek camp. The sea-god, Poseidon , rallies the Greeks, and Telamonian Aias and Aias Oileus defend the Greek ships. The wounded Greek warriors go back to the fighting. Hera seduces her husband, Zeus , to distract him and allow Poseidon to continue helping the Greeks. As the Greeks rally, Hektor is wounded. Zeus wakes up and threatens the other gods, forcing them to stop helping the Greeks. Then, Zeus outlines the future course of the battle and sends Apollo to revive Hektor. Hektor returns to the battle, drives the Greeks back to their ships, and tries to set the ships on fire.
Book 16
Following Nestor ’s advice, Patroklos persuades Achilleus to let him wear his armor and lead their troops, the Myrmidons, into battle. Achilleus warns him to return once he has driven the Trojans from the ships. The Trojans are routed, and Patroklos kills one of their great allies, Sarpedon , a mortal son of Zeus. Zeus is persuaded by Hera not to intervene to save his son. Patroklos ignores Achilleus' warning and is killed by Hektor with Apollo's help.
Book 17
The two sides battle over Patroklos' corpse, after Hektor strips it of Achilleus' armor.
Book 18
Achilleus learns of Patroklos' death, and Thetis, his mother, consoles him. He wants to join the battle, but Thetis reminds him that he has no armor. She promises to get new armor from Hephaistos, the smith of the gods. Achilleus' warcry drives the Trojans away, and the Greeks finally recover Patroklos' body. In the Trojan camp, Hektor rejects the advice of POULYDAMAS, a counsellor, that they withdraw to Troy. In the Greek camp, Achilleus mourns over Patroklos. Thetis asks Hephaistos to forge new armor for Achilleus, and Homer describes the elaborate decoration of the shield.
Book 19
Achilleus calls an assembly, puts aside his quarrel with Agamemnon, and announces his return to battle. Agamemnon blames Zeus for their quarrel, presents gifts to Achilleus, and returns Briseis to him. They mourn for Patroklos, and Achilleus, who refuses to eat, is fed by the gods. Before he enters the battle, Achilleus’ horses prophesy his death.
Book 20
Zeus urges the gods to join in the day's fighting to prevent Achilleus from storming Troy "against destiny". Achilleus leads the Greeks, and fights the Trojan hero, Aineias, son of Aphrodite, who is saved by the gods.
Book 21
Achilleus brutally slaughters many Trojans in the Xanthos river, and the rivers of Troy attempt to drown him. The gods rescue him, and battle one another, while Zeus looks on. The Trojans are routed and flee to the city, seeking protection within its walls.
Book 22
Priam and Hekabe, beg their son, Hektor, to return to the city, but he prepares to fight Achilleus. Hektor panics and Achilleus chases him around the walls of Troy. He makes a stand when Athene tricks him into thinking that one of his brothers, DEIPHOBOS, is with him. Achilleus kills Hektor and abuses his body by hitching it to his chariot and dragging it around the walls of Troy. Hektor's parents and wife look on and mourn his death and the inevitable destruction of Troy.
Book 23
Patroklos appears to Achilleus in a dream and urges him to hold a funeral for him so that his shade can enter Hades, the realm of the dead. Achilleus hosts splendid funeral games in Patroklos' honor and distributes prizes to the competitors in the different athletic events.
Book 24
The gods are outraged that Achilleus continues to mistreat the body of Hektor by dragging it around the Greek camp every day. They decide that Priam must be allowed to ransom the body of his son. Thetis tells Achilleus, and the gods inspire Priam to visit Achilleus' tent and beg him to accept a splendid ransom for the body. Priam and Achilleus grieve together, the body is returned to Troy, and the Trojans mourn Hektor's death.