The Illiad

"Let me first perform some great act that shall be spoken among men later. Let me not then die disgracefully and without a battle." Chryses seeks to get his daughter Chrysies, who is being kept hostage by the Achaean leader Agamemnon, released during the last year of the siege of Troy. As Agamemnon continues to hold her captive, Chryses pleads with Apollo, who then curses the Achaeans. Agamemnon is forced to send Achille back when the Myrmidons' commander asks for a council to determine what is causing the disease. What transpires when Agamemnon requests the release of Achilles' captive, Briseis, and when, furious, Achilles declines to engage in battle? Homer's The Iliad is a beautiful masterpiece, consisting of 24 exciting books that celebrate and praise combat. It is among the earliest surviving works of Western literature and is regarded as one of the most important works of the Western Canon.