and the god’s anger was kindled against the Achaians. He sent a plague to their camp, killing many. Achilles, seeing the imminent destruction of the army, called a council and demanded that Agamemnon give back the girl, Chryseis. Agamemnon angrily agreed, but demanded Achilles’ own prize, the virgin Briseis, in Chryseis’ place. Tempers flared, and one of them would have murdered the other had not Athena intervened. Achilles then gave up Briseis, but his pride had been wounded, and he withdrew his fleet from the battle. This was calamity for the Achaians, as their successes up to that point were due to Achilles’ prowess. Achilles, harboring a deep grudge against Agamemnon (goodness, how these people held grudges), asked his mother Thetis to petition Zeus for Trojan victory, which she did.
The Trojans were quick to notice that Achilles had withdrawn, and their spirits were quickly restored. They resumed attack on the Achaians, and the latter were forced to retreat. In order to salvage his army, Agamemnon gained a truce, in which it was agreed that Paris and Menelaos should fight a duel to settle their disagreement. If Paris was killed, Helen would be given back, and the Achaians would return home. If Menelaos was slain, then Helen would rightfully belong to Paris. But the duel was inconclusive, for Aphrodite, seeing that Paris was losing, wrapped him in a haze and spirited him back to Troy, where she sent Helen to "distract" him.
Meanwhile, Menelaos searched for Paris in the Trojan ranks, and Agamemnon demanded Helen’s release. The Trojans, sick of the hideousness of war, were willing, and the war might have ended, had it not been for Hera. She was determined to see Troy devastated, so she dispatched Athena to disband the truce. Athena then persuaded Pandarus, a Trojan archer, to fire an arrow at Menelaos. It grazed him, and the fighting resumed in angry confusion.
Ajax the greater and Diomedes fought valiantly, killing scores of Trojans. Diomedes slew Pandarus and wounded Aeneas. Aphrodite quickly came to her son’s rescue, but Diomedes wounded her in the wrist, causing the goddess to flee. At Aphrodite’s pleading, Apollo bore Aeneas from the battlefield and Artemis healed the wound. Diomedes then encountered the exceptional warrior Hektor, who was accompanied by the bloody Ares, god of war. Diomedes was, naturally, intimidated, and the Achaians drew back. But Athena gave Diomedes the courage to attack Area, and injured him. Ares fled to Olympus, bellowing in pain.
Forced to retreat, Hektor was advised to return to Troy and offer gifts to Athena to appease her. He offered the angered goddess his mother’s loveliest robe as a peace gift, but it failed to placate Athena. After a conversation with his wife, Hektor returned to the battlefield, and challenged Achilles to a duel. Learning that Achilles had withdrawn, he accepted a duel with the greater Ajax instead. The two fought all day without injury, and their indecisive duel was ended at dusk, with a tie. In respect for his ability, Hektor gave Ajax a silver-studded sword and the latter gave Hektor a purple baldric, or sheath that was slung over the shoulder. Ironically, the sword given Ajax by Hector was the means of Ajax’ suicide.
Zeus, honoring his promise to Thetis, ordered the other gods from the battlefield. As a consequence, the Achaians lost badly. Under Hektor’s fierce advances, the Achaians were forced nearly all the way to their ships by nightfall. A disheartened Agamemnon, seeing his army’s plight, decided to make peace with Achilles by offering to give back the girl Briseis, as well as a large sum of money and a long list of other gifts. He sent a delegation to Achilles, consisting of Ajax the lesser, the sharp-witted Odysseus, and Phoinix, Achilles’ old tutor. Achilles received Agamemnon’s delegation with courtesy, but coolly refused their offers. His pride had been hurt, and he was set in his decision to abstain from the fighting, unless he or his soldiers were threatened. Ajax realized that their attempt had failed, and the delegation left. The Achaians’ situation appeared dismally hopeless.
That night, Odysseus and Diomedes managed to make a successful raid on the Trojan camp, killing many, including King Rhesus, and stealing some horses. But their success was short-lived, and the next day the Achaians were forced back even further. Agamemnon, Odysseus, and Diomedes were all wounded in battle. Hera, Zeus’ wife, was concerned by this turn of events and resolved to turn the tides on the Trojans. Using the magic girdle of Aphrodite, which made the wearer irresistible, Hera seduced Zeus into the bedroom, his weak area, and convinced him to forget about the war. While Zeus was so engaged, Poisedon entered the battle and made the Trojans retreat. Ajax the greater hurled a mammoth boulder at Hektor, knocking him to ground. At the fall of their leader, the Trojans ran madly for the city. Zeus, recovered from his infatuation, saw what had happened, and ordered Poisedon from the field, after first threatening to beat Hera.
Apollo came to Hektor’s aid, breathing vigor into him. Again, the Trojans gained the upper hand. With Hektor in the forefront, the Trojans smashed down the barricades built around the Achaians’ ships. Patroklos, greatly alarmed at the Achaians’ situation, tried to persuade his friend Achilles to fight, but Achilles, still nursing his wounded pride, declined. Patroklos then borrowed Achilles’ armor and, taking an escort of Achilles’ Myrmidons, went to battle. At first, the Trojans, thinking that Achilles had returned to the battle, began to retreat in dismay. Had Apollo not interfered, the Achaians would have been victorious. But it was not to be. Concealing himself in the mist, Apollo came up behind Patroklos as he was scaling the walls of Troy, and struck him, so that he fell dazed. Hektor, who was standing nearby, found Patroklus and slew him, stripping him of his splendid armor.
When Achilles received news of Patroklos’ death, his grief knew no bounds. He threw himself to the ground in a frenzy of despair, tearing his clothes and hair, and casting dust upon himself. His mother, Thetis, came to comfort him, but for hours he refused to be consoled. He cursed himself, his pride, and his unforgiving attitude toward Agamemnon, for he believed that he was the cause of Patroklos’ death. Achilles finally regained his composure, and vowed to kill Hektor and all the Trojans. Thetis brought forth a set of new armor, the most elaborate ever fashioned, that she had had Hephaistos make for him. Achilles made a formal reconciliation with Agamemnon, and they set off to fight. As Achilles was about to set forth into battle, Athena came to him, and cast round his shoulders an awesome light, so that when the Trojans saw him step out onto the battlefield, they quaked in fear at the mere sight of him. Even the valiant Hektor knew that his end was near.
The fight that that day witnessed was terrible, the bloodiest battle yet to be fought. At first, Hektor’s family pled with him to remain inside the city, knowing that the oracle had predicted he would not return. But Hektor could not be restrained, for although he knew it meant his death, going into the battle that day would also mean honor, and he did not care if having the latter meant having the former as well. While Hektor and Aeneas slew many of the enemy, Achilles’ furious killing of Trojan warriors showed no signs of abating. Aeneas and Hektor both narrowly