Briseis (War Prize)
heroCaptured woman taken from Achilles by Agamemnon, whose seizure caused Achilles to withdraw from the Trojan War.
The Myth
She was the prize that broke the Greek army — when Agamemnon took her from Achilles, the greatest warrior in the world refused to fight. Briseis was captured during a raid and awarded to Achilles. When forced to return Chryseis, Agamemnon seized Briseis as replacement. Achilles, humiliated, withdrew from combat and asked his mother Thetis to make Zeus help the Trojans. Thousands of Greeks died because of this quarrel. Homer gives Briseis almost no voice until Book 19, where she mourns Patroclus — the only Greek who was kind to her. Her lament reveals she was a woman with her own grief, not just an object of exchange. Modern readers see what Homer only glimpsed: the captive's perspective on the heroes' quarrel.
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Briseus
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Briseis
heroBriseis was the captive woman taken from Achilles by Agamemnon — the cause of Achilles' wrath that...
Achilles
heroThe greatest warrior in the Greek army at Troy, nearly invulnerable thanks to being dipped in the...
Achilles (Wrath)
heroThe swift-footed son of Peleus and Thetis whose wrath drives the Iliad and whose choice between...
Agamemnon
heroAgamemnon led the Greek coalition against Troy but was murdered upon return by his wife...
Chryseis
heroChryseis was the priest's daughter whose captivity by Agamemnon and forced return sparked the...
Chryseis (War Prize)
heroDaughter of Apollo's priest Chryses whose capture by Agamemnon triggered the plague and quarrel...
Patroclus
heroPatroclus was Achilles' closest companion whose death in borrowed armour at Hector's hands was the...
Patroclus (Beloved Companion)
heroAchilles's closest companion whose death in borrowed armour broke the hero's withdrawal and sent...
Thetis
nymphThetis was a sea nymph so powerful that both Zeus and Poseidon desired her — until a prophecy...
Thetis (Prophecy)
nymphThetis was the Nereid whose son was destined to surpass his father — a prophecy so threatening that...
Trojan Cetus
creatureA sea monster sent by Poseidon to ravage Troy, fought by Heracles in exchange for divine horses
Trojan Horse
conceptThe hollow wooden horse used by the Greeks to infiltrate and destroy Troy. Devised by Odysseus, it...