0utline of iliad

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.