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Summary of Iliad and Odyssey

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SUMMARY OF ILIAD
In the tenth year of the Trojan War, tensions are running high among the Achaeans. First, the priest Chryses comes to ask their leader, King Agamemnon, to release his daughter, whom Agamemnon was holding captive. When Agamemnon refuses, the priest prays to the god Apollo to send a plague against the Achaeans. After nine days of plague, the Achaeans assemble again and demand that Agamemnon give the girl back. Agamemnon eventually agrees, but only if he gets to take Briseis, the girlfriend of Achilles, the greatest warrior of the Achaeans. Even though Achilles gives her up, he becomes so enraged that he refuses to fight any more. That and he prays to his mother, Thetis, who happens to be a goddess, to pull some strings with the other gods so that the Achaeans will start getting defeated in battle and realize how much they depend on him.
Achilles’ mom definitely spoils him. She gets Zeus, the king of the gods, to agree to Achilles’ request. Sure enough, the next day the Trojans makes a successful counterattack, led by Hector, their greatest warrior. Several days of violent fighting follow, at the end of which the Trojans have the Achaeans pinned against the beach, and are threatening to burn their ships. At this point, Achilles’ best friend Patroclus asks for permission to go into battle in Achilles’ place. Achilles grants Patroclus request, and even lets him wear his armor. Patroclus gambit is successful – when the Trojans see him, they think he must be Achilles and become absolutely terrified. The plan goes off the rails, however, when Hector kills Patroclus – with the help of the god Apollo and a minor Trojan warrior named Euphorbos. Hector then takes the armor off Patroclus body.
When Achilles learns of the death of his friend, he experiences terrible grief and swears revenge. He sends his mother, Thetis, to get a new suit of armor made

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