Book-by-Book Summary of the Iliad
What follows is a very brief summary from each Book of the Iliad. Please note that these chapter divisions did not exist in the original telling of the story. The poem was divided according to what could be transcribed onto one scroll without the scroll becoming too long and thus breaking. The Iliad and Odyssey are both divided into 24 books.
Book 1: Chryses, a priest of Apollo, demands his daughter Chryseis back from Agamemnon. Chryseis had been taken captive by Agamemnon as a war prize. Agamemnon refuses to release her, so Chryses prays for Apollo to plague the camp. Apollo sends a deadly plague which lasts for nine days before Achilles confronts Agamemnon and demands that he return Chryseis. Agamemnon then steals Achilles' war prize, Briseis, as recompense for losing Chryseis. This sparks Achilles' rage, and he vows to withdraw from war and potentially sail home. Achilles then asks his mother, the nymph Thetis, to ask Zeus to allow the Trojans to win in battle until the Greeks beg for the return of Achilles. Thetis takes this message to Zeus, and Zeus agrees to allow the Trojans to win until Achilles regains his honor.
Book 2: Agamemnon tests the resolve of his men by telling them they can return home and that the war is over. Agamemnon's test backfires as the men scramble for the ships. Odysseus saves the day by giving a motivating speech and rallying the Greek forces. The Greeks march for battle against the Trojans.
Book 3: Paris challenges Menelaus to a one-on-one duel to decide who gets Helen and to decide which side wins the war. Menelaus dominates Paris in the duel and is about to kill him when Aphrodite intervenes and takes Paris back to his bedroom inside the city. Menelaus thinks he has won the battle and demands that the Trojans give Helen back.
Book 4: Pandarus, a Trojan archer, breaks the temporary truce between the two armies by shooting Menelaus in the leg with an arrow. Pandarus was tempted by Athena; Athena did not want the war to end: she wanted to see Troy destroyed. Menelaus is not fatally wounded, and Agamemnon commands his armies to attack, and the Trojans and Greeks engage in battle.
Book 5: Diomedes, inspired by Athena, has his Aristeia (moment of glory) by killing Pandarus and wounding both Aphrodite and Ares. The Greeks gain the upper-hand in battle due to Diomedes' brilliance.
Books 6: Hector returns to Troy in the middle of the battle because he needs to tell the women of the city to offer sacrifices to Athena in hopes that she will no longer favor the Greeks. Hector speaks to his mother, his brother, and his wife, Andromache. Andromache begs Hector to stay inside the city, fearing he will die in battle. Hector returns to battle with Paris, and the woman of the city sing dirges (funeral songs) for Hector, treating him as if he is already dead.
Book 7: The gods decide that the first day of battle should conclude with a one-on-one duel. Hector challenges any Greek to a duel. Great Ajax' lot is chosen for the Greeks, and he dominates Hector. Before he can kill Hector, the battle is stopped by the gods, and the armies return to their respective camps for the night. Nestor proposes the Greeks build a temporary wall to help protect their ships.
Book 8: Zeus takes control on the second day of battle by allowing the Trojans to gain the upper-hand. He uses his lightning bolt to change the tide of battle, and the Trojans, led by Hector, dominate the second day of fighting. The Trojans, so sure that they will win the war the next day, camp outside of the Greek wall for the night.
Book 9: The Greeks, desperate because of the rout they suffered during the second day of fighting, try to convince Achilles to re-enter the war. Odysseus, Great Ajax, and Phoenix present Achilles with gifts and each try to make an appeal to Achilles. Ultimately, the embassy fails, but they at least convince Achilles to stay on the shores of Troy and not return home.
Book 10: Odysseus and Diomedes volunteer to spy on the Trojan camp at night in hopes of learning the battle strategies of the Trojans. They fail to obtain any plans, but in the process kill some allies of the Trojans and steal a King's horses and chariot.
Book 11: Agamemnon leads the Greeks to momentary success to start the third day of battle. The success is short lived as Agamemnon, Odysseys, and Diomedes all suffer wounds. They withdraw from battle, and the Greeks are without three of their best warriors. Great Ajax and the rest of the Greeks retreat behind the safety of their walls as Hector and the Trojans advance, hoping to break through the wall and finish the Greeks by burning their ships.
Book 12: Hector has his finest moment of glory as he breaks through the Greek wall by throwing a massive boulder at one of the gates.
Book 13: The Greeks defend their ships valiantly as the Trojans slowly near their goal of burning the Greek ships.
Book 14: In a desperation effort to save the Greeks, Hera seduces Zeus to distract his attention away from the battlefield. While Zeus is distracted, Poseidon leads the Greeks in a counter-attack against the Trojans. During the counter-attack, Great Ajax wounds Hector. The Greeks appear to have warded off destruction.
Book 15: Zeus revives from his slumber only to find the battlefield in total chaos. He kicks Poseidon off the battlefield, revives Hector, and sends Apollo to lead the Trojans against the Greeks. Led by Hector and Apollo, the Trojans press the Greeks against their ships. Great Ajax makes a last-ditch effort to save the ships: he jumps from stern to stern, warding off the Trojans with a massive pike. The Greeks appear close to losing the war.
Book 16: Patroclus, concerned for the Greeks, asks Achilles if he can lead the Myrmidons into battle while wearing Achilles' armor. When Achilles sees some of the ships on fire, he launches Patrolcus and the Myrmidons into battle. Patroclus saves the ships and fights the Trojans back the their walls. While attacking the city, Patroclus is met in battle by Apollo. Apollo knocks Achilles' armor off of Patroclus, and Hector is able to kill Achilles' best friend.
Book 17: Hector removes the armor from Patroclus and puts it on, thus wearing the armor of Achilles. A massive battle ensues over the body of Patroclus. Menelaus and Great Ajax are able to recover Patroclus' body, and Menelaus, along with Meriones, carry the body back to the Greek camp while Great and Little Ajax defend the body from the Trojans.
Book 18: Achilles learns of the death of Patroclus and grieves deeply over the loss. He vows to return to battle to kill Hector. Thetis goes to ask Hephaestus to make new armor for Achilles, and Hephaestus forges a magnificent set of arms. This ends the third day of battle, the longest day of fighting.
Book 19: The Greeks eat breakfast before the fourth day of battle while Achilles dons his new armor.
Book 20: Achilles finally returns to battle and enforces his control of the battlefield. The Trojans retreat for their walls while Achilles leads the slaughter; numerous times he is compared to a force of nature. The gods return to the battlefield to ensure that Achilles does not destroy Troy, which would be against the will of fate.
Book 21: Achilles fights the god of the river Xanthus because the god is upset that Achilles is damming his flow with too many corpses. Achilles needs rescuing from Hephaestus in order to survive the wrath of the river god. Achilles continues his dominance in battle.
Book 22: Achilles finally faces Hector in a duel. Hector runs from Achilles before the two duel; Athena tricks Hector into stopping his flight and fighting Achilles. Achilles kills Hector quickly by stabbing Hector in the neck; Achilles knows the weak spots in his old armor. Achilles strips Hector's armor and attaches the body to his chariot. Achilles drags Hector's body back to his camp while Priam and the rest of Troy mourn the loss of their favorite prince.
Book 23: Achilles still mourns for his friend and has yet to release his rage. The Greeks decide to hold customary funeral games for Patroclus and honor his memory by refraining from battle for 12 days after burning his body.
Book 24: Priam, desperate to regain his son's body for proper funeral rights, sneaks into the Greek camp at night. Hermes leads Priam to the tent of Achilles, and Priam kisses the hands of Achilles and begs for his son's body. Achilles, reminded of his own father's grief, releases his rage and weeps with Priam. Achilles returns the body of Hector, and the poem ends with the burial of Hector.
Information for this page retrieved from: Homer. 1990. Iliad. Robert Fagles, Trans. New York, New York: Penguin Books.