Achilles claimed Briseis as his war prize after sacking Lyrnessus, and she became his concubine and beloved. When Agamemnon seized her, Achilles' fury drove him from battle, nearly dooming the Greek cause at Troy.
Agamemnon seized Briseis from Achilles to compensate for the loss of Chryseis, an act of royal prerogative that ignited the central conflict of the Iliad.
Chryseis and Briseis were both Trojan war prizes. When Agamemnon returned Chryseis, he took Briseis from Achilles as compensation, triggering the wrath that drives the Iliad.
In the Iliad, Briseis mourns Patroclus as the one person who treated her with kindness during her captivity, calling him gentle and promising her he would make her Achilles's lawful wife.
After Agamemnon seized Briseis, Achilles's mother Thetis rose from the sea and petitioned Zeus to turn the war against the Greeks until her son's honor was restored.
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