In Iliad Book 1, Achilles swore to protect Calchas before the seer dared reveal that Agamemnon's refusal to return Chryseis had caused Apollo's plague upon the Greek camp.
Mopsus defeated Calchas in a prophecy contest at Claros, correctly answering riddles that the Trojan War seer could not. Calchas died of grief at being surpassed by the younger prophet.
The seer Calchas revealed to Agamemnon that Artemis demanded Iphigenia's sacrifice at Aulis and later identified Chryseis's captivity as the cause of Apollo's plague upon the Greek camp.
Calchas received his prophetic gift from Apollo, making him the foremost seer of his generation. Homer calls him the best of augurs, who knew past, present, and future through Apollo's granting.
The seer Calchas declared that Artemis demanded the sacrifice of Iphigenia at Aulis to release the winds. His prophecy forced Agamemnon to choose between his daughter and the expedition to Troy.
Calchas prophesied that Troy could not fall without the bow of Heracles, which Philoctetes possessed. This prophecy compelled the Greeks to retrieve the abandoned archer from Lemnos in the war's final year.
Calchas advised that Troy could only be taken by stratagem, not by force. His guidance contributed to the plan of the Trojan Horse, the wooden decoy that finally breached Troy's walls.
Calchas served as chief seer of the Greek army during the Trojan War. His prophecies guided critical decisions including the sacrifice of Iphigenia at Aulis, identification of Apollo's plague, and the conditions required for Troy's fall.
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