Achilles was the greatest Greek warrior in the Trojan War. His withdrawal over Briseis nearly doomed the Greek cause, and his return after Patroclus's death turned the tide, culminating in his killing of Hector.
Aeneas was Troy's second-greatest warrior after Hector and fought throughout the Trojan War. Poseidon prophesied during the war that Aeneas would survive and his descendants would rule the Trojans.
Agamemnon commanded the Greek coalition in the Trojan War, leading over a thousand ships. His seizure of Briseis from Achilles provoked the wrath that nearly cost the Greeks victory.
Ajax fought throughout the ten-year Trojan War as the Greeks' defensive anchor. He defended the ships from Hector's assault, recovered Achilles's body, and contested the Judgment of Arms before his death.
Aphrodite set the Trojan War in motion by promising Helen to Paris in the Judgment of Paris. She protected Paris and the Trojans throughout the conflict, and was wounded by Diomedes on the battlefield.
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.
Cassandra prophesied Troy's destruction throughout the Trojan War but was never believed, cursed by Apollo. She warned against the Wooden Horse in vain and was enslaved by Agamemnon after the city fell.
Chryseis's capture and the dispute over her return opened the Iliad's narrative of the Trojan War. Her story sets in motion the wrath of Achilles.
Diomedes was one of the foremost Greek warriors in the Trojan War. Empowered by Athena, he wounded Aphrodite and Ares in a single day, and later joined Odysseus in stealing the Palladium.
Eris's golden apple at the wedding of Thetis and Peleus set in motion the chain of events — the Judgment of Paris, the abduction of Helen — that ultimately caused the Trojan War.
Hector was Troy's greatest champion during the Trojan War. He led the defense for ten years, drove the Greeks back to their ships, and killed Patroclus before falling to Achilles in single combat.
Hecuba endured the Trojan War as queen of Troy, witnessing the death of her sons and the destruction of her city. Her story became the archetype of war's devastation upon the vanquished.
Helen's abduction by Paris was the immediate cause of the Trojan War. The Oath of Tyndareus bound her former suitors to recover her, and the war ended only when she was restored to Menelaus after Troy's fall.
Helenus fought as a Trojan warrior and seer during the Trojan War. After Paris's death he defected to the Greeks, revealing the secret conditions needed for Troy's fall.
The sacrifice of Iphigenia at Aulis was the price exacted to launch the Greek fleet in the Trojan War. Her death became the conflict's first casualty and its enduring moral stain.
Laocoön's death during the final hours of the Trojan War served as the decisive omen that convinced the Trojans to accept the Wooden Horse.
Memnon arrived at the Trojan War with his Ethiopian forces after Hector's death, becoming Troy's greatest champion. His deeds were recounted in the lost epic Aethiopis.
Menelaus's loss of Helen to Paris was the casus belli of the Trojan War. He invoked the Oath of Tyndareus to rally the Greek kings and fought throughout the siege, reclaiming Helen after Troy's fall.
Neoptolemus was brought to the Trojan War after his father Achilles' death, as prophecy declared the city could not fall without him. He killed King Priam at the altar of Zeus during the sack.
Nestor was the eldest Greek commander in the Trojan War and sailed with ninety ships from Pylos. He served as counselor throughout the ten-year siege and was among the few to return home safely.
Odysseus served as the Greeks' chief strategist throughout the Trojan War. He devised the Wooden Horse that ended the siege, stole the Palladium with Diomedes, and retrieved Philoctetes from Lemnos.
The Palladium, Athena's sacred image in Troy's citadel, was believed to protect the city. Its theft by Odysseus and Diomedes fulfilled one of the prophecies required to end the Trojan War.
Paris caused the Trojan War by abducting Helen from Sparta after Aphrodite promised her to him in the Judgment of Paris. He later killed Achilles with an arrow guided by Apollo.
Patroclus fought and died in the Trojan War. His death while wearing Achilles's armor became the turning point of the conflict, driving Achilles back into battle.
The wedding of Peleus and Thetis set in motion the chain of events leading to the Trojan War, through Eris's golden apple and the Judgment of Paris that followed.
Penthesilea led the Amazons into the Trojan War after Hector's death, serving as one of Troy's last great champions. Her duel with Achilles is told in the lost Aethiopis.
Philoctetes was retrieved from Lemnos when prophecy declared the Trojan War could not be won without Heracles' bow. He killed Paris with the poisoned arrows, fulfilling a key condition for victory.
Priam ruled as king of Troy throughout the Trojan War and lost most of his fifty sons to the conflict. His night visit to Achilles to ransom Hector's body is among the Iliad's most celebrated scenes.
Sarpedon, son of Zeus and king of Lycia, was the Trojans' greatest ally during the Trojan War. His death at Patroclus's hands prompted Zeus to weep tears of blood, and the battle over his body was among the war's fiercest.
After being healed by the Greeks, Telephus guided their fleet to the Trojan War in exchange, though he refused to fight against the Trojans because his wife was a daughter of Priam.
The Trojan Horse was the stratagem devised by Odysseus that ended the Trojan War. Greek warriors hid inside the hollow wooden horse and emerged at night to open the gates for the returning army.
The Oath of Tyndareus, which bound Helen's suitors to defend her chosen husband, became the mechanism that compelled all of Greece to join the Trojan War after Paris abducted Helen.
Zeus oversaw the Trojan War as part of his plan to end the heroic age and reduce the earth's population. He intervened to shift the battle's momentum, honoring Thetis's plea to turn the tide against the Greeks until Achilles' honor was restored.
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