Homer's Iliad Book 1 (translation by Robert Fagles)

The Iliad begins with the poet calling on the Muse to sing of the wrath of Achilleus and its consequences. Apollo's priest Chryses comes to the Achaian camp and asks to ransom back his daughter Chryseis, who has been captured. Agamemnon sends him rudely away, and Chryses prays to Apollo to punish the Greeks, which Apollo does by sending a plague upon them. Achilleus calls an assembly to ask the seer Kalchas why Apollo is angry. First Kalchas secures Achilleus' promise that he will protect him from reprisals, then he explains the situation. Agamemnon angrily denounces Kalchas. Agamemnon agrees to give up Chryseis, who is his concubine, but demands some other "prize" to replace her. Achilleus answers that another prize will come later, when Troy is sacked. Agamemnon angrily threatens to take the captive woman of Achilleus or of another of the Achaian chiefs, and Achilleus responds to this slight by denouncing Agamemnon and threatening to go home to Phthia. Agamemnon repeats his threat to take Achilleus' prize, and Achilleus is about to draw his sword when Athene appears to him and stops him. Instead of attacking Agamemnon, Achilleus berates him some more, and swears an oath to stay out of the battle so that the Achaians can see how important he is. Nestor tries to reconcile the two chiefs, but without much success. Achilleus agrees to surrender his captive woman, Briseis, without a fight. When the messengers from Agamemnon arrive, Achilleus hands her over. He then meets with his mother, Thetis the sea-nymph, and tells her the whole story of how he has been dishonoured. He asks her to convince Zeus to make the Trojans win for a while, so the Greeks will realize how much they need Achilleus. Thetis leaves, and the Achaians set about returning Chryseis to her home and propitiating Apollo. Thetis meets with Zeus and explains the situation; he owes her a favor, so he agrees to give glory to the Trojans on Achilleus' behalf. Hera, who favors the Greeks, expresses her displeasure over this plan, but Zeus asserts his authority and she is silenced. Hephaistos comforts his mother Hera, and soon all the gods are again at peace, and the day ends.

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