The Iliad Characters

(Click the character infographic to download.) What a PedigreeThink of Achilleus like an Ancient Greek Arya Stark—well-born, secretly sentimental, and totally fueled by rage.To understand Achille...

(Click the character infographic to download.) What the Hektor?Not going to lie: Hektor struck us as a little yawn-worthy at the beginning of this epic. He was just so good. So family-oriented. So...

(Click the character infographic to download.) Raging BullySo we all know that the Iliad is about the anger of Achilleus, but what we sometimes forget is that it takes two to tango. Even though Ach...

Best BestiePatroklos and Achilleus have the world's best bromance. They adore each other. They have each others' backs. And this, of course, makes it suck when Patroklos is killed.Patroklos has bee...

Proud MamaThink of Thetis like a stage mother... except the "stage" is the Trojan War and the "mother" is actually the freakin' goddess of the sea.Thetis, a goddess of the sea, is the mother of Ach...

(Click the character infographic to download.) Twiddling His Thumbs and Waiting for the SequelThink of Odysseus as the Dr. Ian Malcolm of The Iliad. Ian Malcolm spends the entirety of Jurassic Par...

Nestor is the wise old man of the Achaian army. Well, at least part of that statement is true. Nestor never passes up an opportunity to tell a long, rambling story about how awesome he was back in...

Diomedes is a very important member of the Achaian army who just can't seem to get any credit. Poor dude.This is reflected not only in his peripheral status in scholarly treatments of the Iliad (wi...

On the one hand, Menelaos is an important character in setting up the backstory of the Iliad. After all, it was his wife, Helen, who ran off with Paris and thus kicked off the Trojan War. On the ot...

(Click the character infographic to download.) Nothing sums up Paris's status in the Iliad like the end of Book 3. When Menelaos is looking for Paris—whom Aphrodite has carried off to safety—we...

(Click the character infographic to download.) Even though she has only a small role, Helen is one of the Iliad's most interesting characters. For one thing, she is supposed to be the most beautifu...

(Click the character infographic to download.) Priam's greatest fault is being a pushover for his son Paris. Even though everyone thinks Paris should just give Helen back to the Achaians, Priam let...

By Aias we are here referring to "big" Aias (a.k.a. "Telamonian Aias," the son of Telamon). "Little" Aias is, well, a much smaller character, and doesn't get his own profile. Basically, Aias is a r...

(Click the character infographic to download.) The God SquadUsually when you think of "gods" you think of divine order, justice, and harmony. Maybe you think of fluffy clouds and harp music and whi...