Apollo

The Iliad begins with Apollo’s anger. His priest Chryses is refused by Agamemnon, and the god descends from Olympus with his bow and quiver, shooting arrows of plague into the Achaean camp. The description is one of the poem’s most famous images: the god comes like night, and the arrows rattle on his shoulders.

The plague is both a natural disaster and a sign. It forces the Achaeans to consult Calchas, exposes Agamemnon’s arrogance, and sets in motion the quarrel with Achilles. Apollo’s first action is thus the origin of the poem’s plot.

Apollo supports the Trojans throughout the war. He saves Aeneas from Diomedes, encourages Hector, and in Book XVI strikes Patroclus’s armour so that Euphorbus and Hector can kill him. He also prevents Achilles from taking Troy before its time and warns him away from the walls.

His prophecy is as important as his violence. He knows the future and reveals it selectively, and his oracles at Delphi and elsewhere are the background of Greek religious life. In the Iliad he is the god who both causes and interprets the suffering of mortals.