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1[[quoteright:281:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/iliadbooksix_805.gif]]
2
3->''"Wrath, goddess, sing of Achilles Peleus's son's\
4calamitous wrath, which hit the Achaians with countless ills—\
5many the valiant souls it saw off down to Hades,\
6souls of heroes, their selves left as carrion for dogs\
7and all birds of prey, and the plan of Zeus was fulfilled—\
8from the first moment those two men parted in fury,\
9Atreus's son, king of men, and the godlike Achilles."''
10-->-- '''Homer''', ''The Iliad'', 1.1-7 (translation by Peter Green)
11
12''The Iliad'' (Greek: ''Ιλιάς'' ''Iliás'') is an epic poem from Literature/TheTrojanCycle describing a few months in the ninth year of UsefulNotes/TheTrojanWar, a siege of the great city of Troy by an alliance of Greek city-states. It is considered one of the cornerstones of Western literature and attributed to Creator/{{Homer}}. ''The Iliad'' is one of the [[OlderThanFeudalism oldest works of literature]] to survive intact.
13
14The main plot concerns Achilles, the invaders' strongest soldier. Achilles, according to prophecy, has a choice: either die an untimely death that ensures his legend lives forever, or retire to a [[IJustWantToBeNormal life of normality]] and obscurity. After a falling-out with King Agamemnon, Achilles [[AchillesInHisTent withdraws from the war]], tempted by the second option. He informs his mother, Thetis, of his plight and says that he will not return until his honor is restored. With that, Thetis convinces Zeus to intercede and concoct a scheme to restore Achilles' honor. In his absence, the fortunes of battle begin to swing the Trojan way. Achilles eventually chooses glory... ''after'' [[ItsPersonal his closest friend Patroclus has been killed by the Trojan prince Hector.]]
15
16Within this narrative framework, the poem gives an incredibly detailed and engaging snapshot of the war, from the battles themselves to the personalities of the elites and the political machinations of the gods; both prophecy and free will are strong forces. Crossover characters from other Greek myths are a bonus for the dedicated fan.
17
18For more details, and the even more famous [[Literature/TheOdyssey sequel]], see Creator/{{Homer}}.
19
20!!Is the TropeNamer for:
21* AchillesInHisTent
22* CassandraTruth
23* ClassicalChimera
24----
25!!Sing, O Muse, of the Tropes of ''The Iliad'':
26* AchillesInHisTent:
27** [[TropeNamer Achilles refuses to come out]] and fight due to a squabble with Agamemnon. Agamemnon tries to coax Achilles back by meeting the demands he originally made before the new threat, but Achilles [[OffTheTable now refuses them]]. Also, in stark contrast to modern examples, Achilles does not learn AnAesop about teamwork or friendship. He re-enters battle out of pure blood rage, after Patroclus kicks the bucket, and winds up forming an OddFriendship with the enemy king instead of with Agamemnon.
28** Nestor tells the tale of the Greek hero Menander who behaved in a similar fashion.
29* AdvantageBall: The battle goes this way and that, depending on which side the gods are currently favoring. The advantage is indicated by one side's champions being temporarily invincible: first Diomedes, then Hector, and finally Achilles.
30* AnAesop:
31** Solve conflicts through words and compromise, not violence or insult. Becomes more obvious in the penultimate book where we see several altercations (e.g. Ajax vs. Idomeneus, Antilochus vs. Achilles, Antilochus vs. Menelaus) over prizes in the Funeral Games that mirror Achilles and Agamemnon's initial argument but are settled peaceably. While this may seem something of a BrokenAesop as the setting is an enormous war, it's worth noting that if the Trojans had returned Helen and apologized at the beginning, they probably wouldn't have gotten their whole city destroyed.
32** Welcome counsel. Whenever characters refuse advice (which is ''often'') it never ends well.
33** DisproportionateRetribution is only for the JerkassGods. Human beings must not engage in it, because [[TheHecateSisters The Moirae]] gave [[HumansAreSpecial humans a patient heart, capable of enduring all the pain]]. Indeed, Achilles' wrath is only explainable because [[HalfHumanHybrid he was the son of a goddess.]]
34* AloneInACrowd: Helen very much feels this way in Troy. The women barely tolerate her and only Hector and Priam are actually kind. Paris is no consolation, Helen seems to have come to despise him.
35* AmbiguouslyBi: On the other hand, Achilles is the father of Pyrrhus with Deidamie and both he and Patroclus enjoy sex with Lesbian slaves ([[HaveAGayOldTime as in native from Lesbos]]) in one scene.
36* AmbiguouslyGay: While Achilles and Patroclus are not explicitly[[note]]During the Byzantine times, the Iliad went under at least attempts to make Achilles 'less gay', such as cutting off the scene where Achilles tells Patroclus that he wants them to be the only people alive in the world, or adding "just like nature intended" when they sleep next to their concubines[[/note]] described as gay lovers in the text itself, their love was taken for granted by the time of Plato's ''Literature/{{Symposium}}''.
37* AnachronismStew: Incorporates both armour and fighting styles from Homer's own time and elements of Mycenean warfare from centuries earlier.
38* AntiHero: At the time of the tale's origin, Achilles was perhaps less of an antihero, but due to ValuesDissonance, many readers see Achilles as a colossal JerkAss and are more sympathetic to Hector, who is not a nice guy either.
39* ArmorIsUseless: Played with. Oddly enough, whether a warrior's armor protects him or not depends on how much PlotArmor he has; in a sense, the real armor is used as a {{Handwave}} for Plot Armor.
40* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: If Achilles is so badass, why is Agamemnon in charge? He has the most ships, by ten. Admittedly, the entire fleet was put together to bring Helen back to her husband, Agamemnon's brother.
41* BadassBoast: Practically half the book is composed of lengthy exchanges of these. Diomedes delivers a pretty spectacular one in Book Six: "Who are you, my fine friend? -- another born to die? I've never noticed you on the lines where we win glory, not till now. But here you come, charging out in front of all the rest with such bravado, daring to face the flying shadow of my spear. Pity those whose sons stand up to me in war! ...If you're a man who eats the crops of the earth, a mortal born for death -- here, come closer, the sooner you will meet your day to die!"
42* BashBrothers: Greater Ajax and his [[SiblingTeam illegitimate brother]] Teucer. Typically the latter will hide behind Ajax's shield and fire over it, providing long-range support, while Ajax handles the melee. It's rather heartwarming when you realize that, despite Teucer's bastard status, the two of them are very close.
43* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Achilles asks Zeus to help the Trojans punish the Greeks, which ends in his friend Patroclus' death fighting the empowered Trojans.
44* BecauseDestinySaysSo:
45** The prophecy that the newborn Alexandros/Paris would grow up to bring doom to Troy. Thus, UsefulNotes/TheTrojanWar and everything connected with it worked out that way because of destiny.
46** Additionally, there were several ways to save Troy. Various prophecies stated that if so and so was alive on the Trojan side, or so and so did not fight on the Greek side, then Troy would never fall. Needless to say the Greeks took care of all of those.
47** When Zeus broaches the idea that the war could end without further bloodshed after Paris defaults on the duel with Menelaus, Hera and Athena dismiss it on this basis.
48* TheBerserker:
49** Achilles and, to the surprise of anyone familiar with the various adaptations, Agamemnon. Seriously, read his rampage in Book 11. It screams UnstoppableRage.
50** Diomedes goes pretty berserk in Book 5, taking Aeneas, Aphrodite, and Ares, the god of war himself, out of battle, and killing quite a few dozen men. Not even the gods can rein him in. He had some help from Athena, though. However, he is shown to be a very good strategist and very cunning, knowing when to back off in battle, making him not a completely straight example of this trope.
51* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: After Patroclus is killed and the Trojans try to claim his body in Book 17, the Greeks collectively feel that it would be better to have the earth swallow them up than to go back to the Greek camp and tell Achilles that they lost Patroclus’s body to the Trojans.
52* BigBrotherInstinct: Agamemnon, elder brother to Menelaus, leads the forces to win back his brother's wife. He pulls back Menelaus from volunteering to fight Hector and strongly hints to Diomedes that he should pick someone else to go spy on the Trojans with him.
53* TheBigGuy: Ajax Telamonean, who is called Greater Ajax for a reason. He's the biggest soldier among the Greek forces (his shield is described as being like a tower) and judged second only to Achilles in fighting strength. Sarpedon seems to play a similar role on the Trojan side. Both are pretty decent guys.
54* BlindObedience: The Myrmidons that Achilles commanded. When he goes all AchillesInHisTent, this prevents the Greeks from getting their aid in battle as well. The Myrmidons were said to be so diligent and unquestioning of orders that their name was used as describe someone as being virtually robotic in how they obeyed commands. This probably stemmed from their ancestors being said to be ants turned into humans being, as ants seem to be quite single-minded to observers.
55* BlingOfWar:
56** Glaucus has gilded armor, which he gives to Diomedes.
57** Agamemnon has a breastplate decorated with bands of gold, tin and cobalt, and a silver sword belt. He and several others have swords with hilts decorated in silver.
58** The armour and equipment Hephaistos makes for Achilles. Just the description of the shield is more than a hundred lines long.
59* BoisterousWeakling: Paris calls out the Achaeans, spoiling for a fight, only to promptly flee when someone (Menelaus) actually answers him.
60* BondOneLiner: After throwing a rock at Cebriones and causing him to backflip out of his chariot, Patroclus remarks that he'd make a good oyster diver. This being ''The Iliad'', it's [[CharacterFilibuster a bit longer than one line.]]
61* BookEnds: The ''Iliad'' begins and ends with a father offering a ransom for his child('s body) that is initially refused but eventually accepted.
62* BoyMeetsGhoul: Achilles meets Patroclos's ghost and wants to have sex with him. In other myths concerning the Trojan War he falls in love with the Amazon queen when he has just killed her.
63* BrainsAndBrawn: [[TheRival Hector]] and [[TheStrategist Polydamas]], [[TheBigGuy Greater Ajax]] and Teucer, [[TheSmartGuy Odysseus]] and Diomedes in Book 10.
64%%* BreakTheHaughty: Achilles. Agamemnon as well.
65%%* ByronicHero: Achilles.
66* CassandraTruth: Played straight with the actual Cassandra in the myth as a whole and Polydamas' advice in the actual book. This trope's notable subversion by the Greeks, either by accident or actually heeding the advice of their resident prophet Calchas is what leads to their victory.
67* CentralTheme: Rage/Wrath. The whole story is about the violent rage of Achilles, but it is also worth noting that the vast majority of conflicts in the story are solved with violence and aggression, and that an equal number of problems are solved with peaceful debate and have no consequences.
68* CharacterFilibuster: Goes with the territory for epic poetry, but often characters have [[TalkingIsAFreeAction huge monologues even in the middle of battles]]. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] when both Odysseus and Menelaus ask, "Why am I talking to myself like this?" during their speeches.
69* ClothingDamage: As Patroclus drives right up against the walls of Troy, Apollo taps him lightly and causes his borrowed armor to fall off. Since the godly touch also breaks his spear, the warrior is now completely exposed to the enemy and is quickly killed.
70* CombatByChampion: Menelaus vs. Paris, Hector vs. Ajax. Menelaus and Paris' duel even was proposed to give "Helen and all her possessions" to the victor which could have stopped the war right there, but Aphrodite whisks Paris away from his now-certain defeat and one of the gods restarts the war by causing the Trojan Pandarus to shoot at Menelaus to ruin the truce.
71* CoolOldGuy: Nestor, the oldest soldier and the wisest of the Greeks. Still a badass and and excellent mentor, although suffering from a very bad case of CassandraTruth.
72* CompleteImmortality: When Achilles tries to fight Apollo, Apollo taunts him by pointing out that as a god, he is fated to never die and therefore cannot be killed.
73* CosmicPlaything: Everyone, but especially Hector. Eventually, battles come down to a sort of game of divine poker, with characters guessing which side has Zeus' favor every so often.
74* CostumePorn: There's a ''lot'' of loving descriptions of armor, particularly Agamemnon's figured breastplate.
75* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot:
76** Characters constantly bring up that the fight between Agamemnon and Achilles is pointless, and has caused both of them much grief. Agamemnon himself admits that he was the first to transgress, and wishes he had never done so.
77** The Trojans and their allies blame Paris for their misfortunes, and even wish that he had died so as to forestall his taking Helen from Sparta. Some go so far as to wish that he had never been born in the first place so he couldn't have caused any problems.
78* CoversAlwaysLie: The 2009 edition of Samuel Butler's 1898 translation from Arcturus features the 1785 oil on canvas painting "The Death of Priam" by Jean-Baptiste Regnault as the cover image. Priam's death is an episode of the Trojan War that happened after the Iliad and thus does not feature in the story.
79* DaddysGirl: When Hera beats up Artemis with her own bow, Artemis runs back crying all the way to her father Zeus' lap on Olympus.
80* DamnedByFaintPraise: One of the biggest signs of Paris's uselessness is his comparative lack of epithets -- while everyone else gets "man-killer", "brilliant", or "leader of men", the only epithets Paris receives refer to his good looks and his birth, suggesting they're all he has going for him.
81* TheDeadHaveNames: ''Everyone who dies'' is named, even if they appear just in that scene. As an ancient Greek would have known what kind of effort and expense multiple people had to make to bring every single warrior to the battle, this was a quick and effective way to make the readers realize that WarIsHell.
82* DeadPersonConversation: Achilles and Patroclus after the latter's death.
83* DeadSidekick: Patroclus is Achilles' sidekick and gets killed, driving Achilles' actions thereon.
84* {{Deconstruction}}: Can be seen as one of the first, given its emphasis on the stupidity of the heroic code, and the damage that it causes to those who try and live up to it.
85* DescriptionPorn: In the chapter where Hephaestus makes Achilles a new suit of armor, roughly three-quarters of the chapter is devoted to detailed descriptions of the ornamental engravings on the shield. The rest of the armor is made in one page.
86* DesecratingTheDead:
87** Achilles slays the Trojan warrior Hector for killing his much-loved cousin and best friend (and probably lover) Patrocles. After doing so, he ties Hector's body to the back of his chariot and races around the Trojan beach, proclaiming Greek superiority to Troy for twelve days and twelve nights. The Trojans [[AchillesHeel do get their revenge]], though, and even the Gods themselves eventually get offended by Achilles's actions -- it is the involvement of the Gods that prevents Hector's corpse from being further mutilated, and the end of the Iliad involves Hector getting a proper burial by the Trojans.
88** In general, all heroes habitually strip their victims of their armour the moment they kill them.
89* DevelopingDoomedCharacters: Roughly a tenth of the word count is devoted to descriptions of the lineages and deeds of various minor characters who die on the next page, if not sooner.
90* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: Early on, Helen gives Aphrodite a piece of her mind. Aphrodite puts her in her place shortly afterward, but damn, girl!
91* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu:
92** In books five and six, Diomedes goes on a god-stabbing rampage. First he slashes Aphrodite's arm when she tries to rescue Aeneas. Apollo picks up the baton and is forced to repel three attacks by Diomedes before using his divine don't-mess-with-the-gods voice to tell him to back off. The wounded Aphrodite meanwhile runs and tattles to her lover, Ares, the god of slaughter; he promptly arrives to lay down the law. Instead, he gets ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice by Diomedes's spear, causing him to howl in agony [[HellIsThatNoise "with the voices of a thousand men"]] and run to his daddy. Diomedes becomes the only mortal to injure two gods in a single day. Some scholars believes that this whole episode pre-dates ''The Iliad'', and Homer lumped it into his own epic.
93** During his RoaringRampageOfRevenge, Achilles beats down the local river god while crossing it, but almost gets drowned in the process and has to be rescued by the god Hephaestus.
94** And in this same scene, some random DualWielding Trojan becomes probably the first person in history to draw blood from Achilles.
95** When Achilles is ready for his RoaringRampageOfRevenge, Zeus announces to the Gods that he must [[DivineIntervention personally intervene]] because Achilles is so angry that he will likely prove Fate wrong and conquer Troy on his own!
96* DidYouJustScamCthulhu: Hera borrows Aphrodite's girdle to [[DistractedByTheSexy distract Zeus with sexy]]. This may be god on god, but Zeus, as king of the gods, can [[CurbStompBattle curb stomp]] anyone.
97* DirtyCoward: Paris is given this characterization when he flees from the fight with Menelaus. Also Dolon.
98* DismemberingTheBody: Achilles attempts to do this to Hector's body after defeating him (out of rage for Hector killing Achilles' best friend/possible lover Patroclus and attempting to mutilate the body of Patroclus), dragging Hector's body behind his chariot for 12 days straight. It gets so bad that the Greek Gods, for all their petty wrath and vengeance, get offended and step in to stop Hector's body from being desecrated.
99* DisposablePilot: Charioteers in this story tend to have the life expectancy of an asthmatic mayfly. Hector loses two in one battle when people aim at him and miss, with their deaths described using identical phrasing, and the third is killed by Patroclus not long after. Which makes Automedon holding his own in a fight against ''Hector'' of all people and ''surviving'' all the more badass. Then again, Automedon isn't just ''any'' charioteer, he's ''Achilles''' charioteer, so he's Badass by association.
100* DivineIntervention: If a god doesn't stick their oar into the battle to help a favorite or harm a favorite's enemy at least once, it's not the ''Iliad''. Special mention goes to Aeneas, whose bacon keeps getting saved by even gods who hate Troy, because he's so pious and because he has a destiny to fulfill.
101* DramaticIrony: When Aeneas challenges Achilles, the latter taunts him, asking if he thinks this fight will win him enough glory to become the next king even though Priam already has sons. Of course, as the gods point out afterwards to each other, Aeneas ''is'' going to be king, because Priam and his sons are all going to be slaughtered by the Achaians.
102* TheDreaded: Hector names three Achaian warriors he'd rather not fight: Diomedes, Ajax the Great, and Agamemnon. The latter shows [[TheBerserker why]] during book 11, when [[OneManArmy he single-handedly drives the Trojans back to the walls]].
103* DressingAsTheEnemy: Done by Odysseus and Diomedes.
104* DualWielding: Several characters are mentioned to be holding two spears at once, or one spear and one sword.
105* DueToTheDead: Proper respect towards corpses is very important in ''The Iliad''. Fights over corpses are common, with the fallen man's allies striving to give the corpse a proper burial and the enemy refusing to give it back. There are also occasional truces to allow both sides to recover their dead.
106* ElCidPloy: When Achilles refuses to fight and [[AchillesInHisTent stays in his tent]] on account of his grudge against Agamenon, the Trojans feel encouraged and seem to get the upper hand on the Greeks. Eventually Patroclus contrives to join the battle dressed up in Achilles' armor in order to intimidate the Trojans and boost the Greeks' morale. However, the ploy fails because everyone recognizes Patroclus, and Patroclus is killed in battle by Hector.
107* EpicCatalog: The most famous is the Catalogue of Ships in Book 2, some 250 lines just listing all the Greek commanders and how many ships each one brought from his domains.
108* EyeScream: More than one character gets their eyes bashed out.
109* FatalFlaw:
110** Achilles' is his wrath and pettiness. It is so prevalent that he refuses Agamemnon's offer to return Briseis as a bribe to get Achilles to fight again. Even after he suffers the consequences of his action in Patroclus' death, he simply redirects his anger from Agamemnon to Hector, instead of realizing that Patroclus' death is primarily his fault and learning his lesson. His wrath does not abate until Priam makes him realize that Hector and Priam's situation mirrors Achilles and Peleus, and he is finally able to empathize with his enemy.
111** Agamemnon's is his {{pride}}. His refusal to initially realize that his treatment of Achilles is unfair leads to his army's near defeat, although this consequence pales in comparison to Achilles' and Hector's. He does later realize the foolishness of this action, but never admits any blame or apologizes.
112** Hector's is overconfidence and refusal to listen to advice. Unlike Achilles and Agamemnon, Hector finally realizes what his flaw is, but not until it's too late and his TragicMistake has already been made. Of the three, Hector experiences the worst consequences for his actions. Not only does his flaw inevitably lead to a terrible but also avoidable defeat of the Trojan army at the hands of Achilles, his attempt to redeem himself ultimately leads to his death, his body is desecrated, [[WatchingTroyBurn his city is burned]], [[DeathOfAChild his newborn son thrown from the city walls]], and his wife becomes the SexSlave of his slayer's son.
113** Averted with Diomedes, as he is said to be the perfect embodiment of a Greek Hero, without a fatal flaw. Although after the ''Iliad'' his wounding Aphrodite comes to bite him in the back.
114* FinalSpeech: Sarpedon and Patroclus get these.
115* FlauntingYourFleets: It includes a hour-long-in-reading chapter made solely of the list of how many ships and men every allied Greek kingdom sends to Troy.
116* FoodPorn: Combines with CutAndPasteComic to form Homer's characteristic stereotype descriptions of how the men cook their meat. No matter who's eating, the description of how they prepare, cook and eat the food is always more or less the same, because in the oral tradition to which the poem belonged, there was a stock description for that action.[[note]]One translation of one iteration of it: "Once they had prayed and scattered barley grain, / they pulled back the heads of sacrificial beasts, / slit their throats, flayed them, sliced the thigh bones out, / and hid them in twin layers of fat, with raw meat on top. / Old Chryses burned them on split wood, poured wine on them. / Young men beside him held out five-pronged forks. / Once the thighs were well burned, they sampled entrails, / then sliced up all the rest, skewered the meat on spits, / roasted it carefully, and drew off every piece. / That work complete, they then prepared a meal and ate. / No heart was left unsatisfied. All feasted equally. / And when the men had had their fill of food and drink [...]"[[/note]]
117* ForegoneConclusion: Homer's audience would have been very familiar with the myths behind the story, and known how it all ended. The fact that the Trojans are doomed to lose is known even by Hector himself. Even if the audience doesn't know beforehand, Zeus explains midway through what's going to happen in the rest of the epic.
118* {{Foreshadowing}}: The Telamonian Ajax's duel with Hector can be seen as this. The duel is ended before it becomes decisive; but when it is halted, Ajax is clearly at an advantage. Among the Achaeans, many could boast of being the 2nd greatest, but it's routinely acknowledged that Achilles is THE greatest among them. [[ForegoneConclusion If Hector, greatest among the Trojans, struggles with Ajax, how can he hope to beat Achilles?]]
119* ForgingScene: Thetis gets Hephaestus to forge armor for Achilles.
120* GeniusBruiser: Most of the heroes would fall into this category by modern standards, as they're able to speak eloquently and have erudite conversations with each other despite being supreme badasses. The Greeks valued wit and intelligence as much as martial ability. However, the stand-out is obviously Odysseus, favored of Athena, who has the well-earned reputation as the most clever hero. Polydamas (as badass Hector's {{Foil}}) is also up there.
121* GlorySeeker: Most of the named combatants seem to seek gaining lasting glory.
122* GlowingEyesOfDoom: From [[https://home.ubalt.edu/ntygfit/ai_01_pursuing_fame/ai_01_tell/iliad01.htm Book 1]] when Athena has to come down from the heavens to stop Achilles from killing Agamemnon.
123--> Pallas Athena! the terrible blazing of those eyes,
124* GoodCopBadCop: Odysseus and Diomedes were on a night raid and captured the hapless but useful Dolon. Bad cop Diomedes says to stand still or die. Good cop Odysseus says, "''Fear not, let no thought of death be in your mind."'' It goes on like that for awhile until Diomedes "''struck him in the middle of his neck with his sword and cut through both sinews so that his head fell rolling in the dust while he was yet speaking."''
125* {{Gorn}}: Homer gets pretty graphic with the carnage. For example, in Book 16 Patroclus hits the Trojan Cebriones in the head with a rock which ''knocks his eyes right out of his head''.
126-->Firmly he planted himself, and hurled it, neither had he long awe of his foe, nor sped he his missile in vain, but smote the charioteer of Hector, even Cebriones, a bastard son of glorious Priam, upon the forehead with the sharp stone, as he was holding the reins of the horses. And both his brows did the stone dash together, and the bone held not, but the eyes fell to the ground in the dust even there, before his feet. And like a diver he fell from the well-wrought car, and his spirit left his bones. (A.T. Murray translation)
127* GreyAndGrayMorality: Very much so. While largely centering on the Greek point of view, the Trojans are also described largely as noble, especially Hector.
128* HateSink: Paris is generally considered a useless, cowardly, wimpy waste of oxygen by modern readers, by the Acheans, and even the Trojans (and even by Helen, leading to much AlternateCharacterInterpretation).
129* HaveAGayOldTime: Amongst the gifts offered to Achilles to convince him to rejoin the battle are some Lesbian slaves (which is to say, women native to the island of Lesbos), which are described as "[[GirlOnGirlIsHot They whom all men lust after.]]" Hoo boy...
130* HeadTurningBeauty: Helen of Troy turns heads wherever she goes.
131* HeroAntagonist: Hector is in many ways far more noble than Achilles. For a start, he's just about the only man who treats Helen with respect.
132* HeroicAmbidexterity: The Trojan [[BitCharacter Asteropaeus]] throws both his spears at once, "for both his arms were as his right", when he faces off against Achilles. One of the spears hits Achilles in the arm, making Asteropaeus the first Trojan to give Achilles a wound. Nevertheless Asteropaeus is slain in the ensuing sword-fight.
133* HeroicBastard: A few of the heroes, including Teucer, are mentioned to be illegitimate of birth.
134* HeroicBSOD: Achilles is so depressed after Patroclus' death, Patroclus' ghost has to come back to tell him to stop mourning and burn his corpse.
135* HistoricalFantasy: Set during the Greek Bronze Age and although the actual date of composition was debated, it was ''at least'' a few hundred years later.
136* HollywoodTactics: Proving this trope OlderThanFeudalism, Homer does correctly realize that Mycenaean Greeks preferred using chariots in battle, rather than the modern-at-the-time hoplite warfare. However, many historians believe that he was inexperienced with how chariots tended to be used in battle; unsurprising since they had fallen into disuse by then.
137* HomoeroticSubtext: While it's unknown what the author(s) intended in writing the Iliad, Achilles and Patroclus' relationship sometimes goes beyond platonic in some translations. The Lombardo version, for example, has Achilles calling Patroclus "mine" and "my beloved several times".
138* HopeSpot:
139** The Greeks and Trojans ''nearly'' get everything settled with a single combat between Paris and Menelaus, and agree to a truce while the two fight it out. However, when the gods realize the war is going to end sooner and with a lot less mess than they'd planned, Athena eggs a Trojan into breaking the truce and the fighting starts all over again.
140** The Trojans ''almost'' defeat the Greeks and burn the ships.
141* HotBlooded: Achilles. Agamemnon as well.
142* HumanSacrifice: Achilles kills a dozen Trojan prisoners to throw on Patroclus's funeral pyre.
143* {{Hypocrite}}:
144** What did the war start over? Paris taking Menelaus's woman. So why does Menelaus's brother think he can take Achilles's woman?
145--->''Are the Atreidae of all mortal men\
146the only ones who love their wives? I think not.\
147Every sane decent fellow loves his own\
148and cares for her, as in my heart I loved\
149Briseis, though I won her by the spear.''
150** Later on, Achilles himself suggests taking away the prize rightly won by Nestor's son in a chariot race. Now, you'd think if ''anyone'' knew what could go wrong when you took away a prize someone rightly won...
151** Zeus castigates the gods for trying to interfere with fate by rescuing their various offspring in the war. Then he considers teleporting his own son Sarpedon to safety. Hera [[WhatTheHellHero calls him out]] on this, pointing out how all the other gods would resent it, and he relents.
152* ImmediateSelfContradiction: When Paris strides out yelling if any of the Achaeans will challenge him, Menelaus unsurprisingly is eager to accept it - and then Paris just steps back behind the Trojans' ranks until Hector berates him and gets him to agree to a CombatByChampion.
153* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: A ''lot'' of people. Including Ares.
154* InconsistentSpelling: Achilles/Akhilleus, Patroclus/Patroklos, Hector/Hektor, Ajax/Aias, Helen/Helene, Teucer/Teukros, Clytemestra/Klytaimnestra. During the ages, the text has gone through editing, transliteration, translation, and adaptation for poetic purposes: it's not surprising that there are variants of the main characters' names. Romanized vs. original Greek names is a big contributor.
155* InMediasRes: The Roman Creator/{{Horace}} wrote the TropeNamer pointing out the fact that the Iliad starts in the middle of the war.
156* InstantDeathBullet: Many warriors are instantly killed by injuries to the belly or other wounds that, while probably lethal in a pre-medicine world, would take some time for their sufferers to succumb.
157* InverseDialogueDeathRule: Although scores of heroes die during the epic's pages, most of them die without so much as a word before eating dust. However, the most pivotal death in the book, Patroclus' killing by Hector, has a long final speech by the victim, in which Patroclus warns Hector of his impeding death.
158* ItsAllAboutMe: Achilles abandons his duties just because Agamemnon took his captive Briseis. This is not because he cares about her as he already has other captives and still refuses to return when Agamemnom offer Briseis and many extensive gifts, this is just because Agamemnon hurt his pride (when he's told that Agamemnon hasn't slept with Briseis, [[YouCanKeepHer he replies that he might as well start]]). He goes as far to ask Zeus via his mother to [[DisproportionateRetribution favor the Trojans]].
159* ItsAllMyFault: Achilles after Patroclus' death -- he's right.
160* ItsPersonal: After Agamemnon dishonors him, Achilles doesn't care a fig about UsefulNotes/TheTrojanWar until his buddy gets killed.
161* JavelinThrower: Heroes are frequently described making mighty javelin throws in battle, and javelin-throwing is also mentioned as a sporting contest. The trope doesn’t entirely take its later form, though; these are mighty hand-to-hand warriors who can ''also'' hurl a mean javelin, not just hit-and-run fighters.
162* JerkassBall: Achilles' armor seems to invoke this trope in anyone who wears it. For example, when the mild-mannered Patroclus wears it, he acts like a natural-born killer, and when Hector wears it, not only does he refuse to hand Patroclus' body to the Greeks so they can bury it, he tries to have it cut to pieces.
163* JerkassGods: Humans are {{Cosmic Plaything}}s, but the Gods know that Troy will fall, because [[TheHecateSisters The Moirae]] ordained it. However, they are constantly quarreling between them trying to help his favorite side, to save / to kill his favorite / unfavorite warrior, manipulating and insulting each other, and making fun of humans. (Apollo fools Achilles to save many Trojan warriors, and then reveals himself and brags Achilles cannot do anything to him. Achilles curses him in vain, and goes to kill more Trojans). On numerous occasions various gods are shown not bothering to do the things which are basically their job to do until somebody bribes them with the promise of an expensive offering.
164* KickTheDog:
165** Agamemnon not only refuses to ransom Chryseis back to her father, but tells him she'll be his SexSlave into her old age.
166** After killing Patroclus and stripping his body, Hector not only refuses to hand it over for burial but gloats that he will cut off his head and stick it on a spike for Achilles to see just to spite him.
167** Even the aforementioned JerkassBall on Hector's part does not excuse Achilles' dragging of his body behind his, Achilles', chariot.
168* LadyOfWar:
169** Athena herself helps out the Greek side. She [[ActionGirl also beats up Ares in a duel]].
170** Hera
171** To a lesser extent Artemis.
172* TheLancer: Patroclus to Achilles, either Aeneas or Polydamas to Hector.
173* LightningBruiser: Achilles is described as "fleet-footed" many times. Antilochus calls him the fastest of the Achaeans, though he might have just been buttering Achilles up for a reward, which he gets.
174* LipstickAndLoadMontage: In Book XIV, Hera embarks on a long dress-up scene with lots of ambrosia and fancy clothes in preparation to [[DistractedByTheSexy distract Zeus]] from manipulating the outcome of a battle. Classicists have described it as an "arming scene" analogous to those of the mortal warriors like Achilles.
175* LivingMacGuffin: The official objective of the Trojan War is to possess Helen of Troy.
176* TheLoad: Paris may be the UrExample. Even the other Trojans think he's a philandering, cowardly jerk who's responsible for the war. His preferred weapon is a "cowardly bow." He is humiliated in his only proper fight, and relies on the Goddess of Love to get him out of trouble. When the armies gather for the duel between Paris and Menelaus, it is explicitly stated that, whether Greek or Trojan, ''everyone'' wants Paris dead. In one translation, he gets called a "desperate, womanizing pretty boy" by his badass older brother Hector, and a "sissy, curly-haired pimp of a bowman" by Diomedes. Even his father, Priam, calls him a "hero of the dance, light-fingered pillager of lambs and kids from the town pens", saying that he's a useless wimp. In part of the myth not covered in the ''Iliad'', he gets one over Achilles by hitting his heel with his ''poisoned'' arrows. (Poison was not considered utterly dishonorable in this time period, but it wasn't exactly manly either, even if both Heracles and Philoctetes used arrows poisoned with the blood of the Hydra.)
177* LockAndLoadMontage: Arming scenes are everywhere. Even the ladies get in on it; for example, when [[LipstickAndLoadMontage Hera is dressing]] to [[DistractedByTheSexy seduce Zeus]]. Athena is described in loving detail slipping out of her dress and... donning armor for battle.
178* LongLastingLastWords: Hector delivers a 500 line monologue after being stabbed ''in the neck''. Homer makes sure to mention that the spear didn't sever his windpipe, just to facilitate this.
179* LoverAndBeloved: Achilles and Patroclus aren't explicitly a gay couple ([[AmbiguouslyBi though they are frequently considered so]]), but [[AnachronismStew due to erastes and eromenos being a social norm in 5th century Greece]], people of that time argued which one was which since they did not fit neatly with the dynamic - Achilles is the younger one of the two and Patroclus trained him before the war, but Achilles is also the more skillful and directing of the two. Plato's ''{{Literature/Symposium}}'' even has a character (Phaedrus) laying out the argument that Achilles was the eromenos.
180* LoverNotAFighter: Paris is known for stealing Helen and being a poor fighter.
181* LudicrousGibs: Sometimes the deaths in ''Iliad'' are quite messy. Homer goes into loving detail about how each weapon is swung/thrown, how it flies through the air, who it hits, what part of their body it hits, how it penetrates their armor, which internal organs it damages, whether/how it exits their body, how long it takes them to die, how they die, and their comrades' reaction to their death. These details were essentially 'oral memorials' kept to commemorate the dead in a society where most of the populace were illiterate and the honored dead were cremated.
182* MadeASlave: Hector foresees this fate for Andromache and all the women of Troy. It has already been the fate of the women of neighboring cities and allies. It also happens to men on occasion, as Achilles has sold some of his prisoners overseas instead of ransoming them.
183* ManlyTears: Many times. The most famous example being between Achilles and King Priam when Priam begs Achilles to return the body of his son Hector for burial. Priam's passion moves Achilles who begins thinking about his lost friend Patroclus and his own aged father back in Greece, who will soon lose his son; and the two men weep together over their loss.
184* AMatchMadeInStockholm: Apparently the norm between the Greek warriors and their captive women. The latter are invariably depicted as resigned, submissive, and in some cases affectionate towards their captor. Briseis weeps pitifully at being parted from Achilles and he claims to love her and calls her his wife.
185* MeaningfulName:
186** Agamemnon, "very steadfast".
187** Priam(os), "exceptionally courageous", which he proves to be. Another etymology is "ransomed" which fits both with his own backstory and with his later actions in the ''Iliad''.
188** Diomedes, "Cunning of God", which makes sense since he is the favored warrior of Athena and is an accomplice of Odysseus, as well as the one with most battle experience out of all the Greek warriors, next to Nestor.
189** Achilles, whose name some believe derives from ''akhos'', a Greek word for "grief". Achilles is famous for his wrath, but it's his grief that motivates him to his greatest deeds. One particular interpretation is that the second part of his name comes from ''laos'', "people" or "army." As the very first lines of the poem speak of the grievous losses that his anger brings on his own people, "the grief of his people" is an apt name.
190* MenDontCry: Mostly averted, as Greek culture didn't look down on crying as unmanly, but played straight in book 16, when the crabby Achilles asks Patroclus why he's crying, comparing him to a blubbering baby girl begging for her mama.
191* MindScrew: The end of the second book is deemed as jarring by some as the [[Creator/{{Homer}} author]] starts to talk in the first person and invokes the Muses to aid his memory.
192* MistakenForBadass: When Zeus takes part in the struggle -- sending his thunder to signify his support for the Trojans -- the Greeks turn ''en masse'' and flee back to their boats. Nestor is the only one who stays on the field, and seeing him alone before the Trojans inspires Diomedes to turn back and return to the fray to assist him. However, Nestor hadn't ''wanted'' to stay: he’s stuck because one of his horses has been wounded and he can’t control them.
193* MommasBoy:
194** When she gets her hand speared by Diomedes, Aphrodite proves herself to be quite the Momma's ''Girl''.
195** Achilles. When Agamemnon takes Briseis this famous hero goes down to the sea shore and cries for his mother.
196* TheMentor: The elderly Nestor tries to talk sense into Achilles.
197* MoodDissonance: Quite a lot, to the modern mind at least. Poetic descriptions are interposed with nasty, detailed descriptions of what close combat death and wounds really look like. There is a famous scene when Andromake suggests that Hector fight from the relative safety of the walls instead, pointing out the she is a stranger in the city and neither she nor their son has anyone else to rely on if Hector dies. He declines, tries to hug his child, but the child is terrified not recognizing his father in the scary helmet. He takes off the helmet, and says something like: "Gods if I have ever pleased you, now hear my prayer: let my son grow up to be a great man so that the people say he is greater than his father." To the modern mind the continuation is a brutal dissonance to the previous cuteness and family values, to the Greeks it was probably natural. "And let him come home safely from combat with the bloody armor of his slain enemy as a spoil of victory and make his mummy glad." Hector does not mention himself in this wish for his son's future. He probably does not expect to live to see it.
198* MultipleChoiceFuture: Achilles' mother knew that he could either live a brief but glorious life as a hero or a long life of ICouldaBeenAContender. While she tries her best to steer him towards the latter by disguising him as a girl, it doesn't work, and when she sees how easily he takes to the warrior's life she realizes she would rather he be happy rather than miserable for the rest of his days, so she stops trying to keep him safe.
199* TheMuse: Homer invokes the Muse of Poetry, Calliope, several times to help him get things right.
200* MyGirlIsNotASlut:
201** Notably, despite the fact that she was taken as a war prize by Achilles, Agamemnon has to swear that he did not sleep with Briseis when giving her back to Achilles.
202** In another [[UnwantedSpouse point]] [[TheLoad against]] him, Paris does ''not'' defend Helen when others accuse her of this. Helen laments in her DueToTheDead that ''Hector'' was the one doing that.
203* MyNameIsInigoMontoya: Warriors like to introduces themselves to their opponents.
204%%* {{Narcissist}}: Achilles is a pretty textbook case.
205* NarrativePoem: Not ''quite'' the UrExample...
206* NeverGotToSayGoodbye: Inverted, as Andromache mourns that the nature of Hector's death meant she never got to hear any last words from him.
207* NietzscheWannabe: ''Achilles'', making this form of StrawNihilist OlderThanFeudalism. He gets an absolutely epic rant about how life and the heroic code are meaningless, and they're all going to die and be forgotten anyway. He goes so far as to wish everyone but himself and Patroclus dead.
208* NoodleIncident: When Achilles asks his mother to intercede toward Zeus, she boasts that she owes him since the time she prevented the other Olympians from dethroning him and sent Briareus the Hundred-Hander to help him. She doesn't provide many details, and this story is only mentioned here.
209* OffWithHisHead: A couple of people get beheaded. At least once, it's done with a ''stone''. In the entirety of Book 17 Hector tries to decapitate Patroclus' corpse.
210* OhCrap: Every one of the Trojans does this when they see Achilles, including Hector. Every one of the Greeks does this when they see Hector except for Ajax, Patroclus, Automedon, Diomedes and Achilles. The Greeks also collectively have this when Patroclus dies, and Hector makes his intentions known to desecrate his corpse. As there was a very real fear that Achilles would kill ''everyone'' (both the Trojans ''and'' the Greeks) if Hector did this, the Greeks mobilized to get Patroclus’s body back to the Greek camp before this can happen.
211* OneSteveLimit: Averted:
212** Two of the Achaean leaders are named Ajax, or Aias (they even have a collective name -- the Aiantes — which seems to be an example of ancient [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]]).
213** One of the Ajaces' patronym is Oileades (son of Oileus) -- and there's another soldier by that name briefly mentioned as well.
214** One of Achilles' female slaves is named Diomede, the feminine form of Diomedes.
215** Both Priam and Agamemnon have a daughter named Laodice/Laodike.
216* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Helen of Troy, who got that name -- in the English-speaking world -- after being abducted by a Trojan prince. Almost nobody calls her "Helen of Sparta."
217* OralTradition: Until it was written down, at least.
218* OurAncestorsAreSuperheroes: Even BadassNormal types can chuck around boulders that two men of "today" wouldn't even be able to lift.
219* OutlivingOnesOffspring: Inevitable, given that everybody is introduced as IAmXSonOfY. Thetis has it worst, as she ''knows'' it's going to happen and can't prevent it.
220* OverlyLongGag: When Hera seduces Zeus, he compares her attractiveness to the other women he's slept with. The original Greek version has this last ''[[ReallyGetsAround 20 lines]].''
221* PersonAsVerb: Apollo, while in the guise of one of Hector's friends, tries to rile him up by accusing him of being "in fight a [[NonActionGuy Paris]]".
222* PsychopathicManchild: All the characters have their moments actually, but Achilles really takes the cake (outside of the JerkassGods that is).
223* RamblingOldManMonologue: Nestor loves to talk, regaling Patroclus with a lengthy story of his youth in between lecturing him about going along with Achilles' inaction.
224* RankScalesWithAsskicking: All the heroes are nobles, and the battles are all decided by how well they fight each other.
225* RatedMForManly: This was a story by men, for men, about being manly men.
226* ARealManIsAKiller: The men are all soldiers.
227* RealMenEatMeat: Usually an ox or pig slaughtered for the purpose. With a detailed description of being cut up, put on skewers, and roasted.
228* RealisticDictionIsUnrealistic: Though at least it is more realistic than dactylic hexameter!
229* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Hector stays outside to face Achilles because he fears receiving this for his tactical misjudgement.
230* RedemptionEqualsDeath: Hector's attempt to redeem himself from his mistake of waiting outside the Greek camp the night before Achilles returns to battle, leading to the death of countless Trojans, by facing Achilles in single combat.[[note]]In the end Hector didn't dare hold his ground and ran three times around the walls of Troy, pursued by Achilles. Hector was finally stopped by Athena who appeared to him in the guise of his brother Deiphobus. Believing that he had now a backup he faced Achilles. Alas, Athena was on the Greek side.[[/note]]
231* RedShirtArmy: Hundreds die in the ''Iliad'', but only about four have any emotional import.
232* RelativeButton: Hector does ''not'' take kindly to having two of his half-brothers killed.
233* RetiredBadass: Nestor, who lectures the Achaeans about all the glory he had when he was young.
234* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Achilles ''loses'' it when Patroclus bites the dust. A strong contender for the UrExample.
235* RobbingTheDead: Most of the time a warrior will attempt to strip the armor of a slain enemy as a keepsake, even in the midst of battle. Sometimes this results in a fight over either the armor or the body. The most dramatic example occurs after Hector kills Patroclus and takes the armor he was wearing, and which originally belonged to Achilles. Meanwhile, the Greeks manage to recover Patroclus' body and return it to friendly lines for burial.
236* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Most all the central warriors are either kings or princes.
237* RunningGag: If someone throws a rock, it's a rock two men today couldn't lift.
238* SacredHospitality:
239** One of the more famous examples in literature. Paris steals Helen (and a lot of treasure) while he's a guest in her and Menelaus' home. While the act has plenty of political ramifications, it's the breach of hospitality that causes such an uproar, and is used to rouse the ''entire army of Greece'' [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill to sack Troy]] in response.
240** Diomedes and Glaucos hold off from killing each other, decide they'll mutually avoid each other, and exchange armor... because one's grandfather had been the guest of the other.
241* SadlyMythtaken: ''The Iliad'' is an epic poem, not a myth. It also does not contain many well-known events in UsefulNotes/TheTrojanWar, such as the Trojan Horse, the death of Achilles, the theft of the Palladium, the fall of Troy, etc. Some of these events are mentioned in ''Literature/TheOdyssey'', but we've lost the other epics from the Literature/TheTrojanCycle that actually deal with these episodes. Some colorful additions (like Achilles' AchillesHeel) come from sources ''much'' later.
242* SecretTestOfCharacter: Early on, in preparation for an attack, Agamemnon tests the Greeks' fighting spirit by saying, in short, "We'll never take Troy; let's pack up and go home." The leaders then have to stop their troops from following through.
243* SexyDiscretionShot: When Hera seduces Zeus, he creates a cloud for a little privacy.
244* ShieldsAreUseless: Played with. Some spears actually not only penetrate shields, but also skewer their owners. On the other hand, Telamonian Ajax's 8-layered shield (7 ox-hides on a bronze base) and Achilles' 7-layered metal shield [[ForgedByTheGods Forged By Hephaestus]] are never penetrated in the epic.
245* ShipperOnDeck: Agamemnon becomes exponentially funnier if you view him as a Helen/Menelaus shipper. It's not even inaccurate.
246* ShortRangeGuyLongRangeGuy: An early version of this is the Greater Ajax and his illegitimate brother Teucer. Teucer is the Achean's best archer and is depicted hiding behind Ajax's shield picking off Trojans while Ajax is among the Achean's best in melee combat.
247* ShutUpHannibal and/or ShutUpKirk: Several characters respond to their opponents' pre-duel {{Badass Boast}}s by telling them to shut up and hit someone. This being [[WallOfText Homer]], they [[HypocriticalHumour take several pages to say that]].
248* TheSmartGuy: Odysseus (Greek), and Polydamas (Trojan) for their respective armies.
249* SoBeautifulItsACurse: Helen is kidnapped and has a war waged over her for her beauty.
250* SupportPartyMember: At one point Poseidon gets around Zeus' ban on participating by going around giving a RousingSpeech. The narration actually credits him with the Greeks not fleeing to the ships.
251* TakeOurWordForIt: In all of Helen's appearances she is never given a full description. Homer uses the reactions of those around Helen to emphasize her beauty.
252* TalkingIsAFreeAction:
253** Several characters give speeches in the middle of battle, both to the other men and the enemy. Patroclus both lampshades and plays this straight, when he points in the middle of battle that words are good for debate and not in war, and that in the time you'll give a nice speech a whole bunch of people will have probably died. In Book Sixteen he says, "Warfare's finality lies in the work of hands, that of words in counsel. It is not for us not to pile up talk, but to fight in battle."
254** Glaucos manages to include a recap of the myth of Bellerophon during his BadassBoast to Diomedes.
255* TalkingAnimal: In the end of Book Nineteen, Hera temporarily gives Achilles' horse, Xanthos, the power of speech for a few minutes.
256* TextileWorkIsFeminine: Andromache is working on clothes for Hector when she hears of his death.
257* ThoseTwoGuys: Idomeneus (King Of Crete) and his aide-de-camp, Meriones. They're practically joined at the hip. Still badass though.
258* TogetherInDeath: Patroclus's ghost asks for his bones to be mixed with Achilles after death.
259* ATragedyOfImpulsiveness: Trope Codifier. The entire plot happens because people just don't stop to think before they act. Paris especially is guilty of this, and Homer all but mentions the trope by name in the first lines (see page quote).
260* TragicBromance: Achilles and Patroclus.
261* TragicHero: So many. Hector being probably the most outward example.
262* TragicIntangibility: The UrExample of the trope is Achilles' attempt to hug Patroclus's ghost. As he goes to hug him, he passes through him and Patroclus passes into the floor. Achilles agonizes and despairs alone.
263* TragicMistake: Hector waiting outside the Greek camp the night before Achilles returns to battle.
264* TraumaticCSection: Agamemnon scolds his brother Menelaus for showing mercy to a Trojan:
265-->'''Agamemnon''': Not a single one of them must escape sheer destruction at our hands. Not even if a mother carries one in her belly and he is male, not even he should escape.
266* UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny: The story is largely a build-up to Hector v. Achilles.
267* UnstoppableRage: Everybody, but most noticeably Achilles and Agamemnon, who seem to be at their best when enraged.
268* UnusualEuphemism:
269** Many women are [[RapeAsDrama abducted or taken captive]]. To the Greeks that would always have been rape in the sense of "theft of a person" since women were the property of their the father or husband. This almost certainly involved rape in the modern sense of "nonconsensual sex" as well, but the narrative is rarely explicit about this. Slaves can also be taken for the purpose of doing work, of course, and Agamemnon even once swears that he didn't have sex with a captive woman he stole from Achilles.
270** Also, depending on the translation, book 14 is called "Hera Outflanks Zeus".
271* ViewersAreGoldfish: This was a common aspect of oral tradition at the time, partially because most epics would have to be recited over several days or more, meaning it was easy for people to forget things that had happened early in the story. It also helps in memorizing the story.
272** The dream Zeus sends Agamemnon in book 2 is written out no less than three times, and nearly word-for-word: when Zeus describes what it will be, when dream!Nestor relays this message, and when ''Agamemnon'' relays this message to the war council.
273** The bribe for Achilles in Book Nine is repeated. That's two pages of walls of text there.
274* VillainousUnderdog: Or, more accurately, Antagonistic Underdog. While the epic has too much GreyAndGrayMorality for any character to be considered "villainous", the main antagonist, Hector, is a human warrior going up against an invincible demigod.
275* WeAreAsMayflies: Homer returns to this idea repeatedly, expressing it through a metaphor likening human beings to leaves as autumn approaches.
276* WetBlanketWife: In book 6, Andromache tries to dissuade her husband Hector from returning to combat: "Nay, Hector, thou art to me father and queenly mother, thou art brother, and thou art my stalwart husband. Come now, have pity, and remain here on the wall, lest thou make thy child an orphan and thy wife a widow."
277* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[Literature/TheAeneid Aeneas]]. Just as Diomedes is about to kill him, the gods save his life and declare that after the war, he shall be the leader of all future Trojans. He's rarely mentioned again, and then only in passing. 800 years later, Virgil decided to make this a BrickJoke.
278* WhatTheHellHero:
279** Patroclus calls Achilles out on his [[AchillesInHisTent stubborness]] over his wounded honor instead of fighting the Trojans.
280** Paris is such a {{Jerkass}} that Helen doesn't mention him in any meaningful way over her ''half-page'' of grieving over Hector. She doesn't even name him as the only other person who's still nice to her -- no, that goes to ''Priam''. [[SarcasmMode Nice work, Paris.]]
281* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: The Trojans could have just given Helen back to avoid total annihilation, but this would have made a lousy story. The Trojans are actually ready to do this after Menelaus beats Paris in their duel, but Hera refuses to countenance any solution that doesn't involve Troy being destroyed and Athena influences an archer on the Trojan side to shoot at Menelaus before the truce is ended, thereby restarting the war.
282* WimpFight: The duel between Menelaus and Paris looks a fair bit like this--Paris is obviously a downright ''bad'' fighter, while Menelaus is mentioned to be a pretty mediocre one. Both of Menelaus's attacks fail to cause any damage and leave him unarmed, and he eventually resorts to just grabbing Paris by his helmet-crest and dragging him around. Paris is too wimpy to fight back at all.
283* WomanlinessAsPathos: The driving conflict of [[AchillesInHisTent Achilles being in his tent]] for the first half is Agamemnon refusing to hand over the conquest he wanted, the priest's daughter Briseis.
284* WorldsMostBeautifulWoman: Helen, the TropeNamer (as well as the TropeCodifier).
285* WorldOfBadass: Greece is full with heroes, each worth at least 100 common soldiers. For the humans, there is Achilles, [[Literature/TheAeneid Aeneas]], [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership Agamemnon]], [[TheBigGuy Ajax]], [[OneSteveLimit the other Ajax]], [[BadassNormal Diomedes]], Glaucus, Nestor, [[TheRival Hector]], [[TheLancer Patroclus]], [[GeniusBruiser Odysseus]], Sarpedon, Menelaus, [[TokenMinority Memnon]]... [[WorldOfBadass EVERYONE, in fact]]. Except [[DirtyCoward for]] [[TheLoad Paris]]. For the goddesses, there's Hera and Athena.
286* YouCantFightFate:
287** Troy was always going to fall.
288** Several routs are credited as being "the gods don't want us to win this one", and is actually true.
289** Zeus himself has to be told this by other gods, first when he proposes that the conflict could be settled peacefully after Paris forfeits the duel and again when he wants to avert the death of his son Sarpedon.
290* YouShouldHaveDiedInstead: Priam tells his surviving sons he wishes they all had died instead of Hector.

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