Priam: the king of Troy (holy Ilion) and the father of Hector, Paris, and Cassandra.
Hecuba: the wife of Priam and mother of Hector, Paris, and Cassandra.
Hector, also called great Hector, resplendent Hector, glorious Hector, bronze-helmeted Hector, man-slaying Hector, the man-killer or tamer of horses: the eldest son of Priam and Hecuba, and the brother of Paris. He was the best warrior of the Trojans. Later he was killed by Patroclus' avenging friend, Achilles.
Andromache, also called white-armed Andromache: the daughter of great Eëtion, who was the king of Thebes and lived in the forests of Plakos. She was Hector's blameless wife.
Scamandrius, also called Astyanax, or Lord of the City: Hector's beloved son. He was named after the great river of Troy, which the gods call Xanthus and men Scamander.
Paris, also called Alexander, or godlike Paris: Hector's brother. He initially lived with a lovely nymph Oenone, but later abandoned her. His seduction and abduction of Helen provoked the Trojan War.
Helen, also called Helen of Argos, high-born Helen, or the fatal woman: the daughter of Zeus and Leda, the sister of Castor and Pollux, and wife of Menelaus, considered to be the fairest woman in the world. Her abduction by Paris caused the Trojan War.
Aeneas: son of Aphrodite. He was the best and bravest next to Hector among the Trojans.
Chryses: Apollo's priest and the father of Chryseis, a fair-cheeked, dancing-eyed girl who was Agamemnon's share of booty.
Minor Characters[ | ]
Pandarus: He was persuaded by Athena to break the truce and shoot an arrow at Menelaus, which restart the battle.
Glaucus: the Lycian prince, who was son of Hippolochus and grandson of Bellerophon.
Theano, also called fair-cheeked Theano: the daughter of Cisseus and wife of Antenor, breaker of horses. She was Athena's priestess.
Deiphobus: Hector's brother. While Hector was fighting with Achilles, Athena appeared in the shape of Deiphobus and fooled Hector.
The Immortals[ | ]
In Favor of Troy[ | ]
Phoebus Apollo, also called Silverbow, the Arch-Destroyer, the Archer, Protector of Chryse, Lord of Holy Cilla, Master of Tenedos, or Sminthian God of Plague: the son of Zeus and silken-haired Leto. The god of prophecy, music, medicine, and poetry, sometimes identified with the sun. Among all the divinities, he protected the Trojans the most.
Artemis: Apollo's sister. She was angry with Agamemnon and asked his eldest daughter, Iphigenia, to be sacrificed to her, or she would not let the Greeks to sail.
Aphrodite: the goddess of love and beauty. She was the Prince Aeneas' mother and protected Paris from being killed by Menelaus.
Ares: the god of war. He always took sides with Aphrodite.
Neutral[ | ]
Zeus, also called Zeus Almighty, Cronus' wide-seeing son, Cronion in the black cloudbanks, the Lord of Olympus, the Lord of the Sky, the master of cloud and storm, the Lord of Lightning, the Father of Gods and Men, or the protector of suppliants: He liked the Trojans best on the whole, but he wanted to be neutral because Hera was so disagreeable whenever he opposed her openly.
In Favor of Greece[ | ]
Hera, also called the white-armed goddess, the ivory-armed goddess, or golden-throned Hera: sister and wife of Zeus. She was hostile to the Trojans because Paris had not choose her to be the fairest goddess, and therefore favored the Greeks.
Pallas Athena, also called the War Goddess, braided Athena, the rich-haired goddess, or the brightest of goddess: Zeus' daughter. She was the goddess of warfare and the patron of human ingenuity, resourcefulness, whether exemplified by handicrafts (such as carpentry or weaving) or cunning in dealing with others. Like Hera, she sided with the Greeks in the war because Paris had not chosen her to be the fairest. Among all the divinities, she helped the Greeks the most.
Thetis, also called silver-footed Thetis, or the silver-footed daughter of the Old Man of the Sea: one of 50 daughters (Nereids, sea nymphs) of Nereus. She was the wife of Peleus and mother of Achilles. She had once made a plea to Zeus to give the Trojans the upper hand until Greeks granted her son the honor he deserved. However, she did it for her son's sake, but not for the Trojans', so she actually still sided with the Greeks.
Hephaestus, also called the master artisan, the renowned master craftsman or the divine armorer: the lame god of fire and the patron of craftspeople, especially metalworkers. He made an exquisite shield and other gear for Achilles due to Thetis' request.
Poseidon: brother of Zeus and lord of the sea. He favored the Greeks, a sea people and great sailors.
Greece[ | ]
Major Characters[ | ]
Agamemnon: Atreus' son, the king of Mycenae and the warlord of the Greeks in the Trojan War. His home was Argos. He clashed with Achilles over the silken-waisted Briseis, whom the army had given to Achilles but was taken away by Agamemnon.
Clytemnestra: wife of Agamemnon and mother of Iphigenia.
Iphigenia: the eldest daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, who was offered as a sacrifice by Artemis.
Menelaus: Atreus' son and the king of Sparta. His aim of the expedition against Troy was to recover his wife, Helen, who had run off with Paris.
Achilles, also called godlike Achilles, the great runner, or the beloved of Zeus: the son of king Peleus and the sea nymph Thetis. His home was Phthia. He was the best warrior of the Greeks, leading Myrmidons to fight against the Trojans. He avenged his best friend, Patroclus, on the murderer, Hector, It was, however, not long before he was shot dead by Paris.
Patroclus: Achilles' closest friend. He passed for Achilles, only to be killed by Hector.
Nestor, also called sweet-worded Nestor: the king of Pylos, an elderly, venerable and wise counselor to the Greeks at Troy.
Calchas, also called the perfect prophet: son of Thestor. He was a bird-reader supreme and prophesied that Agamemnon had offended Apollo by dishonoring his priest, Chryses, and that he should return Chryses' daughter to him.
Odysseus, also called godlike Odysseus: the king of the Island of Ithaca. He was a shrewd, sensible, and silver-tongued warrior in Greece, and he came up with the idea of "Trojan horse."
Minor Characters[ | ]
Diomedes, also called mighty Diomedes: son of Tydeus and grandson of Oeneus. He was one of the greatest champions with Achilles gone.
Protesilaus: husband of Laodamia. When the Greeks reached Troy, he was the first man to leap ashore, which was regarded a brave deed, for the oracle had said that he who landed first would be the first to die.
Antilochus, also called fleet-footed Antilochus: son of Nestor. He informed Achilles that Patroclus was fallen and stripped of armor by Hector.
Ajax: one of the greatest champions with Achilles gone.
Idomeneus, also called glorious Idomeneus: a Greek warrior.
Talthybius: Agamemnon's faithful retainer, who served as his herald to take away Briseis from Achilles.
Eurybates: Agamemnon's faithful retainer, who served as his herald to take away Briseis from Achilles.