Tensions Rise Between Agamemnon and Achilles

Tensions between Achaean commander Agamemnon and Achilles have reached a boiling point. As their conflict escalates, Achilles attempts to attack and kill King Agamemnon of Mycenae.

The growing hostility between Achilles and Agamemnon has been worsening by the day. While the Achaean army lay waiting on the shores of Troy, a plague broke out among the soldiers. As Achaean warriors began dying one after another, Agamemnon, fearing they had angered one of the Olympian gods, turned to seers for guidance. Knowing the cause of Apollo’s wrath but fearing Agamemnon’s reaction, Calchas hesitated before speaking:

"I know that I shall anger the man whom all the Achaeans honor,
A mighty king whose command reaches throughout Argos.
For kings grow furious when one of their inferiors angers them,
And though for a time they may suppress their rage,
The fury within their hearts smolders until it is unleashed."

According to Calchas, the cause of Apollo’s wrath was Agamemnon’s refusal to return Chryseis, a war prize he had taken during the Trojan campaign, despite her father Chryses’ offerings of ransom. Chryses, a priest of Apollo, had prayed to the god for vengeance, leading Apollo to unleash a plague upon the Achaeans. Although Agamemnon initially resisted, he was ultimately forced to heed the seer’s words and allowed Chryseis to return to her father. However, in return, he claimed Briseis, the war prize of Achilles.

Upon learning of this, Achilles flew into a rage and confronted Agamemnon:

"You insatiable brute… You shameless swindler,
Never satisfied, always scheming… You sack of wine,
You dog-eyed coward, you heart of a deer…
You are a king who devours his own people!"

Drawing his sword, Achilles lunged at Agamemnon. However, before he could strike, Athena intervened, preventing Achilles from escalating the conflict further. She urged him to control his anger and withdraw. Heeding the goddess’s words, Achilles refrained from attacking Agamemnon. Instead, he returned to his ship and withdrew from the war.

With Athena’s intervention, a dangerous division within the Achaean army was averted. Agamemnon, having returned Chryseis to her father, took Briseis from Achilles. Achilles, in turn, vowed never to fight for Agamemnon again and abandoned the battlefield.