Chryseis

Chryseis is a prominent figure in Homer's epic poem, the Iliad. Her story is central to the poem's opening conflict. She was the daughter of Chryses, a priest of Apollo. During the Trojan War, the Achaeans, led by Agamemnon, sacked the city of Thebes in Mysia and took Chryseis as a war prize. She was awarded to Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae.

Her father, Chryses, came to the Achaean camp to ransom her, offering rich gifts and appealing to Agamemnon. However, Agamemnon, enraged by Chryses's plea and perhaps by his priestly status, cruelly refused. He threatened Chryses with violence if he dared to return. Humiliated and distraught, Chryses prayed to his god, Apollo.

Apollo, angered by the insult to his priest, sent a devastating plague upon the Achaean army. The plague caused widespread death and suffering among the soldiers. To discover the cause of Apollo's wrath, the Achaeans consulted the seer Calchas. Calchas revealed that Apollo was angry because Agamemnon had refused to return Chryseis to her father.

Agamemnon was forced to return Chryseis to appease Apollo and end the plague. However, in his pride, he demanded that he be compensated for his loss by taking Briseis, Achilles' war prize. This act of Agamemnon's further enraged Achilles, leading to his famous quarrel with the commander and his withdrawal from battle, which significantly impacts the course of the war as depicted in the Iliad. Chryseis herself is a passive figure, her fate serving as a catalyst for the greater conflicts of the epic.