Chryses

Chryses is a figure from Greek mythology, most notably appearing in Homer's Iliad. He is described as a priest of Apollo, and the father of Chryseis, a captive woman taken by the Achaeans during the Trojan War. Chryses, distraught over the abduction of his daughter, travels to the Achaean ships to ransom her. He carries a golden staff and the "laurel wreath of his god," indicating his priestly status. He offers Apollo's father, Zeus, a significant ransom in exchange for his daughter's return. Apollo, honoring his priest, unleashes a plague upon the Achaean camp, causing widespread death and suffering. This divine intervention eventually leads to Agamemnon, the commander of the Achaean forces, reluctantly agreeing to return Chryseis to her father, albeit with much anger and insult towards the seer Calchas and the hero Achilles. The story of Chryses and his daughter is a pivotal event in the early stages of the Iliad, highlighting the wrath of Apollo and the consequences of disrespecting the gods and their servants.