Achilles (Ἀχιλλεύς), the leader of theMyrmidons (Μυρμιδόνες), son ofPeleus andThetis, and the principal Greek champion whoseanger is one of the main elements of the Iliad.
Agamemnon (Ἀγαμέμνων), King ofMycenae, supreme commander of theAchaean armies whose actions provoke the feud with Achilles; elder brother of KingMenelaus.
Ajax or Aias (Αίας), also known as Telamonian Ajax (he was the son ofTelamon) and Greater Ajax, was the tallest and strongest warrior (after Achilles) to fight for theAchaeans.
Ajax the Lesser, an Achaean commander, son ofOileus often fights alongside Great Ajax; the two together are sometimes called the "Ajaxes" (Αἴαντε,Aiante).
Antilochus (Ἀντίλοχος), son ofNestor sacrificed himself to save his father in the Trojan War along with other deeds of valor
Calchas (Κάλχας), a powerful Greekprophet andomen reader, who guided the Greeks through the war with his predictions.
Diomedes (Διομήδης, also called "Tydides"), the youngest of the Achaean commanders, famous for wounding two gods,Aphrodite andAres.
Idomeneus (Ιδομενέας), King ofCrete and Achaean commander. Leads a charge against the Trojans in Book 13.
Menelaus (Μενέλαος), King of Sparta and the abandoned husband of Helen. He is the younger brother ofAgamemnon.
Nestor (Νέστωρ), of Gerênia and the son of Neleus. He was said to be the only one of his brothers to survive an assault fromHeracles. Oldest member of the entire Greek army at Troy.
Odysseus (Ὀδυσσεύς), another warrior-king, famed for his cunning, who is the main character of another (roughly equally ancient) epic, theOdyssey.
Patroclus (Πάτροκλος), beloved companion of Achilles.
Phoenix (Φοῖνιξ), an old Achaean warrior, greatly trusted by Achilles, who acts as mediator between Achilles and Agamemnon.
Teucer (Τεῦκρος), Achaean archer, half-brother of Ajax.[1][2][3]
Aeneas (Αἰνείας), son ofAphrodite; cousin of Hector; Hector's principal lieutenant; the only major Trojan figure to survive the war. Held by later tradition to be the forefather of the founders of Rome. See theAeneid.
Agenor (Ἀγήνωρ), a Trojan warrior who attempts to fight Achilles in Book 21.
Andromache (Ἀνδρομάχη), wife of Hector and later slave of Achilles' son,Neoptolemus after the war.
Antenor (Ἀντήνωρ), a Trojan nobleman who argues that Helen should be returned to Menelaus in order to end the war. In some versions he ends up betraying Troy by helping the Greeks unseal the city gates.
Cassandra (Κασσάνδρα), a daughter of King Priam and QueenHecuba; Cassandra'sprophecies are ignored as a result of displeasingApollo.
Glaucus (Γλαῦκος), co-leader, with his cousinSarpedon, of theLycian forces allied to the Trojan cause.
Hector (Ἕκτωρ), firstborn son of King Priam, husband ofAndromache, father ofAstyanax; leader of the Trojan and allied armies, andheir apparent to the throne of Troy.
Helen (Ἑλένη), wife of Paris and former wife of Menelaus, the King of Sparta. Paris visited Menelaus in Sparta. With the assistance of Aphrodite, Paris and Helen fell in love and eloped together, but in Sparta her elopement is considered an abduction.
Laodice (Λαοδίκη), was the most beautiful of daughter ofPriam.
Pandarus (Πάνδαρος), archer who shoots and woundsMenelaus with an arrow, sabotaging an attempt to reclaim Helen.
Paris (Πάρις), Trojan prince and Hector's brother; also called Alexander. His marriage withHelen is thecasus belli of theTrojan War.
Polydamas (Πολυδάμας), a young Trojan commander, a lieutenant and friend of Hector.
Priam (Πρίαμος), king of the Trojans, son and successor ofLaomedon; husband of QueenHecuba, father of Hector and Paris; too old to take part in the fighting; many of his fifty sons are counted among the Trojan commanders.
Anticlea, mother of Odysseus and wife of Laetes. She is only briefly mentioned, having died from the grief of missing her son while he is away.
Eurycleia, Odysseus' former wet nurse, the first person to recognize him upon his return toIthaca.
Eumaeus, a loyal old friend and swineherd of Odysseus, who helps him retake his palace.
Melantho, a favorite slave of Penelope's, though undeserving. She works against her mistress, sleeps withEurymachus, and is rude to guests. After Odysseus kills the suitors, Telemachus hangs her for her disloyalty.
Aethra, the principal slave in Helen's household at Troy. She was the mother of Theseus, stolen many years before the Trojan War by theDioscuri as revenge for her son's kidnapping of their sister Helen.
Briseis, a woman captured in the sack of Lyrnessus, a small town in the territory of Troy, and awarded to Achilles as a prize. Agamemnon takes her from Achilles in Book 1 and Achilles withdraws from battle as a result.
Chryseis,Chryses’ daughter, taken as a war prize by Agamemnon.
Clymene, servant ofHelen along with her mother Aethra.
Diomede, a slave woman of Achilles' whom he took fromLesbos.
Hecamede, a woman taken fromTenedos and given to Nestor. She mixes his medicinal wines.
Aphrodite, goddess of love, beauty, and sexual pleasure. Wife of Hephaestus, and lover of Ares.
Apollo, god of the sun, light, knowledge, healing, plague and darkness, the arts, music, poetry, prophecy, archery. Son of Zeus and Leto, twin of Artemis.
Ares, god of war. Lover of Aphrodite. Driven from the field of battle by Diomedes (aided by Athena).
Athena, goddess of crafts, domestic arts, strategic warfare, and wisdom. Daughter of Zeus.
