Achilles

The narrative retells central episodes of the Trojan War, following the Greek expedition that sparks from Helen's abduction and the prolonged siege of Troy. It focuses on the quarrel between the chief commander and the greatest warrior over captured women, the resulting divine interventions and plague, and the deaths that change the course of the fighting. Grief for a fallen comrade drives the hero back into battle, culminating in his arming by a goddess and a climactic duel that kills Troy's foremost defender; the work closes with a mournful exchange that secures rites for the slain.