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Vol. 31 : The Quarrel (1)

Nine times had the almond trees flowered since the Greeks came to Troy, but still they had not taken the city. But it was in the tenth year that the situation began to change.

A Greek raiding party captured two women. Both of them were very beautiful. The more beautiful of the two, Chryseis, was given to Agamemnon because he was the commander of the army. The other, Briseis, was given to Achilles.

A few days later, an old man came to the camp, asking for Agamemnon.

"I am a priest of Apollo and the father of Chryseis," he said.

"What do you want?" asked Agamemnon.

"May the gods give you Troy, my lord," he said. "Just, please, give me back my daughter."

Agamemnon was angry.

"Go away, old man. Chryseis is mine, she will be a slave in my house, and she will share my bed."

The old man begged, he offered the king a huge ransom, but Agamemnon would not listen. The priest left the camp heart-broken.

Days later, a terrible plague hit the Greek camp. Men began to die, and corpse-fires burned all day and all night, covering the beach in smoke.

Achilles went to Calchas.

"Calchas, tell me the reason for this plague."

Calchas looked at the flight of birds, and groaned.

"What is it?" asked Achilles. "What do you see?"

"I will tell you but only if you promise to protect me against the anger of a king, who will not be pleased to hear this news."

Achilles promised.

"It is Apollo," Calchas said. "He is angry because Agamemnon would not listen to his priest, he refused to return the priest's daughter. And so Apollo has come here now with his silver arrows of plague and he is killing us. The plague will not stop until we return the girl and make sacrifices to the god."