Achilles in The Trojan War
The first two lines of the Iliad read:
- μῆνιν ἄειδε θεὰ Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος
- οὐλομένην, ἣ μυρί' Ἀχαιοῖς ἄλγε' ἔθηκεν,
- Sing, Goddess, of the rage of Peleus' son Achilles,
- the accursed rage that brought great suffering to the Achaeans.
Achilles' consuming rage is at times wavering, but at other times he cannot be cooled. The humanization of Achilles by the events of the war is an important theme of the narrative.
According to the Iliad, Achilles arrived at Troy with 50 ships, each carrying 50 Myrmidons (Book 2). He appointed five leaders (each leader commanding 500 Myrmidons): Menesthius, Eudorus, Peisander, Phoenix and Alcimedon (Book 16).
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