The Heroes of Homer's 'Iliad' Trivia Quiz

Answer: Pandarus

Pandarus is a Trojan archer who is manipulated by Athena. The arrow he fires wounds Menelaus, and ends the truce between the two sides. His actions (although guided by Athena) are representative of the Trojan sins and he is soon punished. Diomedes kills him during his aristeia in Book V.

Answer: Hector

Hector, the principal defender of Troy, is the Trojan counterpart to Achilles. Homer makes it clear that his death will mark the end for Troy and its inhabitants. The eldest son of Priam, he is the heir to the throne of Troy but is killed in single combat by Achilles. His wife is enslaved by Neoptolemus and his son thrown from Troy's battlements as the Achaeans storm the city.

Answer: Agamemnon

Agamemnon is the king of Mycenae and thus the most powerful of the Achaean warlord-kings. Despite this position of power he is neither the smartest, nor the best fighter. His offending of Achilles leads to the Trojan assault on his ships. Upon his return to Mycenae his wife butchers him, his men, and Cassandra under the pretence of a feast. Two stories exist - in one he dies in his bath, in the other when he is too drunk to resist. Either way, not an excellent end to his return party.

Answer: Sarpedon

Sarpedon and his friend Glaucos are Lycians, and travelled to aid their allies the Trojans. Sarpedon's death, one of the most moving passages in the 'Iliad', shows the lengths that Zeus is prepared to go to further the Achaean cause. When Patroclus assaults the Trojan positions it is poetically necessary for him to kill an important Trojan to show his worth. Unfortunately for Sarpedon it is he.

Answer: Paris

If Hector is the warrior, then Paris is the playboy; his battles are fought between the sheets. His armour is trimmed with leopard skin, showing his lack of battle readiness. Despite being the cause of the war he plays very little part in the actual poem, losing a duel to Menelaus, being rescued by Aphrodite and then seducing Helen again.

Answer: Achilles

'Sing Goddess of the wrath of Achilleus, son of Peleus'. Thus the greatest poem ever written begins. Achilles is the greatest warrior, the inspiration for the Achaean forces. It is his actions which dictate the course of the poem. The son of a sea nymph (Thetis) and Peleus, a human king, he is given the choice between a short and glorious life and a long and unremarkable one.

He chooses the former.

Answer: Menelaus

This is the first verse of Rupert Brooke's famous poem 'Menelaus and Helen'. Brooke died during the First World War (on his way to Gallipoli). This particular poem was written just before the outbreak of war. He was buried on the Isle of Skyros in the Aegean. His most famous poem 'The Soldier' is still part of many English syllabuses in the UK.

Menelaus, brother of Agamemnon, demands justice for the theft of his wife. He defeats Paris in a duel but his opponent is saved by Aphrodite. Following the sack of Troy, he and Helen return to Sparta where we meet him again when Telemachus is searching for his father in the 'Odyssey'

Answer: Odysseus

The ruler of Ithaca and subject of the second epic poem attributed to Homer. While his valour on the field is undisputed, it is in cunning that he truly makes his mark. In the 'Iliad' itself his major scene is the night-time raid in Book X, but he comes into his own in the 'Odyssey'. It is in this poem that we learn about the Trojan Horse and the fall of Troy.

Answer: Aeneas

When Virgil decided to write the 'Aeneid' he was handicapped by the fact that his 'hero' comes across in the 'Iliad' as a bit of a wimp. This fact leads to Virgil having to give an edited version of the fall of Troy in which Aeneas has a more heroic role.

In the 'Iliad' itself he is defeated by Ajax who throws a rock at the Trojan, shattering his hip. His life is saved by Aphrodite who swoops onto the battlefield to protect her son.

Answer: Nestor

Nestor is one of the oldest Achaeans (with the possible exception of Phoenix) and his counsel is valued by Agamemnon. Fighting from the back of his chariot he is still a valued warrior. He is one of the two kings visited by Telemachus in the 'Odyssey'.

Answer: Patroklus

Achilles' protégé and probably lover, it is his death that causes the great hero to re-enter the combat. He is killed by Hector, having donned Achilles' armour and led his men into combat. He is warned by the gods to only drive the Trojans back from the ships and not to assault the walls.

His attempts to climb the walls are thwarted by Apollo, and the third time he is thrown to the ground to meet his death at Hector's hands.

Answer: Ajax the Greater

Ajax the Greater is a mindless soldier. Brawny and resilient he is compared to a donkey, and seems to have the same IQ. He is said to have committed suicide after his failure to win Achilles' armour in the funeral games. Odysseus (who won the armour) tries to speak to him in the underworld ('Odyssey' BkXI) but his spirit is too bitter.

Answer: Diomedes

Diomedes is a typical warrior, valiant and brave in battle. It is he that Homer chooses for his first aristeia. Diomedes sweeps all before him (with the help of Athena) and after chasing Aphrodite from the field he wisely chooses not to challenge the far more dangerous Ares. As Achilles' star rises, his part in the war becomes less and less, but he is still a valuable warrior.

Answer: Priam

Priam, the father of Hector and Paris, rules Troy. He is a very busy man, with fifty sons and fifty daughters. His death at the hands of Neoptolemus is described in the 'Odyssey'. Priam is shown to be a pious and good king, loved by his subjects and undeserving of such a fate.

His heartfelt pleas to Achilles in Book XXIV are what finally touched the Achaean's heart and bring him back to the real world.

Answer: Machaon

The healers in the Trojan Wars are few and far between, but Machaon seems to have the unenviable task of patching up the wounded Achaean heroes. Homer is careful not to limit his actions to those of healing, and to show him in the arena of battle too.