During the ancient Greek period the people believed that the gods lived on Mt. Olympus and could do whatever they wanted to. The leader of the gods was Zeus; he was the most powerful god. The gods had the power to intervene with the mortal lives if they felt that it was necessary. In the story of the Iliad the two main characters were Agamemnon and Achilles.
Achilles was seen as the great Greek hero, he was the strongest man alive at the time. His father was a god but his mother was only a mortal. He was bathed in the river Styx as a child and he became almost immortal. The only piece of his body that could be injured was his heel. In the beginning of the story we find out that the gods are angry with Agamemnon because he has been mean to a holy man. The gods in turn sent a huge plague down onto the people. The god Apollo was responsible for starting the plague, he was convinced by the holy man to seek revenge upon the people. Agamemnon was the King of Mycenae; he was very similar to Achilles. Agamemnon was the leader of his army and was very proud of his army. Although he never took any big risks in battle, he always took credit for everything and wanted the largest share of plunder after it was all over. He shows no emotions, and does not trust his army, and is always testing them. Agamemnon is not well liked by his people, but he is respected. Agamemnon is always trying to get something for himself in any situation. This can be seen when the gods request that he returns Chryseis, a prize from a battle that he won. Agamemnon will not return the girl unless he receives Achilles prize of war, Briseis. Agamemnon says to his two servants " Go along, both of you to Achilles quarters and take his charming Briseis by the hand to bring to me. And if he balks at giving her I shall be there myself with men-at-arms in force to take her- all the more gall for him" This shows his lack of respect and care for other people.