Priam brought ten talents of gold as ransom for Hector’s body. In Book 24 of the Iliad, the grieving king gathers the payment from his treasure chambers before travelling to Achilles’ camp.
The gold was only part of the ransom. Priam also brought richly made garments, cloaks, coverlets, tunics, tripods, cauldrons, and a valuable cup received from Thracians. The lavish gifts show how urgently he wanted Hector returned for burial.
A talent was an ancient unit of weight, not a standardized coin, so its exact modern value cannot be calculated with certainty. The number is nevertheless clear in Homer’s poem: ten talents. Readers sometimes confuse this with Achilles’ earlier boast that Hector’s weight in gold would not be enough to satisfy him; that is figurative language, not the ransom’s actual amount.