The Iliad begins with the 'wrath' of which Greek hero?

The Iliad begins with the “wrath” of which Greek hero? Achilles is the answer.

The poem’s opening invokes the Muse to sing of the wrath of Achilles, the son of Peleus. This is not merely a passing emotion: Achilles’ anger provides the Iliad’s central dramatic thread and drives much of the poem’s action.

The crisis begins when Agamemnon refuses to return Chryseis, the daughter of Apollo’s priest, Chryses. Apollo responds by sending a plague through the Greek camp. Agamemnon eventually gives Chryseis back, but demands Achilles’ war prize, Briseis, as compensation. Achilles sees the seizure as a public insult and withdraws himself and his Myrmidons from the fighting.

His absence allows the Trojans to gain ground, especially under Hector. The story later turns when Hector kills Patroclus, Achilles’ beloved companion. Grief overwhelms Achilles’ earlier grievance, and he returns to battle to kill Hector. A common mistake is to assume the Iliad narrates the entire Trojan War or Achilles’ death. It does neither: the epic covers only a short period near the war’s end and concludes with Hector’s funeral.