Who is the central hero of the Iliad?

The central hero of the Iliad is Achilles. Homer’s epic is driven by Achilles’ anger after Agamemnon takes Briseis, a captive woman awarded to him as a war prize. His withdrawal from battle allows the Trojans to gain ground and creates the crisis at the heart of the poem.

Achilles is the greatest Greek warrior at Troy, leading the Myrmidons and celebrated for his speed and fighting skill. His relationship with Patroclus is also crucial: when Hector kills Patroclus, Achilles returns to battle, defeats Hector, and briefly becomes the Greeks’ decisive champion.

A common mix-up is assuming that the Iliad tells the entire Trojan War or ends with Troy’s destruction. It does neither. The poem covers a short period near the war’s end and concludes with the funeral of Hector. Agamemnon commands the Greek forces, Odysseus is their celebrated strategist, and Hector is Troy’s chief defender, but Achilles remains the poem’s central figure.