The Iliad
The Greek gods and goddesses
The Olympians
King of Troy
Priam
Achilles’s childhood friend and fighting companion. He dies after taking Achilles’s armor to fight and his death finally causes Achilles to fight in the war.
Patroclus
A hobbit-like creature that finds the Ring in the river, Anduin.
Deagol
One of the hobbits which joins Frodo when he leaves the Shire; full name is Peregrin.
The goddess of beauty and love; Favors the Trojans; Receives the golden apple from Paris
Aphrodite
Queen of Troy
Hecuba
Prince of Troy that takes Helen after giving the golden apple to Aphrodite; not characterized as a fighter
Paris
One of the hobbits which joins Frodo when he leaves the Shire; full name is Meriadoc.
Merry
Frodo’s gardener; joins Frodo when he leaves the Shire after Gandalf instructs him to go; very interested in elves.
Samwise
The King of the gods; At first tries to remain neutral in the Trojan war but favors the Trojans after Achilles prays asking for that.
Zeus
The goddess of marriage; the wife of Zeus; Favors the Greeks because she was one of the goddesses that Paris spurned by not giving her the golden apple for “to the fairest”
Hera
The goddess of wisdom and war; Favors the Greeks because Paris also spurned her by not giving her the golden apple. She promises the most beautiful woman in the world in return for receiving the golden apple.
Athena
Lives in the Shire; celebrates his 111th birthday at the beginning of the book; leaves his home and the Ring to his nephew, Frodo.
Bilbo
A hobbit-like creature; takes the Ring from Deagol and kills him and changed into a hunched, miserable creature after having the Ring for so long
Smeagol/Gollum
Leader of the Greeks and brother to Menelaus. Characterized as being stubborn and selfish, he and Achilles constantly fight. He takes Achilles’s war prize and causes Achilles to refuse to fight in the war.
Agamemnon
Prince of Troy and the best Trojan warrior. He kills Patroclus and in return, Achilles murders him and refuses to let his body be buried.
Hector
King of Sparta and Helen’s husband; Brother of Agamemnon. He goes to war because his wife has been taken from him.
Menelaus
Also known as the Black Riders; nine minions of Sauron who search for the One Ring; used to be the nine men who had the other rings and are now under Sauron’s control.
The Ringwraiths
The son of Elendil; cuts the Ring from Sauron’s fingers in the great battle and acquires the Ring.
Isildur
The greatest warrior of the Greeks; Refuses to fight in the war because of his feud with Agamemnon. After Patroclus dies, he agrees to fight, but is killed in combat.
Achilles
The most beautiful woman in the world; “the face that launched a thousand ships;” Wife of Menelaus; Gets taken to Troy
Helen
One of the five great Wizards in Middle Earth; a friend to Bilbo, and helps guide Frodo.
Gandalf
The main character; Bilbo’s nephew and heir; inherits the One Ring and must leave the Shire to take the One Ring away.
Frodo
The original creator of the One Ring; also known as the Great Enemy; was thought to be defeated but still lives; tries desperately to take back the One Ring.
Sauron