Genealogies
The four family lines that structure the poems: the House of Atreus (Agamemnon and Menelaus), the House of Aeacus (Achilles), the House of Troy (Priam and the Dardanid kings), and the Olympian gods. Every member below comes from this edition’s character apparatus; dashed connectors are identifications the Homeric poems themselves don’t make — links added by later tradition.
House of Atreus
- Tantalus Τάνταλος Legendary king; eternally punished in Hades, forebear of the Atreid line.
- Pelops Πέλοψ Son of Tantalus; his scepter passes down to found the Atreid dynasty.
father: Tantalus (link from later tradition, not Homer)
- Atreus Ἀτρεύς King of Mycenae; father of Agamemnon and Menelaus.
father: Pelops
- Agamemnon Ἀγαμέμνων King of Mycenae; commander of the Achaean host at Troy.
father: Atreus
- Orestes Ὀρέστης Agamemnon's son; avenges his father by killing Aegisthus and Clytemnestra.
father: Agamemnon mother: Clytemnestra
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- Menelaus Μενέλαος King of Sparta; Helen's husband, whose abduction causes the war.
father: Atreus
- Hermione Ἑρμιόνη Only child of Menelaus and Helen.
father: Menelaus mother: Helen
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- Thyestes Θυέστης Atreus's brother; his line produces Aegisthus.
father: Pelops
- Aegisthus Αἴγισθος Seduces Clytemnestra and murders Agamemnon on his return from Troy.
father: Thyestes
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House of Aeacus
- Aeacus Αἰακός Forebear of the Aeacid line (Peleus, Telamon, and their sons).
father: Zeus mother: Aegina (link from later tradition, not Homer)
- Peleus Πηλεύς King of the Myrmidons at Phthia; Achilles' father.
father: Aeacus
- Achilles Ἀχιλλεύς Foremost Achaean warrior; his wrath structures the Iliad's plot.
father: Peleus mother: Thetis
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- Telamon Τελαμών King of Salamis; father of the greater Ajax and Teucer.
father: Aeacus
- Ajax (son of Telamon) Αἴας Τελαμώνιος Telamonian king; the Achaeans' great defensive fighter, second only to Achilles.
father: Telamon
- Teucer Τεῦκρος Half-brother of the greater Ajax; the Achaeans' best archer at Troy.
father: Telamon
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House of Troy (Dardanids)
- Dardanus Δάρδανος Founder of the Trojan royal line, forebear of Priam and Aeneas.
father: Zeus mother: Electra (link from later tradition, not Homer)
- Erichthonius Ἐριχθόνιος Second king of the Dardanid line, noted for vast herds.
father: Dardanus
- Tros Τρώς Eponymous king from whom 'Troy' and 'Trojans' take their name.
father: Erichthonius
- Ilus Ἶλος Founder of Ilium (Troy proper); Laomedon's father.
father: Tros
- Laomedon Λαομέδων King of Troy; Priam's father, notorious for cheating the gods.
father: Ilus
- Priam Πρίαμος Aged king of Troy; father of fifty sons including Hector and Paris.
father: Laomedon
- Hector Ἕκτωρ Troy's foremost warrior and defender; eldest son of Priam.
father: Priam mother: Hecuba
- Astyanax Ἀστυάναξ Infant son of Hector and Andromache.
father: Hector mother: Andromache
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- Paris (Alexander) Ἀλέξανδρος Trojan prince whose abduction of Helen causes the war.
father: Priam mother: Hecuba
- Deiphobus Δηΐφοβος Trojan prince, prominent warrior after Hector's death.
father: Priam mother: Hecuba
- Helenus Ἕλενος Trojan prince and seer, Priam's son.
father: Priam mother: Hecuba
- Cassandra Κασσάνδρα Priam's daughter; in Homer, simply the fairest of his daughters.
father: Priam mother: Hecuba
- Polites Πολίτης Trojan prince; a scout for the Trojans.
father: Priam mother: Hecuba
- Polydorus Πολύδωρος Youngest son of Priam; killed by Achilles despite Priam's ban.
father: Priam mother: Laothoe
- Laodice Λαοδίκη Trojan princess; called fairest of Priam's daughters.
father: Priam mother: Hecuba
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- Tithonus Τιθωνός Trojan prince; brother of Priam, taken by Eos as consort.
father: Laomedon
- Memnon Μέμνων Ethiopian king; ally of Troy, son of the dawn goddess Eos.
father: Tithonus mother: Eos
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- Assaracus Ἀσσάρακος Younger son of Tros; ancestor of the Anchises-Aeneas branch.
father: Tros
- Capys Κάπυς Trojan of the Assaracus branch; Anchises's father.
father: Assaracus
- Anchises Ἀγχίσης Trojan of the Dardanid line; father of Aeneas by Aphrodite.
father: Capys
- Aeneas Αἰνείας Trojan prince of the junior Dardanid branch; son of Aphrodite.
father: Anchises mother: Aphrodite
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- Ganymede Γανυμήδης Youngest son of Tros; carried off to be Zeus's cupbearer.
father: Tros
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The Olympians
- Zeus Ζεύς King of the gods; arbiter of fate, oversees the war.
father: Cronus mother: Rhea
- Sarpedon Σαρπηδών Lycian king; leads Troy's allies, foremost after Hector.
father: Zeus mother: Laodamia
- Athena Ἀθήνη Goddess of wisdom and war-craft; Odysseus's steadfast patron.
father: Zeus
- Apollo Ἀπόλλων God of plague, prophecy, and music; Troy's most active divine patron.
father: Zeus mother: Leto
- Artemis Ἄρτεμις Goddess of the hunt; Apollo's twin, a minor but recurring presence.
father: Zeus mother: Leto
- Ares Ἄρης God of war; fights for Troy, wounded by Diomedes.
father: Zeus mother: Hera
- Aphrodite Ἀφροδίτη Goddess of love; protects Paris and her mortal son Aeneas.
father: Zeus mother: Dione
- Hephaestus Ἥφαιστος Smith-god; forges Achilles' new armor at Thetis's request.
father: Zeus mother: Hera
- Hermes Ἑρμῆς Messenger god; guides Priam safely to Achilles' tent.
father: Zeus mother: Maia
- Helen Ἑλένη Wife of Menelaus, abducted by Paris; the war's proximate cause.
father: Zeus mother: Leda
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- Hera Ἥρη Zeus's wife and sister; fiercely partisan for the Achaeans.
father: Cronus mother: Rhea
- Poseidon Ποσειδῶν God of the sea and earthquakes; secretly aids the Achaeans.
father: Cronus mother: Rhea
- Hades Ἀΐδης God of the underworld; rarely active, but constantly referenced.
father: Cronus mother: Rhea