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Briseis

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Trojan captive awarded to Achilles as a war prize, whose seizure by Agamemnon sparked the central conflict of Homer's Iliad, causing Achilles to withdraw from battle in wounded pride.

Detailed Definition
Briseis was a Trojan woman awarded to Achilles as a war prize, whose seizure by Agamemnon sparked Achilles’ wrath in the Iliad. Though a minor character, she embodies the human cost of war and male honor. Poets reference her to highlight silenced female voices and the emotional toll of conflict on the powerless.
Example
Example in poetry:
Briseis, Achilles’ captive in the Iliad, becomes central to his wrath when Agamemnon takes her; Her lament in Book XIX humanizes the cost of war; In the Epic Cycle fragments, Briseis is portrayed as loyal to Achilles; Ovid includes Briseis in Heroides, giving voice to her sorrow and dignity; Later elegiac poets use Briseis as a symbol of love amid conflict; Modern feminist retellings, like Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls, amplify Briseis’s perspective.
Additional Notes
Briseis, a captive woman central to the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon in the Iliad, represents the human cost of honor and war; her silent suffering contrasts male heroism—modern poets (e.g., Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls) reclaim her voice to critique patriarchal narratives and explore trauma.
Also Known As
Captive of Achilles Prize of War Hippodameia
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