Briseis

The daughter of Briseus; a young girl who was taken as a slave by the Greeks during the ninth year of the siege of the city of Troy.

Briseis was awarded to Akhilleus (Achilles) as a “prize” but when the leader of the army, Agamemnon, took her from Akhilleus, the two men began a long and bitter feud; Akhilleus swore that he and his troops would not fight for Agamemnon and that no apology or act of contrition could end the dispute.

Finally, when the Greeks were being overwhelmed by the Trojans, Agamemnon offered to return Briseis to Akhilleus with many other gifts including one of his daughters and a part of his kingdom; Akhilleus refused these offers until his life-long friend, Patroklos (Patroclus), was killed by the Trojans; at that point, he accepted Briseis and the other gifts that Agamemnon offered, although they meant nothing to him, donned his armor and entered the battle.

• Iliad, book 1, line 392 and book 19, lines 260-300