With the Trojans camped at the Achaean trench, Agamemnon offers the sulking Achilles vast riches, a daughter in marriage, and the return of the war prize Briseis, and sends Odysseus, Ajax, and Phoenix to persuade Achilles to return to battle. Despite appeals to duty, glory, and a warning tale of a hero who held out too long, Achilles refuses, declaring he will not fight until Hector reaches the Myrmidon ships. The envoys return having failed, leaving the Achaeans to face Hector’s advance alone.