Final answer:
Agamemnon and Achilles quarreled after Agamemnon demanded Achilles' war prize, Briseis, as compensation for his own loss. In response, Achilles withdrew from battle, affecting the course of the Trojan War. The themes of personal honor and fate are central to this narrative.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Quarrel Between Agamemnon and Achilles
Agamemnon and Achilles, two Greek heroes of the Trojan War, notably quarreled over the confiscation of a war prize. The quarrel occurred when Agamemnon, the leader of the Greek forces, was forced to return his war prize, Chryseis, to appease Apollo and stop a plague sent by the god. To compensate for his loss, Agamemnon demanded Achilles' war prize, Briseis. This demand led to a heated dispute between the two.
As a result, Achilles, deeply offended, withdrew from the battle, which was a major turning point in the Trojan War. His withdrawal had significant consequences for the Greek army. Moreover, in the Iliad, Achilles' mother, Thetis, intervenes by asking Zeus to ensure that the Greeks start losing the war without her son's help, which indeed happens. The tension between personal honor and duty to the community is a key theme explored through this conflict.
Aside from the narrative in the Iliad, various artistic representations, such as the one depicted by Exekias on the amphora, show the enduring importance of these characters' fates in ancient Greek culture. The amphora not only displays the two during a moment of respite but hints at their tragic destinies in the Trojan War, further reflecting on the themes of fate and mortality.