Chryses. In Greek mythology, Chryses was a Trojan priest of Apollo at Chryse, near the city of Troy. According to a tradition mentioned by Eustathius of Thessalonica, Chryses and Briseus were brothers, sons of a man named Ardys. During the Trojan War, Agamemnon took Chryses' daughter Chryseis from Moesia as a war prize and when Chryses attempted to ransom her, Agamemnon refused to return her. Chryses prayed to Apollo, and he, in order to defend the honor of his priest, sent a plague sweeping through the Greek armies, and Agamemnon was forced to give Chryseis back in order to end it. The significance of Agamemnon's actions lies not in his kidnapping Chryseis, but in his refusal to release her upon her father's request.
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