Chryses

In Homeric tradition (Iliad Book I) Chryses is presented as a venerable priest of Apollo attached to the sanctuary at Chryse near Troy. He appears in the narrative when his daughter, Chryseis, has been taken captive by the Greek forces; when Agamemnon refuses ransom, Chryses makes a formal supplication to Apollo, and the god responds by sending a plague upon the Greek army until the captured woman is returned.

Homeric passages characterize Chryses as a venerable suppliant performing ritual gestures: he presents costly gifts, bears Apollo's ensigns, lifts his hands and prays aloud, and stands in the posture of a supplicant before the Greek camp. No detailed physical description (height, facial features, clothing beyond cult insignia) is given in the cited epic passages.

Chryses possesses no supernatural powers in the sources; his agency is ceremonial and social. As a priest and suppliant he can present offerings and formal prayers to Apollo. It is Apollo — not Chryses — who effects the plague in response to Chryses' petition; Chryses' efficacy derives from his status as priest and the proper performance of supplication.