Twelve cities of men I’ve stormed and sacked from shipboard,
eleven I claim by land, on the fertile earth of Troy.
And from all I dragged off piles of splendid plunder,
hauled it away and always gave the lot to Agamemnon,
that son of Atreus – always skulking behind the lines,
safe in his fast ships – and he would take it all,
he’d parcel out some scraps but keep the lion’s share.
Some he’d hand to the lords and kings – prizes of honor –
and they, they hold them still. From me alone, Achilles
of all Achaeans, he seizes, he keeps the bride I love.
– Homer
The Iliad, Book 9, lines 398-407. Achilles angrily tells Agamemnon’s ambassadors that in all the cities he stormed and plundered, Agamemnon kept the lion’s share (metaphor) of the plunder for himself. Agamemnon would hand out prizes of honor to some leaders, but from Achilles alone he seizes his prize – the woman he loves, Briseis.