Reading Homer's Iliad 9781684484522
We still read Homer’s epic the Iliad two-and-one-half millennia since its emergence for the questions it poses and the a
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Table of contents :
CONTENTS
ILLUSTRATIONS
INTRODUCTION The Poem, the Poet, and the Myth
Chapter 1 ACHILLES’ WRATH EXPOSED: IL. 1 (DAYS ONE TO TWENTY-ONE)
Chapter 2 THE FIRST BATTLE: IL. 2–7 (DAYS TWENTY-TWO TO TWENTY-FOUR)
Chapter 3 THE SECOND BATTLE: IL. 8–10 (DAY TWENTY-FIVE)
Chapter 4 THE THIRD BATTLE: IL. 11–18 (DAY TWENTY-SIX)
Chapter 5 THE FOURTH BATTLE: IL. 19–23 (DAY TWENTY-SEVEN)
Chapter 6 ACHILLES’ WRATH CONCLUDED: IL. 24 (DAYS TWENTY-EIGHT TO FIFTY-THREE)
Appendix A DAYS COVERED BY THE ILIAD NARRATIVE
Appendix B CHARACTER NAMES IN THE ILIAD
Appendix C PLACE-NAMES IN THE ILIAD
Appendix D GREEK TERMS CITED
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
NOTES
GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Citation preview
READING HOMER’S ILIAD •
READING HOMER’S ILIAD •
K o s ta s My r s i a d e s
Lewisburg, Pen nsylvania
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Myrsiades, Kostas, author. Title: Reading Homer’s Iliad / Kostas Myrsiades. Description: Lewisburg : Bucknell University Press, 2022. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2022009343 | ISBN 9781684484485 (paperback) | ISBN 9781684484492 (hardback) | ISBN 9781684484508 (epub) | ISBN 9781684484522 (pdf) Subjects: LCSH: Homer. Iliad. | LCGFT: Literary criticism. Classification: LCC PA4037 .M97 2022 | DDC 883/.01—dc23/eng/20220420 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022009343 A British Cataloging-in-Publication record for this book is available from the British Library. Copyright © 2023 by Kostas Myrsiades All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. Please contact Bucknell University Press, Hildreth-M irza Hall, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA 17837-2005. The only exception to this prohibition is “fair use” as defined by U.S. copyright law. References to internet websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the author nor Bucknell University Press is responsible for URLs that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared. The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992. www.bucknelluniversitypress.org Distributed worldwide by Rutgers University Press Manufactured in the United States of America
To a new generation of Homeridae, the newest addition to the Myrsiades family, great-grandson Homer Kairos Myrsiades
CON TEN TS
List of Illustrations ix Introduction: The Poem, the Poet, and the Myth 1
1 Achilles’ Wrath Exposed: Il. 1 (Days One to Twenty-One) 22 Book 1 22
2 The First B attle: Il. 2–7 (Days Twenty-Two to Twenty-Four) 39 Book 2 39 Book 3 52 Book 4 63 Book 5 73 Book 6 87 Book 7 98
3 The Second B attle: Il. 8–10 (Day Twenty-Five) 107 Book 8 107 Book 9 116 Book 10 131
4 The Third B attle: Il. 11–18 (Day Twenty-Six) 140 Book 11 140 Book 12 155 Book 13 163 Book 14 178 Book 15 189 Book 16 201 vii
viii c o n t e n t s
Book 17 216 Book 18 229
5 The Fourth B attle: Il. 19–23 (Day Twenty-Seven) 244 Book 19 244 Book 20 254 Book 21 263 Book 22 273 Book 23 285
6 Achilles’ Wrath Concluded: Il. 24 (Days Twenty-Eight to Fifty-Three) 302 Book 24 302 Appendix A: Days Covered by the Iliad Narrative 321 Appendix B: Character Names in the Iliad 323 Appendix C: Place-Names in the Iliad 361 Appendix D: Greek Terms Cited 377 Acknowledgments 383 Notes 385 General Bibliography 393 Index 457
ILLUSTR ATIONS
Figure 5.1. Aeneas’ genealogy
259
Table I.1. Dactylic hexameter
7
Table 4.1. Lineup of Achaean ships
151
Table 5.1. Patroklos’ funeral games
292
Table A.1. Days covered by the Iliad narrative
321
ix
READING HOMER’S ILIAD •
INTRODUCTION The Poem, the Poet, and the Myth
The reader might wonder why we still read the Iliad two and a half millennia after its emergence. We do so for the questions it poses and the answers it provides for our age, which are as v iable t oday as they were in Homer’s own time. What is worth d ying for? How should one face death? What is the meaning of honor and fame? What are the consequences of intense emotion and violence? How does one achieve a balance between sophrosune (moderation) and hubris (excess)? Why is t here a need for balance between biē (force) and mētis (cunning intelligence) in human existence? What does recognition of one’s mortality teach? What is gods’ role in h uman affairs? One of the many reasons why we still turn to “Homer” in the twenty- first century is the poet’s preoccupation with understanding the essence of human life. It is his emphasis on human beings’ striving to accept and understand their mortality, his celebration of the h uman mind, and his focus on human striving a fter consciousness and identity that have, I believe, led audiences to the Homeric epics generation a fter generation. The present reading of the Iliad, like its companion volume, Reading Homer’s “Odyssey,” is neither a critical study nor a study on the epic’s authorship or the nature of its orality. It is rather a book-by-book commentary based on many readings of the epic in the original and in 1
2 I n t r o d u c t i o n
translation and by consulting the plethora of sources on Homer that proliferate e very year. It is impossible for anyone to peruse everyt hing written on Homer, and since the writing of this book dozens of new sources have been published. The general bibliography included with this study is a modest attempt to cull together as many of the sources as I could amass. I have discovered, however, over the period of producing this book, that I have neglected a number that should also have been included. Nor have I read or looked at all the sources listed in the bibliography, though I have read many and certainly carefully checked t hose listed at the end of each book’s commentary. This admission is a cautionary comment to emphasize that this is a personal reading of the Iliad based on the selected sources listed and my own views a fter having read, studied, and taught this epic in translation to both graduate and undergraduate students in comparative literature and mythology courses and seminars. As in the previous volume on the Odyssey, each discussion of one of the Iliad’s twenty-four books concludes with a list of critical sources in English pertaining to the book in question. Each discussion is further partitioned into sections wherever Homer’s text permits in order to stress the length and the importance placed on specific topics and episodes. Percentages of a book’s total size are provided for each of t hese sections to further demonstrate the significance Homer places on various topics and episodes, enabling the reader to evaluate the emphasis given to certain themes and topics. For example, the Iliad’s first book conveniently divides into five parts: the proem (1% of the book), Apollo’s anger (18% of the book), the quarrel (12% of the book), Achilles’ anger (19% of the book), and the consequences of the quarrel (50% of the book). The divisions clearly indicate that half of the first book is on the consequences of Achilles’ anger, which becomes the main theme of the epic’s narrative. The preceding four sections, whose sizes also highlight their importance, prepare the reader for the fifth, which explains what is to follow in the rest of the epic. Endnotes throughout the reading clarify and expand on the myths Homer assumes prior knowledge of among his audience. Endnotes are also used to com-
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ment on events or issues beyond the purview of the Iliad. This reading, as the previous one on the Odyssey, assumes for convenience that the Iliad is the achievement of an unusually creative individual known as Homer (see “The Poet” later in this chapter). The commentary is divided into six chapters—the first and last chapters introduce and conclude Achilles’ wrath and revenge themes (chapters 1 and 6, respectively). Chapters 2–5 treat six of the epic’s fifty-three days in detail and cover the epic’s four battles. It should be clarified at this point that the assumed fifty-t hree-day narrative of the Iliad is not universally acknowledged. Cedric Whitman (Homer and the Heroic Tradition), for example, counts fifty-four days, while Irene de Jong (Time in Ancient Greek Literature) opts for fifty-one. Other scholars align themselves with the aforementioned or come up with their own counts, as in my case with fifty- three. I tend to follow Joachim Latacz’s (Homer) count of fifty-one days up to Il. 24, but after Hector’s funeral I believe two more days should be added to the total. Chapter 1, which includes all of Il. 1 and the first forty-seven lines of Il. 2 (days one to twenty-one), introduces the reader to the epic’s first theme, the wrath of Achilles. Chapter 2, which accounts for Il. 2–7 (days twenty-two to twenty-four), reports on events leading to the epic’s first b attle. Chapter 3, an account of Il. 8–10 (day twenty-five), narrates the second battle. Chapter 4, on Il. 11–18 (day twenty-six), covers the third battle, and chapter 5, on Il. 19–23.110 (day twenty-seven), reports on the fourth and final battle. Chapter 6, Il. 23.110–24 (days twenty-eight to fifty-three), brings Achilles’ revenge theme to a close, which is introduced after Patroklos’ death in Il. 16 (see appendix A). All quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from Richmond Lattimore’s 1951 translation of the Iliad. The preference for the Lattimore translation is twofold: it is a faithful verse translation and not merely a prose rendition of the poem, and more importantly it respects the line numeration of Homer’s Greek, which allows easy access to the original by matching the line numbers supplied in the margins. However, Lattimore’s translation
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choices are sometimes challenged by other translators in the many new translations that are constantly being published (see “Translations of Homer’s Iliad in English” at the end of the bibliography). Nevertheless, citing Lattimore makes it easier for students and instructors to replace Lattimore’s with a number of other excellent translations when using this commentary. Among t hese, I would recommend the prose translation by Anthony Verity (Homer) and the verse translations by Caroline Alexander (Iliad) and Peter Green (Iliad), which also closely follow Homer’s original text. Also notable are the translations of Robert Fagles (Homer), Stanley Lombardo (Iliad), Robert Fitzgerald (Iliad), and Barry Powell (Iliad), whose line numbers the reader can collate to the original, since t hese translations indicate the original Greek text lines on the upper corners of each page of their texts.1 The Greek text used for this reading is that of A. T. Murray, revised by William F. Wyatt for the Loeb Classical Library edition first published in 1919, although more up-to-date texts have appeared since, among them T. W. Allen’s 1931 edition, Malcolm M. Willcock’s 1978–1984 edition, and M. L. West’s 1998–2000 edition. Four appendixes include the days covered by the Iliad, the epic’s named characters, places identified in the Iliad, and Greek terms used in this book. The book concludes with a two-part bibliography: sources for the study of the Iliad, and Iliad translations in English. Since George Chapman’s (1559–1634) iambic heptameter translation of the Iliad in 1616, some 131 English translations of Homer’s epics have appeared, over half of which are of the Iliad.
The Poem The Iliad, perhaps the earliest and best-k nown work of Western literature, is a narrative poem 2 in dactylic hexameter divided centuries a fter its composition into twenty-four parts known as books. The Iliad author called Homer could refer to a single person, many p eople, or no person at all, since almost nothing is known about the life or the existence of such
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a person (see “The Poet” later in this chapter). Almost half of the Iliad is in direct discourse, making it as much a dramatic poem as it is a narrative one. Homer’s craft was that of a performing bard who had a knowledge of stories, the ability to adapt them, and a mastery of the techniques of oral composition developed by past generations of singers. The one essential characteristic of an oral poet like Homer, besides the caliber of the singer, was that each performance was different, shaped to fit its specific situation. Such oral poets fashioned an oral “text” as they performed. Thus, a discussion of Homer’s oral texts cannot be limited to a time when t hese oral poems achieved fixity (with the advent of writing, for example). Each time a singer performed, he crafted an oral text by putting to use the mechanisms of entextualization, defined as “the process of rendering a given instance of discourse a text, detachable from its local context” (Ready, Orality, Textuality, 16). Most often the Iliad’s date of composition is cited as occurring sometime within the eighth or early seventh c entury b.c.e., depending on the sources consulted. Homerists, in referring to the Iliad or Odyssey, however, often have in mind some kind of written text. Some, for example, believe a rhapsode3 dictated his version of the epic to a scribe in the Archaic period (eighth c entury–480 b.c.e.), and that a written text became the archetype of the textual tradition. Another group of scholars holds that two poets from this period, one for the Iliad and a second for the Odyssey, wrote the poems themselves over an extended period of time, and t hese written texts became the archetypes for the textual tradition. Scholars who opt for the late part of the eighth or early seventh century (ca. 725–675 b.c.e.) can claim some influence on writing in the composition of the epics, since the appearance of the Greek alphabet is usually dated to the first quarter of the eighth century. Th ose who opt for a later date treat the epics as sung oral compositions recorded by scribes. A more recent theory (Gregory Nagy’s evolutionary model; see Nagy, Ancient Greek Hero) questions the two earlier theories just mentioned. The evolutionary model states that the “Homeric” texts achieved a state of near fixation over centuries of oral
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performances without the intervention of written texts. This model asserts that written texts of the Iliad and the Odyssey appear a fter 550 b.c.e. and take one of three forms. First, t hese texts appear as transcripts that can be used as aids for oral performance. Second, starting in the later part of the fourth century b.c.e., they appear as scripts that are mandatory for successful oral performances. Third, starting in the mid-second century b.c.e., we have written texts that replace the oral performance. Nevertheless, irrespective of a scholar’s allegiance to any of the three models discussed, “a relatively fixed entity, a poem handed down from performer to performer merits the word ‘text’ ” (Ready, Orality, Textuality, 73). The Iliad’s language, an unspoken one and the legacy of generations of oral traditional singers, is an artificial mixture of several dialects, predominantly Ionic and Aeolic, with some lesser influences from vari ous parts of the ancient Greek world (such as Attic and Doric). Homer’s dialect was never the spoken language of a specific community but rather a language adapted for the composition and transmission of performed oral songs. This artificial language consisted of a mixture of elements from a variety of dialects; it retained old linguistic forms alongside more recent ones and modified regular grammatical forms to make them fit in a hexameter line. Homeric epic’s unit of composition, the hexameter line and not the stanza, is made up primarily of a three-syllable metrical unit, the dactyl, popular in oral poetry. A hexameter line comprises six feet (hexameter) consisting of dactyls (one long syllable followed by two short ones) or spondees (two longs) and based on quantitative rather than stress accent, as in Eng lish poetry. Thus, the first four metrical units of each Homeric line could e ither be dactyls or often be substituted for spondees. The fifth foot is nearly always a dactyl, and the final syllable of each line is considered to be long. This means that the sixth foot is always a spondee (table I.1). Each line also contains, usually within the third or fourth foot, a caesura, a word break or a pause, which can be e ither short or long. A variety of ancient editions of the Homeric epics w ere edited and commented on by three Alexandrian scholars: Zenodotus of Ephesus
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Table I.1. Dactylic hexameter _^^
_^^
_^^
_^^
_^^
__
__
__
__
__
_^^
__
Notes: _ = long syllable; ^ = short syllable. A straight perpendicular line divides each foot. _ ^ ^ = dactyl; _ _ = spondee
(active during the early third c entury b.c.e.), Aristophanes of Byzantium (early second c entury b.c.e.), and Aristarchos of Samothrace (mid-second c entury b.c.e.). Their work eventually led to the text we have, which is essentially the same as that of Roman and medieval times. This text, however, did not become the standard or “vulgate” (a commonly accepted text) text u ntil around 150 b.c.e. The oldest surviving complete Iliad text, from about 1000 c.e., known as Venetus A, consists of sewn-bound pages of parchment (known as a codex). E arlier texts were made of papyrus scrolls (writing material made from the pith of the papyrus plant). The scribes who produced the Homeric texts in the papyri did so at a time when oral performances of the Iliad and Odyssey flourished. They sought not only to traditionalize and provide a complete dramatic presentation but to also create a unique visual performance. Papyrus was replaced by parchment between the second and fifth centuries c.e. The first printed edition of the vulgate appeared in Florence, Italy, in 1488 and was set in a typeface created to imitate the Byzantine manuscripts that existed before it. Using an arsenal of oral traditional techniques, including t hose listed in the remainder of this section, Homer was foremost an oral poet who achieved an exceptional rendition of the Iliad song by revealing the psy chology of his characters. 1. Type Scenes Activities like arming, sacrificing, dreaming, engaging in battlefield supplication, dueling, assembling, dressing, eating and drinking, going
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to bed, bathing, traveling, engaging in seduction, arriving and departing, and visiting follow prescribed protocols, which often begin and end with the same line. Banquets, for example, conclude each time with an identical line that expresses the participants’ satisfaction: “They feasted, nor was any anyone’s hunger denied a fair portion” (1.602). Sacrifice scenes, one of the most complex of type scenes, boasts of at least twenty-one differ ent elements. Dreams, a traditional feature of oral poetry, are yet another type scene used as a method for supernatural communication, which visits the dreamer as a familiar character standing at the dreamer’s head to deliver his or her message (see Agamemnon at 2.16–47 and Achilles at 23.62–107). Numerous monomachias (a type scene depicting conflict between two warriors observing a predetermined order of combat) take place one a fter another between the frontline warriors (promachoi) of each army while the common soldiers (plethos) act as spectators. Such duels, like other Homeric type scenes, consist of a series of formal steps from which the poet can select as few or as many as he deems necessary to lay stress on the importance of a specific duel or to vary the uniqueness of a duel: exchange of verbal challenges, exchange of missiles, hand-to-hand combat, the death of a warrior, vaunts by the victor, and the stripping of the armor or mutilation of the body of an opponent. 2. Formulas and Epithets Repeated phrases throughout an epic like the Iliad, which exhibits a large degree of repetition, are called formulas, a term codified by Milman Parry (1902–1935). Parry defined a formula as “an expression, regularly used, under the same metrical conditions to express an essential idea” (Adam Parry, Making of Homeric Verse, 13). L ater, scholars reduced this meaning of “formula” to include any repeated word group and examined how such repeated phrases constitute a language system for performers that is used to recite their songs anew during a performance rather than having to rely merely on memorization.
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Among such repeated phrases are the epithets given to major heroes and gods. These adjectives are not only used to satisfy the meter of a specific line but also to give expression to a character’s psychology when used selectively at specific moments for part icu lar actions. Achilles is often called “swift-footed” or “brilliant,” two of the many phrases but not exclusively used to identify him, w hether he is sitting, sleeping, or moving. However, when “swift-footed” is applied to him while he is chasing but unable to catch the Trojan Agenor (Apollo in disguise) in Il. 21, the adjective becomes ironic and comments on Achilles’ mortality. “Warlike” and “of the g reat war cry” are epithets used often to describe Menelaos, and Odysseus is referenced as “son of Laertes and seed of Zeus, resourceful Odysseus.” Agamemnon is called “the lord of men” and “Son of Atreus, most lordly.” Each major warrior, w hether Greek or Trojan, bears one or more epithets: “tall Hector of the shining helm,” “son of Tydeus, Diomedes,” “brilliant Alexandros” (Paris), and “the flowing-haired Achaians.” Even the gods have their personal adjectives: “Zeus, high-t hundering lord of Hera”; “gray-eyed Athene” or “daughter of Zeus who wears the aegis”; and “Artemis of the showering arrows.” These epithets can be e ither generic, used to describe more than a single character, or distinctive, used for a specific character. 3. Similes Perhaps one of the most distinctive features of Homer’s epics is the “Homeric simile,” which, like the common simile, compares an object A to a familiar object B using “like” or “as” but reverses the process so that B precedes A. Part B is then developed sometimes at great length before returning to A, as in the simile at 12.278–287 describing the cries of Achaeans (Greeks) as they clash with the Trojans: And they, as storms of snow descend to the ground incessant on a winter day, when Zeus of the counsels, showing before men what shafts he possesses, brings on a snowstorm
10 I n t r o d u c t i o n and stills the winds asleep in the solid drift, enshrouding the peaks that tower among the mountains and the shoulders out-jutting, and the low lands with their grasses, and the prospering work of men’s hands, and the drift falls along the gray sea, the harbors and beaches, and the surf that breaks against it is stilled, and all t hings elsewhere it shrouds from above, with the burden of Zeus’ rain heavy upon it; so numerous and incessant w ere the stones volleyed from both sides.
The Iliad, with its endless fighting, boasts some two hundred of t hese long similes to the Odyssey’s forty and uses them to remove its audience from the monotony of b attle not only for relief but also to contrast a world at war with one at peace. Perhaps one of the reasons for the Odyssey’s fewer similes is that its setting is closer to daily life than that of the Iliad and similes thus afford less contrast. In the Iliad, similes often occur in passages describing general movements and to introduce the appearance of a new hero who requires the audience’s immediate attention. The similes employed are drawn from weather and other natural phenomena (fires, storms, and floods), from hunting, herding, and human technology. In the Iliad, similes based on lions are by far the most numerous among the living things listed (around forty instances), which include boars, stags, birds, bees, flies, and fish. The majority of Iliad similes occur in b attle scenes and more often in the narrator’s voice than in character speeches. They serve to emphasize h uman emotions and psychological nuances. 4. Digressions Homer often digresses from the wrath and revenge themes of Achilles to narrate episodes from various phases of the ten-year-long Trojan conflict in order to place his themes in the context of the Trojan legend and to provide a synopsis of the entire Trojan War myth. At other times these digressions take the form of myths used as paradigms, which he presents
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in whole or in part, assuming prior knowledge of the myths in question on the part of his audience. Sometimes personal anecdotes by various members of his main cast of characters, especially by the aged counselor Nestor, interrupt the main flow of the narrative. These interruptions expand the poet’s narrative from a fifty-three-day wrath and revenge theme to encompass the tale of the entire Trojan conflict and vary from several lines to over seventy (see Nestor’s story of the Pylians and Eleians in Il. 11 and the story of Meleager in Il. 9). Other detours take the reader to the beginning of the war, to the fate of specific Greek and Trojan warriors, and to the genealogies and backstories of a number of Greek and Trojan heroes. 5. Misdirection The story Homer is narrating is one familiar to his audience, as are most of the myths he uses in the telling of it. Its familiarity allows l ittle room for surprises. Achilles’ friend Patroklos w ill die at the hands of Hector, and Achilles w ill eventually kill Hector, just as he himself w ill be killed beyond the Iliad’s scope. Troy’s destruction is inevitable, a tradition that Homer cannot alter. For example, the duels between Paris and Menelaos fought in Il. 3 and between Ajax and Hector in Il. 7 can alter the course of the traditional story. In both cases a victory by e ither opponent can end the war, but something always intervenes to return the narrative to its rightful and predetermined course. 6. Ekphrasis Ekphrasis is a description of a work of art that makes the objects depicted real for the audience and advances the plot and the themes relevant to the narrative. Among the best examples of ekphrasis is the shield of Achilles, which depicts the entire cosmos at 18.462–613. 7. Catalogs Since oral poetry included the re-creation of a poetic story based on tradition, lists of any type become a tour de force for an aiodos (singer),
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one who can delight his audience with feats of memorization. The catalog of the Greek contingents that sailed to Troy recited in Il. 2 (2.494–760) is a traditional component the singer artfully includes. In the catalog, Homer cites twenty-nine contingents and names their forty-four leaders who sailed to Troy in 1,186 ships with a united force of around one hundred thousand men. Other feats of traditional aoidic recomposition include the lists of the squads and leaders of the Trojan forces (2.817–877), a list of thirty-t hree Nereids (18.39–49), Zeus’ parade of lovers (14.315–328), Agamemnon’s gifts to Achilles (9.120–157), Priam’s offerings to ransom Hector (24.228–237), and the hundreds of names of Greek and Trojan warriors fighting and being slain. These catalogs present the war as an event of g reat importance and amplify the diversity of the masses that are fighting to either conquer or defend Troy. 8. Speeches Since almost half of the Iliad is in direct discourse, which makes use of more expressive and judgmental language, Homer employs a variety of speech types, each with its own unique characteristics. Among them are hortatory speeches persuading someone to a course of action, prayers and supplications, laments, messages, and various kinds of battlefield oratory. Some speech types always start with the same line and end with a general gnomic saying. Although stylized, each speech is at the same time unique and tailored to its context and situation. Laments, for example, are ritual or ritualized speeches inspired by the death of a family member and uttered by the deceased’s relatives or close friends. Th ese appear either as threnoi, sung by professional mourners or Muses, or as gooi, spoken by relatives or close kin. Speech types are especially common for conferences and assemblies, for delivering messages (usually repeated verbatim), and in encouraging warriors to take part in b attles. Among the most numerous speech types are soliloquies, expressing a war attle, appearing rior’s innermost thoughts, and parainesis, exhortations to b around sixty-five times in the Iliad. Other speech types include challenges,
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appearing before a duel; vaunts, celebrating a victorious combatant’s triumph; rebukes by one leader or warrior to another; boasts just before a warrior is about to attack his opponent; and supplications to gods or other heroes when a warrior seeks aid to assist or save someone’s life, including the warrior’s own. Like other epic speeches, supplications follow prescribed formats, which the narrator can use selectively to enhance the singularity of the character in question. 9. Xenia (Hospitality) The plots of both the Iliad and the Odyssey are dependent on the recognition and the abuse of xenia, which is a reciprocal guest-host obligation under the aegis of the father of the Olympian gods, Zeus Xenios (see Il. 6.119–236). The Trojan conflict itself is the result of the misuse of hospitality when a guest of Menelaos (the Trojan prince Paris) abducts his host’s wife. 10. Aristeia attle experiences his An aristeia is a scene in the Iliad in which a hero in b finest moments. All major epic heroes, at some point during the battle sequences, are given the opportunity to show their prowess and excellence. attle sequences on a number The Iliad, besides focusing throughout its b of minor warrior achievements, highlights five major aristeias: Diomedes’ in Il. 4–6, Agamemnon’s in Il. 11, Hector’s in Il. 15, Patroklos’ in Il. 16, and Achilles’ in Il. 19–22. Each of these aristeias follows a list of a predetermined method of procedure, which the poet can use at his discretion to emphasize the length and importance of each warrior’s performance, as well as to vary the uniqueness of that performance—for example, the way in which a god rouses a hero to arm for b attle. The poet can then elaborate on each piece of a warrior’s attire separately or focus on a specific item like the shield of Achilles in Il. 18. The hero wreaks havoc among the ranks of the enemy, or he might have an initial setback after being wounded and after praying to a god for assistance, who restores his strength. The hero next sets out to achieve fresh exploits that result in the opponent’s
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defeat. A strugg le over the corpse and the armor ensues u ntil e ither or both are recovered by one of the two sides. 11. Myths Homer allows himself a good deal of freedom in adapting myths to suit his purposes throughout the Iliad. On some occasions, he may actually invent a myth in order for a character who is seeking a f avor to trade with a deity who owes them one. A good example appears in Il. 1, where Achilles advises his mother, Thetis, to use the Briareus incident to supplicate Zeus on his behalf (1.396–404). There are a variety of “myths” found throughout the epic, which include not only the Troy legends and folktales on which the Iliad is based but also the divine mythology of the Olympian gods, who play a major role in the Iliad, as well as allegorical stories like t hose of Atê (Delusion) and the Litai (Prayers) at 19.78–138 and 9.502–512, respectively. The majority of the stories encountered, which can be identified as myths in the Iliad, are stories told by the epic’s internal characters. Myths are used by those characters in a number of ways, including the assertion of their own standing, as in the case of Glaucus’ genealogy related to Diomedes at 6.150–211 or Sthenelus’ reference to the sack of Thebes by the Epigoni at 4.403–410. Elsewhere in the epic, characters relate stories as paradigms that indicate a proper course of behavior, as is the case with Phoenix’s story of Meleager at 9.524–599 or Achilles’ Niobe story to Priam to underline the importance of eating to sustain one’s grief (24.602–617). The supernatural, in the sense of the fantastic and the miraculous, however, is rarely found in Homer’s epics. Nor w ill one find the more sordid elements of h uman treachery and suffering. 12. Ring Composition This is a framing device (known also as chiasmus) that serves as an aid to recomposition in oral performance. It is a device whereby an episode begins and ends with the same formula, bestowing clarity and shape to parts of the narrative, especially to speeches. Cedric Whitman (Homer and
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the Heroic Tradition) sees this type of composition in the Iliad from the level of small narrative sections all the way to the level of entire books and the entire narrative. For example, the episodes in Il. 1 can be seen matching in reverse those in Il. 24. Thus, the funerals of the dead as a result of Apollo’s plague, which opens the beginning of Il. 1, correspond to Hector’s funeral, which ends Il. 24. A quarrel on Olympos that ends Il. 1 is reversed in Il. 24, which begins with a quarrel on Olympos. For further discussion of this framing device, see the comments at the beginning of Il. 24 in chapter 6. The conflict that opens the poem (Achilles’ wrath and revenge themes) is both political and ethical. It is a standoff between the rights of the true warrior (“the best of the Achaians”) and t hose of the king who commands the Greek expedition. The Homeric warrior possesses two qualities— excellence in counsel coupled with prowess on the battlefield. He possesses both biē (force) and metis (intelligence). He fights to kill or to be killed, and his reward for forfeiting his life in battle is honor (timē, kleos), which is measured by the booty (geras) he amasses (tangible goods and slaves) from the division of the spoils of war among the leading participants. The greater the portion received, the greater the honor, which offers him the only immortality possible to a mortal—to live in the memory of the generations to come for one’s accomplishments, measured in rewards received and heroic deeds carried out. Spoils once distributed cannot be redistributed, for to take back honor questions its permanence. True honor is as permanent as death. Beyond the grave, the dead live only in the memory of the living, and honor is the fuel that fosters remembrance. This warrior code is questioned at the beginning of the Iliad and becomes the reason for Achilles’ withdrawal from the fighting to await Zeus’ judgment. Once Patroklos, Achilles’ closest companion, dies in Il. 16, Achilles’ wrath is eclipsed by his need to revenge his friend. In the process of revenging his comrade, for whom he feels responsible, Achilles discovers that personal honor cannot take precedence over a friend’s life. He realizes the limitations of the warrior code he lives by as one fleeting and transient,
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whereas love and friendship are both internal and eternal. At the end of the epic, Achilles’ anger turns to pity (eleos) and respect (aidōs) for the human condition with which he now more easily identifies. Although half- divine, he discovers he has more in common with the mortal Priam than with his goddess-mother, Thetis. While Achilles waits for Zeus to set t hings right, the war continues, to the disadvantage of the Greeks, who cannot conquer Troy without their major warrior. The first eight books of the Iliad deal with the results of Achilles’ absence, but at the same time they allow the poet to digress in order to place his narrative in its broader context—the Trojan War legend. In t hese first eight books, Homer returns to the initial causes of the war, introduces the reader to the main figures of the Greek expedition, and provides a summary of the fleet and its leaders. In the latter books of the epic, as the war becomes more brutal between the two sides, Homer again digresses at intervals to remind the reader of the legend’s overall design. Hector will die at the hands of Achilles; Achilles, beyond the Iliad’s scope, w ill die at the hands of Apollo and Paris; and Troy and its populace w ill be destroyed. Thus, although the focus is on the fifty-t hree-day working out of Achilles’ wrath and revenge, the reader is constantly apprised of all that surrounds Achilles’ small patch of fabric in the ten-year-long tapestry that is the Trojan War myth. The epic setting is a warrior society that is basically patriarchal, polytheistic, slaveholding, and monarchical. All temporally immediate human action takes place on one of three stages: the Greek camp, the city of Troy, or the plain between the two warring sides. For ease and expediency in reading the Iliad, the epic’s twenty-four divisions (books) can be approached in various size segments. Both Homeric epics are most often read as six tetrads of four books each. However, since the Odyssey is often approached in tetrads, whose units of four are more integrated than t hose of the Iliad, routinely the Iliad is approached in the same way. The Iliad, however, more readily lends itself to a three-part structure in three movements. Il. 1–9 deal with the consequences of Achilles’ wrath
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until the embassy episode (Il. 9), in which the Greek warrior’s return is attle up to the death of requested. Il. 10–18 represent one full day of b Patroklos and the beginning of Achilles’ revenge theme. Il. 19–24 focus on Achilles’ aristeia and the end of the wrath and revenge themes. An alternative three-part structure divides the epic into a different set of three movements: Il. 1–8, Il. 9–15, and Il. 16–24. Each movement in this scheme ends with Zeus setting out his plan, with the book following beginning with Achilles’ own decision. A more suitable structure for the Iliad than the tetrads used in reading the Odyssey is a four-part frame of six books each. Il. 1–6 minister to introduce the epic’s themes and the Trojan War myth. Il. 7–12 cover the Greeks’ struggle against the Trojans without Achilles, their best warrior. In this scheme, the central Il. 12 is the climax of the epic, leading to the revenge theme. Il. 13–18 continue the battle of the two warring sides up to the turning point of the epic, Il. 18, in which Achilles ends his wrath and returns to the battlefield to avenge Patroklos. Il. 19–24 are on Achilles’ aristeia, which ends with his newfound humanity. The present reading of the epic divides the Iliad into its four main b attles, which encompass twenty-two of the epic’s twenty-four books and occupy a period of six days.
The Poet Who was Homer? Where was he born? Where did he compose and sing his poems? Was Homer an individual or a symbol? No reference to the author is made in the Iliad (or Odyssey), unless one considers the passages in both epics where the narrator directly addresses some gods (the Muses and Apollo) and a number of characters (Achilles, Patroklos, Menelaos, Melanippos, and Eumaeus) as representing “Homer’s” voice. Nevertheless, the narrator’s voice remains anonymous. Th ere have been a variety of answers to all the questions just posed throughout the centuries, and yet the name Homer still remains a mystery today. Some scholars consider “Homer” a poetic movement in which a large number of singers took part (see Graziosi,
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Inventing Homer). According to one Homerist, the name can refer to anyone who stitches songs together (Nagy, Best of the Achaeans). Yet others have thought of Homer as one or two exceptional bards who contributed to a final edition of the two epics. In classical times, legend considered him to be an Ionian bard, a divine singer (theios aoidos) who hailed from the coast of central Asia Minor (present-day western Turkey), one of a number of rhapsodists who traveled from city to city performing tales of the Trojan War privately and at public festivals. Some legends identify him as one Melesigenes, whose father was the river Meles and his mother a nymph, Kretheis. Although Melesigenes means “born of Meles,” the word also refers to honey (meli; honey-tongued perhaps?). The name Homer, by which he is best known, also means hostage (omēros), which might be a further clue to his identity. A saying attributed to a student claims, “Homer was not written by Homer but by another man of that name.” What one can say with some finality is that we simply do not know who Homer was, where he was from, w hether he composed the Iliad or the Odyssey, or exactly how these poems became fixed in the form we have them today. Homer’s birthplace was variously claimed by the cities of Smyrna (present-day Izmir), Colophon, and Cyme, all three in present-day western Turkey; the Greek Aegean islands of Chios, Rhodes, and Ios along the Ionian coast; Athens and Argos on the Greek mainland; and the island of Salamis, west of Athens. However, the leading contender for the bard’s birthplace is usually designated as the area around Izmir and the Greek island Chios. Tourists to this day can visit the hypothetical rock on which Homer sat and recited his epics on the island of Chios or visit his pseudo grave site on the island of Ios. Perhaps the reason for the Aegean coast being the main rival for Homer’s birthplace was a desire to associate the bard with the iterant singers who traveled throughout Ionia (western Turkey) to sing their tales. What, then, can we suggest about Homer? The Iliad and Odyssey stand at the end of an epic tradition that stretches back over many centuries across the ancient world. Homer is not the creator of the Trojan War saga
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(not a historical reality), the subject of the two epics, nor is the dactylic hexameter unique to his poems but rather common to a large number of oral poems using the same artificial language and deploying many of the same formulas (something suggested by the remnant of the lost Epic Cycle). For the present we can assume that the Homeric epics, the Iliad and Odyssey, came into being sometime during the eighth or, at the latest, early seventh century b.c.e., when they were memorialized by collectors and scribes. An absolute timeline for this process, however, must be avoided, since t here is much we do not know.
The Myth The Bronze Age, within which the Mycenean period falls and which includes the Trojan War (often cited as occurring around 1184 b.c.e.), extends from around 1600 to 1100 b.c.e. This epoch possessed a writing system known as Linear B. The Minoan civilization, which preceded the Bronze Age, reached its zenith between 2600 and 1450 b.c.e. and also possessed a writing system, Linear A. Linear A and B are both syllabaries but not alphabets.4 The Mycenean period was a prosperous, urbanized, and even literate period (although no epic written material from this period has been found). Around 1200 b.c.e. a catastrophe of unknown nature occurred that saw its weakening and eventual collapse along with the Hittite empire (on whose northwestern edge Troy existed), as well as the weakening of another major power of the time, Egypt, which suffered mass piratical raids. The sacking of Mycenae (Homer’s kingdom of Agamemnon) followed around 1100 b.c.e. Some scholars connect the catastrophe that brought an end to the Mycenaean power to marauding bands of seafarers, which put an end to literacy (Linear B) and gave rise to the Dark Age5 that followed (a mostly illiterate period for which little information exists). The end of the Dark Age, around 800 b.c.e., began a Greek renaissance, the Archaic period, that gave birth to renewed growth and prosperity. A new urban society and literacy
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returned with the invention of the Greek alphabet and the memorialization of the Homeric epics. The site of Troy, the setting of the Homeric epics, was abandoned by ntil 1871 c.e. when Heinrich Schliemann 1200 c.e. and remained a legend u excavated the mound of Hisarlik in western Turkey and followed the legend as though a reality. His successors included a number of other archeologists, among them Carl Blegen in the 1930s and Manfred Korfmann in the 1980s. Of the nine levels of Troy (along with their ancillary sublevels) eventually excavated by the archeologists who followed Schliemann, it is reasonable to conjecture that the likeliest stage for a possible Homeric Troy could be found in e ither Troy level six (1800–1275 b.c.e.) or Troy level seven (1275–1100 b.c.e.). Since then, the Trojan myth is assumed to be a legend, which is a myth with some sort of historical basis. If the Iliad was sung sometime during the eighth century b.c.e. and the Trojan War fought around 1184 b.c.e., almost five hundred years had elapsed. Legends concerning this war could have reached Homer through word of mouth and perhaps intermingled with other legends and myths, especially those of the Theban War and the expedition of the Argonauts in circulation at the time. The cycle of epics on the Theban War (Theban Cycle) has since been lost. What remains today is what one can garner from the writings of ancient authors who had access to those myths (including the summary of Proclus; poetic fragments; the prose story of Tydeus in the Iliad; the tales of the epigoni, the sons of the original heroes who conquered Thebes after their fathers’ unsuccessful attempt; and the extant fifth-century b.c.e. tragedies on Thebes). The tales of the Argonaut expedition led by Jason, which predate Homer, are extant in the third- century b.c.e. Hellenistic epic Argonautica by Apollonius Rhodius, which relates the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts to retrieve the Golden Fleece from distant Kolchis. From t hese legends circulating orally for hundreds of years, the Homeric epics and their heroes w ere probably fashioned and woven into the legends that w ere circulating concerning a distant Trojan War. A fter the creation
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of the Iliad and Odyssey, other poets tried to complete the narrative of the Trojan conflict that precedes and follows the episodes covered in the Homeric epics, although neoanalytical scholars suggest that some of t hese narratives were written forerunners to Homer’s compositions (Currie, Homer’s Allusive Art). Artificially arranged and known collectively as the Trojan cycle, t hese stories are no longer extant. However, summaries of the six epic poems of the Trojan cycle, along with the Iliad and Odyssey, constitute a complete sequence of the Trojan legend from the marriage of Peleus and Thetis to the death of Odysseus. Prose summaries of these epics are attributed to Proclus, a grammarian of unknown date and origin (perhaps in the second century c.e.). The Cypria (eleven books), the first of the eight works6 that form the Epic Cycle variously attributed to Stasinos of Cyprus or Hegesinos of Salamis (and even Homer), deals with the origins of the Trojan War. The Cypria is followed by Homer’s Iliad, which in turn is followed by the Aethiopis in five books and attributed to Arktinos of Miletus, although Homer is again sometimes mentioned as its author. The title refers to the hero Memnon’s Ethiopians (Aithiopians); an alternative title was Amazonia. Ilias Parva or Mikra (Little Iliad) in four books, by Lesches of Lesbos or Kinaethon of Sparta (Homer is also often mentioned as a possible author), is the fourth work in the Epic Cycle. Iliou Persis (Sack of Troy, two books), the fifth epic in the cycle, by Arktinos of Miletos, includes the Trojan debate over allowing the Wooden Horse into the city. The Nostoi (Returns) in five books, by Agias of Troizen or Eumelos of Corinth, follows and includes the division of spoils and Troy’s destruction. Homer’s Odyssey, on Odysseus’ return to Ithaca a fter ten years of wandering, is next, followed by the Telegony in two books, by Eugammon of Cyrene or Kinaethon of Sparta, which relates the death of Odysseus.
chapter 1
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ACHILLES’ WRATH EXPOSED: IL. 1 (DAYS ONE TO TWENTY-ONE) Book 1 For the purpose of this reading, Il. 1, known as both “The Plague” (Loimos) and “The Wrath” (Mēnis), can conveniently be divided into five parts: I. Proem (1% of book) II. Apollo’s anger (18% of book) III. The quarrel (12% of book) IV. Achilles’ anger (19% of book) V. The quarrel: consequences (50% of book) I. Proem, 1–7 “Mēnin aeide thea Pēlēïadeo Achilēos” (The wrath sing goddess of Peleus’ son Achilles [my translation]). The first word (mēnin) of the Iliad’s first line sets the main epic theme, just as andra (man) does for the Odyssey. In the first seven lines (1.1–7) of the proem (preamble), Homer sets forth the wrath of Achilles and man’s biggest limitation, his mortality. What follows, however, is a nonlinear approach to the entire story of the Trojan War encapsulated in a fifty-t hree-day narrative of a specific development— Achilles’ anger and revenge for Patroklos’ death, which plays itself out in six days of combat (see appendix A). Using a variety of techniques common to oral narrative, among them digressions, retardations, misdirection, 22
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similes, mythic paradigms, and extensive battle narratives, Homer is able to both retrace the past and look into the f uture to encompass the whole story of Ilion (Troy). The word mēnis, “the wrath of god” (see 5.178), is restricted in its noun form to Achilles and the gods. It is the cause of the havoc it provokes among the Achaians (one of three names used for the Greeks,1 the other two being Danaans and Argives), whose bodies lie unattended to be preyed on by dogs and vultures (1.2–5). The fact that the dead lie unburied is a negative comment concerning Achilles’ wrath, since g reat care is taken to retrieve the dead throughout the epic and to provide proper burial for them. One wonders w hether Achilles’ wrath is worth the devastation it occasions, although we are yet to be told what his anger is about. What the reader learns is that “the will of Zeus was accomplished” (1.5). The wrath was sanctioned by Zeus, the main god among the twelve Olympians, the third generation of gods who rule the universe after Ouranos and Gaia and the Titans. The original Olympians w ere thirteen: Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Hestia, Demeter, and Zeus’ children, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaistos, and Hermes. They are referred to as twelve since Hades resides in the underworld. The last two lines of the proem (1.6–7) explain the wrath’s origin—an unidentified quarrel between Agamemnon (Atreus’ son) and Achilles. Besides stating the consequences of Achilles’ anger, the proem provides the reader with clues to the nature of the epic, a song (in dactylic hexameter)2 narrated by the author, whose inspiration comes from the Muse, a goddess elevating the poet’s stature to someone divinely inspired to be the conduit of the goddess’ genius.3 Further, it signals a special relationship between fathers and sons (“Peleus’ son Achilles” at 1.1) in which e ither one’s actions reflect on the other and the entire biological family. While the souls of the deceased go to Hades (the underworld), the physical bodies remain on earth, where great efforts are made to retrieve them from the battlefield and protect them from mutilation and the ravages of nature (see Priam’s efforts to retrieve Hector’s body from Achilles at Il. 24),
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emphasizing the reverence due to the physical body in Homer’s warrior society. II. Apollo’s Anger, 8–117 Instead of identifying the reason for Achilles’ anger, Homer first asks for the identity of the god who set the wrath in motion—Apollo (“Zeus’ son and Leto’s” at 1.9). The god’s anger, which descends on the Greek camp in the form of a plague, is caused by the dishonor shown his priest Chryses when he comes to the Greek camp to ransom his captured d aughter, Chryseis, awarded by the army to their commander. Chryses appeals to Atreus’ two sons (Agamemnon and Menelaos) to pay a ransom (apoina) for her return. Agamemnon refuses his offer, although the army endorses it. He then rudely threatens and dismisses the priest (1.26–28) because of his desire for Chryseis, whom he claims he likes better than his wife Klytaimestra (1.113). The insulted priest then prays to Apollo (“Smintheus”)4 to intercede in payment for all the sacrifices he performed in his name (1.39–41); Apollo responds by raining destruction on both animals and humans for nine days (1.50–53). By opening with Apollo’s anger, Homer is not only justifying Achilles’ own wrath and emphasizing the importance of honor among warriors, but he is also commenting on the origins of the Trojan War. Just as the abduction of Menelaos’ ex-w ife Helen by the Trojan prince Paris (Alexander) caused the war, so now the abduction of Chryses’ daughter Chryseis causes a plague. Just as Menelaos appealed to his powerful older brother to help retrieve Helen, Chryses too seeks assistance from a higher authority (Apollo) to reclaim his d aughter. Agamemnon, with the Greek army u nder his command, seeks revenge (poine) for his brother by attacking Troy (a conflict now in its tenth year) to regain Helen. Chryses, in like manner, offers ransom (apoina; “gifts beyond count” at 1.13) to retrieve his daughter. Since the lucrative return of ransom is a major incentive for Homeric warriors to spare enemy lives, Agamemnon’s refusal displays not only his lack of hospitality but also his selfishness, as Achilles later
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accuses. Agamemnon’s action, then, is similar to Paris’ refusal to return Helen. Both break the laws of hospitality (xenia) by abducting (under different circumstances) a d aughter (in Agamemnon’s case) and a wife (in Paris’ case), which they refuse to return when confronted by the father and husband, respectively. It is out of a sense of outrage and pity that Achilles calls the troops to assemble on the tenth day of the plague (1.54). His concern is not only for the death of his companions to the plague but also for the fact that instead of engaging Troy and winning glory, fame, reputation (kleos), and honor (timē) by achieving deeds that the epic singer can transmit and commemorate through his poetry, the Achaians w ill see their ten-year siege rendered ignominious by the plague. Th ere w ill be a lack of achievements for the poet to record and disseminate (yet another meaning of kleos—“that which is heard”). Achilles, at 1.152–160, argues that his participation in Troy is not out of hatred for the Trojans but to assist in the retrieval of Helen and in the process to win kleos (fame), for both himself and Agamemnon, compensation for a hero’s deeds and ultimately for one’s life. This is a type of immortality available to a warrior, who, unlike the gods, must die. Honor comes through heroic actions performed in battle, which are remembered and sung by generations yet unborn and thus preserved in memory. The physical manifestations of the warrior’s heroic deeds are the gifts (gera) he amasses in war through raids, ransoms, and the spoils of war, all which add to his fame and honor. In Achilles’ case t here is also a sense of urgency in attaining such fame, since he is fated to a short life, as he reminds his mother at 1.352: “You bore me to be a man with a short life.” In contrast with Homer’s external audience, Achilles is yet unaware of the plague’s cause, and he urges the commander in chief to seek an answer for Apollo’s anger. Kalchas, “the best of the interpreters” (1.69), concedes that he has the answer but fears retribution if he reveals it. Anxious to appease Apollo by any means, Achilles guarantees Kalchas’ safety even if the cause should be Agamemnon (which the external audience knows it
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is). Content, Kalchas takes heart and identifies Agamemnon as the cause of the god’s anger. To right the wrong, Chryseis is to be returned to her father without a ransom, and Agamemnon must offer the god a sacrifice of one hundred animal victims (a hecatomb at 1.99). The commander complains that the seer has never told him a good t hing. Since it was Kalchas who guided the Greeks to Troy (1.71), Agamemnon’s annoyance could be a reference to the diviner’s demand that Agamemnon sacrifice his first-born d aughter, Iphigenia, to make the expedition possible (a story told in the Epic Cycle). Homer’s reluctance, however, to mention this event might be due to his assumption that his external audience is aware of this myth, since Agamemnon’s rage at Kalchas makes it likely that it was well known. Homer, throughout the epic, prefers to downplay the mythic (as w ill be shown later), and he might also be reluctant to mention a human sacrifice. Nevertheless, the commander consents to return Chryseis for the sake of his troops, but only if he is given a prize of equal value so that he alone among the Achaians is not left without one, a blow to his pride as commander in chief, “who claims to be far the greatest of all the Achaians” (1.91). His demand for a replacement is a motive for his quarrel with Achilles, for his request questions the idea of honor and what it means to be “the best.” III. The Quarrel, 118–187 Prizes distributed by the army to its major heroes after a raid verify their worth, which increases their fame. As commander, Agamemnon has first choice—Chryseis, whom he desired more than his lawful wife (see 1.113). The second pick, the girl Briseis, is awarded to Achilles, the Achaians’ premier warrior. Once distributed, the awards cannot be retrieved, for to do so would remove the honor bestowed. Honor so easily withdrawn once conferred calls into question its value and meaning. Is a warrior willing to forfeit his life for something so fleeting? What is fame if it can be removed so easily? Is such “immortality” worth dying for? Thus, when Agamemnon demands a replacement for Chryseis, Achilles calls him “greediest
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for gain of all men” (1.122), for t here is nothing left to apportion. He recommends that Agamemnon return Chryseis and states that the army w ill repay him “thrice and four times over” once Troy is defeated (1.128). But Agamemnon is insulted that, as commanding officer, he will be left without a prize and demands another even if it is one already held by Achilles, Ajax, or Odysseus. He intends to take up this matter further, but first he sees to Chryseis’ return to appease Apollo and end the plague (1.140). Agamemnon’s decision to demand someone e lse’s prize can be seen as provoking Achilles’ anger for a number of reasons. First of all, without a prize, Achilles lacks the material evidence for his feats of valor, which compromises his prospects for unfading fame (kleos aphthiton). Further, he objects to Agamemnon’s greed, for while Achilles does the fighting, having already carried out twenty-three raids so far in the ongoing war (see 9.328–329), the high king reaps the larger share of the booty. Thus, he challenges the commander’s willingness to withdraw someone e lse’s possession (geras, “prize, gift”) when the Greeks are in Troy fighting his b rother’s cause. Instead of facing dishonor, Achilles resolves to return home to Phthia, since the Trojans have done him no personal harm. The quarrel is now in full force. As commander in chief, Agamemnon considers himself superior ( ferteros) to the other warriors. As the premier fighter, Achilles is the stronger (karteros). What, then, constitutes “the best,” to be ferteros or karteros? Is it one’s title or one’s ability as a warrior that dictates “the best”? The designation “the best of the Achaians” becomes disputed, as well as the meaning and value of timē and kleos, since geras, which defines the former, can so easily be revoked. Achilles abandons the battlefield to give thought to that which defines his willingness to fight and die. Unlike his other companions, he cannot hope for longevity and fame, since his fate was sealed at birth. His choices are two: refrain from b attle and live to a ripe old age, or engage in battle and die an early death (see 9.411–416). Honor must be immutable to be worth one’s life. Agamemnon, however, does not entreat Achilles to stay, claiming he cares for neither his anger
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nor his worth. He demands that he be given Briseis in order to prove his superiority and his unwillingness to compromise. If not, he arrogantly insists, “I myself am g oing to your shelter” to retrieve her (1.185). Achilles’ honor at this point can only be salvaged by Zeus. IV. Achilles’ Anger, 188–303 The reader finally arrives at the cause of Achilles’ rage (mēnis), which the Muse is entreated to sing at 1.1. By introducing Apollo’s fury first, the poet provides reasons for both the unlawfulness of the Trojan War and the righ teousness of Achilles’ wrath. Seeking help from a higher authority to right a wrong is acceptable, as witnessed by Chryses’ appeal to Apollo and Menelaos’ appeal to his powerful brother to avenge his ex-wife’s abduction. Agamemnon’s refusal to accept the priest’s ransom is as unjust as the Trojans’ refusal to return Helen to her rightful husband. Both Chryses and Menelaos are trying to right a wrong using acceptable means: ransom (aponia) and revenge (poine) for the breach of an ethical code (xenia). Chryses’ impasse justifies Achilles’ own. The Greek warrior will appeal to his goddess-mother for assistance just as Chryses beseeches Apollo, and in like manner Thetis w ill secure from Zeus the honor her son seeks. Achilles’ anger becomes the catalyst for a reconsideration of the warrior code, which Achilles finds wanting. H ere he is presented as a thoughtful, rational warrior struggling to understand and accept the values u nder which he operates. Agamemnon, on the other hand, is portrayed as rash, selfish, ambitious, and reliant on his authority for his stature, with a narrow and personal view of honor based on externals, his position as commander in chief. Frustrated, Achilles draws his sword to strike the general but is checked by the goddess Athena, who is sent by the goddess Hera to dissuade him. Although the modern reader might interpret the presence of Athena (the goddess of wisdom) as Achilles’ intelligence preventing a crime, in Homer the gods are real and nothing happens without their willingness. Even though in most instances the gods appear to mortals in disguise, in this
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instance Athena appears in person to Achilles, whom she “caught . . . by the fair hair” (1.197). The only one aware of her presence is Achilles, who is promised three times as many gifts if he will stay his anger. At this early stage of the epic narrative, Achilles seems to equate honor with the quantity and quality of the gifts received. By Il. 9, when Agamemnon has had second thoughts and offers him gifts in abundance, Achilles is no longer interested, for his idea of honor has by then evolved. For the present, however, his anger has not abated, and he accuses Agamemnon of wrongdoing. Since, however, t hese accusations are presented in Achilles’ own words (61% of Il. 1 is in direct discourse), they often reveal Achilles’ state of mind rather than reality. That this is the case is clarified l ater in the epic b attle scenes in which Agamemnon’s per formance is in apposition to Achilles’ view. For the present, Achilles accuses Agamemnon of cowardice in not always arming for b attle along with his soldiers (1.226–227). L ater in the epic, the reader w ill learn that this is not always the case, since the king’s aristeia (excellence in battle) in Il. 11 presents him as a formidable warrior, although lacking the personality and grace of his peers. At this juncture, Achilles predicts that when the Greek forces are defeated at the hands of Hector and his own services are eventually required, he w ill not be available. Agamemnon, whom he accuses of stealing the gifts of those who oppose him and ruling nonentities (1.230–231), w ill later regret that he “did no honor to the best of the Achaians” (1.244). It seems that what constitutes “the best” is still foremost in Achilles’ mind, for “the best” for him is based on prowess in battle and feats of valor. Having poured out his vitriol at Agamemnon, who rages nearby (1.245), Achilles dashes the scepter (skēptron)—the staff held as a symbol of authority by kings, elders, heralds, and t hose who are permitted to speak before assemblies—to the ground. At this juncture the poet introduces Nestor, the oldest of the Achaian leaders, highly respected for his age. Age is honored in Homer’s oral society, since the aged have the greatest knowledge of the past, which is used as a yardstick for the present. Lacking
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written records, an oral culture must rely on memory to provide younger generations with tested solutions to solving contemporary problems. A respected counselor, Nestor, whose authority is derived from tradition, as opposed to the prophet Kalchas, whose authority comes from insight into the divine w ill, addresses the distinction between physical prowess (Achilles) and royal power (Agamemnon). It should be understood, however, that Achilles himself is a “king” (basileus) as is Agamemnon, meaning that both are men of authority and power. Before Nestor begins to ameliorate the quarrel between the two Achaian kings, he digresses, as is his nature, to recall the greatness of a past, unequaled by the present (1.260–268). Acknowledging himself an equal to an earlier generation of heroes he now praises, he presents himself as one taken seriously whose advice has been heeded. Thus, the two leaders standing before him should be persuaded by his counsel. He entreats Agamemnon not to take Achilles’ prize, since the warrior’s strength is needed to defeat Troy, and he warns Achilles not to match his authority with that of a commanding officer. Nestor’s speech, however, fails to persuade Achilles, who questions whether the honor accorded scepter-bearing kings is qualitatively equal to that of the warrior who fights and often dies for kleos. As the assembly disbands, both Agamemnon and Achilles go their separate ways, threatening each other with bodily harm. Agamemnon will not recognize Achilles as an equal, and Achilles will not obey the commander’s orders. He will relinquish Briseis to Agamemnon, although as Achilles noted earlier, it was the army who awarded him the girl (see 1.299). He will not allow, however, anything e lse of his to be taken without bloodshed! V. The Quarrel: Consequences, 304–611 Once Achilles’ anger interrupts the king, the reader follows the events described in section IV (1.149–171). But after Agamemnon and Achilles return to their shelters, the poet resumes the narrative thread at 1.308–317 begun earlier at 1.141. Immediately preceding 1.141, Agamemnon threatened to replace his prize with that of another (see 1.131–139), but he delayed acting on
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his warning to attend to Chryseis’ return: “Come now, we must haul a black ship down to the bright sea” (1.141). He then ponders who among the four men he is considering should be placed in charge of the girl’s return— Ajax, Idomeneus, Odysseus, or Achilles, in that order. Naming Achilles last could be seen as Agamemnon’s way of demoting him to a warrior status below t hose of the other three by questioning w hether he is “the best.” He gives the responsibility for Chryseis’ return to Odysseus, who begins the journey to Chryse (the town): “The son of Atreus drew a fast ship down to the water” (1.308–318). Chryseis’ return is, however, interrupted for a second time for 123 lines. During this lapse Agamemnon sends for Briseis (1.318–348), and Achilles, pondering his loss, seeks his m other’s assistance (1.349–429). When Homer finally returns to the Chryseis episode for the third time at 1.430, he devotes another fifty-eight lines to it (1.430–487) before abandoning it again to return to Achilles sulking in his tent. The first break after 1.141 allows for the main narrative of Achilles’ anger and his quarrel with Agamemnon to continue uninterrupted. The Chryseis episode running concurrently with the quarrel scene must await narration until later. The second break, after the two heroes part ways at the conclusion of the assembly, allows time for Achilles’ return to his camp before Agamemnon’s heralds arrive to remove Briseis. The third break leaves Achilles sorrowing for Briseis, “whom they were taking by force against his w ill” (1.430), a most crucial period in which he prays for his mother’s intervention. His request will determine the outcome of the epic, but before he receives an answer, twelve days elapse to allow for Zeus’ absence. The fifty- eight lines that complete the Chryseis episode (1.430–487) appear to account for this lapse, for at 1.494 (after briefly returning to Achilles festering in his tent, 1.488–493), Zeus returns to Olympos. The first Chryseis episode (1.308–318) describes the ritual sacrifices promised Apollo, as the ship carrying the girl and the hecatomb for the god sets sail. In the meantime, Agamemnon has his staff ritually purify themselves and sacrifice bulls and goats along the beach in honor of the god. The second interruption (1.318–348) returns to an angry Agamemnon
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ready to carry out his threat against Achilles, but instead of retrieving Briseis himself as he e arlier threatened (1.185), he assigns the task of collecting her to two heralds, whose ranks Achilles could construe as an insult, an ironic comment on the part of the self-serving character of Agamemnon. Before the two kings parted, Achilles threatened his commanding officer with insubordination: “I for my part have no intention to obey you” (1.296). Agamemnon reacted with a pro forma show of sanctity by offering sacrifices to Apollo before hurriedly returning to respond to Achilles’ comment by ordering two heralds to retrieve Briseis instead of doing so himself. Perhaps sending the heralds for Briseis instead of appearing to lay claim to her himself as he e arlier threatened brings out the cowardliness of which Achilles accused him. His comment to the heralds that, if Achilles refuses to deliver the girl, he w ill go for her “with many men behind” him seems to confirm his skittishness in facing Achilles alone (1.325). The two heralds arrive “against their will” (1.327), but Achilles, although saddened at their coming, nevertheless graciously welcomes them and puts them at ease. In this scene the reader encounters a sane Achilles before his divine wrath dehumanizes him. Homer portrays him in the way he conceives the ideal Iliadic warrior—gracious, sensitive, and understanding, a portrait he l ater develops in the person of Diomedes, a surrogate for the absent hero (see Il. 5). For now, Achilles implores Patroklos to hand over Briseis to the heralds, and she follows them “unwillingly” (1.348). Accusing Agamemnon of shortsightedness in not realizing what his absence w ill mean for the Greeks, Achilles goes off by himself to walk along the beach and pray to his mother: “Since . . . you bore me to be a man with a short life . . . Zeus should grant me honor at least” (1.352–354). Still maintaining that the only way of attaining honor is through heroic action, he seeks the god’s involvement to regain the honor u nder whose code he operates. Thetis, responding to her son’s entreaties, emerges from the sea to sit beside him and comfort him in his sorrow. In a lengthy speech at 1.365–412, Achilles pours out his angst, reprising material already narrated earlier
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(1.59–246), since, in an oral recitation, repetition can serve as a recapitulation and a reminder of significant material, in this case the reasons for the wrath. Second, it is likely that he finds it emotionally satisfying to pour out his grief to a good listener, especially to his mother, and third, his personal account of the quarrel, which is favorable to himself, might further justify his anger (he fails to mention all of his insults). Achilles repeats the lines at 1.12–16 and 1.22–25 verbatim at 1.371–379 to emphasize Agamemnon’s callousness and illustrate the depth of his own feelings. He then recalls the sacking of Thebe (see 6.414–446), at which Agamemnon was absent. Regardless, he tolerated the distribution of the spoils retrieved (Chryseis and Briseis), corroborating his remark to the king, “O wrapped in shamelessness, with your mind forever on profit” (1.149). Achilles makes it clear to his commander that it was he, Achilles, who urged the Achaians for the god’s appeasement. Agamemnon was wrong in seizing Briseis as a substitute for Chryseis, thus violating the honor due another and disrespecting “the sons of the Achaians” who distribute the awards (1.392). These are reasons that might justify Achilles’ appeal to his m other to ask for Zeus’ participation in pinning down and killing his own companions beside their ships u ntil Agamemnon and his troops beg for his return as “the best of the Achaians.” Achilles seems convinced that once Thetis reminds Zeus of the “Briareus incident” (see 1.397–406), the god w ill relent and grant her wish. Sympathetic to her son’s dilemma, Thetis focuses on the briefness of his life and her part in it, on which Homer does not elaborate (1.416). She promises to implore Zeus to grant her son’s wish when he returns to Olympos in twelve days from his visit to the Ethiopians. As Thetis takes leave of the sorrowing Achilles, Homer returns to complete his narration of Chryseis’ return, which he abandoned at 1.318 (see discussion earlier in this section). The passage of time elapsed until the gods return to Olympos affords Achilles space to contemplate what he seeks from Zeus, which will change his life and the meaning of honor forever.
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Meanwhile, the embassy conveying both Chryseis and the sacred hecatomb nears Chryse, Chryses’ town (see 1.431). Once Chryseis is reunited with her father and the sacrifice offered the god, “who listened in gladness” (1.474), is completed, Apollo cedes to his priest’s entreaties and ends the plague. At dawn Apollo’s favoring wind sends Odysseus and his crew back to their shelters. It is of note that almost the entire “return of Chryseis” episode is devoted to prayers and rituals. Mortals need the gods’ guidance in almost everyt hing they do. Apollo comes to Chryses’ aid, Athena prevents Achilles from killing Agamemnon, and Zeus w ill grant Thetis’ wish because of her past favors. At the same time, the gods demand obedience and respect in order to answer the prayers of t hose who honor them and give them their due. Rituals and sacrifices are part of the warrior’s world Homer creates. They provide the balance needed between earth and heaven if chaos is to be avoided. Thetis, keeping her promise to her son, visits Zeus on the twelfth dawn of the epic’s twenty-first day. Supplicating Zeus by placing her left hand under the god’s knees with her right hand u nder his chin (perhaps holding his beard in order to tug it for his consent; see 1.514–516), Thetis begs him to favor the Trojans until Achilles is summoned to save the Greeks and thus increase his honor. She does not, however, mention the incident with Briareus, whom Achilles referred to as “Aigaios’ son . . . far greater in strength than his f ather” (1.404; often in Homer a name used by the gods differs from that used by mortals).5 Zeus, visibly upset at Thetis’ request and anticipating the fury of Hera, who opposes the Trojans, nevertheless bends his head in consent (an irrevocable oath among the gods) before Thetis returns to her ocean home. Why does Zeus so easily grant Thetis’ wish even without being reminded of Briareus? And why does Achilles ask his mother to remind the Olympian of that particular myth, which gives an account of a son whose strength is greater than the f ather’s? One assumes that the singer and his audience are familiar with the myth referenced, which does not require further comment. In a well- known legend, Thetis is courted by Zeus, but he offers her in marriage to
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the mortal Peleus because he fears a son of a union with her would depose him as he deposed his own f ather, the Titan Kronos (according to Hesiodic epic). There are a number of instances in the Iliad that indicate Homer’s awareness of that tale. At 24.28–30 the narrator mentions “the delusion of Paris” (a.k.a. “The Judgment of Paris”), which begins with the marriage of Thetis to Peleus, to avoid Zeus’ own union with her and the birth of a son, and ends years l ater with Paris awarding a golden apple to Aphrodite, who occasions the Trojan War. At 18.85 Achilles, complaining to his mother about Zeus and the other gods’ role in Patroklos’ death, mentions the day “they [the gods] drove you to the marriage bed of a mortal.” Hera’s spying on her husband during Thetis’ visit to Olympos in the pre sent book is indicative of the intimacy between the nereid and Zeus, and Hera confronts her husband, hoping to discover his intentions. The Briareus myth (1.396–406) is that of the one-hundred-a rmed, fifty- headed Titan Briareus, the son of Ouranos, Zeus’ grandfather, who, in the account narrated by Achilles, saved Zeus when the other Olympians sought to bind him, a clue that, like Briareus, Achilles saved Zeus by not being born his son. The myth also raises questions about Thetis’ identity— was she a Titan when she helped f ree Zeus from his shackles? Her marriage to Peleus, it seems, occurred long a fter the Briareus incident, but Homer is not concerned with such details. Often there exist multiple versions of the myths used by Homer. He selects the version and the parts of a myth that best suit his narrative. The Iliad’s first book ends with two scenes on Olympos of almost equal length. In the first, Zeus and Hera brawl (1.533–569), ending the book with a quarrel as it began, and in the second, Hephaistos reestablishes harmony on Olympos (1.570–611). Although Zeus expressed concern at Hera’s reaction to Thetis’ presence, once confronted, he makes it clear that Hera w ill know only what he wants to reveal to her (1.550). Frightened, his wife relents, although still curious w hether Zeus bowed his head to honor Achilles. The Olympian demands silence and divulges his power: not all the gods combined can stop him from laying “unconquerable hands upon
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you” (1.567). The frightened Hera joins the rest of the distressed gods in silence as Hephaistos, the smith god and son of Zeus and Hera, rises to intervene. He warns his m other of the inherent danger in irritating his father (see also 15.18–22), which can cause pain and disturb the feasting and serenity on Olympos. Serving wine to all, he reminds the gods of Zeus’ power and how Zeus once caught him by the foot and threw him off Olympos, which left him lame when he landed a full day later on Lemnos (see also 18.394–405 for another version of Hephaistos’ lameness; Homer uses both variants of this myth). Hephaistos’ misfortune c auses “uncontrollable laughter” among the gods (1.599). The day ends in feasting and singing before each of the gods goes off to bed, including Hera, who sleeps beside Zeus (1.611). The ironic ending, seemingly intentional on Homer’s part, contrasts the divine world with the mortal one. In the physical world, Achilles’ quarrel with Agamemnon brings innumerable woes to the Greeks. Patroklos’ death w ill alter Achilles’ view of honor, and he w ill regret the help he e arlier solicited from the god. For the Olympians, on the other hand, Zeus and Hera’s quarrel amounts to a momentary amusement. No sooner do they clash than they return to their serene and stagnant immortality. Selected Bibliography: Il. 1 Anhalt, Enraged, 13–21. Bassett, “Proems.” Benardete, Achilles and Hector. Bernheim and Zener, “Sminthian Apollo.” Bespaloff, On the “Iliad,” 53–58. Blickman, “Role of the Plague.” Clark, Matthew, “Chryses’ Supplication.” de Jong, “Iliad.” Dickson, “Kalkhas and Nestor.” Draper, Iliad. Dué, Homeric Variations.
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Dué, “Learning.” Edwards, Mark W., “Convention and Individuality.” Edwards, Mark W., Homer. Griffin and Hammond, “Critical Appreciation.” Groningen, Proems. Hamilton, “Story of the Iliad.” Harrison, Homer, Iliad I. Heiden, Homer’s Cosmic Fabrication, 123–160. Hogan, Guide to the “Iliad.” Jenkyns, Classical Epic, 19–28. Jones, Homer’s “Iliad.” Kirk, Iliad, vol. 1. Larsen, Homer Whole. Latacz, Homer. Lattimore, “Iliad” of Homer. MacKenzie, “Tears of Chryses.” Mason, To Homer through Pope, 19–40. McAuslan and Walcot, Homer. Mueller, Iliad, 35–36. Muellner, Anger of Achilles, 94–132. Murnaghan, “Equal Honor.” Nagy, Ancient Greek Hero. Nortwick, Somewhere. Owen, Story of the “Iliad.” Postlethwaite, “Akhilleus and Agamemnon.” Postlethwaite, Homer’s “Iliad.” Powell, Homer. Powell, Iliad. Pulleyn, Homer. Rabel, “Agamemnon’s Iliad.” Rabel, “Apollo as a Model.” Rabel, “Chryses.”
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Rabel, Plot, 33–58. Redfield, “Proem of the Iliad.” Robbins, “Achilles to Thetis.” Satterfield, “Beginning.” Schein, Mortal Hero. Scodel, “Gods’ Visit.” Segal, “Nestor.” Slatkin, “Wrath of Thetis.” Stanley, Shield of Homer, 39–102. Tsagalis, “Detextualizing Homer.” Tsagalis, “Style and Construction.” Turkeltaub, “Syntax.” van der Mije, “Achilles’ God-Given Strength.” van der Valk, Researches. West, M. L., “Date of the Iliad.” Willcock, Companion to the “Iliad.” Willcock, Iliad 1–12. Willcock, “Some Aspects.” Wilson, Donna, Ransom, 40–70. Wilson, Joe, “Homer.” Wyatt, “Homer in Performance.
chapter 2
•
THE FIRST BATTLE: IL. 2–7 (DAYS TWENTY-T WO TO TWENTY-FOUR)
Book 2 Il. 2, commonly referred to as “Dream” (Oneiros), “Trial” (Diapeira), or “Boeotia”1 (Boiōtia), can be read in three parts: I. Testing of the army (32% of book) II. Combat preparations (23% of book) III. Catalogs of Greeks and Trojans (45% of book) I. Testing of the Army, 1–277 In his troubled sleep, Zeus ponders how to carry out his promise to Thetis. Just before dawn of the twenty-second day, he decides to send a dream in the guise of Nestor advising Agamemnon to attack Troy on the pretense that Hera successfully convinced the Olympians that Troy must finally fall. Zeus intends to force the leader to make war so he can keep his pledge. ill run contrary to the expected reversal However, the action up to Il. 7 w of events. Zeus w ill not begin to fulfill Thetis’ request u ntil the end of that book, at which point the Trojans refuse to return and pay reparations for Helen’s abduction. Agamemnon calls his troops to assembly, but first holds a council with the Greek leaders beside Nestor’s ship. The greater part of Il. 2 before the catalog episodes at 2.484–877 is devoted to a series of councils and 39
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assemblies, demonstrating the disarray of the Greek army. Agamemnon reveals his dream to the Greek leaders and informs them of his intention to test the army “since it is the right way” (2.73). He “urges” (keleuō, “to exhort, command, order”) flight, hoping to shame his troops to remain in Troy. This reverse psychology serves several purposes. First, Agamemnon’s test exploits his men’s “grief ” (akhos, “pain, sorrow”), knowing they are demoralized a fter nine years of fighting. Second, it suggests flight as a test of morale. Agamemnon attempts to humiliate the troops to remain in Troy, since he calculates that their sense of honor w ill keep them in Troy rather than allow them to flee defeated and disgraced. Lastly, Agamemnon secretly hopes for a public display of loyalty a fter Achilles’ open display of disloyalty. At the same time, Agamemnon warns the other Greek leaders to position themselves throughout the army and “check them [the troops] with orders” lest his ploy backfire (2.75). However, in overestimating the loyalty of his troops and underestimating their homesickness, he exposes his own limits as a leader and his need for reassurance. His own fears and doubts concerning the outcome of the war surface again in Il. 9, where he uses the same language to blame Zeus for not honoring his promise to him (compare 2.111–118 with 9.18–25). Nestor, a defender of the status quo, suggests the leaders act on Agamemnon’s orders, for the dream, an improbable one from anyone else, must be true, since it comes from the commander in chief. The irony is that Agamemnon’s dream is a lie from Zeus that Agamemnon takes as truth, which he then turns into a deception. A long simile at 2.87–93 describes the troops thronging to the assembly like swarms of bees fluttering in bursts from various directions drawn by springtime flowers. Once assembled, nine heralds call the troops to order before Agamemnon rises, scepter in hand, to address them. Homer, as is his method, here interrupts the flow of his narrative to introduce the skēptron (scepter), which plays a role throughout the Iliad. A symbol of power descended from Zeus,2 it permits whoever wields it to speak authoritatively. Agamemnon, leaning on this scepter, addresses the Greek
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army with the reverse psychology he earlier used to address the Greek leaders: Zeus deceived him and bids him return to Argos; it is a t hing of shame for all Greeks, since a strong force fights in vain against a smaller one. He magnifies their shame by pointing out that even if the army is divided into groups of ten and a single Trojan is chosen to serve each group, t here would not be enough Trojans to serv ice all of them. Comparing his troops only to Troy’s population, he is unmindful of the Trojans’ many allies who prevent Troy’s defeat (2.130–131). Nevertheless, he lays stress on the few who put the many to shame. His appeals, described in two successive similes, cause “grief” (akhos) and pandemonium among his troops by further reminding them of their families and their rotting ships. In the first simile, at 2.144–146, the assembly is compared to rough seas around the Aegean island of Ikaria that never seem to abate, and in the second, at 2.147–149, to wind moving across a field of grain, shaking and sweeping it uncontrollably. In both cases, images of uncontrollable noise and disorder are created as the men rush toward their ships. It takes the intervention of Hera, who dispatches Athena to stem the stampede and draw each man back before reaching the ships. Athena, in turn, finds Odysseus and delivers Hera’s message to him (see 2.158–165 and 2.175–181). Recognizing the goddess’ voice (she does not reveal herself), Odysseus goes directly to Agamemnon, from whom he takes or receives the scepter and stands beside the ships to do Athena’s bidding. W hether Odysseus receives or takes the scepter away from Agamemnon, he nevertheless robs him of his authority, an act that can be taken as indicating the commander’s weakness as a leader. The narrator calls Odysseus “the equal of Zeus in counsel” (2.169) and describes him standing immobilized at Athena’s approach, making his disappointment at his leader’s orders obvious. Scepter in hand, he brings around those he encounters from the aristocracy using “soft words” to solicit their help in herding o thers (2.189), but anyone he encounters from the masses he strikes with the staff, scolding them for their cowardice and calling them t hings of “no account” (2.202). In his effort to halt the pending mutiny, Odysseus also makes
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clear his own political views. He clearly discerns two classes of soldiers— those from the aristocracy and those from the masses—and makes his preference obvious by ordering the common soldiers to “listen . . . to t hose who are better men than you” (2.200–201). He prefers authoritarian rule rather than the rule of many: “Lordship for many is no good t hing. Let t here be one ruler” (2.204). Stupefied by Agamemnon’s speech, he, like Nestor, prefers the status quo (2.170–171). Persuading his fellow leaders to stand their ground, he endorses the commander’s actions by arguing that they did not “clearly understand the purpose of Atreides” (the son of Atreus, 2.192). It is best to defend the one who wields power even though he might be incompetent. With such tactics, Odysseus sweeps the troops back into the assembly place. A simile at 2.209–210 compares the men and the clamor of their return to an agitated sea crashing on a beach. Once order is restored, Homer digresses to narrate one of the most remarkable characterizations in the entire epic—that of “Thersites of the endless speech” (2.212). This character appears only at 2.212–277 and is never heard of again in the epic. The poet describes him as the antithesis of the heroic ideal. He is disorderly, vain, and without decency. His physical appearance, portrayed in detail (a rarity in the Iliad), reveals the inner man, “the ugliest man who came beneath Ilion” (2.216). Thersites is “bandy- legged” (2.217) and lame in one foot, his shoulders are hunched together and drawn in over his chest, his head comes to a peak and is almost bald, and his voice is shrill. He is hated by everyone, especially by Achilles and Odysseus, both of whom he often abuses. Even his fellow soldiers resent him. Like Antenor’s first impression of Odysseus (see 3.216–224), Thersites’ words initially belie his appearance. He begins by objecting to Agamemnon’s complaints, since the king lacks for nothing, pointing out that his huts are filled with bronze and slave women offered to him before anyone e lse can share in the spoils seized by soldiers like himself. He questions whether Agamemnon’s greed stems from his desire to c ouple with more young women, and deems it improper for a leader to cause
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trouble for his own army. He suggests his companions abandon Troy and leave Agamemnon to brood over his profits. Thersites calls them fools and claims they are weak like women for obeying his orders. It is the patience of a better man than Agamemnon, Thersites asserts, that is keeping Achilles from causing Agamemnon’s death. Scowling Odysseus reproaches Thersites and silences him, beating him with the scepter for arguing with kings. Thersites, a commoner, does not have the right to question his superiors, and he alone of the Iliad’s speaking characters is denied a patronymic or a homeland (in the Aethiopis, a lost epic in the Trojan cycle, however, he is a descendant from royalty). In Homer, he is a nonentity, presented from the perspective of the Iliad’s heroic standards. Thersites is a voice whose message is yet to be heard. His protests are similar to Achilles’. Both object to the uneven distribution of war profits, none of which seem to trickle down to the masses (plēthos). Both object to Agamemnon’s voracious greed illustrated in his removal of Briseis, and both question the meaning of honor. Nevertheless, Thersites’ voice is prophetic for what is yet to come. In the Iliad, he remains the ugliest man in Troy, who must be silenced. For a brief moment, however, Homer gives voice to a rebel and allows him to speak in the guise of a clown to amuse his fellow soldiers, who resent him for their own inability to voice the complaints they themselves harbor. Order is once again restored, for at the present Thersites does not have the social status to “wrangle with the princes in words of revilement” (2.277). II. Battle Preparations, 278–483 Once Thersites is silenced, Odysseus, Nestor, and Agamemnon each attempt to remind and persuade the assembled troops of their duty to remain in Troy u ntil it is conquered. Odysseus, the first to speak (with Athena by his side in the guise of a herald), addresses Agamemnon first, reminding him that t here is a basis for his men’s criticism, since even a month’s absence, let alone ten years away from home and family, is a hard t hing for young men to endure (2.284–298). Turning next to the army, he
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blames them for having disgraced their commander by refusing to fulfill their promise not to return home until Troy is sacked (2.299–332). Insulting them by comparing them to w idows and young c hildren crying for home, he at the same time addresses them sympathetically, unable to fault them for their frustration and impatience, but reminding them that to leave empty-handed would be a disgrace. Evoking Kalchas’ prophecy, Odysseus solicits the troops’ patience to wait for the result of the prophet’s predictions, appealing that they stand firm u ntil Priam is defeated (2.301–330). Odysseus, throughout Il. 2, is portrayed as a sly, manipulative, and affective politician who, unlike Achilles, does not question Agamemnon’s right to command but rather endorses it, for like Nestor before him, he believes that a ruler, by nature of his position, holds greater authority and thus deserves a larger share of the war profits. He not only endorses the concept that a commander’s o rders should not be questioned by t hose of lower rank, but he goes further to define the true warrior as a man of strength from the aristocracy who fights and dies for honor. Odysseus’ speech ends with a roar of approval and applause as Nestor, opening with, “Oh, for shame!” (2.337), begins his address at 2.336–368. Nestor holds forth a tougher position than Odysseus’ by accusing the army of behaving like infants, paying little heed to oaths taken and agreements made. He advises Agamemnon to be steadfast and indifferent to those few who would sneak home before the outcome of Zeus’ promise. He reminds the troops of Zeus’ nodded assent before the Greeks sailed to Troy, and advises that no one leave until “he has lain in bed with the wife of a Trojan” (2.355) in order to exact vengeance for Helen’s abduction, implying that Helen is unhappy in Troy, a view she herself expresses at 3.173–175. He threatens that those anxious to return home will only meet with death and destruction before reaching their ships, and counsels Agamemnon to separate the troops by tribe and clan, in order to more easily identify the cowards from the brave. Agamemnon, overjoyed at Nestor’s suggestions, wishes he had ten counselors like him, for then Troy’s demise would not be in question.
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Regretting his quarrel with Achilles, he admits he was the first to be angered, and yearns for the day when they can make peace with each other, for that would spell the Trojans’ doom, thus acknowledging the need for Achilles’ involvement. Emboldened by Odysseus’ and Nestor’s speeches, the commander o rders the men to eat and prepare their war gear for combat without respite. He promises death as the fate of anyone hanging back from the fighting—to be devoured by dogs and vultures, a threat that is never carried out. The roar of men scattering to their ships is compared, like most similes used thus far in the present book, to driving winds (2.145, 2.147, 2.395) and massive waves (2.144, 2.396) crashing uncontrollably against steep rocks. These similes paint a picture of unharnessed power, which has yet to cause any destruction. In the meantime, Agamemnon summons “the nobles and the great men of all Achaians” (2.404) to attend his sacrifice of a five-year-old ox to Zeus, which the god accepts but does not acknowledge. The gods do not always answer mortal prayers even though they accept their offerings. Agamemnon’s selection of the six invited nobles, Nestor, Idomeneus, Telamonian Ajax, Oïlian Ajax, Diomedes, and Odysseus, could be interpreted as reflecting the commander’s reverence for age (Nestor and Idomeneus) and military might (the Aiantes, the two Ajax when spoken of together; Diomedes and Odysseus, premier warriors after Achilles). One might also question Odysseus being mentioned last, which might surprise the reader familiar with the Odyssey, but in the Iliad Odysseus is valued mostly as a wise counselor first and as a warrior second. He is not of Nestor’s or Idomeneus’ generation, to be placed among the elder statesmen, nor does he have the stature as a warrior of t hose whose names precede his. Menelaos, Agamemnon’s brother, though not listed, comes “of his own accord” to support his brother (2.408). The sacrifice, which Zeus ignores, ends with a number of boasts from Agamemnon, most of which w ill not be realized (2.414–418). Having dined on the sacrificial animal, Nestor takes the floor, calling again for action. Agamemnon, accepting the bait, commands the heralds
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to assemble the men quickly while Athena, holding her aegis (2.447–449), the goatskin shield (aigis) that bore the head of a Gorgon and was worn over the god’s garment for physical protection with powers to terrify anyone facing it, urges them forward (2.447–451). A sequence of seven similes, the largest grouping in the Iliad, now intervenes to let the external audience know something important is forthcoming—in this case the Greek army’s preparations for battle. In the first simile, at 2.455–458, the glitter of the soldiers’ bronze is likened to a fire illuminating a distant forest. Fire, although usually destructive, is h ere still distant and used only to highlight the blinding glare of the shields and armor. In the second simile, at 2.459–466, multitudes of geese, cranes, and swans flying randomly are equated to a large number of men haphazardly moving on the plain. Since the birds are not predatory, they pose little danger and emphasis is again placed on the vast number of men involved and the noise generated by their movement. The third simile, at 2.467–468, compares masses of men to leaves and flowers that appear in spring, again emphasizing numbers but nothing apprehensive. In the fourth, at 2.469–473, the Greek masses are compared to swarms of flies found around milk pails in herdsmen’s sheepfolds, continuing with images of multitudes on the march, which do not yet pose a threat, while at the same time relocating the reader from a wartime landscape into an idyllic springtime world of daily life and peace. In the same vein, the fifth simile, at 2.474–477, features troops arranged in groups like goats separated in a pasture, focusing on the control the commanders hold over the army, which is paralleled to shepherds leading their herds. The final two similes express Agamemnon’s excitement and confidence in finally leading his army against the Trojans in the b attle he believes w ill bring to fruition his ten years of struggle. The sixth simile, at 2.477–479, equates Agamemnon in hyperbole to Zeus, Ares, and Poseidon, and the seventh, at 2.480–483, compares him to a bull, a symbol of power, among a herd of oxen, often castrated male c attle, which makes them easier to control. A buildup such as this alerts the reader that something of importance is nigh. It is also a way of visualizing (an oral
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cinematic montage) great masses of men moving in all directions, with a soundtrack of the deafening noise of the various fowl coming and going in the second simile. It is Agamemnon’s moment of exultation after the accolades heaped on him by Nestor and Odysseus, and a fter having survived an almost catastrophic mutiny. But it is also an introduction and an entry to Homer’s tour de force that immediately follows—the catalogs of Greeks and Trojans. III. Catalogs of Greeks and Trojans, 484–877 This digression, a great feat for an oral poet, is reason enough to once again solicit the Muses’ assistance as was done at the beginning of the epic: “Tell me now, Muses” (2.484). The poet requires their cooperation to name the Greek leaders who came to Troy, along with the number of ships under their command and all the cities u nder their protection. The Catalog of Ships, as the first listing is known, occupies the next 302 lines. To interrupt the flow of the narrative in order to appeal to the Muses for assistance means that the poet requires divine intervention for such a remarkable recomposition in performance. This invocation not only emphasizes the significance of the episode but also lends it an air of authority. The audience experiences something that only Homer’s work with traditional material can achieve—to name a total of forty-four leaders commanding twenty-nine squads of about one hundred thousand men (a plausible estimate)3 in 1,186 ships from around 175 localities. In addition, he provides details on many of t hese troops—t he p eople who dwell in the lands named, the number of ships in each contingent, and the myths associated with some of the names listed, furnishing at times short biographical sketches (two to eighteen lines in length) on many of the warriors mentioned. But why supply such a listing at this juncture that belongs to the beginning of the Trojan War ten years e arlier? It is Homer’s way of expanding his themes in order to give a sense of the entire Trojan conflict—t he Achilliad (the story of Achilles) becomes the Iliad (the story of Troy). Nor is it a leap of faith for Homer to introduce the Catalog
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of Ships at this point, since a short while ago he was dealing with the attempted mutiny of the entire Greek army, which is now marching into battle. Besides introducing the scope of Agamemnon’s expedition and the tragedy that Achilles’ absence w ill provoke, it gives the poet the opportunity to display his tradition-based oral art. The Catalog of Ships, in earlier Homeric scholarship, was considered a stand-a lone traditional song, which Homer incorporated into his epic not only for the reasons just stated but also to comment on the theme of Achilles’ wrath and the meaning of “the best of the Achaians.” That the catalog was an episode inherited from the oral tradition seemed evident from the contingents listed, which play little to no role in Homer’s tale. The prime example for this assumption was the first-mentioned squad, Boiotia, with more entries than any of the other twenty-eight contingents. Although it contains the highest number of leaders and troops, it plays a minor role in the epic, as G. S. Kirk notes in his commentary: the “Phocians, Locrians and Abantes [Boiotians] all are assigned numbers of ships and places that greatly exceed their minor importance in the Iliad” (Kirk, Iliad, 1:178). The same is true of the twelfth squadron, the men of Arkadia and their leader Agapenor, who plays no role in the epic. However, more recent neoanalytic scholarship (Tsagalis, From Listeners to Viewers) sees the Greek catalogs and the smaller Trojan catalog that follows as Homer’s attempt to provide an overview of his Mycenean world and the space occupied both by the various Greek contingents that gathered at Aulis to seek redress for the abduction of Helen and by the Trojans and their allies who fight to defend Troy. Based on similar organizing princi ples like a core region (Aulis for the Greeks, and Troy for the Trojans and their allies), geographical contiguity, and low cognitive cost, both factions are enclosed in a spatial diptych, which contains the two catalogs of Il. 2. The question of power versus strength, about which Achilles complains in the first book, is clarified in the Greek catalog. Power rests with t hose with the most ships and men. Agamemnon leads with one hundred ships, his b rother Menelaos commands sixty, and Agapenor, who does not have
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a role in the rest of the epic, is in charge of sixty ships on loan to him by Agamemnon. Thus, the Atreidae (sons of Atreus) lead the twenty-nine contingents with 220 ships, “since he [Agamemnon] was greatest among them all and led the most p eople” (2.580). This might explain why the king is furious at Achilles in Il. 1 for trying to wrest from him the title of “the best of the Achaians.” Nestor (ninety ships), Idomeneus (eighty), and Diomedes (eighty) follow Agamemnon in manpower, which might explain why Agamemnon places Nestor, Idomeneus, and Diomedes among “the g reat men of all the Achaians” at 2.402–404; they provide the largest number of troops. The absent Achilles commands fifty ships, placing him behind Menelaos (sixty) and Agapenor (sixty) in manpower. Could t hese numbers have a bearing on his wrath? The foremost warrior in Troy must recognize Agamemnon’s superiority b ecause he “led the most p eople.” However, Menelaos, who commands sixty ships, ten more than Achilles, and who has only a few memorable moments on the battlefield, is not presented as a foremost warrior. E ager to retrieve his former wife, who now claims a longing for her prior home (2.590), he relies on his older brother to implement his cause. On the other hand, Telamonian Ajax, considered the bravest warrior a fter Achilles, and Odysseus, a counselor second only to Nestor, each with twelve ships under their command, are ranked among the lowest in manpower, but their special talents place them high in the Greek hierarchy. Only four other leaders have fewer ships: Eumelos (eleven), Tlepolemos (nine), Philoctetes (seven), and Nireus (three). Nireus, with the smallest contingent, described at 2.673 as “the most beautiful man who came beneath Ilion” (after Achilles), has little else to recommend him and a fter five lines disappears from the epic, never to be heard of again (2.671–675). Homer ends this episode with a cautionary tale, the myth of Thamyris, at 2.594–600, warning those in his profession lest their feats of memory (like the catalog he is re-creating from traditional ele ments) lead to hubris and result in the goddesses’ anger. Thamyris boasted he would triumph even if the Muses challenged him in singing, and the goddesses, in anger, made him a singer without a memory.
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Before concluding his catalog, Homer appeals to the Muse for two further requests: Who among the leaders was the bravest, and who among the leaders led the best horses? An obvious purpose for posing these two questions is to keep the absent Achilles present in the reader’s mind lest he be forgotten until his return in Il. 9. U ntil he reenters the fray, Homer keeps the hero before the reader throughout the books preceding Il. 9—at 2.239–240, 2.768–779, 4.512–513, 5.788–791, and 7.226–228. In the present instance, just as Telamonian Ajax is the greatest warrior a fter Achilles, Eumelos’ h orses bred by Apollo (which play a role at Patroklos’ funeral games in Il. 23) are the best by reason of Achilles’ absence. W ere he pre sent, he would be not only the greatest warrior but the one possessing the swiftest chargers. The catalog of Greek ships concludes with two back-to- back similes: a massive fire that scorches the earth at 2.780–781 and a thunderbolt at 2.781–783 that casts Typhoeus4 beneath it, causing tremors (earthquakes) that approximate the groaning of the earth as the Greek troops march over it in haste. The book’s final lines, at 2.786–877, turn to the Trojan forces, as Zeus sends his messenger Iris in the guise of Priam’s son Polites to warn them of the advancing Greeks, who “look terribly like leaves or the sands of the seashore” (2.800). Iris entreats Hector to order his ally leaders to marshal their men and prepare for war. Sixteen Trojan and ally commanders are listed along with the names of each group’s leaders, their place of origin, and a few phrases to personalize some of the men named. Among Homer’s personal touches is Nastes, who, along with his brother Amphimachos, led the Karians (Trojan allies from south of the Troad). The poet focuses briefly on Nastes, who came to Troy dressed in “golden raiment” (2.872) like a girl, perhaps hoping the gold would fend off destruction, but fate, which treats both rich and poor alike, strips him of his gold through his avenger, Achilles. Nastes, like the e arlier Nireus, disappears forever from extant Homeric epic the instant he is mentioned. The book closes with mention of the Lykians and their leader Sarpedon—the son of Zeus and Laodameia, the daughter of Bellerophon—who later in the epic is killed by Patroklos.
Book 2
Selected Bibliography: Il. 2 Alexander, Iliad. Bassett, Poetry of Homer. Beye, “Homeric B attle Narratives.” Beye, “New Meaning.” Christensen, “Reconsidering ‘Good’ Speakers.” Cook, Erwin F., “Agamemnon’s Test.” Crossett, “Art.” Easterling, “Agamemnon’s Skēptron.” Edwards, Mark W., Homer. Edwards, Mark W., “Structure of Homeric Catalogues.” Feldman, “Apotheosis of Thersites.” Gaertner, “Homeric Catalogues.” Haft, “ ‘City-Sacker Odysseus.’ ” Haft, “Odysseus’ Wrath.” Haft, “τά (δε) νυν πάντα.” Heiden, “Common People.” Heiden, “Two Notes.” Hogan, Guide to the “Iliad.” Hope Simpson and Lazenby, Catalogue. Jones, Homer’s “Iliad.” Kirk, Iliad, vol. 1. Knox and Russo, “Agamemnon’s Test.” Kouklanakis, “Thersites.” Larsen, Homer Whole. Latacz, Homer. Lattimore, “Iliad” of Homer. Leinieks, “Similes of Iliad Two.” Marks, “Ongoing Neikos.” McAuslan and Walcot, Homer. McLeod, “Bow at Night.” Nagy, Ancient Greek Hero.
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Nortwick, Somewhere. Owen, Story of the “Iliad.” Pedrick, “Paradigmatic Nature.” Postlethwaite, Homer’s “Iliad.” Postlethwaite, “Thersites in the Iliad.” Powell, Homer. Powell, Iliad. Powell, “Word Patterns.” Rabel, Plot, 59–114. Rose, “Thersites.” Russo and Knox, “Agamemnon’s Test.” Scott, William C., Artistry, 42–93. Scott, William C., “Patterning of the Similes.” Stamoulakis, “Interpretative and Critical Notes.” Stuurman, “Voice of Thersites.” Thalmann, “Thersites.” Verity, Homer. Vinci, Baltic Origins. West, M. L., “Date of the Iliad.” Willcock, Companion to the “Iliad.” Book 3 It is still the twenty-second day of the Iliad narrative, a day that began at 2.48 and marks the advent of the first of the Iliad’s four battles, which are to occupy the epic through 23.110.5 The present book, “Alexander and Menelaos’ Duel” (Alexandrou kai Menelaou monomachia), like the previous two, continues to explore the circumstances of the ten-year-long strife. This reversion that delves into the causes of the war is articulated first by Agamemnon at 2.134–138. It commenced with Kalchas’ prophecy (2.304–329), followed by the gathering of the Greek fleet at Aulis (Catalog of Ships at 2.484–785) and, in the present book, the Menelaos-Paris duel
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and the Helen episodes. Not u ntil Il. 8, when Zeus convenes an assembly of the gods, w ill he fulfill the promise he made to Thetis at 1.522–527. Il. 3 alternates between the book’s two major concerns: the Menelaos- Paris duel and the appearance of Helen. It can be read in four episodes. I. Menelaos-Paris duel (26% of book) II. Helen’s teichoskopia (view from the wall, 27% of book) III. Menelaos-Paris duel resumed (30% of book) IV. Helen resumed (17% of book) I. Menelaos-Paris Duel, 1–120 Before Alexandros (referred to as dusparis [evil Paris] by Hector at 3.39) leaps from the Trojan ranks at 3.15–17 to challenge a Greek to a duel, Homer describes the two advancing armies in two similes in preparation for the Iliad’s first combat, a battle that w ill persist until 7.482. In the first simile, at 3.2–7, the Trojans are compared to cranes winging to their homeland on the southern shores of Ocean, bringing bloodshed and destruction to the Pygmaian men, a reference to a war between cranes and pygmies for which no further details are provided.6 The Trojans are portrayed as rowdy and rebellious, while the Greeks advance silently and gallantly, each “stubbornly minded . . . to stand by the others” (3.9). The second simile, at 3.10–14, compares the dust raised by the two armies to a thick mist that, like night, effaces everything and poses a danger for the shepherd guarding his flocks against robbers, an image stressing the vast size of the Greek troops. Both similes are Homer’s way of visualizing and characterizing the armies as they are about to clash in b attle (3.15), but a digression involving Paris retards this action, which w ill not be resumed until 4.44. The reader’s first view of Alexandros/Paris is that of an effeminate man and not of a warrior dressed for battle. The challenger, with a curved bow and sword, is wearing the hide of a leopard across his shoulders and holding two javelins. At the sight of him, Menelaos is described as a lion, whose hunger is sustained by the carcass of a stag or wild goat, although it is
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pursued by hounds and young men (3.23–27). Menelaos is the lion that satiates its hunger on a carcass (Paris). His opponent is presented as already dead, affording no competition for the lion. Even alive, a stag or goat would not be a match for a lion. Paris’ fear upon spotting Menelaos is presented in yet another simile at 3.33–37 in which he is compared to a man who, about to step on a snake (Menelaos), recoils in fear and runs away. Thus, five similes over thirty-six lines (3.2–37) emphasize the visual qualities of Homer’s art. Shamed by what he considers a lack of courage, Hector admonishes his brother for relying on Aphrodite’s f avors when he “rolled in the dust” (3.55), a phrase containing the word migeiēs (from mignymi), which could be rendered “to mix,” “to mingle,” or “to have sex with.” Calling him a woman-crazy man whose beauty cannot save him from death, Hector wishes Paris was never born (3.39–57). As Paris cowers in fear, taking refuge among his companions, his b rother regrets that the Trojans did not stone him (“a mantle of flying stones,” 3.57) for his evildoing, expressing both his sentiments and t hose of the Trojans at large who also feel that his good looks, which brought shame to their p eople and joy to the e nemy, are not a substitute for courage. Paris, in response, offers a simile, normally provided by the narrator and not by a speaker within the text, comparing his brother to an ax blade (3.59–63), one driven, determined, heartless, and unshakable from performing what he considers to be his duty. Paris takes exception to being judged solely on his beauty. His physical appearance is for him like any other gift the gods bestow on mortals willingly and not one sought after. As such, one must make the most with what one is granted. For now, he is willing to fight Menelaos “for the sake of Helen and all her possessions” (3.70). This ambiguity in Paris, in which one minute he is presented as a coward and the next a warrior (see also 3.330–338), is puzzling to the reader, but also to Hector, who will again admonish his brother for cowardice at 6.325–330 and again be bewildered at the reversal at 6.521–522. Paris’ willingness to fight Menelaos is happily announced by Hector, and both sides lay down their weapons and await the outcome of the duel.
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Menelaos demands both a sacrifice of lambs to seal the pledges and the presence of the elder Priam, for he does not trust the king’s sons and the frivolity of youth; advanced age carries greater wisdom and experience and holds greater trust than does youth. Confident that he can outmatch Paris, he wants assurance that his victory w ill mean his ex-w ife’s return along with all possessions taken during her abduction. Only then w ill his quarrel with Paris end and his guilt for all t hose fighting on his behalf be allayed. Having reached a consensus, Hector and Agamemnon prepare the sacrifice. But as Homer is often prone to do, he turns away from his present narrative to discuss events elsewhere, this time t hose concerning Helen, before proceeding with the duel. II. Helen’s Teichoskopia (View from the Wall), 121–244 Besides introducing Helen for the first time in the epic, this episode allows for the lapse of time needed for the two heralds sent to Troy to return with the preparations required of the Trojans for the sacrifice, and in addition it calls forth a number of personal particularizations of key Greek characters. The episode opens with Iris, messenger of the gods, disguised as Laodikē (Helen’s sister- in- law and Priam’s daughter married to Antenor’s son Helikaon), inviting Helen to Troy’s tower to view the Menelaos-Paris duel. This is Homer’s first full encounter with Helen. She is in her chambers weaving at her loom a robe depicting the struggles the Greeks and Trojans endure for her sake, a scene perhaps not only expressing her guilt and her role in Troy’s strife but serving also as an image of the Iliad itself as a woven tapestry, “a string of words about heroism . . . woven into a tableau of permanent, if only poetic significance” (Bergren, Weaving Truth, 55). Helen, accompanied by two handmaidens, one of whom is Aithre, Theseus’ m other, recalls her first abduction by the hero Theseus, who kidnapped her before her marriage to Menelaos. When she was rescued by her twin brothers, Kastor and Pollux (Polydeukes), in reprisal they also carried off Aithre, the wife of Aigeus, king of Athens, and she became Helen’s slave and followed her to Troy. Now,
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the narrator tells us, Helen longs for Menelaos, her original city, and her parents, even “letting fall a light tear” (3.142). In this, her first appearance, she is portrayed as timid, accompanying her sister-in-law unconditionally (“come with me, dear girl,” 3.130) and remaining s ilent about the duel that w ill again determine her fate. It is not yet clear whether Helen is considered an equal by her Trojan relatives or is still treated like a foreigner, although she is Zeus’ daughter (see 3.199). A scene change moves the narration location to the wall tower above the Skaian gate (Troy’s main gate), where Priam and seven Trojan elders are seated, and where Helen momentarily appears. The counselors include Priam’s three b rothers; Panthoös, whose three sons play important roles in the epic’s l ater books; two unknown elders; and Antenor, the king’s main adviser and the father of a number of sons who figure in the epic (20.238). It is t hese seven men, long retired from military serv ice but excellent speakers, who, like cicadas, sit issuing “their delicate voice of singing” (3.152). It is they who first greet Helen’s appearance and marvel at her beauty—“ Terrible is the likeness of her face to immortal goddesses” (3.158)—murmuring that such beauty is worth the suffering and hardships of war. At the same time, however, they realize that beauty such as Helen’s leads to Eris (goddess of strife and discord, responsible for the Judgment of Paris),7 the cause of war and discord, and thus it is preferable that Helen leave Troy before she causes greater grief. Is the elders’ reaction to Helen Homer’s way of describing a beauty whose power can dumbfound even old men, or is he also expressing through the venerable voice of elder statesmen a sober truth that such beauty is not worth the price it exacts? Homer does not always narrate his characters’ features or thoughts, but prefers to let his audience see them through the eyes and actions of others, or to judge them through their own words and deeds. Priam motions Helen to join him, “to look at your husband of time past, your friends and your people” (3.163). What follows is a series of characterizations of key Greek heroes through Helen’s and Priam’s eyes,
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which further portray both Priam and Helen through their own words. Priam’s mental disposition h ere seems sympathetic and accepting t oward Helen: “Come over where I am, dear child, and sit down beside me” (3.162). Does Helen’s beauty intrigue the king like she does the elder statesmen in his company? Or is he beguiled by her attitude toward him: “Always to me, beloved father, you are feared and respected” (3.172)? Why does he blame the gods and not Helen and his son for Troy’s suffering? Helen does sound sincere in accusing herself of shortsightedness, for which she is regretful and “worn with weeping” (3.176). But how sincere is she in preferring “bitter death” to having followed “your son, forsaking my chamber, my kinsmen, my grown child, and the loveliness of girls my own age?” (3.173–175). Her actions elsewhere, as in her bedchamber with Paris, belie her words here (3.447–448). It is of note that Helen says she followed Paris (3.174) rather than being abducted, accepting her decision as her own, for which she is now repentant. One might surmise that Helen has learned how to use her charms for empathy, as her conversations with Priam and Hector disclose (see Il. 6). It is interesting also that Helen’s conversations are with Troy’s leaders. We hear nothing of the exchanges between her and Hecuba or her other female relatives other than that she follows obediently when her sister-in-law Laodikē (Iris in disguise) requests her presence (3.130–138). Priam asks Helen to identify three figures on the Trojan plain (Agamemnon, Odysseus, and Telamonian Ajax), a request that catches the reader unaware. How is it that after ten years of fighting below the Trojan walls, the king of Troy is not familiar with his major Greek enemies? However, at this point of the epic, Homer is describing events occurring at the beginning of the war, as he situates his specific themes in the legend of which the epic is a part. Thus, before delving into his themes, he introduces the c auses of the war: Helen’s abduction, the gathering of the Greek fleet at Aulis, and early attempts to end the war (the duels of Il. 3 and 7), which he integrates within the fifty-t hree-day frame of Achilles’ wrath and revenge themes.
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Responding to Priam’s request, Helen identifies Agamemnon, on whom Priam dotes for the vast numbers under his command and as a powerf ul, good, and strong warrior king. Achilles’ negative view of Agamemnon in ere. Next Il. 1, for example, is vastly different from Priam’s positive one h Priam points to Odysseus, whose short but broad frame reminds him of a ram, but whom Helen identifies as one shifty and crafty in counsels. Antenor interrupts her to recall an e arlier time during the war when he entertained Odysseus and Menelaos on an embassy to reclaim her (see 3.216–224). Of the two men, Antenor thought Menelaos the most impressive. Odysseus, eyes fixed on the ground, clutched his staff like a fool who did not know what to do with it. Menelaos seemed bigger and more lucid in speech, while Odysseus appeared sullen and foolish, but once he began to speak, his words fell like snow, “then we wondered less beholding Odysseus’ outward appearance” (3.224). Appearance h ere does not reveal the inner man, which contradicts Homer elsewhere, where external traits reveal internal ones (see Thersites at 2.212–277). Also of interest in these characterizations is the simile comparing Odysseus’ words to snow at 3.221–222, which visualizes the hero’s rhetoric. His words, like snowflakes, fall quickly in large quantities and blanket everyt hing. At the same time, the coldness of the snow speaks to Odysseus’ blunt delivery and to Antenor’s observation that one cannot judge a book by its cover. Priam’s third interest, Telamonian Ajax, is identified by Helen as the “wall of the Achaians” (3.229), the bulwark of the Greek army. She then points out Idomeneus, the king of Crete (Krete), a frequent visitor to her home in Sparta whom, according to tradition, Menelaos was visiting when Paris, an envoy to his court, ran away with his wife. But Helen is disappointed in not catching sight of her own two brothers, Kastor and Polydeukes, and wonders why they did not join the other troops from her native Lakedaimon (3.236–239). H ere she seems genuinely upset and laden with guilt that her b rothers’ absence could be due to the shame she brought on her f amily by abandoning them. The true nature of Homer’s characters is revealed in stages not only by what they say and do but also by what
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they say of each other. As she fervently scans the plain for them, Homer apprises his external audience that her brothers lie dead in Sparta, a comment that adds to her pathos and calls attention to the remoteness of the previous life she now claims she yearns for. III. Menelaos-Paris Duel Resumed, 245–382 The two heralds sent at 3.116 to summon Priam appear now in Troy with the sacrificial lambs (3.245). Idaios, Priam’s herald, informs the king of the pending duel and solicits his presence to “seal the oaths pledged” (3.252). Visibly upset at the mention of a duel involving his son, Priam, along with Antenor, nevertheless arrives at the Greek camp, where Agamemnon begins an elaborate sacrifice outlining the terms pledged and praying to Zeus, the sun Helios, the earth, the rivers, and Hades to be witness to the oaths taken (3.276–296). Agamemnon states that the victor w ill receive Helen and all her possessions, adding that if Paris loses, the Trojans w ill pay an additional, unspecified price (3.286), something not previously agreed to by Paris (3.70), Hector (3.91), or Menelaos (3.105). Failing to observe the terms outlined will prolong the war. Agamemnon’s demands are approved by Greek and Trojan alike (by the use of the formulaic “and this is what a Greek or Trojan would say,” 3.297). Speeches attributed to an anonymous someone (tis) are Homer’s way of introducing joint feelings. There are seventeen such tis-speeches in the Iliad, four of them in the pre sent book. The god, however, does not sanction this sacrifice, since the singer’s tradition w ill not allow the Trojan War to end as a result of this duel or the one in Il. 7. Once Priam departs, fearing for his son’s life, lots are drawn. The first spear throw goes to Paris, who arms at 3.330–338, the first of four arming scenes in the Iliad (the other three are Agamemnon at 11.17–44, Patroklos at 16.131–141, and Achilles at 19.369–391). The long-awaited but short-lived duel finally begins with Paris missing his mark. Menelaos’ spear throw pierces Paris’ shield but not his flesh. The Greek then strikes Paris’ helmet with his sword repeatedly, breaking his blade a total of four times. Praying
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to punish Paris’ breach of hospitality, Menelaos grabs him by his helmet. As Menelaos is about to strangle him, however, Aphrodite breaks the chin strap, and when Menelaos turns to cast his spear (where does this second spear come from?), Aphrodite spirits Paris away and sets him down in his bedchamber. IV. Helen Resumed, 383–461 Homer abandons the unresolved Menelaos-Paris duel to follow Aphrodite in the guise of an old w oman summoning Helen to Paris’ bedside, the third of Helen’s four appearances in Il. 3 (3.121–145, 3.161–242, 3.380–420, and at 3.428–446). In total Helen appears in person six times in the Iliad, four in the present book and a final two with or for Hector at 6.343–368 and 24.762–775. Recognizing the goddess, Helen, unlike Paris, tries to reject the goddess’ gifts, beginning a passionate invective against her at 3.399–412, calling her strange in trying to beguile her, and accusing her of treachery in sending her to the loser of the duel. Visibly shamed, she insists she w ill not return to Paris but would rather have the goddess renounce her divinity and serve Paris herself. Helen’s reaction to Aphrodite can be seen as out of character for a woman who has abandoned both husband and child to run away with a foreign prince. Recognizing the goddess in the old woman urging her toward Paris’ bed, Helen is further incensed: “Why are you still so stubborn to beguile me?” (3.399). Is Helen’s displeasure due to the goddess’ control over her, the gossip of Trojan women, her annoyance that Paris was defeated by Menelaos, or her own misgivings about the two men vying to possess her? Although she is presented as humiliated and repentant, one who often blames herself and regrets her past actions, her true nature is not always clear. She is the only character to insult herself in the Iliad, calling herself a dog (kunōpidos [dog-eyed] at 3.180, kunos [dog] at 6.344 and 6.356) and hateful (stugerēn at 3.404). On several occasions, she expresses that death is preferable to having accompanied Paris to Troy
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(3.173, 6.345–347, and 24.764). Is this the real Helen, or the Helen she chooses to be given her situation? After all, she appears to have made a conscious choice to follow (epomai) Paris (3.173–174), and it is difficult to know exactly why she says and does the things she does. Is she using her beauty and remorse to self-actuate and influence those around her? Once Aphrodite threatens to divest her of the attributes she represents (beauty and love), a shrouded Helen relents and follows the goddess to Paris’ side, surrendering either out of fear of the goddess or to her desires, which she cannot completely control. Even the veil covering her face from view could be interpreted as a sign of her shame before the Trojan women or a sign of her resignation when taken as a gesture of mourning (see Andromache at 22.466–472). Further, since the veil in a wedding ritual covers the bride before she reveals herself to the expectant groom, it anticipates her submission to Paris. Placing an armchair next to Paris (3.424–425), the goddess forces Helen in it, but Helen avoids his gaze, recalling his boast as a better warrior than Menelaos, and goads him to fight her former husband again but then cautions against it, since he would be defeated (3.428–436). Paris, unphased, reminds her the gods will grant him victory in the f uture, and, recalling her abduction and their lovemaking on the island of Kranaë, a sweet desire seizes him. Without comment, Helen follows him to bed, incapable of denying Aphrodite’s gifts. In the book’s final seven lines, Homer briefly returns to the Greek camp, where Menelaos, still searching for Paris, is assured by the Trojans that they are not hiding him, “since he was hated among them all as dark death is hated” (3.454). In the meantime, Agamemnon is applauded by his army for demanding the return of Helen, her possessions, and an additional fitting price for his b rother’s victory. However, although Paris forfeited the duel to Menelaos, the oaths taken required one of them to be killed. Thus, not only do the Greeks lack the physical evidence to claim victory, but Agamemnon’s requirement of an additional payment was not part of the original bargain.
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Selected Bibliography: Il. 3 Alexander, Iliad. Austin, Norman, “Helen of the Iliad.” Bespaloff, On the “Iliad,” 61–69. Blondell, “Bitch That I Am.” Costantinidou, “Evidence for Marriage Ritual.” Ebbott, “Wrath of Helen.” Edwards, Mark W., Homer. Elmer, “Building Community.” Elmer, “Helen Epigrammatopoios.” Friedrich, Wolf-Hartmut, Wounding, 71–82. Graver, “Dog-Helen.” Hogan, Guide to the “Iliad.” Hooker, Homer. Hudreen, “Image, Text, and Story.” Jones, Homer’s “Iliad.” Jones and Wright, Homer. Karanika, “Wedding and Performance.” Kirk, “Formal Duels.” Kirk, Iliad, vol. 1. Krieter-Spiro, Homer’s “Iliad” III. Lattimore, “Iliad” of Homer. McAuslan and Walcot, Homer. Owen, Story of the “Iliad.” Postlethwaite, “Duel.” Postlethwaite, Homer’s “Iliad.” Powell, Homer. Powell, Iliad. Rabel, Plot. Reckford, “Helen in the Iliad.” Roisman, “Helen.” Roisman, “Old Men.”
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Rozier, “Tradition and Character.” Sheppard, “Helen with Priam.” Tsagarakis, Form and Content. Verity, Homer. West, M. L., “Date of the Iliad.” Willcock, Iliad. Willcock, “Some Aspects.”
Book 4 The fourth book of the Iliad, known as “Breaking the Truce” (Orkiōn sugchusis) or “Agamemnon’s Review” (Agamemnonos epipōlēsis), divides into four episodes, with emphasis placed on Agamemnon’s review of his troops. I. Council of the gods (14% of book) II. Pandaros breaks the truce (26% of book) III. Review of the troops (37% of book) IV. General fighting begins (23% of book) I. Council of the Gods, 1–74 The end of Il. 3 leaves no doubt in Agamemnon’s mind that Menelaos was the winner of the duel with Paris. Once Helen and her possessions are returned, the ten-year war w ill be over. Refusal to return Helen would be a breach of the truce. Moreover, it would incur the gods’ wrath; ignoring oaths taken and sacrifices performed could only result in a Trojan defeat. Greeks and Trojans are in agreement that violation of sworn oaths deserves divine punishment (3.299–301). But the reader is aware that “none of this would the son of Kronos accomplish” (3.302), for Zeus bowed his head to Thetis to win glory for Achilles at the Greeks’ expense. Homer’s digression to a council of the gods at the opening of Il. 4 has Zeus concurring that “victory now is with warlike Menelaos” (4.13), but
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he must at the same time keep his promise. Hera, supported by Athena, vehemently objects to any interference against doing evil to Priam and his children. After all, Paris slighted both her and Athena by offering the apple designated for the fairest to Aphrodite (see 24.25–30). Zeus, on the other hand, genuinely wants to save Troy, his favorite city on earth (4.44–49), but Hera offers him the destruction of any of her own three favorite cities (Argos, Sparta, and Mycenae) in exchange for Troy’s annihilation. In order to keep peace among the gods, Zeus accepts her offer, endorsing what is already fated. Such immortal actions have no repercussions on the Olympians, but instead end mortal lives and present the gods as petty, selfish, and manipulative, interested in satisfying their own desires. It is fate (moira or aisa) that decrees Troy’s fall and Achilles’ triumph, although the gods often attempt to manipulate it. For the gods, moira (share, portion) constitutes the share of their sphere of influence. In Homer, Zeus’ share is the sky as Poseidon’s is the sea and Hades’ the underworld, although all three were supposed to hold the earth in common (15.189–192), but Zeus usually claimed hegemony. Yet even Zeus, the father of the gods, must also eventually satisfy fate, for cosmic order imposes its own limits. As Hera irately alerts him, “Do it then; but not all the rest of us gods w ill approve you” (3.29). Zeus cannot even save his son Sarpedon from death b ecause to do so would open the way for the other gods to demand the same treatment for their own offspring (see 16.433–447, although many do, in fact, save their favorites). In order to save Sarpedon or end the war before the fated time, Zeus would have to upset the cosmic order, so he does not. Thus Zeus dispatches Athena to break the truce that the Greeks are willing to defend with their lives. Gods play their games, mortals die for what they take to be Olympian principles, but it is fate that decides the outcome. Human moira, the portion of life given to each individual, is fixed at birth and not by the Olympians. The gods use mortals for their amusement and wiles, but it is fate, which the Olympians unsuccessfully try to manipulate, that governs all t hings.
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II. Pandaros Breaks the Truce, 75–219 Zeus sends Athena, who descends like a flaming star to the Greek camp to implicate the Trojans in breaking the truce and so doubly incriminate them for disavowing their oaths. They decline Helen’s release, and they break the truce agreed to before the Menelaos-Paris duel. In the guise of the Trojan Laodokos (Antenor’s son), Athena seeks out the bowman Pandaros, a Trojan ally and leader of the Zeleians. An expert with the bow, he is not only associated with Apollo, the god most closely allied with the Trojans and thus Athena’s rival, but he is also vain, ambitious, greedy, and easily persuaded, as well as being cowardly to a degree for not facing his opponents with sword and spear like the majority of Iliadic warriors. Once Athena sways Pandaros to take aim at Menelaos, Homer visually and in slow motion describes his wounding. The next twenty-t wo lines (4.105–126) recount the bow’s history and the meticulous stringing of the bow by the assailant, and supply a graphic picture of drawing the bow and releasing the iron-tipped arrow, the first of a number of references to iron in the Iliad. Iron, although attainable in Homer’s eighth-century b.c.e. world, was not available during the Bronze Age of the Trojan War. The delaying tactics create anticipation before the arrow is released. Once it is released, the narrator uses a sequence of two similes to follow the projectile visually to further delay the damage the arrow w ill cause. In the first simile, at 4.130–131, Athena easily brushes away the arrow to prevent it from lethally penetrating Menelaos like a m other swats away a fly that is annoying her child. The reader then follows the arrow as it pierces Menelaos’ golden b elt buckle, his war b elt, his corselet, and the guard protecting his skin, which is grazed and discharges blood (4.132–140). The second simile, at 4.141–147, describes the wound’s blood. Menelaos’ thighs, legs, and ankles are stained red like the ivory a Maionian or Karian woman colors to make a cheek piece for horses. Thus, in addition to cinematically portraying the discharge, the narrator provides a window through which can be viewed an aspect of Homeric life: the workmanship of the highly
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desired ivory cheek pieces for h orses. Homeric similes, both here and elsewhere in the epic, have multiple functions. In this instance the similes not only slow down the narrative pace of Menelaos’ wounding but also both allow the reader to visualize the action and provide a glimpse into Homer’s world. In the simile in question, the narrator, who remains anonymous throughout the epic, addresses Menelaos directly: “So Menelaos, your . . . thighs were stained with . . . blood” (4.146–147). This technique of addressing a person is called an apostrophe, used in the Iliad to specifically address Menelaos, Patroklos, Melanippos, and Achilles in addition to the Muses and Apollo; its purpose is to personalize the addressee in order to create greater intimacy and pathos. Agamemnon, taken aback at his brother’s wound, shudders, fearing for his death. He feels both guilty for sanctioning the duel with Paris and responsible for causing his b rother harm, and he is expressly concerned over the trampled oaths and the sacrifices ignored by the Trojans, for the general retribution for t hese infractions is inevitable. If Zeus does not attend to the m atter immediately, “late w ill he bring it to pass” (4.161); a breach of such a universal order must be redressed. Thus Agamemnon’s prediction that a day will come when Troy will perish and Zeus w ill punish its people for their deception (4.164–168). It seems that this belief in a universal order and the assurance that t hose who violate it w ill be punished empowers Agamemnon to remain and fight in Troy. His greatest fear, however, is the shame he might incur for a failed expedition. He dreads his peoples’ accusations once back in Argos should he be the cause of Menelaos’ death, since it was on his b rother’s and Helen’s behalf that he led the Greek expedition to Troy. Nor could he bear the Trojans’ ridicule, if he should sail away empty-handed. Guilt and shame at what Greeks and Trojans might say should he lose the war, coupled with the belief that order breached must be restored by Zeus, renews Agamemnon’s desire to review his troops and begin his assault against Troy. Next, a fter Menelaos has appeased his b rother’s fears and assured him his wound is minor, Machaon, one of Asklepios’ two physician sons, is
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called to heal it (his other son is Podaleirios; the f ather, in later myt hol ogy, becomes the god of medicine, but in the Iliad all three remain mortal). The fact that Machaon “sucked the blood” (4.218) where the arrow struck is perhaps proof that bowmen used poison-tipped arrows, a practice mentioned by Athena in the Odyssey (see Od. 1.260–263) but not referred to elsewhere in the Iliad. III. Review of the Troops, 220–421 The review of the troops is yet another of Homer’s delaying tactics before attle commences later in this book. Agamemnon, the Iliad’s first b assured now of victory, is presented by the narrator as a concerned commander, although other scholars see him h ere as quite impetuous and unreasonable in his comments to Menestheus, Odysseus, Diomedes, and Sthenelus (see Andrew Porter, Agamemnon, 44–60). The narrator alludes to him as “brilliant” and “in no way a reluctant fighter” (4.223– 224) in contrast to Achilles’ characterization as a “wine sack, with a dog’s eyes, with a deer’s heart,” reluctant to arm for battle with the other Greek warriors (1.225–227). He is a far cry from the Agamemnon of 2.73– 141, whose first effort to test his troops almost caused a mutiny. Homer, who rarely offers personal judgments when presenting his characters, impedes absolutist positions w hether, for example, someone like Paris is a coward or a worthy warrior. The present epipōlēsis (review) is the third tour of inspection in the Iliad, following the catalog of ships in Il. 2 and Helen’s teichoskopia in Il. 3. The present review’s function is not unlike that of the two preceding ones, which introduce and rehearse for the reader the Iliad’s major players. The present inspection employs tactics analogous to t hose seen in Odysseus’ reassembling the Greek troops at 2.187–208, encouraging some men to battle while reproaching others. Comparing Odysseus’ and Agamemnon’s speeches to bolster morale, one also realizes that the role of rhetoric in battle is a combination of pep talk and flattery, and a reminder that favors granted demand repayment (4.257–264).
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In the current epipōlēsis, Agamemnon isolates and accosts seven warriors with whom he interacts, focusing on both his and their personalities and thoughts: Idomeneus, Telamonian Ajax, Oïlian Ajax, Nestor, Menesthios, Odysseus, and Diomedes, along with his coleader Sthenelos. In flattering terms, Agamemnon first greets Idomeneus, reminding him of the favors he enjoys among Greek leaders (4.259–263), and then bluntly urges him to rise to the present state of affairs (the fighting) with the same fervor he showed in the past. The Cretan king calmly reassures the commander that he w ill perform as promised, especially since the truce was broken. He confirms that such egregious acts on the Trojans’ part are sure to bring the enemy “death and sorrow hereafter” (4.270). The two Aiantes8 who follow Idomeneus are introduced in a simile comparing them to a dark storm cloud watched by a shepherd who shivers at its approach as he hurriedly drives his flocks to shelter (4.275–280). In the presence of such strength, Agamemnon remains speechless other than to hope for such courage among all his troops. Nestor, the fourth named warrior, whose advanced age precludes participation in battle, contributes to the war effort through his organizational skills in arranging his troops to obtain the maximum results. Nestor, constantly heedful of his past, as when he fought Ereuthalion (an incident he recounts at 7.136–157), is a favorite of Agamemnon, who wishes the elder’s age matched his spirit, but in his present state, Nestor can only counsel the young spearmen who do the fighting. However, his long memory, highly respected in an oral culture, provides the means with which to judge the present through the successful achievements of the past. Thus, when Nestor remarks, “The gods give to mortals not everything at the same time” (4.320), one recalls Zeus’ two jars from which he dispenses either a mixture of good and evil or just evil to each newborn but never allots only good (see 24.527–533). Agamemnon next turns to Menesthios, king of Athens, who is standing next to Odysseus, and scolds both for inertia. He dismisses the Athenian king in two lines so he can vent his ire on Odysseus. The Ithacan king,
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however, as yet unaware of the Greek army’s confrontation, is waiting for a signal. Reminding both that they should be at the forefront of the advancing battalions, since they are among the first to reap the rewards of leadership, Agamemnon accuses Odysseus of skulking, waiting for others to advance first, and attacks him as one after profit and full of treachery. Odysseus, infuriated, accuses Agamemnon of talking nonsense and invites him to watch him in action “if you care to and if it concerns you” (4.353), a sarcastic jibe from the Ithakan implying that the king might not be interested in watching the fighting at close quarters (because of cowardice?). Registering Odysseus’ anger and aware that he has thoughtlessly overstepped his own intentions, Agamemnon apologizes, promising f uture rewards and assuring Odysseus that “what you think is what I think” (4.361). His admonition of Odysseus, as well as of Diomedes, the next warrior accosted, is further testament to the commander’s sentiments. Although he might resent Odysseus for achieving what he cannot (prevent a mutiny), at the same time he values his worth and intellect and backs down when Odysseus counterattacks. Diomedes, on the other hand (see the discussion that follows), as a younger and dutiful warrior, can be more easily manipulated. Diomedes is presented as the ideal warrior, one who is aware of his position and never questions authority. Odysseus, however, an experienced older warrior, perceives himself on equal footing with the commander and refuses to walk away from what he believes to be unjust. It is of note that Diomedes in the Iliad is presented as a young warrior, since in Greek mythology the Epigoni, of which he was one, were the sons of the Greek heroes who fought and died in the first Theban War (the Seven against Thebes; among them was Diomedes’ f ather, Tydeus). The second Theban War, called the war of the Epigoni, occurred ten years a fter the first, when the sons (the Epigoni) of the original Seven attacked Thebes to avenge their fathers. Since the Theban Wars predate the Iliad, Diomedes would be a hero from the distant past. Perhaps the poet h ere transfers and updates the character of Diomedes from the e arlier epic tradition for his own purposes in the Iliad.
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Coming upon Diomedes and Sthenelos, Agamemnon scolds and insults Tydeus’ son, reminding him that his father was never one to lurk in the background but was among the first to fight his enemies, ahead of his companions. Supporting his remarks by delving into the tale of Tydeus’ embassy at 4.374–399 (used twice more at 5.800–808 and 10.285–290), he concludes, “Yet he was father / to a son worse than himself at fighting” (4.399–400). Diomedes, respecting the kings’ authority, does not reply. However, Sthenelos, irritated, calls Agamemnon deceitful, since he knows that it was the Epigoni who razed Thebes after the Seven failed9 (assuming audience knowledge of the wider epic tradition). Diomedes, the ideal warrior, angry and annoyed at Sthenelos for correcting the commander, silences him. He refuses to fault Agamemnon for encouraging his warriors to battle, since the responsibility for a successful expedition rests on his shoulders. IV. General Fighting Begins, 422–544 At the beginning of 3.1–14, two similes visualized and amplified the sounds of the two armies marching to meet in battle. Now, at 4.422–436, the narrator returns to the beginning of Il. 3 to reinitiate the sounds of the marching Greek and Trojan armies about to clash. The first simile, at 4.422–248, compares the Greeks to the surf of a thundering beach breaking on dry land and smashing on rocks, in order to visualize their strength and power. The Greek army, however, in spite of being compared to the thunder of waves pounding the shore, moves silently in an orderly fashion. It is powerful but contained and methodical, whereas the noisy Trojans are compared to bleating sheep waiting to be milked (4.433–436). Although the Trojan babel is in part due to the many languages spoken among their allies, it is clear that the Greek army is portrayed as superior in strength and discipline. At last, the two opposing armies confront each other at 4.446, resuming from where the action left off at 3.15. The final eighty-eight lines of Il. 4 (4.457–544), illustrating the nature of Iliadic fighting, provide a good
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example of what is to follow in the next sixteen books (4.446 to Il. 19), which occupy two-thirds of the Iliad. B attle descriptions throughout the Iliad are graphic rather than grotesque. Descriptions of wounds are generally medically accurate, and each warrior who dies is given a name, a family, and a particular life that has been cut short. The first casualty goes to the Greek Antilochos, who spears the Trojan Echepolos in the forehead. Another Trojan, Elephenor, attempting to drag his comrade’s body to safety, is stabbed by the Greek Agenor. The b attle continues in this manner with each side making a kill u ntil, at the end, the scrimmage leaves three Greeks and four Trojans dead, Homer seemingly favoring the Greeks even when they are on a losing streak. Fighting strategies unveiled here are repeated in different combinations throughout the Iliad’s four battles. Warriors are most often identified as a f ather’s son (e.g., Thalysias’ son Echepolos at 4.458). Deaths of friends, whose wounds are graphically described, inspire their companions to seek revenge (e.g., Odysseus at 4.490, Thoas at 4.527), a motif central to Iliadic fighting. Attempts by victors to strip the dead of their armor often cause scuffles with comrades of the defeated in their efforts to drag the corpses off the battlefield to prevent both their mutilation and the vanquishers from acquiring war trophies. Short necrologues of the fallen, of no more than two to three lines each, are offered to stress the costs of war and to build pathos for the defeated, one of the most poignant being the death of Simoeisios at the hands of Telamonian Ajax at 4.473–489. Simoeisios, handsome and young, born beside the river that gave him his name, is introduced along with his mother and grandparents. When he is struck on the nipple of his right breast, the reader is reminded of the parents’ loss and the son’s obligations to them, which w ill never be recompensed. In a following simile, Simoeisios is likened to a felled black poplar hardening by the banks of a river and destined for a chariot wheel. The image of a once tall, erect black poplar (image of death) hewed down to fashion an instrument of war (a chariot wheel to carry warriors to the field of battle) is an apt analogue for a youth cut down in the prime of life whose body
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lies stiffening on the ground. Tree similes representing a hero’s fall are common in the Iliad. Besides Simoeisios, they are used for Asios at 13.389–393, Hector at 14.414–418, Sarpedon at 16.482–484, and Euphorbos at 17.52–58. The f ather’s name further adds to the poignancy of the lifeless youth—A nthemion’s son (from antheō [to bloom, blossom]; see 4.488), a reminder of spring, flowers, and rebirth. This, then, is the cost in human terms of heroic achievement, a theme common to the Iliad. It is ironic that bravery and excellence (aristeia) in battle win wealth, glory, and honor for one while at the same time they cause the death of another. Seeing Trojan efforts in decline, Apollo intervenes to bolster their efforts and to remind them of Achilles’ absence lest the reader forget the consequences of his stubborn anger. Tritogeneia10 (Athena), who is close by, intervenes on behalf of the Greeks, and the fighting continues. The book ends with the narrator’s announcement that on that day many Greeks and Trojans “lay sprawled in the dust” (4.544). Concluding the melee of Il. 4 are several noteworthy heroics by different heroes, starting with Antilochos, Nestor’s son, the first prominent warrior in the Iliad to kill a Trojan, at 4.457. Second comes the action of Telamonian Ajax, who deprives the young Simoeisios of his life. Odysseus, third, kills Demokoön, Priam’s bastard son, one of fifty sons he is purported to have sired (nineteen with Hecuba, his legitimate wife [see 24.496]; the remainder were given birth to by concubines).11 The Iliad lists twenty of t hese sons, eleven of whom are killed; the nine still living are named at 24.249–251. Demokoön’s death forces Hector and his Trojan allies to retreat and prompts Apollo’s entrance. attle The fact that Odysseus is one of the major players in the Iliad’s first b is ironic, since in Agamemnon’s estimation he is not among his major warriors. This could be a further testament to Agamemnon’s judgment, which is often at odds with everyone else’s. Selected Bibliography: Il. 4 Alexander, Iliad. Edwards, Mark W., Homer.
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Elmer, “Building Community.” Haft, “Odysseus’ Wrath.” Hogan, Guide to the “Iliad.” Jones, Homer’s “Iliad.” Kirk, Iliad, vol. 1. Lattimore, “Iliad” of Homer. McAuslan and Walcot, Homer. Mueller, Iliad. Owen, Story of the “Iliad.” Postlethwaite, Homer’s “Iliad.” Powell, Homer. Powell, Iliad. Rabel, Plot. Schein, “Death of Simoeisios.” Schein, Homeric Epic. Schein, Mortal Hero. Verity, Homer. West, M. L., “Date of the Iliad.” Willcock, Companion to the “Iliad.” Willcock, “Some Aspects.” Book 5 Il. 5, commonly referred to as the aristeia of Diomedes (Diomēdous aristeia), can be read in three parts. I. Diomedes excels in the first day’s b attle (50% of book) II. The Olympians defend the Trojans (28% of book) III. The Olympians defend the Greeks (22% of book) I. Diomedes Excels in the First Day’s B attle, 1–459 Diomedes’ domination, which covers most of Il. 5, begins at 4.364 during Agamemnon’s review of the assembled troops. Accused of skulking, he
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leaps from his chariot to engage the e nemy as the two armies are about to clash (4.419). His first heroic act, however, is not recorded until the opening of the present book, when Athena grants him the strength to excel among the Greeks. An opening simile compares him to the star Sirius, the brightest star visible from any part of the earth, which, when not visible, is said to bathe in Ocean (5.6). In like manner Diomedes blazes like fire amid the two warring armies. His first victim is Phegeus, who, along with his brother Idaios, charges the hero. This encounter encapsulates a pattern common when two warriors meet in b attle. The first and weaker warrior (Phegeus) throws his spear and misses, permitting the second, stronger warrior (Diomedes) to cast the mortal blow, followed by repercussions. In the present case, the second b rother, Idaios, runs for his life, which he could not have done without the help of Hephaistos, who saves him as a favor to the brothers’ f ather, the god’s priest Dares (mentioned only h ere in the Iliad), that he might not be left without an heir. The fallen b rother remains unattended while his h orses are driven off by Diomedes for his companions to lead to their camp. Diomedes’ initial success stirs the Trojans’ anger, but Athena persuades Ares to leave both sides to their fate. A series of Greek victories follow at 5.37–83 in which each of six Greek heroes kills a Trojan before Diomedes returns. Each killing, presented in a vignette featuring the defeated, is composed from a selection of attributes presented in diff erent combinations: ancestry, place of birth, an outstanding quality or occupation, a special relationship to an Olympian god, and a vivid description of the fatal wound. It is notable that b attle deaths in Homer are primarily presented as painless. Of the six Trojans who fall, only Phereklos screams, but he does not die in pain. When Diomedes reenters the battlefield at 5.85–165, he is wounded by Pandaros’ arrow as was Menelaos in Il. 4, further implicating the Trojans as the offending party and elevating the heroism of Diomedes, who, although wounded, continues to fight unabated. Three similes interspersed throughout t hese lines illustrate his fighting spirit. In the first, at 5.87–94,
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he storms the Trojans like a swollen river whose fury the dikes and banks of the vineyards can no longer hold back. Granted strength by Athena, he is depicted as a lion in the second, at 5.136–143, which, when wounded by a shepherd (Pandaros), charges enraged at the helpless sheep (the Trojans), leaving heaps dead as he leaps out of the sheepfold unscathed. In the third simile, at 5.161–165, he hurls Trojans from their horses as a leaping lion breaks the neck of an ox. In all of t hese comparisons, Diomedes is described as an unstoppable force of nature or a lion whose match is inferior. After he overpowers eight more Trojans, among them two sons of Priam, Athena confers on him the ability to distinguish mortals from immortals and orders him to desist from battling any god u nless approached by Aphrodite. At this juncture of his aristeia, Diomedes meets his match, Aeneas, who attacks him like “a lion in the pride of his strength” (5.299). The passage serves not only to introduce the Trojans’ second-ranked warrior (a fter Hector) but to prepare the reader for Pandaros’ death. Aeneas’ presence heightens Diomedes’ valor when he provokes a kill and almost c auses the death of another. However, before their encounter, Homer digresses to further characterize Pandaros and to introduce Aeneas’ divine h orses (5.180–273). Aware of the havoc Diomedes perpetrates on the Trojan forces, Aeneas seeks Pandaros to persuade him to use his bow against the Greek, but the bowman is frustrated at his previous futile attempts to kill both Menelaos and Diomedes, both of whom he wounds. Blaming the gods for averting his arrows from their true targets, he regrets the absence of horses and a chariot that would make it easier for him to fight Diomedes with a spear. Bragging, he regrets not having his eleven new chariots and many horses with which to attack Diomedes, although his father, Lykaon, urged him to bring them to Troy. But in order to spare his well-attended horses from hunger and narrow accommodations, he chose to travel on foot with only his bow, “bringing delight to brilliant Hektor” (5.211). Pandaros’ words and actions portray him as a foolish, boastful man trying to hide his inadequacies and cowardliness. Not only does he prefer to fight from afar
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using a bow rather than engaging in the preferred hand-to-hand combat common among Iliadic warriors, but he deludes himself into thinking that he can be as effective with a spear as he is with a bow. Blaming his failures on the gods rather than on his own marksmanship, he further attributes his effectiveness as a warrior to his possessions (chariots and h orses) rather than his skill, and he vaunts his contribution to the Trojans. Persuaded by Aeneas, Pandaros agrees to encounter Diomedes with a spear, while Aeneas, more intimate with his own horses, handles them and the chariot. As the two mount and charge, Homer, in true cinematic style, crosscuts to Diomedes’ charioteer, Sthenelos, who, spotting the two opponents, urges his wounded friend to retreat. Diomedes refuses to consider shameful and cowardly flight and decides instead to face his foes on foot, placing his trust in Athena. He counsels Sthenelos to lunge forward to capture Aeneas’ horses if he succeeds in killing his two rivals. A digression interrupts the combat to provide background on Aeneas’ divine horses, which Zeus presented to Tros, Aeneas’ great-great-grandfather, as compensation for Tros’ son Ganymedes, abducted by Zeus’ fellow gods (20.232–235) to serve him as wine b earer, a detail Homer leaves out h ere. Anchises, Aeneas’ father, stole some of t hese horses without Laomedon’s knowledge and from the stolen stock bred a string of six horses, keeping four for himself and offering two to his son. Again, the bard does not feel compelled to mention that Tros’ horses were inherited by his grandson Laomedon, whose father, Ilos, was one of Tros’ three sons (Ganymedes, Ilos, and Assarkos). Ilos fathered Laomedon and a daughter, Themiste, who in turn had Priam (Hector’s father) and Anchises (Aeneas’ father), respectively, making Hector and Aeneas second cousins. Homer’s method of employing myths (like the present one on Tros’ divine horses) is h ere made apparent. He uses only the parts of the myth necessary to his immediate purpose, assuming the external audience’s knowledge of the total myth. Parts of the same myth can be used elsewhere in the epic as the genealogy of Aeneas at 20.214–241, which includes both Aeneas’ relationship to Hector and Ganymedes’ fate. However, the relationships
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among Tros, Anchises, and Laomedon, as well as Zeus’ motive for compensating Tros, are left unexplained. As the two warring parties meet, Pandaros threatens Diomedes with a spear, having previously failed with bow and arrow. He casts, boasting of the glory he w ill claim, but fails. Diomedes’ throw, guided by Athena, strikes Pandaros’ nose next to his eye, cuts through his teeth, severs his tongue, and exits underneath his jawbone, tossing him from the chariot. Jumping off the chariot, Aeneas prepares to defend the corpse, but Diomedes heaves a stone that smashes Aeneas’ knee. Homer is quick to add that the stone that Diomedes lightly hefts was one “no two men could carry” today (5.303), emphasizing the past’s greatness, which the present cannot equal. As Aeneas loses consciousness, the scene crosscuts momentarily to Olympos. When Aphrodite spots her fallen son, she rushes to his rescue and removes him from the field of b attle. The scene once again shifts to follow the movements of Sthenelos, who is about to carry out Diomedes’ earlier orders. Making a dash for Aeneas’ h orses, he drives them away from the Trojans and gives them to his friend Deïpylos to dispatch to camp. In the meantime, Sthenelos mounts and takes the reins of his own team and heads toward Diomedes, who sets sight on “the lady of Kypros” (5.330), a common epithet for Aphrodite used five times in the present book but nowhere e lse in the Iliad. Acknowledging her “not [as] Enyo” (5.333), a minor weak war goddess associated with Ares, who is sometimes referred to as Enyalios, he pierces the skin of her delicate hand, from which issues immortal ichor, the fluid that flows in gods’ veins instead of blood. Letting out a shriek, Aphrodite drops Aeneas, who is caught by Apollo, who conceals the goddess in mist while Diomedes continues his threats. This is a high point in Diomedes’ aristeia, for not only does he stop two key Trojans (he wounds Aeneas and kills Pandaros), but he engages even the gods by wounding Aphrodite. As the pain-stricken Aphrodite is led by Iris away from the battlefield (free from mortal strife, the gods, it seems, are more prone to pain than
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mortals), the goddess supplicates her b rother Ares for his h orses to carry her to Olympos, and Homer cuts to Aphrodite’s arrival to introduce the reader to her mother, Diōnē, her only appearance in the Iliad (5.370–417). Nowhere else in the epic is Diōnē attested as Aphrodite’s mother. “Diōnē” may simply indicate a goddess, being the feminine form of “Zeus” (dios), an ancient wife of the Olympian connected to his worship in Dodona (in Epirus, northwest Greece, site of an oracle of Zeus). Here, however (unique to the epic), Aphrodite is Diōnē’s daughter by Zeus. A better-k nown myth has Aphrodite born from the foam (aphros, hence her name) gathered around the severed genitals of her f ather, Ouranos (Uranus), marking her as a Titan rather than the d aughter of Olympian Zeus (see Hesiod, Theogony, lines 188–203). Using paradigms, Diōnē consoles her d aughter by citing three separate mythological instances illustrating that Aphrodite is not the only god wounded by a mortal. These three myths, unique to the present episode (perhaps conceived by Homer, but we have no way of knowing), are not found independently elsewhere. In the first, Ares endured mortal pain when Ephialtes and Otos (g iant sons of Poseidon)12 chained him in a cauldron for thirteen months u ntil their stepmother, Eëriboia,13 alerted Hermes, who released him (apoloito at 5.388) before he died (even though an immortal?), according to Homer’s narrative. In the second, Hera endured mortal pain when Amphitryon’s son, Herakles, struck her beside her right breast with an arrow, causing her unbearable agony, and in the third Hades endured mortal pain when Herakles’ arrow struck him on his shoulder at Pylos but was later cured on Olympos by Paeëon (a god of healing).14 Having finished with her examples, Diōnē comforts Aphrodite and strokes away the ichor on her daughter’s arm, healing it (5.416–417). But before Homer abandons her to turn to Hera and Athena listening nearby, he has her condemn Diomedes and any other mortal who would dare battle a god. Such a man has nothing to look forward to but a short life. Diomedes should take care lest someone stronger fight him and keep
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him from ever seeing his wife Aigialeia15 again. It is ironic that Diomedes is one of the few major Iliadic heroes to return home unscathed at the end of the war; but little is known about his death. As is often the case on Olympos, the gods’ problems end on a lighthearted note, punctuating the blissful nature of immortality compared with the severity of mortality, which gives h umans a seriousness and tragic intensity the gods lack (see Sarpedon’s words at 12.322–328). Having observed Aphrodite’s behavior, Hera and Athena turn teasingly on Zeus to mock her performance. Athena suggests that her injury must have been caused by a pinprick from the dress of a Greek woman Aphrodite was thrusting on her Trojan lover (a sarcasm perhaps aimed at Aphrodite’s role in offering Paris Menelaos’ wife). Zeus smiles and summons Aphrodite to lay aside the work of warfare and concern herself “only with the lovely secrets of marriage” (5.429). Warfare should be the province of Athena and Ares. Homer leaves the gods laughing at Aphrodite’s expense and returns to the more serious business taking place on the battlefield, where Diomedes lashes out at Aeneas u nder Apollo’s protective arms. Three times he charges, and three times Apollo repels him, but on the fourth try Apollo reminds him of his mortality and Diomedes backs away, avoiding Apollo’s wrath. His warrior qualities are again exhibited as he defies even Apollo, although Athena warned him e arlier to confront no other god but Aphrodite. In the absence of Achilles and Telamonian Ajax, his stubbornness and relentlessness on the battleground place him third in line as “the best of the Achaians.” Aeneas in the meantime is spirited away to Pergamos (to Apollo’s temple in the citadel of Troy), where Artemis and Leto (the twin gods’ mother) care for him and heal his wound (no one in Homer dies as a result of wounds received on the battlefield). Apollo shapes an image of Aeneas over which the Greeks and Trojans fight while he admonishes Ares for Diomedes’ actions against the Olympians and coerces him to interfere on behalf of the Trojans.
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II. The Olympians Defend the Trojans, 460–710 The verses in this section create a cinematic ballet of Trojan-Greek encounters and duels interspersed with similes and background material on the fallen and the vanquishers, as the god of war (Ares), in the guise of Akamas, leader of the Thracians,16 goads them to beleaguer the Greeks. 1. Ares kindles the Trojan ranks to rescue Aeneas. 2. Sarpedon, a Lykian ally, reviles Hector for his and his family’s lack of participation. 3. Hector, shamed and angered, exhorts his troops to action. 4. The Greeks, unyielding, hold their ground. 5. Aeneas, healed by Apollo, “him of the golden sword,” enters the fray (5.509). This unusual epithet for the god recurs once again at 15.256 (Powell, Iliad, 143n517). 6. The Aiantes, Odysseus, and Diomedes encourage the Greek troops to fend off the Trojans. 7. Agamemnon traverses the battlefield encouraging his troops; he kills Deïkoön. 8. Aeneas kills the b rothers Orsilochos and Krethon. 9. Menelaos, taking pity on the two fallen warriors, rushes to attack Aeneas. 1 0. Antilochos17 enters the field to support Menelaos. 11. Aeneas withdraws as Menelaos and Antilochos draw near. 12. The two Greek warriors remove their dead comrades from Trojan interference and continue fighting. 13. Menelaos kills Pylaimenes. 14. Antilochos kills Mydon, Pylaimenes’ charioteer, and takes possession of his horses. 15. Hector, sighting Menelaos and Antilochos, charges with his troops. 16. Diomedes, sighting Hector’s approach, shivers and calls for a retreat. 17. Hector dispatches Anchialos and Menesthes from the same chariot.
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18. Telamonian Ajax, taking pity on his two fallen comrades, marks Amphios, whom he begins to strip, but before he can do so, he is battered with spears and withdraws. 19. Tlepolemos (Herakles’ son and Zeus’ grandson) encounters Sarpedon (Zeus’ son); they debate Herakles’ previous attack on Troy and Laomedon’s horses. 20. Sarpedon kills Tlepolemos but is wounded in his left thigh and is carried off by his companions with the spear still stuck in his thigh. 21. Odysseus contemplates pursuing Sarpedon but instead kills Koiranos, Chromios, Alastor, Halios, Alkandros, Prytanis, and Noëmon. 22. Hector, catching sight of Odysseus’ slaughter, gives chase, while ignoring Sarpedon’s pleas for assistance. 23. Pelagon, Sarpedon’s companion, removes the spear from his thigh. 24. The Greeks pull back but do not withdraw to their ships. 25. Hector continues his killing spree, downing Teuthras, Orestes, Trechos, Oinomaos, Helenos, and Oresbios. Throughout this quick-paced episode of indirect and direct narration, Homer, through the exchanges of a number of warriors, focuses on their feelings, squabbles, and frustrations, while at the same time amplifying the sentiments of the fallen soldiers. Incidents occurring in four such scenes serve as examples of the type Homer constantly calls to the reader’s attles and emphasize the costs in h uman attention throughout the Iliad’s b life that petty jealousies and resentments facilitate otherw ise good p eople to commit: Sarpedon’s rebuke of Hector at 5.471–496, Aeneas’ victory over Diokles’ sons at 5.541–560, the Tlepolemos-Sarpedon encounter at 5.628–669, and Sarpedon’s appeal to Hector at 5.684–691. After Aeneas’ wounding, Apollo urges Ares to embolden the Trojans. It is at this juncture that Sarpedon complains about what he perceives to be Hector’s and his relatives’ lack of eagerness in the fighting, although two of Priam’s sons have already been killed at 5.159–160. Sarpedon resents Hector’s boasting that he alone with his b rothers and brothers-in-law can
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defend Troy. He reminds him that the allies, who to him seem to carry the brunt of the fighting, have nothing to lose from an Achaian victory, and Hector’s Trojans should not stand idly by and be shamed before their allies while Troy is being defeated. Among t hose in the coa lit ion who traveled great distances, leaving b ehind wives and infants, to aid in a cause that, win or lose, did not affect their interests, is Sarpedon. Sarpedon is obviously annoyed at what he perceives to be the Trojans’ lack of zeal on the battlefield. His words “bit into the heart of Hektor” (5.493), for without uttering a word, the prince displays his displeasure by jumping down from his chariot and, while traversing the length of his army, stirring his men to action. Sarpedon here is not merely expressing his own feelings but also those of his many allies, some of whom have already fallen to Greek warriors (see 5.38–44). L ater, seriously wounded in his duel with Tlepolemus, Sarpedon finds himself at the mercy of the Greeks, whom Hector is pursuing. When he solicits Hector’s assistance, the prince sweeps silently and speedily past him without acknowledging e ither his presence or his wound: “Son of Priam, do not leave me lying for the Danaans / to prey upon” (5.684–685). Sarpedon’s rebuke obviously upset the Trojan leader, as he hastily moved on to slaughter six Greek warriors in quick succession while ignoring his comrade in arms. In the Tlepolemus-Sarpedon encounter, a jealous Tlepolemus, annoyed at Sarpedon’s flaunting his ties to Zeus, judges him inferior to his own father, Herakles, the god’s superior son. As Herakles’s offspring, he claims an advantage over Sarpedon, also a son of Zeus, and reminds him that Herakles sacked Troy with only a few men and six ships a fter being denied Laomedon’s horses. Concurring that Herakles did indeed destroy Troy through the senselessness of Laomedon, who did not keep his word, Sarpedon cautions Tlepolemus that his father’s heroic deeds w ill not, however, help his own cause. Allowing jealousy and envy to cloud their notions of self-importance, they simultaneously cast their spears, with Sarpedon killing his nephew and Tlepolemus wounding his u ncle. Tlepolemus’ first appearance here in Il. 5 is also his last. Sarpedon plays no
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further role until Il. 12, where his wound is no longer mentioned (12.290–293). One can only speculate that the purpose of such a chance meeting between two family members not only exposes the petty squabbles and the competitive nature between Iliadic warriors but, more importantly, illustrates the way the poet h andles myths throughout the epic. In the pre sent case, Homer cites three aspects of the tale of Herakles’ sack of Troy: Laomedon’s horses, Herakles’ foray in Troy, and Laomedon’s withdrawn promise. Nowhere, however, does he bother to show how t hese representative portions fit in with and complete the Herakles tale in question (which he may be assuming). Homer merely uses parts of the myth as paradigms wherever he deems them necessary to make his point. Even collecting the various parts utilized does not always provide the modern reader with the complete story. This suggests that Homer’s audience is probably familiar enough with the traditional story that they can fill in the missing links. A summary of the myth of Herakles’ sack of Troy reveals that Homer references no more than half of this campaign (see numbers 2, 5, 6, 7, and 8 in the following list), and not in chronological order. Even the incidents cited are not always complete (e.g., why does Hera drive Herakles off course to the island of Kos in number 9?). 1. Forced into slavery, Apollo and Poseidon are compelled by Laomedon, Priam’s f ather, to build Troy’s walls (not mentioned by Homer). 2. Laomedon refuses to compensate the gods as promised (21.441–457). 3. In anger, Poseidon sends a sea monster to terrorize Troy, for it was prophesied that Troy would be saved if the monster devoured Laomedon’s daughter Hesione (not mentioned by Homer). 4. Herakles agrees to kill the monster and save Hesione for Laomedon’s famous h orses inherited from Tros (5.260–272). 5. Herakles kills the monster and saves Hesione, but Laomedon reneges on his promise (20.145–148).
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6. Herakles returns with an army, sacks Troy, and kills Laomedon and all his sons except Priam (5.640–642). 7. Priam, at a later date, is ransomed and saved by Hesione (not mentioned by Homer). 8. Herakles gifts Hesione to his companion Telamon; she l ater gives birth to Telamon’s son Teukros (not mentioned by Homer). 9. On Herakles’ return trip, Hera drives him off course to the island of Kos (14.250–251 and 15.26–30). 10. Zeus punishes Hera by suspending her from Olympos and resolves to discipline any god who tries to rescue her (not mentioned by Homer). 11. Hera asserts that she hates Herakles b ecause Zeus fathered him by the mortal Alkmene (not mentioned by Homer). A fourth scene of the type cited earlier that is used by Homer to humanize fallen warriors by providing brief comments on t hose who w ill mourn their passing is Aeneas’ victory over Diocles’ sons. Mention of the nuclear f amily of the defeated, by emphasizing the number of generations included, increases both the significance and status of the family in question and the stature of the victor (Aeneas) who defeated such prominent individuals. The fallen Orsilochos and Krethon were sons of Diokles, himself the son of Ortilochos, all rich lords from Messenian rothers were raised by their mother like lions, Pherae.18 The fact that both b doing what was natural to them, preying on cattle and sheep u ntil they were finally killed by hunters, speaks not only to the two b rothers’ strength and warrior status but also to the inevitability of a hero’s life—to win glory for oneself or to die for another’s. At the end, the two brothers crash on earth like tall pine trees, lordly even in death. III. The Olympians Defend the Greeks, 711–909 The final section of Il. 5 begins and ends on Olympos. Seeing the Greeks perishing at the hands of the Trojans, Hera calls on Athena to help her
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intercede against the onslaught of Ares. In what follows at 5.711–777, the goddesses prepare their descent on Troy, seek Zeus’ blessings “to smite Ares with painful strokes” (5.763) and land in Troy beside Diomedes and the Greek troops huddled around him. Diomedes, having recognized Ares assisting Hector, retreats at 5.605–606, since Athena granted him the ability to distinguish gods from mortals (5.128). At 5.782, Hera, in the guise of Stentor (his only appearance in the Iliad),19 whose voice was as loud as fifty men, addresses the Greek warriors, reminding them of Achilles, who never allowed the Trojans to venture beyond the Dardanian gates as they do now (the Skaian gate was the south gate of Troy, also known as the Dardanian gates). Athena, in the meantime (using ring composition), 20 calls on Diomedes, who is nursing his wound, and emboldens him by reminding him of his father’s visit among the Thebans, a tale mentioned also in Il. 4 (4.370–400), Il. 5 (5.880–814), and Il. 14 (14.113–125): a. Tydeus’ son is unlike his f ather (5.800). b. Tydeus, although a small man, was a fighter (5.801). c. At that particular time, Athena did not consent to Tydeus’ fighting (5.803). d. Nevertheless, he went alone to Thebes as a messenger, he was invited to eat with the Kadmians, and both challenged and defeated them (5.804–808). c ′. At this particular time, Athena consents to Diomedes’ fighting (5.809–810). b ′. Diomedes seems not to be a fighter (5.811–812). a ′. Tydeus’ son is unlike his f ather (5.813). Diomedes reminds the goddess that he stayed away from the strife on her o rders—not to fight the gods other than Aphrodite. She now encourages him to battle Ares and mounts his chariot to assist him by donning “the helm of Death” (aïdos), a cap of invisibility linked to Hades. This is the cap’s only mention in the Iliad (5.845). They encounter Ares stripping a mortal victim, the only time in the Iliad that a god strips a
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fallen warrior. Ares, the first to cast his spear, has it hurtled aside by Athena. Diomedes, with Athena’s help, drives his spear in the god’s belly and Ares bellows like ten thousand men, terrifying both Greeks and Trojans. Olympian Ares’ complaints are transposed into a comic scene based on the father-and-son theme so prominent throughout this book. Zeus calls him a whiner, a double-faced liar, and the most hated god on Olympos. However, as his father, he feels morally bound to heal his son, other wise he would have banished him from the seat of the gods. Perhaps Zeus’ aversion to his son is a comment on war, which Ares represents; it is Homer’s way of condemning the senseless slaughter the Iliad recounts. Il. 5 ends without the loss of a major hero from e ither side, and Diomedes’ aristeia accomplishes little in disabling the Trojans or reversing the tide of battle. As for his involvement in wounding Aphrodite and Ares and challenging Apollo, the gods take no action against him. In Achilles’ absence, he represents the ideal warrior, an Achilles before his wrath. Unlike the earlier Achilles of Il. 1, Diomedes revers the gods and obeys his superiors.
Selected Bibliography: Il. 5 Alden, Homer beside Himself, 112–152. Alexander, Iliad. Benardete, “Aristeia of Diomedes.” Cassio, “Kypris.” Christensen, “Ares.” Edwards, Mark W., Homer. Frazer, Reading of the “Iliad.” Green, Iliad. Hogan, Guide to the “Iliad.” Jones, Homer’s “Iliad.” Kelly, Adrian, “Hypertexting with Homer.” Kirk, Iliad, vol. 2. Kirk, “Iliad.”
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Lattimore, “Iliad” of Homer. McAuslan and Walcot, Homer. Owen, Story of the “Iliad.” Postlethwaite, Homer’s “Iliad.” Powell, Homer. Powell, Iliad. Pratt, “Diomedes.” Rabel, Plot. Scott, William C., Artistry, 102–111. Verity, Homer. West, M. L. “Date of the Iliad.” Willcock, Companion to the “Iliad.” Willcock, “Some Aspects.” Book 6 Although Il. 6 continues with the Iliad’s first major battle still raging from Il. 5, it quickly turns into a domestic account of Hector’s return to Troy. The book is rightly called a dialogue (homilia), “Hector and Andromache’s Conversation” (Ektoros kai Andromachēs synomilia), a conversation between Troy’s hero and members of his extended family (mother, brother, sister-i n-law, and wife). It is a book characterized by the absence of the gods, who abandon the battlefield at 6.1 and do not return again until 7.17. Over half the book is in direct discourse and orients the Iliad as the tragedy of Troy. The book easily divides in two sections: I. A continuation of the first battle (44% of book) II. Hector in Troy (56% of book) I. A Continuation of the First Battle, 1–236 The first scene at 6.1–72, similar to 4.457–504 and 5.38–83, in which the Greeks dominate the fighting through a series of victories by individual warriors, continues the general fighting, in which only Trojans are killed.
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Eleven Greek heroes easily dispose of fifteen Trojans, with Telamonian Ajax producing the first strike against the Thracian Akamas, the warrior Ares impersonated in the previous book. The effect is one that accentuates Greek superiority over the Trojans and emphasizes the Trojans’ fate at the absence of divine intervention. Among the Trojan casualties is Adrestos, captured alive by Menelaos and used by the poet to contrast the personalities of the two Atreidae. Menelaos is shown to be more compassionate and tolerant, while Agamemnon is harsh and unyielding. Embracing Menelaos’ knees, Adrestos supplicates him for his life, which Menelaos is willing to grant until his b rother Agamemnon intervenes and sways him to push the Trojan aside. Agamemnon then stabs Adrestos, reminding his brother to spare no one, not the young man child that the mother carries still in her body, not even he, but let all of Ilion’s people perish, utterly blotted out and unmourned for. (6.58–60)
Nestor, echoing Agamemnon’s words, urges the Greeks to kill Trojans. Helenos, Hector’s prophetic b rother, pressures him and Aeneas to rally the Trojan troops to hold their ground lest they flee inside the safety of Troy’s walls. He then advises his brother to return to Troy and prevail on Hekabē (Hecuba), their mother, to assemble the women for a sacrifice to Athena, hoping to hold back the onslaught of Diomedes, whose aristeia is still ongoing. For Helenos, Diomedes is the “strongest of all the Achaians. / For never did we so fear Achilleus even” (6.98–99). This is yet another instance of reminding the reader of the absence of Achilles, whose memory is kept alive u ntil his return in Il. 9. Hector’s engagement stirs the Trojans to action, forcing the Greeks to give ground. He reminds his men of their bravery and encourages them to fight while he returns to Troy to urge the elders and women to pray and sacrifice to the gods for victory. As he departs, Homer, as is often the case, adds a personal touch, which further humanizes his characters—the rim of
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Hector’s ox-hide tower shield21 scrapes his neck and ankles as he speeds off to Troy. The interval between Hector’s leaving the battlefield and arriving in Troy affords the time necessary for Homer’s lengthy Glaukos-Diomedes encounter at 6.119–236, a three-part digression—t he story of Lykourgus at 6.119–143, the genealogy of Glaukos at 6.144–211, and Diomedes’ reply and the exchange of armor between the two warriors at 6.212–236. The digression further develops Diomedes’ aristeia, portraying an ideal warrior, a surrogate Achilles before his wrath. Diomedes, unrelenting in his fury but always obedient to both superiors and gods, has just finished wounding Aphrodite and Ares and challenging even Apollo u nder Athena’s tutelage. No longer able to distinguish between mortals and immortals, a gift he previously enjoyed in Il. 5, he is unaware of the gods’ withdrawal from the battlefield. Thus, as he comes across Glaukos, whom he does not recognize, he questions his identity lest he mistakenly engage with a god as Apollo warned against (6.123–143). The ideal warrior challenges only mortals whom he first warns of his superiority. Diomedes begins with a paradigm, the story of Lykourgos, which illustrates the dangers inherent in fighting with gods—Lykourgos, who opposed Dionysos, was struck blind by Zeus and died shortly thereafter. Th ere are a number of different sources for this myth, but in the Iliad Lykourgos is blinded by Zeus and subsequently dies for disrespecting Dionysos. In some versions Lykourgos drives Dionysos and his Maenad followers out of his kingdom, forcing Dionysos to take refuge with Thetis the sea nymph in her undersea grotto. In other versions Dionysos drives Lykourgos insane, causing him to cut off his own foot or kill his son. Glaukos responds with his genealogy, a typical device in Homeric epic used to impress one’s opponent and the audience with the quality of one’s character (see also Diomedes at 14.112–127 and Aeneas at 20.208–241). In the present case, Glaukos’ narrative is also used to illustrate the cyclic and transitory nature of life, as his famous opening reveals: “As is the generation of leaves, so is that of humanity” (6.146). Mortals, like leaves, fall at the approach of winter and sprout again in the spring. Just as leaves are
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indistinguishable from one another so are mortals in the eyes of the gods. The wind disperses them to be replaced, in an eternal and monotonous cycle of life and death. Having articulated Homer’s view of humanity, Glaukos turns to his own genealogy, whose founding f ather, Sisyphos, had a son of the same name (Glaukos) who in turn produced Bellerophon, a man of beauty and manhood. Once Bellerophon is mentioned, the poet cuts to that hero’s fate at King Proitos’ court (without explicitly noting why and how he arrived t here), where Anteia, the king’s wife, falls in love with him. Bellerophon, however, does not reciprocate her advances (a story similar to the Potiphar episode in the book of Genesis and the Phaedra- Hippolytos myth). Falsely accusing the hero of attempted rape, Anteia asks her husband to kill him. To safeguard himself from perpetrating murder, the king sends Bellerophon to his father-in-law, the king of Lykia (Iobates, not named by Homer), with instructions to slay him inscribed on a tablet that only the Lykian king can decipher (“murderous symbols” [6.168]; perhaps the only instance of writing in Homer). Bellerophon is entertained nine days before the king is shown the symbols, but once the king deciphers them, he sets three impossible tasks to bring about Bellerophon’s demise: kill the Chimaira, a monstrous fire-breathing creature whose front is a lion, the middle a goat, and the tail a snake; battle the Solymoi, a tribe of fierce fighters; and kill the Amazons, a tribe of brutal and aggressive women warriors whose main concern in life is war. Bellerophon, victorious in all three instances, returns to the king, who sets a trap to have him killed but fails. Realizing his special qualities, the Lykian king offers the hero half his kingdom and marriage to his daughter, who bears him three children: Isandros, Hippolochos, and Laodamia, the mother of Sarpedon by Zeus. The narrator, disregarding much of the myth, jumps ahead to inform the reader that Bellerophon was hated by the gods and became a lonely wanderer. Springing forward again, Glaukos concludes his genealogy with the fate of Bellerophon’s three c hildren: Isandros killed by Ares, Laodamia killed by Artemis, and Hippolochos, his own f ather, who sent him to Troy “to be always among the bravest” (6.208).
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In reciting his genealogy, Glaukos does not mention Bellerophon’s transgressions, perhaps out of embarrassment. Diomedes makes the same omission in his genealogy at 14.112–127. He says his f ather was a wanderer and makes no mention of his crime. The Homeric version of the Bellerophon myth does not include Pegasos, the winged horse first mentioned by Hesiod, which allowed the hero to complete his tasks; the hero’s murder of a family member, which sent him to Proitos for purification; or his attempt to ascend to heaven on Pegasos’ back. That act caused Zeus to down Pegasos and compel its maimed rider to wander the earth alone, despised by both gods and humans. Homer, whose mythic versions may downplay the monstrous and grotesque, has perhaps modified his tale to suit the context in which it appears. In the present case, his version is more consistent with his “leaves” simile, which emphasizes rebirth and death, success and failure, alternating in the lives of mortals, and which views misfortune as the whim of the gods. Glaukos is intent on portraying himself as a worthy warrior with a distinguished background, and as a result he concentrates on the most prominent member of his extended family, one worthy of Diomedes’ attention. Once Glaukos’ account is concluded, Diomedes recollects that his grandfather Oineus once hosted Bellerophon, with whom he exchanged gifts. Oineus gave the hero a war belt, while Bellerophon offered Oineus a gold double-handed drinking cup. Following the rules of hospitality, the offspring of Oineus and Bellerophon are in turn bound by the laws of xenia (hospitality), which are hereditary. Thus, the two warriors lay aside their arms in friendship to exchange gifts in return. Diomedes receives Glaukos’ gold armor in exchange for his bronze, an exchange that initially takes the narrator by surprise: “Zeus the son of Kronos stole away the wits of Glaukos” (6.234). The disparity between the gifts can, however, also be seen to serve a purpose. Based on his deeds thus far recorded, Diomedes is the superior warrior and could easily defeat Glaukos in hand-to-hand combat. Thus, to emphasize his preeminence in this peaceful encounter, since there will be no duel between the warriors,
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Diomedes is nevertheless declared the obvious winner, receiving gold for bronze, a further comment on his aristeia expanded from Il. 5. Even Diomedes’ ancestry is shown to be superior to Glaukos’, since Oineus received the preferable gift—a gold cup to Bellerophon’s war belt. That such exchanges call attention to the victor in similar situations is again apparent in Il. 7. There also, the obvious winner (Ajax) is revered in the exchange of gifts, although his duel with Hektor ends in a draw. Hektor gives Ajax “a sword with nails of silver . . . together with the sheath and the well-cut sword b elt,” while Hektor receives “a war belt colored shining with purple” (7.303–305). II. Hector in Troy, 237–529 At the completion of the Diomedes-Glaukos episode, Hector arrives in Troy, where he encounters his m other, Hecuba (only he and Achilles are seen with their mothers in the epic); his b rother and sister-in-law, Paris and Helen; and his wife Andromache and son, Astyanax. Immediately he is surrounded by Trojan wives and d aughters seeking news of their men, before he is met by his m other and Laodike, his s ister. Hecuba, preoccupied with his well-being, tries to detain him, but in a rush to complete his mission and return to the battlefield, he resists her entreaties. He asks her to assemble Troy’s w omen at Athena’s t emple and placate the goddess with gifts and sacrifices that she might pity Troy’s women and innocent children. Selecting the loveliest and largest Sidonian robe, which Paris secured on the same voyage that got him Helen, Hecuba, with a crowd of noblewomen, rushes to Athena’s temple, beseeching the goddess for sympathy, “but Pallas Athene turned her head from her” (6.311). Athena’s abrupt dismissal puts a special emphasis on the hopelessness of Troy’s cause. Even though the Trojans revere Athena as a patron goddess whose t emple graces Troy’s citadel, the goddess rejects the women’s entreaties, for the Iliadic gods are preoccupied with their own interests (and Troy’s fate is sealed). Thetis cares for her son Achilles, and Hera and Athena want Troy’s destruction because of Paris’ judgment. Perhaps Athena’s terse disdain for the Trojan w omen’s
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enticements is also due to Hecuba’s offering an item procured by Paris at the time of Helen’s abduction. In the meantime, Hector is anxious to seek out Paris and have him return to the battlefield. Since his disgrace at the duel with Menelaos, Paris has confined himself at home with Helen. The Paris-Helen scene is now reopened from the point it was abandoned at 3.382. Hector, exhausted from fighting, is exasperated with Paris’ behavior to the point that he openly wishes him dead in front of his own m other: “If only I could see him gone down to the house of the death god” (6.284). She, however, like any mother displaying affection t oward a son, remains silent throughout her older son’s tirade. She neither blames Hector for his b itter denunciation of his brother nor brings herself to fault her younger son for his misdeeds. Hector finds both Paris and Helen in their chambers, Paris holding and examining his bow as Hector enters clasping an eleven-cubit spear. The contrast between the two men is that of a warrior confronting a coward, since the bow distanced a warrior from the preferred head-to-head encounters. Helen (still “of Argos” at 6.323 and not “of Troy”), like a respectable Greek or Trojan wife, sits among her attendant w omen directing their handiwork. Hector scolds his brother for allowing others to fight for his cause, and Paris acknowledges Hector’s rebuke as legitimate but explains his absence from the fighting: “I wished to give myself to sorrow” (6.336). Although he does not state the reason for his sorrow, he more than likely is thinking of his defeat and the humiliation he suffered at the hands of Menelaos. However, Helen has persuaded him to rejoin the fighting, and he is ready to accompany his b rother. It is of note that Helen is the only woman in Troy encouraging her man to enter the battle when other wives, Andromache being the best example, are d oing all they can to prevent their husbands from fighting. In his chambers, Paris presents himself as more thoughtful and concerned with his role in Troy’s war than he is given credit for in the earlier books. Hector ignores Paris and turns to Helen, who reviles herself as a “nasty bitch evil-intriguing,” wishing she had died at birth to prevent the events
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she caused (6.344). She insults Paris by longing for a stronger, more modest and reliable husband, and predicts the eventual consequences of his actions. Paris remains mute throughout. She then tries to endear herself to Hector, inviting him to sit by her, flattering him for the burden he assumes on their behalf, “for the sake of dishonored me and the blind act of Alexandros” (6.356). She is repentant but still a temptress seduced by a weakling. She accepts her share in her folly but places the majority of the blame on Paris and fate, “since the gods had brought it about that t hese vile t hings must be” (6.349). Perhaps part of Helen’s fatal attraction, as her flattering comments to Hector indicate, is that she tells men what they want to hear, as the reader is made aware also in her passage with Priam in Il. 3. However, Hector is not to be detained. He is reminded of his own home and family and rushes off to see them, prevailing on Helen to rouse Paris to action. Hector, throughout Il. 6, is presented as a loyal son, a conscientious leader, and a pious man struggling with his emotions and keeping duty foremost in his mind. Hector fails to catch Andromache at home, as she has anxiously hurried to the wall upon hearing of Trojan losses. Disheveled over concern for the welfare of her husband, she declines to follow the other Trojan w omen to Athena’s t emple, being in a frenzy to discover w hether he is dead or alive. When the c ouple finally meet, each r unning from opposite directions, she greets her husband in tears, while he silently smiles seeing his son in the arms of an attendant maid. Their ensuing conversation at 6.405–481 can be read in three parts—Andromache rebukes Hector (6.405–439), Hector rejects Andromache’s advice (6.440–465), and Hector cuddles his son (6.466–481). This entire episode between Hector and Andromache, more than any other in the epic, delineates gender roles in the Iliad. Although they live in a patriarchal society that places emphasis on the unfading glory (klea omen play a major role in the Iliad. It is aphthiton) of its male heroes, w three women at the beginning of the epic (Helen, Chryseis, and Briseis) who are the cause of the tragic events that follow, and it is three women at
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the end (Andromache, Hecuba, and Helen) who are left to mourn the results of t hose events. The power t hese women wield over men is at the same time both disastrous, the cause of the war and the hostilities provoked, and restorative, the source of Hector’s single moment of bliss and the reason for Troy’s defense, which becomes obvious in his reunion with his wife and son. Elsewhere, a representat ion of Achilles’ renewed humanity is elucidated when he can once again lie beside Briseis. The resigned words of Helen and Andromache respectively shame Paris to return to the field of battle and give pause to Hector’s choice between the defense of Troy and the welfare of his wife and son. Most of Andromache’s remarks throughout the Iliad are confined to lamentations for her husband (see 22.477–514 and 24.725–745); her comments become premonitions of what is yet to come. She begins by outlining her harsh fate a fter Hector’s death, since she has no other f amily: “You are f ather to me, and my honored m other, / you are my b rother, and you it is who are my young husband” (6.429–430). It was Achilles who killed her f ather and her seven b rothers and ransomed her mother, whom “Artemis . . . struck . . . down in the halls of her father”; Artemis was said to be responsible for women dying from natural c auses. Unlike Hecuba, however, who wishes she could hack apart Achilles and eat him raw (see 22.346–348), Andromache, accepting war’s consequences in spite of her losses at his hands, holds no animosity toward him. Instead, she focuses on Achilles’ humane qualities, which will become apparent again in Il. 24. She recalls the respect he paid her parents by burning Eëtion’s body with all its gear, piling a mound over it, and ransoming her m other. She begs Hector to take pity on her and fight from within the walls of Troy, but his sense of duty and shame does not allow him to remain hidden behind walls. His words encapsulate Homer’s meaning of heroism and the importance of one’s reputation. In his heart, however, Hector realizes, “there w ill come a day when sacred Ilion s hall perish” (6.448), the exact words used by Agamemnon at 4.163–165 after Pandaros broke the truce. It is not death that worries Hector, for a hero, in the late scholar E. T.
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Owen’s words, “cheats death of its victory by making it the servant of his glory” (“Farewell of Hector,” 103), but rather the thought of Andromache’s cries as she is dragged into captivity. As Hector holds out his arms for his baby son, the child shrinks back screaming, frightened at “Hektor of the gleaming helmet,” giving new meaning to the epithet that defines his father. He removes the helmet, he and Andromache smile, and Hector lifts and kisses his son. Realizing that little hope remains for his family’s f uture, Hector nevertheless wishes his son might grow up to be eminent in b attle, a warrior more frightening than his father, one who can delight his mother with the bloodied spoils of his enemy. Even death and the suffering to come cannot quell Hector’s need to be remembered as the best of the Trojan warriors and to wish the same for his son. Resigned to his fate, Hector puts on his gleaming helmet to return to the battlefield, while Andromache returns home to mourn the husband she thinks “would never again come back from the fighting / alive” (6.501–502). It is of note that the only other time the hero’s helmet touches the earth is when “he dropped in the dust, and brilliant Achilles vaunted above him” at 22.330. Thus, removing the symbol of his warrior status to embrace his son also augurs the end of his life. Paris, compared to a liberated stalled horse galloping free, sure of its strength (6.506–514), meets his brother returning from his family, and Hector is bewildered how such a capable man can at the same time be an unwilling participant in battle. Hector, shamed at what he hears about Paris from the Trojans fighting for his sake, nevertheless hopes that one day Troy will be free of Greeks. Thus, Hector endures, for he can always hope for a better f uture. He exits Troy to return for the last time at 7.310; a fter that, he will return a corpse when his father ransoms his body in Il. 24. Selected Bibliography: Il. 6 Alexander, Iliad. Anhalt, Enraged, 29–50. Beck, Homeric Conversation, 128–129.
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Calder, “Gold for Bronze.” Donlan, “Unequal Exchange.” Easterling, “Men’s Kleos.” Easterling, “Tragic Homer.” Edwards, Mark W., Homer. Fineberg, “Blind Rage.” Gaisser, “A Structural Analysis.” Graziosi and Haubold, Homer: Iliad VI. Green, Iliad. Harries, “Strange Meeting.” Hogan, Guide to the “Iliad.” Jones, Homer’s “Iliad.” Katz, “Divided World.” Kirk, Iliad, vol. 2. Kirk, “Iliad.” Lattimore, “Iliad” of Homer. Mason, To Homer through Pope, 157–178. McAuslan and Walcot, Homer. Mueller, Iliad. Nagy, Ancient Greek Hero. Owen, “Farewell.” Owen, Story of the “Iliad.” Postlethwaite, Homer’s “Iliad.” Powell, Homer. Powell, Iliad. Rabel, Plot. Redfield, Nature and Culture. Schadewaldt, “Hector and Andromache.” Scodel, “Wits of Glaucus.” Stoevesandt, Homer’s “Iliad” VI. Traill, “Gold Armor.” Verity, Homer.
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West, M. L., “Date of the Iliad.” White, “Bellerophon.” Willcock, Companion to the “Iliad.” Willcock, “Some Aspects.” Zarker, “King Eetion.” Book 7 Il. 7, presented in equal parts of direct and indirect discourse, is often referenced u nder two headings: “The Hector-Ajax Duel” (Hektoros kai Aiantos monomachia) and “The Burial of the Dead” (Nekrōn anairesis). Although composed of almost two dozen fast-paced scenes of fewer than fifty lines each, the book can be read in four sections: I. Hector and Paris reenter the battlefield (9% of book) II. Hector-Ajax Duel (58% of book) III. Burial of the dead (23% of book) IV. Building of the Achaian wall (10% of book) I. Hector and Paris Reenter the Battlefield, 1–43 Having swept through Troy’s gate in Il. 6, Hector and Paris (along with Glaukos) are back in the midst of the fighting, each one of the three men killing his opponent and initiating the downturn of Greek fortunes. From here to the end of Il. 8, the Trojan counterattack w ill gain momentum, necessitating an embassy to Achilles in Il. 9. Disturbed by the gains of Priam’s sons, Athena descends from Olympos and is met by Apollo, who wants to challenge her actions on behalf of the Greeks. Both agree not to get involved in the fighting but instead suggest a duel between Hector and a Greek warrior. II. Hector-Ajax Duel, 44–322 Helenos, intuiting the gods’ design and assuring Hector’s safety, persuades him to call for a duel to determine the war’s outcome. This is the only
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instance in the Iliad in which Helenos’ prophetic skills are in full view. Although addressed as a diviner in his first appearance at 6.76, he acts mostly as an adviser. In his subsequent appearances, he is addressed as a commander (12.94), a warrior (13.576–578 and 13.759), or one of the nine sons whom Priam contends disgrace him a fter Hector’s death (24.249). Why Homer includes a second duel after the Paris-Menelaos duel in Il. 3 is not clear. It does, however, delay the outcome of the war and give Homer the chance to focus on another important player in the Iliad— Telamonian Ajax, second only to Achilles in prowess. We have already witnessed the ideal warrior in the aristeia of Diomedes in Il. 5 and 6, reminding the reader of Achilles before and after his wrath. Ajax’s legacy as second only to Achilles becomes apparent in this duel, since he clearly is the victor against Hector, whose vanquisher can only be Achilles. It is for that reason the duel results in a draw. Ajax, a superior warrior, cannot kill him because tradition w ill not allow it. The Paris-Menelaos duel, whose object of contention was Helen, sealed the Trojans’ fate. It was obvious that Menelaos would have been the winner if Aphrodite had not interfered. Further, Pandaros, by wounding Menelaos and breaking the truce between the two warring parties, added to the Trojan duplicity. The Hector-Ajax duel, on the other hand, does nothing more than provide a respite from the fighting. Hector knows through Helenos that his time of death is not yet imminent, and tradition tells us that Telamonian Ajax w ill not perish. Since the outcome of the duel must remain inconclusive, its object of contention could be the glory heroes win in battle. Knowing that his life is not in mortal danger, Hector is happy to challenge any Greek warrior willing to face him. Confident of victory, he sets forth his terms: the victor can keep the opponent’s armor, but the body must be returned for proper burial, for an opponent’s burial mound adds to the victor’s own kleos when in the f uture passers-by can acknowledge that “glorious Hektor killed him.” Hector believes he can end the war without further deaths, since Zeus refuses to “bring to fulfillment / our
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oaths” (7.69–70). However, he does not mention the violation of Trojan oaths in the Menelaos-Paris duel. Further, he remains silent on the consequences of the present duel. W ill Helen and her property be returned to the Greeks should he lose the contest? His silence on this matter is also felt later at the Trojan assembly where Antenor votes for Helen’s return but is refuted by both Paris and Priam (7.345–380). Hector’s challenge is initially unacknowledged by the Greeks, but Menelaos is first to accept it, accusing his fellow warriors of cowardice. Agamemnon, quick to show the brotherly anxiousness he displayed when Menelaos was wounded by Pandaros, discourages him from fighting a superior warrior like Hector, reminding him that even Achilles “trembles to meet this man” (7.114). Having dissuaded Menelaos from accepting Hector’s challenge and avowing Hector’s preeminence, Agamemnon accedes to Nestor to address the troops. The elder warrior begins by reminding the Greek army that Peleus would be disappointed were he pre sent to hear how the Greek leadership cowers at Hector’s challenge, for it was Peleus, Achilles’ father, who admonished his son to be “always best in battle and pre-eminent beyond all others” (11.783). Mention of Peleus, a hero of an e arlier and thus more heroically esteemed generation, recalls for Nestor his own celebrated past, and he digresses to recount his duel with Ereuthalion (first mentioned at 4.319) as a paradigm for the current situation (7.132–160). He begins by looking further back to a grander past than even his own, to the warrior Areïthoös, whose armor was stripped by Lykourgos (not the same Lykourgos who opposed Dionysos in Il. 6), who in turn passed it to his henchman Ereuthalion, whom the youthful Nestor fought and killed. Were Nestor as young as he was then, Hector would have met his match. At the end of Nestor’s rebuke, nine Greek warriors rise to accept the Trojan’s challenge. The first three, Agamemnon, Diomedes, and Telamonian Ajax, are to be expected, since Ajax is second only to Achilles, Diomedes’ status has been illustrated in the previous two books, and Agamemnon’s role as commander in chief is not to be questioned. What
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is unexpected is Odysseus’ status as the ninth Iliadic warrior listed, below such relatively minor warriors as Meriones, Eurypylos, and Thoas. Perhaps such an array was intended by Homer to stress that the Trojan War is eventually won by mētis (mind) and not by biē (physical strength). That this in fact seems to be the case becomes clear in Demodokos’ songs in Od. 8, especially when he sings the story about the love of Ares and Aphrodite (Od. 8.266–366). Since nine heroes are willing to face Hector, lots are drawn. Ajax’s lot “leapt” (ethore) at Il. 7.182 from the helmet containing the warriors’ signs, as if the gods had ordained that Ajax should be the one to duel Hector. His companions pray for his victory; should Zeus, however, f avor Hector, they hope for a draw, anticipating the outcome. A fter the arming of Ajax and a description of his massive shield of bronze and sevenfold ox hide, a four-part duel gets u nder way. Each of the two opponents casts his spear. Hector’s throw reaches the seventh layer of his rival’s shield, while Ajax’s spear crashes through Hector’s, shearing his tunic, but the Trojan, leaning to one side, avoids death. Retrieving their spears, the two challengers thrust at each other. Hector’s spearhead bends after striking Ajax’s shield, while the Greek’s spear passes through Hector’s shield, wounding him on the neck. Hector next heaves a stone at Ajax’s shield to no effect; Ajax’s stone in turn breaks Hector’s shield, knocking him over, but Apollo lifts him upright. As the two adversaries go for their swords, the mediating heralds, Idaios and Talthybios, stop the duel. It is interesting that Idaios, the Trojan herald, is the first to call an end to the contest, citing darkness. He proclaims that both opponents are favored by Zeus and great fighters. However, it is obvious that in each of the various phases of the combat, Ajax triumphs. Had not Apollo intervened, Hector might well have been defeated and perhaps even killed. Ajax, on the other hand, neither receives nor accepts help here or anywhere e lse in the Iliad, although Athena and Apollo are both spectators at the challenge. Idaios, the Trojan (and not the Greek Talthybios), aware of Hector’s situation, does well to stop the duel.
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Hector and Ajax agree to the suspension and exchange gifts. The Trojan presents Ajax “a sword with nails of silver / . . . together with the sheath and the well-cut sword belt” (7.303–304), while Ajax offers “a war belt colored shining with purple” (7.305). Like the gifts exchanged in the Diomedes-Glaukos episode of the previous book, the greater the value of the gift, the greater the honor of the receiver. In this instance the prizewinner is Ajax, based on the description of the gifts exchanged. The fact that the scene now abandons Hector and turns to Ajax and Agamemnon’s sacrifice of a young ox to Zeus in honor of his warrior’s per formance is further evidence of who is thought of as the duel’s true champion. III. Burial of the Dead, 323–432 Nestor counsels for an armistice to gather the dead, cremate them, bury the ashes in a common mound (polyandrion), and have the troops collect the bones for the relatives. Since it is customary in the Iliad to cremate the dead and collect the remains for burial in a common grave, it would be impossible to collect the bones of each individual warrior for transport back home. This seems to be a late Athenian custom (464 b.c.e.), and as a result t hese lines at 7.334–335 w ere condemned by the ancient critic Aristarchos as not attributable to Homer. In the Iliad, cremation is customary, although at 22.335–336 Achilles gloats over the d ying Hector, “On you the dogs and the vultures / shall feed and foully rip you,” but adds, “the Achaians w ill bury Patroklos” (22.336), implying that the Trojan’s ashes w ill be left unburied. Patroklos is later cremated in Il. 23 and his ashes placed in an urn to await Achilles’ own. Perhaps in his blind fury Achilles means to say that Hector’s body will be left unattended while Patroklos’ w ill receive proper burial. Nevertheless, Nestor’s proposal to hold a truce in order to bury the ashes of the dead is mentioned only h ere in Il. 7. Besides his concern over the dead, Nestor recommends building a wall with ramparts between the Greek ships and Troy’s walls to be surrounded by a deep ditch (7.337–343). His counsel meets
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with universal appeal, but before it is acted on, the scene shifts to a Trojan assembly. Homer w ill not return to the wall until 7.433, when he again has a need to introduce it. The Trojan assembly, described as ferocious and tumultuous (7.346), features Antenor, Priam’s chief adviser, who hosted Menelaos and Odysseus when they came to Troy to retrieve Helen at the beginning of the war (see 3.204–221). Antenor, now taking notice of a bleak Trojan f uture, again proposes, as he had earlier advised, the return of Helen with all her possessions, since the Trojans broke their pledges. However, Paris resolutely refuses to give Helen up, although he is willing to return the t reasure he absconded with from Argos. Priam supports his son’s decision and announces that Idaios w ill deliver his agreement for a truce to the Greeks to cremate the dead, after which fighting can again resume. Interestingly, Hector is nowhere to be seen or heard of during this assembly, even though e arlier in Il. 6 he wished his b rother dead for causing the Trojan conflict (see 6.281–282). At dawn on day twenty-t hree, Idaios delivers Paris’ resolution, displeased that the prince had not perished before bringing Helen to Troy, a sentiment held by most Trojans: “the Trojans would have him do it [return Helen]” (7.393). Diomedes is adamant against the entire proposal, convinced that the Trojans’ end is ensured by their unlawful actions. All agree with Diomedes to continue fighting but to accept the truce to cremate the dead. IV. Building of the Achaean Wall, 433–482 Early on the following day (day twenty-four), the Greeks burn their dead in a single mound and begin building a wall with high towers and gates through which chariots can pass. Outside the wall, erected by the end of the day, they dig a deep trench with protruding sharp stakes. On Olympos, Poseidon, jealous that the Greek wall is built without sacrifices to the gods and fearing it might rival the Trojan wall that he and Apollo built for Laomedon, complains to Zeus. The Olympian, in a famous statement on
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the impermanence of man, advises his b rother to wash it all into the sea without a trace once the Greeks have returned to their homes. Il. 7 concludes with the Greeks feasting and drinking wine that Euneos,22 son of Jason, brought from Lemnos. Although Euneos in the present passage is an army supplier, elsewhere in the epic he is featured as a slave trader (see 21.40–41 and 23.746–747). Jason and the Argo saga are mentioned only here in the Iliad. The building of the Greek wall, which occupies only ten p ercent of Il. 7, has received more scholarly attention than any other episode in this book and remains one of the most controversial passages in the Iliad.23 Why should the wall be built in the tenth year and not the first? The simple answer is that the Iliad’s early books (Il. 1–7), as stated e arlier, digress from the epic’s main themes to provide a broad picture of the entire Trojan War tale: 1. Il. 2: Odysseus’ reminiscences of the mustering of the troops at Aulis at the start of the Trojan expedition; the Catalog of Ships; and Nestor’s suggestion at 2.362–368 that the Greek troops be organized by battalions. 2 . Il. 3: The teichoskopia; the duel of Paris and Menelaos; and the Paris-Helen encounter, a symbolic reenactment of their first meeting. 3. Il. 4: Agamemnon’s inspection of the troops. 4 . Il. 5: Diomedes presented as fighting for the first time, at 5.1–8. 5. Il. 6: The reader’s first encounter with the Trojan populace in Troy. 6. Il. 7: The building of the wall and early negotiations concerning Helen’s return. Elsewhere in the epic, the beginning of the Trojan War is evoked through direct reminiscences, such as Odysseus’ speech at 2.284–332, Antenor’s recollection of the Odysseus-Menelaos embassy to Troy at 3.204–224, and Helen’s pointing out the main Greek heroes to Priam at 3.191–244. More common, however, are Homer’s digressions providing background material whenever he feels it to be appropriate. For exam-
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ple, from Il. 8 through 18, the wall is mentioned continuously b ecause it is needed for the Trojan onslaught and later to be breached by Sarpedon and Hector. The wall appears in the Iliad when the narrative has need for it. As Margalit Finkelberg states, Homer “reshapes episodes properly belonging to the beginning of the war so as to make them fit the chronological and narrative setting of its last war” (“Sources of Iliad 7,” 159). After Achilles returns to the battlefield in Il. 19, not only does fighting at the Achaean wall cease altogether, but the wall itself disappears from view (12.10–18). In the book’s final five lines (7.478–482), Zeus’ thunderstrokes serve as a warning to the celebrating Greeks of the defeat they w ill suffer on the following day, and the god makes his intentions known once again at 8.470–476. Selected Bibliography: Il. 7 Alexander, Iliad. Boyd, “Poet.” Christensen, “Diomedes’ Foot-Wound.” Davies, Malcolm, “Nestor’s Advice.” Davison, “Thucydides.” Duffy, William, “Aias and the Gods.” Edwards, Mark W., Homer. Finkelberg, “Sources of Iliad 7.” Friedrich, Wolf-Hartmut, Wounding, 71–82. Hogan, Guide to the “Iliad.” Jones, Homer’s “Iliad.” Kirk, “Formal Duels.” Kirk, Iliad, vol. 2. Lattimore, “Iliad” of Homer. Maitland, “Poseidon.” McAuslan and Walcot, Homer. Owen, Story of the “Iliad.”
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Page, History, 315–324. Porter, James I., “Making and Unmaking.” Postlethwaite, Homer’s “Iliad.” Powell, Homer. Powell, Iliad. Rabel, Plot. Scodel, “Achaean Wall.” Shive, “Omeron ex Aischulou safhenizein.” Signor, “Achaean Wall.” Tsagarakis, “Achaean Wall.” Verity, Homer. West, M. L., “Achaean Wall.” West, M. L., “Date of the Iliad.” Willcock, Companion to the “Iliad.”
chapter 3
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THE SECOND B ATTLE: IL. 8–10 (DAY TWENTY-FIVE)
Book 8 The new day (day twenty-five), which opens and closes Il. 8, heralds the Iliad’s second battle. “The Unfinished Battle” (Kolos machē) or merely “Battle” (Machē), as the book is frequently known, recounts the fighting of a single day without any interference from the gods. Zeus’ edict stays in effect until he withdraws it at 20.23–25. The book’s twofold purpose is to motivate the embassy of Il. 9 and to implement Zeus’ promise to Thetis (Il. 1). Il. 8 can be read in four parts: I. Dawn of day twenty-five: Zeus calls an assembly (9% of book) II. The second battle (53% of book) III. Zeus, Hera, and Athena debate the day’s events (24% of book) IV. Night of day twenty-five: Hektor calls an assembly (14% of book) I. Dawn of Day Twenty-Five: Zeus Calls an Assembly, 1–52 Zeus is now prepared to bring about the decisive defeat of the Greeks as promised, and he demands the full cooperation of the gods. Forgoing narrative suspense so that his audience can focus on the how and why of what is happening, he cautions that Athena w ill not physically appear on the battlefield again u ntil 17.544–546. Trojan success w ill continue until Hector is within reach of setting fire to the Greek ships at 15.718. Any 107
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opposition to his plan is to be met with physical violence. As the ultimate punishment, he threatens Tartaros, an underworld realm lower than Hades, as far below the earth as the earth is below the sky, where the Titans (the generation of gods before Zeus) are imprisoned. He warns his fellow Olympians that his strength is such that he is capable of suspending all of them, along with the earth, from a golden chain, and not even all of the gods combined could dethrone him (8.19–27). Stunned by his words, the gods comply, for “he had spoken to them very strongly” (8.29). Athena begs permission to at least advise the Greeks if she cannot physically assist them. Paradoxically, Zeus smiles and tells her he was not really serious in what he said and w ill allow counseling. Harnessing his h orses, he then leaves for Gargaros on Ida, a mountain peak, which offers a panoramic view of Troy and its surroundings, providing a point from which he can look over the city of Troy and the Greek ships. II. The Second B attle, 53–349 The Iliad’s second b attle (Il. 8–10) occupies over half of Il. 8 and is presented in four episodes: 1. Trojan gains I, 8.53–197. 2. Hera and Poseidon on Olympos, 8.198–211. 3. Greek gains, 8.212–334. 4. Trojan gains II, 8.335–349. The two armies clash at 8.53 and remain on an equal footing for the remainder of the morning. Their encounter is described in words identical to those used earlier at 4.446–451. However, at noon Zeus lifts up his golden scale, weighing the fates of the two armies, and the Greek side sinks (8.69–72). Zeus follows through with a thunderbolt, which warns the Greek heroes Idomeneus, Agamemnon, and the two Aiantes to withdraw from the battlefield. Why a delay of almost one-t hird of the Iliad (Il. 2–7) before Zeus can keep his promise to Thetis? It seems these earlier books are needed to demonstrate the Greeks’ natural superiority
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to the Trojans. The aristeia of Diomedes in Il. 5–7 is proof of Greek preeminence, as are the duels between Menelaos and Paris and between Ajax and Hector. In all three instances, the Greek warriors remain in a class apart. In addition, as discussed in chapter 2, the singer weaves his digressions of the past into the present to remind his audience what transpired before the fifty-three-day Achilles-Agamemnon conflict, of which only fifteen days and five nights are narrated action; the remainder of the time is, in narratological terms, only named (Latacz, Homer, 19). As the four Greek leaders exit the battlefield, Nestor remains b ehind, but not of his own accord (8.80). His trace horse, the one attached to a chariot drawn by two yoked h orses, which is neither yoked nor used to pull the chariot, is shot in the head by Paris’ arrow, throwing the team into confusion and preventing Nestor’s escape (Patroklos’ trace h orse Pedasos is the only other h orse killed in the Iliad, at 16.467–469). Diomedes, sighting Hector in hot pursuit, rushes to the old counselor’s rescue. The ensuing episode remains controversial (8.87–129), for at 8.94 Diomedes labels Odysseus a coward when he disregards his call for assistance: “Where are you running, turning your back in battle like a coward?” The phrase oud’ esakouse at 8.97, debated since antiquity, can mean either that Odysseus did not hear Diomedes’ pleas or that he merely ignored him. Further, the use of the ambiguous term kakos ōs at 8.94 could imply that Odysseus is a coward or that he resembles one. Richmond Lattimore and David Green, in their translations of this line (8.97), opt for “ignore,” while Robert Fagles, Anthony Verity, and Barry Powell prefer “did not hear.”1 In another line (8.104), Diomedes insults Nestor’s henchman, Eurymedon, without motive, “Your henchman is a man of no worth,” and removes his own charioteer, Sthenelos, his coleader of the Argos forces, in preference for the elderly Nestor to control Tros’ divine horses (see 5.265–273). Although Nestor appears as a charioteer elsewhere in the epic (see 11.597–598, when he leaves the battlefield to escort the wounded Machaon to his barracks), he is not as familiar with Diomedes’ divine h orses as Sthenelos would be in a combat situation. The Nestor scene has been considered as a possible interpolation,
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since a similar scene occurs in the Epic Cycle’s Aethiopis.2 In that work, Nestor suffers a chariot wreck (his horse is mortally wounded by Paris’ arrow) and his son, Antilochos, comes to his rescue at the cost of his own life by confronting the Trojan ally Memnon, who is attempting to kill Nestor. It has been proposed that in the present scene Hector could be a replacement for Memnon and Diomedes for Antilochos. Further evidence pointing to such an exchange is the fact that Diomedes does not dismount but fights from his moving chariot, an unusual occurrence in the Iliad (8.118–119). In the subsequent struggle between Diomedes and Hector, the former’s throw misses the latter but kills Eniopeus, Hector’s charioteer, who is replaced by Archeptolemos, who appears only in the present book; he in turn is killed by the arrow of Teukros (Teucer) at 8.315. At 8.130 the narrator intervenes to inform the reader that had Zeus not “thundered horribly” and dashed a lightning bolt in front of Diomedes’ horses, Hector would not have survived. Nestor, fearful of the omen, drops the reins and begs Diomedes to retreat; the hero concurs but feels shamed to abandon his encounter with Hector. Nevertheless, as he prepares to withdraw, Hector taunts him by calling him a coward and a puppet. Exposed to ridicule, Diomedes ponders turning back three times, and three times Zeus’ thunder restrains him. It seems that although the second day’s battle favors Hector and the Trojans, Homer, as always, privileges the Greeks. It is Diomedes who, h ere and in the earlier books, is the true and favored warrior (see Diomedes vs. Aeneas and Diomedes vs. Hector). Although his spear toss misses Hector, killing instead his charioteer, Hector’s response is ineffective. Without Zeus’ assistance, Hector would not have survived (8.130). Throughout the passage, it is Zeus’ thunder and lightning that propel the Trojans to success. Left to their own devices, the Trojans are no match for the Greeks. Heartened by Zeus’ positive signs, Hector is convinced that the god “has bowed his head and assented / to my high glory and success,” granting the Greeks pain (8.175–176). Emboldened, Hector is on the verge of hubris.
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Calling the Greek wall feeble and of no account, he is convinced his h orses can easily jump the ditch and facilitate his burning the ships and killing all the Greeks present. It is of note that Hector mentions four horses pulling his chariot, rare in Homeric fighting, although four h orses are common in chariot races (see 11.698). Further, in addressing his four horses, he uses a dual form, te die (you two): “Xanthos and you Podargos, Aithon and Lampos the shining” (8.185). Is this an oversight or an interpolation? Hector insists on pursuing Nestor for his gold shield, which appears nowhere e lse in the Iliad, and Diomedes for his corselet wrought by Hephaistos, but not the one he received from Glaukos in Il. 6. He is convinced that capturing t hese two pieces of armor would cause the Greeks to flee with their ships by nightfall. It seems Zeus’ thunder and lightning have rattled Hector’s mind. At this juncture the narrator shifts to a short interlude on Olympos, where Hera has become indignant at Hector’s boasting, but she is unsuccessful in convincing Poseidon to intervene on behalf of the Greeks, acknowledging once again Zeus’ superiority (8.198–211). The scene relocates again to the mortal world, where Hector, with Zeus’ assistance, has pinned the Greek forces between the wall and the ditch (8.212–334). Hera arouses Agamemnon to rally the Greek troops against Hector’s onslaught, and he prays that the Olympian take pity and not allow his people to perish. Zeus answers his prayer by sending a positive omen—an eagle drops a fawn held in his talons on the god’s altar (8.247–249); this altar is neither identified nor heard of again in the epic. It is interesting, however, that when the Trojans pray for further success at the end of the day, the gods reject their sacrifices, “so hateful to them was sacred Ilion, / and Priam, and the city of Priam” (8.551–552). Zeus is allowing the present victory as a favor to Thetis and not b ecause the Trojan cause is just. The change of scene favoring the Greeks prolongs the battle’s outcome and stresses the need for Achilles’ participation and the upcoming embassy of Il. 9. It also allows for further Greek heroics, a constant reminder of Greek superiority, and shows the degradation of the traditional code of fighting as a result of Teukros’s participation and Agamemnon’s approval of his tactics.
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The first kill goes to Diomedes, who spears the Trojan Agelaos, followed by seven more strikes by the Greeks—Agamemnon, Menelaos, the two Aiantes, Idomeneus, Meriones, and Eurypylos. The eighth warrior, the bowman Teukros, the bastard son of Telamon and half b rother of Telamonian Ajax, and one of the Iliad’s two major Greek archers (the other is Meriones), slaughters eight named Trojans in a minor aristeia (8.273–276). Thus far in the epic, the only two bowmen have been Trojans—Paris and Pandaros, both described in less than flattering terms (see 3.32, 3.45, 3.56–57, and 4.104). In the present book, Teukros’s triumph is ironic, for his success degrades the accepted heroic code of hand-to-hand combat. Like Pandaros, he surfaces to strike from behind a shield, in this case Telamonian Ajax’s body shield, and a fter each fatal blow, he rushes to hide behind it “like a child to the arms of his mother” (8.271). The fact that the commander in chief congratulates Teukros on his feats and refers to him as “a light given to the Danaäns,” promising him a gift of honor at the end of the war, further adds to the irony of the situation (8.282). Teukros next tries for a ninth kill by aiming at Hector, but instead he hits Hector’s charioteer, Archeptolemos, his arrow faltered by Apollo (8.311). The irony now s ettles on the Trojans, for although they are in the ascendancy, it is not their superiority that warrants their good fortune, since the gods guide their every move. As to be expected, Teukros’ second attempt at Hector fails, and Hector wounds Teukros with a stone toss to his collarbone. The scene ends not with Hector’s heroics but with those of the Greek Ajax, who runs to cover his half brother under his massive shield, while two of his Greek companions, Mekisteus and Alastor, carry the wounded warrior to safety. The final scene of this episode has Zeus refueling the Trojans’ fury as they drive the Greek troops back against the wall and ditch. A simile at 8.338–342 compares Hector to a hunting hound snapping at the flanks of a wild boar or lion. Proud of his strength, Hector pursues the retreating Greek soldiers, killing the ones who lag b ehind, but he is nevertheless like the hound pursuing wild boars and lions (the Greeks).
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III. Zeus, Hera, and Athena Debate the Day’s Events, 350–484 The reader is returned to Olympos, where Hera, pitying the Greeks, engages Athena. This light-hearted episode on Olympos not only serves as a respite from the fighting but also provides a more intimate view of the gods; Zeus’ authority is not to be questioned. Throughout the book, beginning with his “cord of gold” at 8.19, the god emphasizes his strength and superiority, which exceed t hose of all the other gods combined. Now he warns Hera and Athena that should they attempt to aid the Greeks, he will lame their horses; smash their chariot; hurl them both to earth, causing them to suffering wounds unhealable for ten years (8.402–405); and banish them from Olympos (8.455–456). Both goddesses comply with his demands and slink away quietly. Although the gods take sides and support favorites, they are more concerned about themselves than mortals. Hera’s and Athena’s hatred of the Trojans stems primarily from their disappointment in losing to Aphrodite, which explains her love for Paris. The “Judgment of Paris” alluded to at 24.28–30 is not narrated in the epic, perhaps because Homer considered it too well known to bother repeating it. The myth (first detailed in the Epic Cycle’s Cypris) told of a banquet held by Zeus in celebration of the marriage of Peleus and Thetis, to which Eris, the uninvited goddess of discord, brought a golden apple to be awarded to the most beautiful goddess. The apple was claimed by Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Paris, chosen by Zeus to judge, awarded the apple to Aphrodite, who promised him Helen. In the present episode, Hera is more concerned for her own well-being than that of t hose she supports. Once threatened by Zeus, she immediately relents, claiming she w ill not fight Zeus for the sake of mortals. “Let one of them perish then, let another live, as their fortune / w ills” (8.429–230). As the fighting resumes at 8.470–477, the episode provides a broad sketch ill suffer greater of events to follow (detailed in Il. 11–18). The Greeks w losses and Hector w ill kill Patroklos to stir Achilles back to action. These events w ill occur b ecause “it is fated to be,” and not even the gods dare
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change them (8.477). Although at times Zeus claims he can override fate, he never does, because of the chaos such an act would bring about. The episode continues with the narration of a group of tales regarding Herakles, which began in Il. 5 and extend through Il. 20. The eleven references to Herakles in the Iliad attest to both Homer’s and his readers’ familiarity with the myth (see 5.392–404, 5.638–642, 8.363–369, 11.689–690, 14.250–256, 14.323–324, 15.25–30, 15.639–640, 18.117–119, 19.96–134, and 20.639–640). Herakles’ exploits, both well directed and harmful, are frequently invoked by Homer and by his characters as a basis for comparison. Representing a known hero from an e arlier and thus a more respected generation, Heracles offers a model Homer’s characters can imitate. The hero has already demonstrated his superiority to the Iliadic heroes by having sacked Troy practically alone at an earlier time in order to avenge Laomedon’s broken promise to him, a broken promise made also to Poseidon, which annoys the god throughout the Iliad narrative. Homer shows an awareness of Herakles’ labors when he cites the hero’s retrieval of the three-headed dog Cerberus from Hades, which he mentions as an example of a better man in the service of a lesser one (8.363–369). Heracles’ labors w ere performed under the orders of an inferior king, Eurystheus (see 8.363–369, 15.25–30, 15.639–640, and 19.96–134), just as Achilles serves u nder an inferior, Agamemnon. Elsewhere in the epic, Agamemnon equates his anger in dishonoring Achilles by reclaiming Briseis with Zeus’ deception by Hera at the moment of Herakles’ birth (19.96–134). In Il. 18 (18.117–119), Achilles, who is aware of his pending death, invokes Herakles as a model of one who also died, even though he was the dearest of Zeus’ sons. Furthermore, as Jenny Strauss Clay states, Herakles “shares the epithet ‘lionhearted’ (thumoeleonta) with both Achilles and Odysseus” (Clay, “Herakles”). Achilles fits neatly into Gregory Nagy’s model of a hero that Heracles best represents: the hero is unseasonal, extreme, and antagonistic toward the god who seems to be most like him. Herakles is made untimely by Hera, as Achilles at 24.450 is said to be the most unseasonal of them all (panaōpios). Both heroes are extreme;
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the best, both in a good and in a bad sense; and hounded by gods, Hera in Heracles’ case and Apollo in Achilles’ (Nagy, Ancient Greek Hero, 37–39). IV. Night of Day Twenty-Five: Hector Calls an Assembly, 485–565 Il. 8 ends the way it began, with an assembly. Once night has fallen, the fighting stops and Hector, confident and satisfied by his successes, prepares his troops for his final assault on the following day. In a speech delivered before his army, he calls for fires to burn all night long and vigilance, if he is to attain his goal, from all Trojans, including the elderly, women, and c hildren, who must guard the city walls for any sneak attacks. He intends to utterly destroy “these dogs swept into destruction” (8.527). Confident that this would have been accomplished had night not fallen, he is definite that a Greek defeat w ill come with his overthrow of Diomedes, the Greeks’ major force thus far. Again, his expectations are such that they border on hubris: . . . if I only could be as this in all my days immortal and ageless. (8.538–549)
The book closes with a thousand fires burning on the Trojan plain, compared in a simile to a myriad of stars seen on a clear night (8.555–561). The Trojans, assured of their salvation and the liberation of their land, anxiously wait for their final triumph at dawn. Selected Bibliography: Il. 8 Alexander, Iliad. Cook, Erwin F., “On the Importance.” Clay, “Herakles” Edwards, Mark W., Homer. Frazer, Reading of the “Iliad.” Heiden, Homer’s Cosmic Fabrication, 161–185. Hogan, Guide to the “Iliad.”
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Jones, Homer’s “Iliad.” Kelly, Adrian, Referential Commentary. Kirk, Iliad, vol. 2. Latacz, Homer, 71–133. Lattimore, “Iliad” of Homer. McAuslan and Walcot. Homer. Owen, Story of the “Iliad.” Postlethwaite, Homer’s “Iliad.” Powell, Homer. Powell, Iliad. Rabel, Plot. Stanley, Shield of Homer, 39–102. Verity, Homer. West, M. L., Making of the “Iliad.” Willcock, Companion to the “Iliad.” Willcock, “Importance of Iliad 8.” Wilson, Christopher H., Homer. Book 9 Il. 9, “The Embassy to Achilles” (Presbeia pros Achillea), also known as “Prayers” (Litai), opens on the evening and night before the epic’s twenty- sixth day, which will not arrive until the beginning of the third battle in Il. 11. Both Il. 9 and 10 take place in the evening and night of day twenty- five. The greater part of Il. 9 is in direct discourse (82%) and grapples with the true measure of value in Homer’s heroic world through the exchanges between Achilles and the ambassadors sent to persuade him to return. The book is presented in a tripartite pattern, which begins and ends with a counsel of Achaian leaders, bracketing Achilles in his quarters. I. Embassy: preparations (25% of book) II. The embassy (66% of book) III. Embassy: failure (9% of book)
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I. Embassy: Preparations, 1–181 The assembly of Greek leaders that opens the book takes place at the same time as the Trojan assembly that ends Il. 8. A storm simile at 9.4–8, normally reserved for warfare, compares the sea’s darkened w ater being gathered into crests to the unperceivable feelings of the Greek forces. Agamemnon, crying and stricken with sorrow once again, as in Il. 2 (2.110–118 and 2.139–141), summons the Greek leaders to council and advises abandoning Troy, but he is restrained by Diomedes, who intends to stay and fight even after all the Achaians flee to their native lands. Diomedes’ words receive acclaim from t hose gathered, who remain unresponsive to Agamemnon’s tears, described as a stream of water pouring down a cliff at 9.14–15, a simile repeated at 16.3–4 to describe Patroklos weeping for his fellow soldiers. Although Diomedes accuses Agamemnon of cowardice at 9.39, the commander in chief remains s ilent, unlike when he reacts to Achilles at 1.149–151. Nestor is the first to respond to Diomedes’ comments. He congratulates the warrior on his heroism and his good counsel for a man so young, defusing a situation that could result in another quarrel like that between Agamemnon and Achilles by emphasizing adherence to law and pointing out the danger of dissension (9.63–64). Using his advanced age and experience, he puts forth a plan that not even Agamemnon can fault. First the guards must take their stations on the Greek fortifications, and then Agamemnon must hold a feast for the Greek leaders to judge who among them offers the best advice. The troops agree, and although Agamemnon remains mute, a few lines later he assembles the Greek leaders in his own shelter for a feast (9.89–90). Each of the seven sentinel leaders, Thrasymedes, Ascalaphos, Ialmenos, Meriones, Aphareus, Deïpyros, and Lykomedes, u nder Nestor’s son Thrasymedes’ command, is posted with one hundred followers before each of what one might infer are the seven gates of the Achaian wall, perhaps an allusion to the seven gates of Thebes, to contrast the size and majesty
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of the Greek fortifications with the seven gates of Thebes, whose legendary storming is mentioned often in the Iliad. At Agamemnon’s feast, Nestor reminds the king that he must listen to the advice of others if their counsel is better than his own. He further reminds him of his atē/Atē in dealing with Achilles when he acted contrary to the army’s w ill and to Nestor’s own advice (1.275–284). Atē is defined as a state of harmful perplexity caused by blindness, wrongheadedness, or delusion sent by the gods mostly as punishment for guilty recklessness. When personified, Atē becomes the goddess of rash actions and reckless guilt. Nestor urges the use of persuasion to entice Achilles’ return by offering him words of supplication and gifts of friendship. A fter a prolonged silence, since he proposed abandoning Troy, Agamemnon admits his blindness (atē) in quarreling with Achilles and is ready to make amends. He then enumerates the many gifts he is willing to offer for his recklessness (9.121–161). The commander concludes with an exceedingly plentiful gift list and words that Odysseus, who delivers the message, will omit but that Achilles w ill intuit: Let him give way . . . And let him yield to me, inasmuch as I am the kinglier and inasmuch as I can call myself born the elder. (9.158–161)
Nestor embraces the king’s generosity and calls on him to appoint men to carry his offer to Achilles, but before he can respond, Nestor selects the couriers himself. He names Phoenix, Achilles’ personal adviser, teacher, and surrogate father, the leader of the delegat ion. Telamonian Ajax is selected for his valor, and Odysseus is chosen for his oratorical powers. The threesome is accompanied by the heralds Odios and Eurybates, who remain silent throughout the embassy scene. It is of note that Nestor does not suggest Talthybios, Agamemnon’s personal herald, who earlier had accompanied Eurybates to Achilles’ tent to remove Briseis (1.320–323). Instead, Nestor designates the lesser-k nown Odios (he is mentioned
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nowhere e lse in the Iliad), perhaps envisaging Achilles’ annoyance when reminded of the pair who removed Briseis. Once the five designees are purified and libations are offered to Zeus, Nestor entrusts his instructions to them, “looking eagerly at each, and most of all at Odysseus” (9.180). Does this perhaps indicate that Odysseus should take charge although Phoenix is the designated leader? Given Phoenix’s relation to Achilles, as we l ater learn, he is the ideal choice to head the embassy. Given Odysseus’ reputation as an orator and trickster, however, he is the best choice for procuring Achilles’ return. As it turns out, Odysseus w ill be the first to address Achilles, although Ajax w ill motion Phoenix to begin (9.223). II. The Embassy, 182–655 As the five men make their way to Achilles’ tent, the narrator switches to the dual form (Greek possessed a dual number along with a singular and plural one): “So these two walked along the strand of the sea” (9.182). This form is used again at 9.183, 9.185, 9.192, 9.196, 9.197, and 9.198. Why, then, does the narrator refer to two men when five have been named? The dual form has caused a g reat deal of controversy, and as a result a number of possibilities are feasible, although the Homeric scholar Zenodotus (330–260 b.c.e.) held that for Homer the dual was identical in meaning to the plural. Nevertheless, a number of possibilities have been suggested. It could be that only Odysseus and Ajax were considered the proper envoys and the o thers (the heralds and Phoenix) w ere added later; the Homeric critic Aristarchus (220–143 b.c.e.) believed that Phoenix was not one of the original envoys. It is possible, then, that the duals survive from an e arlier version of this scene in which t here w ere only two envoys—Odysseus and Ajax without Phoenix. Another likelihood is that the dual might denote not only two as a number but rather two groups or one group and one individual. Thus, the embassy could be said to consist of one individual (Phoenix, the designated leader) and a group (Odysseus, Ajax, and two heralds). One might also consider the dual referring to the present two heralds like the two sent by
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Agamemnon to retrieve Briseis at 1.327–328 or to two groups—the two heralds and the three heroes. One could further consider eliminating Odysseus, often at odds with Achilles, as an envoy, leaving only Ajax and Phoenix. Upon their arrival, the five men find Achilles entertaining himself on the lyre, singing of the famous deeds of men (klea andrōn) like an aoidos (oral singer), the only example in the Iliad of a private individual performing a task that elsewhere in Homer is left to professionals. The ambassadors have little trouble in gaining access, catching Achilles unawares, as the delegation appears before him, but the camp at which the ambassadors arrive is the antithesis of the one Priam encounters in Il. 24, a “towering shelter” (24.448–449) with a large courtyard and a gate that requires three men to open and close (24.449–456). The indeterminate description of Achilles’ quarters in different parts of the epic perhaps emphasizes the fluidity of space, what Christos Tsagalis calls “a ‘flexi- space,’ one that shrinks and expands according to contextual factors, to accommodate shifting perspectives” (From Listeners to Viewers, 158). The size of Achilles’ camp in Il. 24 becomes threatening, a forbidden space hard to breach, necessitating divine intervention. It is a structure that carries the threat of death, a tomb containing the corpse of Hector whose access is possible only with Hermes’ assistance (Lynn-George, Epos, 236–237). Although the designated leader is Phoenix, it is “brilliant Odysseus [who] led them” (9.192), indicating that Phoenix’s placement in the scene could be Homer’s addition to allow for Phoenix’s autobiography, the stories of the litai, and the Meleager myth used to persuade Achilles to return to the fighting (9.427–428). Phoenix, who does not appear in the Iliad u ntil Agamemnon’s council scene at 9.168, emerges out of nowhere. Although his main function in the epic is limited to the embassy scene, his name appears three more times in the epic, as one of the five Myrmidon leaders listed at 16.196, as one of the Greeks who comfort Achilles when he refuses food at 19.310–313, and as a judge in a horse race at 23.360–361.
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Once the welcoming type scene is over with, an invitation is extended to Phoenix to spend the night, and Achilles seats his guests, offers them drinks, and prepares a lavish feast before any business is conducted. Ajax then nods for Phoenix to begin, but Odysseus, detecting the nod, fills his cup with wine and addresses Achilles first. It is possible that the first speaker was prearranged by Nestor, since Odysseus’ powers of persuasion and tactfulness w ere renowned. Odysseus’ speech, followed in each instance by Achilles’ reply (9.225–306 and 9.308–429), is the first of a set of three that make up the embassy scene (the other two sets are by Phoenix [9.434–605 and 9.607–619] and Ajax [9.624–642 and 9.644–655]). Odysseus’ speech is presented in five parts: greeting (9.225–228), pre sent circumstances (9.228–231), the dilemma described (9.232–246), the appeal (9.247–248), and persuasion (9.249–306). It is in the fifth part (persuasion), over twice the size of the other four combined, that Odysseus tries to convince Achilles to accept Agamemnon’s offer and return to the Greek cause. He does this largely by reversing Agamemnon’s intention. He begins by reminding the hero of what his aged father, Peleus, expects of him, “Hold fast in your bosom / the anger of the proud heart,” and follows with an appeal for him to accept the gifts offered (9.255–256). Odysseus recites the list of gifts in the commander’s exact words but suppresses his final admonition (see 9.158–161), which asks Achilles to yield, the very reason used to deprive Achilles of Briseis, “that you may learn well / how much greater I am than you” (1.185–186). Should Achilles refuse Agamemnon’s gifts, Odysseus offers two additional incentives for his consideration: first to return for friendship’s sake and be honored like a god, and second to return to kill Hector, who believes he has no equal among the Greeks. Achilles’ reply indicates that he is aware of Agamemnon’s deceptiveness: “I detest that man, who / hides one t hing in the depths of his heart, and speaks forth another” (9.312–313). How, then, is Agamemnon being deceptive when, besides all the material goods he is offering, he is willing to return Briseis untouched, offer Achilles his choice of three daughters3
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in marriage with a dowry and without a bride price, promise him a shipload of gold in addition to twenty Trojan women once Troy is sacked, and have him take possession of seven cities in Agamemnon’s kingdom? Achilles realizes that the commander in chief’s gifts place him on an inferior level. As Agamemnon’s son-in-law, he, like Orestes (mentioned only h ere at 9.284), w ill be u nder a father’s authority. His secondary status w ill also apply to the governance of the seven mentioned cities under Agamemnon’s control. Furthermore, many of the promised gifts depend on his aid in sacking Troy. In other words, he would have to fight to win many of the gifts Agamemnon is offering, an objection the hero expressed as early as Il. 1: “The painful fighting is the work of my hands,” but “yours is far the greater reward” (1.165–168). Achilles’ reply further questions the permanence of honor. Since his deeds (klea andrōn) constitute his honor, measured by the spoils granted for his willingness to sacrifice his life, removing Briseis removes his honor, which raises questions about the significance of fighting for something ephemeral. Achilles emphasizes this concern three consecutive times in his opening remarks: “Fate is the same for the man who holds back, the same if he fights hard” (9.318); “We are all held in a single honor, the brave with the weaklings” (9.319); and “A man dies still if he has done nothing, as one who has done much” (9.320). Since he deems fighting pointless, and since he enjoys treasures of his own, he w ill abandon Troy and counsel his companions to do the same (9.417–420). Let Agamemnon fight his own battles (9.346–363). Achilles contends that Agamemnon is duplicitous, and thus his persuasions remain ineffective (9.315–345); he demands a personal apology, not just gifts (9.364–416). In a simile at 9.323–325, Achilles compares himself to a m other bird who starves herself in order to feed her chicks. Why should he fight to reclaim another man’s wife (Helen)? Why is his loss of Briseis any less tragic than Menelaos’ loss of Helen, for whom the Greeks have been fighting for the past ten years? He w ill not be persuaded to accept such hypocrisy, since his love for Briseis is as great as Menelaos’ for his ex-wife. The comparisons
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between Helen’s abduction and that of Briseis contain similarities. Just as Helen is kept in Troy against Antenor’s advice, so Briseis is kept by Agamemnon against Nestor’s advice (compare 7.350–353 and 9.335–343). Also, the kindness Patroklos shows Briseis can be compared to Hector’s kindness toward Helen (compare 19.287–300 and 24.762–775). Agamemnon must find his own solution to his problems. Achilles admits the commander has made a good start by building the wall, but he w ill not stop Hector, who never ventured beyond Troy’s walls when Achilles was fighting. In possession of much gold and bronze from his twenty-three raids, Achilles has no further need of Agamemnon’s gifts and w ill sail for Phthia. He hopes Odysseus will report Agamemnon’s outrageous actions to the Greek troops before they too are swindled by him. The remainder and longest of Achilles’ replies is devoted to the rejection of Agamemnon’s gifts at 9.378–416. Achilles would not accept them even if he were offered twenty times as many, until “he made good to me all this heartrending insolence” (9.387). How e lse, then, can Agamemnon meet Achilles’ demands, since even Nestor admits, “none could scorn any longer t hese gifts” (9.164)? It seems Achilles objects to the spirit in which the gifts are offered rather than their quantity. Agamemnon’s gifts are offered as a form of ransom (apoina) with which to buy Achilles’ serv ices rather than reparation (poinē) for his loss of Briseis. When Zeus received the abducted Ganymedes to serve as his cup bearer, the god compensated him (poinē) with a pair of divine horses (5.265–267). Achilles too wants to be recompensed for Briseis. He seeks an apology for Agamemnon’s blindness (atē) in repossessing Briseis. Not only does the king insult the hero by not appearing himself in supplication, but he further insults him by referring to the gifts as apoina (9.120). Both Nestor and Odysseus, who heard the commander in chief itemize the gifts as apoina, are careful not to use the word, opting instead for dōra (gifts; see 9.164 and 9.261). Achilles is aware of Agamemnon’s refusal not only to apologize but also to accept him as an equal when he demands he make good for “all this heartrending insolence” (9.387).
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Achilles is persistent in defining and understanding the meaning of honor, for which he is willing to die and which holds a greater significance for him than for any other warrior, whether Greek or Trojan. Achilles lacks what every other warrior possesses—hope, which minimizes the urgency to fully grasp the meaning of honor. Even Hector, who realizes Achilles’ superiority as a warrior, “hopes” that he might defeat him in a duel: “We shall see to which one the Olympian grants the glory” (22.130). Achilles, on the other hand, carries two destinies: fight for glory and die, or return home without glory and live (see 9.410–416). Thus, in the absence of everlasting honor, which confers immortality on a mortal, t here is no longer the need to die for something ephemeral. He counsels his fellow warriors to abandon Troy and the ambassadors to return to their leaders and have them find other ways of saving their ships. He invites Phoenix to remain with him so that on the following day they might sail home together. By the end of his reply to Odysseus, Achilles rejects the ethical system on which the Iliad’s heroic code is based. It is a code that states that bravery in b attle wins for a warrior honor and wealth; a code clearly stated in Sarpedon’s speech to Glaukos at 12.310–328. Once Agamemnon’s action subverts this code, however, honor based on gifts becomes elusive and not deserving of the sacrifice of one’s life. Achilles now views life as man’s supreme value (9.408–409). Achilles’ reply to Odysseus leaves his listeners in stunned silence until Phoenix, in tears, responds with the longest speech in the epic. His three- part response, autobiography at 9.434–497, the litai allegory at 9.497–526, and the Meleager parable at 9.527–605, parallels events in the Iliad, and each part concludes with a reminder of the embassy’s purpose. He begins by identifying himself as Achilles’ surrogate f ather, whom Peleus designated as Achilles’ mentor to prepare him as “a speaker of words and one accomplished in action” (9.443), two important virtues of a Homeric warrior. In the post-Homeric tradition, Cheiron the Centaur (half man, half h orse) is Achilles’ mentor who educates him on Mount Pelion. In the Iliad, the poet suppresses the mythic aspects of Achilles’ background for
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a more realistic portrayal. Phoenix next launches into his autobiography, which contains the same motifs of anger and supplication found both in the Iliad’s wrath theme and in the Meleager parable that Phoenix later narrates. The conflict between Phoenix and his f ather, Amyntor, over the latter’s mistress is similar to Achilles and Agamemnon’s conflict over Briseis. Both emphasize the theme of philotēs (love, friendship, hospitality), which is central in the Iliad. Both pertain to an argument over a concubine (Chryseis and Briseis for the Agamemnon-Achilles conflict and Amyntor’s mistress for the Phoenix-Amyntor conflict). Phoenix’s departure from his home is also based on the same motifs of anger and supplication found in the Iliad’s wrath theme and in the Meleager parable. In a reversal of the Phaedra story, Phoenix controls his anger against his father, whereas Achilles does not against his surrogate f ather (Agamemnon). In both cases a w oman is the cause of the anger, and in both murder as revenge is contemplated but averted through divine intervention (compare 9.458– 459 and 1.188–192). In both, each man’s withdrawal is self-imposed, and the motivation for withdrawal is a woman—the seizure of Briseis in Achilles’ case, and sleeping with the father’s mistress in Phoenix’s. In both, the parties involved remove themselves from their respective situations and are urged by friends to reconsider. Both act on another’s plea: Achilles on Chryses’ request and Phoenix on his m other’s. In both t here is rivalry: between Phoenix and Amyntor for the mistress and between Achilles and Agamemnon for Briseis. In a more extensive parallel, Phoenix’s appeal for Achilles’ return to b attle at 9.494–495 is matched on e ither end of the Iliad by Chryses’ plea for the return of his daughter at the beginning of the epic and by Priam’s entreaty for the body of his son at the end. Phoenix’s entreaties to Achilles to overcome his anger and pity the Achaians lead to the allegory of the litai, to prayers, entreaties, and supplications (9.497–526). Personified, the Litai are d aughters of Zeus, old, wrinkled, and lame, who follow far b ehind the spirit of ruin (Atē). On the other hand, Atē is strong and fast, and she outruns the Litai to force men
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astray as they did Agamemnon. Th ese prayers, lagging b ehind, finally arrive to heal the damage inflicted by Atē. Phoenix is asking Achilles to venerate t hese d aughters of Zeus by accepting his friends’ supplications and Agamemnon’s gifts, lest Āte, who follows one’s neglect of these entreaties, hurt and punish him. But Phoenix, focusing only on the quantity rather than the purpose behind the gifts (poinē vs. apoina), fails to grasp why Achilles does not accept Agamemnon’s generous amends. Imploring Achilles to heed Odysseus, Phoenix turns to the Meleager parable, which illustrates the results of denying the Litai (9.527–605). The paradigm corresponds to the action of the Iliad in a number of ways. In both tales, the origin of the war involves a woman—Atlanta in the war between the Curates and Calydonians, and Helen between the Greeks and Trojans—and in both the wrath of a dishonored god causes pain and suffering. In the Iliad it is Apollo’s anger over the treatment of Chryses, while in the Meleager myth it is Artemis’ wrath for being dishonored by Meleager’s father, Oineus. In each tale a quarrel over a prize (Briseis in the Iliad and a boar’s head in the Meleager story) angers the hero, who withdraws from the fighting u ntil fire (the burning of Meleager’s Calydon and the burning of the Greek fleet) rouses him to action through the entreaties of his closest companions (Meleager’s wife Kleopatra and Achilles’ friend Patroklos). Even the name of Meleager’s wife is made up of the same elements as Patroklos reversed (“father” and “glory”), and in each case the hero is supplicated by friends who offer gifts for his return. One can take Homer’s strategy in narrating the Meleager myth through Phoenix as twofold: to rework the tale to meet the needs of his narrative, and to assume some familiarity of the myth on the part of his audience, thus forgoing elaboration. Homer introduces his version in three parts. At 9.529–546, Artemis, angered that King Oineus of Calydon has not offered her due sacrifice, sends a boar to ravage his land.4 Meleager, Oineus’ son, with the help of both Aitolian and Kouretes hunters, kills the boar. At 9.547–572, Artemis is angered for a second time over the awarding of the boar’s head. The battle rages over the Kouretes and Aitolians, but as
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long as Meleager fights, the Kouretes cannot hold their ground. Meleager, however, withdraws in anger from the b attle and retires to the palace with his wife Kleopatra. At this juncture, instead of providing details for Meleager’s withdrawal, the narrator digresses to explain why the hero’s wife, whose real name is Alkyone, is called Kleopatra (see 9.556–565), the reason for Homer being that it is Patroklos’ name reversed, stressing the similarities between Achilles’ and Meleager’s situations. The poet disregards mention of Idas’ and Apollo’s love for Kleopatra’s mother, Marpessa; her abduction by Apollo; Idas’ confrontation with the god; and Zeus’ intervention to prevent a fight between the two lovers. Given the choice by Zeus to decide between a god and a mortal, Marpessa selects Idas and names her daughter from that union “kingfisher” (Alkyone), a fter the bird, who in myth sings a calming song for her dead mate to commemorate her sadness at having been parted from Idas. The digression over, the singer reveals that Meleager’s withdrawal was caused by his m other’s curses, calling for his death for killing her Kouretes brother. At 9.573–579, the Kouretes get the upper hand at Meleager’s absence, and Phoenix, who is narrating the tale, changes the traditional order of the “ascending scale of affection” (friends, m other, father, siblings, spouse) by locating friends immediately below the spouse when he recounts how the Aitolians supplicated the hero to return and save the city. The order of the suppliants in this folktale motif is significant in that Homer places Meleager’s friends high on the list to match Achilles’ situation. Although they offer gifts, as Agamemnon does to tempt Achilles, Meleager refuses them. Finally, he relents at his wife’s entreaties and saves his people, but the Aitolians withdraw the promised gifts. Phoenix warns Achilles not to suffer Meleager’s fate. He should accept the gifts lest he eventually have to fight without them. Achilles rejects Phoenix’s advice: “Such honor is a t hing / I need not” (9.607–608). He reprimands Phoenix for endorsing Agamemnon’s gifts when he should hate both the man and his concessions for his sake and invites him to stay the night and enjoy half his kingdom. Odysseus
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and Ajax are to return to Agamemnon to deliver the message that on the following day both Achilles and Phoenix w ill decide “whether to go back home again or e lse to remain h ere” (9.619). Ajax notices that Achilles is anxious to get rid of his guests, and he directs his disappointment at Odysseus, motioning him to return to camp. He complains about Achilles’ stubbornness, accusing him of abandoning his friends who honor him, and wonders why he does not accept “the blood price” (poinē at 9.633). Ajax’s words are not only the most direct and heartfelt of the speeches delivered by the ambassadors thus far, but his is also the only one to construe the gifts as poinē rather than apoina. In his simplicity and directness, he assumes Achilles is being entreated and compensated for his mistreatment, while Odysseus, who grasps Agamemnon’s offer as apoina, diplomatically conceals it as merely gifts. Phoenix, on the other hand, takes Agamemnon’s offer as mere gifts, which increase one’s honor, without taking into account the intent b ehind the offer. Not only do the words of the unpretentious warrior Ajax show how Achilles’ actions go against the established norms, but he is also the only one of the envoys who understands that Achilles has been wronged and should be compensated. It is for that reason that Ajax’s short speech affects Achilles the most: “All that you have said seems spoken after my own mind” (9.645). Although still angry at the disgrace Agamemnon perpetrated, he is now willing to again revise his plans: “I shall not think again of the bloody fighting / until . . . Hektor . . . shall darken with fire our vessels” (9.650–653). III. Embassy: Failure, 656–713 As Odysseus leads his delegation back to the ships, Patroklos orders a bed readied for Phoenix, and he and Achilles each retire with a woman beside them. One wonders whether Briseis, over whom Achilles has experienced so much angst, is not a pretext for the more visceral hatred he holds for Agamemnon. Once at Agamemnon’s shelters, Odysseus delivers Achilles’ first pronouncement: a new way must be found to save the ships, for Achilles
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refuses the gifts and threatens to sail home on the following day. One won ders why Odysseus reports Achilles’ initial verdict and not his last, since he was present for the hero’s response to Ajax’s complaint. Perhaps he feels the definitiveness of Achilles’ first answer w ill spur the Greeks to greater action once informed that help from Achilles w ill not be forthcoming. It is Diomedes once again who is the first to comment on Odysseus’ communiqué, bringing the present council full circle with the council at the beginning of the book. Diomedes contends that supplicating Achilles with “innumerable gifts” (muria dōra at 9.699) led him deeper into his pride. He, like Ajax, m istakes Agamemnon’s purpose with the gifts for apoina instead of poinē. He thus proposes to reenter the b attle without Achilles, who w ill fight again whenever his heart urges and a god incites him. This receives the approval of the gathered leaders, and they pour libations and retire to their shelters confident of their resolve to continue their fight against the Trojans in Il. 11. Selected Bibliography: Il. 9 Alden, “Despised Migrant.” Alden, Homer beside Himself, 179–290. Alexander, Iliad. Anhalt, Enraged, 51–79. Arieti, “Achilles’ Alienation.” Brenk, “Dear Child.” Cramer, “Speech and Silence.” Dodds, “Agamemnon’s Apology.” Donlan, “Politics of Generosity.” Edwards, Mark W., Homer. Eichholz, “Propitiation of Achilles.” Frazer, Reading of the “Iliad.” Gill, “Achilles’ Swelling Heart.” Griffin, Homer, “Iliad” IX. Gwara, “Misprision.”
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Hainsworth, Iliad. Heiden, Homer’s Cosmic Fabrication, 123–160. Held, “Phoenix, Agamemnon and Achilleus.” Hogan, Guide to the “Iliad.” Howald, “Meleager und Achill.” Jones, Homer’s “Iliad.” Kelly, Adrian, “Homer and History.” Konstain, “Meleager’s Sweet Tears.” Lattimore, “Iliad” of Homer. McAuslan and Walcot, Homer. Montanari, “Failed Embassy.” Morrison, Homeric Misdirection, 119–124. Mueller, Iliad, 48–51. Nagy, Ancient Greek Hero. Nimis, “Language of Achilles.” Owen, Story of the “Iliad.” Page, History, 297–315. Parry, Adam, “Language and Characterization.” Parry, Adam, “Language of Achilles.” Postlethwaite, Homer’s “Iliad.” Powell, Homer. Powell, Iliad. Rabel, Plot, 115–134. Rabel, “Sophocles’ Philoctetes.” Rabel, “Theme of Need.” Reeve, “Language of Achilles.” Reeve, “Two Notes.” Rosner, “Speech of Phoenix.” Sale, “Achilles and Heroic Values.” Schein, “On Achilles’ Speech.” Scodel, “Autobiography of Phoenix.” Scott, John A., “Phoenix in the Iliad.”
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Segal, “Embassy.” Stanley, Shield of Homer. Swain, “Note on Iliad.” Tarkow, “Achilles’ Responses.” Thornton, “Once Again.” Tsagarakis, “Achaean Embassy.” Tsagarakis, “Phoinix.” Verity, Homer. West, M. L., “Date of the Iliad.” Willcock, Companion to the “Iliad.” Wilson, Christopher H., Homer. Wilson, Donna F., Ransom, 13–39, 71–108, 134–146. Wilson, Donna F., “Symbolic Violence.” Wyatt, “Embassy.” Yamagata, “Phoenix’s Speech.”
Book 10 Il. 10, “The Book of Dolon” (Dolōneia), has been a controversial book since ancient times. The view of past and many present Homerists has been that it is a later addition to the epic. Eustathius, archbishop of Thessalonica (1115–1195 c.e.) and a Byzantine scholar of Homer, for example, claimed that the book was added to the Iliad by Peisistratus, a ruler of ancient Athens in the sixth century b.c.e., who attempted to produce a definitive version of the Homeric epics, known as the Peisistratean recension. Arguments against accepting Il. 10 as an integral part of the epic are based on a number of premises, among them that the book breaks the connection between the end of Il. 9, urging determination for the following day’s battle, and the beginning of Il. 11, where the goddess of hate excites the Greeks to action. Nothing before Il. 10 foreshadows it, and nothing following in Il. 11–24 makes any reference to it. Peculiarities in style, detail,
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language, and composition lead some scholars to conclude that Il. 10 was composed by a poet not representative of the same singer or tradition as the other books. It is notable that Odysseus and Diomedes, commissioned to spy on the Trojans and to return with the required information, never do; horses captured by Diomedes are never referenced again; the spy mission is forgotten once King Rhesos’ episode is introduced; and the dress of Agamemnon, Menelaos, Diomedes, Odysseus, and the Trojan Dolon is unlike that of Iliadic warriors anywhere else in the epic. Some of the peculiarities in Il. 10, however, may be the result of its being a report on a night ambush. Nevertheless, for this reading the book is accepted as an integral part of the Iliad. It is seen as an interlude between the rejection of Agamemnon’s gifts by Achilles and the great battle of the Iliad, which begins in Il. 11. In that b attle, without Achilles’ participation, Greek fortunes w ill fall to their lowest level. Il. 10 is the last hurrah for the Greeks, who have already suffered defeat in Il. 8. It also serves as the climax to the wrath theme and the anticipation of the revenge theme with the coming death of Patroklos in Il. 16. Many of the peculiarities of the book can be accounted for by the book’s special purpose—a night ambush amid four daytime b attles occupying the greater part of the epic. Such an ambush necessitates not only attire appropriate to a night raid but also weapons (like the bow) more suited to stealth and surprise. Il. 10 can be read in three sections: I. Preliminaries for two concurrent spying expeditions (58% of book) II. Diomedes and Odysseus spy on the Trojans (33% of book) III. Aftermath of the Greek spying expedition (9% of book) I. Preliminaries for Two Concurrent Spying Expeditions, 1–337 Although both Greeks and Trojans decide to spy on each other during the night before the twenty-sixth day of the narrative, the bigger part of this section (298 lines vs. 39 lines) is devoted to the Greeks. Their spying mission
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is necessitated by the losses incurred in Il. 8, which now have the Greek troops pent up b ehind the wall, while the Trojans on the other side wait for dawn to attack and set fire to the ships. It is t hese circumstances that keep Agamemnon awake and anxious in the m iddle of the night, not knowing how to reverse the situation. In an unusual simile, the commander’s uneasiness is compared to lightning at 10.5–10— his heartbeats follow one a fter another like lightning flashes in a severe thunderstorm. In search of Nestor’s counsel to work out a plan for his dilemma, he is met by Menelaos, who is also sleepless for similar reasons. While Agamemnon is preoccupied with kleos and reputation should he lose the war, Menelaos is tormented by guilt for the loss of warriors fighting for his ex-wife’s return. Agamemnon seems lost and ineffective as he pulls “the hair by its roots from his head” (10.15). His incompetence as a leader here becomes more evident once he deliberates with Nestor, who takes charge of the situation for the remainder of the book. Agamemnon’s appearance in strange apparel, matched by his b rother’s, Diomedes’, and the Trojan Dolon’s, is one of the reasons why Il. 10 has received negative criticism. Before seeking out Nestor, Agamemnon slings across his shoulders “the tawny hide of a lion” (10.23), while Menelaos covers his back “in a leopard’s / spotted hide” (10.29–30), attire intended to keep out the night chill. The two brothers hurry to wake the Achaian leaders, acting themselves as heralds in a situation that requires direct intervention. L ater Diomedes wraps his shoulders “in the hide of a lion” (10.177), and Dolon wears “the pelt of a gray wolf” and a “cap of marten’s hide,” in each case accouterments unconventional to Iliadic warriors (10.334–335). However, this clothing is more appropriate to a night raid, since conventional warrior armor would be more burdensome for a spying expedition. Their current attire provides greater cover in the dark than armor, which might glare from the many watchfires that “blazed numerous about them” (8.554). The clatter of metal in a stealth raid is also a problem. Agamemnon’s most pressing concern once he arrives at Nestor’s camp is to confirm that the sentries have not fallen asleep and as a consequence
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precipitated a Trojan sneak attack. Nestor placates the king, reminding him that Achilles’ eventual return w ill turn the Trojan tide dramatically. Has Nestor forgotten Odysseus’ embassy report in Il. 9? Some scholars use Nestor’s comment in support of separate authorship for Il. 10, since Nestor seems unaware of Odysseus’ report that Achilles would leave Troy on the following day. Nevertheless, Nestor agrees to gather and meet with the Greek leaders at the wall’s gate for a council to deliberate “the question of r unning away or fighting” (10.147). Once assembled, Nestor and Agamemnon find the sentries vigilant and keenly aware of Trojan movements on the plain. A simile at 10.183–184 compares them to restless sheep dogs, conscious of a wild beast nearby. The Greek kings, along with Thrasymedes and Meriones, the two captains of the sentries, are led by Nestor across the Greek wall’s ditch to a space unencumbered with corpses. Why such a spot is chosen is not clear, but once there Nestor, who has already decided what is to be done, assumes control for the remainder of the book. Agamemnon, who remains silent throughout the episode, intrudes only once at 10.234–239 to make certain that Diomedes does not select his brother to accompany him on the spying expedition, emphasizing once again his preoccupation with his brother’s welfare. Nestor’s counsel for the spying expedition is twofold: to discover what the Trojans are planning and to ascertain whether they intend to withdraw to the city. Without further deliberation and forgoing any input from Agamemnon, he promises gifts for a volunteer: a black female sheep, along with her lamb, to be collected from each leader of the Greek expedition. Diomedes is the first to accept the challenge but asks for a companion to accompany him. It is at this point that Agamemnon is eager to prevent the participation of Menelaos, who, out of guilt, is anxious to volunteer. Diomedes instead requests Odysseus, who eagerly accepts. Here we have yet another departure from the rest of the Iliad in what constitutes honor in combat. In Il. 10, one gains “glory” through a sneak attack, whereas elsewhere in the epic honor is gained as the result of hand-to-hand combat. There is, however, no legitimate reason why honor cannot be attained from
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either of the two forms of fighting—face-to-face encounter and ambush. The fact that the Iliad deals with a larger number of open encounters rather than ambushes does not diminish the heroics needed in the latter situation. A night ambush requires that the warriors travel light, unnoticed, and with weapons that w ill serve them in the darkness. Metal helmets and armor would expose them to danger and make noise. Thus, Diomedes (biē), an Achilles surrogate, and Odysseus (mētis) don skull caps to begin the night raid. Diomedes wears a cap made of bull’s hide (10.258) and Odysseus one of boar tusks (10.262–265).5 A digression traces the boar-tusk helmet from its original owner, Amyntor, through Autolykos, Amphidamas, Molos, and Meriones and finally to Odysseus, emphasizing the g reat regard in which such gifts are held, gifts presented in each case as an item of great value to enhance the reputation and glory of the possessor. The weapon of choice for both Odysseus and the Trojan Dolon is the bow, proven effective in ambush situations. At 1.144–148, Apollo comes at night to shoot arrows of plague at the Greeks. Paris at 11.369–372 ambushes and wounds Diomedes, and Pandarus at 4.112–115 injures Menelaos from behind the shields of his comrades.6 Armed, the two heroes leave for their mission to the favorable signs of Athena, to whom they pray and dedicate gifts (10.274–276). It is of note that in his prayer to Athena, Diomedes asks the goddess to treat him as she did his father at Thebes, the third time this Theban episode has been referenced thus far in the Iliad (see also 4.372–400 and 5.800–808). At 10.299–331, the narrator briefly offers equal time to Hector in an episode that, although occurring si mul ta neously with the Greek preparations, is narrated sequentially (noted as Zielinski’s law). Hector, too, asks for a volunteer to spy on the Greeks, promising “a chariot and two strong-necked horses” (10.305). Dolon, “an evil man to look on” (10.316), described in terms reminiscent of Thersites in Il. 2, offers his serv ices on the condition that Hector pledge to him the horses and chariot of Achilles, an offer Hector willingly accepts. Both Dolon’s outrageous demand and Hector’s unreasonable promise turn the scene into a comic one. The
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narrator calls Hector’s vow “an empty oath” (10.332), and Odysseus is l ater amused when he reminds Dolon of the difficulty for a mortal to manage divine horses (10.401–404). Hector’s utterances point to his overconfidence in the advances he has thus far made against the Greeks, and Dolon’s point to his own simplemindedness and unsuitability for the task at hand, which is reinforced by the narrator’s parting words before Dolon sets out for the Greek ships: “Nor was he ever / to come back again” (10.336–337). II. Diomedes and Odysseus Spy on the Trojans, 338–529 From the beginning, Dolon is mismatched for his mission. Both his dress and comments concerning his person betray his inferiority before the two Greek warriors he encounters. He wears a cap of marten’s hide and the pelt of a gray wolf, while Diomedes’ and Odysseus’ caps are made from the hide of a bull and a boar, respectively; he is a wolf about to face a bull and a wild boar. A simile at 10.360–364 portrays him as a young deer or a hare pursued by “two rip-fanged hounds.” His demeanor is that of a fool who gives little consideration to the demands he makes for his mission (Achilles’ horses and chariot), and once apprehended, he proves to be a coward who betrays Hector and his fellow Trojans with ease. Spotted by the two Greeks, Dolon is detained and questioned by Odysseus, who promises him his life if he complies (10.406–411). The Trojan responds at length to the Greek’s interrogation (10.413–431) and in addition willingly provides information on King Rhesos, which alters Diomedes and Odysseus’ original mission from that point forward; its focus is now exclusively on Rhesos’ horses, without any further mention of the mission’s original purpose (see 10.208–210). Dolon, whose name means “sneaky,” takes advantage of the heroes’ eagerness for kleos to purposely divert the Greek spies’ attention to Rhesos’ horses and wealth out of desperation, or both. He is either fighting for his life or attempting to fend off further questioning. Nestor’s delight at the outcome of the mission, including the capture of the divine h orses, however, surpasses any greater expectations he had for the night ambush.
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Once Dolon confesses everyt hing he knows and asks for clemency, Diomedes, in a scene reminiscent of Achilles’ handling of e nemy suppliants, explains why he cannot spare the Trojan’s life. As Dolon reaches for his enemy’s chin in supplication, Diomedes decapitates him. Odysseus’ role in the episode remains that of the crafty and deceitful warrior depicted in the Odyssey. In light of Diomedes’ role as the man of action (biē), Odysseus represents cunning (mētis), but his role thus far in the Iliad has been minor, although in Il. 5 he is given a minor aristeia, killing seven Trojans before being driven back by an approaching Hector (5.676–680). The Rhesos tale, to which the Iliad does not specifically refer, concerned itself with an oracle that if the newly arrived King Rhesos and his horses drank from the Skamander River, Troy would not be destroyed. In Il. 10 the tale is used as an inviting target rather than a threat. Rhesos and twelve of his followers are massacred in their sleep by Diomedes, and the famous horses are led away by Odysseus. A question remains whether Rhesos’ chariot was part of the heroes’ booty, for Athena interrupts Diomedes while contemplating w hether to seize the chariot or flee the scene. The chariot, whose contents and value are graphically described by Dolon, is certainly part of the spoils craved by both heroes (see 10.436–441). But when Odysseus drives the h orses away, he lashes them with his bow since the whip was left in the chariot, implying that the chariot was left b ehind (10.500, 10.513–514). L ater, at 10.530, Odysseus “whipped the horses” (mastiksen d’ippous). Perhaps the two men took possession of the chariot a fter all, although it is never mentioned again. In the meantime, Apollo, angered at Athena’s involvement, rouses Hippokoön, Rhesos’ cousin, who alerts his Trojan companions of the Greek heroes’ ghastly work. III. Aftermath of the Greek Spying Expedition, 530–579 Nestor is the first to receive and welcome back Diomedes and Odysseus. Surprisingly (except for Homer’s traditional audience, which would have been aware of his incapable leadership), Agamemnon is nowhere to be
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seen. It is Nestor again who asks about and admires the divine h orses, but once stabled at Diomedes’ shelter, they are never mentioned again. Nor does anyone, including Nestor, inquire about the original purpose of the night expedition. Once the high esteem the h orses receive has ended, and Odysseus has disclosed the fourteen deaths incurred by the Trojans, Dolon’s bloody b attle spoils are dedicated to Athena. Diomedes and Odysseus cleanse themselves in the sea, anoint themselves with olive oil, dine, and pour an offering to the goddess. Selected Bibliography: Il. 10 Alden, Homer beside Himself. Alexander, Iliad. Anhalt, Enraged, 80–114. Bierl, “Orality.” Danek, “Doloneia Revisited.” Davies, Malcolm, “Dolon and Rhesus.” Dué, “Agamemnon’s Densely-Packed Sorrow.” Dué, “Maneuvers.” Dué and Ebbott, “Iliad” 10. Edwards, Mark W., Homer. Fantuzzi, “Myths of Dolon.” Fenik, “Iliad” X and “Rhesus.” Frazer, Reading of the “Iliad.” Gaunt, “Change of Plan.” Haft, “Odysseus’ Wrath.” Hainsworth, Iliad. Henry, “Place of the Doloneia.” Hesk, “Seeing in the Dark.” Hogan, Guide to the “Iliad.” Jones, Homer’s “Iliad.” Lattimore, “Iliad” of Homer.
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Leaf, “Rhesos of Thrace.” McAuslan and Walcot, Homer. McLeod, “Bow at Night.” Owen, Story of the “Iliad.” Poethke, “Ilias K 372–443.” Postlethwaite, Homer’s “Iliad.” Powell, Homer. Powell, Iliad. Rabel, Plot, 135–162. Rabel, “Theme of Need.” Shewan, Lay of Dolon. Stagakis, “Athena and Dolon’s Spoils.” Stagakis, “Dolon.” Stagakis, “Ippoi of Rhesus.” Verity, Homer. West, M. L., “Date of the Iliad.” Willcock, Companion to the “Iliad.”
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chapter 4
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THE THIRD B ATTLE: IL. 11–18 (DAY TWENTY-SIX)
Book 11 Il. 11, “Agamemnon’s Aristeia” (Agamemnonos aristeia), begins the Iliad’s third b attle in three phases on the narrative’s twenty-sixth day, each phase beginning with a Greek success followed by a sudden reversal. Phase one occupies Il. 11–12 and concerns the wounding of heroes and the building and b attle over the Greek wall. Phase two includes Il. 13–15 and focuses on individual fights, on Poseidon, and on the assault on the Greek ships. Phase three, books Il. 16–18, introduces the aristeia and death of Patroklos and the fighting over his corpse. The present book’s three large sections, preceded by a fourteen-line introduction, encompass a large number of scenes (perhaps as many as 135) averaging no more than five lines each that keep the narrative moving at a lively pace. I. Introduction (2% of book) II. Agamemnon (35% of book) III. Diomedes/Odysseus (22% of book) IV. Nestor (41% of book) The Agamemnon episode (II) concludes with an episode on Hector (11.284–309), and the Nestor episode (IV) begins with an episode on Hector (11.497b–542), setting up an alternating pattern of fighting between Greeks 140
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and Trojans: Agamemnon (II), Hector (II), Diomedes/Odysseus (III), Hector (IV), Nestor (IV). The plan of Zeus mentioned in Il. 1 is now in full force; the Greeks w ill face an even worse crisis, since they have to contend not only with Achilles’ absence but also with the absence of the epic’s major players, among them Diomedes, Odysseus, and Agamemnon, all wounded and out of the iddle of Il. 18, fighting. This longest day in the Iliad continues to the m triggering a chain of major events: 1. Il. 11: Wounding of major Greek heroes. 2 . Il. 12: Trojans breach the Greek wall. 3. Il. 13–15: A Greek recovery eventually repressed by Zeus. 4 . Il. 16: Hector reaches the Greek fleet and sets fire to a ship. 5. Il. 16–17: Death and retrieval of Patroklos. 6. Il. 18: Patroklos’ bereavement. I. Introduction, 1–14 The book opens with the line, “Now Eos [Dawn] r ose from her bed, where she lay by haughty Tithonos” (11.1). Opening with this line, Homer not only personifies the start of a new day but alludes to the many reversals that occur throughout this book. Although the Eos myth itself is not cited in the Iliad, alluding to it is apropos in a book in which the fortunes of both Greek and Trojan warriors are constantly shifting. In the myth, Eos, in love with the proud and handsome mortal Tithonus (son of Laomedon and Priam’s half brother), asks Zeus to grant him immortality, which he does. However, she neglects to ask for eternal youth. Thus, when Tithonus is eventually shriveled with age, Eos, who in Homer rises each morning from her bed next to him, abandons him. It is their mutual son Memnon, king of the Ethiopians, who is killed in Troy by Achilles, but beyond the Iliad’s scope. Eris (11.3), Strife (personification of hate), is sent by Zeus to stir the Greeks to action. Standing on Odysseus’ ship located in the m iddle of
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the moored Greek fleet, she goads both flanks to renewed combat (see table 4.1, Lineup of Achaean Ships). Encouraged and given strength by Eris, the Greek troops forget their longing for home and prepare for b attle. II. Agamemnon, 15–309 The first to arm is the commander in chief, Agamemnon, whose arming scene at 11.15–46 is the longest in the epic, followed in Il. 19 (19.369–391) by the more elaborate but shorter one of Achilles. Agamemnon’s is one of four arming type scenes in the Iliad; the other three are t hose of Achilles, Paris at 3.330–338, and Patroklos at 16.130–139. It follows a prescribed order of arming from the bottom up: greaves (11.17–18), corselet (11.19–28), sword (11.29–31), shield (11.32–40), helmet (11.41–42), and two spears (11.43–44). The final two lines of this episode (11.45–46) focus on Hera and Athena, who bring about a crash of thunder in honor of the king. It is of note that it is not Zeus, the head god, who honors Agamemnon but rather his wife and daughter. Zeus’ honor is reserved for the best of the Achaians, Achilles. Of the six items listed, the corselet and shield receive the greatest attention in Agamemnon’s arming scene; the remaining four articles are given only a passing interest. Emphasis on the king’s equipment characterizes the nature of the man who wears it. The grandeur of the corselet adds both to the stature of his fighting spirit and to the gravity of his temperament. The renown of his expedition, as well as his person, is stressed by the gift from the faraway King Kinyras of Cyprus (his only mention in the epic), who feels compelled to honor Agamemnon with a valuable corselet, a light armor vest that covers the chest, shoulders, and hips. The exegesis of three cobalt serpents depicted on the armor vest are like the rainbows Zeus sends as portents to mortals, signaling the coming storm of b attle as the simile at 17.547–552 suggests: Zeus extends rainbows in the sky “to be a portent and sign of war, or of wintry storm” (17.548). The equally formidable shield, “a t hing of splendor” (11.33), enshrouds in its midst the Gorgon, a mythical creature commonly associated with three
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sisters: Stheno, Euryale, and the more famous Medusa. The sisters’ hair was made of snakes, and their visages turned anyone who beheld them to stone. While Homer never brings on stage much of this history, he does present the Gorgon as a t hing of dread (cf. 5.739, deinē), so it is likely that his audience knew the story. The creature’s stare of horror and fear reveals an aspect of Agamemnon’s brutal and vengeful personality, which will be exposed during his aristeia. These accouterments not only comment on the commander’s psychology but forecast the terror he is about to unleash on the Trojans. The scene quickly shifts to the clamor of battle preparations, to Zeus’ raindrops of blood as a precursor to all the warriors he intends to eliminate, and to a short glimpse of Hector urging his Trojans to join the battle. A simile at 11.67–71 compares the men of the two warring sides to reapers, who, facing each other, scythe a field of wheat or barley indiscriminately, contrasting war’s harvesting of men with an activity that sustains life. In the meantime, the gods on Olympos, along with Zeus, withdrawn from the men below, are witness to Troy and the Greek ships and entertain themselves with men killing and being killed. Once the b attle rages for the better part of the day with little gain on either side, the Greeks have a breakthrough, the beginning of Agamemnon’s aristeia (11.91–283). In spite of his cowardly and unheroic actions in the previous two books (9.9–28 and 10.3–16), Agamemnon, in Achilles’ absence, is featured as one of the Greek army’s top warriors, although a ruthless one, who begins by eliminating three pairs of opponents: Bienor and Oileus (11.91–100), Isos and Antiphos (11.101–121), and Peisander and Hippolochos (11.122–147). The first pair’s demise accentuates the king’s fury. Having dispatched Bienor, Agamemnon thrusts his spear at Oileus’ face (the second spear mentioned at 11.43–44 is not heard of again), and it passes through his bronze helmet and head and spatters his brains. He then strips both of their tunics and abandons their naked bodies. The second pair, two sons of Priam, are again easily slain and stripped. These two Trojans, who were well known to Achilles, for
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he had previously captured them and released them for ransom, are used here to contrast the fighting methods of the two Greek kings. Whereas Achilles fought without hostility before his wrath, Agamemnon fights without compassion. The simile at 11.113–121 builds on the commander’s unheroic approach, presenting him as a hungry lion seizing and crunching a deer’s innocent young. The vocabulary used to describe the lion’s treatment of the fawns underlines the inequitable match between the animals. The lion “easily crunches and breaks” the fawns; he “rips out” their “soft” hearts as the helpless deer, “the ghastly shivers of fear” upon her, dashes away from the “pounce of the strong beast” (11.114–119). The lion’s ghastly fury further characterizes the commander as compassionless to t hose he encounters. The third pair is given a longer consideration and further exposes Agamemnon’s true nature. Peisander and Hippolochos are the sons of Antimachos, who opposed the return of Helen. Once defeated, the two Trojans supplicate Agamemnon to ransom them as Achilles had done with the previous pair, but “they heard the voice that was without pity” (11.137). Agamemnon mutilates them in order to punish them for their father’s support of Paris. Having disposed of Peisander, Agamemnon severs Hippolochos’ arms from his shoulders and sends his truncated form spinning like a log. He then effortlessly discards eight more men, but none noteworthy among the Trojans. Their roles are limited to Il. 11, serving solely as foils for the king. Although Agamemnon is depicted as a fearsome warrior, one compared to a lion, his prey is ill-matched. The scene now expands to expose the advancement of the Greek troops under the king’s leadership, as he continues to slay Trojans and urge his men to do the same. Another simile, at 11.155–159, portrays him as an obliterating fire, impelled by the wind to uproot everyt hing in its wake. Once the Trojans retreat as far as the Skaian gates, they stand their ground. A second simile, at 11.172–178, displays not only the terror of the fleeing Trojans, who are likened to stampeding cattle pursued by a lion, but also the conspicuous behavior of Agamemnon, who, like a lion, breaks the
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cattle’s necks and “gulps down the blood and all the guts that are inward” (11.176). At the point the king is within reach of the city, however, Homer transports his audience to Ida, where Iris prepares to deliver Zeus’ message to Hector: as long as Agamemnon is engaged, Hector must not interfere, but once the king is wounded, he can drive the Greeks back to their ships until “the sun goes down and the blessed darkness comes over” (11.194). The setting of the sun, which Hera c auses to occur prematurely, w ill signal the end of Hector’s triumph at 18.239–242. For now, he must be sheltered for his duel with Achilles; Homer must keep him at bay. Agamemnon cannot fight Hector, for a win would forfeit the epic’s climax, and a loss would end Agamemnon’s aristeia, and e ither would be too novel to be included in a song formed from traditional story patterns. The reader is again conveyed to the battlefield, this time in preparation for Agamemnon’s wounding. The king’s injury w ill come from a fourth pair of brothers who engage him—Iphidamas and Koön, sons of Antenor, Priam’s main counselor and the father of a number of sons lost to the Trojan cause. By the end of his aristeia, Agamemnon has killed eight more named warriors and many unnamed ones. The last two killed are given added stature and name recognition to add to the king’s kleos and to the victims’ loss. The extended biography of Iphidamas, whose death brings about Agamemnon’s wound, not only adds pathos to the victim but also underscores the tremendous sacrifices the war has foisted on Troy’s populace. Not only is Iphidamas’ story told at considerable length, but the fact that he paid one hundred oxen for a bride whose marriage was never consummated adds poignancy to his death. This familial emphasis on the Trojan’s portrait is contrasted with Agamemnon’s unforgiving nature tainted with cruelty (11.221–231). It is Homer’s custom to show rather than explain the commander’s untraditional warrior style by allowing his audience to reach their own conclusions through a close examination of the king’s acts and the similes used to portray him. When the two opponents meet, Agamemnon’s spear throw misses; Iphidamas’ thrust fails to pierce the king’s war b elt, allowing Agamemnon
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to sever the Trojan’s neck with his sword. Homer’s parting comment on the fallen Iphidamas, who gives his life for his people and without consummating his marriage, adds to his pitiable state and accentuates Agamemnon’s indifference, as he strips the dead warrior and rejoins the Greek host. Koön, unobserved, stabs Agamemnon underneath the elbow, but the king decapitates him as he bends over his brother’s body, attempting to drag it to safety. Agamemnon continues to rage with spear, sword, and stones u ntil his wound begins to sap his strength. A simile at 11.269–272 compares his sharp pains to those of a w oman in labor,1 commenting both on the severity of his internal distress and on his character. This is the only instance in the Iliad where a warrior is compared to a woman, a comparison that devalues his kleos. Nor is this the only instance in which Agamemnon’s character is linked to actions more common to women. His state of anxiety when his brother Menelaos is wounded (see 4.148–149) and his distress when his b rother volunteers for a task that might endanger his life (see 10.237–239) serve as further examples. Encouraging his troops to defend the ships, the king mounts his chariot and leaves the battlefield. Recalling Zeus’ promise at 11.200–209, Hector jumps into the fray, urging the Trojans and Lykians to action by reminding them of Zeus’ pledge. A simile at 11.292–295 compares him to a huntsman who sends his white-fanged bloodhounds (the Trojans) a fter a wild boar or lion (the Greek forces). His own involvement is likened to a blustery storm that swoops down and stirs up the sea (11.297–298). Homer continues to augment Hector’s kleos by identifying his nine victims as “lords of the Danaäns” (11.304), although they appear only here and are chosen to add to Hector’s fame. Some of the same names (Asios, Autonoös, Opites, Dolops, Opheltios, Agelaos, Aisymnos, Oros, and Hipponoös) are used for different warriors elsewhere in the Iliad to be killed off by other heroes. Homer persists with Hector’s killing spree, described as a violent storm forcing the Greeks t oward their ships (11.305–309).
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III. Diomedes/Odysseus, 310–497 As the Greek situation worsens, Odysseus calls on Diomedes to help him stem the Trojan tide. The two minor aristeias of these Greek heroes are used to evoke their injuries and their exit from the field of battle. Diomedes, although aware of Zeus’ bias, which presently favors the Trojans, nevertheless thrusts Thrymbraios out of his chariot while Odysseus kills his henchman Molion, two Trojans whose sole purpose in the epic seems to be to die at the hands of t hese two Greek heroes. Abandoning the corpses, Diomedes and Odysseus again hurl themselves on the enemy like wild boars on hounds, providing relief for their troops a fter Hector’s onslaught at 11.324–326. Their rampage eliminates a number of named Trojans, some of whom Homer honors with an assortment of short death certificates that are employed some one hundred times throughout the epic. One such case implicates the offspring of the prophet Merops, who tried to avert his two sons from Troy, but they disregarded his warnings, as is often the case in the Iliad with prophetic f athers, whose prophecies go unheeded by sons destined to be slain by fate (11.328–334). Catching sight of Diomedes’ fatal attack on another Trojan, Agastrophos, Hector charges with a war cry, and Diomedes “shivered as he saw him” (11.345). Why would a warrior of Diomedes’ standing shiver at the sight of Hector? Hector must be shown to be a formidable warrior for his eventual duel with Achilles at the same time that Ajax, Diomedes, and perhaps even Agamemnon are shown to be his equals, if not his superiors. Later in the present book, this is shown to be the case when Diomedes gains the upper hand when his spear strikes Hector’s helmet (11.354–356), and the reader has already been apprised of Ajax’s superiority in the Ajax-Hector duel (7.268–272). In addition, Diomedes’ taunts imply that in a future encounter without Apollo’s assistance, the outcome between Hector and himself would possibly be to his advantage (11.362–366). Finally, although earlier Zeus warned Hector against engaging Agamemnon in order not to encroach on his kleos, t here is an element of fear that the king might
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best Hector. Perhaps it is due to Homer’s nationalistic pride that the Trojan prince is not portrayed as more notable than t hese Greek warriors. Nevertheless, he must remain unharmed for Achilles, and at the same time he must be shown to be a worthy opponent for him. Thus, even though Diomedes might be more than an equal match for Hector, Diomedes “shivered” upon seeing him, and he calls for Odysseus’ assistance. This is Homer’s way of giving Hector the stature needed for his duel with Achilles, while at the same time signaling that, though among the top Achaeans, he is not necessarily better. As Diomedes continues to strip the defeated Agastrophos, Paris shoots an arrow that pierces the flat part of the hero’s right foot. This is the only ater tradition (but time in the Iliad that a warrior is wounded in the foot. L not in the Iliad) has it that at the end of the war, Paris fatally wounds Achilles on his right heel. W hether Homer is aware of this tale or not, it is interesting in considering Diomedes’ role as a surrogate Achilles in the epic. While Paris gloats over his success, Diomedes mocks him in kind, depicting his wound as a scratch inflicted by a child or a woman. But once Odysseus pulls the arrow out of his foot, the pain forces him to mount his chariot and return to camp. Alone on the battlefield a fter the Greek troops retreat out of fear, Odysseus soliloquizes, a unique type scene used by Homeric warriors (and Zeus) to explore their innermost thoughts. Besides Odysseus’ monologue, t here are also similar monologues by Menelaos at 17.91–105, Zeus at 17.200–208 and 17.442–455, Achilles at 20.344–352 and 21.54–63, Agenor at 21.553–570, and Hector at 22.99–130. In the first appearance of this monologue type scene, Odysseus contemplates the resolution best suited to his situation. If he flees, he w ill be seen as a coward; if he remains, he faces death. He realizes he has only one choice, to fight for honor whether he lives or dies (11.404–410). While pondering his circumstances, he is surrounded by Trojans, but he, like a wild boar, fights off the hounds and hunters (the Trojans) who rush him (11.413–420). In quick succession he stabs four named Trojans, the last being Charops,
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brother of Sokos, who, angered at the death of his brother, wounds Odysseus. But as Sokos takes flight, Odysseus spears him in the back and boasts over the dead body, a common feature among Iliadic warriors. Here the hero’s bluster serves a purpose similar to the short biographies of the fallen. While vaunting his fortune at being alive, Odysseus points out the horrors of war that consign young men’s bodies to be the feast of birds. There is also wistfulness in the fact that the deceased w ill remain unwept by parents far from Troy. Gripped by pain as he removes his spear from Sokos’ flesh, Odysseus calls for assistance and is answered by Menelaos and Telamonian Ajax, who come to his aid. A long and somewhat puzzling simile describes Odysseus’ perilous situation at 11.474–484. Jackals (Trojans) rend a fallen, wounded stag (Odysseus) u ntil a god-sent lion (Ajax) approaches and drives the jackals away. The bafflement is in the lion’s action once it has driven away the jackals. The Greek reads, “But he rends the prey” (autar o daptei; 11.481). Richard Lattimore translates it as, “And the lion eats it” (“Iliad” of Homer, 11.481). Barry Powell translates it as, “The lion enjoys a feast” (Iliad, 11.508), and Peter Green as, “It scoffs their prey” (Iliad, 11.481), which to my ear makes better sense. The reader can assume that the lion’s action is directed at the scavengers. Ajax’s presence scatters the Trojans, allowing Menelaos to lead the wounded Odysseus to his chariot. Left alone, Ajax leaps on the Trojans, slaughtering five named soldiers who hardly receive any recognition except for the first victim, Doryklos, described merely as Priam’s bastard son. A simile compares Ajax to a force of nature, a standard image used in comparisons involving the major Iliadic warriors. In this case Ajax is a swollen river that overflows and sweeps everything in its path to the sea (11.492–497). IV. Nestor, 497–847 While Ajax continues slaughtering both men and horses, the poet turns to Hector’s involvement on the battlefield’s left flank (from the Trojan
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perspective), where Achilles’ ships are located (see 11.5–9) and where the fighting is heaviest. It is at this end of the battlefield that Nestor and Idomeneus are also engaged; Idomeneus, last seen in Il. 8, is not heard of again until Il. 13. This explains why Ajax, engaged on the right end of the battleground (the left from his perspective), is f ree of Hector’s interference (table 4.1). Although Hector is causing g reat damage on the left flank, the Greeks continue to maintain their positions until Paris injures Machaon (one of the Greeks’ two physician brothers) on the shoulder with a three-barbed arrow. Nestor, informed by Idomeneus of Machaon’s wound, chauffeurs the physician back to the Greek ships. In the meantime, Kebriones, Priam’s bastard son, and Hector’s charioteer after Archeptolemos’ death (see 8.318–319), reports Ajax’s gains on the right flank to his half b rother, and both set off for that sector. Once t here, Hector fights zealously but avoids fighting Ajax, giving the impression again that Hector is deliberately avoiding him. Dazed by the Trojan onslaught, Ajax stands unshakable in the melee. Two consecutive similes illustrate his stubbornness and decisiveness. In the first, at 11.547–556, identical to the one used for Menelaos’ retreat at 17.657–666, the determined hero is represented as a hungry lion (Ajax) prevented from feeding on cattle (Trojans) by country folk (other Trojan troops) who defend the holding pens with missiles all night long u ntil the lion, still eager but exhausted, slinks away unwillingly. In the second, at 11.556–564, he is portrayed as a stubborn donkey, disregarding c hildren’s (Trojans) infantile thrashings in their attempts to drive him from the crops, until, glutted with food, he is chased away. In both similes (the last of fifteen thus far in Il. 11), the e nemy is portrayed as inferior to Ajax, who has the strength of a lion and the obstinacy of a mule. The “infantile” Trojan attacks are merely child’s play, and Ajax departs only a fter he has gorged himself on Trojan blood, refusing to yield ground (although his great shield is peppered with Trojan javelins). The scene now shifts to Eurypylos, a Greek warrior from Thessaly and a regular in the Iliad (see Il. 2, 5–8, 11, 15, and 16), who comes to Ajax’s aid
SalaCretans Spartans Mycenaeans minians The Sea
Pylians Ithakans Mysians
Argives
Meges
Achilles
Right
Northern MyrmiGreeks dons
Menes- Protesitheus laos
Lokrians Islanders Athenians
Telamo- Idome- Menelaos Agamemnon Nestor Odysseus Eurypylos Diomedes Oilian nian neus Ajax Ajax
Left
The Achaean Wall
Lineup of Achaean ships
Table 4.1.
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at 11.574–576. Standing beside him, he casts his spear, killing Apisaon, a Trojan whose only role in the Iliad is to be killed by Eurypylos; a different Apisaon is killed by Lykomedes at 17.348. Paris, experiencing his own minor aristeia, hits Eurypylos with an arrow on the right thigh, having earlier incapacitated Diomedes and Machaon. As the Greek slips back into the mass of his companions to avoid death, he calls on other Greeks to attend Ajax. At this point, at 11.512, Homer returns to Nestor, who is escorting Machaon off the field of battle. The episode that follows, “The Plan of Nestor,” occupies the remainder of Il. 11 (11.596–847). Achilles, standing on the stern of his vessel, sees Nestor returning with a wounded warrior but, unsure of his identity, sends Patroklos, who speaks for the first time at 11.605, to inquire. Believing that the situation is now such that he will be supplicated by the Greeks to reenter the battle, Achilles seemingly contradicts the appeals made to him in Il. 9 to return. Clearly, the Greek ambassadors in Il. 9 did not supplicate him to his satisfaction. Patroklos, obeying his companion, sets off for Nestor’s camp; this is the beginning of his doom. His return journey, however, w ill not occur until 15.405, and he w ill not arrive at Achilles’ camp until 16.2. The length of “The Plan of Nestor” (252 lines) is due to its importance at this juncture, for Nestor’s intervention prefigures Patroklos’ tragedy. However, before Patroklos reaches Nestor’s shelter, twenty-seven lines intervene, which draw attention to Nestor’s personality and erudition. Advanced in age, he is a man full of vitality. The emphasis placed on his cup (11.631–636) and on the preparations of Hekamede, the w oman allotted him when Achilles stormed Tenedos (11.623–626), presents him as a man venerated by his peers. Hekamede, a “woman like the immortals” (11.637), was awarded him by the troops for his consultatory abilities, and the “beautifully wrought cup . . . set with golden nails,” with four eared handles and “two doves of gold” fashioned on either side, acknowledges his respectability and his erudition as a man of culture. When Patroklos appears at 11.643, Nestor takes him by the hand and offers him a chair, but his guest, anxious to complete his mission, declines
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once he recognizes the wounded man as Machaon. Patroklos’ impatience to return straightaway to Achilles speaks to his friend’s fiery and explosive temper, which the reader has witnessed, a feature of Achilles that Patroklos notices and disapproves of; he is “a dangerous man; he might even be angry with one who is guiltless” (11.653). In spite of his haste, Patroklos is detained with questions concerning Achilles’ sudden change of heart. Why is he unexpectedly preoccupied with the plight of the Greeks? Does he really want to see the Greek fleet in flames and the defeat of his comrades? These inquiries encourage Nestor at 11.669–760 to launch into the longest of his four major digressions in the Iliad, regarding a conflict between the Pylians and the people of Elis (the Eleians, later called Epeians) over a c attle raid in which Nestor seizes livestock; his other three digressions take place at 1.254–284, 7.124–160, and 23.626–650. The captured livestock is distributed to the Pylians in payment for an e arlier assault by Herakles on behalf of the Eleians. In reprisal for the cattle raid, the Eleians attack the Pylian town of Thryoessa, which the Pylians defend and, as a result of Nestor’s bravery, win a great victory. His lengthy account of his exploits not only establishes his heroic status but also serves as a substitute battlefield aristeia, which he is at present too old to achieve. In the struggle between the Pylians and Eleians, Nestor is the first to kill a man—Moulios,2 the best among the Eleian fighters. He then overtakes fifty chariots, killing two men in each, and would have killed the Moliones (Poseidon’s twin sons, Eurytos and Kteatos)3 had their father not saved them and Athena not put an end to the dispute. Once the description of Nestor’s youthful feats of valor is concluded, his digression becomes a paradigm meant for Achilles but told to Patroklos, who is being urged to influence his friend to act immediately lest he enjoy his valor in loneliness. He should heed Menoitios’ words to Patroklos, which Nestor and Odysseus were present to hear in Phthia (later sources place Menoitios in Locris), “to be always best in b attle and pre-eminent beyond all others” (11.783). Nestor advises Patroklos, as the oldest of the two companions, to counsel Achilles and convince him to return to aid
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the Greeks. Should Achilles resist because of some prophecy, he should then allow Patroklos to take his place to at least fool the Trojans into thinking he has returned. Nestor’s tale moves Patroklos to pity as he sets off at a run to deliver his report to Achilles. On the way he encounters the wounded Eurypylos, whom he asks whether the Greeks will be able to hold off Hector. Eurypylos’ response is devastating—Trojan strength grows stronger and the best Greek fighters are wounded; the Greeks w ill die beside their ships. But Eurypylos’ immediate concern is his bleeding wound, and he asks Patroklos to help him to his shelter and tend to his injury, since he is acquainted with the soothing herbs the Centaur Cheiron taught Achilles. Reluctantly, Patroklos agrees, although he is anxious to deliver his report. Thus, he takes his first steps toward saving his fellow Greek warriors, for whom he w ill sacrifice himself. The book ends with Patroklos applying medicinal herbs to Eurypylos’ wound. Selected Bibliography: Il. 11 Alexander, Iliad. Anhalt, Enraged, 80–114. Arieti, “Achilles’ Inquiry about Machaon.” Christensen, “Diomedes’ Foot-Wound.” Edwards, Mark W., Homer. Frazer, Reading of the “Iliad.” Hainsworth, Iliad. Hogan, Guide to the “Iliad.” Holmes, “Iliad’s Economy of Pain.” Jones, Homer’s “Iliad.” Lattimore, “Iliad” of Homer. McAuslan and Walcot, Homer. Minchin, “Speaker and Listener.” Mueller, Iliad. Owen, Story of the “Iliad.”
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Pedrick, “Paradigmatic Nature.” Postlethwaite, Homer’s “Iliad.” Powell, Homer. Powell, Iliad. Rabel, “Agamemnon’s Aristeia.” Rabel, Plot. Schadewaldt, “Book 11.” Scott, William C., Artistry, 78–88. Sharples, “ ‘But Why Has My Spirit?’ ” Verity, Homer. West, M. L., “Date of the Iliad.” Willcock, Companion to the “Iliad.”
Book 12 Il. 12, “Battle at the Wall” (Teichomachia), begins where Il. 11 left off— Patroklos tending Eurypylos’ wound (12.1–2). The narrative then immediately turns to the battle at the wall, which stands as a self-contained piece, although it is part of a larger organic w hole that encompasses Il. 13–15. The present book lends itself to a reading in six parts. I. Introduction: The fate of the wall (7% of book) II. Trojan preparations for an attack on the wall (16% of book) III. Asios’ assault on the wall (18% of book) IV. Hector’s first assault on the wall (20% of book) V. Sarpedon’s assault on the wall (31% of book) VI. Hector’s second assault on the wall (8% of book) Although five divisions of Trojans initially and concurrently attack the wall, stress on the fighting of individual warriors and an emphasis on direct discourse (25% of the book) deliver a more poignant and humane reading. In the culmination of the book, Hector storms the Greek gates and breaks through the wall, the finale t oward which the entire narrative
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of Il. 12 is racing. The fighting itself in the book differs from what the reader has previously experienced in the epic. Th ere are now fewer single duels between individual warriors and more direct and phrenetic attacks against groups of soldiers, as well as less boasting between the two warring sides. I. Introduction: The Fate of the Wall, 1–33 The building of the Greek wall is first proposed by Nestor at 7.337–343 and conducted at 7.435–441. The wall’s destruction is outlined by Zeus at 7.455–463 before we hear of its disappearance at 12.8–33. The narrator informs the reader that the wall w ill be obliterated by Apollo and Poseidon once the war is over by letting loose the force of eight rivers that run through the Trojan plain.4 Poseidon offers two reasons for this demol i tion: the Greeks did not offer the gods sacrifices when building it (12.6), and it would detract from Troy’s wall built by Poseidon and Apollo if it were to remain standing (7.446–453). This appears to be a way of illustrating the transitory nature of the h uman condition. II. Trojan Preparations for an Attack on the Wall, 34–109 Once the outcome of the wall is made known, the narrator returns to the uproar and din of b attle, as Hector’s Trojans drive the Greeks t oward their ships. Two similes, a short one at 12.40 and a longer one at 12.41–50, describe Hector’s strength, but it is made clear that it is “Zeus’ lashing” (12.37) that forces the Greeks to retreat beside their ships. In other words, Hector is Zeus’ instrument carrying out his w ill. Nevertheless, Hector is presented in the heroic language used to portray major warriors. In the short simile he fights like a whirlwind, and in the long one he is like a wild boar or lion that remains standing while hunters pelt it with spears. The lion refuses to back away, and eventually its own courage causes its death. In this image, the wild animal symbolizing Hector is driven by bravery alone rather than by hunger or fear as in so many of the epic’s lion similes. The Trojan’s charge is hampered only by the sharp stakes lined along the ditch’s bank.
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Hector’s inability to rally his forces to cross the ditch with their chariots is a cue for Poulydamas’ entrance, his first in the epic. Son of the Trojan elder Panthoös and born on the same night as Hector (18.251), Poulydamas serves not only as the prince’s counselor but also as his alter ego. During the course of the epic, he offers Hector four pieces of advice, two of which he accepts (12.61–79 and 13.726–747) and two of which he rejects (12.211–229 and 18.254–283). In the present instance, Poulydamas proposes to leave the chariots and h orses behind and attack on foot in mass formation. Embracing his companion’s good advice, Hector charges the Greek wall with an army of five battalions. The five army divisions referenced at this juncture are not mentioned elsewhere in the epic and are perhaps included h ere to add graphic detail to the storming of the wall. Divisions of five, however, are cited on several occasions in the Iliad, but not in connection with the Trojans. Both Nestor’s Pylians at 4.293–296 and Achilles’ Myrmidons at 16.171–197 are in five divisions. The five Trojan divisions are each led by a designated leader and two associates. Once named, most of t hese warriors disappear from Il. 12, with the exception of Hector, Asios, and Sarpedon, who are given greater consideration. The first division is led by Hector, accompanied by Poulydamas and Kebriones, Hector’s charioteer. The second is composed of Paris and Alkthoös, Aeneas’ brother-in-law, who appears for the first time in the epic and is killed in the next book at 13.427–440 by Idomeneus. The third member of the second team is Agenor, Antenor’s son, who loses his own son Echeklos to Achilles at 20.474–477 but who fights the Greek hero at 21.590–598 and survives. A different Echeklos is killed by Patroklos at 16.694. Division three consists of Helenos accompanied by Deïphobos, mentioned h ere for the first time, who in Epic Cycle tradition (Little Iliad) becomes Helen’s husband after the death of Paris. Both Trojans are sons of Priam’s and Hector’s brothers. Asios, the third associate, a Trojan ally, is killed by Idomeneus at 13.386–393 but is not the same Asios who is Hecuba’s brother and Hector’s u ncle. The fourth division is led by Aeneas, Aphrodite’s son, who has not been seen in action since he encountered
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Diomedes at 5.297–318 and w ill not be heard of again in the present book. He is accompanied by Akamas, coleader of the Dardanians, and Archelochos, another son of Antenor killed by Telamonian Ajax at 14.460–464. The fifth division consists of Sarpedon, Zeus’ son and leader of the Lykians, with his second in command being Glaukos, who is wounded by Teukros at 12.387–389. The third member of the fifth division Asteropaios, a Trojan ally and leader of the Paionians, mentioned in the epic for the first time, who is killed by Achilles at 21.173–181. III. Asios’ Assault on the Wall, 110–194 Following Poulydamas’ advice, the Trojans dismount and the five divisions charge the wall on foot. Asios, unwilling to leave his h orses and chariot behind, attacks on the left of the ships in order to enter an open gate. The poet, condemning this foolish move, predicts his end at the hands of Idomeneus (12.116–117), one of many instances in the Iliad in which the narrator forecasts a warrior’s death before its occurrence. At the gate, Asios is opposed by the two Lapiths, Polypoites and Leonteus, who are given a minor aristeia. The Lapithai, best known in myth for their battle with the Centaurs, and mentioned only in the pre sent book, represent the troops from Thessaly, which they lead. By focusing on specific individuals rather than the multitudes involved in the storming of the wall, Homer personalizes the ongoing battle and brings it to the level of real people individually drawn, bringing the horrors of war closer to his audience. It is of note that even though in the present book and the three that follow, the Greeks are being defeated, Homer still puts on display his nationalistic roots. He never neglects to emphasize Greek valor and its superiority. A simile at 12.132–136 compares the two Greek warriors to oaks, which stand firm against the storms trying to uproot them. Three more similes following in quick succession comment not only on the heroism of the two Lapiths but also on the confusion and sounds of war. The first of the three emphasizes the sound and turmoil of warfare by likening the two Greek warriors to wild boars
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tearing through the forest, gnashing their tusks, ripping up bushes as they await their death from the hunters and dogs advancing against them (12.146–152). In the second, the noise from the barrage of stones and missiles flung from the wall towers is compared to the sound of a gale’s snowflakes pouring thick and fast (12.157–161). The contrast created is between the silence of the falling snow, which both blankets and stills the landscape, and the roar of screams and spears clanging against armor, which the silence and rapidity of the falling snow intensify. The third simile places the emphasis on the two Greek heroes, whose stubbornness in defending their space is compared to that of bees protecting a disturbed beehive (12.167–172). The bee simile used elsewhere in the Iliad is here ironic, since the warriors (bees) are standing up to “men who come to destroy them, and fight for the sake of their children” (12.170). The simile is more apropos for the Trojans who are defending their city and families than for the two Greek warriors, who are compared to bees guarding their “hollow house,” even though symbolically the two soldiers are defending their “house,” the wall. Facing this unexpected resistance from the two Greek heroes, Asios accuses Zeus of deception in allowing Greek resistance when the Trojans were promised a breakthrough. The poet, however, reminds his audience that Zeus is not moved, since his purpose is to extend Hector’s glory. Thus, the boldness exhibited by both Hector and his companions is again shown to be due more to Zeus’ w ill than to their military prowess. It is customary for Homer to periodically provide an overview of the entire battlefield as he does at 12.175–180. He reminds his audience that men are fighting at various gates, implying the existence of more than one gate, but nowhere does the Iliad clearly state how many gates Homer imagines or his tradition may have included. It has been suggested that references to pulai (gates) could mean a single gate, “for the Iliad, Aristarchus notes, does not use pule in the singular” (Hainsworth, Iliad, 313). Nevertheless, the magnitude of the b attle is, according to Homer, beyond his human resources to depict, and he abandons further commentary
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other than to state that the gods favoring the Greeks were disheartened. In this manner the poet momentarily interrupts the Lapiths’ heroics to remind the reader that the Trojans are in ascendance, before returning to the Lapiths’ feats of valor. First Polypoites strikes down three named Trojans, with the first victim receiving the honor of a description of the lurid details of his death. Leonteus, the second Lapith, executes five named Trojans before the focus returns to Hector. IV. Hector’s First Assault on the Wall, 195–289 An omen now appears as Hector, Poulydamas, and their numerous followers prepare to breach the wall. An eagle skirting the army on the left (the unlucky direction) clutches a live, blood-red snake in its talons. The serpent rears back and strikes the eagle, which drops the snake in the midst of the crowd and flies away empty-handed. Poulydamas interprets the bird sign as an omen against attacking the Greeks and proposes retreat. Hector, recollecting Iris’ message at 11.201–209 promising him victory until the sun sets, delivers one of the Iliad’s famous lines, “One bird sign is best: to fight in defense of our country” (12.243). With that proclamation begins what J. B. Hainsworth calls “a remarkable passage of siege- poetry” (Hainsworth, Iliad, 344; 12.251–264), a poetry with its own typical motifs and vocabulary. The Trojan attack is short lived, even though Zeus comes to Hector’s assistance by sending a dust storm to blind the Greek troops and to confer on Hector his promised glory; without Zeus’ aid, Hector alone cannot breach the wall, as the two Aiantes spur on their companions to defend it (12.265–276). Another snow simile, similar to the earlier one at 12.157–161 but more elaborate, displays the Greek war strength and the warfare’s clamor (12.178–289). As Zeus lulls the winds, the pouring snow blankets the mountain peaks, fields, harbors, and shores, lulling the sea’s waves as they repel the snow, shrouding the earth in a white silence. Then Homer returns the reader to falling stones blanketing both warring sides like snow, and the entire wall rumbles and thunders with a g reat uproar, contrasting the silence of the heaping snow to the deafening sounds of battle.
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V. Sarpedon’s Assault on the Wall, 290–436 Even with Zeus’ assistance, Hector is unsuccessful, and the Olympian rouses his own son to enter the Trojan struggle, but the wound Sarpedon received from Tlepolemos at 5.660–662 is neglected. Accompanied by Glaukos, his second in command, Sarpedon’s assault becomes merely a more elaborate repetition of Asios’. In both attacks each warrior is challenged by two Greeks: Asios by Polypoites and Leonteus at 12.127–153, and Sarpedon by the two Aiantes at 12.331–391. Both contests are compared to a snowstorm (12.157–161 and 12.278–289), and both fail (12.162–172 and 12.430–437). Sarpedon’s entrance is introduced by two lion similes, one short and one long (12.293 and 12.299–306), in which his courage and tenacity are stressed. In the longer of the two, he is a hungry lion defying death and refusing retreat u ntil he snatches a lamb even though the sheep are guarded by many herdsmen and their dogs. Sarpedon’s main contribution, however, is his comment to Glaukos on the duties and obligations of a warrior, “to win glory . . . or yield it to o thers” (12.328). Heroism is measured by the favorable treatment received as an incentive to fight, for which a hero battles, if need be, to the death (12.310–321). Menesthios, the Athenian leader, catching sight of Sarpedon and Glaukos’ advance, shivers at their coming, and calls for help. He is answered by Telamonian Ajax and his half brother Teukros, whose wound by Hector at 8.322–334 is here overlooked. A minor aristeia by these two Greek warriors now ensues in which Ajax kills Sarpedon’s friend Epikles and Teukros wounds Glaukos, who survives. Sarpedon, in turn, kills Alkmaon, the only named casualty on the Greek side. In a following feat of superhuman strength, Sarpedon pulls down a section of the wall to open a path for the Trojans, but he is accosted by both Teukros’ arrow, which marks his shield, and Ajax’s spear, which penetrates it. His momentum blocked, Sarpedon calls for Lykian backup. The Lykians respond to their leader’s urgent call, but neither side can make headway. Even though Sarpedon is Zeus’ son, the god gives the
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greater glory to Hector as promised. Using two nontraditional similes, Homer now allows a panoramic view of the battlements “awash / with men’s blood shed from both sides” (12.430–431). In the first simile, at 12.421–424, two men standing near each other argue over a common field. The narrow patch being contested is compared to the width of the battlement that keeps the two warring sides apart. In the second comparison, at 12.433–436, an honest woolworker carefully balances her wool on a scale. Both sides are so evenly balanced that neither is ready to concede to the other. Unlike the majority of similes in the Iliad, most of which represent forces of nature or the strength and courage of wild animals, the two mentioned h ere are taken from the everyday activities of common p eople. The war between Greeks and Trojans has now reached a point of inertia. It has become a chore performed like any other daily activity in ordinary people’s lives. VI. Hector’s Second Assault on the Wall, 437–471 Zeus w ills Hector to be the first to force the wall, and with a piercing cry, the prince encourages his troops. Picking up a stone in one hand that no two of his contemporaries could lift, he smashes the gates. His superhuman strength, compared at 12.451–454 to that of a shepherd lifting a ram’s fleece, comes from Zeus, who lightens the rock for him. Holding two spears in his other hand, Hector bursts through the gates, calling on the Trojans to follow as the Greeks scatter in panic. Thus, the Greeks’ darkest moment arrives midway through the poem, in the epic’s twelfth book. Hector, whose success depends on Zeus, the only god active in this book, w ill succeed in setting fire to a ship, but not u ntil Il. 16. Selected Bibliography: Il. 12 Alexander, Iliad. Anhalt, Enraged, 80–114. Edwards, Homer. Elmer, “Epikoinos.”
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Friedrich, Wolf-Hartmut, Wounding, 88–96. Green, Iliad. Hainsworth, Iliad. Hogan, Guide to the “Iliad.” Jones, Homer’s “Iliad.” Lattimore, “Iliad” of Homer. McAuslan and Walcot, Homer. Mueller, The Iliad. Murray, Homer: Iliad, Books 1–12. Owen, Story of the “Iliad.” Postlethwaite, Homer’s “Iliad.” Powell, Homer. Powell, Iliad. Rabel, Plot. Schein, Mortal Hero. Scott, William C., Artistry, 94–101. Verity, Homer. West, M. L., “Date of the Iliad.” Willcock, Companion to the “Iliad.”
Book 13 The fourth tetrad (Il. 13–16) of the Iliad’s six tetrads5 is the largest (2,972 verses). Three of this tetrad’s books, Il. 13–15, constitute a singular circular sequence in which the action does not advance. At the end of Il. 12, a crisis is reached—the Trojans cross the Greek ditch and breach the Greek wall. However, they do not set fire to the Greek ships as expected; instead, a reversal occurs that halts the Trojan advance. Zeus, at the beginning of Il. 13, turns his gaze away from Troy and leaves the two warring sides to their own devices. Poseidon, taking advantage of the opportunity, decides to assist the Achaeans and enters the battlefield to inspire the Greek army through the aristeia of the two Aiantes and Idomeneus. In the following two and a
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half books, Homer holds the Greeks and Trojans at bay in a ballet of fighting in which no major advances are made by either side. A lengthy retardation follows in Il. 13 and 14 in which both sides are brought to a stalemate until 15.389, when the situation is returned to what it was at the end of Il. 12. Il. 13, “Battle by the Ships” (Machē epi tais nausin), a rather chaotic and at times confusing book, describes the fighting occurring inside the breached wall and acts as an interlude between alternating Greek-and Trojan-dominated books since the third battle began. 1. Il. 11: The Greeks dominate and lose their major heroes to injuries. 2 . Il. 12: The Trojans under Hector’s leadership breach the Greek wall. 3. Il. 13: Interlude—no change in the overall situation takes place. 4 . Il. 14: The Greek forces rally and halt Hector, who is wounded by Ajax and is carried off the battlefield. 5. Il. 15: The Trojans are able to recover the gains made at the end of Il. 12. Although Il. 13 is devoted primarily to minor heroes (Idomeneus, Meriones, Teukros, Oilian Ajax, and Deïphobos, with the exception of Telamonian Ajax and Hector), it is nevertheless a treasure trove for Homer’s narrative techniques. 1. Exhortations or parainesis (e.g., 13.43, 13.91, 13.136, 13.206, 13.361, 13.601, 13.754). 2. Duels (e.g., 13.156, 13.361, 13.502, 13.540, 13.601, 13.660). 3. Calls for help (e.g., 13.469, 13.489). 4. Descriptions.
a. Poseidon’s ascent on earth and the description of his subterranean palace increase his majesty and power and set him in opposition to Zeus (e.g., 13.10–38).
b. Close-ups of general fighting emphasize the density, oppressiveness, and bewilderment of mass fighting (e.g., 13.125–135).
5. Similes. 6. Type scenes (e.g., 13.10, 13.455).
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7. Challenges (e.g., 13.809). 8. Catalogs (e.g., 13.685). 9. Conferences (e.g., 13.240, 13.455). 1 0. Aristeiai. 11. Rebukes (e.g., 13.723, 13.754). 12. Father-son relationships: Over two dozen father-son pairs are mentioned in Il. 13 to bring into focus the tragedy of f athers mourning their sons instead of sons mourning their fathers, as is more natural in peacetime. 13. Vignettes of the wounded and dying: Backstories of participating characters both Greek and Trojan constantly intrude into the narrative to remind the reader of the families left behind and the world beyond Troy waiting for their return. 14. Personal testimonies: Homer often interrupts his narrative to let his characters speak for themselves instead of relating their actions indirectly (28% of Il. 13 is in direct discourse). Delay becomes the book’s major function, even though the book’s huge cast of named characters (just short of one hundred, with many of them appearing multiple times) b attle incessantly. The outcome of the Iliad’s longest b attle will end as announced by Zeus at 8.475, “when they [Achilles and Hector] shall fight by the sterns of the beached ships.” But before that time arrives, fire will reach the ships, Achilles will reconsider fighting again (see 9.650–653), Patroklos’ unanticipated death will occur, and Achilles’ wrath will turn to revenge. In the meantime, as Zeus turns his back on the Greek-Trojan conflict, his brother Poseidon takes charge to cause more mindless havoc until the Olympian returns to make good on his promise to Thetis and bring about the death of Hector. The retardation of the third b attle’s outcome not only emphasizes the importance of this b attle and creates anticipation by delaying the “plan of Zeus” but also emphasizes the gods’ disregard for human life in prioritizing their own personal demands before the well-being of humankind. Further, it reveals an
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ongoing feud between Kronos’ two eldest sons over the earth’s supremacy and showcases Greek superiority even in their defeat. The book lends itself to a division of three sections, each centered on one character, the god Poseidon, the Greek warrior Idomeneus, and the Trojan warrior Hector. I. Poseidon (28% of book) II. Idomeneus (52% of book) III. Hector (20% of book) I. Poseidon, 1–239 Poseidon, enjoying the battle as if watching a sporting event, is annoyed that his favorite team is losing to the Trojans, whom Zeus is temporarily privileging. Taking advantage of the Olympian’s absence, Poseidon decides to favor his side. The apparent reason for this action is to freeze the Trojan advance and prevent them from setting fire to the Greek ships, increasing anticipation for the outcome and allowing for more heroics that privilege the Greeks. On the other hand, Poseidon’s motive for his eagerness to aid the Greeks is his resentment over Laomedon’s refusal to pay for the construction of Troy’s walls (21.441–452), as well as his hostility toward his elder brother, who assumes control of the world, although the earth and Olympos were to be held in common by all three b rothers—Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades (15.185–199). To reverse the Trojan tide, Poseidon, in Kalchas’ human form, stirs the Greeks to action by first endowing the Aiantes with daring (13.47–48). His appearance, which Oilian or the Lesser Ajax identifies as a divine one from the “form of his feet, the legs’ form” (13.71), although no explanation is provided as to how such recognition is possible, also inspires Telamonian or Greater Ajax to “long even for single combat / with Hektor” (13.79–80), a major theme of the fourth tetrad, to be fulfilled at 14.409–420. In a lengthy speech at 13.95–124, another good example of ring composition, Poseidon rallies seven named Greek warriors by appealing to their discipline and shame.
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a. We must all be disciplined and appeal to our sense of shame (13.95–96). b. If the Greek troops slack off, they w ill be defeated (13.97–98). c. The Trojans, who are cowards and no match for the Greeks, now fight us (13.99–107). d. We slack off because Agamemnon is a weak leader (13.108–110). d ′. We should not slack off even though Agamemnon is a weak leader (13.111–116). c ′. The Greeks are cowards for hanging back and not fighting the Trojans (13.117–119). b ′. If the Greek troops slack off, they will be defeated (13.120–121). a ′. We must all be disciplined and appeal to our sense of shame (13.122–124). Five of the seven mentioned heroes play major roles in Il. 13, Teukros, Deïpyros, Thoas, Meriones, and Antilochos, while the other two, Leïtos and Peneleos, both mentioned in the Catalog of Ships as coleaders of the Boeotians (2.494), are not referred to again in this book. Leïtos does appear once more, at 17.601–604, to be wounded by Hector, but Peneleos disappears altogether. In the duels and vignettes that give shape to the book’s three sections, a total of twenty-eight named Greek warriors and twenty-four named Trojans participate to kill, wound, or join in the scrimmages that follow. First Meriones, the Cretan king Idomeneus’ companion and charioteer, is confronted by Deïphobos, Priam’s son, in response to Hector’s summons to stand by as he unsuccessfully attempts to break through the Greek battalions. Meriones’ spear cast breaks on Deïphobos’ shield, and disappointed, he rushes back to camp for a new one. The remaining four sets of narrated engagements at 13.169–205 use one or more of the features of a tripartite structure—the name of the slain or slayer, the biography of the opponent, and an account of the fatal blow. Each confrontation flows into the next as part of a whole, an
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ongoing struggle, even though the focus in each encounter is presented as an independent vignette. A word, a phrase, an act, or an utterance by the warrior in question is Homer’s way of giving shape to his characters. For example, the beheading of the dead Imbrios stresses Oilian Ajax’s meanness and disrespect for human life at 13.198–205. Mention of Imbrios’ wife Medesicaste (Priam’s bastard d aughter) and his father adds to the significance of his loss and the pathos for t hose he leaves behind. The bereaved father, a leitmotif in the poem, is evident throughout the epic, from Chryses’ grief for his d aughter Chryseis in Il. 1 to Priam’s grief over his slain son Hector in Il. 24. Imbrios and Amphimachos, who appear multiple times in t hese independent vignettes, serve to tie the engagements into a single continuous action. As Teukros attempts to remove Imbrios’ armor, Hector throws his javelin, misses, and hits Kteatos’s son, the Greek Amphimachos, in the chest. As Amphimachos’ body is carried off the field by two of his companions (Stichios and Menestheus), Telamonian Ajax prevents Hector from stripping the corpse and laying claim to the body of the Trojan Imbrios. However, the two Aiantes, like lions a fter a goat, seize hold of Imbrios’ body and strip it of its armor. Oilian Ajax then, in anger, decapitates the corpse and rolls the head like a ball at Hector’s feet. The setting shifts from warriors dueling to the more intimate dialogue between two individuals, a common technique in Homer’s repertoire, which relocates the reader from the deafening sounds of war to more peaceful surroundings. Poseidon, angered at the slaying of his grandson Amphimachos,6 visits the Greek camp as Thoas to rekindle the Greeks to action. On the way he encounters the Cretan king Idomeneus, whose act of charity concerning an unnamed wounded companion bespeaks his good character. In their ensuing exchange, Thoas/Poseidon urges Idomeneus to join him in the fight against the Trojans, and the dialogue between the two segues into the second and largest section of the present book.
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II. Idomeneus, 240–672 Last seen at 11.510–515, Idomeneus is now introduced with an abbreviated two-line dressing scene (13.241–242). His eighty-ship contingent, the third largest in the Greek arsenal, equal to Diomedes’ and smaller only to Agamemnon’s and Nestor’s, underscores his importance to the Greek cause. He is also the second-oldest Greek warrior, after Nestor, but in spite of his age, a simile at 13.242–245 compares him to Zeus’ thunderbolt, highlighting his speed and the glitter of his armor. On his way to the battlefield, he comes upon his henchman Meriones, returning to replace a broken spear from his encounter with Deïphobos (see 13.159–162). Embarrassed at their chance encounter off the field of battle, they engage in a long, amusing dialogue on the virtues of valor, as they attempt to justify to each other why they are not taking part in the fighting (13.249–327). Idomeneus, defending his military record, is quick to offer Meriones a spear from the many amassed from his various combats. Meriones rejoins by enumerating an equal number of Trojan spoils in his tent, also emphasizing his valor and courage, which he insists Idomeneus is “the very one I think must know of it” (13.273). Concurring, Idomeneus launches into a diatribe on the distinction between bravery and cowardice at 13.276–286, concluding that Meriones, a man of daring, would face his e nemy even wounded. Idomeneus urges that they quickly rejoin the b attle lest someone scold them for lingering, a concern that stresses the role shame plays in an Iliadic warrior’s life. A simile compares both to Ares and Terror as they rush to join the fighting on the left flank at 13.298–305, since the Aiantes and Teukros hold the center. Praising Telamonian Ajax as their greatest warrior after Achilles, they head for the left, Idomeneus mouthing Sarpedon’s words to Glaukos, to “win glory or give it to o thers” (compare 13.327 and 12.328). A panoramic view lays out the battlefield as one of “man-tearing spears,” a “dazzle of bronze” and confusion (13.340–343), as the two angry Olympians visit cruel suffering on the warring sides—Zeus giving glory to Thetis’ son Achilles and Poseidon bitterly blaming his elder brother for
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supporting the Trojans. A simile at 13.334–338 compares the fighting to blasts of wind creating thick clouds of dust, which cover the land. Although the dust storm conceals everyt hing in sight and c auses damage, once it clears the land, it returns to what it was before. Likewise, once the slaughter is over, the Greek and Trojan situation remains unchanged. The segment of the third battle that follows at 13.361–672 covers over one-third of the total length of Il. 13 and can be read in sixteen vignettes illustrating Homer’s strategies in describing b attle scenes. As in the e arlier segment at 13.156–205, the poet deploys his epic repertoire to humanize and focus on individual characters while at the same time creating a sense of wholeness—a raging b attle of mass movement and confusion. 1. Idomeneus versus Othryoneus at 361–384. Othryoneus’ fall follows Homer’s tripartite exegesis for a fallen warrior. The king kills a man who lived in Kabesos (the slain identified), who came to save the Trojans in return for marriage to Kassandra (background) but had his life cut short by a blow to the belly (account of his death). The commentary on the Trojan’s background is followed by an ironic vaunt in which Idomeneus chides him on his pledge—Othryoneus’ absurd promise to save Troy for Kassandra’s hand, a pledge that acts as a commentary also on Priam’s desperate situation and reminds one of Agamemnon’s anguished decision to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia for his cause. 2. Idomeneus versus Asios at 384–393. As Idomeneus attempts to strip Othryoneus, the Trojan Asios appears to protect his comrade’s corpse, but the Greek king spears him in the throat. A simile describes Asios tumbling like a towering pine tree whose wood w ill be used for ship timber. The simile, the same as the one used for Sarpedon at 16.482–486, singles out Asios’ prominence, which increases the value of Idomeneus’ victory. Ironically, the tree’s timber is slated for war fodder, as is Asios himself. The fact that the Trojan’s h orses are kept at hand—“they breathed on his shoulders” (13.386)—marks him as fearful and ready to take flight.
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3. Antilochos versus Asios’ Charioteer at 394–401. Asios’ charioteer, stunned out of his wits, becomes an easy target for Antilochos, who spears him in the belly and leads the h orses to the Greek camp. Th ese vignettes, as noted thus far, afford the reader a sense of the confusion and furiousness of b attle, while at the same time they allow the poet to zero in on individual lives to comment on human foibles. Even though each vignette is individualized, the fact that many of the same characters appear more than once in the various vignettes provides a sense of unity—an ongoing, furious battle with multiple interactions. 4. Deïphobos versus Idomeneus at 402–416. Sorrowing for Asios, Deïphobos casts his spear at Idomeneus, misses, and hits Hypsenor in the liver. Boasting, Deïphobos is happy to have retaliated, providing an escort for his companion to the underworld. Momentarily, Homer strategically removes his audience from the turmoil of war to comment on Idomeneus’ shield at 13.405–409 and address two distinct characteristics of warrior speech—irony and vaunting. 5. Antilochos and Hypsenor at 417–423. Deïphobos’ vaunting unsettles Antilochos, who rushes to defend Hypsenor’s body as his two companions, Mekisteus and Alastor, lift and carry the corpse back to the Greek ships. As the dead Hypsenor is carried away, he groans at 13.423, a common lapse in oral composition. In the ongoing struggle, the external audience (and the modern reader) not only is embedded in the midst of the action to experience first-hand the warrior brawls but is also privy to the thoughts of the combatants. 6. Idomeneus versus Alkathoös at 424–454. Homer returns to Idomeneus, whose aristeia persists with a new opponent, Alkathoös, Anchises’ son-in-law, married to his d aughter Hippodameia. As the mortally wounded Alkathoös falls with a spear stuck in his heart, “the heart was panting still and beating to shake the butt end / of the spear” (13.443–444),
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one of Homer’s many personal human touches that speak to the savagery of war and the poignancy of mortality. As a consequence of his vaunting, Idomeneus claims triple repayment from Deïphobos, having terminated Othryoneus (see number 1 in this section), Asios (number 2), and Alkathoös to the Trojan’s single victory, Hypsenor. In reality, however, Idomeneus’ success is partly that of Poseidon, the god responsible for the Greek’s triumph. Nevertheless, Idomeneus’ partial victories raise the kleos of Zeus’ great-grandson and give pause to Deïphobos when he is challenged to a duel. 7. Deïphobos Calls on Aeneas at 455–467. Deïphobos is of two minds concerning Idomeneus’ challenge—to fight or withdraw. He decides on the latter and calls for Aeneas’ help, a common type scene in Homer’s epic arsenal: a Trojan warrior calls for assistance against a Greek (e.g., 5.166–178, 12.325–330, 13.455–467, 16.537–553, 17.483–490), a Greek reciprocates (e.g., 5.239–264, 12.331–345, 13.476–483, 16.554–562, 17.507–511), and the Trojan is beaten off (e.g., 5.275–296, 12.370–377, 13.487–539, 16.565–579, 17.516–519). Aeneas, who has not been heard of since Il. 12, responds but is first given an alibi for his unwillingness to participate in the fighting. Like Achilles’ withdrawal for being dishonored by Agamemnon (withdrawal and return, frequent in the Iliad, is a common epic story pattern), Aeneas’ reluctance to fight is due, according to him, to Priam’s low esteem of his leadership. Although Aeneas’ disenchantment with Priam is not explained in this instance, it becomes clear in his response to Achilles at 20.208–258 that he feels underappreciated by the Ilos ruling branch of the Tros royal family (see table 5.1, Aeneas’ Chronology). However, once Deïphobos locates him standing “at the uttermost edge of the battle” (13.459) and appeals to his feelings of guilt for his brother-in-law Alkathoös, who cared for him as a child, Aeneas acquiesces like Achilles does later upon the death of Patroklos. 8. Aeneas versus Idomeneus at 468–515. Idomeneus faces Aeneas like a wild boar standing firm against his attackers. The simile at 13.471–477
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illustrates Idomeneus’ unquestionable valor, but tradition w ill not allow him to be victorious over Aeneas, a Trojan hero second only to Hector, who must survive the war. Nor can Idomeneus be defeated during his own aristeia. Thus, the king calls Askalaphos, Aphareus, Deipyros, Meriones, and Antilochos for aid, explaining that his age prevents a fair fight. Had he met Aeneas at a younger age, a duel between the two would not be determinable. By having Aeneas also call for the assistance of Deïphobos, Paris, and Agenor, Homer is careful not to underrate e ither man’s courage. Further, recalling the warriors summoned for assistance to the audience’s attention keeps their names active and allows the poet to maintain the battle segment’s unity and w holeness. Homer returns to Deïphobos’ call for Alkathoös’ defense (number 7 in this section). Aeneas’ spear cast misses Idomeneus, and the Greek’s throw hits Oinomaos in the belly, though he is unable to strip him of his armor. Exhausted, Idomeneus exits the battlefield. Aeneas’ reputation and stature remain alive as tradition requires, and Idomeneus’ aristeia also remains unscathed. 9. Deïphobos versus Idomeneus at 516–539. As Idomeneus backs out of the fighting, Deïphobos makes a cast but misses Idomeneus and instead kills Askalaphos, whose death remains unknown to his father, the war god Ares. The god will learn of his son’s death in Il. 15. It is ironic that Ares’ son fights for the Greeks while Ares himself favors the Trojans. As Deïphobos removes his opponent’s helmet, he is wounded in the arm by Meriones but is carried to safety by his brother Polites; Meriones immediately pulls back among his companions. attle 10. Aeneas versus Aphareus at 540–544. As the incessant clamor of b continues, Aeneas lunges and kills Aphareus. 11. Antilochus versus Thoön at 545–575. Antilochus, catching sight of Thoön, shears the Trojan’s vein that runs all the way from the bottom of the back to the neck (there is no such vein; perhaps the spinal cord is
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meant). Attempting to strip the armor from his victim’s corpse, Antilochos is driven back by the Trojans swarming around the body. He, however, remains unscathed, being u nder Poseidon’s protection,7 reminding the reader that the Greek triumph is the Olympians’ doing. Adamas, Asios’ son (number 2 in this section), attacks Antilochos to no avail. As Adamas retreats into the crowd, Meriones strikes him in the genitals, a painful and fatal wound, which has Adamas writhing like a bound bull forcibly dragged. Of four injuries to the genitals in the Iliad, Meriones is responsible for three (5.65–68, 13.567–569, and 13.650–652). The fourth is by Antiphos, Priam’s son, at 4.489–492. 12. Helenos versus Deïpyros at 576–580. Orchestrated, each of the duels in t hese vignettes ends seamlessly before the next one begins. What binds each with the others besides the cast of characters, who weave in and out of the various duels, are warriors falling, remembered, and left for vultures if their companions are unable to remove them before they are stripped. Such is the case of the Greek Deïpyros, who, encouraged earlier by Poseidon, now lies dead, struck on the temple by Helenos, first mentioned at 12.94 as the leader, along with Deïphobos, of the third Trojan division. 13. Menelaos versus Helenos at 581–600. Deïpyros’ fall provokes Menelaos, who was last encountered at 11.487. Both heroes launch their weapons at each other—Helenos an arrow and Menelaos a javelin. As noted, the first toss in Homer’s duels usually misses its mark, while the second is fatal. Helenos’ arrow hits Menelaos’ corselet but is ineffective. Menelaos’ throw, however, strikes the Trojan’s hand, but he is saved from death by Agenor, the leader, along with Paris and Alkathoös, of the second Trojan division (see 12.93). 14. Menelaos versus Peisander at 601–642. At this juncture, Homer slightly varies the pattern of the attacks. Menelaos casts a strike but misses. Peisander’s stab at Menelaos’ shield, being second, should succeed but does
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not. In their second attempts, Peisander’s ax strikes Menelaos’ helmet, but the Greek king hits the Trojan above the base of his nose with his sword, forcing Peisander’s eyeballs to fall in the dust. A long vaunting by Menelaos follows at 13.620–639 before he strips his opponent’s armor and merges back in the ranks of his companions. He asserts that the Trojans’ insult and the disgrace occasioned by his ex-wife’s abduction are equally an insult to Zeus Xenios, the god of hospitality. Menelaos is mystified that the Olympian is helping the Trojans when they clearly violated the law of hospitality and should be punished. He, however, has no way of knowing (as Homer’s audience does) that Zeus’ present actions are due to his promise to Thetis, and Zeus will eventually castigate the Trojans for their transgressions. Menelaos’ vaunting, then, is a foreboding of what is to come for the Trojans’ recklessness. 15. Menelaos versus Harpalion at 643–659. Harpalion, whose f ather, King Pylaimenes, is killed by Menelaos at 5.576–579, now stabs unsuccessfully at Menelaos’ shield and disappears among his companions, but Meriones’ arrow passes through the Trojan’s bladder and exits the pubic bone. A Homeric slip, however, has King Pylaimenes accompanying his dead son as he is carried off the field. Since in the Iliad much of the pathos in these duels depends on fathers mourning their sons, Homer’s nod in this instance is understandable. It is noteworthy that Harpalion is transported to Troy in a chariot, but the only warrior to bring his chariot over the Greek ditch was Asios (see 12.109–115). 16. Paris versus Euchenor at 660–672. Paris, angered at the death of his guest Harpalion, although he himself broke the laws of hospitality as a guest of Menelaos, kills the Greek Euchenor. A son of the seer Polyidos, Euchenor, who followed the Greeks to Troy to avoid buying out his service, a common occurrence for those who could afford it (see also 23.296–299), was warned by his father of his fated choice, reminding the audience of Achilles—go to Troy and die, or stay home and live. He, like Achilles,
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opts for the former and dies, as does Achilles in the Trojan legend (related in the Epic Cycle but not in the Iliad). III. Hector, 673–837 The struggle abandoned at 13.205 is now resumed again, and Homer gives a panoramic overview of the fighting presented in broad terms, in contrast to the preceding, more intimate duel sequences. Although Hector has breached the Greek wall, he is unable to make further headway, and Poulydamas advises pulling back and calling together the Trojan leaders to decide on a retreat or an offensive. Hinting that Hector’s refusal to accept his advice at 12.211–229 led the Trojans to their present state, Poulydamas prevails on Hector to take a closer look at the Trojan situation. Searching for his top warriors, the prince chances upon his b rother Paris and rebukes him at 13.769–773 as he did at 3.39–57, but Paris pleads guiltlessness and informs his b rother that most of the companions he seeks are dead or wounded. Both b rothers return to the center, where they meet Kebriones, Poulydamas, and eight other named Trojan heroes ready for combat, but they are unable to reverse the Greek tide. Telamonian Ajax, the first to encounter Hector, badgers him, and Hector in turn attempts to intimidate the Greek troops. The Trojan’s desire at 13.825 to be called the son of Zeus, combined with Poseidon’s comment at 13.54, “who claims he must be son of Zeus,” presents Hector’s behavior as hubristic. Further, the Ajax-Hector exchange raises the expectation of a second duel between the two warriors, which does materialize at 14.402–420. A bird omen, an eagle flying on the right, is interpreted by the Greeks as a positive sign, since bird omens in the Iliad come true, and both sides hold firm their positions as the book ends. The many Homeric similes in Il. 13 (twenty-five by some counts) are perhaps the poet’s principal method of giving variety to the monotonous combat of the duels described not only in the present book but throughout the Iliad. These comparisons provide respite by transporting Homer’s audience momentarily into scenes of nature or the common daily occur-
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rences of a peacetime world, as the three similes in the present episode attest. The close teamwork of the two Aiantes is compared to that of two yoked oxen separated only by the narrow width of a yoke as they toil back and forth, ploughing, at 13.703–708. Not only does the image remove Homer’s audience from the fighting, but it also provides an image of headstrong determination to l abor at a task unconditionally. At 13.754–755 Hector moves “like a snowy mountain,” which can connote size, movement, and even danger. If the snow is privileged, the image implies the warrior’s movement. The large size of the mountain emphasizes the Trojan’s stature, while the snow-covered mountain points to the threat the hero presents to his enemies. If one factors in the simile at 19.357–361, then the blinding snowflakes could be compared to Hector’s flashing armor. In contrasting the Trojans’ movement as they enter battle, the narrator exposes the reader to an image of violent winds that churn up ranks of crashing waves. Thus, from the field of battle, the poet transports his audience with a violent image of nature that points to the strength of the Trojan ranks marching in the glare of their bronze armor (13.795–801). Selected Bibliography: Il. 13 Alexander, Iliad. Anhalt, Enraged, 80–114. Edwards, Mark W., Homer. Frazer, Reading of the “Iliad.” Friedrich, Wolf-Hartmut, Wounding, 97–102. Green, Iliad. Hogan, Guide to the “Iliad.” Janko, Iliad. Jones, Homer’s “Iliad.” Lane, “Iliad 13.754–55.” Lattimore, “Iliad” of Homer. McAuslan and Walcot, Homer.
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Monro, Homer: Iliad. Murray, Homer: Iliad, Books 13–24. Owen, Story of the “Iliad.” Phillips, “Iliad 13.754.” Postlethwaite, Homer’s “Iliad.” Powell, Homer. Powell, Iliad. Rabel, Plot. Saunders, “Wounds in Iliad.” Schein, Mortal Hero. Scott, William C., Artistry, 130–144. Verity, Homer. West, M. L., “Date of the Iliad.” Whitman and Scodel, “Sequence and Simultaneity.” Willcock, Companion to the “Iliad.” Book 14 Il. 14, “The Deception of Zeus” (Dios apatē), continues the events of the epic’s third battle on day twenty-six. The narrative from Il. 13 to 15.384 forms the longest retardation in the Iliad—the delay of the Trojan advance against the Greek ships. Many scenes in Il. 14 are simultaneous with the fighting in Il. 13 (e.g., the Ajax-Hector duel, abandoned at 13.189–194, is picked up again at 14.402–420.). The same association occurs between Il. 14 and Il. 15 in dealing with the Zeus-Hera encounter. Since Zeus abandoned the warring sides in Il. 13, his return to the Greek-Trojan conflict is delayed u ntil he wakes up in Il. 15 a fter Hera’s seduction in Il. 14. The seduction scene, which occupies the present book’s midsection, is balanced by matching scenes on either side of it in a typical ring-composition format: a. The Greeks are losing the b attle, 14.1–134. b. Poseidon rallies the Greeks to fight, 14.135–152.
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c. Zeus is deceived, 14.153–353. b ′. Poseidon rallies the Greeks to fight, 14.354–401. a ′. The Greeks are winning the b attle, 14.402–522. Il. 14 can be read in three sections: I. Council of Greek leaders (29% of book) II. Deception of Zeus (39% of book) III. Poseidon’s intervention (32% of book) I. Council of Greek Leaders, 1–152 Sitting in his hut drinking wine with Machaon, Nestor hears shouting outside and rises to inquire its source. The wine he and Machaon are drinking was poured by Hecamede at 11.637–642. Now, at 14.1–8, Nestor interrupts his conversation with Machaon to inquire about that cry. The incessant clamor of Hector and the Trojans breaching the Greek wall first occurs at 12.470–471, it is mentioned again at 13.833–835, and Nestor hears it at 14.1–8. All t hese actions occur simultaneously but are narrated by Homer sequentially, as Zielinski’s law describes the Homeric narrative proclivity. Homer describes the several activities in progress one a fter the other but completes none, each frozen at some point to be continued later in the epic. The treatment of Machaon’s wound, which took place in Il. 11, is delayed by Patroklos’ arrival at 11.643 u ntil Il. 14. Patroklos’ mission at 11.804 is detained by the wounded Eurypylos at 11.821–831 u ntil Il. 15, and the Hector-Ajax duel first encountered at 13.810 is delayed u ntil 14.383–387. Taking notice of the events described at 13.835–837, Nestor ponders two courses of action: enter the fray or alert Agamemnon. He is unable to make up his mind, and his emotional state as he debates which action to take is expressed at 14.16–20 through the image of a turbulent sea waiting for a strong wind to give it a firm direction. Before he can carry out his resolution to alert Agamemnon, however, the commander in chief appears with Odysseus and Diomedes, all three wounded in Il. 11 and forced out of the
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fighting. In the ensuing lines at 14.42–132, t hese four leaders debate their next course of action in six speech exchanges. Agamemnon, unaware that Nestor left the fighting at 11.595–597 to convey the wounded Machaon off the battlefield, now questions his presence at the Greek camp, addressing him in ring composition (14.42–51). a. Why have you left the fighting (14.42–43)? b. Hector’s threats w ill come true (14.44–45). c. Hector w ill burn the Greek ships (14.46–47). b ′. Hector’s threats are coming true (14.48). a ′. The Greeks will abandon the fighting (14.49–51). Agamemnon fears the Greek troops resent him for his quarrel with Achilles. If Poseidon is right at 13.105–114 that the king is weak and guilty of dishonoring Achilles, Agamemnon has good reason to feel as he does. Nestor agrees that the Greeks are in grave danger, since the wall has been breached and the assembled leaders are wounded and unable to fight. Upon receiving Nestor’s pessimistic assessment of their situation, Agamemnon at 14.74–81 suggests for the third time in the epic that they abandon Troy (see 2.110–141 and 9.17–28). It is also the second time that Agamemnon expresses fear of a night raid (10.100–101 and 14.78–79) by the Trojans; ironic since night fighting is uncommon in the Iliad. In a three-part rebuttal, Odysseus harshly criticizes the commander’s proposal. He should command an unworthy army rather than the present dedicated one, which is willing to fight until death (14.83–87). A leader with a sound mind could never abandon a city on which the Greeks have expended so much effort (14.88–94). By deserting and discouraging his troops in the m iddle of a battle, he creates havoc in his army and exults his enemies (14.95–102). Surprisingly, Agamemnon not only accepts Odysseus’ criticism—“You have hit me somewhere deep in my feelings / with this hard word” (14.104–105)—but backs down and promises to accept advice from anyone who can offer it. Still prone to bouts of pessi-
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mism concerning his leadership since his quarrel with Achilles, Agamemnon, it seems, has learned to heed o thers and accept alternatives. It is Diomedes, the youngest leader among the group, who, in his final speech in the Iliad (in ring composition), offers the advice Agamemnon seeks. a. Do not scorn my advice b ecause I am young (14.110–112). b. I am of good ancestry and born of an excellent f ather (14.113–114). c. This is my ancestry (14.115–125). Since lineage in Homer has a lot to say about one’s character and intelligence, the poet has his character omit negative details connected with Tydeus’ myth. According to extra-Homeric tradition, Tydeus, Diomedes’ father and one of the Seven against Thebes, was caught by Athena eating the brain of Melanippos, one of Thebes’ defenders. As a result, she refused Tydeus the immortality she had promised him. b ′. I am of good ancestry and the offspring of an excellent father (14.126). a ′. Do not scorn my advice b ecause I am young (14.127). Diomedes concludes by proposing to return to the battlefield although wounded, and to refrain from fighting in order not to incur more wounds (14.128–130). He w ill remain on the battleground to offer encouragement to the irritable troops who have resisted fighting, perhaps a reference to Achilles’ Myrmidons and further evidence of Agamemnon’s e arlier fears that the army resents him (14.131–132). Accepting Diomedes’ recommendations, Agamemnon leads his forces to battle with the help of Poseidon, who joins the group in the likeness of an old man, since age denotes wisdom in Homer, one of the reasons the elderly Nestor is such a good counselor. Leading the commander by his right hand, Poseidon underscores two points: Achilles’ satisfaction at a Greek defeat at 14.139–142 and the prediction of Troy’s demise at 14.143–146. His opinion that Achilles is heartless, enjoying the Greek slaughter and defeat, attests to the god’s lack of understanding of the meaning of a
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hero’s loss of honor that drove Achilles from the fighting in the first place. It offers further evidence of the wide gap between mortals and immortals. Because the god assumes the hero’s behavior is unheroic, Poseidon hopes for his destruction. With Agamemnon, on the other hand, Poseidon claims the gods are not “utterly angry” (14.143), implying some dissatisfaction at his reluctance to engage the Trojans. More than likely, however, Poseidon’s feelings express his own biases rather than t hose of the other gods, since his resentment of the Trojans for King Laomedon’s broken promise originated long before the present conflict (21.441–455). Emitting a cry equal to ten thousand men, illustrating his superhuman power (see also Hera at 5.784–786 and Athena at 11.10–12), Poseidon imbues the Greek troops with strength and leads them to b attle. II. Deception of Zeus, 153–353 Following the more serious tone of the previous section, the present one is light and mirthful. Appearing as it does a little past the epic’s midpoint, it serves to retard the Dios boulē (will of Zeus) by expanding the Dios apatē (deception of Zeus), which allows Hera to circumvent Zeus’ edict affirmed at 11.186–194. Hera is able to aid the Greeks by managing Hector’s success once Agamemnon is wounded. Moreover, the Dios apatē provides a respite from the inhumane acts of war with the frivolity of Hera’s seduction of Zeus, contrasting the seriousness of war with the fanciful life of the gods. The entire Dios apatē section is an extended deception type scene, whose three parts, planning and motivation (14.153–165), preparation (14.166–291), and execution (14.292–353), are constructed out of smaller type scenes (deliberation, dressing, and seduction). Thus, as Hera meditates how she might help Poseidon aid the Greeks, she focuses on deceiving Zeus and immediately begins her planning and motivation stage, a type scene in itself (calculation, decision, and execution). The first stage of Hera’s plan involves a dressing scene and access to erotic charms and sleep, both of which the poet illustrates by personifying them as Aphrodite and Hypnos (Sleep). The dressing scene, modeled a fter
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scenes describing a warrior arming for b attle, introduces Hera’s aristeia in her duel to incapacitate Zeus for the benefit of the Greek troops. She enters her chamber, which no other god can unlock (14.166–168); showers with ambrosia (14.169–174); dons her Athena-created garment as Achilles later takes in hand his Hephaistos-created shield (14.175–183); and covers her head with a veil, which, like a warrior’s helmet, “glimmered pale like the sunlight” (14.185). To receive the erotic charms needed for her seduction, Hera turns to her rival stepdaughter, Aphrodite, who supports the Trojans, since not only is her son, Aeneas, a Trojan, but Paris also chose her over Hera and Athena. Enticing the goddess with the same false tale she uses to lure Zeus, Hera claims she must look her best for her visit to Okeanos and his wife Tethys, in whose safekeeping her mother, Rhea, entrusted her during Zeus’ efforts to depose his father, Kronos. Why Rhea gave Hera to be raised by Tethys is not clear. Perhaps Homer has in mind a much earlier story about the first gods. According to Hesiod’s Theogony, Okeanos and Tethys are not the progenitors of the gods, who all spring from Ouranos and Gaia (Heaven and Earth). In Hesiod, Okeanos and Tethys are c hildren of Ouranos and Gaia, and their c hildren are personified bodies of w ater. It is Ouranos and Gaia who belong to the first generation of gods, followed by Kronos and Rhea (the Titans), the second generation. Zeus, who overthrows his father, and Hera represent the third and final generation of Greek gods. It seems Hera’s tale is an excuse needed to dupe both her husband and Aphrodite. Thus, she asks the goddess for erotic paraphernalia that w ill supposedly allow her to reunite the estranged c ouple but in truth will entrap Zeus (14.206–210). The goddess of love graciously places in her hands an embroidered girdle (a.k.a. a belt, a breast band, a strap, or a thong), which she removes from her body, that contains the sought-after love spells (14.214). Hera next seeks out Hypnos, the twin b rother of Thanatos (Death), whose mother is Nyx (Night), although Hypnos does not identify her as his mother in this passage. Hera requests he put her husband to sleep after
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their sexual encounter, but he refuses, recalling an e arlier narrow escape from Zeus’ wrath in which he was saved by Nyx, who it seems Zeus fears (14.249–262); perhaps b ecause she is a primordial goddess who existed before the three generations of Greek gods. Even though Hera offers Hypnos a golden throne fashioned by Hephaistos, he declines, recalling an earlier incident while in her serv ice in which the goddess misdirected Herakles off to the island of Kos; this event is further elaborated by Zeus at 15.14–33. Hera’s persecution of Herakles, a central feature of the Herakles myth, is expanded at 19.96–133. Having declined the golden throne, Hypnos readily agrees to the goddess’ second offer of marriage to Pasithea, one of the young Graces he loves. Like Paris, Hypnos is willing to sacrifice his life for a w oman, and he has Hera swear by the river Styx, appointed by Zeus the orkos (oath) of the gods,8 that she will honor her promise. The seduction that follows is presented in five exchanges between Zeus and Hera. In their first interchange, at 14.297–299, Zeus questions the reason for his wife’s presence, and Hera in the second exchange responds with her lying tale, presenting herself as the dutiful wife who wants to make her husband aware of her absence and receive his approval (14.301–311). In the third, the central and longest exchange, at 14.313–328, Zeus expresses his longing for her and begins a catalog of his previous sexual exploits. What follows is a burlesque of Olympian Zeus as a husband about to seduce his wife by listing all the affairs in which he betrayed her. As he boastfully enumerates seven conquests, Homer fails to mention the mythic details behind the Olympian’s beastly and deceitful triumphs. Does he assume, then, his audience’s knowledge of t hese backstories? Zeus’ first escapade was with Ixion’s wife, which resulted in the birth of Perithoös, who later tried to rape Persephone but was entrapped in Hades. His second love, Danaë, gave birth to Perseus, a fter the god raped her in the form of a golden shower that fell into her prison chamber. Europa, a third love, was accosted by Zeus in the form of a bull and carried across the Mediterranean from Crete to Europe to give birth to Minos and Rhadamanthys. The god’s fourth u nion, with Semele, was her undoing, since he appeared
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to her as a thunderbolt and burned her to a crisp; the unborn child she carried, Dionysos, was saved, coming to term in Zeus’ thigh. Alcmene, his fifth love, gave birth to Herakles after the Olympian had visited the mortal woman in the guise of her husband, whom he had sent away so he could ravish her. A sixth u nion, with his sister Demeter, gave birth to his daughter Persephone, later raped by his b rother Hades. Leto, his seventh conquest, was hounded by Hera’s jealousy before she finally delivered the twin gods Apollo and Artemis on the island of Delos. Having completed his catalog of victories, Zeus is impatient to score again with his sister-w ife Hera. Undaunted by his extramarital relationships, the goddess is anxious to put her plan in action for the benefit of the Greek army. Playing the shy, inhibited wife, she recommends her chamber for the act, knowing that whoever enters the room w ill remain her prisoner u ntil she unlocks the door (see 14.166–168). However, Zeus’ libido cannot wait. He fashions a cloud and asserts in his fifth speech that even Helios (the sun) cannot penetrate it. Th ere they lie together u ntil Hypnos, waiting for his own lucky break with Pasithea, places Zeus in a deep, gentle sleep. III. Poseidon’s Intervention, 354–522 Informed by Hypnos that Zeus is asleep, Poseidon exhorts the Greeks to battle, and the fighting resumes where it left off at the end of Il. 13. In Poseidon’s exhortation, a frequent motif in the Iliad, he both admonishes the Greek troops (as Agamemnon should be d oing) to be more energetic and responds to the commander in chief ’s earlier defeatist remarks (see 13.47–58). The god has a definite plan in mind, which he now delivers “in a great voice” as himself (14.363), rather than in the voice of the old man with whom he e arlier addressed Agamemnon (see 14.136). His plan, somewhat untenable, calls for an exchange of shields among the troops. The best fighters should have the larger shields and fight in the forefront, while the weaker fighters should receive the smaller shields and remain in the back. Poseidon’s suggestion of rearming
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the troops could well be taken as an arming type scene, which precedes an aristeia, in this case one for an entire company rather than for a single warrior. With the Greek troops newly armed and led by Poseidon, a threefold comparison at 14.393–401, harking back to the simile of the Trojans marching to b attle at 13.795–781, contrasts the advance of both Greeks and Trojans. In this complex simile, the only one in the epic presented in negative terms, the intensity of the noise of the two clashing armies is greater than three different forces of nature—not such is the roaring of the sea’s surf against land, nor the bellowing fire in a forest, nor the deafening sound of wind among oak trees. At this juncture Homer returns to the latest installment of the Ajax- Hector feud ongoing since 13.810–837. At 11.537–542, Hector kept clear of Ajax, but he was driven back at 13.188–194 while attempting to remove the dead Amphimachos’ helmet. Later, with regained confidence at 13.824–832, Hector taunted Ajax, and at 14.402 he cast his spear at him with little success. The two will reengage to little effect at 16.114–123, where Hector slashes Ajax’s spear, forcing him to withdraw, and at 17.123–129 Ajax w ill prevent Hector from decapitating the dead Patroklos. In the present book Hector strikes Ajax’s shoulder straps and recedes into a crowd of his companions. The Greek hero, however, is able to fell Hector with a rock, and Hector, seriously injured, is carried off the field by his comrades, one being Glaukos, wounded in the arm at 12.387–391 and still suffering from that wound as late as 16.508–512. H ere at 14.426, however, while he is helping remove Hector from the field, no mention is made of his injury. Hector’s withdrawal triggers a series of gruesome duels between the two sides, each accentuating the type of brutality recorded throughout the epic. The five contests narrated are almost evenly balanced, giving the Greeks three victories to the Trojans’ two, alternating between Greek and Trojan conquests. The Greek Oilian Ajax stabs Satnios, Telamonian Ajax kills Antenor’s son Archelochos, and Peneleos stabs Ilioneus, while the Trojan Poulydamas strikes Prothoënor and Akamas stabs Promachos. These
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five encounters are presented by combining the motifs of vengeance, compensation, and the lament of the fallen hero. In the brutal third encounter, Telamonian Ajax’s spear catches Archelochos at the top of his spine so that his head, mouth, and nose hit the ground before the rest of his body. In the final duel, the most grotesque of the five, Ilioneus is struck beneath the brow, which drives his eyeball out of its socket. As he falls, Peneleos strikes at his rival’s neck, separating the head along with the helmet from the body, the spear still firmly stuck in Ilioneus’ eye socket. Constant vaunts abound as each vanquisher tries to surpass the other in taunts. In the final contest, the victor, Peneleos, mocks even the parents of the defeated Ilioneus. Brief biographical sketches personalize the fallen heroes and make their deaths more poignant. Satnios’ idyllic and peaceful birth near the Satnioeis River (from which he derives his name) is contrasted to the bloodstained battlefield on which he now lies, a grisly death to be mourned by a mother for her only son. One senses a scornful indifference of the absent gods t oward the d ying heroes. Hermes, we are reminded, loved Ilioneus best of all the Trojans and showered him with wealth but is nowhere to be seen in his darkest hour (14.490–491). The Olympians’ attitude toward mortals is best expressed by Zeus at 20.21–23 (compare with Apollo’s comment to Poseidon at 21.462–467): I think of t hese men though they are d ying. Even so, I shall stay h ere upon the fold of Olympos sitting still, watching, to pleasure my heart.
In the final lines of Il. 14, the narrator appeals to the Muses to recount the dead—mere fodder for the Greek heroes’ temporary gains, names forgotten the moment they are mentioned (14.508–522). Telamonian Ajax kills Hyrtios, Antilochos slaughters Phalkeys and Mermeros, Meriones kills Morys and Hippotion, Teukros cuts down Periphetes and Prothoön, Menelaos stabs Hyperenor, and Oilian Ajax kills a number of nameless Trojans. The final line of the book indicates that nothing happens without Zeus’ w ill. Although Zeus favors the Trojans in order to
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keep his promise to Thetis, it is also his w ill that “had driven the terror upon them” (14.522); Poseidon, in a manner of speaking, is acting in the Olympian’s absence. Selected Bibliography: Il. 14 Alexander, Iliad. Anhalt, Enraged, 80–114. Beck, Homeric Conversation, 129–135. Brenk, “Aphrodite’s Girdle.” Edwards, Mark W., Homer. Fagles, Homer. Frazer, “Crisis of Leadership.” Frazer, Reading of the “Iliad.” Golden, “Διός απάτη.” Green, Iliad. Haft, “Odysseus’ Wrath.” Hogan, Guide to the “Iliad.” Janko, Iliad. Jones, Homer’s “Iliad.” Kelly, Adrian, “Babylonian Captivity of Homer.” Krieter-Spiro and Olson, Homer’s “Iliad” XIV. Lattimore, “Iliad” of Homer. McAuslan and Walcot, Homer. McCrorie, Homer. Mitchell, Iliad. Murray, Homer: Iliad, Books 13–24. Owen, Story of the “Iliad.” Panchenko, “GENESIS PANTESSI.” Postlethwaite, Homer’s “Iliad.” Powell, Homer. Powell, Iliad. Rabel, Plot.
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Saunders, “Wounds in Iliad.” Verity, Homer. West, M. L., “Date of the Iliad.” Whitman and Scodel, “Sequence and Simultaneity.” Willcock, Companion to the “Iliad.” Book 15 The first part of Il. 15 is the postlude to the previous book’s Dios apatē and the beginning of the “Counterattack Beside the Ships” (Paliōksis Para tōn Neōn) that gives the present book its title. The book restores the narrative to what it was at the end of Il. 12 and reasserts Zeus’ authority. It divides into three sections: I. Zeus awakes (35% of book) II. Hector, assisted by Apollo, counterattacks (21% of book) III. Hector, assisted by Zeus, leads the Trojans against the Ajax-led Greeks (44% of book) I. Zeus Awakes, 1–260 Zeus wakes from his sex-induced sleep to find his brother Poseidon and the Greeks routing the Trojans from advancing farther t oward the ships. His first reaction after sighting Poseidon and the wounded Hector is to rebuke Hera for her deceitfulness and to remind her of the punishment she incurred when she misdirected Herakles to Kos, an ambiguous incident alluded to at 14.249–257 and 15.26–28. Frightened, Hera cajoles her way from u nder Zeus’ wrath by rightfully denying that Poseidon’s harrying the Trojans was her doing, although her seduction was meant to aid him. She bolsters her defense by agreeing with her husband that Poseidon should follow his b rother’s counsel. A knowing smile on the Olympian alerts the reader that Zeus is mindful of her feminine wiles, and he puts her to the test. Since she concurs that Poseidon must be stopped, she is to summon
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Iris and Apollo from Olympos, both of whom Zeus w ill command to do his bidding. Iris will inform Poseidon of the Olympian’s w ill, and Apollo w ill stir Hector back into b attle. Before dispatching Hera on her mission, Zeus gives a precis of the action to follow, a summary and foretelling of the Iliad’s plot for his audience, cover ill reverse the present situation ing the main points of Il. 16–22. Hector w and drive the Greeks back to their ships. At that point, Achilles will rouse Patroklos to enter the fray and kill Zeus’ son Sarpedon, followed by Patroklos’ own death at the hands of Hector. Achilles will avenge Patroklos by killing Hector, after which Troy will fall, an event beyond the Iliad’s focus. Homer’s purpose for this affirmation is to assure the reader that nothing can prevent Zeus from bringing to pass his pledges to Thetis, and Hera will be the first to know of his f uture plans if he wants her to know (see 1.545–548). No m atter how many digressions and misdirections the epic has, it will eventually return to its tradition-based norm. Why, then, prolong mortal suffering until the Greeks capture Troy? The answer: b ecause Zeus wills it in order to fulfill his promise without any regard for mortal suffering. In the previous book Zeus, weary of the Greek-Trojan conflict, turned his attention elsewhere, which gave Poseidon the opportunity to support the Greeks not out of love but rather out of hatred for King Laomedon. On Olympos, Hera, who arrives as fast as thought, is greeted by her fellow gods, who lift their cups in greeting (15.80–83). While men on earth die gruesome deaths, the gods above drink, unabsorbed in men’s affairs; Ares is still unaware of his own son’s death (see 13.516–520). The gods’ attitude toward man is best expressed by Apollo, who finds mortals “insignificant” beings “who are as leaves are, and now flourish and grow warm with life . . . but then again fade away and are dead” (21.463–466). On Olympos Hera is first greeted by Themis, the daughter of Ouranos and Gaia and thus a Titan, who sided with Zeus against her brother Kronos.9 She is a personification of righteousness and justice. The fact that this is her first appearance in the epic could signal that order w ill soon be restored. Themis asks Hera why she seems terrified, and Hera unburdens
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her bitterness against Zeus, portraying him as stubborn and arrogant. Thus, while she insincerely recommends submission, she is at the same time encouraging the gods to rebel against him. Smiling deceptively, she informs Ares and the other gods that Askalaphos was killed, hoping to provoke a violent response from the war god. Slapping his thighs, a sign of grief (compare Patroklos at 15.397),10 Ares dons his armor to go avenge his son, which will engender yet greater resentment and anger between the immortals and Zeus, since Ares’ son Askalaphos fought for the Greeks. To avenge him, the god must abandon the Trojans, whom Zeus is presently defending. The more sensible and rational Athena, however, disarms the reckless Ares by advising him of the consequences of his action—Zeus’ punishment of “the guilty and the guiltless” (15.137). Having dispersed her venom, Hera delivers Zeus’ message to Iris and Apollo, both of whom leave immediately. The Apollo-Iris episode is a perfect example of Homer’s general method of describing simultaneous events as successive ones. Although the two messages are delivered simul taneously, Zeus tells Apollo that Poseidon has already gone down to the sea even though Iris’ mission is recounted first, at 15.157–204, at the same time that Apollo is delivering his dispatch. Once Iris has delivered Zeus’ message and persuaded Poseidon to retreat, Zeus turns to Apollo at 15.220–235 to stir up Hector’s rage by waving before him the aegis and thus avoid a conflict, which would be heard even by the “other gods . . . who gather to Kronos beneath us” (15.225). The “other gods” are the Titans (see 8.478–481) imprisoned with other rebellious gods and monsters in Tartarus, “as far beneath the h ouse of Hades as from earth the sky lies” (8.16). Apollo complies and appears before Hector undisguised, unusual for a god before a mortal. Perhaps this is Zeus’ way of ensuring that Hector will attack the Greeks even in his weakened condition and thus turn the tide, which the Olympian is anxious to do. Poseidon, earlier in his response to Iris, reminded her that the three brothers, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, born to Rhea and Kronos, drew lots for an equal share of the universe (15.185–217). As equals, Poseidon objects
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to Zeus’ threats. Iris, appealing to reason, reminds Poseidon of the avenging spirits of the underworld (the Furies), who are in charge of punishing breeches of respect within the family. Since Zeus is the oldest, the younger Poseidon must not disrespect him.11 Poseidon agrees and relents despite his indignation but with a threat: should Zeus spare Troy, “t here w ill be no more healing of our anger” (15.217). Poseidon’s offended pride here echoes one of the Iliad’s main themes—Achilles’ wounded pride. Unlike the weak Agamemnon, however, Zeus rules with greater authority, and Poseidon, unlike Achilles, yields to him without causing harm to anyone else. Since tradition determined how the Trojan myth ends, Zeus’ insistence that Troy fall was already a reality known to Homer’s audience. II. Hector, Assisted by Apollo, Counterattacks, 261–414 This episode begins immediately a fter Apollo apprises Hector that he w ill smooth the way for the Trojans’ horses and turn the Greeks to flight (15.254–261). The b attle that ensues is presented in four stages, each stage separated by a speech: 1. Hector returns to b attle at 15.261–280, followed by Thoas’ proposal at 15.281–299. 2. The Greeks suffer defeat at 15.300–345, followed by Hector’s vaunt at 15.346–351. 3. Apollo leads the Trojans through the Greek wall at 15.352–366, followed by Nestor’s prayer at 15.367–378. 4. The Trojans reach the Greek ships at 15.379–389, followed by Patroklos’ speech to Eurypylos at 15.390–414. Two similes introduce Hector as he follows Apollo to rout the Greeks. In the first, at 15.263–270, used previously to portray Paris r unning to catch up with Hector (see 6.506–514), he becomes a stabled horse that snaps its halter to bathe in the nearest river. Apollo infuses Hector with renewed strength, and the Trojan is set free to swiftly validate his warrior prowess.
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In the second simile, at 15.271–280, hunters (the Greeks) are pursuing a horned stag or wild goat (the Trojans), which evades them until their clatter attracts a lion (Hector) that puts them to flight. The Aitolian Thoas, amazed at the recovery of Hector, who was assumed killed by Telamonian Ajax, rises to address the Greeks. Aware that Hector must be favored by Zeus, he suggests the rank and file return to the ships while the best among them remain to thrust back the Trojans. In agreement, they all prepare for the Trojan onslaught. Apollo now leads the Trojans as Poseidon earlier led the Greeks. The bravest among them hold their ground, while the rest of the Greek forces behind them retreat to the ships. The god, ever present in the fighting, alarms the foe by waving the fearsome aegis as Athena waved it above Achilles’ head at 18.203–206. A simile at 15.323–327 further develops the theme of the earlier simile at 15.271–280 (see foregoing discussion). The Greeks, no longer the hunters, now become the unattended prey (cattle or sheep) stampeded by two wild beasts (Apollo and Hector). What follows are the triumphs of six Trojan elite: Hector, Aeneas, Poulydamas, Polites, Agenor, and Paris. The two major Trojan heroes, Hector and Aeneas, demonstrate their worth by claiming two victims each. The other four score a single victim apiece; Paris strikes his opponent Deiochos from behind, bringing him to his knees. Few of the victims receive obituaries of any length. The entire episode of six Trojans slaying eight Greek warriors receives only twenty-t wo lines, in which only one victim, Medon, brother of Oilian Ajax, receives any attention (15.333–336). Homer depicts the Trojans making gains pro forma without underscoring the losses of the Greeks he favors. Hector’s speech, which follows at 15.347–351, exhorts his troops to neglect the spoils and concentrate on the Greek ships. He then rebukes his men, warning that any form of retreat w ill be met with severe punishment: “Before our city the dogs shall tear him to pieces” (15.351). Hector’s triumphs not only are making him overconfident but are also slowly driving him toward hubris.
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When Apollo levels the banks of the ditch and creates a wide causeway, Hector and his Trojans drive their h orses over it with a deafening clamor. A simile at 15.362–366 describes how easily the gods can erase human effort that takes suffering and time to bring to completion. Nothing achieved by mortals lasts forever, a theme common to both the Iliad and the Odyssey. In the present simile, Apollo destroys the Greek wall just as a child playfully knocks down a sandcastle. The same sentiment is expressed earlier at 12.18–33 when Apollo and Poseidon agree to obliterate any sign of a Greek wall a fter Troy’s destruction by washing it away and replacing the space it occupied with sand. The idea of the wall vanis hing into sand, which Zeus recommends to Poseidon as early as 7.445– 463, seems to have prompted the present simile of a child destroying his own work. The gods’ scorn for enduring human achievement was expressed best by Apollo in his comment to Poseidon quoted in section I of this book (see also 21.463–466). Terrified at the destruction wrought by Apollo, the Greeks, led by Nestor, pray for deliverance. Nestor’s prayer, delivered in the form common to Homeric prayers, is in three parts: invocation, reminder of a past favor, and request for help. The Greek counselor reminds Zeus that when he sacrificed to him in Argos before the war for a safe return, the god nodded his head in assent as he did for Thetis, whose promise he is presently fulfilling. A nod of Zeus’ head is a pledge that cannot be revoked. Thus, the Olympian thunders his consent to Nestor’s prayer, which the Trojans mistakenly interpret as a sign of the god’s approval of their assault. With renewed relish, the Trojans exert pressure on the Greeks, an action compared to gale-force winds driving large waves over a ship’s bulwark (15.381–384). Both sides engage each other at the ships, with the Greeks fighting with long pikes from atop their vessels. At 15.390–405, Homer digresses to return to Patroklos, who is still with Eurypylos (see 11.838–847). Catching sight of the Trojans rushing the wall and hearing the cries of Greeks scattering, Patroklos decides he can no longer delay informing Achilles. What Patroklos now hears and sees at 15.395–402 was first
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disclosed at 12.469–471 and heard by Nestor at 14.3–8; in all three instances the Greek rampart is breached. It would seem that all three references are to the same occurrence, and Homer periodically returns to it to pick up the abandoned thread where he previously left it for something new. This gives the sense of a g reat number of engagements occurring simulta neously in various sectors of the battlefield. Having sent Patroklos on his way to Achilles, the poet now returns to the fighting, where neither Greeks nor Trojans can make a breakthrough. The stalemate of the warring parties, whose conflict is stretched tautly and evenly between them, is compared to a chalked string marking off a straight line at 15.410–413. III. Hector, Assisted by Zeus, Leads the Trojans against the Ajax-Led Greeks, 415–746 Hector is anxious to engage Ajax in order to settle an old score. He and the Greek warrior shouted abuses at each other at 13.810–820 and 13.824–832 but did not confront each other until 14.402–432, at which point their duel concluded with Hector on the brink of death. Now, as the battle continues to rage, Hector rushes straight for Ajax, but neither of the two combatants is able to dislodge the other—Ajax from his ship and Hector from setting fire to it. Homer, always the philhellene, cannot resist taking note that Hector is a match for Ajax only because “the divinity / drove him” (15.418–419). The poet makes certain to mention on twenty-t wo different occasions throughout this episode that Hector’s success is due to the god’s presence, but in spite of the Trojans’ efforts throughout the epic, even with Zeus’ and Apollo’s help they manage to kill only 61 identifiable Greek warriors compared with the 208 named Trojans who die by the time the epic is concluded (Janko, Iliad, 272). However, in spite of Greek superiority throughout the epic, Ajax, the obvious victor in his first duel with Hector in Il. 7 and his domination in Il. 14, cannot be allowed to slay Hector, who is reserved for Achilles. The Ajax-Hector encounter at the beginning of this episode allows Homer to focus on several other intimate contests before pulling back for
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a more panoramic view of the fighting and before returning again to close- ups of individual warriors engaged in combat. Ajax, the first to cast his spear at Hector, misses, striking instead Hector’s cousin Kaletor; Hector’s launch hits Lycophron. Th ese near blows are necessary to Homer’s narrative to keep the Trojan War myth on its traditional track—Hector is reserved for Achilles, and Ajax survives the war. It also expedites digressions on slain warriors, which help clarify the epic’s themes—the outcomes of a war waged in the name of honor and heroism, and its cost in h uman lives. A minor aristeia of Teukros, Telamonian Ajax’s half brother, follows, emphasizing Teukros’ frustrated lack of success with his bow due to Zeus’ constant interference. Every effort on his part to strike Hector is aborted by the Olympian, “who was guarding Hektor” and so denying Teukros glory (15.461–462). Such vignettes on individual fighters allow the development of character psychology. Teukros, for example, shivers at the divinity’s participation in snapping his bowstring and removing the bow from his hand, whereas Telamonian Ajax remains undaunted. Acknowledging that some god is working against the Greeks, Ajax cautions his brother to continue the fight against their e nemy by taking up lance and shield. Throughout the episode Ajax neither prays nor seeks the god’s help. He remains steadfast under all circumstances. Hector, on the other hand, aware that his boasts of superiority are backed by the presence of Zeus, is full of bluster. It is a fter witnessing Teukros’ arrows miss their mark that Hector harangues his troops to be men and to remember their furious valor, assured that Zeus is with them. On the other side, the more pragmatic and honest Ajax advises victory or death, the only options he considers available: “For us t here can be no design, no purpose, better than this one” (15.509). At no time does he beg or ask assistance from the gods. For him the gods do what they do for their own reasons, which he does not question. He, on the other hand, as a warrior, fights to win glory for himself or grant it to another, even his e nemy. Having qualified that Hector and the Trojans’ success is due to Zeus and not to Trojan superiority, Homer now returns to the general battle
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to describe a skirmish favoring the Trojans by jumping from one duel to another with commentary on winners and losers typical of Homeric clashes. The first victory goes to Hector, who kills the Phokian leader Schedios, son of Perimedes. The second victory belongs to Ajax, who kills Laodamas, an infantry captain and a son of Antenor. Having given the first two victories to the main warriors in the episode, the poet then alternates between Trojan and Greek, personalizing each duel by diversifying the backgrounds provided. The Trojan Poulydamas kills the Kyllenian Otos, the comrade of Phyleus’ son Meges. The Greek Meges, witness to the killing, springs at Poulydamas, who ducks the blow. The narrator informs the reader that Meges’ miss was Apollo’s doing, since he did not want Panthoös’ son to be killed. Instead, Kroismos receives Meges’ spear in the chest. As Meges begins to strip his victim, the Trojan spearman Dolops, son of Priam’s b rother Lampos, thrusts his spear into his opponent’s shield. Homer then digresses to provide a brief history of the shield that saves Meges’ life (15.529–534). Taking aim at Dolops, who, as a member of Priam’s extended f amily, is given special attention, Meges hits the topmost layer of his helmet but fails to halt his momentum. In turn Menelaos spears him from the back, and as Dolops collapses, he and Meges rush to strip him. Hector’s call for aid is answered by his cousin Melanippos, son of Hiketaon (Priam’s brother), whom Hector scolds when he is in fact scolding himself for not doing enough to defeat the Greeks. He demands his men pursue the enemy with greater zeal. The attention given Melanippos in the short biography included is essential for his engagement with Antilochos that follows (15.547–551). Developing Melanippos’ character increases Antilochos’ glory when he defeats him. Hector’s renewed challenge calls for an equal response from Ajax, who sees no glory in retreating. The fighting inspired by Hector and Ajax resumes, although Hector’s fervency is somewhat diminished when the narrator again credits the Olympian for the Trojan ardor: “Zeus roused the Trojans” (15.567). Homer sidesteps a panoramic view as the narration suggests, and instead focuses on a specific individual to move the battle
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forward. Menelaos calls on Antilochos to mark a Trojan fighter. Antilochos, eager to satisfy and compared to both a hunter and a hunting dog overpowering a wounded fawn, casts his spear and kills Melanippos (15.579–583). Pursued by Hector, Antilochos bolts like a wild beast that has made a kill and escapes before it is pursued, bolstering the Trojan’s sense of heroism (15.586–589). However, another simile at 15.590, this time of a crowd that “showered their groaning weapons against him,” renders Antilochos’ flight an intelligent course of action instead of a cowardly act and again lessens Hector’s efforts. Homer now changes focus to a panoramic view of the fighting at 15.592–652, comparing the Trojans to “ravening lions” u nder “Zeus’ orders” (15.592), illustrating Zeus’ double purpose for still favoring the Trojans: to fulfill his promise by setting fire to a Greek ship and to return the rout and glory to the Greeks. The mention of Zeus seven times in nineteen lines as the prime mover of the Trojans makes it clear that the god is now hastening his w ill by strengthening Hector to do his bidding. Already mad with power and provoked by a god aware of his approaching death, Hector is compared to a deadly fire and to an enraged Ares. As Hector undergoes his noblest moment, the Olympian endows him with ever-i ncreasing strength to hasten his death. For all his fury, Hector cannot dislodge the Greeks, who stand immovable like a cliff facing the sea (15.618–622). Nevertheless, Hector’s boldness is celebrated in two similes, one of which casts him as a gale-driven wave covering an entire vessel in foam at 15.624–629, and the other of which depicts him as a murderous lion among a pasture full of c attle, devouring one and stampeding the others, while the single shepherd guarding them is unable to act (15.630–637). In both similes, Hector displays strength and determination but is unable to achieve total success. The vessel covered in foam still weathers the storm, and the majority of the c attle escape destruction. Even the lion’s kill is made possible by the carelessness of a single shepherd, unable to protect such a large herd. Hector’s single victory, like the single ox the lion devours, is Periphetes, a son superior to his father (rare in Homer’s world) and one
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associated with the Herakles myth. Eurystheus, Herakles’ taskmaster, who imposed the twelve labors on his cousin, used Periphetes as his messenger to Herakles (see 8.363–369 and 19.121–133). Such a victory bolsters a warrior’s glory u ntil the audience hears the details of the slaying. As Periphetes turns to escape, he trips on his body-size shield and falls, and Hector spears him while he is down on the ground, diminishing his victory. The Trojans finally reach the first row of ships, forcing the Greeks back to the second, where they take their stand out of shame and fear. Nestor, like Ajax e arlier, supplicates the army not to panic but to stand firm, guided by shame and discipline as they think of family and home. Athena dissipates the mist about them, and so opens their eyes to the entire field of b attle. Homer turns to Ajax, who is holding a huge pike intended for sea battles, as he leaps from ship deck to ship deck. Just as an expert h orse rider galloping on four coupled horses jumps from one to the other without slipping, even so, all the time Ajax is urging his comrades to defend their ships (15.679–686). On the other side, Hector, like an eagle plunging on other birds, heads straight for a Greek ship with “Zeus . . . pushing him onward” (15.694). Again, the two sides engage in battle, each side striving for victory. Hector catches hold of the stern of Protesilaos’ ship, the vessel of the first Greek warrior to land and be killed in Troy. It is around this ship that the Greeks and Trojans now fight in hand-to-hand slaughter. Hector, crazed by power and success, feels assured that Zeus has granted him victory over the Greeks, who assaulted Troy in spite of Zeus’ w ill (in actuality, the god sanctioned their coming). He further charges his counselors with cowardice for preventing him from an e arlier attack on the ships (see 12.215–229). Ajax, bombarded by missiles, retreats a little, thinking the moment to be his last, but continues to press his companions to fight. As always, he neither prays nor seeks help from anyone or anything but relies on his own hands, in which, he believes, his salvation lies (15.733–741). Enraged, he fights off anyone within reach of the ships with his pike, killing twelve unnamed Trojans in the process.
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Selected Bibliography: Il. 15 Alexander, Iliad. Anhalt, Enraged, 80–114. Edwards, Mark W., Homer. Fagles, Homer. Frazer, “Ajax’s Weapon.” Frazer, Reading of the “Iliad.” Green, Iliad. Heiden, Homer’s Cosmic Fabrication, 161–185. Hendry, “Coarse Pun in Homer?” Hogan, Guide to the “Iliad.” Janko, Iliad. Jones, Homer’s “Iliad.” Lattimore, “Iliad” of Homer. McAuslan and Walcot, Homer. McCrorie, Homer. Mitchell, Iliad. Mueller, Iliad. Murray, Homer: Iliad, Books 13–24. Owen, Story of the “Iliad.” Postlethwaite, Homer’s “Iliad.” Powell, Homer. Powell, Iliad. Rabel, Plot. Saunders, “Wounds in Iliad.” Verity, Homer. West, M. L., Making of the “Iliad.” Whitman, “Hera’s Anvils.” Whitman and Scodel, “Sequence and Simultaneity.” Willcock, Companion to the “Iliad.”
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Book 16 “Patroklos’ Book” (Patrokleia), as the Iliad’s sixteenth book is known, is a turning point in the epic, for it is the culmination of the plot that began with Achilles’ quarrel in Il. 1. That quarrel is now drawing to an end as we turn to Achilles’ revenge for the death of his friend at the book’s conclusion. We are still in the epic’s twenty-sixth day (the third battle), which began at sunrise at 11.1–2 and w ill conclude with sunset at 18.239–241. The action in the Patrokleia is sequenced in five stages. First is the struggle within the Greek camp as Telamonian Ajax withdraws and the Trojans set fire to Protesilaos’ ship; Patroklos is able to extinguish the fire and force the Trojans to retreat. Second is the flare-up outside the Greek camp as Hector retreats and the Trojan troops are entrapped in the wall’s ditch. Third is the brawl raging around Sarpedon, whom Patroklos kills, forcing yet another Trojan retreat, with only Glaukos maintaining his position. Fourth, Patroklos, pursuing Hector, is warned off by Apollo as strife continues around the Skaian gate and Troy’s walls. Fifth, Hector rejoins the fighting and kills Patroklos with the aid of Apollo and Euphorbos. Il. 16 falls into four sections: I. Patroklos’ appeal to Achilles (29% of book) II. Patroklos’ aristeia (19% of book) III. Sarpedon’s death (31% of book) IV. Patroklos’ death (21% of book) I. Patroklos’ Appeal to Achilles, 1–256 Patroklos’ journey to the contest that ends his life begins at 11.615, when he leaves Achilles’ shelter to inquire with Nestor about the wounded Machaon. Having verified that the wounded warrior Achilles saw in Nestor’s chariot was indeed Machaon, he is delayed at 11.808 by the wounded Eurypylos from returning with his report u ntil 15.405. He reaches Achilles at 16.2, weeping “like a spring dark-running / that down the face of a rock
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impassable drips its dim w ater” (16.3–4), the very same lines used by the poet to describe Agamemnon at 9.14–15 when he suggests abandoning Troy. In both cases the book’s first simile expresses the depth of feeling that overcomes a hero: Patroklos because of the slaughter of his fellow warriors, which he can no longer continue to watch, and Agamemnon because of his inability to capture Troy without Achilles’ assistance. A second simile immediately follows the first at 16.6–11, in which Achilles likens his friend to a tearful young girl who, lagging behind her mother, begs to be picked up. In like manner, Patroklos (the young girl) seeks the assistance of Achilles (the m other). This parent-child comparison denoting Patroklos’ dependency on Achilles is repeated several times in the epic. At 9.323–327 Achilles is likened to a mother bird struggling to provide food for her fledglings. At 18.318–323 he mourns the dead Patroklos as a lion anguishes over its stolen cubs, and at 23.221–225 he mourns Patroklos as a father grieves a dead son. The parent-child simile is also applied to Patroklos by Menelaos and Ajax. At 17.4–6, Menelaos guards Patroklos’ corpse as a m other cow protects her first-born calf, and at 17.133–137 Telamonian Ajax shelters Patroklos’ body as a lion defends its cubs from hunters. Interestingly, the dialogue between Patroklos and Achilles at the beginning of this book is more revealing of Achilles’ state of mind than of Patroklos’ plea for assistance (16.6–100). Achilles first wants to know whether his friend’s tears denote the deaths of their fathers, or whether they are shed over the dying Greeks, adding sarcastically, “by reason of their own arrogance” (16.18). He is well aware of the plight of the Greeks, for whom he feels both compassion and bitterness for their lack of support over Agamemnon’s abduction of Briseis. His anger at 1.149–171 has not yet abated, although his concern for the Greek losses is obvious: he monitors their progress from his own ships, and he sends Patroklos to inquire the identity of the wounded warrior, which marks the beginning of the end for his companion (11.598–611). Achilles is now ready to assist but is restrained by a c ouple of unresolved circumstances: his promise not to get
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involved in the fighting u ntil fire reaches his own ships (see 9.650–652) and his abiding anger at Agamemnon and the Greek army for not having offered a proper apology in which the commander personally accepted responsibility for refusing to honor him (see the discussion in Il. 9). Nevertheless, he is willing to agree to Patroklos’ request following his harsh rebuke as one stubborn and unbending: “The grey sea . . . bore you / and the towering rocks” (16.34–35). Achilles is also aware of the Myrmidons’ frustration and anger at having sat out the entire fight thus far in the final year of Troy’s seizure (16.200–208). When Patroklos inquires whether his friend’s resistance to join the battle is due to some prophecy, Achilles responds in the negative (16.50–51), although at 9.410–416 he speaks of the destiny his mother prophesied. It seems his bitterness at Agamemnon’s insult to his honor, “a b itter sorrow to my heart and my spirit / when a man tries to foul one who is his equal” (16.52–53), is foremost on his mind to the exclusion of anything e lse. His three-part reply to his comrade reprises his comments to Telamonian Ajax at 9.644–655 and the anger he still harbors toward Agamemnon. He w ill not hold back from b attle because of any prophecy, although he is still restrained by his commander’s treatment, and he w ill not act until the fighting reaches his ships, although he admits that “it was not / in my heart to be angry forever” (16.49–61). He is aware of the Greeks’ dire situation at the absence of the major Greek warriors, Diomedes, Odysseus, Agamemnon, and Eurypylos, but Machaon, wounded by Paris at 11.504–520, is not mentioned among the injured in Il. 16. Patroklos, the new Achilles surrogate, w ill be killed by a son of Priam and Apollo and have his ashes placed in Achilles’ urn (23.91–92). He now dons his friend’s armor and exposes himself to the e nemy, hoping to deceive the Trojans into believing that the best of the Achaeans has entered the fighting. Since he longs to enter the action but w ill not b ecause of the affront to his honor, Achilles sees this solution as a way out of his difficulty, albeit with reservations. Patroklos must not pursue the Trojans any farther than the ships once he has driven them away. To do so would diminish
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Achilles’ honor (16.87–90), for Patroklos’ victory would upstage him and reduce his kleos should his companion push the Trojans all the way back to Troy. Besides, he fears for Patroklos’ life. Overconfidence in his ability and pride might provoke the intervention of a god, especially Apollo, who might crush him (16.91–94). Patroklos’ efforts to put the Trojans to flight must above all else attend to Achilles’ honor and glory: to be recognized as the best of the Achaeans, to have Briseis returned, and to be compensated for his humiliation. Although Achilles’ proposed demands were already offered and rejected by him in Il. 9, he has forgotten, changed his mind, or refused them b ecause they were not made in good faith. He now concludes his admonitory remarks to Patroklos with a plea to Zeus, Athena, and Apollo for the destruction of all Greeks and Trojans alike so that only he and his friend remain to crush Troy’s battlements (krēdemna at 16.100). This strange request could be the source for a later literary tradition, beginning with Aeschylus’ Myrmidons, that presents the two friends as lovers (Fantuzzi, Achilles in Love). Further, the word krēdemna (headdress, veil), suggestive of a captive w oman’s headdress being removed, may have sexual overtones—in the present case, the rape of Troy. In true cinematic style, the narrative returns to Telamonian Ajax, who is exhausted from defending the ships with a twenty-two-cubit-long pike (15.674–678). As Ajax attempts to fend off the hordes of Trojans accosting him, the poet prays for inspiration to successfully depict this crucial episode—t he events leading to the firing of Protesilaos’ ship, a decisive moment in the narrative. Although it is Hector’s sword that shears Ajax’s pike, forcing the hero’s retreat, the Trojan neither harms Ajax nor is he given the honor of being the first to set fire to the Greek ships (16.122–123). Perhaps this is Homer’s way of lessening the effect of the Greek defeat on his audience. Achilles strikes “his hands against his thighs” (16.125), showing surprise and disbelief at the Trojan success, and is persuaded to have Patroklos enter the fighting in his armor. Achilles’ consenting to send Patroklos in his stead after witnessing the fire and Zeus’ desire to drive back the Trojans once the first Greek ship is set on fire is a good example
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of a technique common to Homer’s epic—“ double motivation,” placing the cause of an action u nder two different possible events, h uman and divine. Patroklos’ arming scene follows, the third of the four major arming scenes in the Iliad. Along with the other three, Paris in Il. 3, Agamemnon in Il. 11, and Achilles in Il. 19, it marks key developments in the narrative. The basic sequence of the arming scene, as noted e arlier, starts at the warrior’s feet and moves upward: greaves, corselet, sword, helmet, and spear. Patroklos dons the first four items of Achilles’ equipment but not the fifth, his spear. The absence of the Pelian ash spear, which no one else can wield, most likely symbolizes Patroklos’ inadequacy in accepting the role of Achilles and augurs the tragedy to follow (16.140–144). Automedon, Patroklos’ henchman (therapōn at 16.165),12 who a fter Patroklos’ death assumes the duties of Achilles’ loyal subordinate previously held by Patroklos (see 24.573–575), prepares the chariot by harnessing the immortal horses Xanthos and Balios along with the mortal Pedasos, reflecting Achilles’ own divided nature and pointing to the incongruity of Patroklos’ situation—a mortal in immortal armor. Following a digression on the immortal horses, the scene cuts to Achilles arraying the Myrmidons, who are introduced in a long simile as a ravenous pack of wolves at the height of their strength devouring a newly killed stag (16.156–166). Given their reputation for sneak attacks, the simile can point not only to their upcoming offensive but also to their eagerness to join the fighting a fter a long period of inactivity. The catalog that follows, an expansion of the Myrmidon entry in the Catalog of Ships at 2.681–694, presumably serves as preparation for combat or as a delaying tactic. Emphasizing the importance of the upcoming battle, it showcases Achilles’ impressive troops and delays the battle through suspense. The catalog lists a total of 2,500 troops led by five leaders whose names seem to be created specifically for this catalog, since, with the exception of Phoenix, they appear nowhere else in the epic. The first two of the five leaders are given striking pedigrees that include immortal
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parents, elevating the quality of the army; such a tactic is customary for such lists, which focus on the first few characters recorded and dismiss the others, who are identified by name only. The catalog concludes in a simile at 16.212–217 likening the Myrmidons to a wall so tightly compacted that nothing can pass through it, underlining their solidarity and strength. The first section of Il. 16 concludes with a prayer described in g reat detail, accentuating its importance. In Homer the longer an item’s account, the greater its significance in the scene. In the present situation, Achilles’ prayer even requires a special cup—an elaborately embellished goblet used specifically for pouring libations to Zeus (16.220–248). The cup is kept in a delicately wrought chest given to Achilles by Thetis, and it is cleansed with sulfur and water before each use. After the cup’s lengthy description, Achilles fills it with wine, which he reverently pours in the m iddle of his forecourt while praying to the god. His request is twofold: glory for Patroklos and his safe return. Zeus, unbeknownst to Achilles, answers his prayer: Patroklos w ill have his glory, but he will not return. It is the only time in the Iliad that the god grants only half a prayer. II. Patroklos’ Aristeia, 257–418 Patroklos and the Myrmidons’ initial onslaught is presented in a simile at 16.259–267 in which they are portrayed as angry wasps swarming on passers-by who have agitated them unintentionally; the main point of comparison being mood and movement. The simile, however, seems to have some further implications, since the wasps attack those who accidentally come near them after a group of young boys mischievously irritate them. The inference is that innocent p eople suffer as a result of someone else’s misguided deed, which brings to mind Paris’ abduction of Helen, the cause of innocent suffering. Patroklos’ present goal, however, is not to avenge Paris’ infraction but rather to bring honor to Achilles so Agamemnon can acknowledge “his madness, that he did no honor to the best of the Achaians” (16.274). Later Achilles w ill also fight the Trojans, not for Paris’ unlawful act but rather to avenge his friend’s death.
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It seems that, after so many years of fighting, the original cause of the war is often lost in the personalities involved, and Homer periodically reminds his audience why it all began. Thus, the young boys’ childish prank in the wasp simile serves as a reminder of Paris’ selfish gratification and the cause of so much suffering. Having mistaken Patroklos for Achilles, the Trojans scatter. Patroklos casts his spear and strikes Pyraichmes, whose single purpose in the Iliad is to be killed by him. The killing is portrayed via conventional epic motifs—the victim is frightened upon coming into contact with his opponent, the hero is triumphant in the encounter, and the e nemy retreats or is killed. Patroklos goes on to extinguish the fire of the half-burnt ship, and this favorable outcome is compared to blue skies after the darkness of a thunderstorm at 16.297–302. This is the first of three storm similes in this book (see also 16.364–366 and 16.384–393), which reflect a turn in the battle favoring the Greeks. The appearance of Zeus in all three similes is an indication that the Olympian is once again in control a fter his Dios apatē. Although the Trojans move back from the Greek ships, they do not withdraw to Troy, precipitating the androktasia (the slaughter of men) at 16.306–357, in which Patroklos and the Greek leaders make their superiority known. A catalog of nine individual killings ensues, presented as a typical Homeric fighting scene, each containing a number of the following ele ments: the names of attacker and attacked, details of the victim’s biography, description of the weapons employed, mention of wounds incurred, implication of the injuries received, and similes describing the fighting. The first killing is by the book’s major player—Patroklos. The narrative length of each confrontation and the information provided vary, some accounts being more gruesome than others to underscore war’s horrors. The manner in which the disputes are approached often comments on the psychology of the characters involved, as in the case of the two Trojan brothers Atymnios and Maris, who both lose their lives to two Greek brothers, Antilochos and Thrasymedes (Nestor’s sons). The violence of these combats, as recounted by Homer, recalls the
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violence and special effects of the golden age of the Hollywood western (1945–1965), in which an arrow from an Indian or a gun wound from a cowboy kills the opponent regardless of the strike. Likewise, in the Iliad no one survives nonthreatening wounds, with the exception of a few major characters who are required to advance the narrative or whom tradition demands live. In addition to the Greek heroes wounded in Il. 11, Glaukos on the Trojan side also survives a wound received from Teukros at 12.387–391 and healed by Apollo at 16.535–537. The nine deaths that follow, an incomplete number in Homeric epic, signal that more killings are yet to come. Another simile, at 16.352–356, again depicts the Greeks as wolves. This time the wolves create havoc among defenseless lambs and goats neglected by their shepherds. The Trojans are no longer a match for the Greeks under the misconstrued guise of Patroklos. Hector, dodging arrows and spears, becomes aware that the tide of battle is changing to favor the Greeks, but he remains firm. Zeus’ second storm simile, at 16.364–366, portrays the Trojans r unning from the Greek ships as a dark storm cloud that dissipates in the sky. Seeing the Trojans in rout, Hector abandons the battlefield and recedes into the background until his encounter with Patroklos at 16.731–732. Patroklos gives chase, and the noise of the fleeing Trojan chariots and troops is compared to the sound of a hurricane darkening the landscape in Zeus’ third storm simile, at 16.384– 393. This simile, however, hints at more than just the uproar and clamor of chariots and warriors taking flight. Essentially the simile recounts the story of the biblical flood. Zeus’ violent storm inundates the earth to drown out those mortals who shun the god’s justice. Like the earlier wasp simile, this one is a reminder of the punishment due those who break the god’s ordinances. The Trojans must pay for Paris’ transgressions, for Helen’s abduction, which violates the laws of hospitality and offends Zeus Xenios. Having pinned down the Trojans between the ships and the wall, cutting off access to the city, Patroklos fights to avenge the Greek dead—a primary concern in the remaining books of the Iliad. In rapid succession he kills Pronoös, who receives little attention, and who, like the Trojans
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named at 16.411–417, is among those whose only role in the Iliad is to be killed by Patroklos. His death is followed by Thestor’s, one of the most excruciating killing scenes in the epic. Patroklos’ spear thrust at the right side of the warrior’s jaw drives the spear through the Trojan’s teeth before he is hoisted over the chariot rail. A simile at 16.406–408 compares him to a hooked fish dragged out of water. As the present simile signals, the killings in Il. 16 become more gruesome than those earlier in the epic. An equally grotesque killing follows when Patroklos splits Erylaos’ head in two pieces with a rock at 16.411–414. Quickly Patroklos dispenses nine more named warriors, completing the book’s second section. III. Sarpedon’s Death, 419–683 Patroklos’ carnage rouses Sarpedon, whose death his f ather, Zeus, predicts as early as 15.65–67. The god’s son is already aware that the warrior in Achilles’ armor is not the hero but an imposter whom he aims to expose. Patroklos’ disguise, it seems, does not serve its purpose for long, since few Trojans are deceived by it; once Sarpedon is killed, Glaukos at 16.543 informs Hector that Zeus’ son was killed by Patroklos. The duel between Sarpedon and Patroklos is immediate, and the two warriors attack each other like vultures at 16.428–430. Since theirs is a crucial confrontation, however (among the Iliad’s major heroes, only Sarpedon, Patroklos, and Hector die), the result is delayed, increasing audience anticipation, and to that end Homer provides a couple of digressions before the denouement. As the two warriors are about to engage each other, Homer cuts to Olympos, where Zeus contemplates saving his son, who is fated to die. Hera objects on the grounds that the destiny of mortals was fixed long before Zeus; fate overrides even the Olympian gods. To change fate is to cause resentment among t hose gods whose sons are also fighting in Troy, among them Aphrodite’s son Aeneas on the Trojan side, and on the Greek side Thetis’ son Achilles, Hermes’ son Eudoros, and Ares’ sons Askalaphos and Ialmenos. One might also include Menesthios, the river Spercheios’ son, and Podaleirios and Machaon, sons of Asklepios, who in l ater tradition
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becomes a god, but not in the Iliad. Hera recommends that Zeus allow fate to take its course. Once dead, Sarpedon’s body can be transported by Thanatos and Ypnos to Lykia for proper funeral rites. Zeus relents and rains bloody tears upon the earth to foreshadow his son’s imminent death as well as to display his sorrow.13 This is one of a number of instances in the Iliad where Homer resorts to surrealism in his narrative (see also blood from the sky at 11.52–54, tears of blood at 16.459, horses weeping at 17.426–428, and horses speaking at 19.404–417). In most instances the poet minimizes the mythic and preternatural in favor of the more natural. A notable example is Homer’s preference for the mortal Phoenix instead of Cheiron, the Centaur (half man, half h orse), as the traditional mentor of Achilles. Whenever he is mentioned in the Iliad (at 4.129, 11.831, and 16.143), Cheiron is referenced only by name, not as a Centaur. Returning to the two warriors about to engage each other, Patroklos casts his spear, which hits Thrasymelos, Sarpedon’s henchman. Sarpedon in turn casts his spear and marks the horse Pedasos, an action that again delays the duel’s conclusion until the dead trace h orse is released from Patroklos’ chariot. Following the two digressions, Sarpedon again casts his spear but misses his opponent, whereas Patroklos’ second throw strikes the Trojan’s heart. His death is described in two consecutive similes. In the first, at 16.482–486, Sarpedon falls like a towering and powerful tree, a description that renders him strong and tall, but also as one who has a mighty fall. His strength is further amplified when the reader is made aware that the felled tree provides timber for ships like the ones that brought the Greeks to Troy. In the second simile, at 16.486–491, he is a great-spirited, bellowing bull felled u nder the jaws of a lion. Although not quite possessing the stature of a lion (Patroklos), he is nevertheless compared to a formidable beast. With his last breath, Sarpedon appeals to Glaukos to fight with the Lykians for his honor lest they shame themselves in the years to come by allowing the Greeks to strip him of his armor. Glaukos is unsettled by Sarpedon’s d ying entreaty, for his injury precludes executing his friend’s bidding. He resolves to pray first to Apollo to
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cure his wound, invoking the god’s power as is common in such prayers (compare Hera’s prayer to Ypnos at 14.232–241) before stating his request: strength to prevent the Greeks from abusing Zeus’ son and, once healed, to rouse the Lykians and the Trojan leaders, Hector among them, to renew their attack on the Greeks. Panoramic and close-up shots next frame the deadlock over Sarpedon’s body as Zeus casts darkness over the battlefield to make matters worse for those contending for his son’s corpse. The battle surging between the two sides constantly moves from one scene change to another, many supplemented by similes and commentary on the characters involved and the wounds received. The information provided varies from scene to scene, keeping the narration moving and fresh throughout. The poet begins with two complementary scenes. In the first, as the Trojans advance at 16.569–580, Hector kills the Myrmidon Epeigeus, whose background, similar to Patroklos’, serves as a reminder of Patroklos’ own impending death. Like Patroklos, Epeigeus killed a cousin and was exiled as a suppliant to Peleus and Thetis, who welcomed him like they did Patroklos to accompany Achilles to Troy. Homer here implies that Achilles’ parents are still living together. In most versions of Peleus’ marriage to Thetis, the goddess leaves the king and returns to the sea while Achilles is still an infant. Hector now kills the Myrmidon Epeigeus with a stone, shattering his head in two as Patroklos earlier split the head of Erylaos at 16.411–413. In the second scene, at 16.581–592, Patroklos avenges his lifelong companion by sweeping on the Lykians like a hawk after doves and starlings, killing Sthenelaos (16.582–585) and causing the Trojans to retreat as far as a warrior casts his javelin in a contest or in battle (16.589–592). Characteristically, Homer continues to vary the narration of the b attle scenes over Sarpedon’s body. He now turns to two more complementary scenes involving Glaukos and Meriones. In the first, at 16.593–601, Glaukos fatally stabs the Myrmidon Bathykles—a “great-hearted” and beloved son of Chalkon from Hellas known for his wealth—in the chest. In the second, at 16.601–607, Meriones strikes the Trojan Laogonos—t he son of
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Onetor, Idaian14 Zeus’ priest, a man honored by his p eople—in the jaw and ear. Both fatalities involve successful men who are loved and honored by their p eople, but war spares neither Greek nor Trojan. A sequence of four scenes follows involving Aeneas and Meriones berating each other. First Aeneas’ spear misses Meriones at 16.608–615, and then, at 16.616–618, an angry Aeneas bates Meriones, who in turn deflates the Trojan’s abilities at 16.619–625. In the fourth scene (16.626–631), Patroklos reprimands Meriones for accosting Aeneas, stressing that deeds and not words are needed on the battlefield. This is ironic, for this kind of bantering among Iliadic warriors is common, and Patroklos himself resorts to it at times. Perhaps, in a moment of elucidation, he merely states a Homeric truth: “Warfare’s / finality lies in the work of hands, that of words in counsel” (16.629–630). Again, by switching continuously between scenes, Homer varies the battle raging around Sarpedon’s body. At 16.632–644, he focuses on Patroklos and the Myrmidons’ attempt to retrieve Sarpedon’s body, which is now covered by spears, blood, and dust from head to toe. At the same time, however, the simile used at 16.641–644 illustrates men swarming around Sarpedon’s corpse like flies around a milk pail, which transports the reader to a domestic peaceful spring rural setting. Not only is the reader momentarily removed from the chaos of battle, but also a world at war is contrasted with one at peace. The poet then cuts to Zeus at 16.644–655 as he contemplates Patroklos’ death. The god decides to postpone it in order to enhance the Greeks’ heroic actions, another instance of Homer’s pro-Greek bias. Even the credit for the victory over Patroklos is due more to Apollo and Euphorbos than to Hector. Homer next shifts to Hector and the Lykians as the Greeks strip Sarpedon of his armor (16.655–665). The poet returns to Zeus, who asks Apollo to remove Sarpedon’s body from the field of battle, and then cuts to Apollo removing and anointing the corpse before releasing it into the care of Ypnos and Thanatos (16.666–683).
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IV. Patroklos’ Death, 684–867 Patroklos, besotted with power, gives chase to the fleeing Trojans, neglectful of Achilles’ earlier warnings and unaware that in the background Zeus is controlling his every step. His zeal to pursue the Trojans seals his fate. The answer is revealing when, in an apostrophe, the narrator asks, “Who was it you slaughtered first, and who was the last one as the gods called you to your death?” (16.692–693). Patroklos kills nine named Trojans, but the tenth, which completes the set, is left nameless b ecause it is Patroklos himself. Convinced that he can now conquer Troy, Patroklos attempts three times to mount the city walls, but on his fourth try Apollo batters him back and warns him that Troy w ill fall neither to his hands nor to t hose of Achilles. The “double three times then on the fourth” pattern used h ere appears a total of five times in the Iliad: at 5.436–439, 16.702–705, 16.784–787, 20.445–448, and 21.176–179. A shortened form, “three times then on the fourth,” appears twice, at 13.20 and 22.208–213. As the gods call him to his death, Hector, emboldened by Apollo, meets Patroklos for the long- awaited duel at 16.732, the results of which w ill not be known for another ninety-six lines, at 16.828. First Apollo creates confusion on the battlefield, giving the Trojans the upper hand. Patroklos’ cast is first—a stone throw at Hector that misses him but kills the charioteer Kebriones, smashing both his brows and forcing his eyes to fall at his feet. He then mocks the slain warrior, though e arlier (16.627ff.) he chastised Meriones for hassling Aeneas, and springs to strip the fallen like an injured lion whose own courage kills it, forecasting his own impending death (16.752–753). A panoramic view at 16.751–776 exposes the Greek-Trojan din as Hector and Patroklos fight over the slain body like two hungry lions over a deer, indicating that at this point of their duel both are evenly matched. A simile at 16.765–771 implicating the east and south winds competing among a forest of storm-tossed trees not only provides a wide-a ngle view of the raging b attle for possession of Kebriones’ corpse but also offers an aural and visual picture of the confusion and dehumanized sounds of the
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fighting. The struggle over Kebriones’ body lasts the remainder of the day. At sunset the Greeks, “beyond their very destiny” (16.780), strip the body of its armor, underscoring their exceptional success, the only time in the Iliad that anything happens beyond what is fated. For the second time in Il. 16, Patroklos charges the Trojans three times and is repelled as many times by Apollo, but not before cutting down nine warriors each time. On his fourth charge, at 16.787, Apollo strikes him on the shoulder, ending his life. A close-up in slow motion at 16.820 focuses on the immortal helmet falling off his head, defiled by blood and dust. Patroklos’ annihilation continues for another twenty-five lines before, dazed and disoriented by Apollo’s stroke, the hero’s body receives Euphorbos’ spear, after which the young Trojan slips back into the crowd, afraid to face the hero in close combat. It is at this point that Hector approaches the fatally wounded Patroklos and stabs him in the belly. As Patroklos falls, a simile at 16.823–828 compares Hector to a lion overpowering a wild boar (Patroklos). Since his last encounter with Hector at 16.756, Patroklos is demoted from a lion to a wild boar while Hector, the victor, remains a lion. However, Hector’s triumph is only a one-third victory. Patroklos’ death is too significant to be left to a single mortal. His is a ritual killing, for as an Achilles surrogate, his death is also Achilles’ own, since both can be said to be killed by a Paris type—like Paris, the surrogate Euphorbos is young and surpasses all men of his age “in horsemanship and the speed of his feet” (16.809). Hector, “whose own death was close by him” (16.800), is, like Patroklos, also linked to Achilles in disguise when he later appears in Achilles’ armor (17.186–187). With his final breath, Patroklos forecasts Hector’s own demise, and as death closes in on him, the same three lines used to describe his end at 16.855–857 are used to describe Hector’s at 22.361–363. Hector, still full of hope and ignorant of Zeus’ plans for Troy, questions the dead Patroklos’ prediction and holds to the possibility of defeating Achilles. Wrenching his spear from Patroklos’ wound, he casts it at Automedon, who speeds away with Achilles’ immortal h orses.
Book 16
Selected Bibliography: Il. 16 Alexander, Iliad. Allan, “Arms and the Man.” Anhalt, Enraged, 80–114. Brügger, Homer’s “Iliad” XVI. Clay, “Sarpédon.” Collins, “Possession, Armor.” Edwards, Mark W., Homer. Fagles, Homer. Frazer, “Ajax’s Weapon.” Frazer, Reading of the “Iliad.” Friedrich, Wolf-Hartmut, Wounding, 97–102. Gaca, “Reinterpreting the Homeric Simile.” Green, Iliad. Griffiths, “Patroklos and the Ram.” Hendry, “Coarse Pun in Homer?” Hofmeister, “ ‘Rest in Violence.’ ” Hogan, Guide to the “Iliad.” Janko, Iliad. Jones, Homer’s “Iliad.” Karakantza, “Who Is Liable?” Lateiner, “Pouring Bloody Drops.” Lattimore, “Iliad” of Homer. Ledbetter, “Achilles’ Self-Address.” Lowenstam, Death of Patroklos. Marcovich, “On the Iliad.” McAuslan and Walcot, Homer. McCrorie, Homer. Mitchell, Iliad. Moore, “Death of Pedasos.” Mueller, Iliad, 52–61.
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Murray, Homer: Iliad, Books 13–24. Nagy, Ancient Greek Hero. Nagy, “On the Death of Sarpedon.” Nickel, “Euphorbus.” Owen, Story of the “Iliad.” Porter, David H., “Simile.” Postlethwaite, Homer’s “Iliad.” Powell, Homer. Powell, Iliad. Rabel, “Cebriones the Diver.” Rabel, Plot. Saunders, “Wounds in Iliad.” Scott, William C., Artistry, 155–170. Turfa and Steinmayer, “In Defense of Patroklos.” Verity, Homer. West, M. L., “Date of the Iliad.” Willcock, Companion to the “Iliad.” Book 17 Il. 17 is a two-part cinematic opera (with an intermezzo) on the Greeks’ efforts to retrieve Patroklos’ corpse before the Trojans carry it away. The book is usually designated as “Menelaos’ Aristeia” (Menelaou aristeia), since throughout the book he is committed to fending off the Trojan warriors from taking Patroklos’ body hostage. I. The battle over Patroklos’ corpse, part I (56% of book) II. Intermezzo: Achilles’ h orses (15% of book) III. The battle over Patroklos’ corpse, part II (29% of book) I. The Battle over Patroklos’ Corpse, Part I, 1–425 Full of wide-angle shots and extreme close-ups of the battle raging over Patroklos’ corpse, the first section of this book affords further examples of
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Homer’s treatment of b attle sequences. It is a distinctive feature of Homer to present his audience with a series of desperate struggles between two warring parties, prolonged through many personal incidents. The fight sequences here are built on a succession of repeated patterns consisting of discourses, reprimands, calls for assistance, back stories, and similes. The book contains three speeches of rebuke to Hector: two by Apollo, in the guise of Mentes at 17.75–81 and as Phainops at 17.586–590; and one by Glaukos at 17.142–168. A fourth rebuke, at 17.327–332, by Apollo as Periphas is directed at Aeneas and encourages the Trojan to take a stronger stand in battle. On five occasions, one warrior reprimands another for lack of participation in the fighting, which then c auses the admonished warrior to lead an attack. Calls for assistance appear in a number of instances where one warrior calls on another for aid and receives it immediately. Variety throughout t hese b attle scenes is achieved also through the back stories of the warriors involved, and through the twenty-one “Homeric similes” (in addition to five regular similes), the most appearing in a single book, providing not only a visual and auditory component to the fighting but also psychological insights into the characters in question. The first part of the struggle over Patroklos’ corpse is presented in seven extended scenes that alternate between Greek and Trojan gains: 1. Menelaos and Euphorbos fight (Greek advantage) at 17.1–71. 2. Apollo rouses Hector (Trojan advantage) at 17.71–118. 3. Menelaos beseeches Ajax (Greek advantage) at 17.119–139. 4. Glaukos rebukes Hector (Trojan advantage) at 17.140–236. 5. Menelaos calls on his Greek companions to arm (Greek advantage) at 17.237–318. 6. Apollo rouses Aeneas (Trojan advantage) at 17.319–369. 7. Thrasymedes and Antilochos fight unabated (Greek advantage) at 17.370–425. The first witness to Patroklos’ fall is Menelaos, who bestrides the corpse. The simile that immediately follows at 17.4–6 compares him
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standing over Patroklos to a mother cow standing over her first-born calf. He not only is caring and sympathetic to the situation at hand but acknowledges his obligation and duty to safeguard the corpse, which are like a mother’s responsibility to her newborn. Patroklos’ death is witnessed also by the young Trojan warrior Euphorbos, who challenges Menelaos for the corpse. Accusing the Trojan that his boasting borders on hubris, Menelaos reminds him that his brother Hyperenor was also insulting before dying at his hands at 14.516–519 (Euphorbos, Hyperenor, and Poulydamas are all sons of the elder Trojan Panthoös). Euphorbos’ first spear launch misses Menelaos, but the Greek’s toss finds its mark. As Euphorbos falls, the narrator describes his hair as “lovely as the Graces” with “braided locks,” and his slender waist as “waspwise” (esphēkōnto, “pinched like a wasp’s waist”; 17.51–52). The simile following at 17.52–60 further compares him to a “slip of an olive tree” as “it blossoms into beauty.” These images effeminize Euphorbos, perhaps Homer’s view of Oriental men, since earlier descriptions of Paris contain similar qualities. In addition, the simile conveys overtones of regret on the part of the narrator at the destruction of a spirited youth and the loss of beauty. It further characterizes Menelaos, who is compared to wind wrenching a sapling from its roots. Although a force of nature, the wind merely topples a small olive tree, whereas when wind similes are used in connection with other warriors, the damage is much greater. Menelaos, then, is presented as a mediocre warrior who is not in the same class as Achilles, Diomedes, Ajax, or even his b rother Agamemnon. As Menelaos begins to strip Euphorbos’ armor, a third simile, at 17.61– 69, compares him to a lion feeding on a cow. As a rule, a lion in Homer symbolizes the quintessence of a Homeric warrior and is pitted almost always against a worthy opponent like a boar or a bull to mark the contrast between them, or a challenger deserving of its strength. Menelaos is thus a respectable warrior (a lion), but his opponent (Euphobos/cow) is not an equal match for the beast. Nonetheless, the dogs and herdsmen (the Trojans) lack the courage to pursue the lion, which has killed the
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cow. The duel’s victory belongs to Menelaos, but Apollo begrudges him the Trojan’s armor. Menelaos is triumphant, but his kleos is diminished on two counts: his opponent is not his equal, and he fails to despoil his opponent’s armor. As for Euphorbos, nothing more is heard e ither of his armor or of his corpse. It can be assumed that the Trojans at some point take possession of both. At 17.71–118 Apollo rouses Hector against Menelaos, and Greek control is surrendered to the Trojans. The god, in the guise of Mentes (leader of the Kikones, a Thracian p eople living in an inlying territory in the north Aegean Sea), assails the Trojan commander for giving chase to Achilles’ divine horses instead of showing concern for the fallen Euphorbos, implying that Hector errs in pursuing the divine horses, for, lacking immortal blood, he is not equal to Achilles. Auguring his f uture, the god cautions that a mortal cannot capture, manage, or ride these h orses. In the meantime, conscious of Hector’s presence, Menelaos debates his options. If he abandons Patroklos and his armor, his honor w ill be questioned, but if he holds his ground alone, Hector and the Trojans w ill overpower him. On the other hand, if the gods have willed a Trojan victory, as is obvious, he does not have a chance. Only Telamonian Ajax’s help can make possible a two-man onslaught to rescue the corpse even in the face of divinity. But as Hector and the Trojans attack, Menelaos retreats, and a simile at 17.109–113 again sheds light on his psyche. Like a great bearded lion, his heart freezes when pursued by dogs and men with weapons. Menelaos is a true warrior (a lion), but unlike other major heroes portrayed as lions, who in their zeal fear neither huntsmen nor dogs, Menelaos reluctantly withdraws. In the third extended scene, at 17.119–139, the Greeks once again are in the ascendancy with the entrance of Telamonian Ajax, last seen in Il. 16 fighting over the body of Sarpedon. As Hector divests Patroklos of his armor and begins to drag the body toward his allies, Ajax, responding to Menelaos’ call, approaches, and the Trojan leader withdraws with Patroklos’ armor but leaves the body behind. Two actions on Hector’s part
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stain his character, which continues to deteriorate through the rest of the Iliad. First, he contemplates disfiguring Patroklos’ corpse by cutting off the head and feeding it to the dogs. He is thus capable of barbaric acts, which elsewhere he warns others to reject. Perhaps his darker side here is necessary to make him less sympathetic to Homer’s audience when he is killed by Achilles. Second, a cowardly side is exposed when he is confronted by Ajax. As the Greek warrior nears, Hector draws back among his companions and mounts his chariot to escape. He abandons Patroklos’ corpse, but intends to send the armor to Troy, an act demeaning his warrior status. His actions, however, are necessary for the epic’s plot. The armor must be seized to warrant the making of Achilles’ new divine armor, and Patroklos’ body must be rescued to allow for Achilles’ motivation in returning Hector’s corpse to Priam, for if Patroklos’ body is captured by the Trojans, it can be used later in an exchange for Hector’s. Another lion simile pictures Ajax sheltering Patroklos’ corpse at 17.133–137. Having encountered hunters (Trojans) in the forest, the Greek hero (Ajax) is portrayed as a lioness unflinching in her tenacity to safeguard her cubs (Patroklos). Unlike the bearded lion in the previous simile mentioned at 17.109–113, which is driven away by shouts and weapons, this lion remains steadfast, undaunted by the hunters. The simile comments also on Patroklos’ gentle nature addressed at the book’s opening—he is a cub under a mother’s care (17.4–6). In the fourth extended scene, at 17.140–236, the narrator turns his attention to the Trojan Glaukos, whose best friend, Sarpedon, was killed by Patroklos. Unaware that Sarpedon’s corpse was conveyed to Lykia by Ypnos and Thanatos, Glaukos rebukes Hector for abandoning Sarpedon’s body to the dogs. Further, he accuses Hector of fearing Ajax by refusing to fight for Patroklos’ corpse, which could be exchanged for Sarpedon’s. Using the same language with which Achilles threatened Agamemnon (see 17.147–148 and 9.316–317), Glaukos threatens that he and his ill-t reated Lykian forces will abandon Troy. Hector, furious at being called a coward, justifies himself by laying blame for his lack of success on Zeus, whose will
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determines all. Nevertheless, he dons Achilles’ armor and calls on Trojans and allies to join him in combat. In the meantime, Zeus, detecting Hector arraying himself in Achilles’ divine armor, bemoans his fate, aware that a mortal in immortal armor betokens death. As compensation, Zeus empowers him u ntil sunset, since he is fated not to return to Troy. Once attired in Achilles’ armor, Hector, possessed by the war god— “Ares the dangerous / war god entered him” (17.210–211)—is filled with power and strength. Identical circumstances are true for Patroklos, who, in Achilles’ armor and controlled by the war god, can only be defeated by another god, Apollo, the first to strike him. Hector in turn w ill be defeated by Athena, who, in the guise of Hector’s b rother Deïphobos, deludes him into taking a stand against Achilles. Hector’s and Patroklos’ being attired in Achilles’ divine armor insinuates that both are surrogates of Achilles. Both warriors, forecasting Achilles’ own end, are killed by a god and a mortal, as Achilles, according to tradition, is killed by Apollo and Paris (beyond the Iliad’s narrative). Hector and Patroklos, both in Achilles’ armor, are reminiscent of a young Icarus, who, warned by his father, Daedalus (the f ather, not the son, is noted in the Iliad), not to fly too high lest the sun melt his wings, ignores his father’s advice and, overcome with power, flies too high and falls to his death. The Trojans are once again in the ascendancy as Hector calls on each of his captains to accompany him to the field. He promises half his spoils to the first one to drag Patroklos’ body back among his allies. He further reminds his troops of their sworn duty to defend Troy, for which he is taxing his people for their wages and sustenance. Their spirits lifted by his words, a long shot exposes their charge, hoping to remove Ajax from his guardianship, but the narrator mocks their efforts: “Fools! since over the dead man he [Ajax] tore the life out of many” (17.236). One-t hird into Il. 17, with little said of the fighting raging in the background, the reader is witness to only a single named killing—t hat of Euphorbos—since Homer’s focus has been on the major personalities on both sides involved in the to-a nd-f ro competition for possession of
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Patroklos’ corpse. In the fifth extended scene, at 17.237–318, the Greeks again gain center stage. Ajax, fearing for Menelaos’ and his own life, asks his companion to call for help. The call for assistance is answered by Oilian Ajax, Idomeneus, Meriones, and many others who remain nameless. The collision of the two warring sides is expressed in a simile at 17.263–266, focused solely on the noise of the attacking Trojans, whose shouts are likened to the sound of a wave crashing on shore. Unlike other such similes in the Iliad, in which crashing waves picture the force and strength of the aggressors, the present simile reduces the effect of the Trojan strike by focusing merely on the troops’ cries. Zeus, out of respect for Patroklos, sends a thick mist that engulfs the Greeks and at the same time rouses them to defend the corpse. Initially the Trojan rout sent the Greeks scrambling, but Ajax, like a wild boar that turns and scatters its pursuers, disperses the Trojans (17.281–285), and Homer turns to several close-ups to focus on the strugg le for the corpse. First, the Trojan Hippothoös, attempting to drag Patroklos by the foot, is killed by Telamonian Ajax, and the poet closes in on the details of the killing to humanize the victim, create pathos, and comment on the horrors of his death. First the victim is identified; second, the strategy to drag the corpse is outlined; third, the fatal wound is particularized; and fourth, those who w ill mourn the deceased are specified. The second duel reverses the first, with a Trojan killing a Greek. Hector, aiming for Ajax, misses and fatally wounds Schedios, who is provided with a short genealogy and a description of his wound. A third reversal has Ajax downing Phorkys with a yet shorter comment on his family and wound. After these three close-ups, the scene expands to focus on the retreating Hector and the Greeks striping the armor off their two victims. In the sixth extended scene, at 17.319–369, the Greeks force the Trojans toward their city gates, but Apollo intervenes lest the Greeks “even beyond Zeus’ destiny” win glory (17.321). In other words, it is Zeus’ w ill that the Trojans take the lead again u ntil sunset as he e arlier foretold, and Apollo is sent on his behalf to incite Aeneas to turn the tide. Having informed
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Hector of the god’s plans, Aeneas rallies the Trojans. As in the previous extended scene, three duels follow, alternating between Trojan and Greek, but reversing the order of kills as well as the length allotted to each duel. Aeneas, in one line, kills the Greek Leiokritos. In the second duel the victim’s companion, the Greek Lykomedes, takes five lines to kill the Trojan Apisaon. A possible third duel against a Greek by the Trojan Asteropaios is aborted in three lines by Telamonian Ajax, who orders his companions to stand firm around Patroklos’ corpse. As Ajax ranges among the Greeks, ordering them to fight at close quarters, Homer pulls back to reveal in a panorama the bloodshed and carnage taking place. Favoring the Greeks once again, he mentions that more Trojans than Greeks fell because they massed together over the body’s plight. In the final extended scene of the book’s first section (17.370–425), Homer turns to a wide-angle view of the battle. At the front of the field, Trojans and Greeks are fighting u nder a clear sky, whereas in the m iddle, defending Patroklos’ corpse, they are enveloped in mist. The singer later conceptualizes the uniformity of the fighting in a simile that offers a detailed description of leather tanning (17.389–395). Patroklos’ body is depicted as the hide of a g reat ox, which p eople (Greek and Trojan warriors) pull and tug to stretch out. In the same manner, the two warring sides pull the dead man in opposite directions as if to rend him apart. The poet also introduces two warriors, Nestor’s sons, fighting at the forefront where their father ordered them to be. Although Nestor’s a ctual o rders to his sons are not revealed, his advice could be a way of placing his sons where they can win the greatest kleos with the least harm. The placement of Thrasymedes and Antilochos, who are unaware of Patroklos’ death, is also important for the role Antilochos is about to play as the courier who delivers the devastating news to Achilles. Homer next moves from action on the battlefield to the thoughts of Achilles, who has yet to hear of his friend’s death. At 17.401–411, the narrator discloses Achilles’ thoughts, a rare occurrence in Homer, who prefers to have his characters speak for themselves. Achilles never imagined the
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death of his friend, whom he had instructed to pursue the e nemy as far as Troy’s gates and then return. Thetis often in secret told her son of Zeus’ intentions, but she never mentioned the disaster at hand. Homer concludes Achilles’ ruminations with the direct discourse of two soldiers, a Greek and a Trojan, who surmise that their only option is to fight. II. Intermezzo: Achilles’ Horses, 426–542 The aoidos momentarily leaves the fighting to focus on Achilles’ divine horses weeping for their fallen charioteer. In lamenting Patroklos, they mourn also for their master Achilles, who lies fallen on the battlefield in the person of his surrogate Patroklos. Their grieving affords Zeus, who pities them, the occasion to comment on one of the epic’s favorite themes— the fate of man: “Among all creatures that breathe on earth and crawl on it / there is not anywhere a thing more dismal than man is” (17.446–447). It is a sentiment expressed also at 6.146–150 and in the Odyssey (Od. 18.130–135). Zeus, sealing Hector’s fate, assures the horses that Hector will never mount the chariot they pull, although the Trojan continues hoping against hope to capture them (17.485–490). With conviction, the god breathes fury into their knees to convey Automedon, their present charioteer, back to the ships, as he continues to bestow glory on the Trojans u ntil the sun sets. Grieving for his friend, Automedon speeds the immortal h orses through the Trojan lines like a vulture after geese (17.460) but is unable to kill anyone, since he cannot use his spear and control the horses at the same time. Encountering his companion Alkimedon, he hands him the reins and dismounts to fight the enemy. For the third time in as many extended scenes, Homer presents a triple duel alternating between Greek and Trojan kills, providing the customary information on the characters involved but varied in length, tone, and the order addressed. Automedon at 17.516–524 cuts down the Trojan Aretos like a strong man axes the tendons of an ox. Hector, his eyes on the immortal horses, pursues Automedon, aided by Aeneas. He casts and misses, but his spear continues to quiver in the ground, punctuating the force with which it is thrown
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(17.525–529). The two Aiantes intervene to stave off a hand-to-hand confrontation at 17.530–531. Struck with terror at the sight of the two Greek heroes, Hector, Aeneas, and their companion Chromios flee the field, leaving the fallen Aretos to the boasts of Automedon, who is compared to a lion that has devoured a bull (17.542). All three images in the foregoing similes (axing an ox, a spear quivering, and a lion gorging on a bull) stress the raw power and brutal strength of the Greek warriors that have the best of the Trojans taking flight. III. The Battle over Patroklos’ Corpse, Part II, 543–761 The third section of Il. 17 returns to the defense of Patroklos’ body, for Zeus (and the aoidos) wants to protract the battle even more in order to further delay the Achilles-Hector duel. First, he sends Athena to rouse Menelaos against the Trojans, and then he sends Apollo to rouse Hector against the Greeks (17.543–596). Th ese two scenes parallel each other. Athena first appears before Menelaos in the guise of Phoenix, and a simile describing the manner of the goddess’ descent is proof that Zeus sanctions her presence. Athena descends in a dark cloud like a rainbow sent by Zeus to mortals as a portent of war or a storm (17.547–552). Appealing to Menelaos’ sense of shame, the goddess’ pleas prevent the Trojans from mutilating Patroklos’ corpse and thus disgracing the Greeks. Menelaos prays to Athena for strength. The goddess, flattered that she was solicited first, grants his wish, and he, with the persistence of a mosquito, which, regardless how often it is driven away, insists on returning for the taste of human blood (17.570–572), defends his companion’s corpse and kills Podes, Hector’s friend. In like manner Apollo’s descent is equally sanctioned by Zeus, for the Olympian shakes his goatskin fetish and covers Mount Ida in thunder and lightning, giving victory to the Trojans. Apollo appears in the guise of Hector’s dearest guest-friend, Phainops, to appeal to Hector’s sense of shame. He w ill no longer be feared if he allows Menelaos, a lesser hero, to get away with Podes’ death. Embittered by the god’s words, Hector reenters the battle.
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As the final lap for the retrieval of Patroklos’ corpse begins, Homer once again opens the action with a customary set of duels. The Trojan counselor to Hector, Poulydamas, causes a slight wound by grazing the shoulder bone of Peneleos, the coleader with Leitos of the Boeotians (2.494). Hector in turn wounds Leitos’ wrist and puts him out of action. But as he rushes Leitos, Idomeneus strikes the corselet guarding Hector’s chest, snapping his spear at the socket. Hector returns Idomeneus’ throw, misses, and fatally strikes Meriones’ charioteer, Koiranos, whose sole purpose in the Iliad is to save his Cretan king and create sympathy for his heroic and selfless death (17.611–619). As Koiranos drives his chariot into the midst of the fighting to rescue Idomeneus afoot, Hector’s spear, meant for the king, tears out Koiranos’ teeth by the roots, splits his tongue in two, and topples him from the chariot. Meriones grabs the neglected reins and safely transports Idomeneus back to the ships. Both Menelaos and Telamonian Ajax now become aware of Zeus’ bias for the Trojans and deliberate how to rescue Patroklos’ body and prevent Hector from reaching the Greek fleet. Ajax suggests notifying Achilles concerning his friend’s death, but the mist prevents him from seeing anyone to deliver the news. He prays to Zeus to lift the mist so he and his companions can at least be destroyed in daylight “if to destroy us be now your pleasure” (17.647). Even h ere during his darkest hour, Ajax, who rarely prays, asks not for strength to defeat the enemy but merely for the opportunity to see whose victim he might be if Zeus w ills his death. The god answers his prayer, scattering the mist and causing the battlefield to come into view. It is only h ere in the Iliad that the mist that the Olympian gods regularly spread is given a full account: it begins at 17.268–270, continues through 17.368–369 and 17.375–376, and is finally dispersed at 17.648–650. As the mist lifts, Ajax calls on Menelaos to seek out Antilochos to deliver the news of Patroklos’ death. A simile at 17.657–666 characterizes Menelaos’ emotions as he leaves to find Nestor’s son. He is likened to a lion leaving a farmyard, tired of provoking the dogs and men who prevent him from seizing a steer. In its desperation, the lion returns again and again to face
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the wrath of the shepherds, but by dawn, its spirit crushed, the lion slinks away. In the same manner Menelaos, always vigilant over Patroklos’ body but beaten back by the Trojans time and again, is nevertheless determined to stand his ground u ntil exhausted, and backs away fearing for his life once his companions flee. The lion that represents him here is more determined and ferocious than the previous lion images to which he is compared. Although the lion is unwilling to leave, necessity forces it to abandon its position. However, before he leaves his post, he encourages the two Aiantes and Meriones not to desert Patroklos’ corpse. A second simile, at 17.674–680, expresses his devotion to Patroklos and the zeal with which he seeks out Antilochos, whose message he hopes will bring Achilles to aid in recovering the corpse. In the simile he is likened to an eagle, which has the sharpest eyes of all birds and is able to detect a hiding hare from immense heights. In 17.680 and 17.702, Menelaos is apostrophized by Homer, expressing the poet’s sense of approval and fondness for his character. Menelaos and Patroklos, both presented as sensitive and sympathetic toward o thers, are the only two characters in the Iliad apostrophized on more than one occasion. Menelaos locates Nestor’s son on the battlefield’s left flank. Antilochos, stunned at the news, leaves for Achilles’ camp weeping, while Menelaos returns to his post beside the Aiantes, realizing that no matter how enraged, Achilles w ill not be able to assist since he cannot fight without armor. Homer does not make use of the myth that Achilles’ only vulnerable part was his heal (if he is aware of it); if he had, Achilles would not have any need for armor. It is more realistic to present him as a mortal warrior whose divine armor plays an important role in the epic. Thus, the warriors present agree that the fate of Patroklos’ body is left up to them, and Menelaos and Meriones lift the corpse and begin to carry it out of the fighting, while the two Aiantes c ounter the Trojans. A simile compares the four heroes to a wounded boar rushed by hunters (the Trojans) who want to kill it, but trusting in its courage, the boar, although wounded, turns and scatters the hunters in flight (17.725–731). After some
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ferocious fighting on the part of the Aiantes, Menelaos, and Meriones, the dead man is conveyed back to the ships. In the final scene of the book, twenty-t hree out of the scene’s twenty- seven lines encompass four similes, which visualize the importance of the corpse’s recovery and the struggle for its retrieval. In the first simile, at 17.736–741, the b attle over the corpse is like a wildfire fanned by a roaring wind, which sweeps in a g reat conflagration through a city, destroying everything in sight. In this manner the Trojans (the fire) come a fter Menelaos and Meriones, striving to remove Patroklos’ body. The second simile, at 17.742–746, focuses on Menelaos and Meriones’ struggle to remove their weighty charge from the battlefield. They are depicted as mules straining and sweating in their attempt to drag some huge piece of lumber (the corpse) down a mountain’s rocky path. The third simile, at 17.747–753, pictures the two Aiantes holding back the foe (the Trojans) as a wooded ridge (the Aiantes) holds back the torrents of mighty rivers rushing to flood a plain. The fourth simile, at 17.755–759, relocates Homer’s external audience to the Trojan side and Hector and Aeneas’ efforts to move t oward the Greek ships. The two warriors are depicted as a hawk tracking a flock of starlings or jackdaws (the young Greek warriors), which fear for their lives. Although the Greeks flee to emphasize the need for Achilles’ return, it is the “young” unnamed Greek troops r unning and not the main Greek heroes whom Homer cannot reduce to such shame. The final two lines of the book provide a panoramic view of the battlefield littered with spears and armor as the panicked Greeks take flight and the b attle rages on. Selected Bibliography: Il. 17 Alexander, Iliad. Anhalt, Enraged, 80–114. Collins, “Possessions, Armor.” Edwards, Mark W., Homer. Fagles, Homer. Fenno, “Mist Shed.”
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Frazer, Reading of the “Iliad.” Green, Iliad. Hogan, Guide to the “Iliad.” Jones, Homer’s “Iliad.” Kozak, “Character and Context.” Lattimore, “Iliad” of Homer. McAuslan and Walcot, Homer. McCrorie, Homer. Mitchell, Iliad. Moulton, “Speech of Glaucus.” Mueller, Iliad, 52–64. Murray, Homer: Iliad, Books 13–24. Owen, Story of the “Iliad.” Postlethwaite, Homer’s “Iliad.” Powell, Homer. Powell, Iliad. Rabel, Plot. Schein, Homeric Epic, 11–26. Scott, William C., Artistry, 145–154. Verity, Homer. West, M. L., “Date of the Iliad.” Willcock, Companion to the “Iliad.” Willcock, “Nervous Hesitation.”
Book 18 Il. 18, known variously as “The Making of the Arms” (Hoplopoiïa) or “Creating Achilles’ Armor” (Achilleōs panoplia), in reference to the shield of Achilles, is a pivotal book, for it marks a shift in the development of the narrative. First, it concludes Zeus’ plan for Trojan domination once Hector reaches the Greek ships. Second, it marks the transition from Achilles’ anger toward Agamemnon and the recovery of Briseis to his desire to
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avenge Patroklos. His lust for retaliation against the killer of his friend replaces his initial rage against injustice and clears his resolve to reenter the fighting as Agamemnon’s equal. From this point forward, he is no longer Agamemnon’s subject. At Patroklos’ funeral (Il. 23), he judges contests and awards prizes; he is consulted by Greek leaders (24.650–652); he receives Priam and turns over Hector’s corpse and even promises a truce. The book further illustrates the limitations of physical force, which dominate the epic. Achilles, the best of the Achaeans, finds he cannot achieve his revenge against Hector without the divine shield of Hephaistos, which occupies almost half (40%) of the book’s narrative. Achilles, the hero of force (biē), needs Hephaistos’ cunning intelligence (mētis) to defeat Hector. Thus, as in the Odyssey, force alone (biē) is insufficient for a favorable outcome unless it is combined with intelligence (mētis). Il. 18 can be read in four parts: I. Patroklos mourned (24% of book) II. Patroklos’ corpse recovered (15% of book) III. Aftermath of the third b attle (21% of book) IV. The shield of Achilles (40% of book) I. Patroklos Mourned, 1–147 The opening of the book, “So t hese fought on in the likeness of blazing fire” (18.1), continues the action from the last line of the previous book. Antilochos, “a swift-footed” (18.2) messenger, enters the Greek camp with news of Patroklos’ death. Applying Achilles’ own epithet (17.709) to Antilochos emphasizes Achilles’ idleness and feeling of futility for neglecting Patroklos and his other Greek companions, as he confesses to his m other at 18.104. However, Achilles regains the epithet once he reenters the war (18.78, 18.97). Antilochos delivers his news in a tripartite form—foreboding (18.5–14), announcement (18.15–21), and grief (18.22–34). His arrival finds Achilles brooding about events already passed. He wonders why the Greek troops
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are being driven in confusion toward their ships, which brings to mind his m other’s prediction that while he still lived, the best of the Myrmidons would be killed, the only time this particular prophecy is directly and fully recounted in the epic. At 17.408–411, however, Homer informs the reader that Thetis often told her son about Zeus’ plans. Achilles now realizes that Patroklos must be dead, having disregarded his orders to return immediately a fter putting out the fire on Protesilaos’ ship (16.87–90). Entering weeping, Antilochos delivers his devasting news in two lines (18.20–21): Patroklos has fallen, the Greeks are fighting over his naked body, and Hector has taken his armor. The terseness of Antilochos’ message and the fact that the same lines are repeated twice e arlier (Menelaos to Ajax at 17.120–122 and Menelaos to Antilochos at 17.691–693) have an impact on the reader as they do on an inconsolable Achilles. Upon hearing the news, Achilles pours dust over his head and face, and he and his captive women lament Patroklos, while Antilochos holds his hands lest he harm himself. The line at 18.36, “and he himself, mightily in his might, in the dust lay” (used also at the death of the Greek Kebriones at 16.774–776), associates him with his own death, as voiced by Agamemnon’s soul at Od. 24.39–40: “And you in the turning dust lay / Mightily in your might, your h orsemanship all forgotten.” The remainder of the book’s first section cuts to Thetis’ screams of grief in her undersea cavern, once she hears her son’s cries, reminding one of her first appearance at 1.357ff. She is joined in her sorrow by thirty-three of her sister Nereids,15 a common approach of combining an individual and a group to lament a specific figure. Homer repeats this method on three other occasions: at 4.148–154, Agamemnon and his troops mourn Menelaos’ wound; at 6.497–502, Andromache and her handmaidens lament Hector’s return to battle; and at 24.322–328, Hecuba and Priam’s kinsmen bewail the king’s journey to Achilles. Thetis arrives at the Greek camp along with the Nereids in tears, although she can do nothing to alleviate her son’s grief. Nevertheless, she comes to console him, as she does on three other occasions in the Iliad,
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all turning points in the hero’s life. At 1.360–363, she comes to carry his request to Zeus; at 18.73–74, she comes to bring him new armor; and at 24.133–137, she carries Zeus’ edict to Achilles to accept ransom for the return of Hector’s body, even though she knows he w ill never return to the h ouse of Peleus (18.60). Her extreme distress is more in line with Achilles’ death than with that of his friend, which becomes more obvious when Thetis cradles “her son’s head in her arms” (18.71) as if he w ere dead. She laments her son’s own death because she knows it is to follow shortly after Hector’s (18.96). Her unhappiness as a hero’s mother (dusaristotokeia at 18.54) is threefold: Achilles is the best among Greek warriors, he is mortal, and his death is imminent. Patroklos’ death symbolizes not only Achilles’ own death but also his rebirth. Once Achilles loses the armor that identifies him, he is dead until he is reborn in the new numinous armor and shield created by Hephaistos, from which he w ill reemerge as the humane warrior who shows empathy for the f ather whose son he killed. Homeric warriors are often identified by their clothing and weapons, which can define their characters. Telamonian Ajax’s body- long shield represents his steadfastness and immovability, while Agamemnon’s grim shield with the face of the Gorgon represents his overbearing and intimidating nature. In like manner Achilles’ new divine shield will display his godlike qualities when he wields it. Waiting for the new armor, Achilles becomes aware that what he sought from Zeus was granted at the expense of his friend’s life. In losing Patroklos, he comes to realize that he is the one who destroyed him (18.82) and is conscious of the toll his wrath had on his friend and other companions. Thus, saying, “We w ill let all this be a thing of the past” (18.112), he renounces his anger, which he first mentioned to Patroklos at 16.60 and which kept him from taking part in the three b attles fought thus far. Although at 18.125 he says, “I stayed too long out of the fighting,” it is only the sixteenth day since he walked out of the fighting. He now recasts himself as a new Herakles, who, even though dearest of all heroes to Zeus and a near immortal, was also beaten down by fate (18.117–120). Deter-
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mined to track down Hector and accept death whenever the gods will it, Achilles asks his mother not to interfere. Thetis assents and urges him to wait until her return with the new armor from Hephaistos. Sending her sister Nereids back to the sea, she leaves for Olympos. II. Patroklos’ Corpse Recovered, 148–238 The poet returns to 17.722–736 to pick up a scene left unfinished—Menelaos and Meriones’ efforts to remove Patroklos’ corpse from the battlefield. The two warriors, bearing the body back to the ships with the two Aiantes backing them, come against staunch resistance from the Trojans at 18.148. Using the triple repetition formula common in Homer, tris men . . . tris de (18.155–157), which designates unsuccessful attempts, Hector takes hold of Patroklos’ feet three times and is driven back three times by the Aiantes. Undaunted, the Trojan persists like a tawny lion that herdsmen (the Aiantes) are unable to frighten away from the carcass (Patroklos) it craves to satisfy its hunger (18.161–164). Before Hector can drag off Patroklos’ corpse, Hera, unbeknownst to Zeus, sends Iris the messenger god to encourage Achilles to defend his friend’s body. Lacking divine armor to imbue him with strength, Achilles recalls his vow to wait for his m other’s return. Iris suggests he merely show himself before the Trojans. Agreeing, he rises to great fanfare, handled as a spectacular, dramatic moment in an epic film (18.203–214). The goddess Athena casts the aegis around his shoulders and around his head a cloud of gold from which a shining flame radiates. A simile at 18.207–214 compares the glow emanating from Achilles’ head to blazing fires lit by the inhabitants of a raided city for neighboring islanders to see and come to their rescue. The hero, standing by the Greek wall, shouts in a voice amplified by Athena, driving terror among the Trojans. Using the triple repetition formula again, Achilles cries three times across the wall’s ditch and three times routs the Trojans, causing the death of twelve warriors who are crushed in their panic to flee the exalted voice, enabling the Greeks to rescue Patroklos’ body.
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III. Aftermath of the Third B attle, 239–367 As Zeus makes clear in Il. 11 and reaffirms in Il. 17 (see 17.201–208), Hector’s triumph is to last “until the sun goes down and the blessed darkness comes over” at the close of the twenty-sixth day (11.194). Hera, who earlier sent Iris to facilitate Achilles’ appearance, now decides to end the day early. She drives “the unwilling weariless sun god to sink in the depth of the Ocean,” resolved that Hector has achieved all that Zeus promised (18.240). In ending the day early, Hera is mindful of the wishes of Zeus, who decreed only the day’s end without stipulating the time the day would end (but Hera is famous for deceiving Zeus, as Il. 14 makes clear). Thus, the long day’s third battle, which began in Il. 11, now ends along with Hector’s fortunes. The remainder of the book’s third section takes place during the night before the twenty-seventh day and is presented in three major scenes: the Trojan camp at 18.243–314, the Greek camp at 18.315–355, and Zeus and Hera on Olympos at 18.356–367. The Trojans last met in assembly in Il. 8, having driven the Greeks back behind the wall’s ditch. At that time Hector’s suggestion that the army camp on the plain was met with approval. Now Poulydamas tries to persuade Hector to return to the city lest Achilles attack. Hector, overconfident with his progress, refuses his captain’s advice and with the enthusiastic approval of his troops spends the night on the plain, a decision the narrator condemns: “Fools, since Pallas Athene had taken away the wits from them” (18.311). The entire “Trojan camp” scene, which contains the Iliad’s fourth dialogue between Hector and Poulydamas, is yet another example of biē versus mētis and the need to balance both for a positive outcome. The scene introduces Poulydamas and Hector as equals yet opposites, “born on the same night,” for one was “better in words” while the other “with the spear far better” (18.251–252). Throughout their four encounters, Trojan success has been subject to a balance between force (biē) tempered with intelligence (mētis). In the present book, at 18.243–313, Poulydamas’ advice is rejected
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by a Hector who is intoxicated with his battlefield success. He opts for force with a fatal outcome over thoughtful consideration of the situation at hand. Hector’s confidence in his abilities as a warrior is at an all-time high by this point. He is convinced he can win the war and even deal with Achilles: “The war god is impartial. Before now he has killed the killer” (18.309). At 13.726–747, Poulydamas cautions Hector that as a man of force and power, “the god has granted you the actions of warfare” (13.727), but one must also listen to reason. In that instance, Hector accepts his captain’s advice for a positive outcome. At 12.211–229, as Hector’s troops prepare to cross the ditch to the Greek camp, Poulydamas, reading a bird sign, advises Hector against the offensive. Hector, boastful of his breakthroughs, disregards his companion’s advice, which leads to Greek resistance. Earlier in Il. 12, his fellow Trojan advises leaving the horses behind while attempting to cross the ditch to the Greek camp for a fast retreat, if needed (12.61–79). Hector agrees and the Trojans profit as a result of his counsel. As the Trojans sit to supper, the scene cuts to a Greek camp full of lamentations for Patroklos (18.314–355). A simile at 18.318–323, disclosing Achilles’ guilt at the loss of his friend, compares him to a lion searching for his lost cubs. Patroklos is again portrayed as a child (the cubs) whose father (lion/Achilles) neglected his safety and lost him to the Trojans (the deer hunter). The hero comes to understand that Zeus’ ways are not always fathomable to mortals. He boastfully vows to obtain both Hector’s head and armor before cremating Patroklos along with twelve young Trojans, the only instance of a human sacrifice in the Iliad. Although the sacrifice is carried out, Homer seems to condemn it as evil at 23.176: “Evil were the thoughts in his [Achilles’] heart against them [the twelve Trojan youths].” The scene ends with the reverent care shown Patroklos’ corpse that is displayed also in Sarpedon’s case (16.676–683). In a short and light-hearted scene at 18.356–367, mortal suffering is left b ehind while Homer conveys his audience to Olympos, where Zeus and Hera briefly comment on the goings-on below. Impassively, Zeus notes that Hera has aroused Achilles against the Trojans, and she responds,
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“How could I not weave sorrows for the men of Troy, when I hate them?” (18.367). For the gods, men’s suffering is a game, whose attitude contrasts starkly with the lamentations in progress and the inevitable deaths to come. IV. The Shield of Achilles, 368–616 The remainder of Il. 18 (40% of the total) deals with Thetis’ visit to Hephaistos (18.368–467) and the making of Achilles’ shield (18.468–616). She arrives at the god’s forge to ask for new armor for her son and is greeted by Charis (embodied Grace), Hephaistos’ present wife. His usual consort, to whom he is married in the Odyssey, Aphrodite, is not suitable h ere, since her pro-Trojan stance would make Thetis’ presence awkward. The god immediately greets Thetis as his savior because she rescued him when his m other, Hera, threw him off Olympos out of embarrassment for his lameness. Caught by Thetis and Eurynome, mother of the Graces and his mother-in- law (her only appearance in the Iliad), he served them as a smith secreted from the other gods for nine years. He is now anxious to return the favor by granting Thetis’ e very wish. This version of Hephaistos’ story (featured only in the present book) indebted him to her and provides a mythical precedent for his willingness to create Achilles’ divine armor. In Il. 1, while consoling his mother, Hephaistos presents another variant of the same myth, the only time in the Iliad that the same myth appears in two different versions. In the e arlier variant, Hephaistos is thrown off Olympos by Zeus for interfering in his attempts to chastise Hera. He falls for an entire day, landing on Lemnos, whose inhabitants care for him (1.590–594). In the present book, Thetis asks repayment for a favor, the same ploy she used when seeking honor for her son at 1.503–504. The f avor she sought then was payment for freeing Zeus from the shackles of the Olympian gods who were bent on deposing him (1.396–404), but a second and perhaps more important reason for Zeus’ willingness to grant her favor is hinted at 18.432–434. Thetis acknowledges that Zeus gave her in marriage to a mortal against her wishes, the cause of her sorrow in giving birth to a mortal. Homer, however, does not explain why Zeus forced her to marry
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Peleus, although it seems he is aware of the myth b ehind the god’s motive. Tradition has it that Zeus desired Thetis but was warned that his u nion with her would produce a son who would depose him. Fearing that he might be replaced by his son as he replaced his f ather and as his f ather before him replaced his father, Zeus has Thetis marry Peleus, whose offspring, a mortal, would not threaten his throne.16 Grieving for her son, Thetis now requests her f avor, and she outlines for Hephaistos the reasons for the new armor, summarizing the Iliad narrative thus far (18.436–457), as Achilles summarized for her the events leading to his wrath (1.366–392). In Achilles’ summary, he replaced Apollo’s wrath for the disrespect shown his priest Chryses with his own wrath for the disrespect Agamemnon voiced against him. Thetis, however, replaces Achilles’ anger toward Agamemnon with the vengeance he seeks against Hector, presenting her son in a more favorable light. She accuses Agamemnon of wresting from Achilles his honor by denying him Briseis, who was awarded him by the Greek army. Achilles’ love for her impeded his fighting for the Greeks even though he was offered gifts. He then sent Patroklos in his place to aid the army, but Apollo killed him as he was about to storm Troy, and the Trojans stripped him of his armor. Thetis neglects mention of the Greek defeat in Il. 11–15, and she makes Patroklos Achilles’ surrogate immediately a fter the Greek embassy. Thus, although Hector claims credit for Patroklos’ defeat, it is Apollo who is the true motivator for his death and for the g reat damage perpetrated on the Greeks. Pitying Thetis’ dilemma, Hephaistos is ready to begin work on a shield, a helmet, two greaves, and a corselet, dismissing constructing a spear, since Patroklos, unable to wield Achilles’ Pelian ash spear, left it behind. But before the god begins his l abor, Homer provides a tour of the divine blacksmith’s surrealistic workspace. In his artisan shop, the god is working on twenty tripods with golden wheels, which “of their own motion . . . could wheel into the immortal gathering and return to his house” (18.376–377). His female servants are made of gold but resemble
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living young w omen who possess speech, intelligence, and strength (18.417–420), and his twenty bellows are intelligent robots, which anticipate his every wish (18.470–473). The final phase of Il. 18 is the creation of the shield itself (18.468–616), without which Achilles cannot win kleos esthlon (good fame), for the true warrior needs the artisan Hephaistos (mētis) to buttress his strength (biē). For the next 130 lines, the reader is treated to commentary on a surrealistic visual work of art (an ekphrasis) in which Hephaistos’ illustrations on Achilles’ shield often come alive. The god endows t hese pictures with movement and sound and gives the figures in them intelligence, speech, and action. The round shield is composed of four different metals—bronze, tin, gold, and silver—but unlike Agamemnon’s shield at 11.32–37 and the Aegis of Zeus at 5.738–742, which both depict the Gorgon with her frightful stare, along with images of Fear, Terror, Hatred, B attle Strength, and Onslaught, Achilles’ shield consists of four concentric circles and an outer rim representing the river Ocean flowing around it. On the shield the god places a panoramic crane shot of the heavens, which descends slowly to the earth, focusing on two states of man: at peace and at war. The poet first describes a city at peace, which, like his similes, lifts readers from the turmoil of the Iliad’s battles and place them in a world as it should be before plunging them back into a world devastated by war. He uses the same technique at 22.145–156, where Achilles pursues the doomed Hector around the walls of Troy, setting the focus on the places the Trojans enjoyed at a time of peace: the fig tree, the well springs, and the washing hollows where Trojan wives washed their clothes in peacetime. The shield’s four circles are delineated as follows. I. Circle One (The Shield’s Innermost Circle; 483–489) The innermost circle contains depictions of the four elements—earth, sea, sun, and sky (moon and stars)—and four constellations: Pleiades, Hyades, Orion, and Arctos (a.k.a. Bear, Wagon).
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II. Circle Two: Urban Life (490–540) A. City at Peace (490–508) The two static scenes carved into the divine shield become animated with conversation, m usic, and movement. The first, a description of a wedding procession, comes to life with the sounds of flutes, dancing, and the sounds of merriment as a bride is led from her chambers through the streets, admired by women watching from b ehind closed doors. In the second, a tableau of the lawful settlement of a blood feud comes alive: people mingling at a marketplace, two men disputing the price of a man killed, people commenting on the dispute, heralds controlling the crowds, elders hearing the case, and the two men anxiously taking turns defending their points of view. As in the embassy scene of Il. 9, the dispute in the city at peace is about compensation, whereas in the city at war it is about booty. B. City at War (509–540) In this scene, a fourth of the entire ekphrasis, Homer summarizes the Trojan War. As in the previous tableau, the images come alive and the reader is drawn into the action as it unfolds. A walled city (Troy) is besieged by an invading army (the Greeks); some inhabitants (the p eople of Troy) march out of the city to ambush e nemy herdsmen (the Greeks). A b attle between two armies (Greeks and Trojans) ensues, with the participation of the gods and Eris (Strife), Kudoimos (Confusion), and Thanatos. The warriors on either side cast their spears, blood is shed, and loud cries are heard as mortals, gods, and personified abstractions “all closed together like living men” (18.539). Ares and Athena are made of gold, “beautiful and huge in their armor,” while the people around them “were smaller” (18.518–519). Even in the shield’s images immortals tower over the smaller figures of mortal men, exposing their insignificance before the natural forces that surround them. III. Circle Three: Rural Life; Country Life Activities (541–589) A. Spring: Scenes of Sowing (541–549) While tilling, plowmen come to life when a man offers them wine at one end of the field before they turn
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to repeat the process. The narrator intercedes to inform the reader that although the earth looked plowed, “it was gold. Such was the wonder of the shield’s forging” (18.549). ere picture laborers B. Summer: Scenes of Reaping (550–560) Images h harvesting while their king watches them silently; a short distance away a meal is prepared. As in a documentary film, the reader is eyewitness to scenes of sickles cutting sheaves of grain, men binding and stacking the swaths, heralds butchering an ox and preparing the meat, and women busy with the remainder of the laborers’ supper. C. Autumn: Scenes of Wine Harvest (561–572) Hephaistos creates a gold vineyard laden with grapes whose vines are propped on silver poles. Around the vineyard he places a ditch in blue enamel surrounded by a tin fence. Once described, the static scene becomes animated like a still portrait in a film that is suddenly given life. Pickers gather grapes, young girls and boys place the harvest in baskets while shouting joyfully and singing to the accompaniment of a boy playing a lyre and singing the Linus song, the work of the mythical musician and god of vegetation, Linus, who was killed by Apollo for claiming to rival him in song. D. Winter: Scenes of Bucolic Life (573–589) The narrator returns to an ekphrasis of Hephaistos’ work: c attle wrought of gold and tin and herdsmen of gold. The picture is given movement, sound, and voice—c attle lowing and hurrying to pasture next to a murmuring river; two lions dragging a bellowing bull; dogs and men pursuing the lions; the lions gulping the bull’s entrails to the commotion of barking dogs and herdsmen watching helplessly. The scene is frozen again so the narrator can continue his ekphrasis of the shield and of Hephaistos creating a pasture with farmyards and sheep, roofed shelters, and sheepfolds.
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IV. Circle Four: A Dancing Floor (590–605) Hephaistos shapes a dancing floor like that of Daedalus at Knosos, the only reference to a dance floor attributed to Daedalus, who was known for building King Minos’ labyrinth that h oused the Minotaur, which the hero Theseus killed with the aid of Minos’ daughter Ariadne (a story Homer does not include). On it he places young p eople dancing, along with spectators and two acrobats (18.590–605). The only simile in the ekphrasis, at 18.599–601, compares the slow movement of the dancers’ feet to a potter testing his wheel, thus visualizing the circular movement of the dancers. The remaining narration highlights the movements of the characters engaged and their elaborate raiment. V. Circle Four’s Outermost Rim: Ocean (606–607) As in a film crane shot, the poet pans upward to reveal the scene below, a microcosm of the world with the river Ocean flowing around the shield’s outer rim. Patroklos is dead, Hector is about to die, and Achilles w ill eventually follow both. The world, however, will continue as before, and all traces of the Trojan conflict w ill disappear except what is recorded in the Iliad. The shield shows mortal life beyond that depicted in the Iliad narrative, yet the shield is within the narrative of Achilles. It not only brings to life the still images of everyday existence represented on the shield but freezes them for eternity, as in John Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn.” Following the shield’s creation, Hephaistos finishes the remainder of Achilles’ new armor in five lines (18.608–612) and places the shield in Thetis’ hands, and she, like a hawk, swoops from Olympos to deliver it to her son. Selected Bibliography: Il. 18 Alden, Homer beside Himself, 48–73. Alden, “Lions in Paradise.” Alexander, Iliad. Andersen, “Some Thoughts.” Anhalt, Enraged, 80–114.
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Auden, “Shield of Achilles.” Becker, Shield of Achilles, 87–150. Becker, “Shield of Achilles.” Brann, “Hephaestus’ World.” Byre, “Narrative Description.” Collins, Derek, Immortal Armor. Coray, Homer’s “Iliad” XVIII. de Jong, “Shield of Achilles.” Duethorn, Achilles’ Shield. Edwards, Mark W., “Character and Style.” Edwards, Mark W., Homer. Edwards, Mark W., “Some Stylistic Notes.” Fagles, Homer. Fowler, D. P., “Narrate and Describe.” Francis, “Metal Maidens.” Frazer, Reading of the “Iliad.” Graves, Anger of Achilles. Green, Iliad. Hammond, “Scene in Iliad.” Hannah, “Constellations.” Hardie, “Imago Mundi.” Hogan, Guide to the “Iliad.” Hubbard, “Nature and Art.” Jones, Homer’s “Iliad.” Kelly, Adrian, “Mourning of Thetis.” Lattimore, “Iliad” of Homer. Lonsdale, “Dancing Floor.” Lynn-George, “Relationship.” McAuslan and Walcot, Homer. McCrorie, Homer. McLeod, “The Bow.” Michalopoulos, Homer.
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Mitchell, Iliad. Mueller, Iliad, 62–64. Murray, Homer: Iliad, Books 13–24. Owen, Story of the “Iliad.” Postlethwaite, “Hephaistos’ Theos aoidos.” Postlethwaite, Homer’s “Iliad.” Pötscher, “Charis und Aphrodite.” Powell, Homer. Powell, Iliad. Rabel, Plot. Rabel, “Shield of Achilles.” Reck, Homer. Revermann, “Text of Iliad.” Segal, Theme of Mutilation, 57–71. Solmsen, “Ilias.” Stanley, Shield of Homer, 186–192. Stansbury-O’Donnell, “Reading Pictorial Narrative.” Stephens, “Linus Song.” Taplin, “Shield of Achilles.” Verity, Homer. West, M. L., Making of the “Iliad.” Westbrook, “Trial Scene.” Willcock, Companion to the “Iliad.”
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chapter 5
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THE FOURTH BATTLE: IL. 19–23 (DAY TWENTY-SEVEN)
Book 19 Generally known as “Renunciation of the Wrath” (Mēnidos aporrēsis), Il. 19 is devoted to the end of Achilles’ wrath, his reconciliation with Agamemnon, and the beginning of his revenge theme. It opens, like Il. 1, with the summoning of the Greeks to an assembly by Achilles (1.54), and like that book it contains one of the highest proportions of direct speech in the epic (the highest proportion of direct discourse is in Il. 9, 82%; followed by Il. 19, 64%; and Il. 1, 61%). In one of the Iliad’s longest instances of delayed action, the long-awaited encounter between Achilles and Hector does not occur u ntil 1,500 lines later, in Il. 21. Further, Il. 19 begins the attle on the twenty-seventh day initial stage of the Iliad’s fourth and final b of the narrative. The book can be read in four sections: I. Thetis delivers Hephaistos’ divine armor (9% of book) II. Achilles and Agamemnon’s reconciliation (57% of book) III. Lamenting Patroklos (18% of book) IV. Battle preparations (16% of book) I. Thetis Delivers Hephaistos’ Divine Armor, 1–39 Thetis returns from Olympos with Achilles’ new armor just as the new day dawns. Eos (Dawn) on this occasion rises from “the river of Ocean” (19.1), 244
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associating Thetis (whose home is Ocean) with Eos, who similarly brought armor to her son Memnon in the Aithiopis (Nagler, Spontaneity and Tradition, 141–143). As Thetis sets the armor before Achilles, “trembling took hold of all the Myrmidons” (19.14). Although the shield depicts none of the horrors of Athena’s and Agamemnon’s shields, which feature the Gorgon’s head, its divine brilliance still terrifies those who look upon it. Only Achilles is immune to its power, since it was created specifically for him. Once his gaze falls on the shield, however, the god of war enters both him and his armor as in Patroklos’ and Hector’s case when they previously donned Achilles’ divine armor. Achilles’ anger comes “harder upon him,” and he is happy with Hephaistos’ gift and anxious to do b attle (19.16). Before arming, Achilles expresses concern for Patroklos’ unattended body, which he fears will decompose. His mother assures him that she will preserve it with nectar and ambrosia, the food of the gods, which in this instance serves as embalming fluid. Bestowing her son with courage and strength and using the same word that begins the Iliad, mēnin (19.35), Thetis entreats him to put an end to his anger and call the Greeks to assembly for battle preparations. But Achilles is not ready for social reintegration; he is bent on revenge for his fallen companion. II. Achilles and Agamemnon’s Reconciliation, 40–281 Even helmsmen and stewards, who previously remained on the ships, now attend the assembly. They come to greet Achilles, who stayed away “so long from the sorrowful battle” (19.46). The three wounded heroes from Il. 11, Agamemnon, Diomedes, and Odysseus, who since have not had a role to play in the epic and who w ill no longer be involved in the fighting, appear after the masses have gathered. In this second assembly called by Achilles, Diomedes and Odysseus come limping and leaning on spears, “since they had the pain of their wounds yet upon them” (19.49). It is of note that although all three heroes were wounded on day twenty-six in Il. 11 and are still in pain, they are well enough to attend and participate in Patroklos’ funeral games on day twenty-seven in Il. 23. Agamemnon, the principal
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figure in this episode, enters last. His and Odysseus’ roles in the ensuing dialogue w ill take center stage, with Odysseus playing the part of Nestor as the thoughtful counselor. Diomedes remains silent throughout the episode. Agamemnon’s entrance is prefaced with the wound he received from Koön in Il. 11, although no further details are given concerning it. Of the three wounds in question, Agamemnon’s was probably the least serious. He was stabbed with a spear underneath the elbow, which did not prevent him from killing his attacker at 11.251–261, nor later, at 14.134, from leading his troops to battle. Diomedes’ and Odysseus’ wounds in the right heel (11.377–378) and in the ribs (11.436–438), respectively, hindered further fighting on their parts. Achilles is the first to rise to address the troops. In his speech at 19.56–73, he summarizes past events, renounces his wrath (19.67), and calls for an immediate assault on the Trojans. In hindsight, he wishes Artemis had killed Briseis rather than allow her to cause dissension between him and Agamemnon and to be the cause of so many Greek deaths. He requests command of the army without further delay, bringing to completion two of the Iliad’s storylines—t he wrath of Achilles and Zeus’ pledge to Thetis. Achilles’ speech is low key, heartfelt, expressive of sorrow for the Greek deaths, and accepting of equal responsibility with Agamemnon. He is willing to put the past b ehind him and move forward. Agamemnon’s response that follows is labored and almost four times longer than Achilles’ speech (19.78–144). He addresses the hero “from the place where he was sitting, and did not stand up among them” (19.77), breaking the usual protocol for delivery, which requires standing before one’s audience, good manners observed also on Olympos when Zeus enters and is greeted by the other gods (see 1.533–535); the same is also true in Hera’s case (see 15.85–86). We might consider a number of reasons why Agamemnon does not rise, but none are completely satisfactory. The most obvious is his injury, a seemingly minor one, which did not cause undue distress or prevent him from fighting in Il. 14. One can assume, then, that
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he does not rise as a way of safeguarding his position as commander in chief from Achilles, who is now vying for the leadership of the army. Using his injury as an excuse, he allows Achilles temporary leadership without diminishing his authority as commander (19.139). Achilles seems to return the command of the troops to him at 23.156–158, but he is still in charge when he promises Priam a truce u ntil after Hector’s burial. Agamemnon’s speech is in three parts. He begins with a short introduction imploring his audience to listen in silence (19.78–84). In his somewhat ambiguous initial remarks, he tries to justify his delivery from a sitting position, at the same time taking a swipe at Achilles for having the advantage to speak standing before his audience. Although he is aware of the difficulties of making one’s voice heard over the deafening sound of the troops, it is harder when one is seated of necessity. Since his injury requires that he remain seated, he demands greater attention and w ill speak directly to Achilles, whom he addresses in the third person. Agamemnon might be alluding to 1.293–294, when Achilles, in anger, interrupted the king’s response to Nestor. A long section follows in which Agamemnon blames Atē (Delusion) for his anger, admitting he was rightfully reproached for his actions against Achilles, but blames Zeus for confounding his judgment; it was Zeus’ daughter Atē who led him astray (19.85–138). In a digression at 19.96–133, a micro-narrative on Herakles’ birth within the macro-narrative of the epic, Agamemnon justifies his anger t oward Achilles by comparing himself to Zeus, who was also deluded by Hera. In the micro-narrative the commander narrates how Zeus was duped by his wife Hera so that the “lord over all t hose dwelling about him” would go to the first born of his generation (19.105). Thus, instead of the first born being the intended Herakles, Hera saw to it that Herakles’ cousin Eurystheus was born earlier.1 Zeus, deceived by Atē through Hera’s cleverness, had to witness the greater man under the servitude of the lesser Eurystheus, who imposed twelve labors on the hero to be carried out as penance for having killed his three children in a fit of madness. Homer mentions only one of the twelve l abors—overcoming Cerberus (8.363–368).
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This digression could be taken as an obvious parallel to Achilles, the superior warrior, who must serve u nder the command of an inferior, Agamemnon (see Nestor’s comment to Agamemnon at 9.109–111 and Achilles’ comment to Thetis at 1.411–412). A fter Hera’s ruse, Zeus hurled Atē from Olympos forever to plague mortals like Agamemnon, who now admits his madness and is “willing to make all good and give back gifts [apoina] in abundance” (19.138). Agamemnon uses the word apoina (ransom, compensation), to which Achilles strenuously objects (see discussion in Il. 9). However, two lines later, at 19.140, and thereafter, he is careful to use dōra (gifts). Agamemnon concludes his speech by bidding Achilles lead the army against the Trojans, but requests that he wait until the promised gifts are brought from his ship (19.139–144). Achilles’ mind is on vengeance, however, so he is e ager to fight. No longer interested in Agamemnon’s gifts, he urges immediate action. Odysseus interrupts first to restrain Achilles u ntil the army is fed, and second to urge Agamemnon to apologize publicly by giving the promised gifts to Achilles in front of the army. This request further delays Achilles’ return to b attle, increasing the suspense of his long-awaited duel with Hector. In a rational appeal, Odysseus insists that Agamemnon publicly fulfill four conditions (19.171–183). He must return the promised gifts to Achilles in a public display and swear an oath before the army that he did not have sexual relations with Briseis. Afterward, he must prepare a banquet in his quarters to honor Achilles, and he must promise to be more rational and just in any f uture relations with his men. Odysseus’ demands imply that it is Achilles’ duty to his companions and to his warrior society to abide by their customs and postpone his desire for immediate revenge. Agamemnon further insinuates that Achilles himself should eat before going to battle (as Achilles insists that Priam eat before receiving the body of his son in Il. 24). Agamemnon readily agrees with Odysseus and begs for time to execute three conditions. First, Achilles and all assembled should be present when the promised gifts are brought for display. Agamemnon is remorseful but
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still resents Achilles. The fact that he contrasts his wounded condition with Achilles’ lack of one can be seen as a negative comment on Achilles’ absence from the last three battles. Agamemnon’s wound allows the king to save face when he hands his command over to a subordinate, since he is hamstrung from participating in the offensive. Second, Odysseus and warriors of his choosing are to be responsible for securing the gifts. The fact that Agamemnon prefers Odysseus fetch the gifts and is unwilling to do so himself shows his discomfort before Achilles. Third, Talthybios should make ready a sacrificial boar to be dedicated to Zeus and Helios. Agamemnon seems determined to show that he is repentant for his past actions and to put forward a positive public face. Achilles continues to insist that the suggested ceremonies and the feeding of the army should be delayed u ntil a fter he attacks the Trojans. He w ill neither eat nor drink u ntil he has avenged Patroklos. He longs for only one t hing, “blood . . . slaughter, and the groaning of men” (19.214). Using diplomacy and flattery, Odysseus persuades Achilles to allow the army to eat (although Achilles abstains), and with a select few, which include Nestor’s two sons, Meges, Meriones, Thoas, Lykomedes, and Melanippos (in his only appearance in the epic),2 he leaves for Agamemnon’s ship and in no time returns with the gifts, which are displayed in front of the troops. The new gifts, with few exceptions, are basically the same as t hose offered Achilles by the embassy at 9.122–156. Included is Briseis, among seven other w omen slaves from Lesbos, without comment on their beauty or talents (see 9.128–134). There is no mention of the quality of the twelve horses promised (see 9.123–127), nor is anything said about a distribution of spoils from a defeated Troy (see 9.135–138). The earlier promise of twenty Trojan slave women is withdrawn (see 9.139–140), as is marriage to one of Agamemnon’s daughters with a dowry of seven citadels (see 9.141–156). Once the gifts are exhibited, Agamemnon stands up, dedicates the sacrificial boar to Zeus and Helios, and swears an oath that he never laid hands on Briseis (we merely have his word for it). Except for his brief appearance at Patroklos’ funeral games in Il. 23, this oath is Agamemnon’s
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last hurrah. As Achilles steps forward, Agamemnon drifts out of the Iliad. Concluding that all that transpired was due to Zeus’ will, and submitting to tradition, Achilles disbands the assembly and sends the troops to dinner while the Myrmidons deliver the gifts to his ship. III. Lamenting Patroklos, 282–355 This section consists primarily of two mourning speeches, one by Briseis (19.287–300), her only discourse in the Iliad, and Achilles’ lament (19.315–337), which together absorb half of the episode’s total lines. Both lamentations are similar in structure and topic. In each case the bereaved, recalling some happy past moment, mourns the deceased. Briseis remembers Patroklos alive but returns to find him dead (19.287–290). Achilles recollects Patroklos preparing dinner and is unable to eat although food is placed in front of him (19.315–321). In each case, present grief is also compared to a past sorrow for one’s late relatives. Briseis recalls her previous rothers, all killed by Achilles during his assault husband3 and her three b on Lyrnessos, where she was taken captive (19.291–294). Her backstory is that of all captive women in the Iliad, who, once captured, become slaves to be traded among the warriors, or in some cases become concubines or even wives of their captors. The fate of captive w omen recalls Hector’s greatest fear that once he is killed, Andromache w ill have to serve another, “when some bronze-armored / Achaian leads you off, taking away your day of liberty” (6.454–455). Beyond the Iliad narrative, Hector’s uneasiness becomes fact; Andromache w ill be enslaved first by Neoptolemos, Achilles’ son, and a fter his death Helenos, Hector’s b rother, and according to tradition she w ill bear c hildren for each of her captors. Achilles, who admits that his grief for his friend is greater than that elicited by the loss of father or son (19.322–333), is also mindful of his family, although “his child” is alluded to only once in the Iliad, by Hermes at 24.467.4 It is of note that the only reference in the Iliad in which Helen is characterized negatively by a Greek comes from Achilles while lamenting Patroklos, as he regrets making war on the Trojans “for the sake of accursed
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Helen” (19.125). Both Briseis and Achilles also recall f uture dreams and hopes shattered by the deceased. Patroklos had promised Briseis marriage to Achilles once back in Phthia, his home in southern Thessaly (19.295–299). In turn Achilles was hopeful that, a fter his own death, Patroklos would be alive to return Neoptolemos to Phthia from Skyros and show him all his father’s possessions (19.328–333). Briseis weeps for Patroklos for the kindness he showed her (19.300), while Achilles weeps for his father, whom he believes either dead or waiting to hear of his only son’s demise (19.334–337). As Briseis cries for Patroklos, each of the w omen around her grieves also “for her own sorrows” (19.301–303). Similarly, while Achilles mourns for his f ather and Patroklos, the elders around him lament their own losses (19.338–339). Observing the mourners from Olympos, Zeus pities Achilles, who refuses his companions’ pleas to eat u ntil the day’s end (19.308). Athena, complying with her f ather’s wishes, descends to place ambrosia and nectar “inside the breast of Achilles” (19.353). Since the same method was used to embalm Patroklos, the gods are keeping Achilles alive, but at the same time, we might assume, are embalming him for his own imminent death. IV. Battle Preparations, 356–424 As Athena leaves Achilles to return to Olympos, the poet provides a panoramic view of the Greek army marching out for the Iliad’s fourth and final battle. A simile at 19.357–361 compares the multitude of helmets and shields streaming out from the Greek ships to the flutter of snowflakes falling thick and fast on earth. The silence of the falling snow, which obliterates the landscape, again contrasts with the deafening sounds of shouts and thunder of marching soldiers. In their midst, Achilles, full of rage, begins to arm. The remainder of this section is devoted to Achilles’ arming for b attle, the most elaborate arming scene in the Iliad. Included are Achilles’ divine horses, which are given h uman voice to predict his approaching death. As he prepares for battle, Achilles’ teeth gnash, his eyes gleam like fire, and he
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feels an unbearable pain in his heart—all signs of his anger toward Hector and his sorrow over Patroklos. Once the arming is u nder way (greaves, corselet, sword, shield, helmet, and Pelian spear, in that order), Homer selectively highlights some of his attire. The shield is described in a simile at 19.375–380, which compares its brilliance to that of a mountain fire blazing as a guide to sailors struggling for their lives in a storm-tossed sea, signaling Achilles’ return to safely lead the Greeks to victory after their prolonged efforts to take Troy. His Hephaistos-inspired helmet also shines like a star, acting as a beacon for the Greek forces as they swarm the Trojan plain. Homer inserts three verses at 19.384–386 that portray the new armor’s perfect and uplifting snugness as if Achilles has sprouted wings while wearing it, transporting him to the realms of the gods. Fully dressed, Achilles takes up Peleus’ Pelian spear, which only he can wield. Like Hephaistos’ divine shield, the Pelian spear was the work of the semidivine Cheiron (son of the Titan Kronos and the Oceanid Philyra). Automedon and Alkimos (a shortened form of Alkimedon, who in 17.429ff. handled the divine h orses that carried Patroklos to his death) now yoke the horses and prepare the chariot Achilles w ill mount and Automedon w ill control. Once Achilles has mounted his chariot, he addresses the two divine horses, Xanthos and Balios, which Peleus received from Poseidon at his marriage to Thetis. The offspring of Podarge, a Harpy, and Zephyros, the god of the West Wind, the horses are reprimanded by Achilles for neglecting Patroklos, and he beseeches them for his own safe return. Xanthos, given human voice by Hera, assures Achilles of his safety for this day but predicts his death. Achilles, disturbed by Xanthos’ prophecy, acknowledges that his life will end in Troy, but he will continue to fight until “the Trojans have had enough of my fighting” (19.423). With these words, he lashes the h orses to bolt to the forefront. Selected Bibliography: Il. 19 Alexander, Iliad. Anhalt, Enraged, 80–114.
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Clay, “Agamemnon’s Stance.” Coray, Homer’s “Iliad” XIX. Davidson, “Indo-European Dimensions.” Dietrich, “Xanthus’ Prediction.” Edwards, Mark W., Homer. Edwards, Mark W., Iliad. Fagles, Homer. Fitzgerald, Iliad. Frazer, Reading of the “Iliad.” Graves, Anger of Achilles. Green, Iliad. Haslam, “4452.” Hogan, Guide to the “Iliad.” Hull, Homer’s “Iliad.” Johnston, “Xanthus, Hera.” Jones, Homer’s “Iliad.” Jordan, Homer. Lattimore, “Iliad” of Homer. Martinez, “Achilleus’ Vow of Abstinence.” McAuslan and Walcot, Homer. McCrorie, Homer. Merrill, Iliad. Mitchell, Iliad. Murray, Homer: Iliad, Books 13–24. Nagy, Ancient Greek Hero. Owen, Story of the “Iliad.” Postlethwaite, Homer’s “Iliad.” Powell, Homer. Powell, Iliad. Rabel, Plot, 163–209. Reck, Homer. Scully, “Reading the Shield.”
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Stanley, Shield of Homer, 192–199. Verity, Homer. West, M. L., Making of the “Iliad.” Whitman and Scodel, “Sequence and Simultaneity.” Willcock, Companion to the “Iliad.” Book 20 attle of the Gods” (Theomachia) but also referred Il. 20, known as “The B to as “The Glory of Achilles” and “The Aeneid,” begins with Achilles’ ntil the death of Hector in Il. 22. At the end of aristeia, which continues u the previous book, the Greek hero, armed in Hephaistos’ divine armor, drives his chariot in pursuit of the Trojans, who at the same time in the first four lines of Il. 20 are preparing to attack the Greeks. This fourth and final b attle of the Iliad closely parallels the epic’s first, “the glory of Diomedes.” The main purpose of the book’s three divisions is to expand the action and delay the final confrontation between Achilles and Hector in order to heighten the climactic effect of this long-awaited encounter. Over half of the book is devoted to Achilles’ first clash with a Trojan warrior. Since the main hero’s first opponent must be a Trojan of substance, Aeneas, a warrior second only to Hector, is chosen for the face-off. The oral poet, however, cannot break tradition and have Aeneas killed. Thus, Achilles’ superiority is displayed not in a first kill but in driving off a hero inspired by Apollo and rescued by Poseidon. The book’s three divisions are as follows: I. Zeus’ assembly of the gods (15% of book) II. Achilles versus Aeneas (55% of book) III. Achilles versus Hector: first encounter (30% of book) I. Zeus’ Assembly of the Gods, 4–74 The council of the gods, which is the counterpart of Zeus’ council at 8.5– 27, abruptly interrupts Achilles’ entrance into battle. At the previous
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council, Zeus prohibited the gods from assisting e ither Greeks or Trojans. In the present council, he removes this prohibition and gives the gods f ree rein to assist whomever they desire. The fact that Zeus calls a “divine” council is underscored by his sending Themis, the goddess of law and social order, who presides over divine assemblies, rather than Iris, the messenger of the gods, to request the presence of all divinities, including all rivers and nymphs. The purpose of the assembly is to prepare the reader for the theomachia (war of the gods), which begins at 20.31–40 but breaks off ten lines later at 20.41–43 to return to Achilles, whose presence sends the Trojans into a panic. The poet then cuts back to the gods taking sides and returns to Achilles’ encounter with Aeneas at 20.79–80; the theomachia proper w ill not resume again until 21.385–513. Beginning the theomachia in Il. 20 enhances the glory of Achilles, for the gods’ participation on the battlefield is needed to control Achilles’ anger lest he attack Troy before it is time. So mighty is his fury that Zeus fears he might storm the city and go against destiny itself. It also helps save Trojans from imminent slaughter by having the gods decelerate Achilles’ aggression. Although Zeus admits he w ill remain on Olympos “sitting still, watching, to plea sure my heart” (20.23), he nevertheless feels compassion for all those d ying below. The text is not clear, however, how he can experience both pity and enjoyment at mortal suffering; he most likely means that he pities man but w ill amuse himself watching the gods quarreling. The gods pair off in preparation for their engagement at 21.385–390. Five favor the Greeks (Hera, Athena, Poseidon, Hermes, and Hephaistos) and six the Trojans (Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Leto, Xanthos/Scamander, and Aphrodite). 1. Poseidon versus Apollo (20.67–68 and 21.435–469). 2. Athena versus Ares/Enyalius (20.69 and 21.391–414). 3. Hera versus Artemis (20.70–71and 21.479–496). 4. Hermes versus Leto (20.72 and 21.497–501). 5. Hephaistos versus Xanthos/Scamander (20.73–74 and 21.342–360).
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Once the theomachia gets u nder way in Il. 21, the gods not only cause the two warring sides to collide, but they also provoke strife against each other. Only Aphrodite remains unaffiliated, perhaps having learned her lesson after Diomedes wounded her and she ran to Zeus in tears (see 5.334–343). II. Achilles versus Aeneas, 75–352 The Achilles-Aeneas encounter is presented in four dialogues. In the first, between Apollo and Aeneas at 20.75–111, the narrator leaves the Olympian gods as they face off against each other, although nothing comes of their coercions until Il. 21. The poet turns to Achilles, who is anxious to come face-to-face with Hector. Apollo, however, in the likeness of Priam’s bastard son Lykaon,5 last mentioned at 3.333, sways Aeneas to challenge the hero instead. A god questioning why a hero is not fighting and persuading him to enter the b attle is a common occurrence in the Iliad (see Athena and Diomedes at 5.793–830, Poseidon and Idomeneus at 13.231–238, Apollo and Hector at 15.243–259, and Athena and Menelaos at 17.553–559). It is also a delaying tactic to build suspense. Further, it allows a major Trojan warrior to inaugurate Achilles’ aristeia. The encounter is built on the model of Diomedes’ engagement with Aeneas at 5.297–351. In both cases a god saves Aeneas—Apollo rescues him at 5.445–446, and Poseidon rescues him in the present situation. In both we have the frivolous antics of the gods, and both clashes are followed with a major scene in which each of the main contenders comes up against yet another major hero (Diomedes encounters Glaukos, and Achilles encounters Hector). Aeneas is bewildered why Lykaon (Apollo disguised) urges him to stand up to Achilles, since in his last confrontation with the hero, he would have been killed had Zeus not intervened. This is in reference to Achilles’ sack of Lyrnessus (20.86–92; see also 2.690–693), where he captures Briseis and drives Aeneas from Ida (Achilles refers to this raid and to Aeneas again later at 20.188–194). According to Aeneas, challenging Achilles is unfeasible for two reasons. First, he always has a god at his side, and second, even without a god’s help, his spear always finds its mark. However, upon
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deliberation, Aeneas harbors the hope that if all things are equal, he might have a chance against the Greek. This triggers Apollo’s response that other Aeneas is the son of a major goddess, Aphrodite,6 whereas Achilles’ m is Thetis, a lesser goddess. Bolstered by the god’s observation, Aeneas prepares to brave an encounter with Achilles. In the second dialogue, at 20.112–155, Hera, detecting Aeneas on his way to meet Achilles, complains to Poseidon and Athena that Apollo’s interference requires their attention. They must protect the Greek hero from harm u ntil his appointed time determined at birth, a reference to Fate as aisa, the portion of life assigned to each individual at birth (20.127), more commonly referred to as moira, controlled by “the Spinners,” Moirai—Clotho (spins), Lachesis (measures), and Atropos (cuts)—who spin a “portion” of thread of a certain length for each individual at birth corresponding to one’s life-span. However, Poseidon prefers not to set the gods in conflict u nless the opposing gods move first. Thus, he and his allies take their seats on Herakles’ stronghold, a hill “of escape where he could get away from the Sea Beast” (20.147), a reference to the Herakles and Hesione episode, which the singer does not expand on. Poseidon inflicted a sea monster on the Trojans that ravaged the city to punish King Laomedon, who failed to pay the god for building Troy’s walls (see 21.441–452). Herakles, returning with Telamon (Telamonian Ajax’s father) from an expedition against the Amazons, promised to save Laomedon’s daughter Hesione from the sea monster, to whom she was offered as a sacrifice by her father, if Laomedon promised him the divine horses received from Zeus as compensation for kidnapping Ganymede (Laomedon’s son; see 5.640–642). After Herakles killed the monster, Laomedon reneged on his promise, and in revenge Herakles attacked Troy and killed Laomedon and all his sons except the youngest, Podarkes (later renamed Priam). Herakles allowed Hesione to ransom one of her brothers if she submitted to him sexually, and she chose Priam. He then awarded Telamon with Hesione, who bore him Teukros (Ajax’s half b rother). The pro-Trojan gods now gather on this hill (Callicolone, a.k.a. Kara Tepe in
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present-day Turkey), from which t here is a clear view of the Trojan plain. Both sides, however, are reluctant to get involved in mortal strife even though Zeus approved their meddling. In the third dialogue, at 20.156–290, the poet opens with a panoramic shot of the deafening assault of men and h orses. He then focuses on two men “far greater than all the others” (20.158), who are about to engage in a duel. In the longest lion simile in the Iliad, at 20.164–175, Achilles’ pre sent psychological condition is given expression. He is a lion bent on slaughter even though hunted by an entire village (Troy). Its fury describes his state of mind. The lion ignores all who pursue it u ntil it is wounded (the loss of Patroklos) and then in a raging fury attacks to kill or be killed. In contrast to the demonic actions that define Achilles throughout the remainder of Il. 20, his treatment of Aeneas is expressive of an earlier, saner Achilles more in tune with Diomedes’ actions in Il. 5. Approaching Aeneas, Achilles asks him two sharp-edged questions: First, does he seek a confrontation because he wants to inherit Priam’s throne? If so, he is delusional, for even if he could kill Achilles, Priam, with many sons, would not favor him. Second, did the Trojans promise him land and gifts? If so, he will not live to collect them, since once before he was put to flight by Achilles’ spear but was rescued by the gods (20.188–194). He should not press his luck a second time. In a gesture uncharacteristic of the current Achilles, who is unwilling to exempt anyone from his boiling rage, he advises Aeneas to pull back. Aeneas, whose courage Apollo has reinforced, reminds him of his goddess mother and his impressive genealogy (20.215–241). This is Homer’s memorandum that the Trojan line is destined to survive in Aeneas’ descendants, and Zeus’ love for his son Dardanos’ descendants w ill not perish even if Troy is destroyed. Further, Aeneas is not guilty of the actions perpetrated by Ilos’ descendants: it was Laomedon who cheated the gods and Priam’s son who broke Zeus’ law by abducting Helen. Aeneas’ ancestors hail from Ilos’ brother Assarakos, who produced the guiltless Anchises and his son Aeneas (figure 5.1).
Book 20
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Tithonos Hektor
Ilos
Assarkos
Laomedon
Kopys
Priam Lampos
Klytios
Hiketaon
Ganymedes
Anchises Aeneas
Figure 5.1. Aeneas’ genealogy
Ironically, having completed his lengthy genealogy, Aeneas calls for action: “You w ill not by talking turn me back from the strain of my warcraft” (20.256), but it is he who has been doing all the talking. Without further ado, he hurls his spear at Achilles’ divine shield but is unable to damage it. Achilles’ Pelian spear cast in turn cuts through Aeneas’ shield (a sign that the Trojan is not a threat for the Greek). Since the ensuing action taken by the two warriors is about to work against Aeneas, the narrator freezes the combat for Poseidon’s entrance. In dialogue four, at 20.291–352, one wonders why it is Poseidon and not Apollo or Aphrodite who interferes to save Aeneas. One might conjecture that Aphrodite stays away because she fears Athena, who provoked Diomedes to wound her in Il. 5. Apollo, on the other hand, is more interested in having Aeneas lash out at Achilles and thus delay the duel with Hector. As a result, he is momentarily blind to what is fated, whereas Poseidon “sharply perceived all” and acts (20.291). Aeneas’ death would contravene fate and aoidic song tradition. He must survive to assume Troy’s kingship for his descendants. Also, Aeneas is not
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a descendant of Laomedon and should not suffer for his actions against the gods. Poseidon, in a book filled with surrealistic touches (see also the North Wind’s horses at 20.225–229 and Hector’s spear at 20.338–441), removes Aeneas from harm, places the Pelian spear at Achilles’ feet, and leaves the confused Achilles wondering where Aeneas disappeared to. The god advises the Trojan not to tempt fate, for a fter Achilles’ death, he can fight among the foremost, since “t here shall be no other Achaian able to kill you” (20.339). With t hese words, Aeneas vanishes from the Iliad.7 Once the mist that Poseidon drifts across Achilles’ eyes dissipates, the hero realizes that Aeneas is “one beloved of the immortal / gods” and soliloquizes, one of his several monologues in the epic’s later books, which allow the poet’s audience to hear and so examine his thoughts (20.344–352; see also 18.6–14, 20.425–427, and 21.54–63). He now realizes that what he believed to be the Trojan’s ineffectual boasting was genuine, but he is happy to be rid of him, assured that Aeneas would not have the stomach to face him again. Achilles is ready to forget the w hole incident, and urges his Greek companions to confront the Trojan troops. III. Achilles versus Hector: First Encounter, 353–503 Assuring the Greek troops that he personally will do whatever he can to defeat the Trojans, Achilles urges them to do likewise. On the other side, Hector encourages his soldiers not to fear Achilles but stand up to him as he is about to do. Apollo’s voice, however, discourages him and the Trojan ducks back into his horde of allies. The Achilles-Hector encounter that almost takes place is quickly aborted by the god, who again stops the duel after a single spear cast at 20.419–454. From this point forward, the poet focuses his audience squarely on Achilles’ rampage against the Trojans. His aristeia now begins in earnest and does not abate until Hector’s death in Il. 22. From 20.378 to Hector’s death, no mortal on either side except Achilles kills an e nemy. Aside from some passing references, the Greek army fades away u ntil a fter Hector’s death.
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Obeying Apollo’s warning, frightened Hector escapes the carnage, and Achilles springs on the Trojans to begin a killing spree. Most of the warriors he engages become mere fodder for his fury and appear nowhere else in the epic. In fourteen short scenes, Achilles dispenses with fourteen named Trojan warriors;8 of t hese, only Iphiton and Polydoros receive any significant attention. The descriptions of the killings at 20.381–489 feature Achilles’ brutality and his demonic rage as he vaunts over his fallen victims, merciless, to avenge Patroklos’ death by slaughtering Trojans and hoping to encounter Hector, who once again slips his grasp. The hero splits the head of Iphiton, a Naiad’s9 son, in two as Greek chariot wheels cut him to pieces. Demoleon, identified as the son of Antenor, Priam’s counselor, has his brains turned to pulp when Achilles’ spear passes through the Trojan’s temple. Hippodamas is ignored, the reader privy only to his bellowing like a bull as he falls from his chariot. Polydoros, Priam’s youngest son, is hit in the back as he runs through the front lines, seemingly unengaged in the fighting. Hector, spotting his kid brother clutching his bowels in his hands, is overcome with anger and, neglecting Apollo’s e arlier warnings, dauntlessly approaches Achilles, who is delighted to confront him. Although aware that he is ill matched, Hector, unlike Achilles, who knows how his life must end, casts his spear hoping against hope that perhaps he might strip the life of his e nemy. Athena, however, deflects the spear, which surrealistically turns and lands back at Hector’s feet. Achilles charges with his spear, but Apollo wraps Hector in a mist and carries him to safety, leaving the Greek hero striking at the mist to no avail. Realizing that Apollo is supporting Hector, Achilles soliloquizes his frustration and decides to chase a fter whatever Trojan he can overtake. In quick succession he dispenses with ten Trojans in a heightened flurry of action. A spear in the neck fells Dryops, and a spear cast at Demouchos’ knees stops him long enough for Achilles’ sword to end his life. A single swoop eliminates two brothers—Dardanos and Laogonos. Tros, who embraces Achilles’ knees and begs for mercy, has his liver detached by
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Achilles’ sword at the same time that Achilles’ spear enters Moulios’ ear only to come out on the other side. Echeklos’ head is hewn in two, while Deukalion’s head is severed and tossed aside. With mounting rage, Achilles stabs Rhigmos in the belly, and as the Trojan’s henchman Areïthoös turns the chariot to flee, he too is stabbed in the back and thrust from the chariot. Two consecutive similes at 20.490–502, visualizing Achilles’ furor, bring Il. 20 to an end. In the first, Achilles is compared to a natural force, a raging fire fanned by a driving wind that destroys everyt hing in its path. In like manner, Achilles storms everywhere with his spear like an outer-worldly force. Immediately following the first, the second simile compares two yoked oxen treading grain on a threshing floor to Achilles’ chariot horses trampling on the dead Trojan warriors. Just like the barley is forced out of the husks as the bulls trample on them, so is the life blood of the corpses trampled underfoot by his h orses’ hooves; Achilles drives on, besmearing his hands with gore. Selected Bibliography: Il. 20 Alexander, Iliad. Anhalt, Enraged, 80–114. Edwards, Mark W., Homer. Edwards, Mark W., Iliad. Fagles, Homer. Fitzgerald, Iliad. Frazer, Reading of the “Iliad.” Graves, Anger of Achilles. Green, Iliad. Hogan, Guide to the “Iliad.” Hull, Homer’s “Iliad.” Jones, Homer’s “Iliad.” Jordan, Homer. Lattimore, “Iliad” of Homer.
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McAuslan and Walcot, Homer. McCrorie, Homer. Merrill, Iliad. Mitchell, Iliad. Mueller, Iliad. Murray, Homer: Iliad, Books 13–24. Owen, Story of the “Iliad.” Postlethwaite, Homer’s “Iliad.” Powell, Homer. Powell, Iliad. Rabel, Plot. Reck, Homer. Smith, Peter M., “Aineiadai as Patrons.” Stanley, Shield of Homer, 186–192. Verity, Homer. West, M. L., Making of the “Iliad.” Whitman and Scodel, “Sequence and Simultaneity.” Willcock, Companion to the “Iliad.”
Book 21 After introducing the conflict between the Olympian gods in Il. 20, Homer suspends any further narration on the topic and turns to Achilles’ clashes with Aeneas and Hector and his w holesale slaughter of Trojans before returning to the gods’ b attle at 21.328–518. The greater part of Il. 21 (84%) deals with two main units—Battle of the Gods (Theomachia) and The Battle Near the River (Machē Parapotamios), which was the name given to this book in ancient times. Il. 21 continues the retardation of the final phase of the Achilles-Hector duel, which began with the hero’s eagerness to return to the battlefield in other until she Il. 18 a fter Patroklos’ death but is delayed by his goddess m
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can acquire new armor for him (see 18.130–137). Having returned with the divine armor at 19.1–3, Thetis advises her son to call an assembly, which takes up the remainder of Il. 19 (19.34–424.); Zeus’ assembly of all the gods at 20.1–34 also further delays the duel. Finally, ready to face Hector, Achilles is again detained by Apollo, who persuades Aeneas to fight him, but that encounter is aborted by Poseidon before e ither hero can score a hit (see 20.75–350). At 20.364, when Hector is again ready to face Achilles, Apollo discourages him and drives him back among his troops (20.375–380). Furious at missing his opportunity to face his arch e nemy, Achilles kills four Trojan warriors in succession, including Hector’s youngest brother, Polydoros, at 20.382–418. Unable to control himself once his brother falls, Hector charges Achilles but is again saved by Apollo, who wraps him in a mist and carries him off the field (20.419–451). Frustrated, Achilles continues his rampage, killing ten more Trojans before Il. 20 ends at 20.455–503. Il. 21 opens with the Trojans fleeing before Achilles, who has trapped and is slaughtering half of them in the Scamander River (21.1–33). But before facing Scamander, Achilles dispatches two human opponents—Lykaon and Asteropaios—and after the theomachia, he f aces a third Trojan, Agenor. The book divides into three main sections: I. The battle with the river (54% of book) II. The battle of the gods (30% of book) III. Apollo baffles Achilles (16% of book) I. The Battle with the River, 1–327 Further delays occur in the present book: the deaths of Lykaon and Asteropaios, the fight with Scamander, the battle of the gods, and the Agenor chase, which extends into Il. 22, in which Apollo aids Hector to escape his pursuer (see 22.136–138) before the duel between them takes place. The retardations in Il. 18–22 occur primarily with the help of divine
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machinery, the gods’ personal involvement. Thus, the delay in the Iliad’s final conflict is used not only to arouse expectation but also to extend Achilles’ aristeia. Achilles, in a scene of carnage, chases the Trojans to the Xanthus River (known to mortals as the Scamander), which separates Troy from the Greek camp. Half of the Trojan troops are caught in the river while the other half escape to the other side. A simile describes the fleeing and panicked Trojans herded into the river like clouds of locusts cringing in the w ater before a blazing fire scorches them (21.12–16). The smallness of the locusts (the Trojans) is contrasted to the conflagration, “heaven- descended Achilleus,” from which they cannot escape (21.17). Achilles becomes a Prince of Darkness, who leaps in the water like “some immortal” and reddens the w ater with blood (21.18). A second simile compares his strength and size to t hose of “a huge-gaping dolphin” at 21.22, a predator devouring small fish (the Trojans). Emphasizing predation and the difference in size and power for a third time, Achilles takes captive twelve young Trojans, “bewildered with fear like fawns” (21.29), to sacrifice on Patroklos’ grave, a promise he made at 18.336–337 and fulfills at 23.175–177. Achilles’ first named victim, Lykaon, Priam’s son, is his first of three initial encounters—Lykaon, a mortal; the ambidextrous grandson of the river god Axios, Asteropaios; and Xanthos/Scamander, the river god and son of Zeus. Lykaon was e arlier taken prisoner by Achilles in a raid and sold in Lemnos for a silver Phoenician mixing bowl worth one hundred oxen to the son of Jason, Euneos, the king of Lemnos, who supplies wine to the Greek army (see 7.467–469). He was then ransomed by Eëtion of Imbros (not Andromache’s father by the same name), from whom he bought his freedom for three hundred oxen. He returned to Troy only eleven days before meeting Achilles on the twelfth. Having escaped the river’s fury, he emerges naked and weaponless and supplicates the hero for his life. Achilles, revealing his ruthlessness and brutality, addresses him in mocking irony as if he is already dead:
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He must be given a taste of our spearhead so that I may know . . . whether he w ill come back [from the dead]. (21.60–62)
Priam’s son evokes Demeter, the goddess of grain, since he shared bread with Achilles the first time he was captured. Convinced that it is wrong to kill one who has been offered life (bread), he calls forth the goddess to make his argument more plausible. Falling to his knees, he begs for mercy, reminding Achilles that, having taken the life of his younger b rother Polydoros earlier, he should now show clemency (see 20.407–418). In a famous speech at 21.99–113, Achilles bares his soul and the tragedy of human life. He questions why one begs for sympathy, since all mortals die, even t hose who, like himself, are born of a goddess mother and a father who is a descendant of Zeus. Then, without pity, he strikes Lykaon’s collar bone and hurtles him by the foot into the river, underscoring Achilles’ demonic transformation. He kills a naked, unarmed suppliant, although before Patroklos’ death, he claimed, “It was the way of my heart’s choice to be sparing / of the Trojans” (21.101–102). He then vaunts over his victim’s corpse at 21.122–127 and threatens death to all Trojans: “Die all an evil death” (21.133). Achilles next goes after Asteropaios, one of the Trojan’s main allies and leader of the Paionians, to whom irate Scamander gives might, angry at the slaughter of the young warriors Achilles cuts down during his killing spree. Asteropaios, the grandson of the river Axios, emerges from Scamander to face him, but before Achilles attacks, he questions Asteropaios, an act highly uncharacteristic of Achilles since his return. More reminiscent of Diomedes meeting with Glaukos (see 6.119–211), Achilles asks the Trojan ally for his name and origin at 21.148–151. Asteropaios in a few lines responds with his genealogy, informing Achilles that he is a newcomer to Troy, having arrived eleven days e arlier, and challenges him to a duel (21.152–160). But before Achilles can cast his spear, the ambi-
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dextrous Asteropaios wields both of his, one of which grazes Achilles’ forearm at 21.161–168. He is the only warrior in the Iliad who succeeds in grazing Achilles, perhaps a sign of his impending death. Although Achilles’ throw in turn misses his opponent, he is able to stab him in the navel with his sword, spilling out his guts. He then strips him of his armor, parts of which w ill be offered as prizes at Patroklos’ funeral games (see 23.169–183), and boasts of his superiority as a descendant of Zeus, since his f ather, Peleus, is the son of Aiakos (Zeus’ son compared to Asteropaios, a descendant of a river). In this instance Achilles reverts to his father’s line of descent rather than his goddess mother’s for greater authority. He goes on to infuriate Scamander by not only pointing out Zeus’ supremacy over all gods but also placing the river third in importance a fter Ocean and Acheloios, Greece’s longest river (21.184–199). Leaving Asteropaios’ body to be torn apart by eels and fish, the Greek warrior kills seven more named Trojans before Scamander interferes at 21.200–213. As the river prepares to fight Achilles, the Iliad for the first time enters a folktale world reminiscent of Odysseus’ adventures in the Odyssey. Scamander in mortal likeness asks for relief from the corpses that clog his waters. Achilles, his demonic nature at its height, “like something more than mortal” (21.227), vows to pursue the Trojans until he has penned them inside Troy and kills or is killed by Hector. The river implores Apollo to stand by the Trojans until sunset as Zeus counseled. However, Zeus’ decree ended on the previous day at 18.239–240, when Hera brought the epic’s third b attle to a close. Entangled in a surreal b attle with Achilles, Scamander bellows like a bull and shoves corpses onto dry land. Overwhelmed by waves that rise against him, the Greek hero is unable to outdistance them, even though at 21.252–253 he is compared to an eagle, the strongest and swiftest of winged creatures. The chase between the immortal river and the mortal warrior is further illustrated in a simile comparing Achilles to a gardener digging a channel to guide water from a spring to his garden, but once the w ater begins to flow, it outpaces its
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guide (like Scamander overtakes Achilles at 21.257–264). Fearing an ignoble death, Achilles blames his m other for having promised him kleos. Convinced the gods have abandoned him to drown unheroically like “a boy or swineherd” (21.282), he prays to Zeus. Achilles, like Odysseus, ying unnoticed and who in the Odyssey feared a lowly death at sea, fears d unsung. Heroism for the Homeric warrior is to be remembered in death in the memory of the living. Stirred to action by the appearance of Poseidon and Athena, who promise him glory u ntil he kills Hector, Achilles continues battling Scamander, who in turn solicits the help of the river Simoeis to overpower and bury Achilles deep in the mud under his w aters. II. The Battle of the Gods, 328–513 Hera, fearing for the Greek warrior, calls her son Hephaistos, the god of fire, to intercede, and fire and water, the two elemental forces of nature, begin the theomachia. The scorched plain and the seared dead lying on it are depicted in a simile in which Hephaistos is compared to the North Wind quickly drying up a newly watered orchard to the delight of the gardener who tills it (21.346–349). As the river’s streams begin to seethe like swine fat boiling in a cauldron at 21.362–367, Scamander capitulates, no longer concerned whether Achilles captures Troy: “What have I to do with this quarrel?” (21.360). Scamander swears to Hera that he w ill no longer aid the Trojans even if Troy burns, and the goddess, although still angry, halts Hephaistos, “since it is not fitting / to batter thus an immortal god for the sake of mortals” (21.379–380). The two similes of the North Wind and the boiling cauldron serve not only to illustrate the force of the w ater and the fire, but as is the case with many Homeric similes throughout the epic, they temporarily relocate the reader from the battlefield to the everyday world. As the river’s waters recede, the other Olympian gods take conflicting positions, and Troy’s fate becomes inevitable. The next scene picks up with the contending gods where the narrator abandoned them at 20.32–40 and 20.67–74. Zeus, observing the gods collide in conflict, “was amused in his
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deep heart / for pleasure” (21.389–390), setting the tone and framing the burlesque antics of the Olympians that follow. The harmless grotesqueness serves as an interlude to the Achilles-Hector tragedy to follow in Il. 22. The comical and at times slapstick behavior of the gods’ engagement remains unresolved, since, as immortals, neither the pro-Greek nor the pro-Trojan side can win. The gods’ bickering is exemplified in Zeus’ amusement both at the beginning of their contests and at the end when he consoles his weeping d aughter. The laughter of the gods is heard five times in this episode, compared with Achilles’ single smile in Il. 23. At best the triviality of the gods’ b attles appears to serve two purposes. First, it is useful as a contrast to the horrors of mortal fighting. Second, it prefigures Troy’s fall as the gods abandon their positions and return to Olympos. Apollo will later say to Poseidon, “Give up this quarrel and let the mortals fight their own battles” (21.467). After the Hephaistos-Scamander duel, five more challenges complete the theomachia. Of t hese five, three arguments are ensnared in hostilities and two are resolved without violence. At the end, the pro-Greek gods are clearly the winners, with Leto the sole victor by default on the Trojan side. In the first deific duel, Ares versus Athena at 21.391–417, Ares, vindictive, coarsely attacks Athena unsuccessfully for her role in his wounding at 5.855–861. She in turn, laughing, strikes him in the head with a huge boulder, felling him over seven acres. The laughter speaks to the triviality of the action, since little harm can come to immortals. Athena vaunts that he is now paying the price to his mother’s Furies, the Erinyes, the female chthonic deities who avenge broken oaths, for breaking his promise to Hera to aid the Greeks (see 5.831–833). In a second hostile confrontation, at 21.418–434, as Aphrodite assists the groaning Ares, who is well enough to be led by the hand to Olympos, Hera alerts Athena, who gladly pursues the goddess of love and delivers a blow to her breasts. As both she and Ares lay prostrate, Athena triumphantly gloats over them, cautioning those who oppose her; Hera, listening, smiles.
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Athena’s animosity toward Aphrodite and her oftentimes sexual partner and supporter Ares, in myth, stems from Paris’ judgment. In a third encounter, between Apollo and Poseidon at 21.435–469, Poseidon, considering participation in the feuds between the gods a matter of honor, feels shamed that he and Apollo alone have remained neutral. As the eldest, he contends it is more proper for the younger Apollo to begin a fight between them. To entice Apollo to action, he reminds him of the Trojan king Laomedon’s refusal to pay them a year’s wages, and his threats of bodily harm and captivity the time Zeus sent them to him as servants; nowhere in the epic, however, does Zeus explain why he sent his b rother and son to Laomedon. One can hypothesize that it could be for insubordination or perhaps to test Laomedon’s loyalty to the gods. The myth itself is alluded to at 5.640–651, 7.451–453, and 20.145–148, as well as at 21.446–449, where Poseidon suggests that he alone built Troy’s walls while Apollo herded Laomedon’s cattle. Poseidon now rebukes Apollo for aiding t hose who cheated him of his wages, but Apollo, in a more serious mood, contends that it would be insane to even consider a duel with his uncle for wretched mortals who as leaves . . . flourish and grow warm with life . . . but then again fade away and are dead. (21.464–466)
It is ironic that Poseidon, who built Troy’s walls “so none could break into their city” (21.446), permits their destruction by the Greeks. In a fourth engagement at 21.470–496, between Artemis and Hera, Artemis reproaches Apollo for not standing up to Poseidon’s challenge, and Hera takes her meddling as hurling defiance at her support for the Greeks. Minimizing the importance of Artemis’ role as “a lion / among women” (21.483–484), Hera provokes her to a fight and snatches Artemis’ bow and arrows, with which she beats her around the ears, smiling. Artemis, leaving her weapons b ehind, flies to Olympos, cowering
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and weeping like a pigeon pursued by a hawk (21.493–495). On Olympos, in the arms of her father, she is gently consoled by Zeus while he laughs. In the fifth and final contest at 21.497–504, between Hermes and Leto, Hermes refuses to fight with a lady, especially Leto, a wife of Zeus. He even grants her boasting rights so that she can claim among the gods that she overcame him by her own strength. Content, Leto picks up her daughter’s weapons and returns to Olympos. Once reassembled, the gods nurse their egos but are content in their immortality. All but Apollo decline to enjoy their reality show, no longer concerned with mortal affairs. III. Apollo Baffles Achilles, 514–611 Apollo, instead of returning to Olympos, decides to reappear in Troy lest Achilles and his troops storm the city before the appointed time. In the meantime, Achilles continues to cause havoc among the Trojans. A simile at 21.522–525 compares him to a god-sanctioned fire consuming a city (Troy) for the inhabitants’ transgressions (the Trojans’ violations of the laws). Achilles has become the gods’ harbinger, dispensing Olympian justice for Trojan infractions. The gods’ withdrawal to Olympos signals that Troy’s appointed demise is at hand. Apollo is not in Troy to prevent the city’s extinction, for he has already expressed his scorn for “insignificant mortals” to Poseidon (see 21.463–464). He is t here to ascertain that it occurs according to fate’s appointed timetable. Priam, catching sight of the approaching and enraged Achilles, orders the city gates wide open for his retreating troops. Apollo, in person, fearing an early Greek victory, entices Agenor to engage Achilles. When the Trojan warrior is made aware of Achilles’ presence, he becomes panicky and soliloquizes, allowing the listener to step into the warrior’s most intimate thoughts. This is one of four type speeches by warriors other than Achilles, the other three being those of Odysseus at 11.404–410, Menelaos at 17.91–105, and Hector at 22.99–130. Each of t hese four speeches begins the same way, “Ō moi egōn” (Ah me!), and all four contain the line, “Yet still, why does the heart within me debate on t hese t hings?”10 Agenor soliloquizes
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that if he runs from the Greek hero, he w ill be caught like a coward. If he allows Achilles to chase his fellow Trojans, he can escape and hide, but even then, he w ill be seen and pursued. Placing his trust in “hope,” the sole option available to mortals unaware of their fate, he rationalizes that perhaps Achilles might also be killed if fate w ills it. Mustering courage from Apollo, he is compared to a leopard ready to face its hunters (Achilles) u ntil it is killed (21.573–580). Motivated, he vaunts against Achilles and casts his spear, which is deflected off the hero’s tin greave. In turn, Achilles lunges at Agenor, whom Apollo removes from the battlefield in a dense mist, and, further, the god, in the likeness of the warrior, allows Achilles to chase him away from the fleeing Trojans rushing toward the city gates. In this scene, Achilles’ epithet “swift-footed Achilles” gains added meaning, for his swiftness of foot is no match for Apollo, whom he is unable to reach, no matter how fast he pursues him—perhaps a further comment on man’s mortality and Achilles’ impending doom. Mortals cannot match the gods, no matter how hard they strive. Selected Bibliography: Il. 21 Alexander, Iliad. Anhalt, Enraged, 80–114. Bremer, “So-Called ‘Gotterapparat.’ ” Ebel, “Killing of Lykaon.” Edwards, Mark W., Homer. Fagles, Homer. Fitzgerald, Iliad. Frazer, Reading of the “Iliad.” Friedrich, Wolf-Hartmut, Wounding. Graves, Anger of Achilles. Green, Iliad. Hogan, Guide to the “Iliad.” Hull, Homer’s “Iliad.” Jones, Homer’s “Iliad.”
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Jordan, Homer. Lattimore, “Iliad” of Homer. McAuslan and Walcot, Homer. McCrorie, Homer. McFarland, “Lykaon and Achilles.” Merrill, Iliad. Mitchell, Iliad. Owen, Story of the “Iliad.” Postlethwaite, Homer’s “Iliad.” Powell, Homer. Powell, Iliad. Price, A. C., Homer’s “Iliad” Book XXI. Rabel, Plot. Richardson, Nicholas J., Iliad. Scott, William C., Artistry, 65–78. Stanley, Shield of Homer, 199–212. West, M. L., Making of the “Iliad.” Whitman and Scodel, “Sequence and Simultaneity.” Willcock, Companion to the “Iliad.” Book 22 Il. 22, “The Death of Hector” (Hektoros anairesis), begins with a link to the previous book— Apollo’s deception of Achilles. It then continues with Achilles’ aristeia, with emphasis on the death of Hector. The book’s action is enclosed within a framework of speeches—three at the beginning (Priam, Hecuba, and Hector) and three at the end (Priam, Hecuba, and Andromache), the third speech in each case being longer than the preceding two. The book’s action conveniently divides into three sections: I. Achilles-Hector duel, preliminaries: chase (48% of book) II. Achilles-Hector duel: contest (25% of book) III. Achilles-Hector duel, aftereffects: laments (27% of book)
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The first section, almost half of the book, retards the long-awaited duel again, increasing tension and underscoring the importance of the confrontation to come with as many as ten fast-paced scene changes. These include the accosted Trojans rushing to enter the safety behind Troy’s walls (22.1–5), followed by three addresses, first by Apollo to Achilles (22.6–20), and then by Priam and Hecuba to Hector (22.37–91). Before the chase gets under way, Hector soliloquizes at 22.98–130, followed by the chase around the walls of Troy (22.131–166 and 22.188–213), which is briefly interrupted by Zeus on Olympos (22.167–187). The chase concludes with Athena’s addresses to Achilles and Hector at 22.214–247. The a ctual duel, anticipated by Zeus as early as 15.68 and announced by Achilles at 18.114–115, is the shortest of the three sections and is presented in a single episode with the two opponents periodically deriding each other with taunting remarks (56% of Il. 22 is in direct discourse), further delaying the inevitable as each casts his spear and misses u ntil Achilles’ final blow. The duel over, the dead Hector is dragged b ehind Achilles’ chariot beneath Troy’s walls, as the horrified and grieving parents lament their son, and the reader anxiously waits for the reaction of the unsuspecting Andromache, who is innocently weaving in her chambers. I. Achilles-Hector Duel, Preliminaries: Chase, 1–247 The book’s first line depicts the Trojans huddled like fawns (22.1), which demeans their manhood by portraying them as terrified newborns chased by predators. Hector, irresolute regarding whether he too should rush inside Troy or remain outside the city walls and fight, is panic-stricken and unable to move. Without further comment, the poet abandons him and turns to Apollo, who upbraids Achilles and discloses his identity as the one chased in the previous book. Calling attention to a mortal’s incompetence before a god, Apollo reminds Achilles of his approaching death: “I am not one who is fated” (22.13). Visibly angry at the god who stole from him the opportunity to enhance his aristeia, Achilles unhesitatingly
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threatens punishment if he could only fight a god. He then stalks proudly toward Troy with the speed of a racehorse, a description that singularizes his heroic stature in contrast to the petrified Hector standing outside the Skaian gate. The scene cuts to Priam, the first to see the Greek hero’s gleaming armor closing in on Troy’s walls. From Priam’s perspective, Achilles’ armor shines like Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, known to the ancient Greeks as the dog of Orion (kun’ Ōriōnos at 22.29) that was believed to bring excessive summer heat and fever, disease, and pestilence (“the dog days” traditionally between July and August). The approaching blinding light of Achilles’ shield and armor, like Sirius, is now bringing destruction to Troy, causing the old king to “beat his head, and [groan] amain” (22.34). Fearing for Hector’s life in the wake of the bad omen, Priam and Hecuba supplicate their son not to face Achilles but rather to retreat and attack him from within the safety of the city walls (22.38–91). Priam’s plea is full of foreboding concerning his sons Lykaon and Polydoros and his own f uture should Hector be killed. He warns Hector not to engage Achilles, who is “far stronger than you are,” a man he would like to see devoured by dogs and vultures (22.40). Such anticipated mutilation, feared by warriors and coveted for ones’ enemies, was a soldier’s greatest fear. The desecration of a corpse was seen as a thing of shame, for it not only deformed the human form but also endangered the rites of burial. Priam, weary over the loss of so many sons to the war effort, queries the whereabouts of his youngest born, Polydoros, and the recently ransomed Lykaon, both of whom he fears might be victims of Achilles. He appeals to Hector not to add to the growing number of sons lost. Unbeknownst to him, however, both Polydoros and Lykaon are already dead, killed by Achilles at 20.407–408 and 21.49–119, respectively. The irony and the pathos of Priam’s concern is that Homer’s audience already knows of their deaths, while Priam imagines that they are still alive to be ransomed, foreshadowing the ransoming of Hector in Il. 24. Priam next envisions his own fate and entreats Hector to pity his father and forgo engaging his superior opponent.
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To be robbed of Hector’s life, Troy’s only salvation, means not only death for Troy’s population but also the end for the old king and his dynasty. Priam foresees innocent children dashed to the ground, wives raped and dragged off as slaves, and himself ripped apart by his own dogs and desecrated. Ironically, all his premonitions w ill come true beyond the Iliad narrative. He will be killed by Achilles’ son Neoptolemos, whose war prize w ill be Andromache; his grandson Astyanax w ill be cast from the walls of Troy; his wife Hecuba will be enslaved by Odysseus; his daughter Kassandra w ill become Agamemnon’s mistress; and his youngest daughter, Polyxena, will be sacrificed on Achilles’ tomb. Th ere is no way of knowing, however, w hether the aoidos’ audience was aware of these traditional stories. Priam concludes his supplication to Hector with the undignified image of his old, mutilated body, “for all sad mortality . . . [a] sight most pitiful” (22.76), a further comment on the sanctity of the youthful male body that remains decorous and beautiful even a fter it is cut down in battle, whereas a defiled old body is pitiable. Following Priam, Hecuba bears her breasts, imploring her son to take pity on her who nursed him as a child. She too pleads for a body unmaimed by Greek dogs, a corpse both she and Andromache can mourn on a funeral bier, underscoring again the value and sacredness Homer places on the intact male human form. Such emphasis, expressed by both Priam and Hecuba, anticipates fears over the possible mutilation of Hector, whose corpse w ill be dragged daily by Achilles but protected from shameful disfigurement and covered by Apollo with the golden aegis, preserving it from Achilles’ daily abuse (see 24.18–21). Although both parents finish in tears, Hector’s determination remains unwavering, since neither “could . . . move the spirit in Hektor” (22.78 and 22.91), and he remains immobilized outside the Skaian gate waiting for the “gigantic” Achilles (22.92). A simile at 22.93–96 describes the stationary Hector as a venomous snake standing near its lair full of bitter anger (asbeston menos at 22.96). The snake (in this case Hector), appearing also at 3.33–37 and 12.200–207 as vicious and courageous, contrasts with the “gigantic” man approaching
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it (Achilles), whom it will strike to protect the contents of its nest (Troy). Using the same line, “Deeply troubled he spoke to his own great-hearted spirit” (22.98), that also introduces the previous soliloquies (see 11.403, 17.90, and 21.553), Hector begins his monologue exposing his state of mind (22.99–130). If he enters Troy, he fears Poulydamas will reproach him, since on the previous evening he rejected his advice to retreat behind the city walls (see 18.254–283). Hector would be shamed and humiliated if someone of lower rank reminded him of his lack of insight in not accepting the better advice; he would rather die than be reproached by his contemporaries. Hector considers approaching Achilles and appealing for mercy, since he is now willing to return not only Helen but all the possessions Paris stole from Menelaos, as well as meeting the demands pledged at 3.253–258 but rejected by Paris and upheld by both Priam and himself. Now in a state of despair, he is even willing to add half of Troy’s wealth, recalling the image of the city at war on the second circle of Achilles’ shield, in which the approaching opposing army is considering e ither sacking the city or demanding half of the city’s wealth (see 18.509–512). Hector again quickly changes his mind, imagining himself a woman being stripped and violated by a merciless Achilles, and rejects approaching the Greek hero and entreating him g ently like “a young man and a young maiden whisper[ing] together” (22.128). In this sexual simile, in which Hector is about to be “raped,” he is portrayed as a young girl about to be dominated by a power ful male, which demeans his stature and exposes his mental state. As Hector ponders these thoughts, and Achilles closes in on him brandishing his Pelian spear, his armor blazing like a conflagration, Hector flees in fear, trembling at the sight. The Trojan is the only one of the three soliloquists mentioned e arlier (Odysseus, Menelaos, and Agenor) who runs away. Odysseus, at 11.411–455, and Agenor, at 21.571–581, stand and fight, while Menelaos, at 17.100–101, retreats. Doubtful, Hector decides to fight, but flees when Achilles approaches. His impulse to take flight further humanizes him as an ordinary man overburdened with responsibilities and increases the poignancy of his situation. He is torn between
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engaging a man he has little chance of overpowering, and bolting from defending his city and f amily from complete annihilation. His instinct is neither to fight nor to retreat but to escape from an impossible situation. If he fights, he w ill lose. If he runs away, he most likely w ill be caught by his faster opponent. Should he retreat within the safety of Troy, he faces shame and censure from the very p eople he defends, who might say, “Hektor believed in his own strength and ruined his people” (22.107). The remainder of the book’s first section narrates the chase in four similes and two digressions u ntil Apollo strengthens Hector’s resolve and Athena tricks him into facing his opponent (22.136–247). The pursuit begins with Achilles, identified as a male hawk (kirkos at 22.139), swooping after a female dove (peleia at 22.140) that evades capture. The mismatch between the two warriors is highlighted not only in the birds’ size but also in the birds’ gender. The stronger, male hawk, a bird of prey known for its speed, is pursuing the more gentle and weaker feminine dove, whose bullet-straight speed saves it from being caught. A subsequent digression both slows down and prolongs the chase. As the two heroes whip around the walls of Troy, the narrator breaks off from the chase to reminisce and call attention to familiar sites of a prewar Troy. First mentioned is “the windy fig tree” (22.145) that Andromache references at 6.433–434 while attempting to persuade Hector to stay with her and their son. Second, “the two sweet-running well springs” (22.147) are named, which provide both hot and cold water for Troy’s inhabitants. Third, the narrator points out “the washing-hollows of stone” (22.153–154), a space used by the Trojan women in times of peace for laundry. All three sites bring to mind memories of family and domestic life that have now become way stations on a death track, underlining again the contrast between war and peace. A second simile, of a horse race, continues to contrast the activities of peace with t hose of war (22.162–166). Achilles and Hector become single- foot horses competing in a funeral game for prizes coveted by heroes—a tripod or a woman. The prize for the winner in the present race, however, is Hector’s life, whose funeral the race is honoring. A second digression
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freezes the action to allow the reader to hear the gods’ reactions on Olympos to the events below (22.167–187). The passage consists of three speeches, two by Zeus and one by Athena. The gods, like involved spectators at a horse race, discuss the outcome of the competition. Zeus debates w hether the devout Hector should be saved from Achilles, a dispute reminiscent of the gods’ discussion over Sarpedon’s fate at 16.431–449. But as in Sarpedon’s case a goddess, Athena in this instance, opposes changing a mortal’s fate and responds in the very words Hera used to argue against rescuing Zeus’ son (see 16.440–443). Concurring, Zeus gives Athena carte blanche: “Act as your purpose would have you do, and hold back no longer” (22.185). E ager to comply, Athena swoops to earth to induce Hector’s fate. A third and fourth simile return the reader to the chase. In the first of the two comparisons, at 22.189–193, Achilles unremittingly chases Hector like a mountain dog attempting to flush out a cowering fawn (Hector). Again, the emphasis is between a weak and helpless animal, the newborn female, and a trained and seasoned male hunting dog. The second of the two similes, at 22.199–201, stresses Hector’s state of mind. As in a dream where the quarry (Hector) can never escape the pursuer (Achilles) or ever be caught by him, so the Trojan, vivified for the last time by Apollo, runs in circles. However, on Hector’s fourth turn around Troy, Zeus holds up his scales (see also 8.68–72, 16.655–658, and 19.220–224), a visual represen tation of the moment the Trojan’s fate becomes irrevocable, and Apollo forsakes him. Athena, appearing in person before Achilles, who recognizes her as he does at 1.197–200, alerts him that the moment of Hector’s death has come, and she leaves to deceive the Trojan in the guise of his b rother Deïphobos. Athena’s intervention at the moment of Hector’s slaying enormously increases the audience’s sympathy for him, but simulta neously, by tricking him to take a stand against Achilles, she is enabling him to die with timē and kleos, to “win glory . . . or yield it to others,” Sarpedon’s words to Glaukos at 12.328 regarding a warrior’s total obligation to the war effort.
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II. Achilles-Hektor Duel: Contest, 248–375 Throughout the Achilles-Hector encounter, presented primarily in direct discourse (56% of the total episode), Homer’s audience is constantly made aware of the reactions and emotions of the two combatants. Their sensibilities are presented in ten speeches in the following pattern: 1. Introduction to the duel in indirect discourse (22.248–249). 2. Speech one: Hector (22.250–259). 3. Speech two: Achilles (22.260–272). 4. Indirect discourse on Achilles’ first spear cast (22.273–277). 5. Speech three: Hector (22.278–288). 6. Indirect discourse on Hector’s first spear cast (22.289–296). 7. Speech four: Hector’s monologue (22.297–305). 8. Indirect discourse on both warriors’ final casts (22.306–330). 9. Speech five: Achilles (22.331–336). 10. Speech six: Hector (22.337–343). 11. Speech seven: Achilles (22.344–354). 12. Speech eight: Hector (22.355–360). 13. Indirect discourse on Hector’s death (22.361–363). 14. Speech nine: Achilles (22.364–366). 15. Indirect discourse on stripping Hector’s armor (22.367–371). 16. Speech ten: Greek warriors on stabbing Hector’s corpse (22.373–374). Hector, bolstered by the participation of Deïphobos (Athena in disguise) and full of hope that he might yet best Achilles, attempts to set the rules for a fair fight. Should he win, he w ill not defile Achilles’ body and asks for the same consideration should he lose. Achilles, consumed by a desire for vengeance, brutally rejects any possibility of following conventions observed in formal duels (see Menelaos and Paris at 3.276–287 and Ajax and Hector at 7.76–86). Achilles, the first to throw his spear, misses, but, unseen by Hector, Athena returns his spear effortlessly and as readily as she deflected Hector’s spear at 20.438–441. Bolstered by
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Achilles’ miss, the Trojan for a brief moment hopes that fate might still be on his side. As he prepares to cast his spear, he chides Achilles for falsely implying to have knowledge of his destiny, accusing him of being one who uses glib and clever words to cause one to mislay one’s courage. If he (Hector) is killed, it will happen facing his enemy and not evading him. His spear strikes Achilles’ shield but rebounds, and angered, he turns to his brother for assistance, but Deïphobos is nowhere to be found. At that moment Hector realizes that “at last the gods have summoned me deathward” (22.297). Aware his death is at hand, he decides to die a hero, and brandishing his sword, he swoops at Achilles like an eagle a fter a lamb (22.308–311). For the first time since the duel began, Hector becomes the superior predator (eag le) diving for a lamb (Achilles). However, Achilles retaliates like a divine being, Hesper, the evening star, the son of Eos (Dawn) and the Titan Astraeus, driving his spear through his opponent’s neck but failing to shear Hector’s windpipe. A series of vaunts and entreaties by both men follow that further delay Hector’s final breath until he can predict Achilles’ own end, “on the day when Paris and Phoibos Apollo / destroy you in the Skaian gates” (22.359–360). This is the only reference in the Iliad to Achilles’ manner of death, which will arrive as Hector foretells but beyond the scope of the Iliad narrative, a reference perhaps known to Homer’s audience. Stripping his own armor from Hector, as it was previously stripped by Hector from Patroklos at 17.125–127, Achilles accepts his death whenever “the immortals choose to accomplish it” (22.366), symbolically already fulfilled, since by killing Hector in his own armor he is killing a surrogate of himself. As other Greek warriors encircle Hector’s corpse to admire its heroic physique, they take turns stabbing the listless body that none of them could vanquish in life. III. Achilles-Hector Duel, Aftereffects: Laments, 376–515 Achilles’ first agenda once Hector is dead is to ascertain w hether Troy will submit to the Greeks or continue the war. No sooner does he suggest this
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course of action, however, than he remembers Patroklos is still unburied and so decides to return to camp. Devising shameful treatment for the fallen Trojan, Achilles bores holes in the corpse’s ankles in order to defile the body by dragging it behind his chariot, allowing the head to drag in the dirt. Although Achilles’ display of aggressiveness and hostility has now reached its limit, the defilement of a vanquished opponent is not uncommon in the epic. Once Hector strips Achilles’ armor from the defeated Patroklos in Il. 17, he wants not only to decapitate the corpse but also to throw the body to the dogs (17.125–127). In Il. 18, Hector again expresses a desire to haul Patroklos’ body away, “to cut the head from the soft neck and set it in on sharp stakes” (18.177). Even Hector’s m other, Hecuba, craves to “set teeth / in the m iddle of [Achilles’] liver and eat it” (24.212–213). Witnessing their son desecrated below the Trojan walls, Hector’s parents and the populace around them begin the lamentations that end Il. 22. These laments are likened to a conflagration ravaging Troy, which symbolically they are, since the death of Hector spells the city’s extinction. Priam’s lament is the first of three in which he begs to be allowed to supplicate Achilles for his son’s body. Since the hero’s father, Peleus, is elderly, Priam hopes the Greek hero will pity the Trojan’s own old age. This same entreaty w ill be successful when Priam journeys to Achilles’ camp in Il. 24. Yet in this instance he is restrained from storming out of Troy’s south gate, the Dardanian gates (a.k.a. the Skaian gate). Hecuba’s lament follows in which she predicts a f uture life of sorrow, since her son was respected and honored by the Trojans like a god. Whereas Priam mourns for the consequences Hector’s death w ill have for Troy’s fate, Hecuba’s sole reaction is as a mother who has lost a son as she bares her breasts and implores him for his life, “if ever I gave you the breast to quiet your sorrow” (22.83). The third, longest, and most elaborate lament in the Iliad (22.477–515), by Andromache, who has yet to hear of her husband’s fate, closes the book. Andromache is at home weaving, d oing precisely what Hector had asked her to do at 6.490–493. Hearing sounds of mourning
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and Hecuba’s voice while preparing a hot bath for her husband’s return, she rushes out of the house like a Maenad (mainas, a maddened female devotee of the god Dionysos), sensing the worst scenario for him. Once on the wall, a witness to Hector’s desecration below, she faints, and her headscarf (krēdemnon at 22.470), the symbol of her married state, falls off her head. Her hair disheveled and her krēdemnon missing, she is now sexually defenseless against her husband’s enemies. Hector implies as much at 6.450–457 when he foresees the end of Troy—“There will come a day when sacred Ilion s hall perish” (6.448)—and Nestor suggests what is in store for Trojan women at 2.354–355: “Let no man be urgent to take the way homeward / u ntil a fter he has lain in bed with the wife of a Trojan.” Andromache’s laments turn prophetic when she ponders the fate of her fatherless son. Her fears for Astyanax’s f uture w ill turn out to be worse than she presently supposes. At 24.732–738, she once again envisions a future for her son, a prophecy that w ill come true, but an event beyond the scope of the Iliad narrative. Selected Bibliography: Il. 22 Alexander, Iliad. Anhalt, Enraged, 80–114. Atchity, Critical Essays on Homer, 159–165. Bassett, “Pursuit of Hector.” Bespaloff, On the “Iliad,” 39–49. Bremer, “So-Called ‘Gotterapparat.’ ” Clark, Matthew, “Poulydamas and Hektor.” Clay, “Dying Is Hard.” de Jong, Homer: Iliad XXII. Edwards, Mark W., Homer. Fagles, Homer. Fenik, “Iliad” X and “Rhesus.” Fitzgerald, Iliad. Frazer, Reading of the “Iliad.”
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Graves, Anger of Achilles. Green, Iliad. Griffin, “Achilles Kills Hector.” Hill, “Iliad 22.191.” Hogan, Guide to the “Iliad.” Hull, Homer’s “Iliad.” Jones, Homer’s “Iliad.” Jordan, Homer. Kiss, “Iliad 22.60 and 24.487.” Kozak, Experiencing Hektor. Larsen, Homer Whole. Lattimore, “Iliad” of Homer. McAuslan and Walcot, Homer. McCrorie, Homer. Merrill, Iliad. Mitchell, Iliad. Mueller, Iliad, 65–75. Nagy, Ancient Greek Hero. Owen, Story of the “Iliad.” Parry, Adam, “Language of Achilles.” Postlethwaite, Homer’s “Iliad.” Powell, Homer. Powell, Iliad. Rabel, Plot. Rabel, “Shield of Achilles.” Ready, “Iliad 22.123–128.” Ready, “Toil and Trouble.” Richardson, Nicholas J., Iliad. Scott, William C., Artistry, 65–78, 112–117. Segal, “Andromache’s Anagnorisis.” Segal, Theme of Mutilation. Sharples, “ ‘But Why Has My Spirit?’ ”
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Stanley, Shield of Homer, 212–221. van der Mije, “Bad Herbs.” Vernant, “ ‘Beautiful Death.’ ” West, M. L., Making of the “Iliad.” Willcock, Companion to the “Iliad.”
Book 23 In the previous book, Achilles returns to the Greek camp to bury Patroklos rather than pursue the Trojans to Troy. The first half of the current book’s first line continues mourning for Hector, while the second half shifts to Greeks arriving at their ships. The twenty-third rhapsode covers the remainder of day twenty-s even, which dawned at 19.1, and continues through day twenty-eight at 23.109 and day twenty-nine at 23.226. “Patroklos’ Funeral Games” (Athla epi Patroklō), as the book is known, reads in two sections as a farewell review of the epic’s major heroic figures who occupy the Iliad between Il. 2 and Il. 17 but who have had l ittle exposure since Il. 18. It is also the last time Achilles is seen interacting with his fellow warriors. A counterpart to Il. 2 (the marshaling of the army), Il. 23 brings together the epic’s major Greek heroes in a peaceful gathering to honor their fallen comrade Patroklos. I. Patroklos’ funeral (29% of book) II. Patroklos’ funeral games (71% of book) I. Patroklos’ Funeral, 1–257 Although the Greek troops return to their ships, Achilles detains the Myrmidons, and before they can unyoke their horses, he has them honor Patroklos’ corpse by marching around it three times, while Thetis stirs their passion for weeping. For the first time since Patroklos’ death, Achilles also alludes to food: “We s hall set our h orses f ree, and all of us eat h ere”
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(23.11). In Il. 19, thinking of nothing but killing, Achilles refused food and drink (19.205–214 and 19.305–308), but once he accepts his own mortality, he again turns to food as he does h ere and at 24.600–601. Laying his “manslaughtering hands” (23.18, an epithet commonly used to refer to Hector’s hands) on Patroklos’ chest, he vows to carry out his e arlier promise: to feed Hector’s corpse to the dogs (promised at 22.335–336) and to behead twelve young Trojan warriors on Patroklos’ pyre (promised at 18.336–337). He carries out the second of his two threats but is prevented from d oing so with the first by the divine intervention of Aphrodite and Apollo, the first time the gods encroach to restrain his anger. At 23.185–187, Aphrodite not only intrudes to keep away the dogs but also anoints Hector’s corpse with deathless oil to prevent the skin from tearing each time Achilles drags it around the camp. Apollo also intervenes by covering the body in a dark cloud to prevent the sun from shriveling the flesh (23.188–191). Thetis likewise intercedes to preserve Patroklos’ corpse at 19.38–39. Achilles’ anger has not completely abated, however, even though the current book presents him in a more congenial light. The reference to his manslaying hands is echoed as early as the lion simile at 18.318–322, in which the fierceness and violence of the lion is tempered with its devoted parental concern for its cubs. As Achilles abandons Patroklos to begin preparations for the funeral feast, he places Hector’s corpse facedown in the dust as a further act of shame for the vanquished warrior. Having reluctantly brought Achilles to Agamemnon’s hut for a formal dinner of reconciliation as encouraged at 19.179–180 and 19.304–308, the Greek leaders now attempt to persuade him to wash the bloody gore from his body, but he stubbornly refuses, swearing that he w ill not allow water to touch his body until Patroklos is cremated. He later consents to “give way to the gloomy feast,” which we assume takes place, since nothing more is said about it (23.48). Of greater urgency is his demand for timber for Patroklos’ pyre on the following dawn. Agamemnon and the other leaders readily obey his wishes, which confirms that Achilles has yet to relinquish
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his command over the troops or even over Agamemnon, who, with the others, “listened well to him and obeyed him” (23.54). Once the meal is over, those in attendance return to their shelters, but Achilles finds an empty space by the seashore and falls asleep. Patroklos’ ghost appears, in aspect and dress as he was in life, standing above the dreamer’s head as is typical in dreams, urging immediate burial (thapte me, “bury me,” at 23.71). As also noted in later mythic accounts, without burial, the ghost cannot cross the river Styx into Hades proper but is held at bay by the images of the other phantoms until his rite of burning, for it is burial that allows the soul to enter Hades. The Odyssey, however, contradicts this belief, since the dead suitors whose souls Hermes leads to the underworld in that epic’s final book remain unburied (see Od. 24.1–10, 24.413–419). In the Iliad’s infernal regions, t here is little judgment or punishment and thus nothing to fear or to anticipate. When Achilles attempts to embrace his friend for one last time, the spirit dissipates like vapor, emphasizing the totality of separation that death provokes. Listening to Patroklos’ image, Achilles realizes that only the soul (psuchē) and the image (eidōlon) survive death, but the seat of intelligence (phrenos, “midriff, breast, heart”), connected with thought and consciousness, fades away. Patroklos’ ghost departs with a prediction and an entreaty: Achilles w ill be killed u nder the walls of Troy, and Patroklos requests that his bones be laid with t hose of his companion. He reminds his friend of their affinity by citing the details of the crime (mentioned only here) that brought them together. A childish argument provoked Patroklos’ manslaughter of his cousin, which exiled him to Peleus’ kingdom to become Achilles’ companion for life, a common occurrence for homicides, even those involving children. Peleus had also hospitably received other exiles, including Epeigeus, who killed his cousin (see 16.571–576), and Phoenix, Achilles’ mentor (see 9.447–482). Overcome by emotion, Achilles promises to store his companion’s ashes in an urn to be mixed with his own at the appropriate time.
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On the twenty-eighth day of the epic narrative, at 23.109, Agamemnon, in accordance with Achilles’ wishes, o rders the gathering of timber for the pyre and places in charge Meriones, the henchman of King Idomeneus of Crete and among the most prominent of the young Greek warriors, appearing in thirteen of the Iliad’s twenty-four books (Il. 2–5, Il. 7–10, Il. 13–17, and Il. 23). Meriones is the warrior who, in Il. 10, holds the distinction of offering his bow, his quiver, and a boar-tusk helmet to Odysseus for the night raid. Once gathered, the timber is piled at the selected location for the grave mound, and Achilles o rders the Myrmidons to escort Patroklos’ corpse in full regalia to the site. A procession of chariots followed by thousands of foot soldiers escort Patroklos on a bier, while the accompanying mourning soldiers cut locks of their hair to cover the deceased’s coffin; Achilles, walking beside the bier, cradles his companion’s head. Patroklos’ body is placed on top of the huge pyre, wrapped in the fat of sacrificial animals (slaughtered sheep and cattle) to allow the corpse to burn more easily. Jars of honey and oil are placed next to the corpse to cover the smell of burning human flesh, and two of Patroklos’ nine dogs are sacrificed to accompany the departed to Hades. Achilles slays the twelve Trojan youths in a h uman sacrifice not common to heroic funerals, which continues to underscore Achilles’ rage, an anger not subdued u ntil the games themselves. However, he refuses to sacrifice Hector’s corpse, which he still wants to degrade by feeding it to the dogs, an action Apollo and Aphrodite will not allow (23.184–191). Next, he cuts off part of his long hair that was pledged to the river god Spercheios (the main river in Phthia) on his safe return home.11 Knowing his return is no longer feasible, he prays to the river for affirmation to dedicate his hair to his dead companion. Before Patroklos’ pyre is completed, Achilles again displays the authority and command he has held over Agamemnon and the Greek troops since his return to the Trojan cause. He is careful, however, not to irritate the general as he did at the beginning of the epic. Diplomatically, he flatters him as if Agamemnon is still in charge: “Beyond o thers the people of the Achaians / w ill obey your words” (23.156–157). Achilles then makes
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known what he wants from him. First, he wants Agamemnon to dismiss the general troops so they can prepare their meal. The emphasis on food shows that once Achilles severs the living from the dead through the rites performed, he is ready to return to a more humane condition. Second, he wants Agamemnon to allow the leaders to remain behind along with Patroklos’ most intimate mourners in order to assist in the cremation. Agamemnon obeys without question; he “at once caused the people to disperse” (23.162). Once the funeral rites are over, the cremation pyre w ill not ignite. Achilles prays to Boreas and Zephyros, the north and west winds, respectively, for assistance. Iris, the gods’ messenger, intercepting Achilles’ prayer, comes to his aid. It is not clear why Iris intervenes, since Achilles prayed to the winds and not to the Olympian gods. Perhaps it is the divine afflatus Zeus granted Achilles at the death of his companion that the messenger of the gods heeds his call as if he himself w ere one of the gods Iris serves. It is also a strategy of interjecting a light tone into the somberness of Patroklos’ entombment. Iris finds the winds feasting and, it seems, excessively drinking in Zephyros’ home. When the goddess arrives, they spring to their feet, delighted at the presence of a w oman and anxious to have her sit by their side. Distraught by their excessive interest in her, Iris fabricates an excuse for not joining their company, claiming a previous engagement to visit the Ethiopians to partake in sacrifices to the immortals. She hurriedly relays Achilles’ message and leaves. The winds, honoring her communiqué, come to the Troad (the territory surrounding the ancient city of Troy) and light the pyre. Achilles then feeds the fire with wine and mourns the departed soul of Patroklos throughout the night. A simile at 23.221–225 compares him to a f ather mourning the death of his newly married son, a comparison in keeping with the e arlier ones, which present him as a parent and his friend as a child. One wonders why Homer engages the winds in the unlikely scenario that the funeral pyre is unable to catch fire. An interesting theory by the Greek classical scholar J. T. Kakridis (Homeric Researches, 75–83) states that
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the winds scene is modeled on a version of Achilles’ own funeral in which Boreas and Zephyros are unwilling to light his pyre because of their grief at the death of their b rother Memnon, whom Achilles had previously killed, a myth beyond the scope of the Iliad’s narrative. The idea that Patroklos’ funeral in the Iliad parallels Achilles’ own is made clear by Agamemnon’s ghost in Hades, who recounts Achilles’ funeral in the Odyssey (see Od. 24.36–92). Both funerals conclude at dawn, in both the bones of the deceased are collected and placed in wine and oil, in both the bones are laid together in a gold amphora, and in both Thetis institutes funeral games to honor the dead. As the twenty-ninth day of the narrative dawns at 23.226, dispersing light throughout the Troad and removing the gloom of the cremation, Achilles’ spirits lift, and he is transformed from the dehumanized warrior of Il. 22 into the humane warrior of Il. 24. Patroklos’ bones are placed in an interim cinerary container (phialē at 23.243) with a double fold of fat to keep the bones from deteriorating u ntil Achilles’ own demise. A temporary mound is erected over the place of cremation (to hold also the phialē?), which a fter Achilles’ death w ill be enlarged to contain both warriors’ ashes in a golden urn (see 23.91–92). Homer’s text at 23.254 informs that the phialē was “laid . . . away in his [Achilles’] shelter,” but t here is some controversy about this line since Patroklos specifically asked Achilles for burial as well as cremation (Petropoulou, “Interment of Patroclus”). II. Patroklos’ Funeral Games, 257–897 The prizes for the eight funeral games launched by Achilles serve as trophies in memory of the deceased—“This . . . is yours to lay away as a treasure / in memory of the burial of Patroklos” (23.618–619)—a nd as reminders of Achilles’ many heroic campaigns during his years at Troy. The contests are also a farewell to the Iliad’s major heroes, not heard of since Il. 18. They make possible Achilles’ return to the h uman community and to an atmosphere of peace and social order a fter the hero’s atrocities in Il. 21
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and Il. 22. In the games, Achilles displays the reverence (aidōs) and pity (eleos) that he exhibits in his meeting with Priam in the epic’s final book. The competitions, with the exception of the armed combat event, are considered standard games in the Homeric epics. Nestor, at 23.634–640, recalls competing in boxing, wrestling, racing, spear throwing, and chariot racing. In the Odyssey (Od. 8.120–130), Odysseus mentions running, wrestling, jumping, discus throwing, and boxing. Elsewhere in the Odyssey he boasts of his archery skills (Od. 8.215–218) and considers himself good at spear throwing (Od. 8.228–229). Only the armed combat event, which seems to require a fatal wound, “to get through armor and dark blood and reach to the vitals” (23.806), is not mentioned elsewhere in Homer. Achilles does not participate in any of the funeral games and introduces them by first eliminating himself from the first and longest contest, the two- horse chariot race, which covers more than half the space devoted to all the other matches combined. In deference to Patroklos, his charioteer, Achilles, upholding his own heroic stature, assures those present that were he to enter the race, he would take first place, since his divine h orses, Xanthos and Balios, offspring of the West Wind, are matchless (see 16.148–151). Five warriors rise to take part in the chariot race (table 5.1), and each one’s horsemanship experience, as well as their h orses’ pedigrees, is provided. Of interest is mention of Agamemnon’s mare Aithē, a gift (a bribe) from Echepolos (Anchises’ son mentioned at 23.296; not the Trojan Anchises, f ather of Aeneas) to exempt him from military serv ice. Even in Homer’s time the wealthy had access to privileges denied the less fortunate. Nestor, in his usual long-w indedness, takes his son Antilochos aside to advise him on how to win the race with horses slower than t hose of the other challengers (23.306–348). His primary advice is that his son, instead of biē (force), must use mētis (cunning, skill), mentioned four times during his counsel (23.313, 23.315, 23.316, and 23.318). Mētis is a term that seems to gain greater favor throughout the Iliad, and it reaches its zenith in the Odyssey, where biē is ineffective unless coupled with mētis.
Table 5.1. Patroklos’ funeral games Event
Participants*
Victors
Chariot race 23.261–650 390 lines
1. Eumelos, 2
First prize: Diomedes, a w oman and a twenty-t wo-measure tripod (a large container).
2. Diomedes, 5
Second prize: Antilochos, a six-year- old pregnant mare.
3. Menelaos, 3
Third prize: Menelaos, an unfired four-measure cauldron.
4. Antilochos, 1
Fourth prize: Meriones, two talents of gold (worth about one ox).
5. Meriones, 4
Fifth prize: Special prize for Nestor, a jar with two h andles. Special gift for Eumelos, Asteropaios’ corselet.
Boxing 23.651–699 49 lines
Wrestling 23.700–739 40 lines
1. Epeios (his first appearance in the Iliad)
First prize: Epeios, a six-year-old mule.
2. Euryalos
Second prize: Euryalos, a two- handled goblet.
1. Telamonian Ajax
First prize: A tripod worth twelve oxen.
2. Odysseus
Second prize: A woman worth four oxen. The match is s topped by Achilles. Both participants are declared winners and directed to share the two prizes equally.
Footrace 23.740–797 58 lines
Armed combat 23.798–825 28 lines
1. Oilian Ajax
First prize: Odysseus, a silver six-measure mixing bowl.
2. Odysseus
Second prize: Oilian Ajax, one ox.
3. Antilochos
Third prize: Antilochos, a half talent of gold; he is also given an extra half talent for good behavior.
1. Telamonian Ajax
First prize: Diomedes, Asteropaios’ silver-nailed sword with its scabbard and sword b elt.
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Event
Participants*
Victors
2. Diomedes
Second prize: Both participants to share Sarpedon’s shield and helmet; also, both men w ill be given a feast. The contest is stopped by the spectators, but Achilles awards the first prize to Diomedes.
Weight throwing 23.826–849 24 lines
1. Polypoites
First prize: Polypoites, a lump of pig iron.
2. Leonteos 3. Telamonian Ajax 4. Epeios
Archery 23.850–883 34 lines
1. Teukros, 1
First prize: Meriones, ten double- blade axes.
2. Meriones, 2
Second prize: Teukros, ten single- blade axes.
Spear throwing 23.884–897 14 lines
1. Agamemnon
First prize: A bronze spear. Second prize: A cauldron worth one ox.
2. Meriones
Achilles declares no contest but gives Meriones the spear and Agamemnon the cauldron.
* The numbers on the right in this column indicate the lineup by lot.
Once lots are drawn to determine the position of each participant (table 5.1), the contest is u nder way, but before it is over t here are mis haps that render the race as exciting as a modern sports event on telev i sion, which serves also to test Achilles’ newfound humanity. Apollo c auses Diomedes to lose his whip as he is about to pass Eumelos, the front- runner and the one favored to win (23.382–385). The gods’ involvement
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throughout the race draws attention to their pettiness, their personal interests, and the grudges they hold against those who neglect them. Apollo’s spite stems from Diomedes’ major successes against the Trojans. He would rather see any Greek other than Diomedes win the chariot race. Athena, a witness to Apollo’s foul play and a supporter of Diomedes for the very reasons Apollo opposes him, retrieves his whip and smashes Eumelos’ chariot yoke, putting Diomedes in the lead, leaving the favorite to finish last (23.388–394). Trailing Diomedes is Menelaos, who, constrained by the impetuous Antilochos (following his f ather’s advice), avoids a serious collision while trying to pass him. As a result, he finishes third (23.402–441). Reeling in anger and disappointed in one whom he previously held in high regard, Menelaos vows that Antilochos “w ill not get this prize without having to take [an] oath” to vow that trickery was not used (23.441). Among the spectators, Idomeneus and the Lesser Ajax (Oilian Ajax) get into a heated argument trying to predict the front-r unner and resort to calling each other names (23.448–490). The anger that erupts among both contestants and spectators echoes the Achilles-Agamemnon quarrel of Il. 1, which provoked the wrath. It is now left to Achilles to reverse his actions from the e arlier books of the Iliad and squelch the arguments among his fellow warriors. The chariot race reveals a new Achilles, one who is not just in control of his emotions but also understanding, kind, and reassuring. He placates the two spectators by appealing to reason: “If another acted so, you yourselves would be angry” (23.494). Neither blaming nor agreeing with Idomeneus or the Lesser Ajax, Achilles persuades his two companions to sit peacefully and wait for the race’s outcome. Antilochos arrives second a fter the victorious Diomedes, with Menelaos third, followed by Meriones and Eumelos, “the best man . . . driving his single-foot horses in last” (23.536). Achilles’ suggestion that the mare (the second prize) go to Eumelos as a consolation prize on the basis that aretē (excellence, virtue) should not be a substitute for tuchē (chance, luck) angers Antilochos, who threatens to lay claim to the mare for himself.
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Reminded of the threats he used against Agamemnon when the latter took away Briseis, Achilles smiles (his only smile in the Iliad) at Antilochos’ frankness and mollifies his irritation by recommending a special prize for Eumelos—the corselet he stripped from Asteropaios (see 21.180–183). No sooner is Antilochos appeased than Menelaos, “his heart full of bitterness” (23.566), demands that Antilochos swear u nder oath that he “used no guile to baffle my chariot” (23.585). Antilochos, blaming his youth and yielding to his superior, promises to return the mare in addition to any other prize his senior might demand. Menelaos, placated by the younger man’s understanding, and mindful of the service his f amily suffers for his cause, returns the mare to Antilochos and accepts the third prize. In t hese interactions between the contestants and Achilles, the reader is privy to the way anger and arguments should be rationally handled using mētis (intelligence) instead of biē (force). Unlike in his earlier dealings with Agamemnon, Achilles h ere exhibits great patience and understanding to keep everyone satisfied. He not only controls his own anger but finds alternatives to quench the tempers of his associates. The type of rational behavior exercised throughout the chariot race is especially evident in the way Antilochos h andles his own situation with Menelaos. Carefully and rationally considering the event, he avoids perjuring himself in the eyes of the gods by admitting his error rather than swearing to a falsehood that he did not cheat. His honesty in turn restores Menelaos’ respect and salvages for him the prize won through a deceitful act. Achilles’ respect for the feelings of all t hose in attendance is further demonstrated in his gesture to Nestor. Having presented a special prize to Eumelos, the unfortunate chariot race loser, he offers the unclaimed fifth prize, the jar with two handles, to Nestor in honor of his serv ice and his age, which no longer allows him to participate in the games. Grateful for the attention, Nestor invokes divine favor on Achilles: “May the gods, for what you have done for me, give you great happiness” (23.650). Such blessings from one revered by both gods and men normally translates into luck, but ironically Achilles’ fate is already sealed. Nestor’s blessings,
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however, serve to welcome Achilles back to the world of mortals and his newfound humanity. Encouraged, Nestor delivers a second speech on his past athletic achievements, which brackets the race between his first speech at the beginning of the contest and his last and ends the event the way it began. Nestor’s speech at 23.626–650 recollecting his athletic victories is his attle with the Lapiths fourth in the Iliad, the other three recounting his b against the Centaurs (1.254–284), his single combat with Ereuthalion (7.124–160), and his other battle triumphs (11.654–802). In this, his fourth reminiscence, he recounts the five contests he won held in honor of King Amaryngkeus, a prominent Epeian fighter. Only in the sixth contest, the horse race, promising the most prizes (23.640), was he defeated, unfairly being outnumbered by the twins Kteatos and Eurytos driving the same chariot. The fact that even in Nestor’s generation the best prizes w ere reserved for the chariot race underlines its importance in such competitions and explains the 390 lines Homer devotes to it. After the chariot race, Achilles announces the remaining seven events, which cover the balance of the space devoted to the funeral games. The emphasis in the boxing match involving two minor figures is on character delineation as it was in the preceding chariot race. The match minimizes the importance of brutality and ends quickly, giving first prize to the braggart and comic Epeios, whose boasting is reminiscent of the boxer Muhammad Ali’s in modern times. Since t here are no rounds in ancient boxing, the match continues until aborted by the boxers or the spectators. Soft leather thongs (himantinos) wrapped around the boxers’ hands in lieu of boxing gloves were used well into the classical period (fifth century b.c.e.). The wrestling match, involving two major figures, Telamonian Ajax and Odysseus, pits force (biē; Ajax) against guile (mētis; Odysseus). The two-part fight is briefly described and ends inconclusively. First, neither of the two locked figures is successful in pushing the other out of the ring. Second, to break the deadlock, they agree the winner must lift the other off the
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ground. Since neither can fulfill the task, Achilles declares a draw and asks the contestants to share the accolades equally, an impossibility given that the prizes consist of a tripod and a w oman, the first worth twelve oxen and the latter only four. Mention of the monetary value of the prizes exposes the gender inequality in Homeric society, in which some women are valued at one-third the price of a tripod. One can also question Achilles’ handling of this match. Although he declares the event inconclusive, Odysseus seems to have scored more points than Ajax, yet neither receives first prize. Does he not want the man of guile declared a winner? A fter all, he is aware of Odysseus’ tactics from the embassy scene (Il. 9), where, a fter divulging Agamemnon’s message, Achilles responds, “I detest that man, who / hides one thing in the depths of his heart, and speaks forth another” (9.312–313), a comment that can apply equally either to his commander or to Odysseus. For the fourth event, the footrace, Homer calls attention to the precious mixing bowl offered as first prize. Often, rather than describe an object, Homer relates its story, which also highlights his biases. This six-measure bowl, admired for its craftmanship, was presented to Thoas, king of Lemnos and father of Hypsipyle, who married Jason and gave birth to Euneos. Thoas bartered the bowl for Patroklos’ captive Lykaon (Priam’ son). At 21.77–79 Lykaon, about to die at the hands of Achilles, admits that Patroklos received one hundred oxen for his release, supposedly the bowl’s worth. This is quite a contrast between a woman’s worth and the value Homer places on art. Divine interference again plays a role in the footrace. Odysseus, a step away from the front-runner, the Lesser Ajax, prays for victory. A simile describes the two runners as being as close to each other as a weaving rod is to a woman’s breast when working on a vertical loom (23.760–763). Athena, favoring Odysseus, has Ajax slip and fall facedown in cow dung. The goddess’ hostility t oward the Lesser Ajax becomes more pronounced beyond the Iliad narrative for his raping Priam’s d aughter Kassandra in her t emple (see Od. 4.502). The gods favor t hose who respect them and seek their help. Antilochos, who happily accepts third prize, diplomatically
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charms his companions, praises Achilles as one whose speed cannot be matched (23.792), and earns himself an extra half talent for his flattery. The armed-combat event seems to arise from earlier in the past than the other contests, for it is mentioned neither by the oldest warrior among the Greeks nor by anyone e lse in the Iliad. Its requirements even hint at a fight to the death. First, the victor must draw blood from “the vitals” (endinōn at 23.806). Second, the contestants will be given a banquet after the duel, perhaps to smooth out any ill feelings between the competitors. Telamonian Ajax and Diomedes, the Iliad’s foremost warriors a fter Achilles, take part in the event, but when Diomedes comes close to fatally wounding Ajax, Achilles stops the combat, calls the match a draw, asks the combatants to share the armor, and awards the first prize of a sword to Diomedes. It is not surprising that he f avors Diomedes even though it is Ajax who is considered second to him. Diomedes, throughout the epic, acts as a surrogate Achilles, and by presenting the sword to him, Achilles could be acknowledging himself. The prizes conferred in this event are an excellent example of the type of rewards offered by the hero throughout the games. They come from captured booty and serve as reminders of Achilles’ and Patroklos’ past heroic achievements. The shield and helmet, for example, are from Sarpedon’s armor, which Patroklos stripped from that warrior’s body at 23.663–665, and the first prize, the silver-nailed sword, is one Achilles removed from Asteropaios’ corpse at 21.182–183. The lump of iron12 set as the prize for the weight-t hrowing match also comes from one of Achilles’ early raids. The devastation of Eëtion’s kingdom provided not only the lump of iron but also the enslavement of Chryseis and Briseis, both crucial to the Iliad narrative. Further, Eëtion was Andromache’s f ather, whose background she records at 6.414–428, reminding the reader who Achilles was and who he is now. This match is also Telamonian Ajax’s third competition in the funeral games (wrestling, armed combat, and weight throwing) and the third time that the first prize eludes him. His third involvement is his most humiliating, since he is
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competing against three minor warriors and loses. The first to throw the pig iron is the braggart Epeios, whose strength was featured in the boxing match. H ere, however, his strength fails to make up for his lack of skill, for as he “whirled and threw it” (23.840), his companions laughed. The winner is Polypoites. There is no real explanation why the bulwark of the Greeks (herkos Achaiōn) is presented in this way. Ajax is a loner who never asks for divine assistance. The only time in the Iliad that he addresses a god is at 17.645–647, to disperse the concealing mist covering the battlefield. For Homer, Ajax is above all a warrior who unconditionally carries out his duties as a fighter. Beyond the battlefield, he is lumbering and sluggish. For the archery contest, Achilles, as if aware of the results of the contest before it takes place, tethers a pigeon to a mast pole by a thin string attached to its foot and offers two prizes, one for the archer who strikes the bird and the other for the archer who cuts the string. Teukros is allotted the first turn but neglects to solicit the assistance of the archer god (Apollo) and as a result misses the bird but hits the string. Meriones, grabbing the bow from Teukros, promises Apollo a g rand sacrifice of a first-born lamb. He lands the fatal blow and wins first prize. The gods demand their due; they assist only t hose who recompense them. The spear-t hrowing event, the final one of the eight contests, receives, significantly, the shortest coverage. Two contestants, Agamemnon and Meriones, rise, but Achilles immediately defaults the game and declares Agamemnon the “greatest for strength among the spear throwers” (23.891), invalidating the need for a contest. He then presents the sword to Meriones and the cauldron to Agamemnon. Outwardly, Achilles pays his commander in chief a compliment, signaling that his superior skill is common knowledge and thus t here is no need for a contest. However, he hands the sword, a symbol of bravery, to Meriones. Agamemnon receives the cauldron worth one ox, the lowest-valued prize among the eight contests. Only the two losers of the footrace, Oilian Ajax (one ox) and Antilochos (one talent worth one ox), receive a prize of similar value. Meriones, a minor warrior
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of lower rank, receives a prize of higher value than that received by the commander in chief. The compliment Agamemnon receives seems to be a veiled insult. Even the brevity of the coverage is telling. Achilles makes his disguised comment and hurriedly moves on. Perhaps he wants to humiliate Agamemnon for his comment at 1.290–291, “And if the everlasting gods have made him a spearman / yet they have not given him the right to speak abusively.” Is Agamemnon implying that Achilles’ skill is not really of his own making, and is Achilles responding in kind? Il. 23 ends on that note. Selected Bibliography: Il. 23 Alexander, Iliad. Anhalt, Enraged, 80–114. Coventry, “Messenger Scenes.” Edwards, Mark W., “Convention.” Edwards, Mark W., Homer. Frazer, Reading of the “Iliad.” Gazis, Homer and the Poetics. Hinckley, “Patroclus’ Funeral Games.” Hogan, Guide to the “Iliad.” Jones, Homer’s “Iliad.” Kelly, “Achilles in Control?” Kitts, “Bulls Cut Down Bellowing.” Kitts, “Funeral Sacrifices.” Lattimore, “Iliad” of Homer. McAuslan and Walcot, Homer. Owen, Story of the “Iliad.” Petropoulou, “Interment of Patroclus.” Pocock, “On Iliad XXIII.” Postlethwaite, “Agamemnon, Best of Spearmen?” Postlethwaite, Homer’s “Iliad.” Powell, Homer.
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Powell, Iliad. Rabel, Plot. Rengakos, “Smile of Achilles.” Richardson, Nicholas J., Iliad. Roisman, “Nestor’s Advice.” Scott, William C., “Etiquette of Games.” Segal, Theme of Mutilation. Stanley, Shield of Homer, 221–232. Verity, Homer. West, M. L., Making of the “Iliad.” Willcock, Companion to the “Iliad.” Willcock, “Funeral Games of Patroclus.”
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ACHILLES’ WRATH CONCLUDED: IL. 24 (DAYS TWENTY-EIGHT TO FIFTY-THREE) Book 24 The action of the Iliad’s final book, “The Ransom of Hector” (Hektoros lutra), begins during the night of day twenty-nine, which dawns at 23.226. At 24.31 it is “the twelfth dawn after the death of Hector” (day forty-one), for eleven unnarrated days elapse in which Achilles mistreats Hector’s corpse. The forty-second day begins at 24.695, as Priam arrives in Troy with his ransomed son’s corpse. Again, nine unnarrated days are spent gathering wood for Hector’s pyre, and on the tenth day, at 24.785 (day fifty- two), Hector is cremated. Dawn rises on the eleventh day at 24.788 (day fifty-three), on which the hero’s burial mound is built, and the day the Iliad narrative ends. In all, Homer’s tale occupies fifty-three days, of which only fifteen are narrated action; the remaining days, in narratological terms, are only named. A series of five episodes that begin the Iliad’s plot in Il. 1 end the epic narrative in reverse order in Il. 24 (ring composition), the Iliad’s first book mirroring the epic’s last. 1. Il. 1: The wrong done to a suppliant f ather (Chryses) by Agamemnon. 5. Il. 24: The right done to a suppliant f ather (Priam) by Achilles. 2. Il. 1: The quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon. 4. Il. 24: The agreement between Achilles and Priam. 302
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3. Il. 1: Thetis’ agreeing to take Achilles’ message to Zeus. 3. Il. 24: Thetis’ agreeing to take Zeus’ message to Achilles. 4. Il. 1: Thetis and Zeus. 2. Il. 24: Zeus and Thetis. 5. Il. 1: Quarrel on Olympos. 1. Il. 24: Quarrel on Olympos. Il. 24 divides into four sections: I. Desecration of Hector’s corpse (23% of book) II. Priam’s journey to Achilles (35% of book) III. The Priam-Achilles encounter (26% of book) IV. Hector’s funeral ceremonies (16% of book) I. Desecration of Hector’s Corpse, 1–187 This first section of the final book contains three major episodes: Achilles’ mistreatment of Hector’s corpse (24.1–30), Zeus’ dictate that Achilles release Hector’s body to Priam (24.31–142), and Zeus’ communiqué to Priam to ransom the corpse from Achilles (24.143–187). At the conclusion of Patroklos’ funeral games, the participants and spectators return to their camps for dinner and sleep. Meanwhile, Achilles still lies sleepless, tossing and turning, longing for his friend (23.55–60). Each dawn for eleven days, he fastens Hector’s corpse behind his chariot and drags it three times around his companion’s tomb before abandoning the naked body facedown in the dust. Apollo, pitying the corpse, protects it from disfigurement by covering it with his golden aegis, the goatskin fetish like t hose of Zeus and Athena, which not only inspires terror but is also used as a protective shield. Achilles’ rage toward Hector has yet to abate, as the first eighteen lines of the present book illustrate. The gods pity the dead Hector, whereas previously they seemed unconcerned with mortality as they lounged and entertained themselves on Olympos. It seems their empathy for Hector, as Apollo reveals, is for one who burned flawless animals in their honor. Although the gods pity
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t hose who honor them in life, once dead and buried, they are forgotten. Perhaps what the epic illustrates is that the gods have limits that cannot be transgressed. Death among mortals is commonplace, but the living must relinquish any claim over the dead. Apollo objects to Achilles’ rage, for “he does dishonor to the dumb earth in his fury” (24.54). To disgrace the dead, which the earth now claims, is to assail the gods’ wardship of the earth. The gods urge Argeïphontes—an epithet for Hermes, the slayer of the hundred-eyed monster Argos, which Hera had guarding one of Zeus’ mortal lovers, Io—to steal the corpse, an act agreed on by most, with the exception of Poseidon, Hera, and Athena. Their objection is due to “the delusion of Paris / who insulted the goddesses” (24.28–29) by selecting Aphrodite and thus offending Hera and Athena. This is the only time in the epic that the beauty contest is mentioned, but it has nothing to do with Poseidon’s hatred for Troy. His hatred stems from his treatment by Hector’s grandfather Laomedon (see 21.441–455). Apollo, by contrast, also cheated out of his wages for herding Laomedon’s cattle, remains loyal to the Trojans, proba bly b ecause he harbors greater resentments toward the Greeks, ill feelings for which Homer fails to mention a cause (later tradition says that Achilles had earned Apollo’s loathing for slaying Priam’s son Troilus in his temple; see Malcolm Davies, “Judgment of Paris”). Apollo implores the gods to save Hector’s corpse from further abuse by Achilles, who according to the god has lost all pity and disrespects the earth and natural law—Themis, the goddess of order and custom. The god alludes to the Greek hero as oloō Achilēi (24.39), destructive Achilles ere (“cursed” in Richard Lattimore’s translation), a word (oloōs) used only h to refer to a person rather than a destructive force of nature to indicate how far beyond normal humanity Achilles’ rage has deviated (Schein, Mortal Hero, 128–167). The god compares him to a lion as a savage force devouring the flocks of men (24.41–43), an image unlike any other lion image used throughout the epic to depict a hero. Hera opposes Apollo’s assessment. She would agree only if Hector and Achilles were equal, but
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as it is, Hector is mortal, whereas Achilles is the son of the immortal Thetis, whom she claims she raised and nurtured. Hera’s upbringing of Thetis features in texts that appear after Homer’s (see Apollonius, Jason and the Golden Fleece, 4.790–798). As mentioned earlier, Zeus expresses a sexual interest in Thetis, but a prophecy disclosed that a child from such a union would be greater than the f ather. As a result, Zeus suppressed his interest, and Hera asked Thetis to marry the mortal Peleus as a f avor to her. Thetis accommodated her and later gave birth to Achilles. This detail, mentioned only at 24.59–60, is used to justify Hera’s interference, since early in the epic the goddess was suspicious of Thetis’ visit to Zeus (see 1.536–543). By calling Apollo “faithless” (apiste at 24.63), Hera reminds him that he, along with all the other gods, was present at Peleus and Thetis’ wedding, where he dined and even played his lyre (24.62–63). Apollo’s perfidy is clarified in Plato’s Republic, where Thetis complains that Apollo, who predicted a long life for her son, lied, for it was he who later kills him:1 He predicted my happiness in my children, whose days were to be many and unacquainted with disease; and in triumph-strain that cheered my soul, he praised my lot, blest of the gods. But he who raised this song, present at my marriage feast, himself hath slain my son. Plato, Republic, 2.383b (R. E. Allen, Plato, 69)
Zeus intervenes to s ettle the dispute between Hera and Apollo using persuasion rather than force, which was used earlier to settle such disagreements. He gratifies both sides by volunteering to venerate both warriors. Hector’s body w ill not be stolen u nder Thetis’ watchful eye but w ill be retrieved with dignity, for the Trojan revered the gods. Achilles’ honor w ill not be diminished but rather increased by having him return the corpse voluntarily for gifts. Zeus’ pronouncement is carried out by Iris, who first goes to Thetis to deliver Zeus’ decree, and then to Priam to persuade him to journey to the Greek’s camp to ransom his son’s corpse.
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Iris, anxious to deliver Zeus’ message to Thetis, dives into the sea like “a lead weight . . . mounted / along the horn of an ox” (24.80–81), an image referring to an artificial bait of horn that is weighted down with lead. She finds the goddess wearing a black veil, mourning the death of her son (24.94; the first reference to black as a color for mourning), a reminder that although the epic ends with the burial of Hector, Achilles too is meta phorically (and proleptically) dead, since both his surrogates (Patroklos and Hector) died wearing his armor. In a reversal of Thetis’ journey to Zeus at 1.503–510, where she seeks kleos for her son, she now returns to Zeus, who asks a favor of her. In yet another reversal, considering her mistrustful reaction to Thetis’ arrival in Il. 1, Hera greets her amicably and offers her a drink (24.101–102). The goddess needs Thetis’ involvement at this juncture to counter Apollo’s animosity t oward Achilles. Zeus confirms that Hermes (Argeïphontes) w ill not steal Hector’s corpse, for Zeus says, “I still put upon Achilleus the honor that he has” (24.110) to return the body for ransom. The original line, kudos Achillēï protiaptō (to deliver honor to Achilles), can be interpreted in two ways: Achilles will receive honor from Hector’s ransom, or Achilles w ill receive honor by giving up the corpse and treating Priam with compassion. Thetis, as Zeus’ intercessor, delivers his message in three parts— prologue, introduction, and text. In the prologue (24.128–132), she reminds Achilles that he needs to eat and sleep with a w oman, for “death and powerful destiny stand closely above you” (24.132). Not only does she again predict his end, but she also alerts the reader that Achilles has yet to eat or return to normality. She then proceeds with her introduction (24.133), “But listen hard to me, for I come from Zeus with a message,” and she delivers her communiqué (24.134–137). Achilles must give up Hector’s corpse for ransom (apoina). Just as Achilles obeyed Athena not to harm Agamemnon at 1.216–218, he now obeys Zeus to release Hector’s corpse: “So be it” (tēd’ eiē at 24.139). At 24.144 the scene moves back to the point where Zeus, on Olympos, is about to send Iris to Thetis and Priam (24.77). Having delivered the
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Olympian’s message to Thetis, Iris continues her journey, now with a fourfold message to the Trojan king. She appears before Priam in person in the same way Athena appeared before Achilles at 1.197–200 and finds the king disheveled and covered in dung, mourning Hector and the Trojan dead with his entire family. In the delivery of a message type scene, which can include any number of five parts (instructions, departure, arrival, client quest, and delivery), Iris repeats Zeus’ communiqué from 24.146–158 to Priam at 24.175–187. Priam is to ransom his dead son by journeying to Achilles’ camp accompanied by one elder herald who w ill manage the wagon with the gifts and will convey Hector’s corpse back to Troy. He will have the assistance of a divine escort, Hermes, to guide his way, and he should not be afraid, for Achilles w ill welcome him as a suppliant and protect him from the Greeks. II. Priam’s Journey to Achilles, 188–467 Once Iris departs, Priam begins preparations for his journey, which takes up a third of Il. 24. He meets his wife in the storeroom, where he is putting together the ransom, and consults her concerning the feasibility of the trip. Hecuba, mistrustful of Achilles, objects to a journey to one “who is savage and not to be trusted” (24.207). Her preference is for Priam to remain in his own palace and seek revenge. Her invective, expressing a desire to eat Achilles’ liver (24.212–213), conveys more her grief than an a ctual desire to cannibalize her enemy. In Il. 4 Zeus complains that Hera’s hatred for Priam and the Trojans could only be sated if she could “eat Priam and the children of Priam raw” (4.35). Achilles, standing over the dying Hector in Il. 22, wishes that his fury would drive him “to hack your meat away and eat it raw” (22.347). Before Patroklos’ death, such outbursts of bitter denunciation w ere not as frequent as one finds in the epic’s later books. Similarly, when Hecuba weeps for her son’s fate, fearing “that the dogs with their shifting feet . . . [might] feed on him” (24.211), it is understood that such atrocities are common in warfare. Even in the proem in Il. 1, the Muse acknowledges that the bodies of fallen heroes w ill become the “delicate
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feasting / of dogs” (1.4–5). Thus, when Achilles threatens the d ying Hector that “the dogs and the birds w ill have you all for their feasting” (22.354), he is confirming what happens to unburied corpses left on the battlefield. Priam, however, is not to be dissuaded from his journey. He tells Hecuba that a god approached him in person and ordered him to make the trip. Thus, he readies the gifts for his son’s ransom, which are rivaled only by those Agamemnon offered Achilles in Il. 9 (24.228–236). In his distress and haste, he scatters the attendants around him “with a stick” and orders his nine living sons to prepare the wagon (24.247). Of the nine sons mentioned, Helenos, Paris, Polites, and Deïphobos appear in the Iliad, while the remaining five, Agathon, Pammon, Antiphonos, Dios, and ere. Labeling them as bringers of Hippothoös, 2 are mentioned only h disgrace, Priam claims his noblest offspring w ere three—Hector, Mestor, and Troilus, the last two having died at an earlier stage of the war. A myth (not in the Iliad) foretold that if Troilus survived to age twenty, Troy would not be taken. Achilles, however, killed him before he reached that age. The scene next digresses at 24.265–280 to a detailed and technical description of the cart Priam’s sons prepare for him (Powell, Iliad, 553n270). But before he embarks on his journey, Hecuba demands that a libation be poured to Zeus. What follows is a type scene—a libation offered to the gods by an individual. Hecuba invites her husband to implore Zeus for a sign for a safe and successful journey. He asks the housekeeper for water to wash his hands, and as he pours wine on the earth, he prays for a positive sign to appear on his right side for an affirmative outcome. Zeus responds by sending a large eagle that appears on Priam’s right as it sweeps through the city. Pitied by Zeus for his devotion to the gods and assured of success, Priam begins his journey, leading a two-wheel chariot drawn by h orses and accompanied by the Trojan herald Idaios (last encountered in Il. 3 and Il. 7), who drives the four-wheel wagon drawn by mules. Priam’s willingness to go alone to the man who “slaughtered in such numbers / such brave
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sons” (24.204–205), and the value he places on his son’s corpse, is admirable, since ransoms w ere normally paid for the living. The journey is described in terms of death, a form of katabasis (a descent, going down), a journey to the underworld. As in a funeral pro cession, lamenting kinsmen follow the wagon and chariot as the two men get u nder way. Once they are on their way, Zeus sends Hermes, who in the Iliad is invoked as a guide and escort (diaktoros at 24.339, 24.378, 24.389, 24.410, 24.432, and 24.445), to accompany Priam. Hermes leading Priam to Achilles is reminiscent of his herding dead souls to the underworld in Od. 24. In myth, Hermes is recognized as psuchopompos, the god who leads souls to Hades. Furthermore, the journey takes place at night, in darkness, and passes the great tomb of Ilos, a Trojan landmark honoring the founder of Ilion (Troy) and the eldest son of Tros, f ather of Laomedon and grandfather of Priam. The journeyers then cross the river Scamander, a possible allegorical allusion to the river Styx, which marks the boundary between the earth and Hades. Even Achilles’ camp in Il. 24 is enlarged to approximate Hades. It requires three men to pull back the huge door bar separating Achilles’ quarters from the outside world, just as Hades is isolated from the world of the living. The lengthy dialogue of nine exchanges between Hermes and Priam, the longest conversation in the Iliad, serves to detain Priam’s katabasis and underscore the distance and difficulty of the trip. Addressing Priam as father in the first exchange (24.362–371), the youthful stranger (Hermes in disguise) warns him of the dangers of hauling treasures at night and offers to assist him. The appearance of a youth of such beauty and intelligence is for Priam in the second exchange (24.373–377) a sign that the gods are looking out for him. However, he does not yet identify the wayfarer as a god, even though Iris specifically promised him a divine escort: “Argeïphontes / . . . will lead you till he brings you to Achilles” (24.182–183). The stranger (Hermes), who purports knowledge of Hector’s death in the third exchange (24.379–385), asks whether the purpose of Priam’s journey
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is to deliver treasure to someone for safekeeping, or w hether the king is abandoning Troy a fter the death of his son. Amazed that the foreigner is aware of his situation, Priam in the fourth exchange (24.386–387) asks for his identity, suspicious that he might be a divinity. Reluctant to reveal himself—“You try me out, aged sir” (24.390)—Hermes in the fifth exchange (24.390–404) contrives a subterfuge. Identifying himself as Achilles’ henchman, a Myrmidon, he claims to have seen Hector on the battlefield. He declares himself the elder Polyktor’s seventh son, chosen by lot to represent his f amily at Troy. His mission is to lead Priam safely to Achilles, knowing that the Greeks are anxious to attack Priam’s city at daybreak. Hearing that the youth is Achilles’ henchman, Priam’s curiosity in the sixth exchange (24.406–409) shifts to his son’s status— whether he lies beside the Greek ships or w hether he has been devoured by dogs. The stranger, in the seventh exchange (24.411–423), reassures Priam that his son remains at Achilles’ shelter unmolested, although the Greek hero dragged him around Patroklos’ tomb for twelve days. He lies uncorrupted, cared for by immortals, “because in their hearts they loved him” (24.423). Overjoyed at Hermes’ words, Priam in the eighth exchange (24.425–431) is thankful the gods have repaid him for his and his son’s devotion to them. He offers the stranger a “goblet of surpassing loveliness” (24.233–234) as a reward for guiding him to Achilles. In the final exchange (24.433–439), however, the youth (Hermes) takes offense: “You try me out, aged sir, for I am young” (24.433). He will not be bribed, but he is willing to guide and protect Priam wherever he might want to go. Their dialogue over, Hermes springs into the chariot and, breathing strength into the horses and mules, leads Priam and Idaios to Achilles’ shelter. Once at the ships’ fortifications, Hermes casts sleep over the sentries, miraculously slides open the door bars of the massive gate, and brings Priam and his gifts into Achilles’ compound. Revealing himself before returning to Olympos—“I who came to you am a god immortal, / Hermes” (24.460–461)—he instructs Priam to enter Achilles’ tent alone and beseech the hero for his son’s corpse.
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III. The Priam-Achilles Encounter, 468–676 Leaving Idaios outside with the h orses and mules, Priam makes his way unseen into Achilles’ quarters, where he finds the hero finishing his dinner, attended by Automedon and Alkimos, who are now his closest companions. Although he is still mourning the death of his friend, Achilles’ return to normality is evident. By the end of this section, he w ill have heeded his mother’s plea both to eat and to lie with a w oman (see 24.128–131 and 24.675–676, respectively). Priam’s first act is to embrace Achilles’ knees in supplication and kiss the hands that killed so many of his sons. A reverse simile compares the stunned Achilles to . . . one who has murdered a man in his own land, and he comes to the country of others, to a man of substance, and wonder seizes on t hose who behold him. (24.480–482)
Achilles’ astonishment is compared to the amazement people experience when someone stained by bloodguilt appears in their land. Although Achilles is the “one who has murdered,” he is compared to the crowd who, in “wonder,” behold the stranger, in this instance the man of substance Priam, who comes to the killer rather than the reverse. Priam’s supplication succeeds b ecause Achilles recognizes that h uman grief binds a community. What distinguishes mortals from the gods is not only death but grief, something lacking among immortals. Priam’s first pleas to Achilles are to remember his own father, who, like Priam, is on the threshold of old age (epi gēraos oudō, 24.487). Next, he addresses the sorrow of Peleus, who has no one to defend him but is nevertheless fortunate to have a living son whom he hopes w ill return to him. Priam’s sorrow, on the other hand, is full of misfortune. Many of his fifty sons have been killed, and the greatest of them all, the city’s protector, is dead. Priam entreats Achilles to honor the gods, to pity one more pitiable
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than Peleus, to be mindful of a father who awaits a son’s return, and above all to honor one who “put [his] lips to the hands of the man who has killed [his] c hildren” (24.506). His appeals have an effect on Achilles and bring about the humanity (philotēs) his wrath suppressed. Recalling his own father, Achilles weeps along with Priam, but as he helps the old man from his supplicant position, he g ently pushes him away (apōsatō, 24.508). Achilles’ initial reaction is to reject Priam’s supplication,3 as he strugg les with his anger but at the same time is mindful of Zeus’ directive. Admiring the aged man who dared approach the quarters of the one responsible for the loss of so many of his sons, Achilles rises and offers Priam his chair (thronos, 24.515), one of three types of seats identified in the Iliad—difros (a stool), klismos (a chair with a back most frequently occupied by the host while entertaining guests), and thronos (a chair for gods and kings) (Frazer, “κλισμός of Achilles”). A long speech by Achilles at 24.517–555 intervenes before Priam, anxious to receive his son’s corpse, politely refuses the thronos. Achilles takes offense—“No longer stir me up, old sir” (24.560), a reflection of his internal struggle—and cautions Priam not to provoke his anger lest he “be guilty before the god’s orders” (24.570). He recognizes the gods’ hands in Priam’s presence, for no mortal could get by the guards and unbar the gate’s bolt on his own, “not even / one strong in youth” (24.565–566). Since it is Zeus’ wish that he relinquish Hector’s body, he w ill obey his w ill. But he must first deal with his grief in releasing a corpse he promised to mutilate. Irritated at being hurried, he is overcome by the anger still seething below the surface. Frightened, the old man sits, presumably on the thronos (24.571). In Achilles’ long speech, his pity for and admiration of Priam open the way for a consideration of the h uman condition: “We live in unhappiness, but the gods themselves have no sorrows” (24.526). Narrating the Homeric allegory of Zeus’ two urns, Achilles realizes he has more in common with his mortal father than he has with his immortal mother. Zeus holds two jars full of the gifts he dispenses to mankind. One is filled with blessings and the other is full of evils. Each mortal at birth receives either a mixture from
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both urns or from only the urn of evils, but no one ever receives solely from the urn of blessings. Th ose who receive only from the urn of undiluted evil are driven despised over the earth. Th ose who receive a mixture of the two jars experience both happiness and sorrow, like Peleus and Priam. Peleus was blessed with riches, an immortal wife (Thetis), and a son recognized as “the best of the Achaians,” but the son was fated to a short life, unable to attend his father in his old age. Priam, rich in both wealth and children, must endure the death of a great number of his children and the destruction of his kingdom. At the end both men are left with suffering and grief and alienated from the gods. Mortals must bear whatever the gods provoke. Agitated by Priam’s impatience, Achilles leaps out of the door like a lion (he is still filled with controlled rage) and, accompanied by Automedon and Alkimos, f rees the h orses and mules from their yokes, leads the herald to a stool (epi di frou at 24.578) inside the camp, and a fter washing and anointing Hector’s corpse, wraps it in cloaks taken from Priam’s ransom gifts and places it in the wagon. Achilles, in his irritable state, fears that should Priam see his son’s corpse in its disheveled condition, he might become enraged and escalate Achilles’ wrath. Before returning to his quarters, guilty for not carryi ng out his threats to the corpse, Achilles apologizes to Patroklos for returning Hector to his f ather and promises him his share of the “not unworthy” ransom (24.594). Returning to his shelter, Achilles sits “on the elaborate couch” (ezeto d’ en klismō at 24.597), since Priam is still occupying Achilles’ place (thronos, 24.571). Achilles informs Priam that his son is ready for transfer, but he will not see him u ntil he leaves at dawn, fearing that an e arlier viewing might cause feelings of hostility between them. He recommends they eat, a sign that both men have learned to live with their sorrows. Beginning Hector’s funeral rites (washing the body and laying it on a bier) marks the end of Achilles’ vengeance against Hector and highlights that the humane concern he displays in caring for the corpse is what most impressed Andromache in his treatment of her father, King Eëtion (see 6.414–419). By the same token, it is Priam’s humility that allows Achilles to accept the
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ransom, whereas he denied Agamemnon’s persuasive gifts b ecause the commander failed to apologize in person for commandeering Briseis. Achilles stresses the need for food by calling forth the myth of Niobe, which the poet adapts to fit Priam’s situation, and which the Greek hero presents in ring composition (24.599–620): a. Your son is ransomed, and tomorrow at dawn you w ill take him home (24.599–601). b . Now we must take thought of food (24.601). c. Even Niobe thought of food (24.602). d. Apollo and Artemis killed Niobe’s twelve children (24.603–606). e. Niobe boasted of having given birth to more c hildren than Leto, who bore only Apollo and Artemis (24.607–608). d ′. Therefore, Apollo and Artemis killed Niobe’s c hildren as punishment for their mother’s hubris, and they lay in their own blood for nine days, for Zeus had turned everyone to stone (24.609–612). c ′. Yet Niobe thought of food, although even today the stone in Sipylos4 still weeps (24.613–617). b ′. Now we too must remember to eat (24.618–619). a ′. Tomorrow you can take your son home and mourn him (24.619–620). Unlike in the standard story, Homer in his version of the myth turns everyone to stone so that the slaughtered c hildren remain defiled and unburied. This act not only exposes both the gods’ cruelty and mercy but at the same time explains Achilles’ own double nature, both wrathful and humane. Achilles kills Priam’s son as the gods in the Niobe myth killed Niobe’s children, and Achilles prevents Hector’s burial as the gods prevented the burial of Niobe’s sons and d aughters. L ater the Greek hero allows Priam to bury his son on the tenth day, the same number of days that elapse before the gods bury Niobe’s children. Finally, having had her fill of lamentation, Niobe eats as Priam must now also do. Although the Niobe myth predates the Trojan myth, Homer emphasizes its relevance for his own narrative by insisting that even “now [nun] . . . in Sipylos”
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(24.614–615), Niobe’s petrified form still weeps over the sorrows foisted on her by the gods. Having finally broken his fast and sleeplessness since the death of Hector, Priam asks for a place to rest. Achilles immediately orders his serving maids to prepare a bed for his two guests and invites Priam sarcastically (epikertomeōn) to “sleep outside [ektos], . . . for fear some Achaian / might come in h ere” (24.649–650), although it is customary in the Homeric epics for a guest to sleep in the vestibule (aithousa); the host sleeps inside the main dwelling. According to Jenny Strauss Clay (“Iliad 24.649,” 618–619), this is a subtle way of manipulating someone to carry out a wish without saying so explicitly. Achilles suggests the vestibule lest someone come by his quarters, spot the Trojan, and report it to Agamemnon, which might endanger Priam’s safety. However, it is much easier to spot someone in the vestibule than elsewhere in Achilles’ quarters. He is subtly warning Priam that he should leave his camp as soon as pos sible before he is recognized, which is what Hermes insinuates also at 24.683–688. Although it is not clear w hether Priam understands Achilles’ meaning, he is prevailed upon by the god in a dream to leave the compound secretly before dawn and return to Troy. Hermes again accompanies him u ntil they cross the Xanthos/Scamander River, at which point the god returns to Olympos. IV. Hector’s Funeral Ceremonies, 677–804 Once Achilles grants Priam the truce to make provisions for Hector’s burial, the Greek hero leads him to the aithousa “by the right hand / at the wrist” (24.671–672) to alleviate his fears, and he retires by the side of Briseis, having fully returned to the living. By the end of the Achilles- Priam encounter, Achilles has demonstrated his capacity for both philotēs ill (friendship) and mēnis (anger). Yet, in twelve days’ time, fierce fighting w again break out and continue until Troy falls. Achilles, beyond the Iliad narrative, w ill be killed by Priam’s son Paris, and Priam w ill die at the hands of Achilles’ son Neoptolemos.
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On the dawn of the fortieth day of the Iliad narrative, Priam returns to Troy and is spotted first by his daughter Kassandra, last mentioned at 13.365–382. In three brief lines, she calls out the p eople of Troy to look on Hector, “a g reat joy to his city, and all his p eople” (24.706). A large number of Trojan mourners, Andromache and Hecuba among them, impede Priam’s entrance into Troy, but once he is inside, the thrēnoi (lamentations) by professional singers and the gooi (dirges) of Hector’s kinswomen continue without pause. The Iliad concludes with the tripartite structure of Andromache’s, Hecuba’s, and Helen’s gooi: a preliminary address to the dead and a narrative section comprising a final lament with references to the deceased’s past. According to the Greek classical scholar J. T. Kakridis, the Homeric poems employ an “ascending scale of affection” (Homeric Researches, 152–164), which states that the person closest to the lamented speaks last. In the case of Hector, this would be his wife Andromache. This ascending ere he scale of affection is used first in Hector’s visit to Troy in Il. 6. Th is greeted first by the Trojan women (6.237–241); his m other, Hecuba (6.251–260); his brother Paris and Helen (6.321–358); and finally by his wife Andromache (6.394–439). Again, in Il. 22, Hector’s death is witnessed and lamented first by his father and m other (22.415–428), then by the people of Troy (22.431–436), and third by Andromache (22.477–514). In Il. 24, however, the scale of affection is reversed. Andromache speaks first, followed by Hecuba, conferring the position of honor on the third speaker, Helen. Her prominent place frames the Iliad, for ultimately she was the initiator of Hector’s death (the Judgment of Paris) and thus the best person to close it. Nevertheless, Andromache’s status is undiminished, judging from the length of her laments. Her first lamentation, at 22.477–514, is the longest in the sequence, as is her second, at the end of the poem at 24.725–745. In Andromache’s lamentation, her expressed love for Hector leaves her bitter at his abandonment both in Il. 6 and in Il. 24. She and her son are left unprotected from slavery and death, and she realizes that Hector’s
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prominence on the battlefield w ill likely be avenged by his son’s murder. She twice envisions a possible fate for her son, at 22.485–498 and at 24.727–738, which w ill eventually come true. A later source, Euripides’ Trojan Women (following the epic Ilias Mikra), stipulates that Odysseus orders Astyanax cast to death from the walls of Troy. Since Troy’s defender is dead, and she foresees the destruction of the city and the enslavement of its women and children, she most regrets being denied the rites associated with death—to mourn her husband’s death at home. Hecuba begins her lament with a superlative of affection, “of all my sons the dearest by far to my spirit” (24.748). Unlike Andromache, who speaks of the f uture, Hecuba recalls the past. She is more concerned with her son’s physical being than with his glory, pays tribute to his piety rather than to his triumphs as a g reat warrior, and grieves that he was dragged behind Achilles’ chariot rather than ransomed as w ere so many of her other sons. Helen also begins with a superlative of affection, “of all my lord’s brothers dearest by far to my spirit” (polu philtate at 24.762), and like Hecuba sets Hector apart from all the other Trojans. Like her mother-in- law, Helen speaks of the past—her relation to Hector, his gentleness, and her fear in losing her defender from abuse and reproach. She laments her abduction by Paris (here she emerges as a victim) and wishes she had died before coming to Troy—regrets she also expresses e arlier in the epic at 3.173–175, 3.410–412, and 6.343–351. At the conclusion of the three laments, Priam reassures his people of their safety from Greek ambush for the next nine days in order to gather timber for Hector’s pyre. On the tenth day Hector is cremated, and on the eleventh the Trojan hero’s bones are buried: “Such was the burial of Hector, breaker of h orses” (24.804). The Iliad ends with the word hippodamoio, an ironic foreshadowing that without Hector, “the breaker of h orses,” Troy cannot survive the wooden h orse, which is soon to arrive. The Iliad began with Achilles’ wrath (in a spirit of conflict) and ends with Hector’s funeral (in a spirit of reconciliation), framed by its two protagonists.
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Selected Bibliography: Il. 24 Alexander, Iliad. Alexiou, Ritual Lament. Anhalt, Enraged, 80–114. Bassett, “Achilles’ Treatment.” Bassett, “Last Verse.” Beck, Homeric Conversation, 135–145. Bespaloff, On the “Iliad.” Brügger, Homer’s “Iliad” XXIV. Carvounis, “Helen and Iliad.” Clay, “Whip and Will.” Coventry, “Messenger Scenes.” Crotty, Poetics of Supplication. Davies, Malcolm, “Judgment of Paris.” Edwards, Mark W., Homer. Felson, “Threptra and Invincible Hands.” Franko, “Trojan Horse.” Frazer, “κλισμός of Achilles.” Frazer, Reading of the “Iliad.” Gottesman, “Pragmatics of Homeric ‘Kertomia.’ ” Heiden, Homer’s Cosmic Fabrication, 187–210. Herrero de Jáuregui, “Priam’s Catabasis.” Hogan, Guide to the “Iliad.” Jenkyns, Classical Epic, 29–31. Jones, Homer’s “Iliad.” Jones, “Iliad 24.649.” Keaney, “ALITHMVN.” Kiss, “Iliad 22.60 and 24.487.” Larsen, Homer Whole. Lateiner, “Probe and Survey.” Lattimore, “Iliad” of Homer. Littauer and Crouwel, “New Light?”
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Lloyd, “Politeness of Achilles.” Mackie, C. J., “Iliad 24.” Macleod, Homer. Macleod, “Introduction.” McAuslan and Walcot, Homer. Minchin, “Interpretation of a Theme.” Minchin, “Sleeplessness Theme.” Mueller, Iliad. Muellner, Anger of Achilles, 94–176. Myres, “Last Book.” Nagler, “Priam’s Kiss.” Nagler, Spontaneity and Tradition, 167–198. Owen, Story of the “Iliad.” Pantelia, “Helen.” Pearse, “Homer, Iliad.” Perkell, “Reading the Laments.” Postlethwaite, Homer’s “Iliad.” Powell, Homer. Powell, Iliad. Rabel, Plot, 163–209. Race, “Achilles’ κύδος.” Reinhardt, “Judgement of Paris.” Richardson, Nicholas J., Iliad. Schein, Homeric Epic, 93–115, 137–148. Schein, Mortal Hero, 128–167. Schenkeveld, “Invention.” Schlunk, “Theme.” Scodel, “Apollo’s Perfidy.” Segal, Theme of Mutilation, 57–71. Shapiro, “Poet and Painter.” Shiffman, “ ‘Going Alone.’ ” Sparkes, “Ransom of Hektor.”
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Stanley, Shield of Homer, 232–247. Taplin, “Word of Consolation.” Verity, Homer. Walcot, “Judgement of Paris.” West, M. L., Making of the “Iliad.” West, Stephanie, “Mysterious Lemnos.” West, Stephanie, “Priam’s Cup.” Whitehead, “Funeral of Achilles.” Willcock, Companion to the “Iliad.” Willcock, “Mythological Paradeigma.” Wilson, Donna F., Ransom, 109–133. Zanker, “Beyond Reciprocity.” Zanker, Heart of Achilles, 115–126.
Appendix A
• DAYS COV ER ED BY TH E ILI A D NA R R ATI V E
Table A.1. Days covered by the Iliad narrative Days covered
Books
Narrated days
Days one to twenty-one
Il. 1 and Il. 2
First narrated day Day one begins at 1.1 and ends at 1.52. Days two to nine are not narrated. Second narrated day Day ten begins at 1.54 and ends at 1.476. Third narrated day Day eleven begins at 1.477 and ends at 1.492. Days twelve to twenty are not narrated. Fourth narrated day Day twenty-one begins at 1.493 and ends at 2.47.
Day twenty-t wo
Il. 2–7
Fifth narrated day Day twenty-t wo begins at 2.48 and ends at 7.380.
Days twenty- three to twenty-four
Il. 7
Sixth narrated day
Day twenty-t hree begins at 7.381 and ends at 7.432.
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Table A.1. (continued) Days covered
Books
Narrated days Seventh narrated day Day twenty-four begins at 7.433 and ends at 7.482.
Day twenty-five
Il. 8–10
Eighth narrated day Day twenty-five begins at 8.1 and ends at 10.579.
Day twenty-six
Il. 11–18
Ninth narrated day Day twenty-six begins at 11.1 and ends at 18.616.
Day twenty-seven
Il. 19–23
Tenth narrated day Day twenty-seven begins at 19.1 and ends at 23.108.
Days twenty- eight to forty
Il. 23 and Il. 24
Eleventh narrated day Day twenty-eight begins at 23.109 and ends at 23.225. Twelfth narrated day Day twenty-nine begins at 23.226 and ends at 24.30. Days thirty to forty are not narrated.
Days forty-one to fifty-t hree
Il. 24
Thirteenth narrated day Day forty-one begins at 24.31 and ends at 24.694. Fourteenth narrated day Day forty-t wo begins at 24.695 and ends at 24.783. Days forty-t hree to fifty-one are not narrated. Fifteenth narrated day Day fifty-t wo begins at 24.785 and ends at 24.787 The epic ends on day fifty-t hree, which begins at 24.788 and ends at 24.804.
Appendix B
• CH A R AC TER NA M E S I N TH E ILI A D
The notation a fter each name indicates the name’s appearance in the Iliad by book and line number when appropriate. Abantes: P eople of Euboia, 2.536. Abarbare: A Naiad; mother of twin sons Aisepos and Pedasos, 6.22. Abas: Son of Eurydamas; Trojan killed by Diomedes, 5.148. Abioi: Barbarians of the north, 13.6. Ableros: Trojan killed by Nestor’s son Antilochos, 6.32. Achaians: One of three names used for the Greeks. Achilles (Achilleus) Major Greek warrior; leader of the Myrmidons; son of Peleus and Thetis, 1.1. Achilliad: Story of Achilles. Adamas: Son of Asios; Trojan killed by Meriones, 13.568. Admetos: Father of Eumelos; husband of Alkestis; king in Thessaly, 2.714, 23.289. Adrastos: Father of Aigialeia, 5.412. Adrestos: (1) Owner of the divine h orse Arion, 23.347 (2) Trojan captured by Menelaos, 6.37; killed by Agamemnon, 6.64. (3) Trojan killed by Patroklos, 16.69. Agakles: F ather of the Myrmidon Epeigeus, 16.571. Agamede: D aughter of Augeias; wife of Moulios, 11.740.
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Appendix B
Agamemnon: Commander in chief of the Greek forces; king of Mycenae; b rother of Menelaos, 1.24; wounded by Koön, 11.252. Agapenor: Son of Angkaios; leader of the Arkadians, 2.609. Agasthenes: From Elis; father of Polyxeinos, 2.624. Agastrophos: Son of Paion; Trojan killed by Diomedes, 11.339. Agathon: One of Priam’s living sons, 24.249. aughter of Nereus, 18.42. Agauë: A Nereīd, d Agelaos: (1) Greek warrior killed by Hector, 11.302. (2) Son of Phradmon; Trojan killed by Diomedes, 8.256. Agenor: Son of Trojan Antenor, 11.59; third among the three leaders of the second Trojan group to attack the Greek wall, 12.93. Aglaia: Mother of Nireus, 2.672. Agrios: Son of Portheus; a prince of Kalydon, 14.116. Aiakides: “A descendent of Aiakos,” son of Zeus, father of Peleus; used for Achilleus, 9.184. Aiakos: Son of Zeus, father of Peleus, 16.15; “son of Aiakos” = Achilles at 16.865. Aiantes: The two Greek warriors called Aias (Ajax)—Telamonian and Oilian Aias (Ajax). Ajax: (1) (Lesser Ajax/ Aias): Son of Oïleus of Locris, 2.527–530; killed Trojan Kleoboulos, 16.330. (2) (Telamonian Ajax/ Aias): Son of Telamon, king of Salamis, 2.557; fights Hector, 7.244; ties with Odysseus in wrestling, 23.735; ties with Diomedes in close-combat contest, 23.823. Aeneas (Aineias): Son of Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite; leader of the Dardanians (Trojan allies) 2.819–820; wounded in knee by Diomedes, 5.305; first among the three leaders of the fourth Trojan group to attack the Greek wall, 12.99. Aïdes: Another name for Hades. Aïdoneus: Death (Hades), 5.190, 20.61. Aigeus: King of Athens and f ather of Theseus, 1.265. Aigialeia: Daughter of Adrastos; wife of Diomedes, 5.412.
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Ainios: A Paionian killed by Achilles, 21.210. Aipytos: A hero of Arkadia, 2.604. Aisepos: Twin son of Boukolion and the Naiad Abarbare; Trojan killed by Euryalos, 6.21. Aisyetes: (1) An ancient hero buried in the Troad, 2.793. (2) Father of Alkathoös; son-in-law of Anchises, 13.427. Aisymnos: Greek warrior killed by Hector, 11.303. Aithe: Agamemnon’s mare, 23.295. Aithikes: Inhabitants of a region in Thessaly, 2.744. Aithiopians: People from Aithiopia, 23.206. Aithon: One of Hector’s horses, 8.185. Aithre: D aughter of Pittheus; handmaid to Helen; mother of Theseus, 3.144. Aitolians: People from Kalydon in Aetolia, 4.399, 9.529. Akamas: (1) Son of Antenor; coleader of Dardanians, 2.823; third among the three leaders of the fourth Trojan group to attack the Greek wall, 12.99; killed by Greek Meriones, 16.342. (2) Son of Eussoros; Trojan ally coleader of warriors from Thrace, 2.844; killed by Telamonian Ajax, 6.7. Akessamenos: A Thracian chief; daughter of Periboia, 21.143. Akrisios: Father of Danaë, 14.320. aughter of Nereus, 18.41. Aktaia: A Nereīd, d Aktor: (1) An ancestor of Kteatos and Eurytos (Moliones), 2.621. (2) Father of Astyochē, 2.513. (3) F ather of Menoitios; grandfather of Patroklos, 11.784, 16.14. (4) Son of Echekles, 16.189. Alastor: (1) Greek companion of Nestor and Teukros, 4.295, 8.332. (2) Lykian warrior killed by Odysseus, 5.577. (3) Son of Tros, 20.463. Alegenor: Father of Promachos, 14.504. Alektryon: Father of Greek Leïtos, 17.601. Alexandros: Alternate name of Paris. Alkandros: Lykian warrior killed by Odysseus, 5.578.
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Appendix B
Alkathoös: Son of Aisyetes; son-in-law of Anchises (married to his daughter Hippodameia); second among the three leaders of the second Trojan group to attack the Greek wall, 12.93; killed by Idomeneus, 13.434. Alkestis: D aughter of Pelias; m other of Eumelos by Admetos, 2.715. Alkimedon: Son of Laërkes; one of the five Myrmidon leaders, 16.197. Alkimos: In charge of Achilles’ horses along with Automedon, 19.392; Achilles’ companion, 24.474. Alkmaon: Son of Thestor; Greek warrior killed by Sarpedon, 12.394. Alkmēnē: Mother of Heracles by Zeus, 19.98. Alkyone: Alternate name of Kleopatra, 9.562. Aloeus: F ather of Ephialtes and Otos, 5.386. Altes: King of the Laleges; f ather of Laothoë (one of Priam’s wives), 21.85. Althaia: Mother of Meleagros, 9.555. Amaryngkeus: Father of Diores, one of four Epeian leaders, 2.622; an Epeian hero buried at Bouprasion, 23.630. aughter of Nereus, 18.48. Amatheia: A Nereīd, d Amazons: W omen warriors; invaded Asia Minor, 3.189, 6.186. Amisodaros: F ather of Atymnios and Maris; nourished the Chimaira, 16.328. Amopaon: Son of Polyaimon, Trojan warrior killed by Teukros, 8.276. Amphidamas: (1) F ather of the son Patroklos killed as a boy, 23.87. (2) From Skandeia, Kythera; received the skull cap from Amytor, 10.268. Amphiklos: Trojan killed by Meges, son of Phyleus, 16.313. Amphimachos: (1) Son of Aktorian Kteatos; killed by Hector, 13.185. (2) Son of Nomion; Trojan ally coleader of the Karians 2.871. aughter of Nereus, 18.44. Amphinomē: A Nereīd, d Amphion: One of three leaders who led the Epeians, 13.692.
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Amphios: (1) Son of Merops of Perkote; Trojan ally from Adresteia, 2.830; killed by Diomedes, 11.333. (2) Son of Selagos from Paisos; killed by Telamonian Ajax, 5.611. aughter of Nereus, 18.42. Amphithoē: A Nereīd, d Amphitryon: Mortal f ather of Herakles, 5.393. Amphoteros: Trojan killed by Patroklos, 16.415. Amyntor: Phoenix’s f ather, 9.448; original owner of skull cap worn by Odysseus, 10.267. Anchialos: A Greek killed by Hector, 5.608. Anchises: Son of Kapys, 20.239; father of Aeneas, 5.268. Andraimon: Father of Thoas, 2.638. Andromachē: Daughter of Eëtion of Thebe below Plakos; wife of Hector, 6.395. Angkaios: (1) F ather of Agapenor, 2.609. (2) Of Pleuron, defeated by Nestor at wrestling, 23.635. Anteia: Wife of Proitos, king of Ephyra; tempted Bellerophon, 6.160. Antenor: An important Trojan counselor; father of Archelochos, Akamas, Helikaon, Laodokos, Pedaios, Iphidamas, and Koön, 3.148, 7.347. Anthemion: Father of Simoeisios, 4.473. Antilochos: Son of Nestor, 23.301; first to kill a Trojan, Echepolos, 4.457; wins second prize at chariot race, 23.613. Antimachos: Father of Trojans Hippomachos, 12.188, Peisandros, and Hippolochos, 11.122. Antiphates: Trojan killed by Leonteus, 12.192. Antiphonos: One of Priam’s living sons, 24.250. Antiphos: (1) Son of Priam, 4.491; killed by Agamemnon who earlier was captured by Achilles and ransomed, 11.101. (2) Son of Talaimenes; Trojan ally and coleader of the Maionians, 2.864. (3) Son of Thessalos (Herakles’ son); coleader of the men from Kos and the surrounding islands, 2.678.
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Aphareus: Son of Kaletor; one of the seven Greek sentinel leaders, 9.83; killed by Aeneas, 13.542. Aphrodite: Olympian goddess of love; daughter of Zeus and Dione; mother of Aeneas, whom she rescues from Diomedes, 5.318; receives a blow on her breasts by Athena, 21.424. Apisaon: (1) From Paionia; son of Hippasos; Trojan killed by Lykomedes, 17.345–349. (2) Son of Phausias; Trojan killed by Eurypylos, 11.577. Apollo: Olympian god, son of Zeus and Leto; the first to deal death blow to Patroklos, 16.791; appears as Mentes, leader of Kikones, 17.74; as herald Periphas, 17.324; as Phainops, Asios’ son, 17.583; as Lykaon, Priam’s son, 20.81; as Agenor, 21.600. aughter of Nereus, 18.46. Apseudes: A Nereīd, d Archelochos: Son of Antenor; coleader of Dardanians, 2.823; second among the three leaders of the fourth Trojan group to attack the Greek wall, 12.99; killed by Telamonian Ajax, 14.463. Archeptolemos: Son of Iphitos; charioteer of Hector, 8.128; killed by Teukros, 8.312. Areïlykos: (1) Father of Prothoënor, 14.450. (2) Trojan killed by Partroklos, 16.308. ather of Menesthios, 7.10; in a past generation known Areïthoös: (1) F as the club fighter, killed by Lykourgos, 7.142. (2) Henchman of Rhigmos; killed by Achilles, 20.488. Ares: Olympian god of war, son of Zeus and Hera; appears as Thracian Akamas, 5.462; wounded in belly by Diomedes, 5.860; hit with a rock by Athena, 21.406. Aretaon: Trojan killed by Teukros, 6.31. Aretos: Trojan killed by Automedon, 17.517. Argeas: Father of Polymelos, 16.417. Argeïphontes: An epithet for the god Hermes, courier of Zeus. Argives: Another name for the Greeks (Achaians). Argos: The hundred-eyed monster slain by the god Hermes. Ariadne: Daughter of Minos, 18.592.
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Arimoi: The p eople of Kilikia; the land where the monster Typhoeus lies prostrate, 2.783. Arion: The famous h orse of Adrestos. 23.347. Arisbas: F ather of Greek warrior Leiokritos, 17.344. Arkadians: P eople from the area of Arkadia. Arkesilaos: Boeotian warrior, a Greek ally, 2.495; killed by Hector, 15.329. Arsinoös: Father of Hekamede, 11.625. Artemis: Olympian goddess, d aughter of Zeus and sister to Apollo, 5.447; goddess of wild beasts, 21.470; boxed around the ears by Hera, 21.491. Asaios: Greek warrior killed by Hector, 11.301. Asios: (1) From Phrygia by the stream of Sangarios; Hector’s u ncle; brother of Hekuba; son of Dymas, 16.720. (2) Son of Hyrtakos; from Arisbe beside the river Selleëis; Trojan leader of forces from the areas of Perkote and Praktion, 2.835; third among the three leaders of the third Trojan group to attack the Greek wall, 12.95; killed by Idomeneus twice, 12.117, 13.388. Askalaphos: Son of Ares; coleader of the Minyai, 2.511; one of the seven Greek sentinel leaders, 9.82; killed by Deïphobos, 13.519. Askanios: Trojan ally coleader of the Phrygians 2.862; son of Hippotion from Askania, Trojan warrior, 13.792. Asklepios: A healer; f ather of Podaleirios and Machaon, 2.731. Assarkos: One of Tros’ three sons; great-grandfather of Aeneas, 20.232. Asteropaios: Son of Pelegon from Paionia; third among the three leaders of the fifth Trojan group to attack the Greek wall, 12.103; wounds Achilles in the right forearm, 12.166; killed by Achilles, 21.179. Astreus: A Titan; f ather of Hesper, the evening star. Astyalos: Trojan killed by Greek Polypoites, 6.29. Astyanax: Hector and Andromachē’s infant son, 6.402, 22.500. Astynoös: (1) Son of Protiaon; Poulydamas gives him the horses when Kleitos falls, 15.455. (2) Trojan killed by Diomedes, 5.144.
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Astyochē: Mother by Ares of Askalaphos and Ialmenos; she is the daughter of Aktor (son of Azeus), 2.513. Astyocheia: Mother of Tlepolemos by Herakles, 2.658. Astypylos: A Paionian killed by Achilles, 21.209. Athena (Pallas Athene, Athene): Goddess of wisdom and Zeus’ daughter; the Spoiler, 10.460; appears as Phoinix, 17.555; as Deïphobos, 22.227. Athenians: People from Athens. Atreides (pl. Atreidae): “Son(s) of Atreus”; refers to both Agamemnon and Menelaos. Atreus: Father of Agamemnon and Menelaos, 2.105. Atrytone: Epithet of the goddess Athena, 1.157. Atymnios: (1) Father of Mydon, 5.581. (2) Son of Amisodaros; brother of Maris; killed by Antilochos, 16.317. Augeias: From Elis; ancestor of Agasthenes, 2.624; stole Neleus’ four racehorses, 11.700. Autolykos: Maternal grandfather of Odysseus; stole skull cap worn by Odysseus from Amyntor, son of Ormenos, 10.267. Automedon: Son of Diores; companion of Achilles, 9.209, 24.474; and Patroklos, 16.146; in charge of Achilles’ horses along with Alkimos, 19.392. Autonoös: (1) Greek warrior killed by Hector, 11.301. (2) Trojan killed by Patroklos, 16.694. Autophonos: F ather of Polyphontes, 4.395. Axilos: Son of Teuthras from Arisbe; Trojan killed by Diomedes, 6.12. Azeus: Father of Aktor (Astyoche’s father), 2.514. Balios: One of two h orses born of Podarge and the West Wind, 16.150; divine horse of Achilles, 19.400. Bathykles: Myrmidon from Hellas, son of Chalkon; killed by Glaukos, 16.594. Bay: One of Achilles’ divine horses, 19.400.
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Bellerophon (Bellerophontes): Hero from Corinth, killed the Chimaira; grandfather of Sarpedon and Glaucus, 6.156–202. Bias: (1) Father of Dardanos and Laogonos, 20.461. (2) Follower of Menestheus, leader of Athenians, 13.691. (3) Nestor’s companion, 4.296. Bienor: Trojan killed by Agamemnon, 11.92. Boeotians: The Greek warriors from Boeotia in central Greece, 2.494, 13.685. Boreas: The North Wind god, 9.4, 23.195. Boros: (1) A Maionian, father of Phaistos, 5.43. (2) Mortal father of Menesthios who married the Myrmidon’s mother, Polydore, 16.177. Boukolion: Eldest son of Laomedon; father of twin sons Aisepos and Pedasos, 6.26. Boukolos: Father of Sphelos, grandfather of Iasos, 15.338. Briareus: Aigaios’ son, 1.404; a one-hundred-handed creature who once guarded Zeus. Briseis: Achilles’ female prize awarded him by the Greek army, 1.184, 19.282–300. Centaurs: Half-human and half-horse creatures residing on Mount Pelion, 11.832. Cerberus: Hades’ g iant three-headed dog, 8.363–368. Chalkodon: F ather of Elephenor and king of the Abantes, 2.541. Chalkon: Father of Myrmidon Bathykles, 16.594. Charis: Goddess wife of Hephaistos, 18.382. Charopos: Father of Nireus, 2.672. Charops: Son of Hippasos; b rother of Sokos; killed by Odysseus, 11.427. Cheiron: A Centaur who taught Achilles healing medicines, 11.831; brought the ash spear to Peleus, 16.143. Chersidamas: Trojan warrior killed by Odysseus, 11.423. Chimaira: An immortal creature that is a lion in front, a goat in the middle, and a snake b ehind, killed by Bellerophon, 6.179.
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Chromios: (1) Lykian warrior killed by Odysseus, 5.577. (2) Nestor’s companion, 4.295. (3) Son of Priam; killed by Diomedes, 5.160. (4) Trojan captain, 17.494. (5) Trojan warrior killed by Teukros, 8.275. Chromis: Leader of the Mysians killed by Achilles, 2.858. Chryseis (Criseyde, Cressida): Daughter of Chryses, captive mistress of Agamemnon, 1.111. Chryses: Apollo’s priest and father of Chryseis, 1.11. Chrysothemis: One of Agamemnon’s three daughters, 9.145. Daidalos: A builder on the island of Crete (Krete), 18.592. Daitor: Trojan warrior killed by Teukros, 8.275. Damasos: Trojan killed by Polypoites, 12.183. Damastor: Father of Tlepolemos, 16.416. Danaäns: A third name for the Greeks (the other two are Achaians and Argives). other of Perseus by Zeus, 14.320. Danaë: Daughter of Akrisios; m Dapple: One of Achilles’ divine horses, 19.400. Dardanian Priam: Ancestor of Dardanos, 24.631. Dardanians: People from around Troy, led by Aeneas, 2.819. Dardanos: (1) Son of Bias; killed by Achilles, 20.460. (2) Son of Zeus; father of Erichthonios; founded Dardania before there was Ilion, 20.216. Dardanos gates: The Skaian gates, 22.194. Dares: Trojan priest consecrated to Hephaistos; father of Phegeus and Idaios, 5.9. Dawn (Eos): Goddess of dawn who begins each day. Deichos: Achaian killed by Paris, 15.341. Deïkoön: Son of Trojan Pergasos killed by Agamemnon, 5.537. Deïopites: Trojan warrior killed by Odysseus, 11.420. Deïphobos: Second among the three leaders of the third Trojan group to attack the Greek wall, 12.94; wounded in the arm by Meriones, 13.529; b rother of Hector; son of Priam, 22.229.
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Deïpylos: A close friend of Sthenelos, 5.325; companion of Idomeneus; one of the seven Greek sentinel leaders, 9.83, 13.478. Deïpyros: A Greek warrior killed by Helenos, 13.576. Deisenor: Trojan ally captain called to arms by Hector, 17.217. Delusion: Elder daughter of Zeus, 19.91. Demeter: Sister of Zeus; goddess of grain, 5.501, 13.322, 14.326. Demokoön: Priam’ bastard son from Abydos; killed by Odysseus, 4.499. Demoleon: Son of Antenor; killed by Achilles, 20.397. Demouchos: Son of Philetor; Trojan killed by Achilles, 20.457. Deukalides: Reference to Idomeneus, son of Deukalion, 13.307. Deukalion: (1) Son of Minos; father of Idomeneus, 13.451. (2) Trojan killed by Achilles, 20.482. aughter of Nereus, 18.44. Dexamenē: A Nereīd, d Dexios: F ather of Iphinoös, 7.15. Diokles: From Phere; father of twin Greek warriors Orsilochos and Krethon, 5.542; from the generation of the river Alpheios, 5.544. Diomede: Phorbas’ d aughter; Achilles’ captive from Lesbos and the woman he sleeps with after Briseis, 9.665. Diomedes: Leader of the Argos and Tiryns contingency, 2.2.559; a major Greek warrior wounded by Pandarus, 5.98; wounds Aphrodite, 5.337; wounded by Paris, 11.388–390; son of Tydeus, 23.290; wins first prize at chariot race, 23.511; ties with Telamonian Ajax in close combat, 23.823. Diōnē: Goddess mother of Aphrodite, 5.371. Dionysos: Son of Zeus and Semele; driven into the sea by Lykourgos, 6.132. Diores: (1) Father of Automedon, 17.429. (2) Son of Greek Amaryngkeus; leader of the Epeians, 2.622; killed by Thracian Peiros, 4.519. Dios: One of Priam’s living sons, 24.251. Dolon: Son of Eumedes; Trojan spy killed by Diomedes and Odysseus, 10.314.
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Dolopes: P eople in remote Phthia given to Phoenix by Peleus to rule, 9.484. Dolopion: Priest of Skamandros; father of Trojan ally Hypsenor, 5.77. Dolops: (1) Son of Klytios; Greek warrior killed by Hector, 11.302. (2) Son of Lampos (Laomedon’s son); killed by Menelaos, 15.542. aughter of Nereus, 18.45. Doris: A Nereīd, d Doryklos: Bastard son of Priam; Trojan killed by Telamonian Ajax, 11.389. aughter of Nereus, 18.43. Doto: A Nereīd, d Drakios: One among three warriors who led the Epeians, 13.692. Dream: Personification of dream, 2.6; appears in the likeness of Nestor, 2.22. Dresos: Trojan killed by Euryalos, 6.20. Dryas: (1) F ather of Lykourgos, 6.130. (2) Greek hero of Nestor’s generation, 1.263. Dryops: Trojan killed by Achilles, 20.455. Dymas: F ather of Asios, and Hecuba (Hekabē), 16.717. aughter of Nereus, 18.43. Dynamenē: A Nereīd, d Echekles: Myrmidon son of Aktor; married to Polymele, 16.189. Echeklos: (1) Trojan killed by Patroklos, 16.694. (2) Trojan son of Agenor; killed by Achilles, 20.477. Echemmon: Son of Priam; killed by Diomedes, 5.160. Echepolos: (1) From Sikyon; son of Anchises, gave the horse Aithe to Agamemnon as payment for not serving in Troy, 23.297. (2) Trojan killed by Antilochos, 4.558. Echios: (1) A Greek killed by Polites, 15.339. (2) F ather of Mekisteus, 8.332. (3) Lykian killed by Patroklos, 16.416. Eëriboia: Stepmother of Ephialtes and Otos, 5.389. Eëtion: (1) Andromachē’s father; king of Kilikians at Thebe; killed by Achilles when he raided his city, 6.414–420. (2) F ather of Podes, 17.578. (3) Lord of Imbros (city); bought Lykaon and sent him to Arisbe, 21.43.
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Eileithyia: Goddess of childbirth, 16.187, 19.103. ather of the Eïoneus: (1) A Greek warrior killed by Hector, 7.11. (2) F Thracian Rhesos, 10.435. Elasos: Trojan killed by Patroklos, 16.696. Elatos: From Pedasos on the shores of the Satnioeis River; Trojan ally killed by Agamemnon, 6.33. Elephenor: Leader of the Abantes of Euboia; son of Chalkodon, 2.540; stabbed by Trojan Agenor, 4. 467. Elians: P eople from Elis. Enetoi: A Paphlagonian tribe u nder the control of Trojan ally Pylaimones, 2.852. Enienes: P eople from Dodona in northern Greece, 2.749. Eniopeus: Son of Thebaios; charioteer of Hector; killed by Diomedes, 8.119. Ennomos: (1) An augur coleader of the Mysians; Trojan killed by Achilles, 2.858–861. (2) Trojan warrior killed by Odysseus, 11.422. Enops: (1) Father of Klytomedes, 23.634. (2) F ather of Satnios, 14.444. (3) F ather of Trojan Thestor, 16.402. Enyalios: God of war, 20.69. Enyeus: King of Skyros, 9.668. Enyo: Goddess of war, 5.333. Eos (Dawn): Goddess of dawn. Epaltes: Lykian killed by Patroklos, 16.415. Epeians: Greek warriors from Elis, 13.686. Epeigeus: A Myrmidon; lord of Boudeion; son of Agakles; killed by Hector, 16.577. Epeios: Son of Panopeus; winner of boxing match, 23.665. Ephialtes: Son of Aloeus who with his brother Otos imprisoned Ares, 5.385. Ephyrians: P eople in Thessaly. Ephyroi: A northern people visited by Ares, 13.301.
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Epigoni: The sons of the Seven against Thebes who attack Thebes a second time to avenge their fathers, 4.370–401. Epikles: Lykian killed by Telamonian Ajax, 12.379. Epistor: Trojan killed by Patroklos, 16.695. Epistrophos: (1) Coleader of the men of Phokis; son of Iphitos, 2.517–523. (2) Son of King Euenos (Selepios’ son), Trojan warrior killed by Achilles, 2.692. (3) Trojan ally from Alybē, coleader of the Halizones, 2.856. Epos: F ather of Satnios by a Naiad by the Satnioeis River, 14.444. Epytos: Father of Trojan Periphas, 17.324. Erechtheus: King and hero of Athens, 2.546–551. Ereuthalion: Arkadian warrior of an e arlier generation; henchman of Lykourgos to whom he gave Areïthoös’ armor, 7.148; killed by Nestor, 7.155. Erichthonios: Son of Dardanos, 20.219. Erinys: Spirit of vengeance, 9.571, 19.87. Eriopis: Stepmother of Medon (who killed her b rother); wife of Oïleus, 13.697, 15.336. Eris: Goddess of strife, discord. Erylaos: Trojan killed by Patroklos, 16.411. Erymas: (1) Trojan killed by Idomeneus, 16.345. (2) Trojan killed by Patroklos, 16.415. Eteokles: Son of Oedipus and defender of Thebes against the Greeks, 4.386. Euaimon: F ather of Eurypylos, 2.736. Euchenor: Son of the seer Polyidos from Corinth; killed by Paris, 13.671. Eudoros: One of the five Myrmidon leaders; son of Hermes by Polymele (Phylas’ daughter), 16.179. Euenos: (1) Father of Epistrophos and Mynes, 2.693. (2) F ather of Marpessa, 9.557. Euippos: Lykian killed by Patroklos, 16.417. Eumedes: Father of Trojan Dolon, 10.314.
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Eumelos: Leader of the Thessalians from Pherai, 2.713; son of Admetos and Alkestis, 2.714–715 (at 2.760 listed as Pheres’ son); son of Admetos; grandson of Pheres, 23.289; last place at chariot race in Patroklos’ games, 23.560. Euneos: Son of Jason and Hypsipyle; wine merchant from Lemnos, 7.467–468, 23.746. Euphemos: Son of Troizenos (Kea’s son); leader of the Kikonian spearmen, 2.846. Euphetes: From Ephra and the river Selleëis; gave Pylleus the corselet Meges wears, 15.531. Euphorbos: A Dardanian, Panthoös’ son; the second of three to hit Patroklos, 16.812; killed by Menelaos, 17.50. Europa: Daughter of Phoinix who bore Zeus Minos and Rhadamanthys, 14.322. Euryalos: Son of King Mekisteus, second coleader in Diomedes’ contingency, 2.565, 23.677. Eurybates: A Greek herald for both Agamemnon and Odysseus, 1.320, 2.184, 9.170. Eurydamas: Dream interpreter; father of Poyidos and Abas, 5.149. Eurymedon: (1) Charioteer of Nestor, 8.114. (2) Son of Ptolemaios (Peiraios’ son); henchman of Agamemnon, 4.228. Eurynomē: Daughter of Ocean; saved Hephaistos, 18.399. Eurypylos: (1) A hero of Kos, 2.677. (2) Son of Euaimon; leader of the Greek forces around Ormenios, 2.736; wounded by Paris, 11.582. Eurystheus: (1) Assigned Herakles’ tasks; Herakles’ cousin, 8.863, 19.107–125. (2) Son of Sthenelos, 19.122. Eurytos: (1) A hero of Oichalia, 2.596. (2) F ather of Thalpios, brother of Kteatos, 2.621; the two b rothers are called Moliones, 11.709, 11.750. Eussoros: Father of Thracian Akamas, 6.8. Exadios: Greek hero of Nestor’s generation, 1.264. Furies (Erinyes): Creatures who exact divine retribution from t hose guilty of wrongdoing, 15.204, 19.418.
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Galateia: A Nereīd, d aughter of Nereus, 18.45. Ganymedes: One of Tros’ three sons; made immortal, 5.266, 20.232. Gerenian: Epithet used for Nestor, 4.317. aughter of Nereus, 18.39. Glauke: A Nereīd, d Glaukos: (1) Son of Hippolochos; Trojan ally coleader of the Lykians, 2.876; second among the three leaders of the fifth Trojan group to attack the Greek wall, 12.102; wounded by Teukros, 12.387. (2) Son of Sisyphos; f ather of Bellerophon; great-grandfather of Glaukos, 6.155. Gorgon: A monster with a stare of horror, 5.741. Gorgythion. Son of Priam and Kastianeira; killed by Teukros, 8.303. Gouneus: Leader of Greek forces from Kyphos, 2.748. Graces (Charites): Three or more minor deities; d aughters of Zeus and Eurynome, 5.338. Gyrtios: Father of Hyrtios, leader of Mysians, 14.511. Hades: Olympian god of the underworld; son of Kronos and Rhea; brother of Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, and Demerer, 15.187–192; lord of the underworld, 1.3. Haimon: (1) Father of Laërkes, 17.468. (2) F ather of Maion, 4.394. (3) Nestor’s companion, 4.296. aughter of Nereus, 18.40. Halia: A Nereīd, d Halios: Lykian warrior killed by Odysseus, 5.578. Halizones: Trojan allies from Alybē, a town of the Halzoni; they are led by Odios and Epistrophos, 2.856. Harmonides: Father of Phereklos, 5.59. Harpalion: A Paphlagonian; son of King Pylaimenes, killed by Meriones, 13.650. Hebe (Youth): Daughter of Zeus and Hera; attendant of the Olympians, 4.2, 5.722. aughter of Dimas; wife of Priam; m other of Hecuba (Hekabē): D Hector, 6.293.
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Hekamede: Captive woman awarded to Nestor when Achilles stormed Tenedos; d aughter of Arsinoös, 11.623. Heketaon: Old counselor of Priam, 3.147. Hector (Hektoros): Son of Priam; commander of the Trojan forces; fights Telamonian Ajax, 7.244; knocked down by Diomedes, 11.356; the third of three to kill Patroklos, 16.821; beaten back by Telamonian Ajax, 13.193; hit in the chest by a rock thrown by Telamonian Ajax, 14.412; killed by Achilles, 22.273–363. Helen: “Helen of Argos”; current wife of Paris and past wife of Menelaos over whom the war is fought, 2.160–161, 3.121. Helenos: (1) Augur son of Priam, 6.75; first among the three leaders of the third Trojan group to attack the Greek wall, 12.94; wounded by Menelaos, 13.594, 24.249. (2) Son of Oinops; Boiotian warrior killed by Hector, 5.707. Helikaon: Son of Trojan Antenor; married to Laodikē, Priam’s daughter, 3.123–124. Helios: The sun god. Hellenes: The inhabitants of Hellas, 2.684. Helm of Death: The cap of invisibility worn by Athene, 5.845. Hephaistos: The Olympian blacksmith god; son of Zeus and Hera; wrought Diomedes’ corselet, 8.195. Hera: Daughter of Kronos and Rhea; sister and wife of Zeus; appears as Stentor, 5.785. Herakles: Son of Zeus (mortal f ather is Amphitryon) and Alkmene; father of Tlepolemos, 2.568; f ather of Thessalos, 2.679; wounded Hera, 5.393; wounded Hades in Pylos, 5.397. Hermes: An Olympian god; son of Zeus; guide of souls; called Argeïphontes, 2.104. Hesper: The evening star, 22.318. Hiketaon: (1) F ather of Melanippos from Perkote, 15.547. (2) One of Laomedon’s five sons, 20.238.
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Hippasos: (1) F ather of Trojan Apisaon, 17.348. (2) F ather of Trojans Charops and Sokos, 11.427. Hippodamas: Trojan killed by Achilles, 20.401. Hippodameia: (1) M other of Polypoites by Peirithoös, 2.742. (2) Daughter of Anchises; wife of Alkathoös, 13.429. Hippodamos: Trojan killed by Odysseus, 11.335. Hippokoön: A Tracian counselor, cousin of King Rhesos, 10.518. Hippolochos: (1) F ather of Glaukos, 6.119. (2) Son of Antimachos; killed by Agamemnon, 11.145. (3) Son of Bellerophon, 6.197. Hippomachos: Son of Antimachos; Trojan killed by Leonteus, 12.189. Hippomolgoi: A distant northern tribe, 13.5. Hipponoös: Greek warrior killed by Hector, 11.303. Hippothoös: (1) From Larissa; son of Pelasgian Lethos; Trojan ally and coleader of Pelasgian tribes, 2.840; killed by Telamonian Ajax, 17.294. (2) One of Priam’s living sons, 24.251. Hippotion: Warrior from Askania; killed by Greek Meriones, 14.514. Hours: Guardians of the sky gates; in charge of opening and closing the darkness, 8.394. Hyadēs: The stars called Hyadēs, 18.486. Hypeirochos: (1) A Trojan ally killed by Odysseus, 11.335. (2) Father of Itymoneus killed by Nestor, 11.673. Hypeiron: Trojan killed by Diomedes, 5.144. Hyperenor: Son of Panthoös; killed by Menelaos, 14.516. Hyperion: Epithet of sun god Helios, 8.480. Hypsenor: (1) Son of Dolopion (Skamandros’ priest); Trojan killed by Eurypylos, 5.80. (2) Son of Hippasos; killed (but groans at 13.423) by Trojan Deïphobos, 13.411. Hypsipyle: Mother of Euneos by Jason, 7.469. Hyrtakos: Father of Trojan Asios, 2.838. Hyrtios: Son of Gyrtios; leader of Mysians; killed by Telamonian Aias, 14.511.
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Iaira: A Nereīd, d aughter of Nereus, 18.42. Ialmenos: Son of Ares, coleader of the Minyai, 2.511; one of the seven Greek sentinel leaders, 9.82. Iamenos: Follower of Asios, 12.139; Trojan killed by Leonteus, 12.194. aughter of Nereus, 18.47. Ianassa: A Nereīd, d Ianeira: A Nereīd, d aughter of Nereus, 18.47. Iapetos: A Titan, 4.479. aughter of Nereus, 18.42. Iaria: A Nereīd, d Iasos: Athenian leader; son of Sphelos (Boukolos’ son); killed by Aeneas, 15.332. Idaios: (1) Son of Dares; rescued from Diomedes by Hephaistos, 5.23. (2) Trojan herald of Priam, 3.248. Idas: Father of Kleopatra; husband of Marpessa, 9.558. Idomeneus: (1) Leader and king of the Cretans and a major Greek warrior, 2.645; (2) son of Deukalion. Ilioneus: Son of Phorbas; Trojan killed by Peneleos, 14.489. Ilos: Dardanos’ son, 10.415; one of Tros’ three sons; grandfather of Priam, 20.232; tomb of, 24.349. Imbrasos: A Tracian; f ather of Peiros who killed Amaryngkeus, 4.517. Imbrios: Son of Mentor; Trojan ally from Pedaios married to Medesikaste, bastard daughter of Priam; killed by Teukros, 13.170. Io: One of Zeus’ mortal lovers guarded by Argos. Ionians: Greek warriors from Ionia, 13.685. Ipheus: Lukian killed by Patroklos, 16.417. Iphianassa: One of Agamemnon’s three daughters, 9.145. Iphidamas: Son of Antenor; reared in Thrace by Kisseus, the f ather of his mother (Theano); killed by Agamemnon, 11.240. Iphikles: Father of Podarkes, 2.705. Iphiklos: A runner defeated by Nestor, 23.636. Iphimedeia: Mother of the g iants Ephialtes and Otos. Iphinoös: Son of Greek Dexias killed by Glaukos, son of Hippolochos, 7.13.
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Iphis: Captive w oman of Patroklos, a gift from Achilles when he raided Skyros, Enyeus’ citadel, 9.668. Iphiton: Son of Otrynteus and a Naiad; killed by Achilles, 20.383. Iphitos: (1) F ather of Archeptolemos, 8.128. (2) F ather of Schedios and Epistrophos, 2.517–523. Iris: Messenger goddess of Zeus, 2.786. Isandros: Son of Bellerophon, 6.197; killed by Ares in the Solymoi b attle, 6.204. Isos: A charioteer, bastard son of Priam; killed by Agamemnon; earlier captured by Achilles and ransomed, 11.101. Isthaimenes: Father of Trojan Sthenelaos, 16.586. Itymoneus: Son of Hypeirochos from Elis; killed by a youthful Nestor in a cattle raid, 11.671. Ixion: His wife bore Zeus Peirithoös, 14.317. Jason: The Argonaut; father of Euneos, 7.468. Kadmeians: Citizens of Thebes in Boeotia; home of Eteokles, 4.386. Kaineus: (1) F ather of Koronos (Leonteus’ father), 2.746. (2) Greek hero of Nestor’s generation, 1.264. Kalchas: Greek prophet, bird interpreter, 1.68–100, 2.300–332; impersonated by Poseidon, 13.45. Kalesios: Henchman and driver of Axylos; killed by Diomedes, 6.17. Kaletor: (1) Father of Aphareus killed by Aeneas, 13.541. (2) Son of Klytios; Hector’s cousin; killed by Telamonian Ajax, 15.420. aughter of Nereus, 18.46. Kallianassa: A Nereīd, d Kallianeira: A Nereīd, d aughter of Nereus, 18.44. Kapaneus: Father of Sthenelos, 2.564. Kapys: Son of Assarkos; father of Anchises, 20.239. Karians: Inhabitants of Karia in Asia Minor, allies of the Trojans under the leadership of Nastes and Amphimachos, 2.867, 4.141, 10.428. Kassandra: D aughter of Priam, 13.363, 24.699. Kastianeira: From Aisyme; m other of Gorgythion by Priam, 8.304.
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Kastor: B rother of Helen, 3.237. Kaukonians: P eople of Asia Minor; Trojan allies, 10.429, 20.329. Keas: Father of Troizenos, 2.847. Kebriones: Bastard son of Priam; b rother and charioteer of Hector, 8.318; third among the three leaders of the first Trojan group to attack the Greek wall, 12.92; killed by Patroklos, 16.738. Kephallenian: Forces led by Odysseus, 4.330. Kikonian (Kikones): Trojan allies from Thrace, 2.846. Kililians: People from Asian Thebe ruled by Eëtion, 6.395. Kinyras: King of Kypros (Cyprus); gave Agamemnon a corselet, 11.20. Kisseus: Theano’s f ather and Iphidamas’ grandfather, 11.223. Kleitos: Son of Peisenor; companion of Poulydamas; killed by Teukros’ arrow, 15.445. Kleopatra: Wife of Meleagros; d aughter of Marpessa and Idas, 9.556. Klonios: Boiotian warrior, a Greek ally; killed by Trojan Agenor, 15.340. aughter of Nereus, 18.47. (2). Handmaid to Klymenē: (1) A Nereīd, d Helen, 3.144. Klytaimestra: Wife of Agamemnon, 1.113. Klytios: (1) Father of Dolops, 11.302. (2) One of Laomedon’s five sons; Priam’s brother and counselor; f ather of Kaletor, 3.147, 15.419, 20.238. Klytomedes: Son of Enops defeated by Nestor at boxing, 23.634. Koiranos: (1) Charioteer of Meriones from Lyktos; killed by Hector, 17.616. (2) Lykian warrior killed by Odysseus, 5.577. Koön: Eldest son of Antenor; wounds Agamemnon, 11.252; killed by Agamemnon, 11.261. Kopreus: Father of Periphetes; herald of Eurystheus, who delivered messages to Herakles, 15.650. Koronos: Father of Leonteus, 2.746. Kouretes: Enemies of Aitolians, 9.529. Kreion: Father of Lykomedes, 9.84.
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Kretans: People from Crete (Krete). Krethon: Son of Diokles; killed by Aeneas, 5.541. Kroismos: Trojan killed by Meges, 15.523. Kronion (Kronides): Zeus, son of Kronos, 20.304. Kronos: A Titan; f ather of Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, and Demeter; resides in Tartaros, 1.498, 4.479, 8.479–481. Kteatos: Son of Amphimachos, 2.620–621. aughter of Nereus, 18.39. Kymodokē: A Nereīd, d Kymothoë: A Nereīd, d aughter of Nereus, 18.41. Lady of Arrows: Alternate name of Artemis, 9.538. Lady of Kypros: Aphrodite, 5.330. Laërkes: A Myrmidon; f ather of Alkimedon, 17.468. Laërtes: F ather of Odysseus, 2.173. Lampos: (1) Counselor of Priam, 3.147; f ather of Trojan Dolops, 15.526; one of Laomedon’s five sons, 20.238. (2) One of Hector’s h orses, 8.185. Laodamas: Son of Antenor; Trojan killed by Telamonian Ajax, 15.516. Laodameia: Daughter of Bellerophon, 6.197; mother of Sarpedon by Zeus, 6.198; killed by Artemis, 6.205. Laodikē: (1) One of Agamemnon’s three daughters, 9.145. (2) Priam’s daughter and wife of Helikaon, 3.124; Iris impersonates her, 3.122. Laodokos: (1) Antenor’s son; Athena appears in his likeness, 4.86. (2) Charioteer of Antilochos, 17.699. Laogonos: (1) An Idaian, Zeus’ priest; son of Onetor, killed by Meriones, 16.606. (2) Son of Bias; killed by Achilles, 20.460. Laomedon: Son of Ilos, 3.250; father of Priam, Tithonos, Lampos, Klytios, and Hiketaon, 20.236. aughter of Altes, lord of the Ledeges, who holds Pedasos on Laothoë: D the river Satnioeis; mother of Lykaon and Polydoros by Priam, 21.85. Lapithai: Inhabitants of a region of Thessaly led by Polypoites and Leonteus, 12.128–130. Ledeges: People from Pedasos, 21.85.
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Leiokritos: Son of Arisbas; companion of Lykomedes; killed by Aeneas, 17.344. Leïtos: Coleader of the Boeotians, 2.494; allies of Agamemnon; son of Alektryon; wounded by Hecktor, 17.601. Leleges: Inhabitants of a region in northern Asia Minor, 10.429, 20.96. Leonteus: Son of Koronos (Kaineus’ son); coleader of the Lapithai from Argissa, 2.746. Lethos: Pelagian father of Trojan allies Hippothoös and Pylaios, 2.843. Leto: Mother of Apollo and Artemis by Zeus, 5.447. Leukos: Companion of Odysseus; killed by Antiphos, Priam’s son, 4.491. Likymnios: Uncle of Herakles; killed by Tlepolemos, his great- nephew, 2.662–663. aughter of Nereus, 18.41. Limnoreia: A Nereīd, d Lokrians: P eople from Locris in central Greece, 2.531–533, 13.686. Lykaon: (1) Father of the Trojan Pandaros, 2.826. (2) Son of Priam and Laothoë; killed by Achilles, 21.116. Lykians: People from Lykia, a region in Asia, 2.876; Trojan allies stationed by Thymbre, a town near Troy, 10.430. Lykomedes: Son of Kreion; one of the seven Greek sentinel leaders, 9.84; killed the Trojan Apisaon, 17.345–349. Lykon: Trojan killed by Peneleos, 16.339. Lykophontes: Trojan warrior killed by Teukros, 8.275. Lykophron: From Kythera but lives with Ajax for killing a man; son of Mastor; henchman of Telamonian Ajax; killed by Hector, 15.430. Lykourgos: (1) Killed Areïthoös and took his armor, 7.146. (2) Son of Dryas, 6.130; struck blind by Zeus, 6.139. Lysandros: Trojan killed by Telamonian Ajax, 11.491. Machaon: Healer son of Asklepios; coleader of the forces from the vicinity of Oichalia, 2.732; tends Menelaos’ wound, 4.215; wounded by Paris, 11.507. Maenads: Female followers of the god Dionysos. Magnesians: P eople from Thessaly led by Prothoös, 2.756.
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Maimalos: F ather of Peisandros, 16.193. Maion: Son of Haimon, who with fifty Kadmeians led an ambush against Tydeus, 4.394. Maionians: People of Asia Minor who reside u nder Mount Tmolos, 2.866; Trojan allies, 10.431. aughter of Nereus, 18.48. Maira: A Nereīd, d Makar: From Lesbos; a wealthy man of the past, 24.544. Maris: Son of Amisodaros; brother of Atymnios; Lykian killed by Thrasymedes, 16.321. Marpessa: Daughter of Euenos; mother of Kleopatra and wife of Idas, 9.557. Medesikaste: Bastard daughter of Priam; wife of Imbrios, 13.173. Medon: (1) A Trojan captain, 17.216. (2) Bastard son of Oïleus by Rhene, 2.726–727; brother of Oilian Ajax; killed a relative of his stepmother and was exiled in Pylakē; led the Phthians, 13.693; killed by Aeneas, 15.332. Megas: F ather of Perimos, 16.695. Meges: Leader of the men from Doulichion and Echinai, 2.627; son of Phyleus, one of three who led the Epeians, 13.692. Mekisteus: (1) Father of Euryalos, 2.566; a boxer in his youth, 23.677. (2) Greek killed by Poulydamas, 15.339. Melanippos: (1) Son of Hiketaon; from Perkote residing with Priam; cousin of Dolops, 15.547; killed by Antilochos, 15.576. (2) Greek warrior and leader, 19.240. (3) Trojan killed by Patroklos, 16.695. (4) Trojan warrior killed by Teukros, 8.276. Melanthios: Trojan killed by Eurypylos, 6.36. Melas: Son of Ortheus; brother of Oineus, 14.117. Meleagros: An ancient leader of Aitolians, 2.642; son of Oineus, 9.543. aughter of Nereus, 18.42. Melitē: A Nereīd, d Menelaos: Leader of the p eople of Lakedaimon, 2.587; brother of Agamemnon, Helen’s former husband, king of Sparta; son of Atreus, 293; wins third prize in chariot race, 23.613.
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Menesthes: A Greek warrior killed by Hector, 5.608. Menestheus: Leader of the Athenians; son of Peteos, 4.327, 13.690. Menesthios: (1) From Arne; son of Areïsthoös and Phylomedousa; killed by Paris, 7.8. (2) One of the five Myrmidon leaders; son of the river Spercheios by Peleus’ daughter Polydore, who later married Boros (Perieres’ son), 16.173. Menoitios: Aktor’s son and father of Patroklos, 1.307. Menon: Trojan killed by Leonteus, 12.194. Mentes: Leader of the Kikones; impersonated by Apollo, 17.73. Mentor: F ather of Imbrios, 13.171. Meriones: Son of Molos; henchman of Idomeneus; coleader of the Cretans, 2.651; one of the seven Greek sentinel leaders, 9.83; received skull cap Odysseus wears in Il. 10 from his f ather, 10.270; wins fourth prize at chariot race, 23.614; wins archery contest, 23.776. Mermeros: Trojan killed by Antilochos, 14.513. Merops: Father of Adrestos and Amphios, 2.831; from Perkote, a prophet who lost two sons to Diomedes, 11.333. Mesthles: Son of Talaimenes; Trojan ally and coleader of the Maionians, 2.864. Mestor: Son of Priam killed in the war, 24.257. Minos: First king of Crete; son of Zeus by Europa; father of Deukalion, 13.450, 14.322. Minyai: P eople of Orchomenos led by Askalaphos and Ialmenos, 2.511. Mnesos: A Paionian killed by Achilles, 21.210. Molion: Henchman of Thymbraios; killed by Odysseus, 11.322. Moliones: Epeians, sons of Poseidon (Eurytos and Kteatos), 11.708, 11.749; defeated Nestor in a chariot race, 23.639. Molos: F ather of Meriones from Crete; received the skull cap from Amphidamas, 10.270. Morys: Son of Hippotion from Askania, Trojan warrior, 13.792; killed by Meriones, 14.514.
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Moulios: (1) Son-in-law of Augeias killed by Nestor in his youth, 11.738. (2) Trojan killed by Achilles, 20.473. (3) Trojan killed by Patroklos, 16.696. Muses: Nine goddess daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne who preside over the arts and sciences. Mydon: (1) A Paionian killed by Achilles, 21.209. (2) Charioteer and henchman of Pylaimenes; son of Atymnios; killed by Antilochos, 5.580. Mygdon: Achaian coleader of Phrygians from Phrygia, 3.186. Mynes: Son of King Euenos (Selepios’ son), 2.692; former husband or father of Briseis killed by Achilles, 19.296. Myrmidons: P eople from Phthia led by Achilles; a.k.a. Hellenes and Achaians, 2.684. Mysians: Trojan allies u nder the leadership of Chromios and Ennomos, 2.858, 10.430. Naiads: Nymphs (spirits of nature) of springs, rivers, fountains, and lakes, 6.21. Nastes: Son of Nomion; Trojan ally coleader of the Karians; killed by Achilles, 2.867–875. Naubolos: Father of Iphitos and Phokian hero, 2.517–523. Neleus: King of Pylos; Nestor’s f ather, 2.21. Nemertes: A Nereīd, d aughter of Nereus, 18.46. Neoptolemos: Son of Achilles, 19.327. Nereīd (Nereīds): Nymphs of the sea, daughters of the sea god Nereus, 18.36–49. Nereus: A sea god; father of Thetis and the Nereīds, 18.38. aughter of Nereus, 18.40. Nesaie: A Nereīd, d Nestor: Greek counselor and oldest Greek warrior; king of Pylos and Neleus’ son; leader of the Pylos contingency, 2.601; wins special prize at chariot race, 23.617. ere Niobē: Daughter of Tantalos and Dione whose twelve c hildren w killed by Apollo and Artemis, 24.602.
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Nireus: Son of Aglaia and the king Charopos; led a small contingent from Syme; handsomest of Greeks after Achilles, 2.671–672. Noëmon: (1) Companion of Antilochos, 23.612. (2) Lykian warrior killed by Odysseus, 5.578. Nomion: F ather of Trojan allies Nastes and Amphimachos, 2.871. North Wind: Fell in love with Erichthonios’ mares, coupled with them and they conceived twelve horses, 20.222. Ochesios. F ather of Periphas, 5.843. Odios: (1) A Greek herald, 9.170. (2) From Alybē, coleader of the Halizones, 2.856; (3) Trojan killed by Agamemnon, 5.39. Odysseus: Leader of the Kephallenias, 2.631; king of Ithaca and son of Laërtes; major Greek warrior and counselor; wounded by Sokos, 11.439; ties with Telamonian Ajax in wrestling, 23.735; wins footrace, 23.777. Oedipus (Oidipous): Theban hero, 23.679. Oileus: (1) F ather of Medon and Aias by Rhene, 2.727. (2) Trojan killed by Agamemnon, 11.93. Oilian: Reference to Oilian (the Lesser) Ajax. Oineus: Son of Portheus, 14.117; father of Tydeus and Meleagros, 5.813, 9.543. Oinomaos: (1) Greek warrior killed by Hector, 5.706. (2) Trojan killed by Idomeneus, 13.506. Onetor: An Idaian; Zeus’ priest; father of Laogonos, 16.604. Ophelestes: (1) A Paionian killed by Achilles, 21.210. (2) Trojan warrior killed by Teukros, 8.274. Opheltios: (1) Greek warrior killed by Hector, 11.302. (2) Trojan ally killed by Euryalos, 6.20. Opites: Greek warrior killed by Hector, 11.301. aughter of Nereus, 18.48. Oreithyia: A Nereīd, d Oresbios: Boeotian warrior killed by Hector, 5.707. Orestes: (1) Boeotian warrior killed by Hector, 5.705. (2) Son of Agamemnon, 9.142. (3) Trojan killed by Greek Leonteus, 12.194.
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Ormenos: (1) Father of Amyntor (Phoinix’s father), 9.448, 10.267. (2) Trojan killed by Polypoites, 12.187. (3) Trojan warrior killed by Teukros, 8.274. Oros: Greek warrior killed by Hector, 11.303. Orsilochos: (1) Son of Greek Diokles killed by Aeneas, 5.541. (2) Trojan warrior killed by Teukros, 8.274. Orthaios: Trojan warrior, 13.791. Ortilochos: F ather of Diokles, 5. 546. Othryoneus: From Kabesos; suitor of Kassandra, Priam’s d aughter; killed by Idomeneus, 13.363. Otos: (1) From Kylene; leader of Epeians; companion of Meges (Phyleus’ son); killed by Poulydamas, 15.518. (2) Son of Aloeus who with his b rother Ephialtes chained Ares, 5.385. Otreus: Greek coleader of Phrygians, 3.186. Otrynteus: Father of Iphiton, 20.383. Oukalegon: Elder counselor of Priam, 3.148. Paiëon: Immortal healer on Olympos, 5.401. Paion: F ather of Agastrophos, 11.339. Paionians: P eople from Paionia, 21.205; p eople from Amydon and the river Axios, 2.849; Trojan allies, 10.428. Pallas: Epithet of the goddess Athena, 1.200. Palmys: Trojan warrior, 13.792. Pammon: One of Priam’s living sons, 24.250. Pandaros: Son of Lykaon; leader of the Trojans around Zeleia; his bow is a gift from Apollo, 2.827; wounds Menelaos, 4.39; wounds Diomedes, 5.98; killed by Diomedes, 5.294. Pandion: Greek warrior who carries Teukros’ bow, 12.372. Pandokos: Trojans killed by Telamonian Ajax, 11.490. aughter of Nereus, 18.45. Panopē: A Nereīd, d Panopeus: Father of Epeios, 23.665. Panthoös: Elder counselor of Priam, 3.146; f ather of Poulydamas, 13.576; of Euphorbos, 16.808; and of Hypoerenor, 17.19–35.
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Paphlogonēs: People from the land of the Enetoi; Trojan allies, 2.851–852. Paris (Alexandros): Son of Priam; Helen’s husband; kills Nestor’s horse, 8.81; wounds Diomedes, 11.377; first among the three leaders of the second Trojan group to attack the Greek wall, 12.93; kills Deïochos, 15.341. Pasithea: One of the Graces; offered to Hypnos (Sleep) by Hera, 14.269. Patroklos: Achilles’ best friend; major Greek warrior; son of Menoitios, 1.307. Pedaios: Bastard son of Antenor; Trojan killed by Meges, 5.69. Pedasos: (1) Achilles’ mortal h orse acquired when he raided Eëtion’s city, 16.153; horse killed by Sarpedon, 16.467. (2) Twin son of Boukolion and the Naiad Abarbare; Trojan killed by Euryalos, 6.21. Peiraios: Father of Ptolemaios, 4.228. Peires: Father of Rhigmos, 20.484. Peirithoös: Son of Zeus; f ather of Polypoites by Hippodameia, 1.263, 2.741, 14.317. Peiroös: Trojan ally coleader of warriors from Thrace, 2.844. Peiros: Son of Imbrasos from Ainos; kills Greek Diores, 4.517. Peisander: (1) One of the five Myrmidon leaders; son of Maimalos, 16.193. (2) Son of Antimachos, Trojan killed by Agamemnon, 11.143. (3) Trojan killed by Menelaos, 13.618. Peisenor: Father of Kleitos, 15.445. Pelagon: (1) Companion of Sarpedon who pulls spear out of his thigh, 5.695. (2) Follower of Nestor, 4.295. Pelasgian: A title of Zeus, 16.233. Pelasgians: Trojan allies, 10.429. Pelegon: Son of the river Axios and Periboia; father of Asteropaios, 21.142. Peleiades (Peleian, Peleïd, Peleïades): Achilles, son of Peleus, 16.686, 17.105, 17.199, 20.85.
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Peleion: Alternate name for Achilles, 9.181, 16.281. Peleus: Achilles’ father; son of Aiakos who was a son of Zeus, 21.189; husband of Thetis, 18.85. Pelias: Father of Alkestis, 2.715. Pelops: King of Argos; father of Atreus, 2.105. Peneleos: Coleader of the Boiotians, allies of Agamemnon, 2.494; slightly wounded by Poulydamas, 17.589. Pergasos: Father of Trojan Deïkoön, 5.535. Periboia: M other of Pelegon by the river Axios; d aughter of Alkessamenos, 21.143. Perieres: F ather of Boros, 16.177. Perimedes: F ather of Schedios, leader of Phokians, 15.515. Perimos: Son of Megas; Trojan killed by Patroklos, 16.695. Periphas: (1) Aitolian son of Ochesios; killed by Ares, 5.842. (2) Son of Epytos; herald of Anchises, 17.324; Apollo impersonates him, 17.326. Periphetes: (1) Of Mykenai, son of Kopreus, herald of Eurystheus; killed by Hector, 15.650. (2) Trojan killed by Teukros, 14.515. Perrhaibians: People from the region of Dodona; led by Gouneus, 2.749. Persephone: Goddess d aughter of Demeter; wife of Hades; queen of the underworld, 9.457. Perseus: Son of Zeus by Danaë, 14.320; Eurystheus’ grandfather, 19.123. Peteos: Leader of the Athenian contingency, f ather of Menestheus, 2.552. Phainops: (1) Aged father of Xanthos and Thoön, 5.153. (2) F ather of Trojan ally Phorkys, 17.312; son of Asios from Abydos; Apollo comes to Hector in his likeness, 17.585. Phaistos: Son of Maionian Boros; from Tarne; killed by Idomeneus, 5.43. Phalkes: Trojan killed by Antilochos, 14.513.
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Phausias: Father of Trojan Apisaon, 11.577. Phegeus: Son of Dares; Trojan killed by Diomedes, 5.19. Pheidas: Follower of Menestheus, Athenian leader, 13.691. Pheidippos: Son of Thessalos (Herakles’ son); coleader of Kos and the surrounding islands, 2.678. Phereklos: Trojan ally, son of Harmonides; killed by Meriones, 5.59. Pheres: F ather of Admetos, 2.764; grandfather of (in Lattimore the son of) Eumelos, 23.376. aughter of Nereus, 18.43. Pherousa: A Nereīd, d Philetor: F ather of Demouchos, 20.458. Philoctetes: Leader of the Thessalians around Methone; abandoned on the island of Lemnos as the result of a snake bite, 2.718–724. Phlegyes: A p eople fighting against Ephyreans; visited by Ares, 13.302. Phoenicians: A seafaring p eople living on the Syrian coast, 23.744. Phoibos: Epithet for Apollo, 1.43. Phoenix: (1) Achilles’ mentor; leader of the embassy to Achilles, 9.168; one of the five Myrmidon leaders, 16.196; judge of horse race, 23.360. (2) F ather of Europa, 14.321. Phokians: People of Phokis, 2.517–523; one from Phokis, 17.306. Phorbas: (1) F ather of Diomede, 9.665. (2) F ather of Ilioneus, 14.490. Phorkys: Trojan ally; coleader of the Phrygians, 2.862; son of Phainops; killed by Telamonian Ajax, 17.312. Phradmon: F ather of Agelaos; a chief man of the Trojans, 8.257. Phrontis: Wife of Panthoös, 17.40. Phrygians: A p eople inhabiting Phrygia, u nder the leadership of Trojan allies Phorkys and Askanios, 2.862, 10.431. Phthians: P eople from Phthia, 13.686. Phylakos: (1) Father of Iphikles, 2.705. (2) Trojan killed by Leïtos, 6.35. Phylas: F ather of Polymele; grandfather of Eudoros, 16.181. Phyleides: Meges, son of Phyleus, 15.528. Phyleus: (1) Defeated in spear throwing by Nestor, 23.637. (2) Father of Meges, 2.629.
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Phylomedousa: M other of Menesthios; wife of Areïthoös, 7.10. Pidytes: From Perkote; Trojan killed by Odysseus, 6.30. Pittheus: F ather of Aithre, 3.144. Podaleirios: Healer son of Asklepios; coleader with his brother Machaon of the forces from the vicinity of Oichalia, 2.732. Podarge (Harpy): Mother of Achilles’ horses Xanthos and Balios conceived by the West Wind, 16.150. Podargos: (1) Menelaos’ horse, 23.295. (2) Hector’s horse, 8.185. Podarkes: (1) Son of Iphikles (Phylakos’ son); takes over leadership from Protesilaos, 2.704, 13.693. (2) Priam’s name in his youth. Podes: Son of Eëtion; Hector’s friend; Trojan killed by Menelaos, 17.578. Polites: (1) Echios: killed by Trojan Poulydamas, 15.339. (2) Son of Priam; carries wounded brother Deïphobos off the field, 13.534. Polyaimon: Father of Amopaon, 8.276. Polybos: Son of Trojan Antenor, 11.59. Polydeukes (Pollux): Brother of Helen, 3.237. Polydore: D aughter of Peleus; mother of Menesthios by the river god Spercheios, 16.176. Polydoros: (1) Nestor out-t hrew him in a spear contest, 23.637. (2) Priam’s son; killed by Achilles, 20.413. Polyidos: (1) F ather of Euchenor; diviner in Korinth, 13.663. (2) Son of dream interpreter Eurydamas; Trojan killed by Diomedes, 5.148–151. Polyktor: Father of the son Hermes impersonates, 24.398. Polymele: Mother of the Myrmidon Eudoros by Hermes; a dancer in Artemis’ choir, 16.180. Polymelos: Son of Argeas; Lykian killed by Patroklos, 16.417. Polyneikes: Oedipus’ son who came to Mykenar with Tydeus recruiting for Thebe; leader of the Seven against Thebes, 4.376–378. Polyphemos: A Greek hero from Nestor’s generation, 1.264. Polyphetes: Trojan warrior, 13.791.
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Polyphontes: Son of Autophonos; Kadmeian killed by Tydeus, 4.394. Polypoites: Lapith son of Peirithoös (Zeus’ son); leader of the Lapithai from Argissa, 2.740; on guard in front of Greek wall gates, 12.129; wins weight-throwing contest, 23.844. Polyxeinos: Son of Agasthenes, one of four leaders of the Epeians, 2.622. Portheus: From Pleuron and Kalydon; father of Agrios, Melas, and Oineus, 14.115. Poseidon: Olympian god of the sea; Zeus’ brother; son of Kronos and Rhea; impersonates Kalchas, 13.45; impersonates Thoas, son of Andraimon, 13.216; impersonates an old man, 14.136. Poulydamas: Son of Panthoös; Trojan counselor to Hector, 11.57, 12.210–229, 18.249–283. Prayers: Daughters of Zeus, 9.502. Priam: One of Laomedon’s five sons, 20.237; sometimes referred to as son of Dardanos, 7.366, 24.171, 24.354, 24.629; king of Troy and father of Hector, Paris, Antiphos, Demokoön, Echemmon, Chromios, Helenos, Gorgythion, Kebriones, Antiphos, Isos, Doryklos, Deïphobos, Polydoros, Lykaon, Agathon, Pammon, Antiphonos, Polites, Hippothoös, Dios, Mestor, Troilus, and daughters Medesikaste, Kassandra, and Laodike. Proitos: King of Ephyra who devised death for Bellerophon, 6.156–210. Promachos: A Boeotian killed by Akamas, brother of Archelochos, 14.476. Pronoös: Trojan killed by Patroklos, 16.399. Protesilaos: Leader of the Phylakē forces; first Greek to be killed upon landing in Troy, 2.698–792. Prothoënor: Boiotian warrior, a Greek ally; son of Areïlykos; killed by Poulydamas, 14.449. Prothoön: Trojan killed by Teukros, 14.515. Prothoös: Son of Tenthredon; leader of the Magnesians, 2.756. Protiaon: Father of Astynoös, 15.455.
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Proto: A Nereīd, d aughter of Nereus, 18.43. Prytanis: Lykian warrior killed by Odysseus, 5.578. Ptolemaios: Father of Erymedon, 4.228. Pygmaians: Small men fought by cranes, 3.6. Pylaimones (Pylaimenes at 5.576): Father of Harpalion; Trojan ally and leader of the Paphlagonēs, 2.851; killed by Menelaos, 5.578; but walks beside his dead son, Harpalion, 13.658. Pylaios: Son of Lethos; Trojan ally and coleader with his b rother Hippothoös of the Pelasgian tribes, 2.842. Pylartes: (1) Trojan killed by Patroklos, 16.696. (2) Trojan killed by Telamonian Ajax, 11.491. Pylians: P eople from Pylos. Pylon: Trojan killed by Polypoites, 12.187. Pyraichmes: Trojan ally; leader of the Paionians from Amydon and Axios, 2.848; killed by Patroklos, 16.287. Pyrasos: Trojan killed by Telamonian Ajax, 11.491. Pyris: Trojan killed by Patroklos, 16.416. Rhadamanthys: Son of Zeus by Europa, brother of Minos, 14.322. Rheia (Rhea): Wife of Kronos, mother of Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, and Demeter, 14.203, 15.187. Rhene: Mother of Medon by Oileus, 2.728. Rhesos: Son of Eïoneus and king of the Thracians; killed by Diomedes, 10.432–502. Rhigmos: Son of Peires, from Thrace; killed by Achilles, 20.486. Rumor: Personification of rumor, 2.93. Sarpedon: Son of Zeus by Laodameia; king of the Lykians, 2.876, 6.198–199; wounded by Tlepolemos, whom he kills, 5.629–661; killed by Patroklos, 16.481. Satnios: Son of Epos; Trojan killed by Oilian Ajax, 14.442. Schedios: (1) Son of Iphitos, 2.517–523; coleader of the men from Phokis; killed by Hector, 17.306. (2) Son of Perimedes; leader of the men from Phokis; killed by Hector, 15.515.
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Selagos: Father of Amphios, 5.612. Selepios: Father of King Euenos, 2.693. Selloi: Prophets of Zeus at Dodona, 16.235. Semele: A mortal who bore Zeus Dionysos, 14.325. Sidonians: People from Sidon, 6.199, 23.745. Simoeisios: Son of Anthemion; a Trojan named after the river and killed by Telamonian Ajax, 4.473. Sintians: People from the island of Lemnos, 1.594. Sisyphos: Son of Aiolos; ancestor of Glaukos, grandfather of Bellerophon, 6.152. Skamandrios: (1) Hector’s private name for his and Andromachē’s infant son, 6.402. (2) Son of Strophios; Trojan killed by Menelaus, 5.50. Smintheus: Epithet for Apollo, 1.39. Sokos: Son of Hippasos and b rother of Charops; Trojan killed by Odysseus, 11.449. Solymoi: A tribe in Lycia attacked by Bellerophon, 6.184. aughter of Nereus, 18.40. Speio: A Nereīd, d Sphelos: F ather of Iasos, 15.338. Spoiler: The goddess Athena, 10.460. Stentor: A Greek warrior with a loud voice; impersonated by Hera, 5.785. Sthenelaos: Son of Ithaimenes; Trojan killed by Patroklos, 16.586. Sthenelos: (1) Son of Kapaneus, one of two coleaders in Diomedes’ contingency, 2.564; talks back to Agamemnon, 4.404–410; companion and charioteer of Diomedes, 5.108. (2) Son of Perseus from Argos of Achaia; father of Eurystheus, 19.115–123. Stichios: Leader of the Athenians, killed by Hector, 13.691, 15.329. Strophios: Father of Skamandrios, 5.50. Talaimenes: F ather of the Trojan allies Mesthles and Antiphos; born of the lake Gygaian, 2.865. Talaos: Father of Mekisteus; defeated Kadmeians in boxing, 23.677.
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Talthybios: Agamemnon’s herald, 1.320. Telamon: Father of Telamonian Ajax and Teukros, 2.528, 8.283. Telemachos: Son of Odysseus, 2.260, 4.354. Tethys: Wife of Okeanos, raised Hera, 14.201. Teukros: Bastard son of Telamon, half b rother of Telamonian Ajax, 8.266; wounded by Hector, 8.327. Teutamos: F ather of Lethos, 2.843. Teuthras: (1) Boiotian warrior killed by Hector, 5.705. (2) F ather of Axylos, 6.13. aughter of Nereus, 18.39. Thaleia: A Nereīd, d Thalpios: Son of Eurytos, one of four leaders of the Epeians, 2.620. Thalysias: Father of Trojan Echepolos, 4.558. Thamyris: A singer from Thrace who boasted he could sing better than the Muses, and they deprived him of his voice, 2.595–600. Theano: D aughter of Kisseus and wife of Antenor, 5.70; priestess of Athene, 6.300; Iphidamas’ m other by Antenor, 11.224. Thebaios: Father of Eniopeus, 8.120. Themis: Goddess of order and custom, 15.87, 20.5. Themiste: Daughter of Ilos and mother of Priam. Thersilochos: A Paionian killed by Achilles, 21.209. Thersites: A common soldier who verbally abuses his leaders; beaten by Odysseus, 2.211–244. Theseus: Aigeus’ son and king of Athens; Greek hero of an e arlier generation, 1.265. Thessalos: Son of Herakles; f ather of Antiphos and Pheidipos, 2.679. Thestor: (1) Father of Kalchas, 1.69. (2) Son of Enops, Trojan killed by Patroklos, 16.402. Thetis: M other of Achilles; a minor divinity associated with the Ocean, 1.351–363, 18.35–38. Thoas: (1) King of Lemnos, 14.230. (2) Son of Andraimon; leader of the Aitolians over all Pleuron, 2.638, 13.217; kills Trojan Epeian Peiros, 4.527. (3) Trojan killed by Menelaos, 16.311.
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Thoë: A Nereīd, d aughter of Nereus, 18.40. Thoön: (1) Follower of Trojan leader Asios, 12.140; killed by Antilochos, 13.546. (2) Son of Phainops; Trojan killed by Diomedes, 5.152. (3) Trojan warrior killed by Odysseus, 11.422. Thoötes: Greek warrior; henchman of Menestheus, 12.342. Thracians: People of Thrace; Trojan allies, 13.4, 10.434, 23.230. Thrasios: A Paionian killed by Achilles, 21.210. Thrasymedes: (1) Henchman of Sarpedon; killed by Patroklos, 16.464. (2) Son of Nestor and one of the seven Greek sentinel leaders, 9.81. Thyestes: Son of Pelops and Atreus’ b rother, 2.106. Thymbraios: Trojan killed by Diomedes, 11.320. Thymoites: Elder counselor of Priam, 3.146. Titans: Second generation of gods before Olympians, now in Tartaros, 14.279. Tithonos: Son of Laomedon; brother of Priam; husband of the goddess Dawn, 11.1, 20.237. Tlepolemos: (1) Son of Damastor; Lykian killed by Patroklos, 16.416. (2) Son of Herakles, 5.628; leader of the warriors from Rhodes; killed by Sarpedon, 2.653–654, 5.659. Trechos: Spearman of Aitolia; killed by Hector, 5.706. Tritogenia: Epithet for the goddess Athena, 4.515. Troilus: Son of Priam killed in the war sometime before Hector, 24.257. Troizenos: Father of Trojan Euphemos, 2.847. Trojans: Inhabitants of Troy and its supporters. Tros: (1) Son of Alastor; Trojan killed by Achilles, 20.470. (2) Son of Erichthonios, lord of the Trojans, 20.230; father of Ganymedes, 5.266. Tychios: From Hyle; a leather artisan who fashioned Telamonian Ajax’s shield, 7.222. Tydeus: From Argos; the Aitolian son of Oineus; married a d aughter of Adrestos; father of Diomedes, 14.113–125.
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Typhoeus (Typhon): A giant who lies prostrate in the land of the Arimoi, 2.782. Uranian: Gods of the sky; the Olympian gods, ancestors of Uranus, 1.570. Uranos (Uranus): Father of Kronos and grandfather of Zeus. Xanthos: (1) Name of Hector’s horse, 8.185. (2) One of two of Achilles’ horses conceived by Podarge and the West Wind, 16.150, 19.400. (3) Son of Phainops; killed by Diomedes, 5.152. Ypnos (Sleep): B rother of Thanatos (Death), 14.231. Zeleians: People from Zeleia, a town close to Troy at the foot of Mount Ida, 2.824; home of Pandaros, 4.103. Zephyros: The West Wind god, 9.5, 23.195. Zeus: The main god of the twelve Olympians; son of Kronos; b rother and husband of Hera, 1.5. 8.250.
Appendix C
• P L A C E - N A M E S I N TH E ILI A D
The notation after each place-name indicates the term’s appearance in the Iliad by book and line number. Abydos: A city near Troy, on the Hellespont, 2.835–836. Achaia: Home of the Achaians, mainland Greece, 2.215. Acheloios: (1) A river in Phrygia, near Sipylos, 24.616. (2) A river in west central Greece, 21.194. Adresteia: A town north of Troy, 2.828–829. Aigai: A city in Achaia; a place with one of Poseidon’s temples, 8.203. Aigialos: A city in Paphlagonia u nder the control of Trojan ally Pylaimones, 2.853–855. Aigilips: A place under Odysseus’ control, 2.632–636. Aigina: An island u nder control of Diomedes of Argos, 2.559–563. Aigion: A city in Achaia u nder Agamemnon’s domain, 2.569–576. Aipeia: A town in Pylos; one of seven citadels offered to Achilles by Agamemnon if he returns to the fighting, 9.152. Aipy: A town near Pylos ruled by Nestor, 2.591–601. Aisepos: A river at the foot of Mount Ida near Zeleia, 2.825. Aisyme: A town in Thrace; home of Kastianeira, 8.305. Aleios: A plain in Asia in which Belleronphon wandered, 6.201. Alesion: A town under Epeian control, 2.615–624.
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Alope: A town in Pelasgian Argos under Achilles’ command, 2.682. Alos: A town in Pelasgian Argos u nder Achilles’ command, 2.682. Alpheios: A river in western Peloponnese in Nestor’s jurisdiction, 2.592. Alybē: A town of the Halizoni; home of Trojan allies Odios and Epistrophos, 2.857. Amphigeneia: A town near Pylos under Nestor’s domain, 2.591–601. Amydon: A town of the Paeoninas in northeastern Greece, u nder the command of Pyraichmes, 2.849. Amyklai: A town of Lacedaemon u nder Menelaos’ domain, 2.581–587. Anemoreia: A town in Phokis in central Greece, 2.517–523. Anstron: A town in Thessaly u nder Protesilaos’ command, 2.697. Anthedon: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510. Antheia: One of seven citadels offered to Achilles by Agamemnon if he returns to the fighting; near the sea by Pylos, 9.151. Antron: A town in Thessaly under Protesilaos’ command, 2.697. Apaisos: A town to the north of Troy under leadership of Trojan allies Adrestos and Amphios, 2.828–829. Araithyrea: A town ruled by Agamemnon, 2.571. Arene: A town near Pylos u nder Nestor’s domain, 2.591–601; beside the river Minyëos, 11.722. Argissa: A town in Thessaly u nder the command of Polypoites and Leonteus, 2.738–739. Argos: (1) A region in northeastern Greece under the rule of Peleus (also known as Pelasgian Argos). (2) A general term for the Achaian homeland. (3) A town in northern Peloponnese ruled by Diomedes, 2.559–563. (4) Agamemnon’s ruling district, 1.30. Arisbe: A town north of Troy on the Hellespont u nder the leadership of Asios, 2.835–836, 21.43. Arithyrea: A town under Agamemnon’s domain, 2.569–576. Arkadia: A town under Agapenor’s domain, 2.603–609. Arne: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510; hometown of Menesthios, 7.9.
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Asinē: A town in the Argolid u nder Diomedes’ control, 2.559–563. Askania: A region in Phrygia; home of the Trojan allies Phorkys and Askanios, 2.863, 13.792. Asopos: A river in Boeotia, 4.383, 10.287. Aspledon: A city of the Minyai, near Orchomenos, 2.511. Asterion: A town in Thessaly under the control of Eurypylos, 2.734–735. Athens: A town in Attica; the city of Erechtheus, 2.546. Athos: A promontory in northern Greece, 14.229. Augeiai: (1) A town in Lakedaimon under Menelaos’ domain, 2.581–587. (2) A town in Lokris, 2.532. Aulis: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510; the place from which the Greek fleet sailed to Troy, 2.303. Axios: A river in Paionia near Amydon in northeastern Greece, 21.158. Bessa: A town in Locris in central Greece, 2.531–533. Boagrios: A river in Locris in central Greece, 2.531–533. Boibe: A Thessalian town u nder the command of Eumelos, 2.711–712. Boibeis: A lake by the town of Boibe, 2.711–712. Boeotia: An area in central Greece, 2.494. Boudeion: Hometown of the Greek Epeigeus, 16.572. Bouprasion: A town in Elis where Nestor takes a stand against the Epeians, 2.615, 11.755; burial place of Epeian hero Amaryngkeus, 23.630. Bryseiai: A town in Lakedaimon under Menelaos’ domain, 2.581–587. Chalkis: A town in Euboia, 2.537–541; u nder the domain of Thoas, 2.639–640. Chryse: A town near Troy; home of Chryses, 1.37. Crete (Krete): Large island in the Mediterranean Sea; u nder Idomeneus’ control, 2.649. Dancing Myrina burial mound: Alternate name used by the gods for the Hill of the Thicket, 2.814.
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Dardania: The city occupied now by Ilion (Troy), 20.216. Daulis: A town in Phokis in central Greece, 2.517–523. Dion: A town in Euboia, 2.537–541. Dodona: A town in northwest Greece; home of the Enienes and Perrhaibians, 2.750; site of a shrine to Zeus, 16.233. Dorion: A town under Nestor’s domain, 2.591–601. Doulichion: An island off the west coast of mainland Greece, 2.625–626. Echinai: Islands off the west coast of mainland Greece, u nder Meges’ command, 2.625–626. Eilesion: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510. Eïonai: A town in the Argolid under Diomedes’ control, 2.559–563. Eleon: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510; home of Ormenos, 10.267. Elis: A region in northern Peloponnese u nder Epeian control, 2.615–624. Elone: A town in Thessaly under the command of Polypoites and Leonteus, 2.738–739. Emathia: A district in the northwest Aegean where Hera stops on the way to visit Ypnos (Sleep), 14.226. Enispe: A town in Arcadia (in central Peloponnese) under Agapenor’s domain, 2.603–609. Enopē: One of the seven citadels offered to Achilles by Agamemnon if he returns to the fighting; near the sea by Pylos, 9.150. Ephyra (Ephyrē): (1) A town in northwest Greece; Astyocheia’s hometown, 2.659. (2) Home of Sisyphos, 6.152. Epidauros: A town in the Argolid u nder Diomedes’ control, 2.559–563. Eretria: A town in Euboia (Evia), 2.537–541. Erythinoi: A town in Paphlagonia u nder the control of Trojan ally Pylaimones, 2.853–855. Erythrai: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510. Eteonos: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510.
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Euboia (Evia): A large island in the Aegean close to mainland Greece, 2.536. Eutresis: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510. Gargaron (Gargaros): Zeus’ holy ground and altar on Mount Ida, 8.48, 14.292. Glaphyrai: A town in Thessaly under the command of Eumelos, 2.711–712. Glisa: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510. nder Agamemnon’s domain, 2.569–576. Gonoëssaa: A town u Gortyna: A Cretan town u nder Idomeneus’ control, 2.646–649. Graia: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510. Grenikos: A river that runs to the sea from the mountains of Ida, 12.21. Gygaian: A lake in Asia Minor; gave birth to Talaimenes, 2.865. Gyge: Another name for the lake called Gygaian, 20.391. Gyrtone: A town in Thessaly under the command of Polypoites and Leonteus, 2.738–739. Haliartos: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510. Harma: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510. nder Agamemnon’s domain, 2.569–576; site of Helikē: A town u worship of Poseidon, 8.203, 20.404. Hellas: A region in Thessaly u nder Peleus’ command, 2.682, 16.595. Helle: See Hellespont, 7.86. Hellespont: The narrow stretch of w ater between Thrace and the Troad that separates Europe from Asia (known today as the Dardanelles), 2.845, 9.360. Helos: A town in Lakedaimon under Nestor’s domain, 2.591–601. Heptaporos: A river flowing from Mount Ida to the sea, 12.20. nder Diomedes’ control, Hermionē: A town in the Argolid u 2.559–563. Hermos: A river in Phrygia; birthplace of Iphtion, 20.392. Hill of Alesio: The place Nestor takes a stand against the Epeians, 11.757.
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Hill of the Thicket: A hill near Troy where the Trojan troops amass to meet the Greek troops, 2.813. Hire: One of the seven citadels offered to Achilles by Agamemnon to return to the fighting; near the sea by Pylos, 9.150. Histiaia: A town in Euboia, 2.537–541. Hyampolis: A town in Phokis in central Greece, 2.517–523. Hydē: An area around Mount Tmolos; birthplace of the Trojan warrior Iphition, 20.383. Hyle: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510; homeland of Tychios, 7.221. Hyllos: A river in Mysia in Asia Minor, 20.392. Hypereia: Site of a spring in Thessaly, 6.457; area under the control of Eurypylos, 2.734–735. Hyperesia: A town under Agamemnon’s domain, 2.569–576. Hyria: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510. Hyrmine: A town in Epeia in the northern Peloponnese, 2.615–624. Ialysos: A town in Rhodes u nder Tlepolemos’ control, 2.653–657. Iardanos: A river in the Peloponnese,7.135. Ida: A mountain near Troy where Aeneas was born, 2.821. Idaian (from Idaia): A cave on Mount Ida in Crete sacred to Zeus, 16.604–605. Ikaria: An island in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Asia Minor, 2.145. Imbros: (1) A city, 14.281. (2) An island in the Aegean Sea, northwest of Troy, 13.33. Iolkos: A town in Thessaly under the command of Eumelos, 2.711–712. Ithaka: An island in the Ionian Sea, home of Odysseus, 2.632, and Laërtes, 3.200. Ithome: A town in Thessaly u nder the leadership of Podaleirios and Machaon, 2.729–730. Iton: A town in Thessaly u nder Protesilaos’ command, 2.696. Kabesos: A town of unknown location; hometown of Othryoneus, 13.363. Kalliaros: A town in Locris in central Greece, 2.531–533.
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Kalydnai: A group of islands in the southeast Aegean Sea, 2.677. Kalydon: A town in Aitolia u nder the domain of Thoas, 2.639–640. Kameiros: A town in Rhodes under Tlepolemos’ control, 2.653–657. Kardamyle: A town near the sea by Pylos; one of seven citadels offered to Achilles by Agamemnon to return to the fighting, 9.150. Karesos: A river from Mount Ida to the sea, 12.20. Karystos: A town in Euboia, 2.537–541. Kasos: An Aegean island near Kos, 2.676. Kaÿstrian: The river Kaÿstros in Asia Minor, 2.461. Keladon: A river on the borders of Pylos, 7.134. Kephallenia: An island in the Ionian Sea under the domain of Odysseus, 2.631. Kephisian mere: A lake in Boeotia, 5.709. Kephisos: A river in Phokis, 2.517–523. Kerinthos: A town in Euboia, 2.537–541. Killa: A town near Troy, 1.38. Kleonai: A town under Agamemnon’s domain, 2.569–576. Knosos: A large Cretan city u nder Idomeneus’ control, 2.646–649, 18.591. Kopai: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510. Korinth (Corinth): Also called Ephyre; city on the isthmus dividing the Greek mainland and the Peloponnese; under Agamemnon’s domain, 2.569–576. Koroneia: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510. Kos: (1) Eurypylos’ city on the Aegean island of Kos in the southeast Aegean Sea, 2.677. (2) An island in the southeast Aegean Sea, 14.255. Kranaë: An island where Paris and Helen sailed a fter her abduction, 3.445. Karpathos: An island in the southeast Aegean Sea, 2.676. Krisa: A town in Phokis in central Greece, 2.517–523. Krokyleia: A region near Ithaka u nder Odysseus’ control, 2.632–636.
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Kromna: A town in Paphlagonia u nder the control of Trojan ally Pylaimones, 2.853–855. Kyllene: Home of Otos; a mountain in Arkadia in central Greece, 2.603, 15.518. Kynos: A town in Locris in central Greece, 2.531–533. Kyparisseeis: A town near Pylos under Nestor’s domain, 2.591–601. Kyparissos: A town in Phokis, 2.517–523. Kyphos: A town in northern Greece; home of Gouneus, 2.748. Kythera: An island off the southern tip of Lakedaimon, 15.431. Kytoros: A town in Paphlagonia under the control of Trojan ally Pylaimones, 2.853–855. Laas: A town in Lakedaimon u nder Menelaos’ domain, 2.581–587. Lakedaimon: The area ruled by Menelaos in the southern Peloponnese, 2.581–587; the previous home of Helen and her brothers Kastor and Polydeukes, 3.239. Larissa: A town near Troy u nder the command of the b rothers Hippothoös and Pylaios 2.842; home of Hippothoös, son of Lethos, 17.301. Lekton (Lektos): A promontory of Mount Ida, 14.284. Lemnos: (1) A city of Thoas, 14.230. (2) An island in the northeastern Aegean Sea where Hephaistos fell, 1.593; ruled by Jason’s son, 21.41. Lesbos: An island in the northeast Aegean Sea; raided by Achilles, 9.129. Lilaia: A town in Phokis in central Greece, 2.517–523. Lindos: A city in Rhodes u nder Tlepolemos’ control, 2.653–657, 18.570. Lokris: The domain of Ajax, the son of Oileus, 2.527. Lykastos: A Cretan town under Idomeneus’ control, 2.646–649. Lykia: (1) Home of Pandaros somewhere around Zeleia, near Troy, 5.105, 5.173. (2) Home of the Lykians and their two leaders, Sarpedon and Glaukos, 2.877. Lyktos: Cretan town under Idomeneus’ control, 2.646–649; homeland of Koiranos, 17.616.
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Lyrnessos: The town that Achilles raided and from which he took Briseis captive, 2.690. Maiandros: A river in Asia Minor; area under the command of Trojan allies Nastes and Amphimachos, 2.868–869. Maionia: A region of Asia Minor south of Troy, 3.401, 18.292. Mantineia: A town in Arkadia under Agapenor’s domain, 2.603–609. Mases: A town in the Argolid u nder Diomedes’ control, 2.559–563. Medeon: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510. Meliboia: A town in Thessaly under Philoktetes and Medon’s leadership, 2.716–717. Messe: A town in Lakedaimon under Menelaos’ domain, 2.581–587. Messeis: A spring in Greece, 6.457. Methone: A town in Thessaly under Philoktetes and Medon’s leadership, 2.716–717. Mideia: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510. Miletos: (1) A city in Asia Minor under the command of Trojan allies Nastes and Amphimachos, 2.868–869. (2) A Cretan town u nder Idomeneus’ control, 2.646–649. Minyëos: A river in the Peloponnese that empties into the sea near Arene, 11.722. Mount Tmolos: Home of the Maionians, 2.866. nder the leadership of Mykalē: A mountain in Karia, in Asia Minor, u Trojan allies Nastes and Amphimachos, 2.868–869. Mykalessos: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510. Mykenai (Mycenae): One of three cities dear to Hera, 4.52; Agamemnon’s capital, 2.569–576, 9.44. Myrsinos: A town in Epeia in northern Greece, 2.615–624. Neriton (Neritos): A mountain in Ithaka, 2.632–636. Nisa: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510. Nisyros: An Aegean island near Kos, 2.676. Nyseian: A mountain sacred to Dionysos; Lykourgos drove the god’s followers down this hill, 6.133.
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Appendix C
Ocean River (Okeanos): Encircles the earth, 1.423, 14.201, 18.606. Oichalia (Oichalian Eurytos): A town in Boiotia u nder the leadership of Podaleirios and Machaon, 2.729–732. Oitylos: A town in Lakedaimon u nder Menelaos’ domain, 2.581–587. Okalea: A city in Boeotia, 2.494–510. Okeanos: The source of the gods; his wife is Tethys, 14.201. Olenian Rock: A landmark on the border of Elis, 2.617; where Nestor took a stand against the Epeians, 11.756. Olenos: A town in Aitolia u nder the domain of Thoas, 2.639–640. Olizon: A town in Thessaly under Philoktetes and Medon’s leadership, 2.716–717. nder the command of Polypoites and Oloösson: A town in Thessaly u Leonteus, 2.738–739. Olympos: The seat of the Olympian gods, 1.499. Onchestos: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510. Opoeis (Opous): A city in Locris, 2.531–533, 18.326; birthplace of Patroklos, 23.85. Orchomenos: (1) A city in Arkadia under Agapenor’s domain, 2.603–609. (2) A city of the Minyai, close to the Boeotians, 2.511. Ormenios: A town in Thessaly under the control of Eurypylos, 2.734–735. Orneai: A town u nder Agamemnon’s domain, 2.569–576. Orthe: A town in Thessaly under the command of Polypoites and Leonteus, 2.738–739. Paionia: A region in northern Greece; home of Asteropaios, 21.154; homeland of Trojan Apisaon, 17.350. Paisos: See Apaisos, 5.612; homeland of Amphios, 5.613. Panopeus: A city in Phokis, 2.517–523, 17.307. Parrhasia: A town in Arkadia u nder Agapenor’s domain, 2.603–609. Parthenios: A river in Paphlagonia; area under the control of Trojan ally Pylaimones, 2.853–855. Pedaion (Pedaios): A town in the Troad, 13.172.
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Pedasos: (1) A town near Troy on the river Satnioeis, 6.33; home of Elatos, 21.85; sacked by Achilles along with Lysrnessos, 20.92. (2) One of seven citadels offered to Achilles by Agamemnon to return to the fighting; near the sea by Pylos, 9.152. Pelagian: Applied to Achilles’ home (see Pelasgian Argos), but the Pelagians around Larissa (a town near Troy) w ere Trojan allies, 2.840–843. Pelasgian Argos: Home of Achilles and his Myrmidons, 2.681. Pelion: A mountain in mainland Greece; home of the centaurs; area under the leadership of Prothoös, 2.758. Pelian refers to the ash spear of Achilles from Mount Pelion, 19.390. Pellene: A town u nder Agamemnon’s domain, 2.569–576. Peneios: A river in northern Greece, 2.753; area under the leadership of Prothoös, 2.757. Pereia: The place where Apollo bred Eumelos’ mares, the best h orses among the Greeks a fter Achilles’ own, 2.766. Pergamos (Pergamon): The high citadel of Troy, 4.508, 24.700. Perkote: A town north of Troy; home of Merops and Pydites, 2.831; area under leadership of Asios, 2.835–836; the port near Troy where Iphidamas moored his twelve ships, 11.229. Peteon: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510. Phaistos: A town in Crete u nder Idomeneus’ control, 2.646–649. Pharis: A town in the Peloponnese under Menelaos’ domain, 2.581–587. Pheia: A town in the Peloponnese on the borders of Pylos and Arkadia, 7.135. Pheneos: A town in Arkadia under Agapenor’s domain, 2.603–609. Pherai: (1) Home of Eumelos, 2.711–712. (2) One of seven citadels offered to Achilles by Agamemnon to return to the fighting; near the sea by Pylos, 5.543, 9.151. Phokis: A territory in central Greece; the domain of Schedios and Epistrophos, 2.517–523.
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Appendix C
Phrygia: A region of Asia Minor allied with the Trojans; home of Phrygian coleaders Otreus and Mygdon, 3.186, 16.719, 18.291, 24.545. Phthia: Home of Achilles and his f ather, Peleus, in south Thessaly (northern Greece), 2.682. Phthiron: A mountain near Miletos in Asia Minor; u nder the command of Trojan allies Nastes and Amphimachos, 2.868–869. nder the domain of Protesilaos, 2.695. Phylakē: A town in Thessaly; u Piēria: A region around Olympos; the place Hera visits on her way to meet Ypnos (Sleep), 14.226. Pit: Tartarus; home of the Titans, 14.279. Pityeia: A town on the Hellespont; under leadership of Trojan allies Adrestos and Amphios, 2.828–829. Plakos: A mountain near the city of Thebe, birthplace of Andromachē, 22.479. Platia: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510. Pleuron: A town in Aitolia; under the domain of Thoas, 2.639–640, 13.217, 14.115. Praktion: A town to the north of Troy u nder leadership of Asios, 2.835–836. Pteleos: (1). A town in Thessaly under Protesilaos’ command, 2.697. (2) A town u nder Nestor’s domain, 2.591–601. Pylene: A town in Aitolia u nder the domain of Thoas, 2.639–640. Pylos: An area in the southern Peloponnese under Nestor’s domain; the central city in that area, 2.591–601. Pyrasos: A town in Thessaly u nder Protesilaos’ command, 2.695. Pytho (Delphi): A town in Phokis in central Greece sacred to Apollo; the name of the priestess at the temple of Apollo, 2.517–523, 9.405. Rhesos: A river flowing to the sea from Mount Ida, 12.20. Rhipe: A town in Arkadia under Agapenor’s domain, 2.603–609. Rhodes: An island in the eastern Mediterranean; its warriors led by Tlepolemos, 2.654.
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Rhodios: A river that runs to the sea from Mount Ida; stirred up by the gods Poseidon and Apollo to destroy the Greek wall, 12.20. Rhytion: A Cretan town u nder Idomeneus’ control, 2.646–649. Samos: (1) An island near Ithaka u nder Odysseus’ control, 2.632–636 (later known as Kephallenia). (2) (Samothrace): An island in the northern Aegean Sea, 13.12, 24.78. Sangarios: A river in Phrygia; camp of Otreus and Mygdon, 3.187, 16.719. Satnioeis: A river near Troy, 6.33, 21.87. Schoinos: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510. Selleëis: (1) A river north of Troy near Arisbe, 2.839. (2) A river in northwest Greece around Ephyra (or perhaps two different rivers), 2.659, 15.531. Sesamos: A town in Paphlagonia u nder the control of Trojan ally Pylaimones, 2.853–855. Sestos: A town on the north side of the Hellespont under leadership of Asios, 2.835–836. Sidon: A city in Phoenicia, 6.291. Sikyon: A town ruled by Agamemnon; homeland of Echepolos, 2.569–576, 23.299. Simoeis: A river near Troy below Mount Ida, 4.475, 12.22. Sipylos: A mountain in Lydia where a rock depicting Niobe still exists, 24.615. Skaian: The major gates through the Trojan walls, 3.145, 11.170. Skamandros (Xanthos): A river outside Troy in the Trojan plain, 12.21. Skandeia: A town in Kythera; home of Amphidamas, 10.268. Skarphe: A town in Locris in central Greece, 2.531–533. Skolos: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510. Skyros: An island raided by Achilles, 9.668; in the Aegean where Neoptolemos is born, 19.326. Sparta: A city in Lakedaimon u nder Menelaos’ domain; Helen’s original home, 2.581–587; one of three cities dear to Hera, 4.52.
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Appendix C
Spercheios: A river in Peleus’ domain to whom Achilles had dedicated his hair; f ather of Menesthios by Peleus’ d aughter, Polydore, 16.175, 23.144. Stratia: A town in Arkadia u nder Agapenor’s domain, 2.603–609. Stygian waters: A reference to the underworld river, Styx, 8.369. Stymphalos: A town in Arkadia under Agapenor’s domain, 2.603–609. Styra: A town in Euboia, 2.537–541. Styx: An underground river of the dead on which the Olympians swear their oaths, 2.755, 14.271. Syme: An Aegean island north of Rhodes; home of Nireus, 2.671. Tarne: A city in Maionia, 5.44. Tarphe: A city in Locris, 2.531–533. Tartaros: A place as far beneath the house of Hades as from earth the sky lies, 8.13–16, 8.478–81. Tegea: A town in Arkadia under Agapenor’s domain, 2.603–609. Tenedos: An Aegean island near Troy associated with Apollo; raided by Achilles, 11.624. Tereia: A mountain to the north of Troy under leadership of Trojan allies Adrestos and Amphios, 2.828–829. Thaumakia: A town in Thessaly under Philoktetes and Medon’s leadership, 2.716–717. Thebe: A city at the foot of Mount Plakos; a city plundered by Achilles; the city of King Eëtion; killed Epistrophos and Mynes; birthplace of Andromachē, 22.479. Thebes: (1) (Lower): A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510, 6.224; attacked by Polyneikes and Tydeus, 4.376–481, 6.224; captured later by their sons, 4.404–409. (2) An Egyptian city of one hundred gates known for its wealth, 9.382. Thespeia: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510. Thisbe: A town in Boeotia, 2.494–510. Thrace: An area north of the Hellespont, 9.72, 10.434.
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Thronion: A town in Locris in central Greece, 2.531–533. Thryoessa: A town by the Alpheios River near Pylos, 11.711. Thryon: A town by the Alpheios River under Nestor’s domain (same as Thryoessa?), 2.591–601. Thymbre: A town near Troy, 10.430. Tiryns: A city in the Argolid u nder Diomedes’ control, 2.559–563. Titanos: A town in Thessaly under the control of Eurypylos, 2.734–735. Titaressos: A river in northwestern Greece, a tributary of the river Styx that flows into the river Peneios, 2.752–753. Tmolos: A mountain in Asia Minor near Hydē, 2.866, 20.383. Trachis: A town in Pelasgian Argos under Achilles’ command, 2.682. Trikke (Trikka): A town in Thessaly under the leadership of Podaleirios and Machaon, 2.729–730, 4.202. Troad: The area around Troy, 9.329. Troizen: A town in the Argolid u nder Diomedes’ control, 2.559–563. Troy: Ilion, Priam’s kingdom, 1.128. Xanthos (Skamandros): (1) A river outside Troy; the god son of Zeus, 2.877, 14.434. (2) A river in Lykia in Asia Minor, 2.877. Zakynthos: An island off the west coast of Greece u nder Odysseus’ control, 2.632–636.
Appendix D
• GR EEK TER MS CITED
The notation a fter each term indicates the term’s first appearance in the present book by chapter, book, and section—for example, 1.1.1. Achilleōs panoplia: Creating Achilles’ shield, 4.18.0. Aegis: A magical protective cloak made from goatskin that is used primarily by Zeus, Apollo, and Athena and offers physical protection, 2.2.1. aïdos: A cap of invisibility, 2.5.3. aidōs: Awe, modesty, respect, reverence, shame, intro. aigis (aigos): goatskin shield, 1.1.2; Goat, 2.2.2. aisa: Fate, destiny, lot, due portion, 2.4.1. aithousa: Corridor, vestibule, porch, 6.24.3. akhos: Pain, sorrow, 2.2.1. anairesis: Burial, destruction, murder, 5.22.0. andra: Man, 1.1.1. androktasia: The slaughter of men, 4.16.2. antheo: Bloom, blossom, 2.4.4. aoidos: Oral singer, intro. aphros: Foam, 2.5.1. apiste: Faithless, 6.24.1. apoina: Ransom, compensation, 1.1.2.
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apoloito: To die, 2.5.1. apolusis (apoloito): Release, 2.5.1. apōsatō: Drive away, 6.24.3. apothein: Drive away, repel, 6.24.n3(391). aretē: Goodness, excellence, virtue, 5.23.2. attle, intro. aristeia: One’s excellence in b asbeston menos: Unquenchable anger, b itter anger, 5.22.1. atē: Madness, ruin, intro. x. athla: Games, contests, 5.23.1. athla epi Patroklō: Patroklos’ funeral games, 5.23.0. autar o daptei: He rends the prey, 4.11.3. basileus: King, man of authority, 1.1.4. biē: Strength, force, violence, intro. chalkis: The gods’ name for nighthawk, 1.1.n5(386). diaktoros: Guide, messenger of the gods, 6.24.2. diapeira: Trial, 2.2.0. difros: Stool, 6.24.3. dios: God, 2.5.1. Dios apatē: Deception of Zeus, 4.14.0. Dios boulē: Will of Zeus, 4.14.2. Dolōneia: Book of Dolon, 3.10.0. dōra: Gifts, 3.9.2. other of a hero, 4.18.1. dusaristotokeia: Unhappy m dusparis: Evil Paris, 2.3.1. eidōlon: Image, 5.23.1. ektos: Outside, 6.24.3. eleos: Mercy, pity, intro. endina (endinōn): Entrails, 5.23.2. epi di frou: To a chair, stool, 6.24.3. epi gēraos oudō: On the threshold of old age, 6.24.3. epikertomeōn: To jeer at, insult, tease, 6.24.3. epipōlēsis: Review, 2.4.0.
Greek Terms Cited
epomai: follow, accompany, escort, 2.3.4. eris: Strife, hatred, 4.11.1. esphēkōnto: Pinched like a wasp’s waist, 4.17.1. ethore: Leaps, 2.7.2. ezeto d’en klismō: Sat on the elaborate chair, 6.24.3. ferteros: Superior, 6.24.3. geras (pl. gera): Gift(s), intro. gnome: General sayings, intro. gooi: Dirges, laments, weeping, intro. hecatomb: Sacrifice of one hundred animals, 1.1.2. Hektoros anairesis: The death of Hector, 5.22.0. Hektoros lutra: Ransom of Hektor, 6.24.0. herkos Achaiōn: Bulwark of the Greeks, 5.23.2. himantinos: Soft leather thongs, 5.23.2. orses, 6.24.4. hippodamoio: Breaker of h homilia: Conversation, assembly, meeting, 2.6.0. hoplopoiïa: Making of the arms, 4.18.0. horai: Seasons, 4.15.n9(389). hubris: Excess, intro. kakos ōs: Coward, 3.8.2. karteros: Stronger, 1.1.3. katabasis: Going down, marching down, descending, 6.24.2. keleuō: To exhort, command, order, 2.2.1. kirkos: A female hawk, 5.22.1. klea andrōn: Deeds of men, 3.9.2. kleos: Fame, glory, reputation, that which is heard, 1.1.2. kleos aphthiton: Unfading glory, intro. kleos esthlon: Good fortune, 4.18.4. klismos: A chair with a back; frequently occupied by a host, 6.24.3. attle, 3.8.0. kolos machē: Unfinished b krēdemnon (krēdemna): Headdress, headscarf, veil, 4.16.1. kudoimos: Confusion, 4.18.3B
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kudos Achillēï protiaptō: To deliver honor to Achilles, 6.24.1. kunopidos: Dog-eyed, 2.3.4. kun’ ōriōnos: Dog of Orion, 5.22.1. kunos: Dog, 2.3.4. kymindis: Mortal name for nighthawk, 1.1.n5(386). litai: Prayers, entreaties, supplications, intro. loimos: Plague, 1.1.1. machē: Battle, 3.8.0. machē epi tais nausin: Battle by the ships, 4.13.0. machē parapotamios: The B attle near the river, 5.21.0. mainas: A maddened female devotee of the god Dionysos, 5.22.3. mastiksen d’ippous: Whipped the horses, 3.10.2. meli: Honey, intro. mēnidos aporrēsis: Renunciation of the wrath, 5.19.0. mēnin aeide thea Pēlēïadeo Achilēos: The wrath sing goddess of Peleus’ son Achilles, 1.1.1. mēnis: Wrath, 1.1.1. mētis: Counsel, wisdom, skill, cunning, intro. moira (moirai): Fate, portion, share, 2.4.1. monomachia: Duel, 2.3.0. muria dōra: Innumerable gifts, 3.9.3. nekrōn anairesis: Burial of the dead, 2.7.0. nyx: night, 4.14.2. oloō Achilēi: Destructive Achilles, 6.24.1. oloós: Destructive, hurtful, painful, 6.24.1. omēros: Hostage, intro. ō moi egōn: Ah me, 5.21.3. oneiros: Dream, 2.2.0. orkiōn sugchusis: Breaking the truce, 2.4.0. orkos: Oath, 4.14.2. oud’esakouse: Did not hear, 3.8.2. paliōksis paratōn neon: Counterattack beside the ships, 4.15.0.
Greek Terms Cited
panaōpios: All untimely, doomed to an untimely end, 3.8.3. parainesis: Exhortation to battle, intro. Patrokleia: Patroklos’ book, 4.16.0. peleia: A female dove, 5.22.1. phialē: Cup, bowl, vessel, urn, 5.23.1. philotēs: Love, friendship, hospitality, 3.9.2. phrenos: Lungs, seat of intelligence, breast, 5.23.1. plēthos: Masses, the multitude, intro. poinē: Reparation, revenge, 1.1.2. polu philtate: Dearest, most loved, 6.24.4. polyandrion: A common burial mound, 2.7.3. presbeia: Embassy, 3.9.0. promachi: Frontline warriors, intro. psuchē: Soul, 5.23.1. psuchopompos: A god who conducts souls to Hades, 6.24.2. pulai: Gates, 4.12.3. skeptron: Scepter, a staff used as a symbol of authority, 1.1.4. sophrosune: Moderation, intro. stugerēn: Hateful, 2.3.4. sunomilia: Conversation, 2.6.0. tēd’eiē: So be it, 6.24.1. te die: You two, 3.8.2. teichomachia: Battle at the wall, 4.12.0. teichoskopia: View from the wall, 2.3.2. thanatos: death, 4.16.3. thapte me: Bury me, 5.23.1. theios aoidos: Divine singer, intro. themis: Divine right, law, feast, 4.15.1. theomachia: Battle of the gods, 5.20.0. therapōn: Henchman, 4.16.1. thrēnoi: Lamentations, intro. thronos: A chair for gods and kings, throne, 6.24.3.
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thumoeleonta: Lionhearted, 3.8.3. timē: Honor, intro. tis: enclitic for anyone, 2.3.3. tris men . . . tris de: Three times . . . t hree times, 4.18.2. tuchē: Chance, fortune, luck, 5.23.2. xenia: Hospitality, 1.1.2. Ypnos: Sleep, 4.14.2.
Appendix D
A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
I would like to express my gratitude to the anonymous readers of this book for their insightful comments. A special thank-you to the reader whose meticulous comments and marks throughout the manuscript made this a better commentary. As always, I would like to acknowledge the dedicated staff of the Francis Harvey Green Library at West Chester University for their continuing serv ice over the many years of our association. I would especially like to thank Jennifer O’Leary, interlibrary loan technician; Rachel McMullin, humanities librarian; Walter Cressler, sciences and health librarian; and Dana McDonnell, circulation supervisor, for their excellent serv ice. A special thank-you also to my friend and colleague, sculptor James Fuhrman, for his assistance with the figures and tables in this book and his willingness to spend many hours envisaging cover designs.
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NOTE S
introduction 1. The original Greek text’s line numbers appear at the bottom of each page in the Powell translation. 2. Narrative poetry is a form of poetry that tells a story usually written in metered verse. Aristotle divided poetry into three broad categories: lyrical, dramatic, and epic (narrative). 3. A rhapsode is one who stitches together various tales of heroes to create the works he sings. 4. A syllabary is a set of written symbols that represent the syllables that make up words. An alphabet is a standard set of letters that represent the phonemes (basic sounds) of any spoken language used for its written form. 5. Scholars no longer universally believe in a “dark age.” 6. These include the time period of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.
chapter 1 — achilles’ wrath exposed: il. 1 (days one to twenty-one) 1. Although Agamemnon’s troops come from all over Greece, in the Iliad they are never called Greeks, which is a term reserved for identifying the p eople from Hellas, an area in northern Greece. However, in this book, “Greeks” is used to refer to any of the contingencies fighting against the Trojans. 2. See the introduction. 3. In later myt hology (Hesiod), the nine Muses are explicitly named: Kalliope (epic poetry), Klio (history), Euterpe (lyric poetry and music), Thalia (pastoral poetry and comedy), Melpomene (tragedy), Terpsichore (dance), Erato (love poetry), Polyhymnia (sacred poetry), and Urania (astronomy).
385
386 N o t e s 4. Smintheus is a surname of Apollo derived by some accounts e ither from sminthos (mouse) or from the town of Sminthe in the land of Troy. Th ere was also a festival in Rhodes called Smintheia in honor of Apollo and Dionysus, again associated with mice, which damaged grape vines and ate stored grain. 5. See also 2.813–814 (burial mound of dancing Myrina vs. Hill of the Thicket), 14.291 (chalkis vs. kymindis), and 20.74 (Xanthos vs. Scamander).
chapter 2 — the first battle: il. 2–7 (days twenty-two to twenty-four) 1. Boeotia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of central Greece. 2. Hephaistos, its creator, gave it to Zeus, and it then went in succession to Hermes, Pelops, Atreus, Thyestes, and Agamemnon. 3. The number of men in each of the 1,186 ships is not given. Only twice in the catalog does the narrator mention numbers. In the Boeotian contingent, 120 men in each of 50 ships is mentioned. In Philoctetes’ command (twenty-fourth contingent), 50 men in each of 7 ships is noted. One can assume the number of men in each ship is somewhere between 50 and 120. 4. Typhoeus is a nonhuman g iant, the last of Zeus’ Titan opponents, cast beneath the earth by Zeus’ thunderbolts. His story is told in Hesiod’s Theogony, lines 853–862. 5. See the introduction. 6. The tale was popular in later poetry and art and may be an Egyptian folktale. 7. During the wedding of Peleus and Thetis (Achilles’ parents), as we are told in greater detail in the Epic Cycle, the uninvited goddess Eris tossed an apple labeled “to the fairest” among the guests, which was claimed by Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite (24.25–30). Paris, appointed by Zeus to judge which of the three goddesses should be awarded the apple, chose Aphrodite, who promised him the most beautiful w oman in the world (Helen). See the discussion in Il. 8. 8. Sometimes the term is used to reference Telamonian Ajax and his half b rother Teukros. 9. Oedipus, having married his mother and sired two sons and two daughters by her, cursed and blinded himself, leaving Thebes to be governed by his two sons, Eteokles and Polyneikes. The sons agreed to govern Thebes in alternate years. However, a fter the first year, Eteokles refused to relinquish power. Polyneikes then raised an army with seven leaders (Tydeus among them), who attacked Thebes unsuccessfully. The seven leaders’ sons (Diomedes and Sthenelos among them) attacked and defeated Thebes a decade l ater. The story of the Theban War was told in four lost epics that related its mythical history just as the
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Trojan cycle (the Epic Cycle) of six epics filled the gaps around Homer’s narratives of the Trojan War. 10. A number of definitions have been suggested for the term Tritogenia, but none is definitive. Among them are “third born,” “true offspring” of Zeus, and an association with Lake Tritonis in Libya, where Athena had a cult. 11. At 8.302–305 Kastianeira is listed as the mother of Gorgythion; Laothoe is listed as the m other of Lykaon and Polydoros at 21.84–85 and 22.46–48. Two other names known among Priam’s wives are Arisbe and Alexiroe, but neither appears in the Iliad. 12. Otos and Ephialtes (each fifty feet tall by the age of nine) were giant sons of Poseidon and Iphimedeia. In addition to attacking Ares, they tried to reach heaven by piling the mountain Ossa on Olympos and the mountain Pelion on Ossa, but Apollo killed them before they completed their task. Their attack on Ares was in revenge for his killing Adonis, whose safekeeping was their responsibility. 13. Eëriboia was the d aughter of Eurymachos and granddaughter of Hermes. 14. Paeëon appears only in this book and in Od. 4. Paeëon (a.k.a. Paean) eventually becomes a title for Apollo as healer and also as a song to Apollo. 15. Aigialeia is d aughter of Adrastos, king of Argos. Since Diomedes’ f ather, Tydeus, also married one of Adrastos’ daughters, Diomedes is married to his aunt (see 14.121–122). 16. There are two Trojan warriors named Akamas in the Iliad. The present Akamas is leader of the Thracians. The second Akamas is Antenor’s son (killed by Meriones at 16.342–344), who, along with Aeneas, leads the Dardanians. 17. Antilochos is Poseidon’s great-g randson (Antilochos is the son of Nestor, who is the son of Neleus, who is the son of Poseidon). In this episode he saves Menelaos’ life (5.565), but in Il. 23 (23.422–441) his chariot victory is challenged by Menelaos. In Il. 18 (18.2–21) he brings news of Patroklos’ death to Achilles. Also, in the present passage (5.576), Menelaos kills the Trojan Pylaimenes, who appears alive again, mourning his son, at 13.658–659. 18. Pherae is a town of Messinia, an ancient district in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese in Greece. 19. In English the word “stentorian” (adjective), from Stentor, means “extremely loud.” 20. In ring composition, popular in the Iliad, a series of topics mentioned in the first half of a scene or episode recur in reverse order in the second half. 21. Hector’s Mycenean figure-eight or tower shield went out of use around 1200 b.c.e. The majority of Homeric warriors carry a smaller round shield known as the buckler or boss shield b ecause of the knob at its center, which came into use during the Archaic period (eighth to the fifth c entury b.c.e.).
388 N o t e s 22. En route to the Golden Fleece, Jason and his crew stop on the island of Lemnos, populated only by women, who killed their husbands earlier over a dispute. The Argonauts are welcomed and stay one year. Queen Hypsipyle of Lemnos sleeps with Jason and conceives Euneos. 23. See Boyd, “Poet”; Malcolm Davies, “Nestor’s Advice”; Davison, “Thucydides”; Finkelberg, “Sources of Iliad 7”; Maitland, “Poseidon”; Page, History; James I. Porter, “Making and Unmaking”; Scodel, “Achaean Wall”; Signor, “Achaean Wall”; Tsagarakis, “Achaean Wall”; and M. L. West, “Achaean Wall.”
chapter 3 — the second battle: il. 8–10 (day twenty-five) 1. “He spoke, but long-suffering g reat Odysseus gave no attention” (Lattimore, “Iliad” of Homer, 8.97); “So he spoke, but noble Odysseus, the much-enduring, / paid him no heed” (Green, Iliad, 8.97–98); “But long-enduring Odysseus never heard him” (Fagles, Homer, 8.114); “So he spoke, but much-enduring glorious Odysseus did not / hear him” (Verity, Homer, 8.97–98); “So he spoke, / but the enduring good Odysseus did not hear him” (Powell, Iliad, 8.97–98). 2. The Epic Cycle (or Trojan cycle) was a collection of early Greek epics composed, by some accounts, by various authors around the seventh and sixth centuries b.c.e., which, combined with the Homeric epics, summarize the entire Trojan War. Aside from the Iliad and Odyssey, they include Cypria, Aethiopis, Little Iliad, Sack of Troy, The Nostoi, Telegony (see Malcolm Davies, Greek Epic Cycle). Oral traditional scholars, alternatively, speak not of interpolation but rather of shared themes and stories between different epic singers over time. 3. Agamemnon’s three daughters are Chrysothemis, Laodikē, and Iphianassa. Electra and Iphigenia, who, along with Chrysothemis, appear in post-Homeric myths, are not mentioned u nless one assumes Laodikē is Electra and Iphanassa is Iphigenia, but no reasons are given for such an assumption. Nor is it mentioned (but perhaps assumed) in the epic that Homer is familiar with the sacrifice of Iphigenia at Aulis. 4. Having sacrificed to the gods for a good harvest, Oineus fails or forgets to sacrifice to Artemis. As a result, she sends a g iant boar to destroy his fields. Meleager, his son, with the help of Aitolian and Kouretes hunters, kills the boar. The boar’s head is given as a prize to Atlanta, a huntress who draws first blood. The Kouretes, angered, rebel at the fact that the prize is given to a woman. In the battle that ensues, Meleager accidentally kills his u ncle (who is a Kouretes). Althaea curses her son for the death of her brother, and her son withdraws in anger. In a later tradition (a fter the fifth c entury b.c.e.), Althaea is given a log
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in which Meleager’s life is bound. His mother keeps the log in safety u ntil her brother is killed, at which point she burns it and ends her son’s life. 5. The boar-tusk helmet is an ancient helmet that went out of use before the end of the Mycenean Age (1600–1100 b.c.e.). This fact could also be used to argue that Il. 10 is of an e arlier date than the rest of the Iliad. 6. The effectiveness of the bow at night has been researched (see McLeod, “Bow at Night”).
chapter 4 — the third battle: il. 11–18 (day twenty-six) 1. The spirits of childbirth mentioned here are the Eileithyiai, the goddesses of childbirth and midwifery. They are Hera’s d aughters, since she is the goddess of marriage. 2. Moulios was Augeias’ son-in-law (married to his d aughter Agamede). Homer does not mention Augeias’ stable or the l abor imposed on Herakles to clean it. 3. The Moliones are Eurytos and Kteatos, the twin sons of Aktor, who in Homer are Poseidon’s sons. In l ater tradition they are Siamese twins killed by Herakles. 4. The rivers are Rhesos, Heptaporos, Karesos, Rhodios, Grenikos, Aisepos, Skamandros, and Simoeis. The first four, mentioned only h ere, remain unidentified. The last four, although familiar, do not all flow across the Trojan plain. 5. The tetrads are as follows: tetrad one, Il. 1–4, 2,493 lines; tetrad two, Il. 5–8, 2,485 lines; tetrad three, Il. 9–12, 2,610 lines; tetrad four, Il. 13–16, 2,972 lines; tetrad five, Il. 17–20, 2,304 lines; and tetrad six, Il. 21–24, 2,827 lines. 6. Amphimachos, one of the Epeian leaders, is the son of Kteatos, whose f ather, Aktor, was Poseidon’s love child. This makes Amphimachos Poseidon’s great- grandson, but at 13.185–186 and 13.206, Kteatos is mentioned as Poseidon’s son, making Amphimachos his grandchild. 7. See chapter 2, note 17. 8. The river Styx, along with her two c hildren Victory and Power, was believed to be the first to join Zeus’ side when he defeated the Titans. 9. She is the m other of the Seasons (Horai) and the Fates (Moirai) and both a wife and an aunt of Zeus. 10. Slapping one’s thighs indicates grief even among modern Greeks. 11. Zeus is both the oldest and the youngest of the Olympians. As he is the youngest child born to Rhea, she saves him from Kronos, who previously had swallowed each of his c hildren as they were born. A fter Zeus defeats his f ather, Kronos regurgitates his swallowed children, making Zeus the oldest, since he is present when his siblings are reborn.
390 N o t e s 12. Gregory Nagy defines therapōn as a prehistoric word from the Anatolian language (second millennium b.c.e.) that meant “ritual substitute” (Nagy 1979: 33). 13. Anthony Verity, in his translation of the Iliad, notes, “Rain in southern Europe sometimes does deposit red sand from the Sahara” (Homer, 436n459). 14. A cave on a slope of Mount Ida (in Crete) sacred to Zeus and presumed to be his birthplace. 15. Hesiod, in the Theogony (243–262), names fifty Nereids, although Homer does acknowledge t hose not in attendance: “and the rest who along the depth of the sea were daughters of Nereus” (18.49). The thirty-t hree named Nereids are Glauke (gleaming blue), Thaleia (blooming), Kymodokē (calmer of the sea), Nesaie (island girl), Speio (sea cave), Thoë (swift as a wave), Halia (of the salt sea), Kymothoë (swift wave), Aktaia (she of the shore), Limnoreia (harbor protector), Melitē (sweet as honey), Iaira (swift), Amphithoē (very swift), Agauë (wondrous), Doto (giver), Proto (first lady, provider), Pherousa (she who carries ships along), Dynamene (enabler), Dexamenē (protector), Amphinomē (rich in pasture land), Kallianeira (beautiful, handsome), Doris (gift of the sea), Panopē (all- seeing), Galateia (milk-white), Nemertes (unfailing), Apseudes (truthful), Kallianassa (beautiful lady), Klymenē (famous), Ianeira (strong), Lanassa (strong one), Maira (sparkler), Oreithyia (mountain-r ushing) and Amatheia (sandy). See Powell, Iliad, 426n47. 16. The story of Zeus and Poseidon’s love for Thetis, and Themis’ prophecy concerning a u nion with the nymph, is told in Pindar, Isthmian Ode 8.27–48 (fifth century b.c.e.).
chapter 5 — the fourth b attle: il. 19–23 (day twenty-seven) 1. Herakles is the son of Zeus and Alkmēnē, the god’s great-g randdaughter, since she is Perseus’ granddaughter, who is Zeus’ son. Perseus fathered both Electryon, Alkmēnē’s father, and Sthenelos, Eurystheus’ father, making both Herakles and Eurystheus cousins from Zeus’ blood line. 2. Three Trojans by the same name are killed in Il. 5, Il. 15, and Il. 16. 3. It is not clear in the Iliad w hether Mynes was Briseis husband or father, although most scholars opt for his being her husband (19.296). 4. Myth has it that Thetis brings her son, disguised as a female guest, to the court of King Lykomedes of Skyros to hide him from being drafted in the Trojan War. While in Skyros, Achilles falls in love with the king’s d aughter, Deidamia, and f athers Neoptolemos, who years l ater is himself called to Troy to kill Priam and enslave Andromache. Skyros is also mentioned as a place plundered by Achilles (9.668).
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5. Lykaon is half b rother to Hector and blood-brother to Polydoros. Priam practiced polygamy and had legal wives besides Hecuba, who held the position of honor among them. Polygamy is one of the cultural differences between the Greeks and Trojans. 6. In the Iliad, Aphrodite is Zeus’ daughter. In Hesiod’s Theogony (ll.190–206), she rises out of the sea’s white foam produced by the severed genitals of Zeus’ grandfather Ouranos, making her a Titan, a generation older than that of Zeus. 7. This Iliad passage is one of the major texts for Vergil’s Aeneid (30–19 b.c.e.). 8. The named warriors are Iphiton, Demoleon, Hippodamas, Polydoros, Dryops, Demouchos, Laogonos, Dardanos, Tros (a common warrior), Moulios, Echeklos, Deukalion, Rhigmos, and Areïthoös. 9. In Greek myt hology, Naiads are female w ater spirits or nymphs who preside over bodies of fresh w ater like springs or streams. 10. For an analysis of t hese four monologues, see Fenik, Homer, 68–90. 11. Spercheios is the father of one of the five Myrmidon leaders, Menesthios, whose m other, Polydore, was Peleus’ d aughter, making Menesthios Peleus’ grand son and Achilles’ nephew. 12. Iron was not available in the Bronze Age of the Trojan War but was in the Archaic period when Homer sang his epics. Thus, although Homer is performing events occurring four hundred years e arlier, much of what he says comes from his own period (eighth century b.c.e.).
chapter 6 — achilles’ wrath concluded: il. 24 (days twenty-eight to fifty-three) 1. Of interest is also C. P. Cavafy’s poem “Perfidy” (Cavafy, Canon, 49–51). 2. A Trojan also named Hippothoös, mentioned at 2.840, is killed by Ajax at 17.288–299. 3. Donald Lateiner claims that apothein (push) is formulaic for the rejection of suppliants (see Lateiner, “Nonverbal Behavior,” 65–94). 4. The reference is to a rock believed to be that of a weeping woman whom the ancient Greeks identified as Niobe. Mount Sipylos is in present-day Turkey. See also Yannis Ritsos’ poem “Niobe” (Ritsos, Selected Poems, 223–224).
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journal abbreviations
AJP
American Journal of Philology
CA
Classical Antiquity
CJ
Classical Journal
CL
College Literature
CP
Classical Philology
CQ
Classical Quarterly
CR
Classical Review
CW
Classical World
G&R
Greece and Rome
GRBS Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies HSCP Harvard Studies in Classical Philology JHS
Journal of Hellenic Studies
RhM
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ii. translations of homer’s iliad in english The following list contains selected translations of the Iliad in English still available in paperback. Except for the translations by George Chapman, Alexander Pope, and Samuel Butler, the list contains translations published since the beginning of the twentieth century. For an excellent discussion of Eng lish translations from the f ourteenth c entury to the present, see Steiner, George, ed. Homer in English. Penguin Books, 1996. Alexander, Caroline, trans. The Iliad: Homer. New York: HarperCollins, 2015. Butler, Samuel, trans. The Iliad: Homer. 1898. Reprint, New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1970. Chapman, George, trans. Chapman’s Homer. Vol. 1, The Iliad. Edited by Allardyce Nicoll. 1612. Reprint, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1956. Chase, Alston Hurd, and William G. Perry, trans. The Iliad: Homer. New York: Bantam Books, 1950. Fagles, Robert, trans. Homer: The Iliad. Introduction by Bernard Knox. New York: Penguin Classics, 1990. Fitzgerald, Robert, trans. The Iliad: Homer. 1974. Reprint, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004. Graves, Robert, trans. The Anger of Achilles: Homer’s “Iliad.” Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1959. Green, Peter, trans. The Iliad: Homer. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2016. Hammond, Martin, trans. Homer: The Iliad. New York: Penguin Books, 1987. Hull, Denison Bingham, trans. Homer’s “Iliad.” Scottsdale, AZ: n.p., 1982. Johnson, Ian, trans. Homer: The Iliad. Arlington, VA: Richer Resources, 2006. Jordan, Herbert, trans. Homer: The Iliad. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2008. Lattimore, Richmond, trans. The “Iliad” of Homer. 1951. Reprint, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011. Logue, Christopher. War M usic: An Account of Homer’s “Iliad.” New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015. Lombardo, Stanley, trans. Iliad: Homer. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1997. McCrorie, Edward, trans. Homer: The Iliad. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012. Merrill, Rodney, trans. The Iliad: Homer. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2007. Mitchell, Stephen, trans. The Iliad: Homer. New York: Atria Paperback, 2011.
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Murray, A. T., trans. Homer: Iliad. Revised by William F. Wyatt. 2 vols. Loeb Classical Library. 1924–1925. Reprint, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999. Pope, Alexander, trans. The Iliad of Homer. 1715–1720. Reprint, New York: Penguin Books, 1996. Powell, Barry B., trans. The Iliad: Homer. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. Reck, Michael, trans. Homer: The Iliad. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. Rees, Ennis, trans. The Iliad: Homer. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1963. Rieu, E. V., trans. Homer: The Iliad. New York: Penguin Books, 1948. Verity, Anthony, trans. Homer: The Iliad. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
I N DE X
Achaean wall, 103–104 Achilles: aristeia, 254–282; arms, 251–252; camp, 120, 309; cup, 206; embassy, 116–129; fate, 27, 32, 124; immortal horses, 205, 224–225, 291; lamenting Patroklos, 250–251; meets Hector, 261; and Patroklos, 231, 250–251; and Priam, 312; renounces anger, 231–233; sack of Lyrnessus, 256; second assembly, 245–246; soliloquy, 223–224, 260, 261 Achilles-Hector duel, chase, 278–279; contest, 280–281; Hector defiled, 282; lamentations, 282–283; preserving Hector’s corpse, 286 Adrestos, 88 Aeneas, 76, 84; battles Achilles, 256–260, 391n7; divine h orses, 76; fights, 172–173 Agamemnon, 26–27, 30–32; abandoning Troy, 180–181; aristeia, 143–146; arming scene, 142; false dream, 39–41; funeral games, 299–300; gifts, 249–250; reconciliation, 246–249; shield, 232; wounded, 146 Age in Homeric society, 29–30 Agenor, 271–272 Aiantes, 45, 68, 80, 108, 112, 160–161, 163, 166, 168, 169, 177, 225, 227–228, 233 Aïdos. See Helm of Death Aigaios’ son. See Briareus myth Aigis, 46, 302 Aisa. See Fate
Ajax (Telamonian), 50, 88, 92, 98–102, 169, 176, 197, 199, 204, 219–223, 226, 232 Alexandros. See Paris Alkyone. See Kleopatra Ambrosia, 251 Androktasia, 207–209 Andromache, 250 Antenor, 58, 103 Antilochos, 173–174, 197–198, 227, 230–231, 294–295 Aoidos, 11–12, 18, 120 Aphrodite, 78, 183 Apoina, 24, 28, 123, 126, 128–129 Apollo, aids Trojans, 193–194; baffles Achilles, 272; and Iris, 191; plague, 24–27, 34; saves Hector’s corpse from abuse, 304 Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica, 20 Apostrophe, 66, 227 Archaic period, 5, 19–20 Ares, 85–86, 191 Aristarchos of Samothrace, 7, 102, 119, 159 Aristeia, 13–14, 29, 72, 75, 77, 86, 88, 92, 109, 137, 140, 143, 145, 147, 152, 153, 158, 161, 163 Aristophanes of Byzantium, 7 Arming scenes, 59, 252 Ascending scale of affection, 127, 316 Asios, 158–160 Askalaphos, 173, 191 Asteropaios, 266–267
457
458 I n d e x Atē, 118, 247–248 Atreides, 42, 49 attle at the River, 267–268 B Battle at the Wall, 155–162 Battle scene strategies, 170–176 Bellerophon myth, 50, 90–92 Best of the Achaians/Achaeans, the, 26–27, 29, 31, 33, 48–49, 79, 142, 204, 206, 232, 313 Biē, 101, 135, 137, 230, 234, 238, 291, 295, 296 Biographical sketches, 187 Blegen, Carl, 20 Boar tusk cap, 135, 389n5 Breaching Greek wall, 155–162 Briareus myth, 33–35 Briseis, 26, 28, 30–33, 43, 250–251, 390n3 Burial customs, 102 Catalog of ships, 47–50 Catalog of Trojans, 48, 50 Catalogs, 11–12, 205–206 Charis, 236 Cheiron, 124–125, 154, 210, 252 Chiasmus. See Ring composition Chryseis, 24, 26–27, 31, 33–34 Chryses, 26–28, 34 Clay, Jenny Strauss, 114 Clothing, 133, 136, 232 Codex, 7 Dardanian gates, 85, 144, 281 Dark Age, 19 Deadalus, 241 Deïphobos, 157, 167, 169, 171–174, 279–281 Digressions, 10–11, 47–48 Diomedes: advises Agamemnon, 181; aristeia, 73–86, 88–89; fights Aphrodite, 77–78; fights Ares, 86; ideal warrior, 69; meets Aeneas, 75–77, 79; spy mission, 132–138; wounded, 74–75, 148 Diōnē, 78–79 Dios apatē, 182 Dios boulē, 182 Direct speech, 244 Dog of Orion, 275 Dolon, 135–138 Double motivation, 205
“Double three times then on the fourth” pattern, 213 Dual form, 111, 119 Duels, 223, 226 Eëtion, 95 Ekphrasis, 11, 238, 239, 240, 241 Embassy scene: Agamemnon’s gifts, 123; Ajax’s speech, 128; Odysseus’ reply to Agamemnon, 129; Odysseus’ speech, 121, 128; Phoenix speech, 124–127; reply to Odysseus, 121–124; reply to Phoenix, 127–128 Entextualization, 5 Eos myth, 141 Epic Cycle, 19, 20, 21, 26 Epic setting, 16 Epigoni, 69–70, 386–387n9 Epipōlēsis, 67–68 Epithets, 9 Eris, 141–142 Euphorbos, 214, 218–219 Eurystheus, 114 Eustathius, 131, 247–248, 390n1 Fate, 64, 147, 209–210, 257 Finkelberg, Margalit, 105 First b attle, 70–71 First printed edition of Iliad, 7 Formulas, 8–9 Fourth battle, 244, 251 Furies, 192 Ganymedes, 76, 123, 257 Gera, 25, 27 Glaukos, 89–92, 220 Gorgon, 142–143 Greek alphabet, 5 Hainsworth, J. B., 160 Hector: Ajax feud, 97–102, 186, 195–196, 220; with Andromache, 94–96; battles, 176–177; calls assembly, 115; counterattack, 192–193, 197–199; fighting for Patroklos’ corpse, 221–228; firing of Protesilaos’ ship, 204; first assault on wall, 160–161; funeral, 316; gods pity Hector’s corpse, 303–304; with Hecuba, 92–93; killing spree, 146; lamented, 316–317; monologue,
Index 277–278; with Paris and Helen, 93–94; pursuing Achilles’ divine h orses, 219–220; second assault on wall, 162; spying mission, 135; Teukros episode, 112; in Troy, 92–96; “Trojan camp” scene, 234–235; Zeus’ message, 14 Hecuba, 276 Hekamede, 152 Helen, 44, 55–58, 60–61; first abduction, 55 Helenos, 98–99, 174 Helm of Death, 84–85 Hephaistos, fights Scamander, 268; forge, 236; lameness, 36, 236; workshop, 237–238 Hera, deceives Zeus, 234; on Olympos, 190–191; relation to Thetis, 305; seduction of Zeus, 182–184, 189–190 Herakles: birth, 247–248; Eurystheus, 199; and Hesione, 84, 257; labors, 114; persecution by Hera, 184, 189; sack of Troy, 83–84 Hermes, 307, 309–310, 315 Hesiod. See Theogony Homer, 5, 17–19; description of battle scenes, 170–176; dialect, 6; method of employing myth, 76–77, 83; myth definition, 14; narrative techniques, 164–165; performance, 5; tetrads, 163, 389n5; unit of composition, 6–7 Homeric warrior, 15–16 Hypnos, 183–185
459 Kakridis, J. T., 316 Kalchas, 24–26, 30 Kastor. See Polydeukes katabasis, 309 Keats, John, “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” 241 King Kinyras, 142 King Rhesos, 136–137 Kleopatra, 127 Kleos, 25, 27, 30, 99, 279 Korfmann, Manfred, 20 Krēdemnon, 283 Laomedon, 83, 257, 258, 260, 270 Lapiths, 158, 160 Leaves as humanity, 88–89 Leitmotif, 168, 185, 187 Linear A, 19, 385n.4 Linear B, 19, 385n.4 Linus song, 240 Litai allegory, 125–126 Lykaon, 265–266, 275, 297 Lykourgus, 89
Icarus, 221 Idaios, 103 Idomeneus, 45, 169–173 Iliad: book divisions, 2–3, 16–17; cinematic ballet, 80–81, 164, 216; date of composition, 5; English translations, 4; fighting strategies, 71, 217; first casualty, 71; first printed edition, 7; h uman sacrifice, 235, 265, 267–268, 288; language, 6; ransom, 24–25; “text,” 6 Iphidamas, 145–146 Iphigenia, 26 Iris, 289, 305–306, 307 Iron, 65
Machaon, 179–180, 201 Medusa. See Gorgon Meleager parable, 126–127, 388–389n4 Memnon. See Eos myth Menelaos: chariot race, 294–295; defending Patroklos’ corpse, 218–228; duel with Paris, 52–55, 59–61; fighting, 174–175; rescuing Patroklos’ corpse, 233 Mēnis, 22–23, 28 Meriones, 169, 227–228, 233, 288 Meter, 4, 7 Mētis, 101, 135, 137, 230, 234, 238, 291, 295, 296 Misdirection, 11 Moira. See Fate Monomachia, 8 Mycenean period, 19 Myrmidon, 120, 157, 206, 211, 231, 245, 310 Myths: allegory, 14; divine myt hology, 14; folktales, 14; legend, 14; paradigms, 14
Judgment of Paris, 35, 56, 64, 113, 304, 316, 386n7
Nagy, Gregory, 18, 114–115 Nagy’s evolutionary model, 5–6, 114–115
460 I n d e x Narrative techniques, 164–165 Nationalism, 158 Necrologues, 71 Nectar. See Ambrosia Nereids, 231, 390n15 Nestor, 30, 40, 42, 44–47, 68, 88; advice to Antilochos, 291; building Greek wall, 102–103; council of Greeks, 179–180; cup, 152; duel with Ereuthalion, 100; Epeians, 153; plan of Nestor, 152–154; prayer, 194; proposes battle plan, 117–119; special prize, 295–296; spying expedition, 133–134; trace horse shot, 109–110, 137; truce to bury dead, 102 Night ambush, 132 Niobe, 314–315 Odysseus: counselor, 45; coward, 109; embassy to reclaim Helen, 58; rebuts Agamemnon, 180–181; reprimanded, 69; reproaches Thersites, 43; restores order, 41–42, 44; restrains Achilles, 248; soliloquy, 148; spy mission, 132–138; wounded, 149 Oineus, 91–92, 126 Olympian gods, 23, 84–86, 113–114, 187, 190 Omens, 160, 176 Oral text, 5 Owen, E. T., 95–96 Pandaros, 65, 75–77, 99, 100 Papyrus scrolls, 7 Paris, 53–55, 176 Parry, Milman, 8 Patroklos, 152–154, 194–195, 201–214; attle aristeia, 206–213; arms, 205; b over his corpse, 216–228; cremation, 288–289; death, 213–214; funeral games, 290–300; ghost, 287; mourning, 230–233, 286 Pegasos, 91 Peisistratean recension, 131 Peisistratus, 131 Peleus, 100, 124 Pelian ash spear, 205 Permanence of honor, 122 Phaedra-Hippolytus myth, 90 Phoenix, 119–121, 125
Plague, 27 Poine, 24, 28, 123, 126, 128–129 Polydeukes, 58–59 Polydoros, 275 Poseidon, 166–168, 172, 174, 181–182, 185–186, 191–192, 259, 304, 389n11 Poulydamas, 157–158, 160, 176, 197, 226, 234–235, 277 Prayers, 194, 206, 210–211 Priam: Achilles encounter, 311–312; journey to Achilles, 307–310; plea to Hector, 275–276; receives son’s corpse, 313, 315; sons, 72, 389n11 Proclus, 21 Protesilaos’ ship, 204, 231 Repetition, 33 Rhapsode, 5, 385n3 Ring composition, 14–15, 84, 166–167, 178–181, 302–303, 314 Sarpedon: assault on wall, 161–162; death, 209–212; and Glaukos, 161; and Hector, 81–83 Scamander. See Xanthus River Second b attle, 108–113 Sentinel leaders, 117–118 Shield of Achilles, 238–241 Similies (Homeric), 9–10, 40–42, 45–47, 50, 53–54, 58, 65–66, 68, 70–72, 74–75, 91, 112, 117, 122, 133–134, 136, 142–146, 148–150, 156, 158–162, 169–170, 172–173, 176–177, 186, 192–195, 198–199, 202, 205–207, 209–210, 212–214, 217–220, 222–228, 233, 235, 241, 251–252, 258, 262, 265, 271, 272, 274, 276–277, 278–279, 281, 289, 297, 304, 311 Simoeisios, 71–72 Site of Troy, 20 Skaian gate. See Dardanian gates Skēptron, 29, 40–41, 386n2 Speech types: boasts, 13; challenges, 12–13; gooi, 12; paraenesis, 12; rebukes, 13; supplications, 13; threnoi, 12; vaunts, 13 Syllabaries, 19, 385n4 Tartaros, 108 Teichoskopia, 55–58 Teukros, 196
Index Thamyris myth, 49 Thebe, 33 Themes: ephemeral, 194; fate of man, 224; philotēs, 125; quarrel, 26, 201; revenge, 132, 201, 230; wounded pride, 192; wrath, 22–27, 28–32, 48, 132 Themis, 190–191, 255, 304, 389n9 Theogony, 183 Theomachia, 255–256, 268–271 Thersites, 42–43, 58 Thetis, 32–34; courted by Zeus, 34–35, 236–237, 390n16; delivers armor, 244–245; visits Hephaistos, 236–237; message to Achilles, 306–307; on Patroclus’ death, 231–232; visits Zeus, 34–35 Third battle, 140, 178, 201; aftermath, 234 “Three times then on the fourth,” 183, 186, 196, 206, 213, 233, 256, 260, 265, 274 Timê, 25, 27, 279 Tis speeches, 59 Titans, 191 Tithonus. See Eos myth Tlepolemus, 82–83, 161 Tritogenia, 72, 389n10 Troilus, 308 Trojan army divisions, 157–158
461 Trojan War legend, 20–21 Trojan War myth, 19 Tros’ divine h orses, 76–77, 109 Tsagalis, Christos, 120 Tydeus, 69–70, 85, 135, 181 Type scenes, 7–8, 172, 182, 308 Typhoeus, 50, 386n4 Venetus A (Iliad text)?, 7 Vulgate text, 7 Warrior code, 124 Whitman, Cedric, 14 Winds (Boreas and Zephyros), 289–290 Writing in Homer, 90 Xanthos, 252 Xanthus River, 265–269 Xenia, 13, 25, 28, 91 Zenodotus of Ephesus, 6–7, 119 Zeus: assembly, 107–108, 254–255; deception, 182–185; golden chain, 108; golden scale, 108; plan of, 141, 165; quarrel with Hera, 35–36; rebukes Hera, 189–190; sexual exploits, 184–185; two jars myth, 68, 312–313 Zielinski’s law, 135, 179
A BOU T TH E AU THOR
Kostas Myrsiades is a professor emeritus of Greek and comparative litera ture at West Chester University in West Chester, Pennsylvania (1969–2011), and author, translator, or editor of twenty-four books on Greek culture and comparative literature. He previously served as the editor of College Litera ture (1990–2012) and in 1995 was awarded the Golden Medallion by the Hellenic Society of Translators of Literature in Athens, Greece.
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