Book 1:

Summary:

The Iliad begins with the Trojan War already in progress. Greek audiences would have been familiar with the background of the story, and here a brief summary of events is necessary to help the reader to put these events in context. It is important to remember that these stories had a life outside of Homer: he did not invent his characters or the main events of the epic. He did make key choices regarding which events and characters were to be emphasized and reinterpreted. The Iliad focuses on events that take place in the tenth year of the Trojan War. Myth, in constant retelling, changes its form constantly. The myths have some elements that are very familiar to modern readers but were unknown or ignored by Homer. For example, a widely known story holds that Achilles was immortal, except for his heel. But although Homer's Achilles is an unmatched warrior, not once in the Iliad does Homer present Achilles as more or less vulnerable than anyone else; either the story was a later addition or Homer chose to ignore it. The myths Homer drew on for his tale had many variants, so in giving the background outside of Homer's text this study guide will try to present only the most fundamental elements of the story of Troy. Paris, also known as Alexander, was a prince of Troy, a kingdom in Asia Minor. During his travels, he was a guest of Menelaus, a king in Sparta. Menelaus' wife was Helen, a woman of legendary beauty; she and Paris fell in love and he took her with him back to Troy. The rulers of the Greek kingdoms raised a powerful army and a fleet of over a thousand ships to win back Helen with strength of arms. Led by Agamemnon, Menelaus' older brother, the Greeks (called "Achaeans" or "Argives" or "Danaans" throughout the poem) sailed for Troy and began a war that was destined to last for ten long years.

In the tenth and final year of the Trojan War, the fighting is temporarily stalemated. While on a previous raid, Agamemnon, commander-in-chief of the Achaean forces, has taken as plunder the beautiful girl Chryseis. Chryseis' father, Chryses, is a priest of the god Apollo. Chryses pays a visit to Agamemnon, treating him with great respect and courtesy and offering an opulent ransom in exchange for the freedom of his daughter. Although the Achaeans cry out their approval for Chryses' request, Agamemnon refuses to grant it. He threatens to kill Chryses if the priest should ever come into Agamemnon's presence again. Chryses flees, but he prays to Apollo for vengeance and justice. The god, angered by Agamemnon's disrespect for his priest, rains arrows on the Achaeans. The result is a horrible plague, as men and animals die mysteriously for nine days.

On the tenth day, Achilles calls the Greeks to assembly, the idea put into his head by the goddess Hera, who sides with the Achaeans against Troy. Achilles asks for some prophet or seer to tell them what has caused the plague and what must be done to end it. Calchas, a great prophet, says that he knows the answer, but he makes Achilles vow to protect him once he has revealed it. Achilles vows, and Calchas tells them that the plague has been sent by Apollo in punishment for Agamemnon's treatment of Chryses. To atone for the sin, the Achaeans must give Chryseis back without accepting any ransom and in addition they must give a hundred sacred bulls to Chryses for sacrifice. Agamemnon is furious with Calchas, saying that the seer enjoys delivering evil prophecies, but the king agrees to give up the girl. He insists, however, that one of the Achaeans give him a prize to compensate him for his loss.

Achilles is enraged by the request. The plunder has already been distributed, he argues, and a good man does not take back what he has given. Agamemnon and Achilles argue, each man insulting the other. Agamemnon threatens to take a prize if one is not given to him, and Achilles reminds him that all of the Achaeans are fighting against foes who have only wronged Menelaus. For the sake of the two royal brothers, the Argives bloody their hands against men who have done them no wrong. Achilles also complains that though he bears the heaviest burden in battle, it is the king who is always greedy for prizes. Achilles refuses to fight anymore: he will go home to Phthia. Agamemnon responds that to compensate for the loss of Chryseis, he will take Achilles' own prize, the girl Briseis.

Because of this dishonor, anger seizes Achilles and he strides toward Agamemnon to kill him. Hera sends the goddess Athena to stop him. Only Achilles can see Athena, who tells him not to kill the king. She promises that Achilles will be justly compensated for this great dishonor. Achilles obeys her, but he vows to Agamemnon that one day the Achaeans will come begging Achilles for help. They will need his protection from Hector, the greatest of the Trojan warriors, and Agamemnon will regret his pride.

Nestor, oldest of the Achaean kings, rises and tells the two men that they must listen to him, because he is old and has lived and fought with warriors greater than any now living. He asks Agamemnon not to take Briseis, Achilles' fairly won prize, and he tells Achilles that he must respect Agamemnon's position as commander-in-chief.

His words are lost on the two men. Achilles returns to his ships with his companion Patroclus. The Achaeans send the ships to make the sacrifice, with Odysseus in charge of the expedition. Meanwhile, Agamemnon sends men to fetch Briseis, who is given up without a fight‹Achilles does not resist because the girl was a gift distributed by Agamemnon and the great warrior feels it is not his place to refuse the king. But Achilles is humiliated, and he calls on his mother, the goddess Thetis; she hears him and emerges from her home in the sea. He weeps and asks his mother to help him to win justice. Zeus is in Thetis' debt; in a revolt of the gods in which Zeus was nearly defeated, only Thetis' intervention saved him. Achilles tells her what has happened and asks Thetis to go as a suppliant to Zeus, to ask him to intervene so that the Achaeans might know suffering as long as Achilles does not fight. Thetis responds with sadness. She tells her son that he is destined to die young and with great sorrow, but she agrees to do as he asks. The gods are away for feasting in Ethiopia, but they will return soon and Thetis will make her plea then.

Meanwhile, Odysseus delivers Chryseis back to her father and helps the priest to make the sacrifice. Chryses prays to Apollo to stop the plague; the god is appeased. The Achaeans who sailed on the ships bringing the sacred bulls now feast on the meat left over after the sacrifice. The men return to the front, where Achilles is still withdrawn into his ship, refusing to fight.

The gods return to Olympus and Thetis clasps Zeus' knees‹the position of a supplicant‹and asks that the Trojan win victory after victory as long as her son does not fight. Zeus is anxious because his wife, Hera, queen of the gods, despises the Trojans and will be furious with him. But he agrees. When he returns to his house, where all the gods are assembled, Hera is waiting in anger for him. She knows that he has seen Thetis, and fears the disasters that might be brought down on the Achaeans if Zeus decides to help bring Achilles honor. The two argue bitterly, until Zeus threatens to harm her, and she takes her place quietly. Hephaestus, god of the forge and child of Zeus and Hera, urges his parents not to fight over the fate of mortals. He wants Hera to obey Zeus because he does not wish to see his mother harmed. He serves the gods sweet nectar to drink, beginning with his mother, and the gods feast and listen to song. As night falls, they return to their beds and sleep, Hera by Zeus's side.

Analysis

One of the key features of Homer's language is the use of ornamental epithets, labels that accompany the names of heroes, gods, or objects. The epithets are made to fill in the line in a way that fits the poetic meter, dactyllic hexameter, easing the job of the poet by giving him a list of ready-made phrases that can be used according to how many syllables are left on the line. The epithets, some have argued, indicate that Greek oral poetry may have included strong elements of improvisation. A poet would have a wide range of set passages, short phrases and whole mini-narratives, to draw from as he improvised an epic on the spot right in front of an audience. Alternately, the epithets might have made a rehearsed epic easier to remember. Many of these epithets were probably handed down to Homer; it is his skill in using and arranging them, rather than sheer inventiveness, that marks him as a great poet. There are also set phrases, such as "and do battle." For a modern reader, Homer can seem extremely repetitive at times, but repetition here is part of his art. A character might say that he is going to go fight and do battle, even though the statement is repetitive, because the set phrase neatly completes the line. Also, there is a sense in Homer that a good passage can and should be repeated almost in its entirety. When Achiles tells Thetis about what Agamemnon has done to him, he repeats whole passages verbatim.

Some of the epithets include "brilliant," "god-like," or "swift-footed" Achilles; Trojans, "breakers of horses"; "glorious" Hector, "Hector of the shining helm"; "resourceful" or "brilliant" Odysseus; "Zeus of the counsels" or "Zeus of the wide brows." These epithets are generally used to fit the meter rather than the mood of the moment. Achilles may be "swift-footed" even while he is sitting and doing nothing; "laughing" Aphrodite might be furious. While the epithets fit the characters and places in general and sometimes fit the moment beautifully, it is important to remember that meter is often the first consideration for these phrases when it comes to specific moments. If the reader attempts to close-read Homer, he must beware of being misled by set phrases chosen to fit the meter. A good example of a potential misread is when Menelaus and Paris prepare to duel over Helen, and the winner will have the faithless Helen as his "beloved" wife. Irony is probably not intended, because "beloved" goes with "wife" (Lattimore 40). Still, at other times the epithets can and do fit the things they describe quite well. While reading, listen for these patterns and set phrases. These epithets and repetitions create a beautiful rhythm that is part of the pleasure of reading Homer.

The anger of Achilles is at the center of the poem‹the opening line is an invocation of the Muse to "sing of the anger of Peleus' son Achilles." Achilles' rage causes the deaths of many of his friends and fellow soldiers, including his beloved companion Patroclus.

This rage is invoked by pride, a theme of pivotal importance for the Greeks. Pride is the source of the conflict between Achilles and Agamemnon in Book 1. The king is angered by what he sees as a challenge to his authority. He is furious at Calchas for indicting Agamemnon as the cause of the plague. Rather than graciously admit his mistake, the king becomes monstrous and demands compensation for what should not have been his in the first place. He knows what he must do for the sake of the army, but he demands recognition of his privileged status as king.

Achilles, in turn, demands recognition of his status as the greatest warrior among the Achaeans. The loss of Briseis is not humiliating because he has any kind of romantic attachment to her. It is humiliating because she was a prize given to Achilles by Agamemnon for valor. When Agamemnon takes her away‹as is his technical right to do, although it clearly violates rules of respect and honorable conduct‹he dishonors Achilles horribly and devalues Achilles' contributions as a warrior. This grave dishonor happens in terms that the Greek audience would have understood. Athena herself calls the king's behavior an "outrage." This insult to Achilles' pride is what causes the great warrior's wrath. The fact that Achilles is fiercely proud does not mean that Achilles is not a great man, because the Greeks understood pride as an inseparable part of a hero's greatness. He is hot-tempered, insubordinate, prizing his honor above the wellbeing of his fellow troops. His wrath is the cause of his own later bitterness‹the bitter end that his mother predicts. But he is also destined to die gloriously, unequaled on the battlefield. The desire to win glory is one of the themes of the Iliad, and it is seen in Achilles choice to win glory instead of long life. Achilles is also courageous, capable of deep feeling, and, unlike most of the characters of the epic, he is eventually transformed by new understanding.

The interplay between gods and men is a complex and important theme throughout the Iliad. Gods intercede constantly. In Book 1 alone, a huge number of divinely influenced events occur. Hera is responsible for Achilles having the idea to call the assembly, Athena stops Achilles from killing Agamemnon, Apollo brings plague on the Achaeans. Gods constantly aid particular warriors. Fate and human will have a paradoxical relationship. Humans undoubtedly make choices‹part of the Iliad's power is that Achilles suffers because of choices that he has made‹but human will must coexist or clash with fate or the will of the gods. No strict theology of will and necessity is put forward by Homer. Humans undoubtedly make choices‹even at moments of divine interference. In Book 1, when Athena stops Achilles from killing Agamemnon, she uses language of persuasion rather than command. At times, all things seem to proceed according to the will of Zeus. But at key points, Zeus himself seems to be subject to the dictates of faith. At other times, human beings seem to act in ways that will overturn fate itself unless the gods intercede. Fagles, the translator of one of the best editions of the Iliad in English, points out that a difficult paradox presents itself for any civilization that believes in both free will (and with it, individual responsibility) and fate (which comes with pattern and thus, meaning) (Fagles 42). Experience seems to require a place in our stories for both concepts, as contradictory as they may be, and the fit is not always easy. Homer does not choose to bind his story within a rigid and unquestioning theology; he is a great storyteller, and like many great storytellers he is not afraid of paradox. On the issues of destiny and will, the Iliad seems to pose questions rather than provide systematic answers to them.

The characteristics of the gods are established in Book 1. All of the gods are incredibly willful, concerned with achieving their goals. Zeus is the ruler, but often by force alone‹when Hera opposes Zeus angrily because of his audience with Thetis, he threatens her with physical harm. We learn that Zeus was once nearly overthrown by Poseidon, Athena, and Hera, and only because of Thetis was he able to escape. His commands are obeyed because he is the strongest of the Olympians, and that has to be reason enough.

But Book 1 ends with Olympus in great harmony, as the gods celebrate with song and feasting, and when they go to bed at night, Hera sleeps peacefully by Zeus's side. There is beautiful symmetry in Book 1 between Olympus and the mortal men below: Book 1 has two feasts that occur in a context of conflict: the first feast is celebrated in the world of men, and the second feast is in the halls of Olympus. Although the Iliad concerns itself with war, there is a love for the world at peace. Moments of harmony are interspersed throughout the epic. For long stretches of Greek history, war was a fact of life. Homer depicts the brutality of war alongside the glory of its heroes. He shows us the suffering that war brings, while providing occasional glimpses of peace and harmony in a poem that is full of violence. There is something poignant in Achilles' pointed accusation of Agamemnon: when Achilles argues that all of the men fight for the sake of Menelaus' dishonor and the glory of Agamemnon, Achilles says that throughout the war he has killed men who have done nothing to him or his home. He speaks of his homeland, the homeland never assaulted by a Trojan, and his words conjure imagery of a kingdom in peacetime. Achilles is a fierce warrior, the best at what he does, and yet here he shows a glimmer not exactly of conscience but of consciousness. He is not, at this moment, an unthinking killing machine. He has some inkling of what it means to kill a man, to snuff out another life, and though he does not reflect on his actions seriously right at this moment, he is at least aware that the men he kills have done him no wrong. This moment may foreshadow the greater understanding of suffering that he reaches by the end of the epic.

Book 2:

Summary:

In order to lure the Achaeans into disaster, Zeus sends Dream to give Agamemnon a false vision that now is the time to attack the city of Troy. Agamemnon believes the dream, and wakes and dresses for battle. He believes he will take Troy that very day. He calls the Achaeans to assembly and tells them about the dream. The troops ready themselves, Zeus's servant Rumor buzzing around and exciting them.

Agamemnon then gives a speech to the Achaeans, telling them that the war has gone on too long. Though they outnumber the Trojans, they have not captured the city in nine long years. Now it is the tenth year, and Agamemnon tells the troops that they should go home in disgrace.

Although Agamemnon is testing the men's courage, the demoralized troops scatter and make for the ships. The shameful retreat is only halted by the actions of Hera and Athena. Athena goes down and urges Odysseus, her favorite, to stop the troops from leaving. Odysseus takes Agamemnon's scepter and runs among the ranks, persuading men and kings to stand their ground. When the troops are back in order, the unruly Thersites tries to undo Odysseus' work, insulting Agamemnon and trying to make the troops insubordinate. Odysseus answers him with words and force, arguing against Thersites' statements, insulting Thersites' character, threatening him with physical humiliation, and finally thrashing him with Agamemnon's scepter. The troops are amused and invigorated by the spectacle, and Odysseus reminds them that they promised to fight until they had taken the city of Troy. He also reminds them that before they set sail from Aulis, Calchas interpreted a sign from the gods: they are to take Troy in their tenth year, and this year is the tenth. Nestor berates the troops, reminding them of favorable signs from Zeus seen on the day they set out for Troy. He urges Agamemnon to arrange the men by clans and tribes, so it will possible to see which groups are brave and which groups are cowardly.

Agamemnon expresses regret over his previous anger with Achilles, but he does not do anything to make amends. The troops get ready, eating dinner and making sacrifices to the gods. The speaker tells us that Zeus accepts the sacrifice but will not grant victory yet.

After invoking the Muses so that he can rely on their divine memory, Homer then gives a long, complete list of all of the Greek chieftains involved in the Trojan war. He describes their attributes and the number of men they command, as well as their important family members and kingdoms of origin. Near the end, we learn that without Achilles, the best warrior on the Achaean side is Telamonian Ajax or Greater Ajax (not to be confused with Ajax, son of Oileus, also known as Oilean Ajax or Little Ajax). Achilles, ruler of the Myrmidons, is by far the greatest Achaean warrior, but he remains out of battle.

Iris, messenger of Zeus, warns the Trojans of the coming attack. The Trojans and their allies prepare for battle. Their leader is Priam's son, Hector "of the shining helm," a civilized man and a great warrior. He is their champion. Important also is Aeneas, favored by the gods to survive and be the father of all Trojans afterward.

Analysis:

Agamemnon is often unsteady as king, weighed down by the responsibility of his position. When he tries to use reverse psychology to goad his troops into battle readiness, he ends up demoralizing his own soldiers. He is reliant on Odysseus, a crafty man beloved of Athena and the perfect counselor, to bring the troops back into line. It is Odysseus, and not Agamemnon, who answers and humiliates the unruly Thersites. He uses the scepter of Agamemnon in these scenes, symbolizing Odysseus' important role as a leader behind the leader. But Odysseus never seeks to usurp Agamemnon's position. He is a great man, less overwhelming than some of the other heroes, but more balanced and less tainted by the weakness of pride.

Here, as always, we see the theme of interaction of free will and fate. Although the gods initiate many of these events, Odysseus is not a pawn but a skilled agent. For the sake of Athena and his king, he pulls the troops back into line.

Agamemnon's unsteadiness manifests itself again in his admission of regret over his conflict with Achilles. Although he admits that he was the first to become angry, he is still too proud to truly make amends. This kind of admission is typical of how Agamemnon deals with wrongs he has committed. Note that in Book 1, he sends Odysseus to make amends to Chryses rather than go and apologize himself. Although attempts will later be made to set things right, Agamemnon is never capable of the kind of full apology that would restore Achilles' honor.

There are fine examples of Homeric simile in Book 2. In Homer, the beauty of a simile is not always based on perfect and thought-out similarity between the two things compared. When A is compared to B, Homer often continues talking about B with evocative language that does little to develop the similarity with A. For example, Homer compares the armies of the Achaeans to milling bees. He then goes on to loving describe swarms of bees as they hover around flowers in springtime. At this point, Homer is no longer interested in developing the similarities between the troops and bees. The simile is more ornamental, concerned with delivering the history of B, and the images Homer evokes are often those of the everyday. We move from the terrible scene of army preparing for war to bees at springtime, and Homer is content to stay for a moment with the bees, developing that imagery for its own sake. These similes, together, often (but not always) present glimpses of a peaceful and harmonious world. Homer often uses them to provide powerful contrast to the brutality of the Trojan War, juxtaposing images of violence with images of peace.

Book 3:

Summary:

As the armies move to meet each other, Paris strides forward ahead of the Trojan ranks, by this move challenging the best of the Argives to face him in combat. As soon as he does, Menelaus, thrilled at a chance for revenge, leaps down from his chariot. Paris loses heart and retreats back into the ranks. Hector, who is also his brother, insults and condemns Paris, calling him a coward and implicitly blaming him for the war. He says that if the men of Troy were not cowards they would have stoned Paris years ago for his misdeeds. Paris, chastised, tells Hector that he will fight Menelaus and the winner shall have Helen; then the two sides will part in peace. Hector makes the announcement to the Argive forces and Menelaus agrees. They call for lambs for sacrifice and for Priam to come down as witness to seal the oath.

Iris, servant of Zeus, takes the shape of one of Hector's sisters and rushes to tell Helen what is happening. Filled with homesickness, Helen goes up to the top of the Scaean Gates, where, invited by Priam, she sits among the elder men of Troy. Priam does not blame her for the war, but rather treats her with courtesy. Priam asks Helen questions about the different Argive fighters he sees. She tells him the names of Agamemnon, king of the armies; Odysseus, the great tactician and king of Ithaca; Ajax, enormous man and bulwark of the Achaeans; and Idomeneus, commander of the armies from Crete. Helen knows most of the great fighters' names, but look as she might she cannot find her two brothers, Castor and Polydeuces. She wonders if they came or if they have already died. The speaker of the poem then tells us that the two men are long dead, buried in their homeland of Lacedaemon.

A messenger arrives and asks Priam down to the plains to seal the men's oaths and witness their duel. Priam goes down with Antenor, an elder and one of his advisors. Agamemnon makes the prayer and the oath, killing the lambs. Priam, unable to bear watching his son fight in a duel, goes back through the city gates with Antenor. Menelaus and Paris duel, and as Menelaus is about to finish off Paris, Aphrodite intercedes. She carries Paris away and drops him in his own bed within the gates of Troy. She then goes to Helen and tells her to go back to bed, where Paris awaits her. Helen refuses, shamed now by her past actions and unwilling to go to bed with her cowardly husband. Furious, Aphrodite threatens to make her fate miserable if she does not obey. So she goes, although when she sees her husband she insults him, saying that it would be better if he had died. Paris shrugs her insults off and he and Helen make love. Down on the field, Menelaus looks in rage for Paris. The speaker tells us that no Trojan would have hidden him then, their hatred of Paris was so great. Agamemnon cries out that clearly Menelaus was the winner, and that the Trojans must hand over Helen, under the terms of the oath. The Argive soldiers roar their assent.

Analysis:

Homer's depiction of Helen is the most interesting part of this section. Later Greek writers were content to heap hatred on Helen, blaming her for the Trojan War and depicting her as an empty-headed strumpet‹as in the Orestes of Euripides. But that characterization is a far cry from what we see here. Although Helen's decision to leave with Paris has been the cause of the Trojan War, now she seems full of regret for what she has done. Although Priam assures her that the war is the will of the gods, Helen is not convinced. She wishes that she had died, and sympathy for her is increased when Homer tells us that her brothers, for whom she searches among the ranks, are long dead. She realizes that the death and destruction around her have in part been her fault, and she tries to resist Aphrodite when Aphrodite lures her back to Paris' bed. Resistance to the goddess is futile; when Aphrodite threatens Helen, Helen fearfully complies. But Helen's self-loathing sticks with her. When she sees her husband Paris she greets him with contempt, and though he shrugs aside her insults, Homer does not show us her reaction to his defense of himself. Still, there are limits to Helen's change of heart. She ultimately lacks the initiative to kill herself or hand herself over to the Achaeans; Homer gives her personality and remorse, but he must stay within the confines of the myth. No peaceful solution is possible.

Priam's kindness is consistent with Homer's tremendously sympathetic depiction of the Trojans. The old man does not blame Helen for the deaths of his people or the possible destruction of his city. He and the elders treat her better than she deserves.

We also see a glimpse of Hector in this chapter, as he goads his cowardly brother to fight Menelaus in a duel. Hector, greatest of the Trojans, is a brave man. But he suffers from a different kind of fear, connected to pride. Lattimore writes that Hector has a great weakness: his greatest failing is not fear on the battlefield, but fear of being called a coward (Lattimore 46). Otherwise, he would have surrendered Helen to the Achaeans and had Paris stoned‹he says to Paris that if the Trojans were real men they would have done that very thing. This action might save the city. Hector is still a brave man, but his pride prevents him from committing an act of courage that in some ways would be greater than any feat on the battlefield.

Book 4:

Summary:

In the halls of Olympus, Zeus and Hera argue over the fate of Troy. The Trojans and the Greeks are about to make a truce that will end the war and save the city. Hera longs to see the city destroyed, although Zeus loves Troy and its people because of their piety and virtue. Zeus is angry and warns her not to try and stop him when he hates a city himself, because he has given her Troy. Hera offers him three cities: Sparta, Mycenae, and Argos. They send down Athena to make sure that the truce does not hold. Athena tempts Pandarus, an archer on the Trojan side, to fire an arrow and bring down Menelaus. He does so, letting loose an arrow that would have been fatal, but Athena deflects the arrows course so that it makes a non-lethal wound. Agamemnon sends for Machaon, a healer, to tend to his brother. The truce breaks down into war. Agamemnon moves through the ranks, scolding cowards, praising the brave, rallying the troops, giving orders. He chides some of the men too strongly, including Odysseus. These men respond with anger: to Odysseus, Agamemnon apologizes, but the angry Sthenalus is calmed by Diomedes, who explains that as king Agamemnon must incite the troops to fight harder.

Homer now describes the combat. The battle scenes are gruesome and brutal, full of impaled men, gouged eyes, crushed skulls. These scenes are also exciting and fast paced, and include passages of great beauty. The brutality of war is clear. Characters are introduced only to die a few lines later, Trojans and Greeks alike.

Analysis:

The gods in Olympus, although they choose favorites among mortals, do not set a high premium on the value of human life. Hera and Zeus trade cities casually, as Hera offers him three cities beloved by her to compensate for Troy, a city beloved by Zeus. Hera and Athena hate Troy so much that they will not allow the truce to hold. This Greek attitude toward their gods is a response to a harsh world, where human beings, devout or not, are killed in droves by disasters both natural and man-made.

The truce is an example of human agency overridden by divine will, further developing the theme of interaction between fate and free will. The mortals are on the verge of saving themselves in a way honorable to all, but even a Greek victory is unsatisfactory to the gods if it means that Troy survives. Zeus cannot allow this to be, either, since he has vowed to Thetis that he will help Achilles to win glory. The gods are also not above tricking mortals: Dream was used to trick Agamemnon earlier, and in this section Athena tricks Pandarus by offering him great glory if he kills Menelaus.

We see Agamemnon here as an effective leader, marshalling the troops in battle, guiding them tactically and raising their spirits. This Agamemnon is a far cry from the man two chapters earlier, whose ploy to rally the Greeks nearly ended in an Achaean retreat. Although Agamemnon occasionally wavers and makes mistakes‹he apologize here to Odysseus‹he is still, in the capacities of leadership, the grandest of the Achaean chieftains.

Book 5:

Summary:

Athena temporarily gives Diomedes, son of King Tydeus of Argos, unmatched battle prowess. Diomedes battles fiercely, and Athena convinces Ares that they both should stand aside and let the mortals battle it out on their own. The battle is fierce, deaths reported by the speaker, as different Trojans and Greeks fight. Diomedes is hit by one of Pandarus' arrows. His friend Sthenalus tends to the wound, and Diomedes prays for revenge. Athena gives him another wave of strength, as well as a special gift: the mist is lifted from his eyes, and he can now temporarily recognize the gods fighting among the mortals. Athena warns him to face no god head-on, unless it is Aphrodite. Diomedes leaps into battle, slaughtering warrior after warrior.

Aeneas, Trojan warrior and mortal son of Anchises and Aphrodite, asks Pandarus to strike Diomedes down with an arrow, but Pandarus despairs of having failed to kill both Menelaus and Diomedes. Aeneas urges him to ride with him in his chariot to strike down Diomedes. The two men charge for the Achaean hero, and Sthenalus urges Diomedes to retreat. He does not, reminding Sthenalus that if they win they'll take the chariot and horses as a prize. Trojan horses are the world's finest, given to Troy by Zeus, and Aeneas' horses are particularly good specimens. Pandarus is killed, but before Diomedes can kill Aeneas, Aphrodite whisks him away. Aeneas' chariot is captured by the Greeks. Aphrodite is wounded by Diomedes and drops her son, but Apollo picks him up and carries him away. With the help of Iris and Ares' chariot, the wounded Aphrodite returns to Olympus. She complains to her mother, Dione, about what has happened to her. Dione reminds her of times when other immortal gods have had to suffer at the hands of mortals. She comforts her with the knowledge that no mortal who fights the gods gets away with it. Hera and Athena mock Aphrodite, and Zeus comforts her.

Apollo tries to carry Aeneas to safety, but three times Diomedes makes a fierce attack on Apollo. On the fourth try, Apollo warns him in a terrifying voice not to defy the gods. Diomedes backs down. Apollo carries Aeneas to his temple, where the goddesses Leto and Artemis tend to him, and Apollo makes a doppleganger of Aeneas to replace him temporarily in battle. Apollo urges Ares to stop Diomedes. Ares takes mortal form to rally the Trojans. Sarpedon, a Trojan ally, insults Hector and goads him into new heights of valor. Hector rallies the troops, and Apollo brings Aeneas back from his temple, fully healed. The battle rages, more killings described by Homer, and Ares now aids Hector. Diomedes, because of Athena's gift, can see the god, and so he warns the Achaeans to fall back. Battles follow, including a notable encounter in which Hector wounds Odysseus. Hector drives the Achaeans back, and Hera, watching the battle, tells Athena that they must stop Ares. The goddesses prepare for battle. Hera takes mortal form to rally the Argives. Athena goes to stand beside Diomedes, telling him that because Ares has broken his vow to leave the battlefield she will help Diomedes to bring him down. Diomedes and Athena wound Ares, who ascends to Olympus and complains to Zeus. Zeus scolds and insults him, but calls for a healer. Hera and Athena, satisfied, return to Olympus.

Analysis

The gods choose champions, but their decisions are not arbitrary. The will of the gods in this case has something to do with the characters of mortals. Diomedes is the chosen champion of Athena; he is not beloved for nothing, but because he is a strong warrior, faithful to the gods and loyal to his commander. We first saw him in the last book, when he patiently bore the abuse of Agamemnon and encouraged Sthenalus to do the same. This brief moment establishes his character's loyalty and respect for the chain of command, preparing us for his re-introduction in this section as the chosen champion of the goddess Athena.

With gods behind them, single warriors seem worth more than whole armies. Diomedes smashes through the Trojan ranks with Athena's help, just as later Hector drives the Achaeans back with Ares by his side. Homer writes not exactly of real men, but of heroes. (It was the work of the Athenian tragedians centuries later to tear Homer's heroes down to human scale.) His vision of battle is one where single men, when inspired or chosen, can drive back the entire opposing army. In Homer, war is not pure chaos or mass violence; war is an arena in which individual warriors make all the difference. The armies fail or succeed because of the actions of single men. Homer glorifies the place of an individual's valor and strength.

His heroes are of a stronger race of men: many times throughout the Iliad, men perform astonishing feats of strength. Diomedes wounds Aeneas by throwing a giant boulder at him, "a huge thing which no two men could carry / such as men are now, but by himself he lightly hefted it" (5. 303-4). (Incidentally, this line shows that either Homer was writing long after the events he was supposedly portraying or at least that there are lines that were added to the Iliad long after the supposed time of the Trojan War.) Homer writes about a heroic past, one where men are supposedly stronger than any living during Homer's own time. Homeric heroes talk to gods, and are chosen by them; with some help, they can even fight against the gods on the battlefield and win.

Aeneas is one of the gods' favorites. Both Aphrodite and Apollo are determined that he should not die, spiriting him away and shielding him with their own bodies. He is destined to be one of the few survivors of Troy, and, long after Homer's time, the Romans claimed descent from him. Aeneas' treatment reveals how single-minded the gods can be once they have made a decision; or, alternatively, his treatment shows how the gods must act under the dictates of fate.

We see here gods who can be wounded. They bleed ichor, blood of the gods, but they cannot die. Greek divinities have limits on their power: although Aprhodite is unmatched in the realm of love (her power will later master Zeus himself) in battle she is vulnerable. On the other hand, it is impossible for a mortal to oppose a god without divine help. Aphrodite is an exception because she has no battle prowess, but even in her case Diomedes wounds her after he has been given great strength by Athena. And when Diomedes wounds Ares, he is only able to do so because Athena drives and directs the spear.

Book 6:

Summary:

The brutal fighting continues, with more blow-by-blow description of the battle. At one point, Menelaus overcomes Adrestus and is about to kill him, but the man catches Menelaus by the knees (position of the suppliant) and begs for his life. A customary alternative to slaying an enemy is capturing him and holding him for ransom. Menelaus is about to do as the young man asks, but Agamemnon tells his brother that they are here to kill the Trojans‹all of them, until no trace of their people remains on the earth. Menelaus kills him, and Nestor calls out to the men to waste no time on plunder: they shall kill now, and loot the bodies later at their leisure.

Helenus, son of Priam and a skilled seer, tells Hector and Aeneas that they must rally the troops lest the soldiers are driven back through the gates. He also tells Hector to return to Troy and gather all of the elder noblewomen together to make a special sacrifice at the temple of Athena. They must pray to the goddess to hold back Diomedes. Hector does as his brother asks.

Glaucos, of the Lycians (Trojan allies), comes face to face with Diomedes in battle. Diomedes asks who he is, not wanting to fight against a god, and, in grand epic fashion, Glaucos recounts his genealogy and the deeds of his ancestors. Diomedes realizes that their families have a history of friendship, and the two agree to be friends. They will avoid each other on the battlefield, since there are plenty of other warriors for the two of them to kill. They swear an oath of friendship and a permanent open offer of hospitality, exchanging armor to seal the oath. Diomedes, however, gets the better end of the deal: Diomedes gets Glaucos' golden armor, while Glaucos is stuck with Diomedes' bronze armor.

Meanwhile, Hector goes back into the city, where all of the women come running around him to ask about their fathers, sons, husbands, brothers, and friends. His only response is to tell them to pray. He enters the palace of Priam, the layout of which is described here briefly, and he meets his mother Hecuba and his sister Laodice. His mother wants him to rest and offer prayer, but Hector brushes aside her requests and gives her the instructions of Helenus. The old noblewomen make the offering as instructed, but when the priestess prays that Diomedes might be defeated and Troy saved, Athena turns her head away. The women then pray to Zeus himself.

Meanwhile, Hector searches for Paris, with whom he is increasingly angry. He finds Paris gearing up for battle. He harshly rebukes his brother, but Paris makes excuses for himself and his lateness, saying that he will soon be ready to return to battle. He is gearing up now on the urges of his wife Helen. Helen, disgusted and angry with Paris, asks Hector to rest for a moment. Hector refuses and goes to see his wife and son. He cannot find them in the house, but a servant informs him that his wife Andromache has gone to watch the fighting from atop the city walls. Andromache is attended by a nurse who carries Hector's infant son. Hector goes back to the Scaean Gates, searching for her, and Andromache rushes to meet him there. She weeps for fear that Hector's status as the greatest Trojan warrior will mean his death. She has lost both parents and all her brothers, her father and seven brothers all killed by Achilles in previous campaigns. She wants Hector to stay away from the front lines and set up a defensive force for blocking a weak point in the city walls. He refuses, and tells her that he must not be called a coward; he must win glory for himself and his line. He also confides in her that he knows Troy will fall. The thought that troubles him most is that Andromache will be hauled away and made captive in a Greek man's house; he will die before he hears the sound of her being dragged away. He holds his infant son, praying for the child to one day rule and be greater than his father. Andromache goes back into their house, where she and the handmaidens mourn for Hector, because they do not expect to see him alive again.

Paris meets up with Hector near the gates, and Hector takes a softer tone with his brother than before. He recognizes that Paris, when he does fight, is a capable warrior, but explains that he cannot stand it when Paris hangs back from battle. Hector then speaks wishfully of a day when the Achaeans will be driven away forever and the Trojans can give thanks to the gods.

Analysis:

This section orders and structures events in a moving and powerful way. There are three important events in Book 6: the consideration and then rejection of Adrestus' plea for mercy, the meeting on the battlefield between Glaucos and Diomedes, and the return of Hector to the city. The structure creates some remarkable effects. The first part establishes the level of brutality with which this war will be fought. It emphasizes that there will be no mercy for the Trojans, and the Achaeans are fighting a war that will end in the destruction of a whole people. With that fact established, the third part is emotionally wrenching. Hector, beloved of his people, is returning to look on a city that will be no more. The characters and people of Troy, depicted in this section with great sympathy, are doomed. The second important event, the interaction and exchange between Glaucos and Diomedes, creates a space for non-martial virtues in the midst of war. The poignancy of an offer of friendship in the middle of a battlefield provides relief from the gruesome descriptions of combat and warriors' deaths. The friendship between Diomedes and Glaucos suggests an alternative course of action for the peoples for whom they are fighting, but the other events of this section make it clear that this alternative will not be pursued. These three events reward a closer look.

Agememnon brings us face to face with one of the Iliad's themes. The brutality of men, even noble men, on both sides, shows us that this war was not fought with mercy or restraint. Although Menelaus considers Adrestus' pleas for mercy, his more bloodthirsty brother convinces him that they are here to bring total destruction on the people of Troy. Nestor's announcement moments later is not accidental: he drives the Achaeans to forsake looting the bodies for now. Once all of the Trojans are dead, he argues, they can loot at their leisure. By this point, even an audience unfamiliar with the myth knows without a shred of ambiguity that for the Trojans defeat means annihilation. If the Achaeans are defeated, they return home and suffer dishonor and the pain of wasted effort. The Trojans, if defeated, pay a much higher price. The Acheans have come not to conquer, but to destroy.

This chilling opening sequence is relieved by the exchange between Glaucos, a Lycian ally of the Trojans, and Diomedes. Amidst the brutality of war, these two men carve out a small space for more gentle values. The realization that their families have a history of friendship motivates the men to come to a separate peace between the two of them. The fact that Glaucos is Lycian rather than Trojan gives him a chance to actually survive the war. The scene is beautiful, affirming a place for friendship even under the most extreme and violent conditions imposed by war. However, the end puts a twist on the exchange: has Diomedes intentionally swindled Glaucos out of his golden armor? It is improbable that the proposal of friendship was a way for Diomedes to get a pricier suit of armor; after all, as champion of Athena, Diomedes probably could have killed Glaucos and taken the armor. But the possibility remains that Diomedes has swindled a man to whom he has just proposed friendship, complicating this short scene. It is as if the war makes it difficult to create any pure space for the gentler virtue of friendship. Even when swearing solemn oaths of friendship and making a separate peace, Glaucos would have been better off if he had kept his wits about him.

Within the city walls of Troy, the Trojans are depicted with tremendous sympathy. The concern of the women for the fighting men is poignant; there is also something deeply saddening about the moment in the temple when Athena refuses to heed their desperate prayers. Although the Trojans are not of the same culture as the Achaeans, Homer has made them worship the same gods. The plan of the palace and Priam's number of sons makes it clear that the royal family is in the style of the Near East rather than Greece, but the city would still have been recognized by Greece as a powerful symbol of civilization and its benefits. Civilization here is made fragile, shown to be vulnerable before more brutal forces. They are a pious people; Zeus has said earlier that their offerings are rich and constant. They are also a compassionate people. The elders and especially Priam treat Helen better than she deserves, and she knows it. But the Trojans are also a doomed people, and Homer is no romanticist about the relations between states. Troy is home to a refined civilization with a gentle and pious citizenry, but brute strength is the only way to protect oneself from an invader.

We are also given a much richer characterization of Hector. Note that although Helenus is the prince who knows what must be done to stop Diomedes, Hector is the man with the authority and stature to carry out Helenus' plan. And when Hector returns through the Scaean Gates, the women of Troy turn to him for comfort and news. He is the man to whom his people turn for support; at a few words from him, the women pray for Troy as ordered. Helen also holds him in esteem, and the contrast between the ridiculous, self-absorbed Paris and his tougher brother could not be clearer. There is also a strong contrast between the flawed marriage of Paris and Helen and the deep bond between Andromache and Hector. In Andromache's lament, there is foreshadowing of Hector's destiny. Like all of the other men close to Andromache, he will fall before Achilles in battle. Here, we see that Hector knows that his city is doomed, but he must go on. We see him as a great husband and father, a compassionate man full of love and devotion to his city. Despite some deep foreboding that Troy is lost, he prays that his son might grow to greatness. This moment has greater weight because earlier in Book 6 Agamemnon has made clear that not even the unborn will survive. At the end of Book 6, standing beside his cowardly brother Paris, Hector faces the battlefield and speaks words of hope, although by now the audience knows that there is none.

Book 7:

Summary:

Paris and Hector return to battle with renewed determination, and Glaucos, too, fights fiercely. Seeing their strength, Athena comes down from Olympus to aid the Achaeans. Apollo intercepts her, proposing that they bring about peace for a day. He proposes that Hector call for one of the Achaeans to meet him is single combat. Athena agrees, and Apollo proposes the idea to Hector. Hector comes between the ranks and gives the command for his men to seat themselves, and Agamemnon does likewise with the Achaean soldiers. Hector proposes that a man meet him in single combat. The loser will be stripped of his armor, which will be a trophy for the victor, but the body will be given proper respect and burial. No one meets the challenge initially, so Menelaus takes the offer. Homer reveals here that Menelaus would certainly have died if Agamemnon had not interceded. Agamemnon convinces his brother that to fight Hector is madness, and Menelaus sits down. Nestor scolds the Achaeans, telling a story of his own valor from the days of his youth, and in response nine men step forward: Agamemnon, Diomedes, the two Aeantes, Idomenus, Meriones, Eurypylos, Thoas, and Odysseus. Nestor has them throw lots, and Great Ajax wins. After trading words, Hector and Ajax fight. The two men fight fiercely, and Ajax seems to be winning, but the fight is stopped by the heralds Idaios and Talthybios, messengers of Zeus and of mortals. They argue that night is falling and that Zeus loves both men, and therefore the duel should stop. The two men stop fighting, trade gifts, and return to their sides.

That night, after sacrifices and feasting, Nestor suggests that they burn their dead and build fortifications. Among the Trojans, Antenor tells Paris that he should give back Helen and all of the other treasures he stole from the house of Menelaus. Paris refuses, suggesting instead that he give back the treasures he stole from Menelaus (except for Helen) plus other valuables from among his own goods. Priam wants to send messengers relaying Paris' offer and also asking for a temporary truce so that both sides can bury their dead. In the morning, the herald Idaeus carries out Priam's orders. Diomedes responds that the Achaeans should not accept Paris' gifts‹even if he should offer Helen. The Trojans must die. The troops cry out their agreement with him. Agamemnon heeds his men but grants the temporary truce. Both sides, with great sorrow, bury their dead. The Achaeans take advantage of the truce and build a great wall, along with a ditch and a line of sharpened stakes, and on Olympus Poseidon objects that in building the wall they have dedicated no offering to the gods. Zeus promises him that once the war is over Poseidon can destroy the wall. That night, shipments of wine come to the Achaeans from Euneus, son of Jason, and the Achaeans drink. Zeus plans horror for them, however, and the Achaeans can feel it. They pour wine in offering to Zeus and are unable to celebrate freely.

Analysis:

Although the fight between Ajax and Hector ends in a technical draw, the direction of the duel clearly indicates that Hector would have lost. Throughout the Iliad, it is clear that the best Achaean warriors are far greater than their Trojan counterparts. From among their ranks there are a number of mighty fighters, including Agamemnon, Diomedes, the Aeantes, Odysseus, Patroclus, and of course, Achilles. On the Trojan side, the champions include Sarpedon, Aeneas, and Hector, but none of the great Trojan warriors gets through the Iliad without being soundly defeated by an Achaean champion. Even when the Trojans are winning, the victory is somehow qualified. This pattern reflects Homer's pride in the heroes of his own culture, but it may also reflect the fact that many members of the nobility in Homer's audience traced their ancestry to various Achaean heroes in the Iliad. The epic had to include celebration of these heroes in order for Homer to please his crowd.

Hector's pride (activated by Apollo's suggestion) leads him to suggest the duel for no purpose other than the pursuit of glory. But we see here also the force of Hector's personality. When he orders his men to sit down, putting himself in a dangerous position between the two armies, we see the power of his charisma in action. Agamemnon, himself a mighty king, follows Hector's lead. Hector is respected not only by the Trojans, but by the Achaeans as well. Although he is more vulnerable on the battlefield than Ajax or Achilles, as a leader his charisma is unmatched.

Book 8:

Summary:

Zeus calls the gods to assembly and warns them not to take part in the Trojan War; any god who does so will be hurled into Tartarus, a deep pit far below Hades. Zeus himself descends to the earth and watches the battle, and at midday he shifts the balance of war to favor the Trojans. He also throws his lightning and terrifies the Achaean soldiers, who begin to retreat. Nestor becomes stuck when one of the horses drawing his chariot has been wounded, and Hector closes in for the kill. Diomedes sees Nestor's plight and calls to the fleeing Odysseus, who does not heed him. Diomedes rescues Nestor, taking him into his own chariot and trusting Nestor's horses to two henchmen. The two men charge Hector, and Diomedes spears Hector's chariot driver. Hector finds a new charioteer and the two great warriors seem prepared to clash, but Zeus's lightning strikes the ground between them. Nestor tells Diomedes that Zeus clearly no longer favors him, and they must flee. Diomedes is anxious about fleeing from Hector, but he is persuaded by Nestor's arguments. Zeus sends thundering signs from the mountain of Ida to let the Trojans know that the tide of war favors them. Hector calls out to his men, saying that they shall overcome the fortifications and burn the ships of the Achaeans, but first they must win Nestor's shield and Diomedes armor. Hera, watching from Olympus, is angered, but she is unable to persuade Poseidon that the gods should unite, overrule Zeus, and aid the Achaeans.

Hector is raging forward, pinning the Achaeans behind their own fortifications, and Agamemnon, stirred by Hera, tries to rally the troops. The commander-in-chief is horrified by the defeats being dealt to his men, and prays, weeping, to Zeus. Zeus heeds his prayer, sending an eagle with a fawn in its talons. The fawn releases the eagle by the altar the Achaeans built for Zeus, and so the Achaeans take heart and turn to fight the Trojans. Teucer, Great Ajax's half-brother and master archer, strikes down warrior after warrior with his arrows, taking occasional shelter behind his brother's massive shield. He cannot hit Hector, however, though he kills Hector's chariot driver. Hector leaps down and throws a great rock at Teucer, injuring him badly. With Great Ajax providing cover, he is carried back to the ships. Hector drives the Achaeans back behind their fortifications again.

Hera fumes with Athena over the fate of the Achaeans, and Athena tells Hera that they should both prepare for battle. As they come down from Olympus, Zeus sends Iris to warn them that if they do not turn back, Zeus will harm Athena horribly. Hera speaks first, saying that the two goddesses should leave the mortals to their fate rather than allow an immortal to be harmed, and so they return, grieving for the men whom they cannot help. Zeus returns to Olympus also, where Hera and Athena sit apart and plan pain for the Trojans. Hera and Zeus exchange harsh words, but Zeus promises that Hector will have even greater victory until the death of Patroclus stirs Achilles to rejoin the fight.

Night falls, and Hector proposes that they light fires and watch the Achaeans, so as to attack them if they try to escape. The people of the city should light fires and keep careful watch as well, because the army will be camped on the field. Hector is sure that the next day will bring great victories, including the death of Diomedes. The Trojans sacrifice oxen and sheep, but, unbeknownst to the Trojans, the gods do not partake of the offerings.

Analysis:

It is established here that no god can oppose Zeus. Even if the Olympians were to band together, he would still be able to overpower them. We also see more of Hera's and Athena's unreasoning hatred of Troy, the motivation for which is never explained in a satisfactory way. In Book 24, the beauty contest of the goddesses and Paris' fateful decision is offered as the reason for Athena's and Hera's hate, but by then the contest seems frivolous compared to the scale of carnage in the Trojan War. For Poseidon, once forced to toil in a humiliating manner under Laomedon, Priam's father, a more understandable motive exists, but the two goddesses are far more constant defenders of the Achaean forces.

But now we see Hector at the height of his strength, backed by Zeus, turning back the Achaeans, almost, as Homer depicts it, single-handedly. It would be a mistake to say that Hector is the least proud of the heroes of the Iliad; as Lattimore has pointed out, Hector's pride takes the form of a great fear of looking like a coward. We have seen other instances of pride. In Book 7, he risks himself in a duel with Ajax for the sake of pure glory; here in Book 8 he is determined not only to win, but to heap ignominy on the Achaeans should they try to escape. He is now fully confident in his ability to beat the Argives, boastfully wishing that his becoming immortal were as certain as the great defeat he is about to deal against the Achaeans. But Homer tells us at the end of Book 8 that the gods do not accept the sacrifice of the Trojans. Even as the Trojans reach their high tide, we are reminded of their certain destruction.

Book 9:

Summary:

The god Panic grips the Achaeans that night, and Agamemnon calls the chieftains to council. He weeps, suggesting that they go home. Diomedes speaks out against that plan, saying that he and his co-commander Sthenalus will fight, if needs be, alone. The chieftains shout their approval of his words. Nestor speaks next, suggesting that they take their evening meal as usual and that Agamemnon should give a feast for the chieftains. Nestor also proposes a plan for keeping careful watch during the night. Agamemnon follows the old chieftain's advice.

After the chieftains have had their fill of food and drink, Nestor advises Agamemnon to make peace with Achilles so that he will rejoin the fighting. Agamemnon agrees that it was madness that made him insult their greatest warrior, and prepares an offer for Achilles. He will give the great warrior fabulous riches, including one of Agamemnon's own daughters as wife and seven of Agamemnon's citadels, if only he will return and "yield place to me, inasmuch as I am the kinglier" (9. 160). Nestor proposes sending Phoenix, Great Ajax, and Odysseus, as well as the heralds Odius and Eurybates.

The ambassadorial party goes to the Myrmidon encampment, and they find Achilles playing his lyre and sitting with his beloved companion Patroclus. The two men rise on seeing the party, and Achilles treats his guests with great courtesy, asking Patroclus to ready food and drink for them. A good meal is prepared, with sacrifices to the gods, and Odysseus makes his proposal to Achilles. He tells him that the Achaeans are in trouble and need their greatest fighter, and he gives Achilles Agamemnon's offer. The offer is repeated verbatim from Agamemnon's own speech until the end, where Odysseus leaves out Agamemnon's statement about Achilles needing to yield to Agamemnon's kingly majesty. Odysseus also adds one final, important argument: if Achilles still hates Agamemnon, he should rejoin the fighting out of pity for his friends and fellow soldiers, who are being slaughtered for want of their greatest warrior.

Achilles responds that he will not return, nor would he even if he were offered treasures far richer and greater than those offered by Agamemnon. The possessions, Achilles argues, are not worth his life. His mother has told him that he can either stay and fight and gain great glory, or he can return home and have a long life. Achilles says that he will choose the latter option. He and the Myrmidons will sail for home. He asks Phoenix to return with them, if he wishes. Phoenix, now an older man, was an exile taken in by Achilles' father Peleus. Phoenix helped to raise Achilles, and he asks Achilles to listen to him now. He tells the story of Meleager, a man who was wronged and then out of pride refused to defend his country. He retired to his room with his beloved wife and stayed out of the fighting until the enemy was closing in and his own wife begged him to rejoin the fighting. Because he realized that his wife's own safety would be threatened if his countrymen lost the war, he finally went to battle. He drove the enemy away, but because of the suffering he had allowed to fall on his own people Meleager won little honor. Phoenix urges Achilles not to make a similar mistake. Achilles is still not moved. Ajax makes a final, angry entreaty, and Achilles responds that he will only fight if Hector comes and threatens the ships of the Myrmidons. The ambassadorial group returns to Agamemnon, without Phoenix, who stays with Achilles. Back at Agamemnon's encampment, the news of Achilles' continued withdrawal from the war is disheartening, but Diomedes tries to raise the men's spirits.

Analysis

In the beginning of Book 9, we see Agamemnon crumble under the burden of leadership. Although at times Agamemnon seems weak or overbearing, the audience should remember that he feels most fully the responsibility for the lives of the Achaean troops. Agamemnon weeps until Diomedes manages to invigorate the chieftains with his enthusiasm and loyalty, and the commander-in-chief's tears are the honest tears of a man who understands the impact of his decisions. At the same time, he is limited by pride just as Achilles is. The theme of pride runs is an important part of all of the interactions between Achilles and Agamemnon. Although the king attempts to draw Achilles back into the fighting, he offers no apology to the warrior. He offers fabulous riches and holdings, but these gifts mostly reflect the glory and kingly magnanimity of the giver. And he closes his offer with the command that Achilles yield to him and his majesty: notice that Odysseus, always the strategist, delivers most of Agamemnon's offer to Achilles verbatim, but omits the king's command to yield.

Achilles is aware of what is missing from Agamemnon's offer, and he responds in the terms that Agamemnon has set. Not all of the material wealth in the world could move Achilles to return to battle. His pride is worth more than that. Note that although Achilles says that these riches are not worth his life, he does not weigh the value of his life against the value of a man's honor. Referring to his mother's prophecy for him, he tells the embassy that he will choose long life over glory, but he does so without making a value judgment about which is better.

Phoenix's story about Meleager foreshadows what will happen to Achilles, and parallels Achilles current situation. As Meleager shut himself away with his wife, Achilles has shut himself away with his closest companion, Patroclus. Meleager was persuaded back into battle in part by his wife's description of what would happen to her if he continued in his refusal to fight; Achilles will return to battle one step later, after his closest companion has died. Achilles will refrain from fighting until situation forces him back into battle, and by then much needless suffering will have taken place.

Achilles carries pride too far in his refusal to be moved by the suffering of his fellow soldiers. That self-absorption is part of his greatness, but it is his greatest sin as well. The bitterness that his mother has promised will not come because of Achilles' own death, but because there is one man that Achilles will not be prepared to sacrifice. When Patroclus dies, Achilles will become frenzied with a new kind of rage, a rage that has its source in grief. Part of that grief will be the realization that he is in large part responsible for Patroclus' death.

Book 10:

Summary:

Late at night, Agamemnon and Menelaus both find themselves unable to sleep. They decide to bring together a few of the greatest chieftains to decide a course of action. A handful of the greatest among the Achaeans gather, and Nestor asks if anyone is willing to make a nighttime scouting mission against the Trojans. Diomedes volunteers first, but asks that someone go with him. Many of the heroes are willing to go with him, but Diomedes chooses Odysseus. The two men arm themselves, and as they set out for the enemy's camp, Athena, who has a special love for Odysseus, sends a heron as a sign of her favor. The men offer their prayers to Athena, who is the goddess of craft and cunning, and she listens to them with favor.

On the Trojan side, Hector likewise calls together a group of the Trojans and their allies, asking for a man to scout out the Achaean positions and intentions. Dolon, Eumedes' son, is the only volunteer. He asks that as reward he be given Achilles' horses, which have not yet been won. Hector promises him the great prize, and Dolon sets off for the Achaean camp, although the narrator tells us that he is destined to die.

Along the way, Diomedes and Odysseus intercept and capture Dolon. Odysseus assures Dolon that they will not kill him. They interrogate the terrified man, who reveals to them the Trojan positions. Most importantly, he tells them about Rhesus, chieftain of the Thracians. Rhesus has a chariot drawn by a team of snow-white horses, the finest Dolon has ever seen, and Rhesus' armor is fit for the gods. Despite the earlier promise not to kill Dolon, Diomedes decapitates him. Odysseus praises Athena, lifting Dolon's armor and weapons and offering them to her. They hide them before setting on their way for the Thracian encampment.

When they reach the Thracian encampment, Diomedes kills the sleeping men. He murders twelve of Rhesus' cohorts and then Rhesus himself, while Odysseus pulls the corpses out of the way and readies Rhesus' splendid chariot and horses. After killing Rhesus, Diomedes faces a moment of indecision, torn between killing more and escaping, but Athena tells him to get on the chariot with Odysseus and escape. Apollo, angered by Athena's interference, wakes Hippocoon, cousin of Rhesus, and his wailing wakes the Trojans, who come to gape at the havoc wreaked by the Achaean marauders. During the run back to the Achaean camp, Diomedes and Odysseus stop briefly to pick up Dolon's weapons and armor. They return to the Achaeans to meet the praise of their comrades. Finally, Diomedes and Odysseus bathe, eat, and give thanks to Athena.

Analysis:

This exciting book is a welcome deviation from the battlefield exploits we have seen so far. Facing grim odds, Menelaus and Agamemnon search for a way to boost the Achaeans' morale and gain some small advantage over the enemy. What begins as a scouting mission becomes an exciting hit-and-run attack. We see Agamemnon's initiative in bringing together the chieftains, and we also see Odysseus' cunning in action. This book also stresses the favor bestowed on Odysseus by Athena. It is favor he takes care to remember, praying to her and giving offerings to her in gratitude for her help.

This section, in addition to providing variety and an exciting episode to the Iliad, shows the importance of the psychological element in war. In an epic where brute force plays the decisive factor in battle, where single warriors by their sheer strength drive the entire opposing army backward, and where we seldom, if ever, see the commanders of the opposing armies plan out anything we might call battlefield strategy, Book 10 shows an appreciation for a very different kind of warfare. Unable to bring Achilles back to the battlefield, the Achaean chieftains strive to gain another kind of advantage. Odysseus and Diomedes go to gather intelligence, but it quickly becomes clear that they are intent on winning some kind of psychological victory. These guerilla tactics are akin to the psychological warfare analyzed in Sun Zi's Art of War; the death of Rhesus and twelve of his men, even granting that his horses and armor are magnificent, is probably not a decisive victory in terms of destruction of manpower or matériel. A later play entitled Rhesus, attributed with some uncertainty to Euripides, dramatizes this nighttime raid, adding the element that Rhesus is newly arrived. In the play, he is a warrior so great that not even Achilles would be able to oppose him. This embellishment is foreign to Homer, and it seems to miss the point of the nighttime raid. The psychological factor is the vital part of this victory. Odysseus and Diomedes intercept and destroy the enemy's scout; they also win great glory by stealing magnificent horses and armor, while terrifying the enemy with the sight of a bloodily slaughtered ally. With little effort, they create uncertainty and fear in the enemy's ranks while boosting morale among their own forces. The same holds true for the audience; after the disappointment and suspense of the failed embassy to Achilles, the nighttime raid is a welcome and exciting victory for our Achaean heroes.

But although Book 10 is exciting, the adventures of Odysseus and Diomedes can also be interpreted in ways that are dark and unsettling. The raid is not any bloodier than daytime battle in terms of sheer numbers of death. But as with all psychological warfare, the cold-bloodedness required is chilling. The image of valiant Diomedes slaughtering sleeping troops is, to say the least, unnerving, particularly when Rhesus' kinsman awakes and cries out Rhesus' name in grief and horror. And the pathetic image of Dolon begging for his life (life, incidentally, that is promised to him in good faith by Odysseus) and then being brutally murdered gives a somewhat darker cast to the character of Odysseus. As we saw earlier in Book 6, the Trojan War has escalated to new levels of brutality. The gentler practice of taking men captive and holding them for ransom has vanished. Time and time again throughout the epic, men on the Trojan side ask to be spared and captured for later ransoming. This practice shows the enormous wealth of the Trojans, referred to repeatedly throughout the Iliad. These repeated requests also show that the Trojans are accustomed to a gentler form of warfare. As a wealthy and civilized people, they believe that money can solve problems even during wartime. It is the Achaeans who do away with these niceties, bringing the war to a new pitch of ferocity.

Book 11:

Summary:

The next day, only the goddess Hate is allowed to attend the battlefield. The rest of the gods must watch from afar, forbidden to interfere by Zeus. Agamemnon fights ferociously, slaughtering many Trojans and Trojan allies, driving their forces all the way back to the Scaean Gates. Zeus sends Iris to Hector to tell him to hold back from the fighting and concentrate on making his troops hold their ground against the Achaean onslaught. Once Agamemnon has been wounded, Hector will be able to drive the Achaeans back. Hector obeys. Agamemnon kills warrior after warrior, including two of Antenor's sons. He is wounded while killing Coon, and though he fights on for a while, he is forced to retreat. He calls for a chariot and is taken back to the ships. Hector seizes the initiative and urges the Trojans forward. Hector slaughters many great Achaeans, scattering their forces, while Odysseus and Diomedes struggle to stem the tide of Hector's onslaught. Diomedes and Odysseus fight fiercely, killing many warriors, until Diomedes gets a clear shot at Hector. He throws his spear but it glances off of Hector's helmet. Hector is stunned, but he recovers, and a moment later Diomedes is hit by one of Paris' arrows. His charioteer brings him back to the ships. Odysseus faces a choice: should he stay and fight or fall back? Surrounded, he fights valiantly for a moment, killing a number of warriors, but he is wounded horribly in the side. Only Athena's intervention preserves his life. With Odysseus wounded, the Trojans close in for the kill. Odysseus cries out for help, and Menelaus and Ajax come to rescue him.

Paris hits Machaon, one of the Achaeans' best healers, with an arrow. Nestor brings Machaon back to the ships. Cebriones tells Hector that while the Trojans have some advantage now, Ajax still routs part of their force. He and Hector go in that direction, battling the Achaeans fiercely but avoiding man-to-man combat with Ajax. Ajax, fear driven into his heart by Zeus, retreats. Ajax makes a slow, tortured retreat, harassed by countless Trojan spears and arrows. Eurypylus tries to defend him, but is wounded.

Achilles, watching the battle from atop his beached ship, realizes that his request to his mother is being brought to pass. He calls Patroclus and sends him to ask Nestor who he is bringing back, wounded, from the battlefield. Patroclus goes to Nestor, from whom he learns of the Achaeans' dire situation: Machaon, Agamemnon, Diomedes, Eurypylus, and Odysseus are all wounded. Nestor tells Patroclus a story about brave exploits undertaken during Nestor's youth, and then he asks Patroclus to try to persuade Achilles to rejoin the fighting. Patroclus feels great pain when he sees the suffering of his comrades, and he goes to entreat Achilles to return to battle. On the way back, he meets Eurypylus, who has been wounded by an arrow. Patroclus postpones meeting with Achilles to tend to Eurypylus' wounds himself.

Analysis:

Like many impersonal forces, Hate is represented in Greek myth as a deity. She is the only goddess allowed to attend personally to the battlefield because of Zeus, and her presence says much about Homer's understanding of war. The brutality of war is certainly one of the poem's themes, but the Iliad is not a pacifist's epic. Homer accepts war as a fact of life, and recognizes that war brings out some of the most admirable qualities of men. He also has no illusions about war's brutality. The impersonal deities associated with the battlefield are very different from the more humanized Olympian gods like Athena and Apollo. Hate, Terror, Panic‹these are the gods that hold sway in war. Note that the positive characteristics of men are not represented so directly by deities. Homer makes Hate, Terror, and Panic seem like impersonal, mysterious forces that come from somewhere alien and beyond human comprehension. But there is no such impersonal deity for valor or courage. These virtues ultimately have a human origin, even when divinely inspired by gods like Zeus or Athena.

Initially, Agamemnon fights well and fiercely. In his capacities as warrior, Book 11 is his finest hour. But disaster soon follows: all of the major heroes except Ajax are wounded, and Ajax is caught in a grim situation. Homer still depicts his Achaean heroes as unmatched fighters. Note that most of the Achaean champions have been wounded by arrows rather than bested in man-to-man combat. In an epic where the efforts of a single warrior turn the tide of war, the loss of all of their champions is a terrible blow for the Greek forces.

As Achilles watches the scene unfold, we see more of his unbelievable pride. He seems barely to notice the suffering of his fellow soldiers; he instead thinks about his mother's promise that the Achaeans will lose until he returns to fight. Patroclus is his closest companion, but the two men are very different. Patroclus is deeply concerned about the Achaean losses and the wounded champions. From the tone of his greeting to Nestor, we know by implication that Patroclus does not approve of Achilles' excessive anger. Patroclus is by far the more softhearted and compassionate of the two men; he is stirred to try to persuade his friend to return to battle. On his way back to Achilles, Patroclus shows his compassion once again. When he runs into the wounded Eurypylus, he cannot help but tend to Eurypylus' wounds himself, postponing his meeting with Achilles.

Book 12:

Summary:

Polydamas advises Hector to order the troops to dismount in order to cross the ditch and line of stakes built by the Achaeans. Hector takes the advice, and the Trojans dismount except for one commander named Asius. He and his troops charge forward but are soon pinned down in vicious fighting, unable to storm the rampart. As the Trojans move forward, they receive a sign: in the sky, an eagle is grasping a serpent in its talons. The serpent fights back, and the eagle, bloodied, is forced to release the snake. To Polydamas, the meaning is clear. Although the Trojans have the advantage, they will fail if they press their luck and attempt to burn the Achaean ships. The Trojans will be forced to retreat, with disastrous consequences. Hector ignores the omen, scolding Polydamas with the memorable line, "One bird sign is best: to fight in defense of our country" (12. 243).

The two Aeantes walk up and down the ramparts, rallying the troops. On the Trojan side, Sarpedon and Glaucos, princes of the Lycian contingent, lead a forceful attack. Hard-pressed to stop them, Menestheseus sends a herald to get help from the Aeantes and the great bowman Teucer. Great Ajax obeys the summons, instructing Oilean Ajax to hold his ground, with Lycomedes as aid, until Great Ajax can return. Great Ajax and Teucer rush off to help Menestheus defend the rampart from the Lycians. Glaucos is wounded by one of Teucer's arrows, and he falls back. Sarpedon struggles on, ripping a gap into the rampart with his bare hands. The struggle is fierce, with neither side able to push the other from the gap. It is Zeus's decision to give the greatest glory to Hector. He calls for the Trojans to fight harder, and they attack the rampart with renewed strength. Hector smashes through the gates of the fortifications with a boulder, and, at his cries of encouragement, his men swarm over and through the wall. The Achaeans are thrown back, scattering in terror.

Analysis:

The interaction between fate and human agency is a key theme here, as the will of Zeus puts a definite cap on what can and cannot be accomplished. Although the Lycians fight with incredible ferocity, Homer tells us repeatedly that Zeus chooses to give the greatest glory to Hector. Hector will be the first to smash through the rampart. It is important to remember that this is no random choice. It seems unfair to say that Hector is the greatest Trojan champion just because Zeus favors him; instead, it is possible to argue that Zeus favors Hector because he is the greatest Trojan champion. However, either statement is less than the complete truth. Always, the forces of fate and free will coexist in an uneasy, sometimes paradoxical combination. This enigmatic combination presents itself again when Hector chooses to ignore the omen of Zeus. Zeus plans defeat for the Trojans, and yet he sends a sign to warn them against taking a disastrous course of action. When Hector decides to ignore the omen, is he dooming his people? Or is it truly his decision at all? The sign seems like it was meant to be ignored, but in that case why send it? No definitive, systematic answer emerges.

Proud Asius and his hapless troops give us yet another lesson on the consequences of excessive pride. Refusing to heed orders to dismount and proceed on foot, Asius is pinned down in a horrifying melee that dooms his contingent. This error also shows that building the fortifications was not an effort in vain. To pass the rampart, the Trojans will need a mixture of strategy and ferocity. Asius' proud, all-out, head-on assault has much in the way of brute force, but sheer force is not enough to take the wall.

Hector, wise enough to heed Polydamas' advice, is the leader with the strategy to enable the storming of the rampart, and he is ultimately the man with the strength and courage to carry out the plan. But he commits a grave error when he proudly ignores the omen of the gods and Polydamas' interpretation. The theme of pride is here again, and Hector's actions in Book 12 show with great clarity how pride is both strength and weakness. Polydamas, the audience knows, is right. The sign is clear, and it is consistent with the plan the audience has already heard from Zeus. Yet at the same time, Hector's response is one of the most memorable lines of the Iliad. He ignores the sign and chooses to make his love for Troy and his determination to defend his people the most important determiners for his action. His valor defies fate itself. He makes an error in judgment, but if he had heeded Polydamas' words he would not have won great glory by smashing through the wall.

Book 13:

Summary:

Satisfied, Zeus turns his attention elsewhere. Poseidon comes down to the battlefield and takes the form of Calchas the seer. Thus disguised, he encourages the two Aeantes (Great Ajax and Little Ajax, when they are named as a pair) and gives them new strength before he flies away. Little Ajax knows then that some god has spoken to them, and the Aeantes' spirits rise. Poseidon goes among the other troops, rousing their courage, and the Achaeans rally behind the two Aeantes and rush to face Hector and his troops. The two sides clash fiercely, and the Trojan advance is halted. Homer describes a number of fights between great warriors of both sides. Poseidon goes back to camp and takes the form of Thoas to encourage Idomenus to fight with new vigor. Idomenus, on his way back from aiding a wounded friend, returns to battle. Idomenus runs into Meriones, who is returning to his ship to get a new spear to replace the spear that he lost in battle. Idomenus tries to rouse Meriones' courage, and he offers him spears from his own shelter since it is closer than the encampment of Meriones. The two men decide to take position in defense of the ships on the left side of the battlefield, since the Aeantes hold the center.

Zeus continues to hand victory to the Trojans, while Poseidon, covertly, rallies the Achaeans. Idomenus kills some of the great warriors of the Trojan army, including Asius, the commander whose troops refused to dismount in Book 12. Notable encounters include an inconclusive clash between Idomenus and Aeneas. Homer describes numerous battles on the left side, and there the tide of war eventually turns in favor of the Achaeans, thanks to Poseidon, Idomenus, and Meriones. In the center, the Aeantes fight side-by-side, struggling to hold back the onslaught led by Hector. Little Ajax commands the Locrians, who are expert archers. The Locrians stand back from the front line and rain arrows on the Trojans, and between the arrows and the ferocity of the soldiers led by the Aeantes, it seems for a moment that the Trojans will have to retreat. Polydamas warns Hector of their situation. Although Hector is leading a fierce assault, elsewhere on the battlefield their troops are scattered. He tells Hector to consolidate their bravest so that they can decide their next move together. Hector does as Polydamas asks, but as he goes around the battlefield he finds that many of the Trojans' greatest warriors are dead or wounded. Still, he gathers the men who are left, including Paris, and this Trojan core battles on.

Analysis

In the first part of this section, Poseidon and a number of Greek champions fight to keep the Achaean morale high. In danger of being routed by Hector, a few of the remaining great Achaean warriors struggle to rouse each other's spirits. Poseidon begins the process, inciting the Aeantes and Idomenus, and these heroes in turn find other men to incite to greater acts of valor. The struggle is not physical, but psychological, because the Achaeans will need their courage to stop Hector. The themes of pride and the struggle for glory are present throughout all of this morale-boosting, as heroes try to rally each other through a mixture of encouragement and mild insults designed to motivate a champion through his sense of honor.

Poseidon cannot openly defy Zeus, but he is crafty enough to deceive him. He cannot take part directly in the battle, but he can help to salvage the spirits of the hard-pressed Achaean forces. The beginning of Book 13 focuses almost completely on this goal of psychological salvage, and once Idomenus and Meriones move to the left part of the battlefield we can see that the payoff is high. Between Idomenus, Meriones, and the two Aeantes, they kill a huge number of Trojan champions. So many important Trojan warriors fall that Hector, when he searches for them, finds Paris and lashes out at him in despair. Rarely in the Iliad do the Trojans get an unqualified upper hand. They have moments of glory, but these moments are relatively brief incidents offset by long episodes in which Achaean champions smash through the Trojan forces. Still, Book 13 leaves the Achaeans in a dangerous position, as Hector remains strong and inches ever closer to the vulnerable Achaean ships.

Because Zeus has turned his gaze elsewhere, with Poseidon's aid the Achaeans are able to regroup and launch a stiff counterattack on the left side. In the center, we see Great Ajax acting as the perfect soldier, with Little Ajax fighting just as bravely. Though Great Ajax is called an inarticulate ox by Hector, when he makes his stand few can push past him. Although Great Ajax never seems to drive whole enemy armies backward the way Diomedes or Hector or Achilles can, when he fights defensively he is one of the Achaeans' greatest assets. In this book, Idomenus says that not even Achilles could force Great Ajax back in close combat, although overall Achilles is by far the greater warrior.

Book 14:

Summary:

Nestor, resting back by the ships, hears the cries of battle and watches as the Trojans seem to gain the upper hand. He runs to fetch Agamemnon, who is recovering from his wounds. Homer describes the vulnerable positioning of the Achaean ships. The ships were so numerous that the shore was not wide enough to hold all of them, and the first of the ships had to be hauled up to the plain. (When not at sea for long periods, ancient Greek vessels were beached.) Agamemnon is fearful, feeling the burden of responsibility and worrying about the fate into which he has led his men. He suggests flight and return to Greece. Odysseus angrily scolds Agamemnon for his suggestion, and Diomedes suggests that the wounded champions return to the battlefield. They will not fight, but they will go out into battle and attempt to rally the troops. Poseidon takes the form of an old man and approaches Agamemnon, telling him that Troy will eventually fall. The god then lets out a divine roar, which reinvigorates Agamemnon's spirits.

Hera, watching from Olympus, looks with happiness on Poseidon and with hatred on Zeus. She devises a plan to seduce Zeus, luring him back from Ida so that he cannot help the Trojans. She dupes Aphrodite into helping her, saying that she needs a token to bring together two estranged lovers. Aphrodite gives her a band, worn between the breasts, that makes its wearer irresistible. Hera then goes to the god Sleep, asking him to put Zeus to sleep once Hera has lain with him. Sleep is afraid, because on one other occasion he put Zeus to sleep so that Hera could work mischief. On that day, Sleep only escaped because of the protection of Night, a goddess that even Zeus fears to anger. But Hera offers Sleep one of the Graces as a bride, and Sleep agrees to help her.

On Ida, Hera approaches Zeus, who is overcome by passion. The two deities sleep together, and Sleep goes to Poseidon to tell him that Zeus slumbers and can no longer stop him from helping the Greeks. Poseidon rushes to the battlefield, calling on the Argives to fight bravely. He tells the Achaeans to have the strong men to take the strongest armor, while weaker men bear the less powerful arms, and the soldiers, under the instructions of their chieftains, carry out Poseidon's orders. The two armies rush at each other. Telamonian Ajax strikes Hector with a mighty stone, and the Trojan heroes carry Hector from the front line. Bloody fighting continues, with warriors of both sides killing men and then vaunting over the bodies. With Hector wounded, the Achaeans gain the upper hand.

Analysis:

Once again, Agamemnon is paralyzed by the burden of leadership. He lays out a plan for retreat, even though the signs have said that within the year Troy must fall. He fears that an Achaean defeat would be his fault. As before, Diomedes, Odysseus, and Nestor support their king. Diomedes and Odysseus make sure that the king does not retreat, pushing him to take the path of greater honor and greater violence. For Homer, who accepts war as a fact of life and cherishes the virtues of a warrior, these actions make Diomedes and Odysseus strong subordinate officers. They push their king, who is momentarily weakened by his heavy burden, to stay with the course of a true warrior king. It is also important to realize that for Homer, Agamemnon's indecision is not necessarily ignoble. His impulse to preserve the lives of his men shows that he takes his responsibility seriously. But Homer also values the bloody resolve of Odysseus and Diomedes. Retreat would mean a loss of glory, and glory is a goal as precious as life. The value system exhibited by Diomedes and Odysseus matches the decision made by Achilles, and the theme of glory is an implicit part of these discussions about retreat. A Homeric hero usually chooses glory over life. The tragedians, who belonged to a later age, took these moments and came to different conclusions than those of Homer. For Sophocles and Euripides, Odysseus was not faithful and cunning officer but a devious and bloodthirsty manipulator. Modern audiences must reach their own conclusions, but any modern reader must take the values and cultural norms of Homer's time into consideration. From Homer's perspective, Odysseus and Diomedes do what good, brave officers should do. Poseidon himself validates their support for their king.

For the Greeks, the gods were personalities with human failings, but they were also expressions of forces of nature. The gods do not change, or question themselves. The power to reach new understanding is a human one. The unchanging gods are also unstoppable on their own terms; in this book, we see Zeus himself made helpless by the power of Aphrodite. Even Zeus is not immune to Aphrodite's power and Hera's cunning.

Although Hector is downed, his greatness as a warrior is not necessarily diminished here. Without Zeus helping him, he is still a great enough force for the Achaeans to need Poseidon's help in turning him back. By now, the reader should be familiar with certain patterns of the theme of interaction between human free will and the will of the gods. No great shift occurs in the Trojan War without some kind of divine involvement. Almost every attack and counterattack has both a human agent and some element of divine interference.

Book 15:

Summary:

As the Achaeans drive the Trojans back behind the fortifications once again, Zeus wakes up and looks down on the battlefield with anger. He blames Hera, who responds that Poseidon helps the Achaeans of his own free will. Appeased, Zeus tells her his plan. Hector will reach the Achaean ships, and Patroclus will come out and fight. Patroclus will kill many great Trojans, including Sarpedon, Zeus's own son, but in the end Hector will kill Patroclus. Achilles will finally rejoin the battle to avenge his beloved companion. Zeus sends Hera to Olympus to summon Iris and Apollo. Hera obeys, and back on Olympus a furious Ares prepares to go down to the battle to avenge his son Ascalaphus. Athena persuades him to stay, afraid that if Ares angers Zeus the king of the gods will vent his rage on all of the Olympians, innocent and guilty alike. Hera, as instructed, tells Apollo and Iris to go to Ida and receive Zeus's orders.

On Ida, Zeus tells Iris to order Poseidon to leave the battlefield or face the consequences. When she goes and repeats Zeus's command, Poseidon leaves reluctantly and in anger. He sees himself as equal in stature to Zeus, as Zeus's brother and ruler of the seas, and he resents Zeus issuing commands to him as if he were one of Zeus's children. Iris speaks to Poseidon diplomatically, and he gives in, but not before promising that if Troy is spared the anger between him and his brother will not be healed.

Zeus tells Apollo to go down to the battlefield and aid the Trojans. In particular, he is to give Hector great strength so that Hector might win glory. Apollo goes down and takes his place by Hector's side, telling him that Zeus has sent Apollo to help Hector beat back the Achaeans. He reinvigorates Hector, who returns to combat. The sight of Hector restored and returned to battle terrifies the Achaeans. Thoas, the greatest warrior of the Aetolian contingent, recognizes that some god must be aiding Hector. He suggests that the bulk of the Achaean forces return to defend the ships, while the very greatest warriors stay to try and hold back Hector.

But the Trojans rout the Achaeans, cutting down Achaean warriors left and right. Apollo fills in part of the defensive ditch so that the Trojans can ride across, and then the god breaks down part of the rampart. (Homer uses a memorable simile likening Apollo to a child who kicks down the walls of a sandcastle.) Nestor prays to Zeus to spare the Achaeans, and the god hears the prayer and answers with a thunderbolt. However, the Trojans see the thunderbolt and take it as a sign to fight more fiercely.

Patroclus, who all this time has been tending to the wounds of Eurypylus, sees the rout and decides that he must return to Achilles immediately. The Trojans push their way back to the ships, and a particularly fierce fight develops between Hector and Telamonian Ajax. The two heroes fight over a single ship, neither man able to gain ground against the other. Ajax kills Hector's cousin Caletor, and Hector calls on his men to protect the body and strikes down Lycophron, one of Ajax's dearest friends. Ajax calls on Teucer to strike down Hector with arrows, but when Teucer tries to do so Zeus snaps his bowstring. Hector shouts out, telling the Trojans what has happened, correctly interpreting the snapped bowstring as a sign that now Zeus favors Troy. He calls out to his men to fight for their homes, their wives and children. All good Trojan soldiers need to be willing to die for their country. Ajax, in turn, calls out to the Achaeans to defend their ships at all costs. If Hector destroys the ships and the encampments, the Achaeans will not survive. The Achaeans withdraw back behind the first line of beached ships, and Nestor desperately supplicates them, on behalf of their loved ones at home, to stand and fight for their lives. Ajax leaps from ship deck to ship deck, beating back Trojans with a massive pike. The Achaeans surge forward and try to hold the line. Hector reaches a ship and calls for fire. Even Ajax must shift his position and retreat slightly, but for now no Trojan is able to set fire to a ship.

Analysis:

With Zeus returned to the action, nothing can stop Hector. Note also that Zeus never personally descends to the battlefield. He is too majestic to deal personally with human affairs; other, less powerful gods put on arms and go to the battlefield to fight, but Zeus always controls events from afar. He is by far the most powerful of the gods. Athena persuades Ares to keep from the battle lest Zeus punish them all, and even Hera says that those who oppose Zeus are fools. Poseidon, who feels he should be Zeus's equal in status, nevertheless has to give way to him.

The theme of glory runs through Zeus's plans for Hector. Although Troy is doomed, Zeus bestows great favor on Hector. Zeus will give Hector glory because Hector's life is to be short. Like Achilles, he will have glory instead of long life.

Although the Achaeans are fighting a war of aggression, Homer shifts the terms of the conflict in this chapter. Instead of focusing on the war as a conquering expedition led by Agamemnon and Menelaus (notably, they are almost completely absent from Book 15), here he deals with the war from the perspective of the troops who follow orders and are here fighting for their lives. Although the Trojans fight for the lives of their families as well as themselves, Hector's determination to burn the ships turns the war into a question of survival for both sides. Nestor's desperate plea to the Achaeans asks them to think of their loved ones back home. He begs the troops to fight on and survive, so as to spare their families grief. Homer makes us feel the desperation that makes both sides fight so ferociously. Glory and life are both at stake, and Homer gives much attention here to the valiant defensive fighting of Telamonian Ajax. Never one to drive whole armies back, as Achilles and Hector do, he is still strong enough to hold his place against the fiercest of men. With the other Achaean champions wounded, Ajax is the one who must now call out and rally the troops, as well as inspire them with his action. He leaps between the decks of the beached ships, using a massive pike to hold back the Trojan forces almost single-handedly. This description of Ajax's incredible defense makes for one of the Iliad's most memorable images.

Book 16:

Summary:

Patroclus approaches Achilles, weeping. He tells Achilles of the dire situation facing the Achaeans, and begs him to help. If Achilles will not return to the fighting, Patroclus asks that he at least give Patroclus his armor. The Trojans will think Achilles has returned to battle, and Patroclus will drive them back. Achilles finally consents, but he warns his friend to return to Achilles once he has driven the Trojans back from the ships. Achilles fears that if Patroclus fights on afterward, he might be lost.

Meanwhile, Ajax faces the Trojan onslaught. Hector breaks Ajax's mighty spear, and, exhausted and forced back by a rain of arrows and spears, Ajax finally retreats. The Trojans set fire to one of the ships. Seeing the danger, Achilles urges Patroclus to hurry. Patroclus arms himself with Achilles' weapons and armor, leaving behind Achilles' favorite spear. The spear was a gift from the centaur Chiron, and none of the Achaeans except for Achilles is mighty enough to use it. Automedon, friend of Achilles and Patroclus, yokes Achilles' horses. Two of the horses are immortal, born of a divine horse deity and the West Wind. Achilles goes to rally his own troops, the Myrmidons, who had withdrawn from the fighting at his command. He orders them back into battle, and they go gladly. Achilles then uses a sacred cup to make a wine offering to Zeus. He asks the king of the gods to grant two prayers: first, that Patroclus should drive the Trojans back from the vessels, and second, that Patroclus should return to Achilles unwounded. Homer tells us that Zeus will grant one prayer and deny the other.

The Myrmidons charge into battle. Patroclus, dressed in Achilles' armor, makes the Trojans think initially that Achilles himself has returned to fight, and they fear for their lives. The Achaeans drive the Trojans back. The Achaean heroes, especially Patroclus, fight ferociously and kill many of the enemy's best warriors. Many Trojans die trying to cross back over the Achaean fortifications. Rather than let the Trojans retreat safely back behind the walls of Troy, Patroclus rushes ahead and cuts them off. He kills man after man, culminating in an exciting duel between Patroclus and Sarpedon. The two men leap down from their chariots to fight each other on foot, and Zeus looks on in indecision. Sarpedon is Zeus's son, and the man's destiny is to die at Patroclus' hands, but Zeus has the chance now to save him. He asks Hera what he should do. Hera scolds the king of the gods, telling him that if he brings Sarpedon to safety, none of the gods will respect him. Her arguments persuade Zeus, but he weeps tears of blood in pity for Sarpedon, his beloved son.

Patroclus misses with his spear and kills Thrasymelus, Sarpedon's henchman, and Sarpedon in turn kills the one horse of Achilles that is mortal. The chariot is about to go out of control, but Automedon salvages the situation by cutting the dead horse from the vehicle. Patroclus defeats Sarpedon, and as Sarpedon dies he calls out for Glaucos to prevent the Achaeans from stripping away his armor as a trophy. Glaucos wants revenge, but he is too wounded to face Patroclus, and he asks Apollo for help. Infused with new strength by the god, he rallies the Lycians to defend Sarpedon's body. He then goes to Hector and scolds him for not concerning himself with the fate of his allies. Grieving, Hector leads the Trojans in a charge to avenge Sarpedon. Amidst the fighting, Aeneas and Meriones exchange insults. Patroclus scolds Meriones, telling him that men win wars by action rather than words. Brutal fighting develops around Sarpedon's body, good men on both sides killing and being killed. The Trojans get the worst of the fighting, and they are driven back through the Scaean Gates. The Achaeans finally succeed in taking Sarpedon's armor, but then Zeus orders Apollo to take the body and prepare it for burial in Lycia. Patroclus rages on, killing more of the Trojans' best. It seems that the Achaeans might succeed in storming the walls of Troy, but Apollo beats Patroclus back and warns him that it is not his fate to storm the city.

Apollo takes human shape and goads Hector into attacking Patroclus. When Hector rides forward, Patroclus kills Hector's charioteer, Cebriones, and then the two men fight over the body. The Achaeans finally win this small battle, successfully stripping the body. Patroclus charges against the Trojans again and again. With each new assault, he strikes down more of their champions, until finally, Apollo strikes him. The god robs Patroclus of his senses, strips away his armor, and shatters his spear. Seeing his sudden vulnerability, the Trojan warrior Euphorbus hits him from behind with a javelin, but does not kill him. As the wounded Patroclus tries to withdraw back behind the Achaean line, Hector runs him through with a spear. Hector glories over his victory, heaping verbal abuse on Patroclus. Dying, Patroclus responds that Hector has only won because of a god's help. Furthermore, Patroclus promises that Hector does not have long to live. Achilles will return to battle to avenge his beloved companion. Hector does not take the words to heart, and he glories over Patroclus' corpse. He moves to strike down Automedon in an attempt to take Achilles' magnificent chariot.

Analysis:

Though he only participates in the war for a brief moment, Patroclus and his death are of pivotal importance. Certainly he is one of the noblest characters we have seen, and he is less tainted by pride; his compassion has been established earlier, when he puts aside his embassy to Achilles to tend to the wounds of a friend. We see his compassion again in the beginning of this book, when a weeping Patroclus begs Achilles to do something to help their dying friends. He accuses Achilles of being neither human nor divine, but something heartless and impersonal as the sea and the rocks. Patroclus' compassion provides contrast to Achilles' incredible pride.

Patroclus is compassionate, but his compassion does not detract from his skills as a warrior; Zeus's later description of Patroclus as "strong and gentle" is appropriate, as the man is both compassionate and ferocious. One of his distinctions is that we sense little divine interference in his attack against the Trojans. Unlike Hector and Diomedes, Patroclus has no god standing by his side when he drives back the enemy's troops. Patroclus slaughters man after man, killing even the great Sarpedon, son of Zeus. No one he meets is able to beat him on equal terms. Patroclus is also less tainted by the boastfulness seen in many of the Homeric heroes. When Aeneas and Meriones trade insults, Patroclus scolds his companion. He has no interest in boasting about great deeds. For him, actions are the path to victory. Boastful words are a waste of time.

His compassion provides contrast to Achilles' pride, and his eschewal of boastful words provides contrast to Hector's tendency to brag. When Hector kills Patroclus, Patroclus has been stunned, stripped, and disarmed by a god. He has also been wounded by Euphorbus. Hector kills a naked, unarmed, and wounded man, and then boasts as if he had bested Patroclus in fair combat. Apollo persuades Hector to charge at Patroclus by promising that killing Patroclus will bring great glory. The themes of glory and pride come together. In his pride and his desire to win glory, Hector defeats a grave threat to his people, but he also dooms himself by killing Achilles' companion.

Are Achilles and Patroclus lovers? Although we know little about Homeric attitudes toward sexual relationships between men, sex between men was an accepted part of life for later Greeks. By the time of Athen's golden age, it was a widely held belief that Achilles and Patroclus were lovers: debate did not center on whether or not they were lovers, but on which man was the active sexual partner and which man played the passive role. During the time of Alexander the Great, the conception of Patroclus' and Achilles' relationship as sexual was imbued with new resonance due to the relationship between Alexander and his lifelong companion, the nobleman Hephaistion. For the Greeks, Homer's characters had a life outside of the epic poem. They were part of legend, religion, and history. So beliefs outside of Homer's text had an affect on how Greeks read the poem; it was easy to read the bond between Achilles and Patroclus as one of lifelong companionship, with sexual love as a central part of the relationship.

But within the confines of the poem itself, Homer give little explicit indication that the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus is primarily a relationship between lovers. They are never seen sleeping together, and when verbally expressing their love for each other they do not use exclusively sexual terms. When we see them going to sleep at the end of Book 9, they both are taking women to bed with them. But that scene does not in itself preclude the possibility of sexual relations between the two men: all Greek men, even when they had their most fulfilling sexual relationships with other men, took women as consorts and wives. Marriage was a social necessity; wives provided children, and continuing the family line was an obligation. Even putting the need for marriage aside, the Greeks encouraged a degree of sexual malleability. The modern construction of homosexuality, which takes sexual orientation as an integral part of identity, would have been alien to the Greeks. This does not mean that the Greeks saw sexual orientation as pure choice. In Plato's Symposium, a speaker narrates a myth explaining why some people prefer members of the same sex, others prefer members of the opposite sex, and still others sexually enjoy people of both sexes. It might be said that for the Greeks there was no concept of homosexuality, but it is important to remember that they also lacked any modern conception of heterosexuality and bisexuality. They understood sexual orientation as a preference, even a preference that was innate and part of nature, but they did not see these preferences as being an important marker of identity. No significant lifestyle difference was discerned between men who loved men, men who loved women, and men who loved both.

Because of these different attitudes, sexual contact between men was far more common. Although Homer does not depict Achilles' and Patroclus' relationship primarily as a sexual one, for the Greeks some element of sexual contact was common, almost expected, between close companions during wartime. And, at the very least, we need to understand the relationship of Achilles and Patroclus as special, even among the strong friendships between men in the Iliad. Many warriors fall in the course of the Iliad, and many of those warriors have friends, but no death causes any man the rage and grief that Achilles feels when he receives the news of Patroclus' death. When sending Patroclus off to battle, Achilles makes the shocking statement that he would be happy if all of the soldiers on both sides died except for Achilles and Patroclus, so that they could conquer the city alone together. While some commentators see this appalling statement as indicating only that Achilles sees Patroclus as an extension of his own glory, others, including some ancient Greek commentators, read Achilles' words as suggesting that Achilles and Patroclus are lovers. There is also the parallelism set up by the Meleager story told by Phoenix back in Book 9. Meleager, like Achilles, withdraws from battle despite the threat to his friends. He stays with his dearest companion, his wife, just as Achilles withdraws to his encampment with Patroclus. He remains in his home with his beloved wife, but he returns from battle because of the threat to her safety. Here, in Book 16, Achilles' story becomes a new version of Meleager's story, just as Phoenix warned it would. For both warriors, the return to battle is motivated by their feelings for the person that they love most in the world. But unlike Meleager, who saves his wife, Achilles does not act soon enough to save his beloved companion.

The death of Sarpedon is another important episode in this book, because it reveals an important element of the Homeric view of fate. The theme of the interaction between fate and free will is taken and developed further when Zeus himself cannot save his son. At times, events proceed by the will of the gods, but here we see that sometimes the gods themselves are subjected to the whims of fate. Zeus has the power to save his own son, but in doing so he would bring chaos. The law has nothing to do with interference per se: after all, Aphrodite and Apollo were allowed earlier to save Aeneas. The rescue of Aeneas and the death of Sarpedon show that the gods save men only when rescue is in line with the dictates of destiny. Although he has the ability to save Sarpedon, Hera warns that none of the gods will respect him if he does. Sarpedon's death is destined, and the source of that destiny remains faceless and unclear. None of the Olympians wills Sarpedon's death, but, whatever the source, even Zeus stands aside and lets fate take its course. Previously, Sarpedon's death was predicted by Zeus in prophecy, which suggests that at least part of the time Zeus's prophecies report fate rather than shape it.

Fate and prophecy also play an important aesthetic role in the Iliad. At key points, we hear prophecies of what is to come, such as the scene in Book 15 where Zeus tells Hera that Achilles will return to battle only after Patroclus fights and is killed by Hector. In a similar way, Patroclus' promise that Achilles will kill Hector whets our appetite for the climactic battle between the Trojan War's two greatest champions. These prophecies prepare the audience for upcoming exciting events. In a long performance, especially one narrated in installments, prophecies are teasers for exciting events to come.

Book 17:

Summary:

Menelaus sees the death of Patroclus, and he goes to defend the body. He and Euphorbus trade insults, and Menelaus reminds him that he killed Euphorbus' brother Hyperenor. They fight, and Euphorbus dies. Hector, his attention focused on the fleeing horses of Achilles, is made to look at the scene by Apollo. He leads an attack to win Patroclus' body. Menelaus gives way and retreats, but he runs to get the help of Great Ajax. Ajax and Menelaus lead a charge to defend Patroclus' body, but they are too late to prevent his armor from being taken as a trophy. Glaucos insults Hector, calling him a coward for not battling Ajax, and the insult incites Hector to act. He puts on the armor taken from Patroclus, the armor of Achilles, and he leads an attack to regain Patroclus' corpse. Seeing the Trojan troops massing for a mighty attack, Menelaus calls for the aid of the Achaeans.

What follows is the largest battle in the Iliad over the remains of a fallen hero. The Achaeans fight desperately to protect Patroclus' body from desecration, while the Trojans fight with equal ferocity so that they might desecrate it. The fortunes of war shift again and again; at one point, the Trojans are driven into retreat, but Apollo, through Aeneas, manages to make the Trojans hold their ground. The fighting continues, while, some distance from the action, the immortal horse of Achilles weep tears of grief for Patroclus. Zeus gives them new strength, so that they may run again in spite of their grief. Alcimedon and Automedon then battle from Achilles' chariot. Hector and Aeneas decide to try to win Achilles' horses, and Automedon calls out to the Aeantes and Menelaus for help. Another battle develops over the prize of Achilles' horses. Athena, with Zeus's permission, descends from Olympus to help the Achaeans defend Patroclus' body. But Zeus still favors the Trojans, and Aj