,vI I -411' f,,- — ', -111, Cl, -111 II IIII I1155I 3 f ll IIll ll 0lll0ll IIII 3 1293 10125 1530 ....~ *... ----- f -. ',: ~**' /' ' -,; ***; * - D --- — -U — I -^ ^^-"^C f f t5i '^... S ~ I A STUDY OF THE ILIAD IN TRANSLATION THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS CHICAGO, ILLINOIS THE BAKER & TAYLOR COMPANY NEW YORK THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF CANADA, LIMITED TORONTO THE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS LONDON THE MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA TOKYO, OSAKA, KYOTO, FUKUOK.A, SENDAI THE COMMERCIAL PRESS, LIMITED SHANGHAI A STUDY of THE ILIAD IN TRANSLATION By FRANK LOWRY CLARK THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS CHICAGO, ILLINOIS COPYRIGHT 1927 BY THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO All Rights Reserved Published October 1927 Composed and Printed By The University of Chicago Press Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. 4* a:~ *1 i,. B c-, B r"~i- u Y ~i 1 lr rr t./ c*, Ik) ?"4 \Pii r Cf E TO MY WIFE AND MY SON NATALIE RICE CLARK RANSOM BUTLER CLARK 149430 FOREWORD This book is the outgrowth of many years' experience in teaching the Iliad. I have been led to make my own translations through a desire to bring my English-reading students more closely into touch with the original Greek. With this end in view I resolved to translate line by line, and to preserve wherever possible the often highly significant emphasis which the word order of the Greek imparts to certain words or phrases. Also, I have been careful not to amplify the poet's thought, or alter his meaning. The Iliad is a long poem. It contains I5,693 lines. There is too much fighting in it to suit our taste in modern times. Yet many parts of it are of special interest either for their own inherent beauty or for the use which has been made of them by the English poets, or for both reasons. My aim has been to select and translate such passages and to place beside them some of their modern literary parallels. On the other hand the Iliad is a great work of art. And in order to retain the effect of completeness and to give some idea of the poem as a whole I have written introductions to the various books and have joined the translated passages by connecting narrative. The Analysis of the Iliad at the end of this volume brings together in detail the incidents of the entire poem. I owe much to the instruction and to the published works of my former teachers, J. R. Sitlington Sterrett and Wilhelm von Christ. Constant use has been made of the editions by Walter Leaf and by J. van Leeuwen. I have drawn freely upon many sources, but most of all upon the poet himself. Vii viii FOREWORD It is a pleasure to acknowledge here my special obligation to President Raymond Mollyneaux Hughes for the active interest he has taken in the progress of this book. And finally, I wish to express my gratitude to my wife for many helpful suggestions and constant encouragement during the whole work of translation. FRANK LOWRY CLARK MIAMI UNIVERSITY September, 1927 CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION............ I II. THE ILIAD, BOOK I............ 6 III. THE ILIAD, BOOK II.......38 IV. THE ILIAD, BOOKS III AND IV.........57 V. THE ILIAD, BOOKS V AND VI....77 VI. THE ILIAD, BOOKS VII, VIII, IX, AND X.....o8 VII. THE ILIAD, BOOKS XI AND XII........ 45 VIII. THE ILIAD, BOOKS XIII, XIV, AND XV (I-59I).... 66 IX. THE ILIAD, BOOKS XV (592-END), XVI AND XVII (I-34).I92 X. THE ILIAD, BOOKS XVIII (35-END) AND XIX.... 228 XI. THE ILIAD, BOOKS XX AND XXI (1-525)..... 254 XII. THE ILIAD, BOOKS XXI (526-END) AND XXII... 274 XIII. THE ILIAD, BOOKS XXIII AND XXIV...... 296 XIV. ANALYSIS OF THE ILIAD...........326 TOPICS FOR FURTHER STUDY........346 INDEX..............349 ix I CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION I In the brief but precious years of college life much of the great and ever increasing mass of knowledge must be passed by, but certain periods in the history of civilization are of vital significance. Whatever other periods are chosen for study-such as the Augustan age of Rome, the beginning of the Christian Era, the thirteenth century of medieval Europe, or the complex world of our own day-it will be almost necessary to begin with the Greeks if one is to get any adequate understanding of these later periods. And, fortunately, the Greeks not only stand at the beginning of the development of European and American civilization, but their literature forms an ideal introduction to the study of literature in general. For the writings of ancient Greece possess a typical, universal, classical character such as belongs to no other literature in equal degree. The Greeks were the first to differentiate clearly the great types of literature: epic, lyric, and dramatic poetry; history, oratory, and the philosophical dialogue. And the Greek work has recommended itself to the best minds everywhere, for the Greeks not only differentiated the types of literature but produced in each type those highly finished examples which we call "the classics." As to the value of these Paul Elmer More says: What we need chiefly is a deeper knowledge and finer understanding of those few authors who are really the classics. We need to reassure ourselves that as pure human literature they still stand supreme and unapproached. I for one am ready to avow my opinion that the Iliad and 2 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Odyssey have a beauty and humanity that no modern epic poet has ever touched.... There is no lyric poetry in modern tongues that has the music and exquisite feeling of Sappho's Lesbian songs, or the soaring strength of Pindar's impassioned vision. No one else has ever quite caught again the mellow suavity of Horace. No later philosopher has translated the eternal verities into such perfect speech as Plato. The Greek writers usually devoted their efforts wholly to a single type of literature. The epic poet, as a rule, wrote only epic poetry; the lyric poet only lyrics; the dramatist only dramas. Homer composed only the Iliad and the Odyssey; Sappho only poems in lyric measures; Aeschylus only tragedies; Aristophanes only comedies. Modern poets on the contrary frequently express themselves by means of various literary types. Milton wrote not only an epic, Paradise Lost, but a lyric, "II Penseroso," and also a drama, Samson Agonistes. Tennyson, Browning, Matthew Arnold, and Swinburne wrote both lyrics and plays. In more recent times Alfred Noyes, besides poems in lyric measure, has composed an epic, Drake. Masefield has written lyrics and plays. Galsworthy is the author of lyrics, plays, and novels. Again, Greek literature is peculiarly instructive as affording an example of natural, normal growth according to the laws of psychological development. The childlike, story-telling epic, without detailed study of character, is succeeded by the lyric of individual feeling; and this is followed by the maturest type of all, the drama, in which the characters are clearly delineated and brought into contrast with each other. First come the epics of Homer. In these the poet tells us nothing of himself but deals with the exploits of heroes. Such poems were intended for the entertainment of the king and his court. The political system which they portray is the loosely constituted, patriarchal monarchy of Homeric times. Later, with the downfall of the monarchies in the various INTRODUCTION 3 parts of Greece, came an unsettled period in which the quarrelsome nobility, the still timid but ever more powerful common people, and the masterful, unscrupulous tyrants followed one another in brief control of a turbulent government. It was an age in which, on account of the frequent revolutions, a man might be high in honor and power one day and a starving exile the next. Such conditions invited and almost compelled reflection upon the meaning of life and the attitude of the gods toward human affairs. The individual emerged in literature; and his philosophy of life, his joy or pain, found their appropriate medium of expression in lyric poetry. As the great fifth century drew near, the political situation began to clear. Democratic Athens, as a result of the glorious part she had played in repulsing the Persian invader, became the leader of Greece in politics, literature, and the fine arts. The various types of literature and art which had had their beginnings about the periphery of the Greek world drew to a center in Athens. The spirit of free discussion, so characteristic of the Athenian general assembly, found its fit mode of expression in the speeches and discussions of actors on the stage; and the drama came to the fore. The first great drama had as its natural political background the first great democracy. In a still later age Greece lost her political freedom; and her small, warring city-states became merged in the vast, halfAsiatic kingdoms of Alexander the Great and his successors. Greek poetry too lost the noble simplicity and sincerity of its earlier days and became artificial, pedantically learned, trifling, in this which is called the "Alexandrian period." Thus, throughout its whole history, Greek poetry had a natural, normal development and always stood in close relation to the life of its own age. Doubtless one reason for this was the fact that Greek poetry was produced for an audience who listened to the 4 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD poet's own living voice rather than for a reading public such as we have today. The bards of Homer's time recited their poems before the king and his court. Sappho read her love poems to.a group of girl friends. The Athenian dramatists presented their plays in an open air theater seating about I7,000 people. Realizing such conditions, it will be easy for American college students, who are themselves keen critics of anything that is affected or "put on," to appreciate how the immediate presence of a listening audience would lead the ancient poet to be simple and sincere in expression and to reflect truly the spirit of his age. Those who read a volume of poems today, usually in silence, are really twice removed from the poet. There is lacking, first, the lively and wholesome reaction of one personality upon another, by which the Greek poet felt at once whether or not his work was meeting the approval of his audience; and, second, when one reads silently, the rhythm and melody of the words are lessened. The Greeks were conscious of the inadequacy of the written as compared with the spoken word. Socrates (in Plato's Phaedrus, p. 275d) finds fault with a merely written argument because it cannot answer questions. The ancients when they spoke of reading meant reading aloud. They could not understand how a person might read silently without moving the lips. The natural growth of Greek literature, unaffected by foreign influences, is something unique in the Western world; for all other literatures of Europe have been more or less modified in the course of their development by influences from other countries. Roman literature, before its interesting native beginnings could be brought to maturity, came into contact with the far more brilliant literature of Greece; and nearly all subsequent writing in the Latin tongue is fashioned upon Greek models. "Captive Greece," says Horace, "led her INTRODUCTION 5 fierce conqueror captive and introduced the arts into rude Latium." The literatures and languages derived from the Latin, such as Italian, French, and Spanish, have of course been deeply influenced by the Latin and therefore indirectly by the Greek. German literature too has at times been much affected by French (and so indirectly by Greek) models, and has also received considerable direct influence from the Greek. English literature has received many foreign influences, Greek, Latin, Italian, French, German, and others. In more recent times all modern literatures have felt directly the stimulus of the Greek through the familiarity of their great writers with the ancient classics. Even oriental countries, like India, China, and Japan, where Greek literature has not been to any extent known, have felt the touch of Greek idealism in their art. Greek influences have, therefore, practically encircled the world. And the wellknown passage in Shelley's "Hellas," which might have been regarded as rhetorical exaggeration at the time it was written, would now be recognized by scholars as sober truth:.... Greece and her foundations are Built below the tide of war, Based on the crystalline sea Of thought and its eternity: Her citizens, imperial spirits, Rule the present from the past: On all this world of men inherits Their seal is set. English literature has been directly or indirectly influenced by the Greek throughout its whole history, and it is precisely the greatest poets who have felt this influence most. The author of the Shakespeare plays exhibits in a surprising number of instances remarkable verbal similarity with the 6 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Greek. This likeness is especially close in the case of Sophocles, and it extends even to views of life. A number of the plays too are based either directly upon Greek sources, such as Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra, which are built on the Greek Plutarch; or upon Latin intermediaries which themselves go back to Greek originals, for example, the Comedy of Errors is founded upon the Menaechmi of Plautus, and this is itself based upon a lost Greek original. Milton's two chief sources in Paradise Lost are the Bible and Homer; in Samson Agonistes his model is Euripides; in "Lycidas" he is following Theocritus. Spenser in the Faerie Queene and Wordsworth in the "Ode on the Intimations of Immortality" show the effect of Plato's philosophy. Keats, without possessing first-hand knowledge of the Greek language, was the most Greek in spirit of them all, as may be seen, for example, in parts of "Endymion" and in the "Ode on a Grecian Urn." Shelley knew Greek well, and much of his work was inspired by it, notably his Prometheus Unbound; he translated also some of the Homeric Hymns and the Cyclops of Euripides. Bryon declared that the hero of the Prometheus Bound of Aeschylus was the model of all his rebellious heroes. Tennyson has many allusions to the Greek authors and has made a few masterly translations. Some of his finest poems, such as "Ulysses," "Oenone," and "The Lotus Eaters," are based on Greek sources. Both Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning were enthusiastically devoted to Greek and made remarkable translations. Mrs. Browning's Prometheus Bound is a spirited piece of work. Robert Browning incorporated translations from Euripides in his Balaustion's Adventure and Aristophanes' Apology. Matthew Arnold was Greek through and through; Homeric phrases and turns of thought appear in both Sohrab and Rustum and Bal INTRODUCTION 7 der Dead; the spirit of Sophocles is in Merope and the pastoral style of Theocritus in Thyrsis. Swinburne was captivated by the music of Sappho, and his Atlanta in Calydon is influenced by Euripides. Stephen Phillips has dramatized the Odyssey in his Ulysses. These and many others have learned of the Greeks. Sometimes they have translated directly from the Greek; sometimes they have merely borrowed a phrase or turn of thought. But still more important are those instances in which the Greek literature has served later poets as an ideal to be aimed at and as a source of inspiration for work of their own, instances where it has been the spring at which the literatures of Europe have renewed their youth and where it has really proved to be what Keats called it, An endless fountain of immortal drink. II The Greek language, which enshrines this literature, has several outstanding characteristics. In the first place, it is remarkably euphonious. It contains an unusually large proportion of vowel sounds. Choosing passages at random, it may be noted that while the first paragraph of Scott's Ivanhoe contains I62 vowel sounds, the same number of words at the beginning of Xenophon's Anabasis contains 263 vowel sounds, or about 62 per cent more in the Greek than in the English author. And it is the prevalence of vowels and liquids, with the absence of harsh guttural sounds, that imparts to a language a musical character. This musical quality is found in Italian poetry and in some of the most melodious of the English, like Poe's "The Bells" or Coleridge's "Kubla Khan." This is especially the case with the Greek, in which even common phrases are sometimes like the waters of a brook that "singeth a quiet tune." The phrase meaning "from ships 8 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD and huts" becomes in Homer neon apo kai klisiaon. The names of three cities on the island of Rhodes are (in Iliad, ii. 656) Lindon, Ieluson te kai arginoenta Kameiron, meaning "Lindus, Ialysos, and snow-white Kameiros." Sappho when she wishes to call upon Adonis says, O ton Adonin; and Pindar describing a father gazing upon his son who has been long absent says, Gonon idon kalliston andron. Again, Greek is a language capable of expressing with fine accuracy the most delicate shades of meaning and gradations of emphasis. For example, it has the quick, incisive aorist tense of the verb, the lingering, picturing present or imperfect tense, and the settled, matter-of-fact perfect tense. In a passage which has always been regarded as a masterpiece of narration Luke relates the incident of the Widow of Nain (Luke 7:II-I7). Part of this in the American Revised Version reads as follows: Now when he drew near to the gate of the city, behold there was carried out one that was dead, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said unto her, Weep not. And he came nigh and touched the bier. In order to bring out the distinction between the various Greek tenses used in this passage, it may be more fully rendered thus: And behold there was being carried out dead the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.... And as soon as the Lord saw her he immediately had compassion upon her and said unto her, "Don't cry." And he came right up and at once touched the bier. The tenses used are as follows: (i) was being carried out, imperfect tense; (2) dead, perfect tense, denoting condition or matter of fact; (3) as soon as the Lord saw her, aorist tense; (4) immediately had compassion upon her, aorist tense; (5) Don't cry, in the Greek Me klaie (nearly all vowels and liquids), more musical and more expressive than the corre INTRODUCTION 9 sponding English, meaning (literally translated) "Don't go on crying" (present tense); (6) came right up, aorist tense; (7) at once touched the bier, aorist tense. The imperfect tense pictures the funeral procession; the perfect emphasizes the fact of death; the aorists indicate the Master's quick response to human need; and the musical Me klaie expresses, far better than the cold "Weep not," his sympathy for the poor mother. As an example of the way in which the order of words in Greek indicates where the emphasis is to be placed, Luke 5:10 may be cited. At the close of the incident of the miraculous draught of fishes the English translation makes Jesus say to the self-accusing Simon, "Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men"; but the arrangement in Greek, "Me phobou apo tou nun anthropous esei zogron," in which the word for men (anthropous) is placed earlier than it would naturally come in the sentence, proves that the emphasis is to fall on this word. Simon is henceforth to catch men, not fishes. Another example may be found in Luke 0:26, where, after the young lawyer (nomikos) has asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, the Greek text reads, Ho de eipen pros auton En to nomo ti gegraptai? Here, the phrase en to nomo ("in the law") is put first, out of its natural order, for emphasis, as if Jesus had said to the young man, "You are a lawyer. What stands written in the Law?" Greek is also a language of wonderful adaptability and variety, expressing accurately a wide diversity of sentiments. It is capable of stately description, as in Homer's Be d' akeon para thina polyphloisboio thalasses, meaning "and he went silently along the beach of the loud-roaring sea." Or it can become a formidable weapon of attack, as in the pounding iambics of Archilochus: Kat' oikon estrophato, misetos babax, meaning "about the house he strutted, the hateful brag IO A STUDY OF THE ILIAD gart." Or it can express the crooning wail of a shivering beggar, as in the limping iambics of Hipponax: Dos chlainan Hipponakti, karta gar rhigo, Kai bambykyzo; meaning "Please give a cloak to Hipponax; for I'm shivering, and my teeth chatter." Or it can give haunting expression to a loving sigh of regret, as in Sappho's Eraman men ego sethen, Atthi, palai pota, meaning "I loved thee once, Atthis, in time long past"; though this very inadequately conveys the drawn-out sigh of palai pota. Or it can express various moods in the same sentence, as in Paul's "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal" (I Cor. 13:I, A.R.V.); in Greek this is, Ean tais glossais ton anthropon lalo kai ton angelon, agapen de me echo, gegona chalkos echon e kymbalon alalazon. We have first the smooth musical flow of vowels and liquids rising to a climax in kai ton angelon, then the sudden drop to agapen de me echo; and, at the close, words whose sound is evidently intended to imitate that of the object mentioned. One might translate, the better to bring out the emphasis, as follows: "If I speak with the tongues of men, yea even of angels, but love be lacking, I am become echoing brass or a clanging cymbal." Greek literature has had an existence from about Iooo B.C. to the present time. Its history may be divided into three larger divisions: (i) the ancient literature, from before the days of Homer to the closing of the pagan schools of philosophy by the emperor Justinian in 529 A.D.; (2) the medieval or Byzantine literature, from 529 A.D. to the capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453; (3) the modern literature, extending down to the present time. The ancient literature may be subdivided as follows: I. The Homeric period, from about Iooo B.C. to 776 B.C. (the date of the first Olympiad and the beginning of authen INTRODUCTION II tic history). To this period belong the epics of Homer and Hesiod, the Cyclic poems, and the Homeric hymns. II. The Greek Middle Ages, or the Age of Lyric Poetry, from 776 B.C. to about 500 B.C. (from the beginning of authentic history to the time of the Persian wars). Some of the most important authors are Archilochus, Alcman, Alcaeus, Sappho, Anacreon, Theognis, Simonides of Ceos, and Pindar. III. The Attic period, from about 500 B.c. to 323 B.c. (from the time of the Persian wars to the death of Alexander the Great). This was the most brilliant period of Greek literature; the drama, history, oratory, and philosophy were all at their best. Some of the principal authors are Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides; Aristophanes, and Menander; Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon; the early Attic orators and Demosthenes; Plato and Aristotle. IV. The Alexandrian period, from 323 B.C. to 146 B.C. (from the death of Alexander the Great to the capture of Corinth by the Romans). The literature becomes cosmopolitan rather than national; learning and artificiality replace the creative ability of the classical period. The most celebrated authors are Theocritus, Callimachus, and Apollonius Rhodius. V. The Graeco-Roman period, from 146 B.C. to 330 A.D. (from the conquest of Greece by Rome to the founding of Constantinople). Among the important authors are Lucian, Plutarch, and Marcus Aurelius. VI. The period of the Decline, from 330 A.D. to 529 A.D. (from the founding of Constantinople to the suppression of the pagan schools of philosophy by Justinian). Important authors are Quintus Smyrnaeus, Musaeus, Plotinus, the authors of the Greek romances, and the poets of the Greek Anthology. Homer's form of verse is the dactylic hexameter. The an 12 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD cients were more sensitive to the quantity of syllables than we are. They distinguished in pronunciation between long and short vowels more carefully than we do. And their verse depended more upon the regular arrangement of long and short syllables than upon the regular occurrence of accent. In other words, Greek poetry is quantitative rather than accentual. The unit of measurement is the short syllable. A Greek word contains as many syllables as it has vowels or diphthongs, and the quantity of a syllable is the same as that of the vowel sound which it contains. A long syllable (-) is given twice as much time in pronunciation as a short syllable ( -). Homer's verse is called dactylic because the kind of metrical foot most used in it is the dactyl ( --- ), a four-unit foot (2 + + 11) with accent (ictus) on the long syllable at the beginning. As a substitute for the dactyl, Homer frequently used its metrical equivalent, the spondee ( - - ), which is also a four-unit foot (2 +2). The last foot in the verse may be either long plus long, or long plus short followed by a rest. Homer's verse is called hexameter because it contains six measures or feet (Greek hex [six] plus metron [measure]. The rather long hexameter verse is divided, partly according to the meaning and partly according to the rhythm, by a pause, or sometimes by two pauses in the same line. These pauses always come between words. One kind of pause comes between the parts of a foot and is said to cut the foot; it is called "caesura" (from the Latin caesura, a cutting). A second kind of pause separates feet without cutting them; it is called "diaeresis" (from Greek diairesis, a dividing). Caesura and diaeresis have practically the same artistic effect. Homer's lines are most often divided into two parts by a caesura near the middle of the line; sometimes there are three divisions, effected either by two caesuras or by a caesura and INTRODUCTION I3 a diaeresis. If the caesura occurs after the long syllable in the third foot, it gives a more vigorous effect to the line and is called the "masculine caesura." For example, the first line of the Iliad contains a masculine caesura. Menin aeide, thea,| Peleiade6 Achileos, (The wrath sing, 0 goddess,li of Peleus' son, Achilles.) Compare the effect produced by the masculine caesura in the first line of Virgil's Aeneid: Arma virumque can6, | Troiae qui primus ab6ris, (Arms and the man I sing, Ij who first from the shores of Troy.) If the caesura occurs after the first short syllable in the third foot, it is called the "feminine caesura"; for example, Iliad i. i3: Lusomenos te thugatra pheron t' apereisi' apoina, (To ransom his daughter, and bringing countless reward.) In Greek the word immediately preceding the caesural pause is often the key-word of the line and has a special emphasis placed upon it. This may be called the "caesural emphasis."' A succession of spondees gives a slow and solemn effect to a verse; for example, Iliad i. 3: Pollas d'iphthimous psychasl[ Aidi proiapsen, (And many mighty souls to Hades hurled untimely.) For similar effect compare Terpander's hymn to Zeus: Zeu, pant6n archa, pant6n agetor, Zeu, soi pemp6 tautan hymn6n archan. (Zeus, the Beginning of all, the Leader of all, Zeus, to thee I dedicate this beginning of hymns.) The effect is not unlike that of our Doxology: Praise God from whom all blessings flow. 1 On this point see F. L. Clark, "Caesural Emphasis in the Iliad," Classical Journal, IX (I9I3), 61-66. 14 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD The outstanding difference between Homer's verse and that of Virgil is that in Homer there is a larger proportion of light, quick-moving dactyls and of feminine caesuras; while Virgil shows a preference for the slow and stately spondee and the masculine caesura. Tennyson speaks of "the strongwinged music of Homer," while of Virgil he says: I salute thee, Mantovano, I that loved thee since my day began, Wielder of the stateliest measure ever moulded by the lips of man. The effect of Homer's lines is well given in English by Hawtrey's translation of Iliad iii. 234-42. CASTOR AND POLLUX Clearly the rest I beholdl of the dark-eyed sons of Achaia. Known to me well are the faces of all; their names I remember; Two, two only remain, [ whom I see not among the commanders,Kastor, fleet in the car, l Polydeukes, brave with the cestus; Own dear brethren of mine, one parent loved us as infants. Are they not here in the hostl | from the shores of loved Lakedaimon? Or, though they came with the restJl in ships that bound through the waters, Dare they not enter the fight, or stand in the council of heroes, All for fear of the shamell and the taunts my crime has awakened? The opening lines of Longfellow's Evangeline, which is in the same meter, also show the effect in English: This is the forest primeval. [ The murmuring pines and the hemlocks, Bearded with moss,J and in garments green, l indistinct in the twilight, Stand like harpers hoar, I with beards that rest on their bossoms. Loud from its rocky cavernsl the deep-voiced neighboring ocean Speaks, J and in accents disconsolate [ answers the wail of the forest. The same effect is occasionally found in the Authorized Version of the Bible. For example in Job 3:19, "Small and great are there, l and the servant is free from his master." INTRODUCTION 15 And in Isaiah 53:4, "We did esteem him smitten, I stricken of God and afflicted." Dean Inge says that the best hexameter in the Bible is, "Blessed and holy is hel | that hath part| I in the first resurrection."2 The general impression produced by reading aloud metrically any long passages of the Iliad or Odyssey has frequently been likened to that made by the waves of the ocean. Coleridge says of Homeric verse, Strongly it bears us along in swelling and limitless billows, Nothing before and nothing behind but the sky and the ocean. Tennyson (in "Lucretius") speaks of.... The rise And long roll of the hexameter. Alfred Noyes in his epic, Drake, uses a like phrase: The wild adventures and heroic deeds Of England's epic age, a vision lit With mighty prophecies, fraught with doom Worthy the great Homeric roll of song. 2Trans. Roy. Soc. Lit., N. S. Vol. II (I92a); other examples may be found in Littell's Living Age, LV (May I8, I912), 437. CHAPTER II THE ILIAD, BOOK I Several attempts have been made, both in earlier times and in our own, to render the long roll of Homer's hexameters by the same meter in English. But our English language is not well suited to the hexameter, and as a result translators have often felt compelled to add material of their own for the sake of the meter. However beautiful such additions may be in themselves, they give a wrong impression of the original. It is rather disconcerting to a teacher to find that his students have picked out for special admiration the very parts which are not in the GreekI In the poetry of Homer the thought is often complete within each line by itself. Hence it is appropriate in my translations which follow that they should have been made line corresponding to line and as nearly as possible in the word order of the original. Each line may therefore be studied word by word with the knowledge that one is following the thought of the poet himself. The translations here given are not in Homer's hexameters, yet the very attempt to follow Homer's word order and to retain his emphatic placement of certain words and phrases has resulted in some instances in an approach to his line-accent and rhythm. Homer does indeed introduce us to a world that is new to a modern reader. But it is a world that does not require much explanation. Virgil and Milton, on the contrary, are full of mythological and literary allusions; and many passages in their poetry do require learned explanation. In Homer i6 THE ILIAD, BOOK I I7 there is comparatively little to explain. Anyone who delights in the great world of all outdoors, anyone who has seen "the shadowy mountains and the echoing sea" and who has imagination to picture the heights of Olympus and the gloomy region of the dead, can enjoy Homer. It is of the great primal emotions that Homer sings: Achilles' love of honor, hatred of oppression, and great affection for his comrade in arms; Hector's love for wife and child, and still stronger sense of duty to his country. Anyone who has a healthy, normal realization of what these feelings mean can understand Homer. Homer does not demand much previous information of his readers. A knowledge of the barest outline of the story of the Trojan War is all that is necessary. In brief, it is this: Paris, one of the sons of King Priam of Troy, has sailed over the sea to Achaea (that is, Greece) "the land of beautiful women," has won the love of Helen, who is the wife of his host Menelaus, and has fled with her to Troy. Heroes from all parts of primitive Greece, under the leadership of King Agamemnon, brother to Menelaus, have joined in an expedition against Troy to recover Helen and all her possessions and to wreak vengeance upon the Trojans. The action of the Iliad takes place in the tenth and final year of the siege of Troy. It has to do with an episode which had an important influence upon the outcome of the war, but it does not trace this war to the very end. Our interest and sympathy center about the Greek hero Achilles and his opponent, the Trojan hero, Hector. The effect of Homer upon a sensitive mind has been expressed once for all by Keats. Much have I travel'd in the realms of gold, And many goodly states and kingdoms seen; Round many western islands have I been, Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold. i8 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Oft of one wide expanse had I been told That deep-browed Homer ruled as his demesne: Yet did I never breathe its pure serene Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold: Then felt I like some watcher of the skies When a new planet swims into his ken; Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes He stared at the Pacific and all his men Looked at each other with a wild surmise Silent, upon a peak in Darien. -KEATS, "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer" Homer, himself, announces his theme in the Proem, or invocation to the Muse, at the beginning of the Iliad. THE PROEM The wrath, O goddess, sing, of Peleus' son, Achilles, Baneful wrath, which caused countless woes to the Achaeans, And hurled many mighty souls of heroes untimely unto Hades, And made them, themselves, a prey to dogs and a feast for birds, -But the will of Zeus was being accomplishedFrom the time when first the son of Atreus, king of men, And the divine Achilles strove and separated. -Iliad i. I-7 Compare the opening lines of Paradise Lost:' Of man's first disobedience and the fruit Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste Brought death into the world and all our woe, With loss of Eden, till one greater Man Restore us and regain the blissful seat, Sing, heavenly Muse.... -Paradis9 Lost, I, I-6 Homer's subject, then, is the wrath of Achilles arising out of his quarrel with the son of Atreus (Agamemnon) and its direful consequences to the Greeks. 1 Compare also Virgil Aeneid i. I-7; Lucretius De Rerum Natura i. I-9; and Dante Purgatorio i. I-I2. THE ILIAD, BOOK I I9 Homer starts off by asking and answering a question: Who, then, of the gods brought them together to contend in strife? The son of Zeus and Leto. -Iliad i. 8-9 With precisely the same turn of thought Milton, early in Paradise Lost, asks a similar question and gives a similar sharp, quick answer: Who first seduced them to that foul revolt? The infernal serpent. -Paradise Lost, I, 33-34 Homer begins his story by telling how Chryses, an aged priest of Apollo, came to the Greek ships, which were drawn up on the seacoast, and made supplication to all the Greeks, but especially to the two sons of Atreus, Agamemnon and Menelaus. He begs for the restoration of his daughter Chryseis, who is being held captive by Agamemnon. THE PETITION OF CHRYSES Ye sons of Atreus, and the rest of you, well-greaved Achaeans, To you may the gods that have homes on Olympus grant To sack Priam's city and prosperously to return homeward: But release unto me my daughter dear, and accept this ransom, Revering Zeus's son, the Far-Darter, Apollo. -Iliad i. I7-2I The Greek army favor the request of the suppliant priest, but Agamemnon sends him away with harsh words and a veiled threat. THE HARSH ANSWER OF AGAMEMNON Let me not find thee, old man, beside the hollow ships, Either now delaying or hereafter coming again, Lest now they protect thee not, the scepter and fillet of the god: But her I will not loose; sooner shall old age come upon her In my house in Argos, far from her native land, Plying the loom, and preparing my couch. But go. Do not provoke me, that thou mayest go more safely. -Iliad i. 26-32 /,/ 20 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD The effect of this threat is seen in the next passage. THE DEPARTURE AND PRAYER OF CHRYSES So spake he; and the old man was seized with fear, and obeyed the command; And he went silently along the shore of the loud-dashing sea; And earnestly then, when he had gone far away, did the old man pray To King Apollo, whom fair-haired Leto bore: "Hear me, thou of the silver bow, who protectest Chryse And holy Cilla, and rulest with might over Tenedos, Thou Sminthian, if ever I have roofed over a temple to please thee, Or if ever I have burned for thee the fat thighs Of bulls and goats, fulfil for me this prayer,May the Danaoi atone for my tears by thy darts." -Iliad i. 33-42 The prayer of the injured priest is immediately answered. THE DESCENT OF APOLLO So spake he praying, and Pheetkus Apollo heard him; And down he came from the heights of Olympus, angry at heart, With his bow upon his shoulders and his close-covered quiver. And clanged then the arrows on the shoulders of the angry god As he himself moved; and he came like the night. Then he took his seat far off from the ships and sent an arrow into their midst, And terrible the clangor that arose from his silver bow. The mules first he attacked and swift-footed dogs, But then upon themselves pouring forth his bitter darts, He smote and smote again; and ever the funeral pyres of the dead burned thick. -Iliad i. 43-52 For nine days the pestilence rages, while Agamemnon, the real leader of the afflicted army, does nothing for his men. On the tenth day Achilles, prompted by "white-armed" Hera, takes it upon himself to summon an assembly, and suggests that they call upon a priest to reveal why Apollo is so angry. Thus encouraged, the seer Calchas, who knows "both the THE ILIAD, BOOK I 21 things that are, and those that shall be, and those that have been before" (Iliad i. 70), arises and addresses the assembly. He first sets forth the risk incurred by a man of the common people, like himself, who may arouse the resentment of a king. Before venturing to declare the cause of the pestilence he demands of Achilles assurance of protection, which Achilles gives him. CALCHAS ASSURED OF PROTECTION Take courage by all means, and speak forth whatever oracle thou knowest; For by Apollo, dear to Zeus, to whom thou, Calchas, Praying, showest oracles unto the Danaoi, No one, as long as I am alive and have my sight upon the earth, Shall lay violent hands upon thee beside the hollow ships, Among all the Danaoi-not even if thou mentionest Agamemnon, Who now boasts that he is by far the bravest of the Achaeans. -Iliadi. 85-91 CALCHAS REVEALS THE CAUSE OF THE PESTILENCE Then indeed the blameless seer took courage and spake; "'Tis not for a vow he finds fault, nor for a hecatomb, But on account of his priest, whom Agamemnon dishonored; Nor did he release the child or accept the ransom Therefore it is that the Far-Darter has sent woes, and still will send them, Nor will he avert shameful ruin from the Danaoi Till they give back to her father dear the bright-eyed maiden, Unbought, unransomed, and bring a sacred hecatomb To Chryse; then, perhaps, we might propitiate him and persuade him." -Iliad i. 92-Ioo This, as foreseen by the prophet, leads to an outburst of anger upon the part of Agamemnon, against Calchas. AGAMEMNON VENTS HIS WRATH Prophet of evil, never yet hast thou spoken unto me aught that is pleasing. Ever is it dear to thy heart to prophesy evil; 22 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD But good word never yet hast thou spoken, or brought to fulfilment. And now thou pratest, prophesying among the Danaoi, As if, forsooth, for this reason the Far-Darter wrought them woe, All because I did not choose to accept the ransom of a mere maiden, Chryses' daughter; Since I much prefer to keep her at home; for I prefer her to Clytemnestra, my wedded wife; For she is not inferior to her either in stature or in figure or in intelligence or in skill; But even thus I am willing to give her back, if it is better so. I wish my people to be safe rather than to perish. But make ready a captive for me instantly, that I may not be alone among the Argives without a captive, Since it is not at all fitting; for ye all see this, that my captive goeth elsewhere. -Iliad i. o06-20 Achilles points out the unreasonableness of this demand for the immediate substitution of another captive. He shows that this can only be effected by depriving one of the Greek chieftains of his own captive. But Agamemnon, in a passage remarkable for its large number of broken, three-part lines, which suggest the labored breathing of an angry man, thrusts aside the protest of Achilles and hints at at an ulterior, dishonorable motive on his part. Losing his head completely in his anger, Agamemnon makes threats to the foremost leaders of his army, Ajax, Odysseus, and Achilles. Then, as if realizing that he has gone too far, he speaks of postponing consideration of these matters till later; but he cannot refrain from a sarcastic reference to Achilles at the last. Here he is speaking of possible commanders for the ship that is to carry the daughter of Chryses back to her father, and taunts Achilles, the son of Peleus. AGAMEMNON'S SARCASM And let some one man be captain, a man that is a councilor, Either Ajax or Idomeneus, or the divine Odysseus, THE ILIAD, BOOK I 23 Or thou, son of Peleus, thou terror of all men, That thou mayest propitiate the Far-Worker for us by performing sacrifice. -Iliadi. 144-47 This combination of threat and sarcasm calls forth an indignant reply from Achilles. THE RETORT OF ACHILLES Ah, clothed in shamelessness, greedy-hearted, How shall any of the Achaeans gladly obey thy commands, Either to go on a journey or to fight mightily with men? For it was not on account of the Trojan spearmen that I Came hither to fight; since they are no whit to blame in my sight; For never have they driven away my cattle or horses; Nor ever in fertile Phthia, nurse of heroes, Have they destroyed my crops, since many things lie between, Both the shadowy mountains and the echoing sea. But now I am going back to Phthia, since it is better far To go home with my curved ships; nor do I propose, While held in dishonor here, to heap up riches and wealth for thee. -Iliad i. I49-57, I69-7I Agamemnon professes indifference to the services of Achilles, charges him with quarrelsomeness, and repeats the threat to seize his captive, Briseis. Achilles, unable to control himself longer, is about to draw his sword and rush upon Agamemnon when the goddess Athena intervenes. THE INTERVENTION OF ATHENA While he was pondering these things in mind and in heart, And was drawing his great sword from its scabbard, Athena came from heaven; for a goddess sent her forth, white-armed Hera, Loving and caring for both alike at heart. And she stood behind him, and seized the son of Peleus by his fair hair, Appearing unto him alone; of the rest none saw her. And Achilles was astonished, and turned him about, 24 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD And instantly he recognized Pallas Athena; for her eyes gleamed terribly. And lifting up his voice he addressed her with winged words: "Why again, child of aegis-bearing Zeus, hast thou come? Is it that thou mayest behold the insolence of Agamemnon, son of Atreus? I will speak plainly unto thee, and this shall be brought to fulfilment too; By his deeds of arrogance perhaps he will lose his life some day." And the goddess, gleaming-eyed Athena, said to him: "I came from heaven to put an end to thy wrath, if thou wilt obey me; And a goddess, white-armed Hera, sent me forth, Loving and caring for both alike at heart. But come, cease from strife, and draw not thy sword in thy hand, But thou mayest threaten him with words, declaring how it shall be; For I will speak plainly to thee, and this shall be fulfilled too: Lo, one day thrice as many glorious gifts shall be beside thee Because of this deed of insolence; but do thou restrain thyself and obey us." And swift-footed Achilles answered her and said: "I must needs obey the command of both of you, 0 goddess; Whoso obeys the gods, unto him do they hearken." He said, and on the silver hilt stayed his heavy hand, And back into the scabbard thrust his great sword, Nor did he disobey the command of Athena. But she departed unto Olympus, into the house of aegis-bearing Zeus, among the other divinities. — Iliad i. i93-222 The foregoing is one of the best examples in the Iliad of the intervention of a divinity. It occurs at a crucial point in the action. There is need for such intervention to prevent actual bloodshed. Athena's action is sudden and decisive, and her answer to Achilles' question is spirited. She begins gently, "I came forth from heaven"; but later she hurls back his own words at him, "For I will speak plainly to thee, and this shall be fulfilled too." There is no detailed description of; THE ILIAD, BOOK I 25 Athena. The chief effect conveyed is that of the sudden apparition of the goddess and of her flashing eyes. A passage of remarkable smoothness and beauty in the original Greek is the oath of Achilles, addressed to Agamemnon, a few lines farther on. In the concluding part of this Achilles foretells the defeat of the Greeks and their slaughter by Hector when they are deprived of his aid-a prophecy which is fulfilled in the latter part of Book xv. THE GREAT OATH OF ACHILLES But I will speak out to thee and confirm it with a mighty oath; Yea, by this scepter, which shall never put forth leaves and buds, Since once for all it hath left is stump upon the mountains, Nor shall it bloom again; for the bronze hath stripped it of both leaves and bark, And now the sons of the Achaeans carry it in their hands as dispensers of justice, Who guard the dooms before the face of Zeus; and this shall be a great oath for thee. Verily, one day, a longing for Achilles shall come upon the sons of the Achaeans, one and all: And then thou shalt have no power, though sorely grieved, to help them, When many shall fall in death at the hands of man-slaying Hector; But thou didst not honor at all the bravest of the Achaeans. -Iliad i. 233-44 With these words Achilles casts the scepter upon the ground. Agamemnon remains seated in gloomy silence. Taking advantage of the momentary interruption of the quarrel, Nestor, the wise old man of the Greeks, whose name has become proverbial for the wisdom of great age, tries unsuccessfully to make peace. THE AGED NESTOR And before them arose sweet-speaking Nestor, the clear-voiced orator of the Pylians. Lo, from his tongue flowed speech sweeter than honey; 26 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD And in his sight already two generations of mortal men had perished, Who in former time were born and brought up before him In holy Pylos, and he bore sway among the third. -Iliad i. 247-52 Nestor begins sadly: Alas, great sorrow is coming to the Achaean land; Verily, Priam would rejoice, and the sons of Priam, And the rest of the Trojans would exult greatly in soul, If they could find out all this about your quarrelingYou two, who are the best of the Danaoi in council and the best in battle; But give heed to me, for you are both younger than I; For once of old I was the ally of men even braver than you, And never did they disregard my advice; For never have I seen, nor shall I see Such men as Pirithoiis, and Dryas, shepherd of the people, And Caeneus and Exadius, and godlike Polyphemus. — liad i. 254-64 Tennyson, in Morte d'Arthur, appears to have conflated this passage with the description of the aged Nestor given above: For I never saw, Nor shall see here or elsewhere till I die, Not though I live three lives of mortal men, So great a miracle as yonder hilt. This is a good example of the direct influence of Greek literature upon English literature. The modern author who imitates Homer has in mind certain lines, usually not widely separated from each other in the original. Such passages are commonly of a sweet-flowing, musical character or have a peculiar epic turn. Naturally, it is the euphonious or the characteristic in one poet which catches the attention and lingers in the memory of another poet. With the sonorous effect of the list of names given above, compare Sophocles Oedipus Rex 266-68: THE ILIAD, BOOK I 27 To apprehend the author of the death Of Laius, son to Labdacus, and heir To Polydorus and to Cadmus old, And proud Agenor of the eldest time. (Translated by LEWIS CAMPBELL) Similar in effect is the often-quoted passage from Milton's Paradise Lost, I, 582-87: And all who since, baptized or infidel, Jousted in Aspramont or Montalban, Damasco or Marocco or Trebisond, Or whom Biserta sent from Afric short, When Charlemain with all his peerage fell By Fontarabia. Nestor appeals to both chieftains to desist; but the quarrel breaks forth anew, though this time it does not go beyond violent words. Soon it ends with the defiant outburst of Achilles to Agamemnon. Achilles, after saying that he will surrender Briseis without a struggle, defies Agamemnon to do more. ACHILLES' DEFIANCE But of the rest that is mine beside my swift black ship Thou couldst not seize and carry away aught against my will. Ah, come on, try it! that the people here may know. Soon thy dark blood shall flow about my spear. -Iliad i. 300-303 With this the assembly breaks up. Agamemnon sends Odysseus with a ship and twenty companions to restore Chryseis to her father and to offer a hecatomb to Apollo. The Greeks also purify themselves and offer sacrifice; and the stormy quarrel-scene (and also the first half of Book i) ends with this quiet picture: And they were offering unto Apollo unblemished hecatombs Of bulls and goats, beside the shore of the unharvested sea, And the savor rose to heaven, curling about in the smoke. -Iliad i. 315-I7 28 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD As the first half of Book i is mainly occupied with the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon, so the second half deals with the immediate consequences of this quarrel. Agamemnon, following out his threat, sends his heralds to fetch Briseis from the tent of Achilles: And unwillingly did they go along the shore of the unharvested sea. — liad i. 327 Achilles surrenders Briseis to them by the hand of his comrade Patroclus, who appears here for the first time in the Iliad. Referring to the wrong done him by Agamemnon, Achilles speaks to Patroclus of the heralds. THE FOLLY OF AGAMEMNON Let them, themselves, be witnesses Both before the blessed gods and before mortal men, And before him, pitiless king, if ever again Need of me arise to avert shameful ruin From the rest. For indeed he rages with baneful mind, Nor does he know at all how to look before and after, That the Achaeans may fight in safety beside the ships. — liad i. 338-44 The only hint of any feeling of love between Achilles and Briseis-a hint which a modern poet would have expanded into a whole scene-is contained in the words: And they returned again unto the ships of the Achaeans, And unwillingly did the woman go with them. — Iliad i. 347-48 Immediately there follows the beautiful scene between Achilles and his mother, the sea-goddess Thetis. This reveals the gentler side of the hero's nature; he weeps at the unfavorable outcome of his conflict with Agamemnon, much as modern college athletes have been known to shed tears over the THE ILIAD, BOOK I 29 loss of a game. In both cases the tears are not a sign of weakness but merely of intense youthful disappointment and chagrin. ACHILLES PRAYS TO THETIS But Achilles, Bursting into tears, straightway withdrew far from his companions, and took his seat Upon the shore of the hoary sea, gazing upon the boundless deep. And earnestly then prayed he to his dear mother, stretching out his hands: "Mother, since thou didst give me life, though but for a short existence, Honor at least should the Olympian have granted me, Zeus that thunders on high; but as it is, he hath not honored me at all. For the son of Atreus, wide-ruling Agamemnon, hath dishonored me; For he hath seized and holds my prize, having taken it away himself. But do thou, if thou art able, protect thy son. Go to Olympus, and supplicate Zeus, If ever thou hast advantaged the heart of Zeus either by word or by deed; For often have I heard thee in thy father's halls Boasting how thou alone amongst the immortals Didst avert shameful ruin from the dark-clouded son of Kronos,. What time the other Olympians wished to bind him fast, Both Hera and Poseidon and Pallas Athena. But thou, O goddess, didst go to him and release him from his bond, Having quickly called the Hundred-Handed unto lofty Olympus, Whom the gods call Briareos, but all men Aegaeon, For he surpasses his father in might; Then he took his seat before the son of Kronos, rejoicing in his glory. And the blessed gods feared him, and did not bind Zeus. Now remind him of these things, and take thy seat near him, and grasp his knees, If, perchance, he may be willing to help the Trojans, And hem the Achaeans in by the sterns of their ships and by the sea, As they are being slain, that all may have profit of'their king, 30 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD And that the son of Atreus too, wide-ruling Agamemnon, May come to know his folly, in that he did not honor at all the bravest of the Achaeans." -Iliad i. 348-56, 393-4I2 The answer of Thetis lays emphasis upon the fate that condemns her son to early death. We sympathize with Achilles because he has the qualities of high-spirited youth. He is straightforward; he goes at once to the real cause of the pestilence; he has no ulterior, selfish motive as Agamemnon has. He is perfectly fearless in the presence of the king; but at the same time he has regard for public authority and therefore surrenders Briseis without a struggle. Yet he feels sorrow keenly, as his tears and his appeal to his mother show. And added to all is the pathos of his impending early death, which Homer does not allow us to forget. THE ANSWER OF THETIS Ah me! my child, why did I rear thee, seeing that it was to an evil fate I bore thee? Thou shouldst be sitting beside the ships, free from tears and free from grief, Since thy time of life is very short, not at all long; But, as it is, thou art short-lived and wretched above the rest; So then it was to an evil fate I bore thee in the halls. -Iliad i. 414-18 She tells him that she will go in person to "the snowy top of cold Olympus"2 to supplicate Zeus on his behalf. But she must wait. For Zeus went yesterday to Ocean among the blameless Aethiopians, To a feast, and all the gods followed him, And on the twelfth day he will return again to Olympus. -Iliad i. 423-25 2 Iliad i. 420, as paraphrased by Milton, Paradise Lost I, 5I5. THE ILI4D, BOOK I 31 It should be noted that the Homeric divinities are not thought of as omnipresent; if they are in one place, they are not at the same time in another. They may be "away from home." Compare the taunt of Elijah to the prophets of Baal (I Kings i8:27): "Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is musing, or he is gone aside, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked." And contrast the maturer Greek view of a later age as given in Xenophon's Anabasis (ii. 5.7): "For everywhere all things are subject to the gods; and everywhere the gods rule over all things equally." The absence of Zeus from Olympus leads to a pause in the action of the Iliad-a pause which is very happily filled by the episode of the restoration of Chryseis to her father (430 -92). This episode contains a number of verses borrowed from other parts of Homer, and on the whole reminds scholars of the style of the Odyssey; but it is, nevertheless, appropriate here, and its quiet narrative contributes one more element of variety to the first book of the Iliad. After Chryseis has been given back to her father and he has prayed to Apollo on behalf of the Achaeans, we have a description of the sacrifice and the feast which celebrated the event. Then come the following lines, which have been imitated by modern poets. HYMNING APOLLO And all day long with song and dance they were propitiating the god, Singing a beautiful paean, the youths of the Achaeans, Hymning the Far-Worker; and his heart was delighted as he listened. But when the sun set and darkness came on, They went to rest by the stern-cables of their ship. And when early-born, rosy-fingered Dawn appeared, Then they put to sea for the broad camp of the Achaeans. — Iliad i. 472-78 32 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Compare Paradise Lost, VI, 96: Hymning the Eternal Father. And with the phrase "rosy-fingered Dawn" compare Paradise Lost, VI, 2: Till Morn, Waked by the circling Hours, with rosy hand Unbarred the gates of light.... Compare also in Alfred Noyes' Drake: Now like a wild rose in the fields of heaven Slipt forth the slender fingers of the Dawn, And drew the great grey eastern curtains back From the ivory saffroned couch. ACHILLES "SULKS IN HIS TENT" But he raged ever, sitting beside the swift-going ships, The Zeus-descended son of Peleus, swift-footed Achilles. Nor ever would he frequent the man-honoring assembly, Or ever go to war, but was wasting his own heart As he tarried there and longed for the battle cry and for war. -liad i. 488-92 Reverting now to the promise which she had made to Achilles (426-27), Thetis goes to Olympus to supplicate Zeus. THE SUPPLICATION OF THETIS Now when the twelfth day after that arose, Then the ever living gods returned to Olympus all together, And Zeus led the way. And Thetis was not forgetful Of her son's behests, but arose from the wave of the sea, And early in the morning she ascended great heaven and Olympus. And she found the broad-browed son of Kronos sitting apart from the rest On the highest peak of many-ridged Olympus. And she took her place before him and grasped his knees With her left hand, and, with her right touching him beneath the chin, THE ILIAD, BOOK I 33 In supplication addressed King Zeus, the son of Kronos; "Father Zeus, if ever I have helped thee among the immortals, Either by word or by deed, fulfil for me this prayer; Honor my son, who is short-lived above the rest; For now Agamemnon, king of men, hath dishonored him; For he hath seized and holds his prize, having taken it himself; But do thou at least honor him, Olympian Counselor Zeus, And bestow might upon the Trojans till the Achaeans Honor my son and advance him in honor." So spake she; but Zeus, the Cloud-Gatherer, answered her not a word, But sat silent long time. And Thetis, just as she had grasped his knees, So held to him, clinging fast, and asked him again the second time: "Now promise me faithfully and nod assent, Or refuse me-since thou hast no fear-that I may surely know In how far I am the least-honored goddess among them all." -Iliad i. 493-5 6 It is interesting to note how in the next to the last line (515) the caesural emphasis falls upon the word toi ("thou"). There is a hint in this of finesse on the part of Thetis; knowing that Zeus is really afraid of the nagging of Hera, she compliments him upon possessing the very quality which she knows that he lacks-fearlessness. Another instance of significant caesural emphasis is italicized in the following passage. THE PROMISE OF ZEUS TO THETIS And being greatly vexed, Zeus, the Cloud-Gatherer, answered her: "Verily, now, sorry deeds these will be, since thou wilt urge me to quarrel With Hera, when she shall provoke me with abusive words. And she always, even as it is, upbraids me among the immortal gods, And what she says is, that I help the Trojans in battle. So do thou go away now, lest Hera notice anything, And these things shall be my care till I fulfil them. But look, I will nod to thee with my head, that thou mayest have confidence; For from me at least this is the greatest token; For my promise is not revocable nor deceptive nor unfulfilled, 34 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Whatever I nod assPnt. to with my head." He said: and with his dark brows the son of Kronos nodded assent, And the ambrosial locks of the king flowed waving down From his immortal head, and he shook great Olympus.3 — liad i. 5I 7-30 Hera does, in fact, charge Zeus with keeping secrets from her. THE QUARREL OF ZEUS AND HERA Thus the father of men and gods answered her: "Hera, do not expect to know all my counsels; They will be hard for thee, even if thou art my wife; But whatever it is fitting for thee to hear, no one, Either of gods or men, shall know that thing before thee; But whatever I choose to ponder by myselfDo not thou be questioning and prying into these things." Then large-eyed queenly Hera answered him: "Most dread son of Kronos, what word is this that thou hast spoken? And in very truth, heretofore I have not inquired nor questioned: But quite at thine ease dost thou ponder all that thou wilt. But now I fear lest silver-footed Thetis, daughter of the old man of the sea, Hath won thee over; for early in the morning she took her place near thee and grasped thy knees, And I surmise that thou didst actually promise her That thou wouldst honor Achilles and destroy many at the ships of the Achaeans." And Zeus, the Cloud-Gatherer, answered her and said: "Perverse one, thou art forever surmising, nor can I escape thee. Nevertheless thou shalt not be able to accomplish anything, But wilt only be the farther from my heart, and this will be worse for thee. But sit down, and keep still, and obey my command, Lest now all the gods that are on Olympus avail thee not When I shall come near and lay my invincible hands upon thee." -Iliad i. 544-67 8 The concluding lines of this passage are said to have inspired Phidias with the conception for his statue of Zeus at Olympia. THE ILILD, BOOK I 35 Milton, in Comus, speaks of "Thetis' tinsel-slippered feet." At this point, to prevent personal violence to Hera, the lame god Hephaestus, Hera's misshapen son, intervenes. INTERVENTION OF HEPHAESTUS Verily, baneful deeds these shall be, nor any longer tolerable, If you two strive thus for the sake of mere mortals. -Iliad i. 573-74 Such strife, he tells her, will spoil their feast, and besides it is useless. For the Olympian hurler of lightning, if he wants to, can hurl them also from their seats; therefore, it is best to be patient. Bear up, mother mine, and endure, though grieved, Lest, dear though thou art, I behold thee smitten before mine eyes; Then shall I have no power, though grieved, to help thee; For the Olympian is a terrible one to contend against. For once before when I was eager to help thee He seized me by the foot and hurled me from his wondrous thresholdAnd all day I was borne along, and with the setting sun Fell on Lemnos, and little breath was left in me. Then the Sintian men cared for me after my fall. -Iliad i. 586-94 Milton, in a passage of Paradise Lost where he is speaking of the architect of Satan's palace, has given a beautiful paraphrase of the lines about the fall of Hephaestus from heaven: And in Ausonian land Men called him Mulciber; and how he fell From Heaven they fabled, thrown by angry Jove Sheer o'er the crystal battlements; from morn To noon he fell, from noon to dewy eve, A summer's day; and with the setting sun Dropt from the zenith, like a falling star, On Lemnos, the Aegean isle. -Paradise Lost, I, 739-46, ei I.. r? I' 36 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Hera assents to the advice of her son, and with a smile accepts the cup from his hand. Thereupon, the quarrel being now over, Hephaestus pours out sweet nectar and begins to serve the gods: And inextinguishable laughter arose among the blessed gods When they saw Hephaestus puffing through the halls. — Iliad i. 599-600 THE FEAST ON OLYMPUS Thus all day long till set of sun they feasted, Nor did their heart want aught of the fairly divided feast, Or of the phorminx fair which Apollo held, Or of the Muses, who sang responsive with beautiful voice. But when the bright light of the sun set, They every one went home to rest, Where the illustrious, strong-armed Hephaestus Had made a house for each with cleverness and skill. And Zeus, the Olympian hurler of lightning, went to his couch, Where formerly he slept, whenever sweet sleep came upon him; Thither he went up and slept, and by his side gold-throned Hera. -Iliad i. 6oi-end Book i forms a masterly introduction to the whole poem. The theme is clearly stated in the Proem. Many of the leading characters are brought before us. Achilles, Agamemnon, Patroclus, Nestor, and Odysseus appear in person; Ajax and Idomeneus are mentioned, and Hector figures as the instrument of destiny; Chryses and his daughter, Calchas and Briseis are subordinate characters. Among divinities, Phoebus Allo of the silver bow appears on the Trojan side; white-armed Hera and gleamingeyed Athena are on the Greek side; while silver-footed Thetis, strong-armed Hephaestus, and Father Zeus can hardly be said to be on either side. Mention is made of Poseidon, of rosy-fingered Dawn, and of the Muses. Out of the mythology of the elder time we have Oceanus, fair-haired Leto, and the THE ILIAD, BOOK I 37 hundred-handed giant variously called "Briareos" or "Aegaeon"; and among men of olden time we hear of Caeneus and Exadius and god-like Polyphemus. From a structural point of view we have, as a celestial counterpart to the serious quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon taking place on earth, the more or less humorous quarrel on Olympus between Zeus and Hera. And just as Athena intervenes on earth to prevent personal violence to Agamemnon, so Hephaestus intervenes on Olympus to prevent the chastisement of Hera. But while the earthly quarrel ends in gloom and tears, the heavenly breaks up with inextinguishable laughter and music and feasting. This book contains a number of picturesque scenes: Chryses denounced by Agamemnon; Athena staying the hand of Achilles; Achilles gazing upon the sea, from which Thetis arises enveloped in mist; Chryses lifting up his hands in prayer beside the altar of Apollo, while men and cattle stand ranged about; Thetis clasping the knees of Zeus; and Apollo as leader of the Muses. Book i4 is remarkable also for its variety. Brilliant description, like that of the descent of Apollo from Olympus, and quiet narrative, like the story of the restoration of Chryseis, are intermingled with stormy dialogue, as in the quarrel scene; and all concludes with laughter, feasting, and music. Homer's universe as revealed in this book contains the brilliant heights of many-ridged Olympus, and the gloomy, invisible world of the dead; the shadowy mountains and the echoing sea; morning and evening; tears and laughter; love and hate. 4For analysis of Book i and of other books of the Iliad see the end of this volume. CHAPTER III THE ILIAD, BOOK II The second book of the Iliad is of peculiar interest since it gives the most vivid picture we have of the early Greek form of government. And, out of the beginnings portrayed here-namely, king, council, and general assembly-were developed the free institutions of the Greeks and ultimately our own. We still have the counterparts of the three branches of the Homeric state in our executive, our upper and our lower house. The Homeric form of government is more fully discussed in the reading references given at the end of this volume. With a passing reference to the sleep which bound all at the close of Book i, but which did not long keep its hold on Zeus, Homer says that Zeus Was pondering in his heart how he might honor Achilles And destroy many at the ships of the Achaeans. -Iliad ii. 3-4 This was to be in fulfilment of his promise to Thetis, and referred to by Hera (i. 558-59). His plan was to send a dece tive dream to Agamemnon to encourage him to think that he could capture Troy that very day without the helof Achilles. With the failure of this mad attempt, the need for Achilles would be brought clearly to the realization of all; and Agamemnon would be compelled to accord him honor and make reparation to him. Thus the plan of Zeus mentioned at the opening of the poem would begin to be carried out, and Zeus, therefore, addresses the "baneful Dream." 38 THE ILIAD, BOOK II 39 To THE BANEFUL DREAM Up, go! baneful )ream, to the swift ships of the Achaeans: Enter into the tent of Agamemnon, son of Atreus, And tell him all very exactly, as I bid thee; Command him to arm the long-haired Achaeans with all haste; For now might he take the broad-streeted city of the Trojans; For no longer are the immortals that have palaces on Olympus Divided in counsel; but Hera hath bent them all to her will By supplication, and woes impend over the Trojans. With the love of repetition which is characteristic of early literature, the main part of this message is given no less than three times early in Book ii (II-I5, 28-32, 65-69). Agamemnon was easily deceived by the Dream, which Left him there Pondering in his heart things which were not destined to be fulfilled. For he thought to capture Priam's city that day, Fool that he was! Nor did he sense what deeds Zeus was planning. -Iliad ii. 35-38 At this point the poet, who knows how to invest even the commonest actions with dignity, gives us an interesting account of the robing of a Homeric king. THE ROBING OF AGAMEMNON But he was roused out of sleep, and the divine voice still rang in his ears, And he arose and sat up, and put on his soft tunic, Fair and new-woven, and threw his great mantle about him; And underneath his shining feet he bound his fair sandals; And round about his shoulders cast his great sword with silver-studded hilt; And he grasped his paternal scepter, ever imperishable, With which he went down among the ships of the brazen Jiad Achaeans. -Iliad ii. 4I-47 With the part about the voice ringing in his ears, compare Paradise Lost, IX, 736 (of Eve and the Serpent): And in her ears the sound Yet rung of his persuasive words. 40 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Agamemnon sends his heralds to call an assembly (Agora); but first hesumonn _acouncilf- de's (Boule) beside the ship.Nestor. He tells them about the Dream, and urges them to arm the sons of the Achaeans; but declares that he will first test the army with words, proposing that they giveup anThisda seems childish and is regarded with disapproval by Nestor; but, yielding to royal and perhaps divine authority, the council after a short session breaks up to put the king's plan into practice. Next comes the spirited description of the Greeks hastening to the place of assembly. THE GREEKS RUSH TO ASSEMBLY But the people were hastening on, As swarms of buzzing bees pour forth from a hollow rock, Ever coming forth anew, and fly in throngs upon the flowers of spring, And some on this side and others on that are on the wing; So, many tribes of the Greeks from ships and tents Were moving along the deep strand in troops to the assembly. And among them was enkindled Rumor, the messenger of Zeus, urging them to go, And they were mustering; and the assembly was in confusion; And the earth groaned beneath the feet of the people as they took their seats. And nine heralds with shouts were trying to restrain them. -Iliad ii. 86-97 The assembly having at last been reduced to order, the king appears before it in his full royal array, as the king of England still does in opening parliament. He sets before it the business which he has already presented to his council of elders (Boule). THE SCEPTER And up rose Lord Agamemnon, Holding his scepter, which Hephaestus had wrought with toil. Now Hephaestus gave it to King Zeus, son of Kronos; And Zeus gave it to the Guide, the Argus-Slayer; THE ILIAD, BOOK II 41 And King Hermes gave it to Pelops, the lasher of horses; And Pelops in turn gave it to Atreus, shepherd of the people; And Atreus when he died left it to Thyestes rich in flocks; And Thyestes in his turn left it to Agamemnon to bear, To rule over many islands and all Argos. Leaning on this he spake among the Argives. -Iliad ii. oo-Io09 Compare Tennyson, Morte d'Arthur: King he was of all Ireland and of many isles. Agamemnon lays upamZeus the -blae-4orteill-sucGessof the Greeks at Troy, and after saying, He bids me Return in dishonor to Argos, since I have destroyed much people, -Iliad ii. 1 5 proposes that they go home. THE PROPOSAL TO RETURN Lo! nine years of great Zeus are past, And the timbers of our ships are rotten and the cables loosed; And doubtless our wives and young children sit in the halls Longing for us, while yet our task is all unfulfilled On account of which we came hither. But come! as I direct let us all obey. Let us flee with our ships unto our dear native land; For no longer have we prospect of taking wide-streeted Troy. -Iliad ii. I34-4I The effect is pronounced and instantaneous. THE DESIRE FOR HOME AnD1 the assembly was stirred as are the long waves of the sea, The Icarian deep, which both Eurus and Notus have roused, Leaping upon them from out the clouds of Father Zeus. And as when Zephyrus comes and stirs a deep-standing field of wheat, Impetuously dashing upon it, and the stalks nod to the wind with their heads, So all their assembly was stirred, and with a shout 42 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD They were hastening toward the ships, while from beneath their feet The dust rose and hung over them; and they were urging one another To lay hold of the ships and drag them into the divine sea; And they were clearing out the launching ways, and their shouts Rose to heaven as they made haste to their homes, And they were taking the props from under the ships. -Iliad ii. 144-54 At this critical moment Athena, prompted by Hera. intervenes to prevenUhenltimely end of the Trojan War. She moves Odysseus to restrain the people. ODYSSEUS TAKES THE LEAD Whatever king or eminent man he found, him would he restrain With gentle words, standing beside him..... But whatever man of the people he saw, and found shouting, Him would he strike with his scepter, and upbraid with words: "Fellow! sit still and listen to the words of others who are your betters. For you are unwarlike and unvaliant nor ever of any account Either in war or in council; we cannot all of us Achaeans be kings here. Not good is the rule of many; let one man be ruler, One king, to whom the son of crooked-counseling Kronos hath granted it." -Iliad ii. 188-89, 197-205 Plutarch in the Life of Antony 8i parodies Homer's polykoiranie ("rule of many") with polykaisarie ("many Caesars"). There follows one of the most famous episodes of the Iliad, the Thersites episode. Terasites whose name signifies "the Insolent," nwhem hapen bodyseems the fit countrgrtjsjre midvoestjjpstp ot the sn tom i Aftheir rulers. He appears as a character in the Shakespeare play, Troilus and Cressida, where (in Act V, scene 4) h ives what is apparently his ownestimate of him-self. THE ILIAD, BOOK II 43 Hector. What art thou, Greek? Art thou for Hector's match? Art thou of blood and honour? Thersites. No, no; I am a rascal; a scurvy railing knave, a very filthy rogue. From another point of view Thersites may be regarded as the first democrat in history-the earliest voice of the common people upraised against oppression by their rulers. Homer, however, evidently does not sympathize with him, but caricatures, rather than represents, him and his cause. Indeed, at the last, the people are made to laugh at the spokesman of their own cause. -~. THE SCURRILOUS THERSITES Now the rest were seating themselves and were quiet along the benches; But Thersites still, all by himself, brawled onUnmeasured speaker that he was, who knew many disorderly sayings in his heart, Vain, not according to good order, to quarrel with kingsWhatever he thought would be laughable in the eyes of the Argives. And he was the homeliest man that came beneath the walls of Troy. He was bow-legged, and lame in onic iool, and his shouiiers vcre bowed and drawn together over his chest; And, above, his head was misshapen, and sparse woolly hair sprouted thereupon. And he was very much hated by Achilles and Odysseus: For he was always upbraiding them; but at that time Against the divine Agamemnon with shrill voice he was telling over reproaches, For now the Achaeans were terribly angry at him and were indignant in heart. And Thersites with loud cries upbraided Agamemnon with these words: "Son of Atreus, what dost thou now find fault with, or what dost thou lack? Thy huts are full of bronze, and many captives are in them, chosen ones, Whom we Achaeans give to thee first of all, whenever we take a city; Canjf hjathu still lackst fr hirh one of the horse-taming Trojans _ v _~IL 44 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Shall bring thee from Ilios, the ransom of his son, Whom I shall bind and lead away, or another of the Achaeans; Or a new captive, that thou mayest be joined with her in love, One whom thou mayest keep apart for thyself? It is not right That thou who art a ruler shouldst bring the sons of the Achaeans into trouble." -Iliad ii. 2II-34 It will be observed that the ground ofTher es comp laint is that altough he and the other commons labor, the king reaps the benefit of their toil. The implied remedy is that those who labor should rule. Note also the highly characteristic, vulgar, abusive traits of his accusation. The inflammatory part of his speech follows. THERSITES URGES THEM TO DESERT O weaklings, base miscreants, Achaean women, no longer Achaeans! Let us go home with our ships, and leave this fellow Here behind in Troy to gloat over his gains, that he may see Whether we also have any part in defending him or not. And now he has put a slight upon Achilles-a far better man than he; For he has seized and holds his prize, having taken it away himself. But there is not much spirit in the mind of Achilles, but he is remiss; Otherwise, son of Atreus, thou hadst now offered insult for the last time. -Iliad ii. 235-42 Homer, the poet of Zeus-nourished kings and the monarchical regime, has no sympathy with this kind of talk, as the next lines indicate: So spake he, upbraiding Agamemnon, the shepherd of the peopleHe, Thersites! and suddenly the divine Odysseus stood by his side, And, eyeing him askance, rebuked him with stern words. -Iliad ii. 243-45 Odysseus, reproving Thersites for his lack of reverence fgking5, hints that the fellow has an ulterior object in all this and is merely waiting for a chance to return home. THE ILIAD, BOOK II 45 THE PUNISHMENT OF THERSITES "If I find thee playing the fool again, as now, May there no longer be a head upon the shoulders of Odysseus, Nor may I any longer be called the father of Telemachus, If I do not seize thee and strip off thy garments, Both cloak and tunic, which cover thy nakedness, And send thee, thyself, weeping to the swift ships, Driving thee from the assembly with unseemly blows." So said he, and with his scepter smote him on back and shoulders. And he bent double, and great tears fell from his eyes. And a bloody welt rose up on his back beneath the golden scepter; And he sat down trembling and in pain, with foolish look, and wiped away his tears. And the people, though vexed, laughed merrily at him. -Iliad ii. 258-70 After the people have assembled and Thersites has been silenced, there comes an account of the second Agora, or assembly. Od sseus speaks first. True to his nature, which inclines to work by iplomacy'rather than in the straightforward way characteristic of Achilles, he begins by expressing sympathy with the natural desire of the Greeks to return home after their long stay before Troy. HOMESICKNESS For a man remaining but one month away from his wife Grows impatient with his many-benched shipOne whom wintry storms detain and the rising sea; While for us this is the ninth revolving year, as we linger here. -Iliad ii. 292-96 The main purpose of Odysseus' speech is to recall to the minds of the Greeks the portent w hcihad a ppeaed tAuis just as they were setting out for Troy and to urge them to await the fulfillmeat of thw oQacle spoken at that time by Calias. Tor a serpent, starting up from beneath the altar at Aulis, had darted to a plane tree near by and devoured first the eight young of a sparrow and finally the mother bird her 46 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD self; whereupon Calchas had delivered the oracle now quoted by Odysseus. THE ORACLE Why stand ye speechless, ye long-haired Achaeans? Unto us hath the Counselor Zeus shown this as a great sign, L ~tyal ~ul6ot whosf i sal evrperish. As this serpent hath devoured the young of the sparrow and herself, Eight-and the mother bird was the ninth, she that hatched the broodSo we for so many years, shall wage war here, Thu-iejtenth weshalltqake the broad-streeted city. -Iliad ii. 323-29 The speech of Odysseus wins quick approval from the Greeks, who shout till the ships re-echo. Thereupon Nestor arises, and, as is often the case in the Iliad, gives advice upon militarytactics. NESTOR GIVES MILITARY ADVICE Marshal the- menby tribes, by brotherohflds, Agamemnon, That brotherhood may help brotherhood, and tribe, tribe. And if thou shalt do thus, and the Achaeans obey thee, Then wilt thou know which of the leaders is cowardly and which of the people, And which is brave; for they will fight each in his own place; And thou shalt know whether it is by divine decree that thou dost not sack the city, Or through the cowardice of men and their ignorance of warfare. -Iliad ii. 362-68 This advice of Nestor's meets with the ready response of Agamemnon. THE COMPLIMENT TO NESTOR Verily again, old man, thou surpassest the sons of the Achaeans in council. Would to Father Zeus and Athena and Apollo That I had ten such counselors among the Achaeans! Then quickly would the city of King Priam bow its head, Beneath our hands captured and sacked. -Iliad ii. 370-74 THE ILIAD, BOOK II 47 AGAMEMNON FOLLOWS NESITOR' ADYICE - Go now to your mess, that we may join battle. Let every man sharpen well his spear, and set his shield in order, And give fodder to his swift-footed horses, And look well about his chariot and take thought for war, That all day long we may contend in hateful warfare. For there shall be no cessation, not for a moment, Unless night come and separate the wrath of men. And many a man's baldric shall be covered with sweat about his breast, As it supports his man-covering shield, and his hand shall grow weary about his spear; And many a man's horse shall sweat, tugging at the well-polished chariot; And whomsoever I find afar from battle, lagging by the curved ships, It will not be easy for him to escape the dogs and birds. -Iliad ii. 381-93 With this passage, compare Milton, Paradise Lost, VI, 541 -46 Let each His adamantine coat gird well, and each Fit well his helm, gripe fast his orbed shield, Borne even or high; for this day will pour down If I conjecture aught, no drizzling shower, But rattling storm of arrows barbed with fire. Thereupon the people disperse for their meal preparatory to battle, and Agamemnon plans for the commanders (gerontes, or "elders") a sacrificial feast, which is really the second Boule ("council"). Agamemn call sthese councilors. THE COUNCILORS Nestor first of all, and King Idomeneus, The two Ajaxes next, and the son of Tydeus, Odysseus sixth, equal to Zeus in counsel; And-of his own accord came Menelaus, good at the battle cry. -Iliad ii. 405-8 48 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Agamemnon himself made the eighth, and Achilles was not invited; the full number of the Boule,- therefore, seems to have been nine. First, Agamemnon offers prayer. BATTLE PRAYER OF AGAMEMNON Zeus, most glorious, most great, shrouded in dark clouds, dwelling in aether, Let not the sun set and darkness come on Till I bring low the blackened roof of Priam, And burn his door with hostile fire, And cleave the tunic of Hector about his breast, Torn to rags by my bronze; and may many companions round about him, Prone upon the ground, bite the dust. -Iliad ii. 412-18 In the brief council that follows the sacrificial feast, Nestor proposes that_they no longer postpone, by talking, the fulfilment of the task which tihe gd placed in their hands. Agamemnon bids his heralds summon the long-haired Achaeans to war. ATHENA WITH THE AEGIS And round about the son of Atreus the Zeus-nourished kings Hasted, marshaling them; and in their midst gleaming-eyed Athena, Wearing the aegis, ageless, precious, and immortal, Whose hundred tassels, all of gold, fluttered in the breeze, All well-woven, each worth a hundred oxen, With which, all-radiant, she hasted through the host of the Achaeans Urging them on; and she roused courage in the heart of every man, To wage war and fight unceasingly. -Iliad ii. 445-52 Homer gives us next a graphic description of the mustering of the Greeks, wrought out in a brilliant series of similes. First we see the distant gleam of the smunupon their brazen armor, like a forest fire far off upon the mountain tops. Then, as they approach, we hear the confused noise of their voices, like the cries of flocks of birds in watery meadows. Some impression is given also of their greatcIumfbers-as many as are THE ILIAD, BOOK II 49 the leaves and flowers in spring. Their eagerness and persistence are vividly brought before us by the homely simile of the flies swarming about the milk pails. And, finally, we see the Greeks being separated into divisions for battle as shepherds separate their sheep in the pasture, while Agamemnon appears prominent among all like a bull among a herd of cattle.k THE MUSTERING OF THE GREEKS As destroying fire flames over a vast forest On the mountain tops, and the light is seen from far, So, as they came on, the bright gleam from their countless brazen weapons Reached through aether to heaven. And as many flocks of winged birds, Geese or cranes or long-necked swans, In the Asian meadow, about the flowings of the Cayster, This way and that flit rejoicing on the wing, And settle down in front of one another with a clamor, and the meadow resounds, So, many nations of the Greeks from ships and huts Were pouring into the Scamandrian plain, and the earth re-echoed Terribly beneath them and their horses. And they stood in the flowery Scamandrian meadow, Countless as are the leaves and flowers in their season. As many swarms of buzzing flies Which flit about a herdsman's stall In the season of spring, when the milk wets the pails, So numerous stood the long-haired Achaeans upon the plain, Opposed to the Trojans, and eager to break through their ranks. And as goatherds easily separate the wide-wandering Herds of goats, whenever they mingle with each other in the pasture, So their leaders were marshaling them on this side and that To go to battle; and in their midst was Lord Agamemnon With head and eyes like Zeus, the hurler of the thunderbolt, And girdle like Ares, and chest like Poseidon. As a bull in a herd is far pre-eminent over all, 50 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD For he is conspicuous among the herded cattle, So did Zeus on that day make the son of Atreus Conspicuous and pre-eminent among many heroes. -Iliad ii. 455-83 For a like series of similes, see Iliad xiv. 394-98. BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE "cCATALOGUE OF THE SHIPS The remainder of Book ii (vss. 484-877) is commonly called the "Catalogue of the Ships," although to the enumeration of the Greek forces who came in the ships to Troy is appended a catalogue of the (land) forces of the Trojans and their allies. The entire "Catalogue," including the Trojans, is doubtless a later addition to the Iliad. The chief objection to regarding the "Catalogue" as part of the original poem is that what we should naturally expect, at this point, is a description of the various nations and their leaders as they took their places in the line of battle to meet the Trojans; but what we really have is an enumeration of the forces as they set out against Troy ten years earlier.' The "Catalogue" was perhaps originally intended to be prefixed to the whole Epic Cycle of Troy, and later adapted to its present position in the Iliad. It was, however, as early as the sixth century B.C., regarded as a sort of Doomsday Book by the Greeks, as is proved by Plutarch's story of how the "Catalogue" was appealed to by Solon, in the case of a dis'Perhaps even this is too much to claim. T. W. Allen in Homer: The Origins and the Transmission (Oxford, I924), p. i8i, says of the "Catalogue," "These four hundred lines are the portion of the poem that has the clearest claim to be considered a record. Its contents are.... true and exact.... Its scheme does not apply to the war at all. As is plain the order of the nations is neither that of the armada at Aulis, nor of the naval camp at Troy; the framework is a list of Greek states in an order without reference to war or any concentration. Upon this frame are imposed the size of the contingents, the leaders' names, short pedigrees and a choice of towns within the country, and occasionally anecdotes..... The predominant quality about it is geographical; it appears to be a register or survey." For a fuller discussion see the same author's The Homeric Catalogue of Ships (Oxford, 1921). THE ILIAD, BOOK II 51I pute between Athens and Megara, as to whom the island of Salamis originally belonged. I have selected a few passages from the "Catalogue" for translation. Perhaps I can best justify the inclusion of these passages in a book like this by quoting from Macaulay's Essay on Milton: Scarcely any passages in the poems of Milton are more generally known or more frequently repeated than those which are little more than muster-rolls of names. They are not always more appropriate or more melodious than other names. But they are charmed names. Every one of them is the first link in a long chain of associated ideas. Like the dwelling place of our infancy revisited in manhood, like the song of our country heard in a strange land, they produce upon us an effect wholly independent of their intrinsic value. While the power of association may not be equally strong in the case of the Iliad, there are a number of passages of real beauty or of historical interest. SELECTED PASSAGES FROM THE CATALOGUE OF THE SHIPS THE INVOCATION OF THE MUSES Tell me now, ye Muses that have homes on OlympusFor ye are goddesses, and are present, and know all things, While we hear only the fame thereof, and know nothing at allWho were the leaders and the chieftains of the Greeks. But the multitude I could not declare nor name, Not even if I had ten tongues and ten mouths, And a voice unbreakable, and a heart of brass within me, Unless the Olympian Muses, the daughters of aegis-bearing Zeus, Should call to my mind how many came beneath the walls of Troy. However, the captains of the ships I will tell, and all the ships. -Iliad ii. 484-93 ATHENS And those that held Athens, a well-founded city, The realm of great-hearted Erechtheus, whom once Athena, Daughter of Zeus, reared, but it was the corn-giving plough-land that bore him; 52 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD And she set him down in Athens, in her rich fane; And there with bulls and lambs the youths of the Athenians Propitiate him in the revolving years; These led Menestheus, son of Peteos. -Iliad ii. 546-52 LEGEND OF THAMYRIS AND THE MUSES And there the Muses, Meeting the Thracian Thamyris, stayed him from his singing, As he was returning from Oechalia, from Oechalian Eurytos; For he dared to boast that he would come off victor Even if the Muses themselves should sing, the daughters of aegis-bearing Zeus; And they in their wrath made him blind, and took away His wondrous gift of song, and caused him to forget the playing of the cithara. -Iliad ii. 594-600 TLEPOLEMOS OF RHODES And Tlepolemos, a descendant of Heracles, great and mighty, Led from Rhodes nine ships of the impetuous Rhodians, Who dwelt round about Rhodes divided into three parts, Lindos, and Ialysos and snow-white Kameiros. Them did the spear-famed Tlepolemos lead, Whom Astyocheia bore to the might of Heracles, When he brought her from Ephyra, from the river Selleis, After he had laid waste many cities of Zeus-nourished men. And Tlepolemos, after he was reared in the well-built hall, Slew his father's uncle on the mother's side, Who was now an old man, Likymnios, a scion of Ares. And at once he fashioned ships, and gathered together much people, And went fleeing over the deep; for the others, The sons and the grandsons of the might of Heracles, threatened him; And he came to Rhodes, wandering and suffering woe; And they dwelt in three parts, by tribes, and were beloved Of Zeus, who rules over both gods and men. And the son of Kronos poured down upon them wondrous wealth. -Iliad ii. 653-70 THE ILIAD, BOOK II 53 Compare the legend, in Pindar's Seventh Olympian Ode, of how Zeus brought unto them a yellow cloud and rained much gold upon them (Olympian vii. 49). THE HANDSOME NREUS And Nireus brought from Syme three well-balanced ships, Nireus, son of Aglaia and of King Charops, Nireus, who was the handsomest man that came beneath the walls of Troy, Among all the Greeks, next to the blameless son of Peleus; But he was a slight man, and not much people followed him. -Iliad ii. 671-75 ACHILLES AND THE MYRMIDONS And they who held Phthia and Hellas, land of beautiful women, And were called Myrmidons and Hellenes and Achaeans, Over whose fifty ships Achilles was captain. -Iliad ii. 683-85 PROTESILAOS AND LAODAMEIA And they who held Phylace and flowery Pyrasos, A sanctuary of Demeter, and Iton, mother of sheep, And Antron by the sea, and grassy Pteleos; Whom warlike Protesilaos did lead While he was alive; but at that time the black earth already covered him. And his wife was left at Phylace with her cheeks torn through grief, And his house half-finished; for a Dardan man slew him As he was leaping from his ship, the very foremost of the Achaeans. -Iliad ii. 695-702 The wife "left at Phylace" is the subject of Wordsworth's "Laodameia." PHILOCTETES ABANDONED UPON LEMNOS And they who inhabited Methone and Thaumacia, And who held Meliboea and rugged Olizon; Whom Philoctetes led, well-skilled with the bow, Seven ships; and fifty rowers on each had taken their place, Well-skilled to fight mightily with the bow. But he was lying upon an island, suffering grievous woes, In holy Lemnos, where the sons of the Achaeans left him, 54 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Sore troubled with the grievous wound of a deadly water-snake; There he lay suffering; but the Argives were destined Soon to be reminded again of Prince Philoctetes beside their ships. -Iliad ii. 716-25 Philoctetes is the subject of a tragedy by Sophocles. DODONA AND THE PENEIOS And Gouneus brought from Cyphos two and twenty ships; And him did the Enienes follow and Peraiboi steadfast in war, And they who made their homes round about wintry Dodona, And they who tilled fields about the lovely Titaresios; Which sends forth fair-flowing water into the Peneios, Nor does it mingle with the silver-eddying Peneios, But it flows down over it like olive oil; For it is a branch of the water of the dread Styx named in oaths. -Iliad ii. 748-55 As Leaf notes, the total number of ships mentioned in the "Catalogue" is 1,185; taking 75 as the average number of men on each (the largest crews being I20 and the smallest 50), the total force of the Greeks before Troy would be about I00,000 men. The poet next calls upon the Muse to tell which were the best horses and which the best men. THE BEST MEN AND HORSES Of men by far the best was Telamonian Ajax, As long as Achilles was enraged; for he was by far the best, And the horses also that bore the blameless son of Peleus; But Achilles lay among the curved, sea-traversing ships, Angry at Agamemnon, shepherd of the people; And his people beside the beach of the sea Were amusing themselves with the discus and throwing the spear And shooting with the bow; and the horses beside each man's chariot Stood plucking the clover and marsh-grown parsley. And the well-covered chariots stood in the tents of princes; And the men, longing for their Ares-loved leader, Were wandering this way and that throughout the army, Nor taking part in the fight. -Iliad ii. 768-79 THE ILIAD, BOOK II 55 THE ADVANCE OF THE ARMY And they came on as if all the ground were beset with fire; And the earth groaned beneath them, as it does beneath Zeus, In his rage, when he lashes the earth about Typhoeus, the hurler of the thunderbolt, In Arima where they say the resting place of Typhoeus is; So did the earth groan mightily beneath their feet As they advanced; and they passed by very quickly on the plain. -Iliad ii. 780-85 Here ends the "Catalogue of the Greeks." It is immediately followed by the "Catalogue of the Trojans" and their allies. THE MESSAGE OF IRIS TO PRIAM And unto the Trojans as messenger came swift, wind-footed Iris, With a grievous message from aegis-bearing Zeus; And they were holding an assembly at the gates of Priam, All close-thronged, both young men and old. And standing near, swift-footed Iris addressed Priam; But she made her voice like that of his son Polites, Who used to sit as watchman for the Trojans, trusting to his fleetness of foot, On the highest point of the mound of Aesyetes the ancient, Waiting for the time when the Achaeans should sally forth from their ships. And having made herself like to him, swift-footed Iris said to Priam: "Old man, ever are unending speeches dear to thee, As of old in time of peace, but unceasing war has arisen. Indeed, I have often entered the battles of men, But I have never yet seen so good and so great a host; For in truth as numerous as are the leaves or the sand dunes, Come they over the plain to fight about the city. Hector, thee especially do I charge to do thus: For there are many allies about the great city of Priam, One speaking one tongue and another another of widely scattered men; Let each give command to those over whom he rules, And lead them forth, when he has marshaled his countrymen." So spake she; and Hector did not ignore the command of the goddess, But quickly broke up the assembly, and they hastened to arms. A STUDY OF THE ILIAD And all the gates were opened and the people rushed forth, Both horsemen and footmen; and loud rose. the din of war. And there is before the city a steep hill, Far off on the plain, standing clear on this side and that, Which men call Batieia, but the immortals the tomb of far-springing Myrina; There were the Trojans and their allies arrayed. -Iliad ii. 786-8I 5 The Trojans themselves were led by "great Hector of the glancing plume," the Dardanians by Aeneas "the good son of Anchises, whom the divine Aphrodite bore to Anchises in the ravines of Ida, a goddess wedded unto a mortal" (ii. 819-2 I). CERTAIN COMMANDERS OF THE ALLIES And they who inhabited Zaleia beneath the nethermost foot of Ida, Wealthy men, drinking the black water of the Aesepus, Trojans, whom Pandarus, the glorious son of Lycaon commanded, Upon whom Apollo himself had conferred skill in archery. -Iliad ii. 824-28 Among others are mentioned "the two sons of Percosian Merops," Who excelled all men in the art of prophecy, Nor did he consent to have his sons go to man-destroying war; But they did not obey him; for the fates of black death Were leading them on. -Iliad ii. 831-34 And Nastes led the Carians of barbarous speech, Who held Miletus and Mount Phthiron, with its mass of foliage, And the flowings of the Maeander and the steep heights of Mycale. -Iliad ii. 867-69 And Sarpedon and the blameless Glaucus led the Lycians, Afar, from Lycia, from the eddying Xanthus. -Iliad ii. 876-end CHAPTER IV THE ILIAD, BOOKS III AND IV BOOK III Book i of the Iliad has set before us the general situation and brought out the characteristics of some of the principal heroes. Book ii has shown us the temper of the common soldiers and given us an enumeration of the forces on either side. What we should expect in Book iii is a description of the battle for which Agamemnon was mustering his forces, in full expectation of taking Troy that very day without the assistance of Achilles. But instead of a general battle we have a duel, which serves the double purpose of adding to the narrative the interest of the unexpected and, incidentally, of bringing out the one element which was lacking in the picture, that is, the situation of affairs and the leading personalities on the Trojan side. These include the gay, careless Paris; the noble, responsible Hector or the "upholder" of Troy, as the ancients interpreted his name; and the gentle, tender-hearted Priam, who is so courteous to Helen in spite of all the woe she has brought upon his city, and who cannot bear to see his son Paris in danger from Menelaus; above all the beautiful, remorseful Helen, admired yet hated, and still after ten years cherishing occasional longings for her former husband and companions, but really the more or less rebellious minion of Aphrodite, knowing the better things but following the worse. The third book is, as Leaf says, "one of the most brilliant and picturesque pieces of narrative in the Iliad." 57 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD THE ADVANCE OF BOTH ARMIES Now when they were marshaled on either side with their leaders, The Trojans came on with shouts and noise like that of birds, As the cry of cranes that move before the face of heaven, Who, when they flee from winter and boundless rain, Fly with screams toward the flowings of Ocean, Bringing death and fate to the Pygmy men, And early in the morning challenge them to evil strife. But the Achaeans came on in silence, breathing wrath, Eager at heart to defend one another. -Iliad iii. I-9 This opening passage of Book iii in particular seems to have attracted the attention of poets both ancient and modern. With the part about the sound of migrating cranes, compare Virgil Aeneid x. 264: Quales sub nubibus atris Strymoniae dant signa grues, atque aethera tranant Cum sonitu, fugiuntque notos clamore secundo. (As beneath the darks clouds Strymonian cranes utter their note, and sweep across the sky Noisily, and flee from the south wind with a clamor that follows them still.) The same image, possibly ultimately from the same source, is used by Dante in Inferno v. 46: E come i gru van cantando lor lai, Facendo in aer di se lunga riga; Cosi vid'io venir, traendo guai, Ombre portate dalla detta briga. This Longfellow translates: "And as the cranes go chanting forth their lays, Making in air a long line of themselves, So saw I coming, uttering lamentations, Shadows borne onward by the aforesaid stress." THE ILIAD, BOOK III 59 The part about the pygmies (literally "Fistlings," from stem pyg, the "fist") suggests the name of the modern Tom Thumb.' Juvenal, Satires, xiii. 167, again brings in the pygmies. Ad subitas Thracum volucres nubemque sonoram Pygmaeus parvis currit bellator in armis, Mox impar hosti raptusque per aera curvis Unguibus a saeva fertur grue. (Against the swift Thracian birds and their sounding cloud The Pygmy warrior runs in his tiny armor, Presently unequal to the enemy and borne away through the air In the curved talons of a cruel crane.) Compare also Paradise Lost, I, 573: For never, since created man, Met such embodied force, as named with these Could merit more than that small infantry Warred on by cranes..... The silent advance of the Greeks is paralleled by Milton, Paradise Lost, VI, 61: At which command the Powers militant That stood for Heaven, in mighty quadrate joined Of union irresistible, moved on In silence their bright legions. And with the closing lines in Homer, about "breathing valor," compare Paradise Lost, I, 549: Anon they move In perfect phalanx to the Dorian mood Of flutes and soft recorders-such as raised To highth of noblest temper heroes old 1 On the pygmies, actual and legendary, see Clark B. Firestone, The Coasts of Illusion (New York, 1924). 6o A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Arming to battle; and instead of rage Deliberate valor breath'd, firm, and unmoved With dread of death to flight or foul retreat. As both armies advance, a cloud of dust rises from beneath their feet like the thick mist which is poured down by the south wind and envelopes a flock of sheep on the mountain tops. But as the armies draw near to each other, Paris appears as champion before the Trojans and challenges the Greek heroes to single combat-a challenge which Menelaus quickly accepts, thinking now to get vengeance upon him. The Trojan Paris was also known by the Greek name "Alexander." HECTOR REBUKES PARIS Now when the godlike Alexander noticed that Menelaus had appeared among the champions, He was smitten at heart, and drew back into the throng of his companions, avoiding death. And as when a man, at the sight of a serpent in the ravines of the mountains Springs back and withdraws, and trembling seizes his knees, And he retreats and pallor overspreads his cheeks, So again into the throng of the impetuous Trojans Did the godlike Alexander enter, fearing Atreus' son. But Hector saw him, and upbraided him with reproachful words: "Hated Paris, excelling only in looks, woman-mad, seducer! Would that thou hadst never been born, or hadst perished unwed! Doubtless the long-haired Achaeans are laughing loudly, Saying that a nobleman is our champion merely because He is of beautiful appearance, but there is no strength in him or any valor; Can it be that such a weakling as thou Didst sail over the deep in sea-traversing ships, When thou hadst gathered a band of faithful companions, And didst mingle with men of a foreign race, And lead away a beautiful woman from a distant land, The sister-in-law of warriors, THE ILIAD, BOOK III To be a great curse to thy father and the city and all the people, A delight to our enemies and a casting-down-of-eyes to thee thyself? Couldst thou then not withstand Ares-loved Menelaus? Then shouldst thou have known the sort of man whose beautiful wife thou hast; Then would the cithara not have availed thee and those gifts of Aphrodite, That hair of thine and thy looks, when thou shouldst have mingled with the dust! But the Trojans are very timid, else hadst thou already Put on a tunic of stone, such crimes hast thou wrought!" — Iliad iii. 30-57 Paris compares the unwearied and unaffrighted heart of Hector to the undeviating course of an ax wielded by a hewer of ship timber, and defends himself: Upbraid me not because of the gifts of golden Aphrodite; Since the glorious gifts of the gods are not to be despised, Whatever they themselves do give; and of his own will may no man obtain them. -Iliad iii. 64-66 Admitting the justice of Hector's rebuke, Paris proposes that the others cease from hostilities and that he and Menelaus fight a duel, in sight of the two armies, for Helen and all her possessions. Hector seizes a spear in the middle and presses back the lines of the Trojans; Agamemnon shouts to the Greeks to stop aiming at Hector, who thereupon states the terms proposed by Paris. Menelaus accepts the challenge, and urges that the matter be confirmed by prayer and sacrifice, saying: Bring two lambs, one white, the other black, For earth and the sun, and we will bring another for Zeus. And bring the might of Priam, that he may conclude the oaths In person, since his sons are insolent and faithless. -Iliad iii. I03-6 62 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD The proposal is received with joy by both armies, who draw up their chariots in line, dismount, and put off their armor upon the ground, which is nearly all covered by it. Hector sends heralds back to Troy to fetch Priam and the victims for sacrifice, and Agamemnon sends a herald to the ships. The pause which is thus brought about in the action, while both sides are waiting for the return of their messengers, is filled by the episode called by the ancients the Teicho-skopia ("View from the Battlements") (I21-244). IRIS SUMMONS HELEN TO THE BATTLEMENTS And Iris came as a messenger to white-armed Helen, Taking on the form of her sister-in-law, Antenor's son's wife, Whom the son of Antenor, Lord Helicaon had, Laodice, most beautiful of the daughters of Priam. And she found Helen in the hall weaving a great web, A purple doublet; and embroidering upon it many conflicts Of the horse-taming Trojans and the brazen-clad Achaeans, Which for her sake they were enduring at the hands of Ares. And standing near, swift-footed Iris said to her: "Come hither, dear lady, that thou mayest behold the wondrous deeds Of the horse-taming Trojans and the brazen-clad Achaeans; They who before were bringing tearful warfare upon one another In the plain, being eager for destructive war, Are now seated in silence, and the war has ceased, As they lean on their shields and their long spears are planted beside them. But Alexander and Ares-loved Menelaus will fight for thee, And thou shalt be called the dear wife of the conqueror." -Iliad iii. I 121-38 Thereupon the goddess inspires in Helen a longing for her former husband and city and parents; and, wrapping herself up in her silver-white veil, she and her attendant women come to the Scaean gates. THE ILIAD, BOOK III 63 HELEN OF TROY And those about Priam and Panthous and Thymoites, Lampus and Clytius and Hicetaon, a scion of Ares, Ucalegon and Antenor, both wise, Sat as elders of the people over the Scaean Gates, Having ceased from war because of old age; But as good orators, like grasshoppers, which in the wildwood Sit upon a tree and send forth their delicate voice, So did the leaders of the Trojans sit upon the battlements, And when they saw Helen coming to the tower, Softly to one another spake they winged words: "It is no cause for blame that the Trojans and well-greaved Achaeans Suffer woe long time for such a woman; She is wondrously like the immortal gods in countenance; But even thus, though she be such an one, let her depart in the ships And not be left behind, a curse to us and our children after us." -Iliad iii. I46-60 This description of Helen, or rather of the impression which her beauty makes upon the very persons who would be least likely to be moved by it, is famous in literature. The editors quote Quintilian, Institutes of Oratory viii. 4, 21: Quaenam igitur illa forma credenda est? Non enim hoc dicit Paris, qui rapuit, non aliquis iuvenis aut unus e vulgo, sed senes et prudentissimi et Priamo adsidentes (How great then must that beauty be supposed to have been? For it was not Paris who said this, he who stole her away, nor any youth, nor one of the multitude, but wisest old men who held their seats beside Priam). Editors refer also to Lessing's Laocoon, chap. xxi: "Homer himself, who so persistently refrains from all descriptions of physical beauty that we barely learn from a passing mention that Helen had white arms and beautiful hair, even he manages, nevertheless, to give us an idea of her beauty which far surpasses anything that art could do. Recall the passage where Helen enters the assembly of the Trojan elders. The venerable men see her coming, and one says to the 64 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD others: 'It is no cause for blame,' etc. What can give a more vivid idea of her beauty than that cold-blooded age should deem it well worth the war which had cost so much blood and so many tears?" But the best single comment on this passage of Homer is made in the wonderful lines from Marlowe's Doctor Faustus (sc. I3, 11. 91-92) which would alone have signalized their author as a great poet: Was this the face that launch'd a thousand ships, And burnt the topless towers of Ilium? Compare also the lines of the Shakespeare play Troilus and Cressida (Act II, sc. 2) with reference to Helen of Troy: Is she worth keeping. Why, she is a pearle Whose price hath launch'd above a thousand ships. To these may be added the lines of Tennyson in "A Dream of Fair Women": She turning on my face The star-like sorrows of immortal eyes, Spoke slowly in her place. "I had great beauty; ask thou not my name: No one can be more wise than destiny. Many drew swords and died. Where'er I came I brought calamity." "No marvel, sovereign lady: in fair field Myself for such a face had boldly died," I answer'd free..... The gentleness of Priam is well illustrated in the words which he addresses to Helen a few lines farther on, as if to offset the hurt which she might feel from the concluding words of the aged councilors. PRIAM TO HELEN Come hither, dear child, and take thy seat beside me, That thou mayest behold thy former husband and kinsmen and friends; THE ILIAD, BOOK III Thou art not at all to blame in my sight; it is rather the gods who are to blame, Who have brought upon me the war of the Achaeans, the cause of many tears. -Iliad iii. i62-65 The remorsefulness so characteristic of Helen comes out clearly in her answer to Priam. THE REMORSE OF HELEN And Helen, divine one among women, answered him thus: "Revered art thou in my thought and venerated, dear father; Would that I had chosen evil death ere I followed thy son hither, Leaving my bridal chamber and friends and young daughter and lovely companions; But this was not to be; hence it is that I waste away with weeping." -Iliad iii. I7I-76 Thereupon Helen points out to Priam first Agamemnon, "both a good king and a mighty spearsman"; and next Odysseus, "who was brought up in the land of Ithaca, rocky as it is-one who knows all sorts of tricks and cunning wiles." At this point Antenor, one of the Trojan elders, interposes to tell how Odysseus had once come to Troy with Menelaus about Helen; and how Menelaus was a man of few words, but Odysseus, in spite of apparent awkwardness of appearance, "sent a great voice from his chest, and words like wintry snowflakes." Ajax and Idomeneus come in for brief mention, and then occurs the touching passage about Helen's brothers, Castor and Polydeuces, already quoted in Hawtrey's translation. With the poet's comment in regard to these two heroes ends the episode of the View from the Battlements:.... But them already the life-giving earth held fast There in Lacedaemon in their dear native land. -Iliad iii. 243-44 The story now reverts to the preparations for the duel. The heralds who had been sent by Hector deliver their mes 66 A STUDY OF THE ILLAD sage to Priam, and the words at the end of this passage give another indication of the tenderness of the old man. THE HERALDS TO PRIAM "Arise, son of Laomedon, the chieftains Of the horse-taming Trojans and the brazen-clad Achaeans Bid thee descend into the plain, that ye may conclude faithful oaths. But Alexander and Ares-loved Menelaus with their long spears will fight for the woman; And let her and her possessions go with the conqueror, And may the rest of us, having concluded friendship and faithful oaths, Dwell in fertile Troy; but let them return to horse-pastured Argos And to Achaea, land of beautiful women." So spake he, and the old man shuddered; But he bade his companions yoke the horses, and they quickly obeyed. -Iliad iii. 250-60 The prayer with which Agamemnon precedes the sacrifice is impressive. AGAMEMNON'S PRAYER BEFORE THE SACRIFICE Father Zeus, who rulest from Ida, most glorious, most great, And thou, Sun, who seest and hearest all things, And ye, Rivers and Earth, and ye who in the world below punish wearied men, (Whoever swears a false oath,) Be ye witnesses, and guard our faithful oaths.... — Iliad iii. 276-80 While the sacrifice is going on, the common people are pouring out wine and praying. THE PEOPLE'S IMPRECATORY PRAYER Zeus most glorious, most great, and ye other immortal gods, Whichever party first does injury contrary to the oaths, May their brains flow to the ground like this wine, The brains of both themselves and their children, And may their wives be the wives of others. — Iliad iii. 298-301 THE ILIAD, BOOK III 67 And as the ground is being measured off for the duel, "many a one both among Trojans and Achaeans was saying," Whoever caused these deeds among both, Grant that he may perish and sink down to the house of Hades, But for the rest of us may there be friendship and faithful oaths. — Iliad iii. 321-23 The climax of the duel itself is reached when, after an unsuccessful cast by Paris, Menelaus strikes the round shield of his opponent. THE END OF THE DUEL And right through the shining shield went the heavy spear, And through his cunningly-wrought breast-plate was it thrust, And right along beside his flank it clove his tunic; But he bent aside and avoided black death. And the son of Atreus, drawing his silver-studded sword, Raised it on high and smote the crest of his helmet; But round about it, shattered into three or four pieces, The sword fell from his hands; And with a groan the son of Atreus looked to broad heaven and cried, "Father Zeus, no other of the gods is so malignant as thou; Verily I said that I had got vengeance upon Alexander for his villainy; But now my sword is broken in my grasp, and my spear hath leaped from my hand in vain, Nor did I overcome him." He said, and springing upon him, seized his helmet with thick horse hair crest, And wheeling him about was dragging him among the well-greaved Achaeans, And the finely worked strap beneath his delicate throat was choking himThe fastener of his helmet beneath his chin. -Iliad iii. 357-72 Just at this crisis, exactly as Athena intervened in Book i, I93, to save Agamemnon from Achilles, and as Hera intervened in Book ii, I55, to prevent the untimely flight of the Greeks, and as Aphrodite is to intervene again in Book v to 68 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD rescue Aeneas from Diomed, there occurs now an intervention by the goddess Aphrodite. PARIS RESCUED BY APHRODITE And now Menelaus would have dragged him away and won imperishable glory, Had not Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus, quickly taken notice, And broken for him the strap of strong oxhide; And the empty helmet followed in his mighty hand. And the hero swung it about and hurled it among the well-greaved Achaeans, And his faithful companions took care of it; But Menelaus sprang after him again, eager to kill him with brazen spear; But Aphrodite snatched him away very easily, as a goddess can, And covered him with thick mist, and set him down in his fragrant, vaulted chamber. -Iliad iii. 373-82 There follow two scenes, the first between Helen and Aphrodite, the second between Helen and Paris, which bring out with that wonderful clearness characteristic of Greek mythology the struggle that was going on in the mind of Helen between her better nature, her self-respect and all that bound her to her former home, and the present and potent attraction which, in spite of all her rebellion against it, Aphrodite causes her to feel for Paris. Though disguised for bystanders, the goddess evidently retains her attributes for Helen's recognition. HELEN AND APHRODITE And Aphrodite went to summon Helen, And found her on the high tower with a throng of Trojan women about her, And plucking her by her fragrant robe she shook her; And taking on the appearance of a very old woman.... The goddess Aphrodite addressed her: "Come hither; Alexander calls thee to come home; THE ILIAD, BOOK III 69 And he, in his room and on his carved couch, is gleaming in fine raiment, And you would not say that he had just come from fighting with a man, But that he was going to the dance, Or had sat down, having just ceased from dancing." So spake she, and aroused in the breast of Helen resentment; Yet when she saw the beauteous throat and lovely bosom and sparkling eyes Of the goddess, she was filled with amazement And spake out and addressed her: "False goddess, why dost thou seek to deceive me in this? Wilt thou lead me somewhere farther on among the well-populated cities Of Phrygia or of lovely Maeonia, if anyone there too Is a friend to thee among mortal men? Because now Menelaus hath overcome the divine Alexander And wishes to lead me home, an object of hatred, Therefore hast thou come hither to deceive me? Go, sit beside him; refrain from the pathway of the gods, Nor ever with thy feet turn back to Olympus again; But always sigh over him and tend him, Till he shall make thee his wife, or even his slave; But thither I will not go-for it would be just cause of blameTo share his couch: and the Trojan women hereafter will all blame me; And even as it is, I have unnumbered griefs in my soul." And, moved with anger, the goddess Aphrodite addressed her: "Provoke me not, obstinate one, lest in my wrath I forsake thee, And devise grievous enmity between Trojans and Danaoi, And thou perish by an evil fate." So spake she; and Helen, daughter of Zeus, was seized with fear; And wrapping herself in her shining white veil, she went in silence, And eluded all the Trojan women, and the goddess led the way, -Iliad iii. 383-420 HELEN AND PARIS And when they came to the beautiful house of Alexander, The servants turned quickly to their tasks; But she entered into the high-roofed chamber, divine one among women. 70 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD And then laughter-loving Aphrodite, catching up a chair, Goddess though she was, brought it and set it down opposite Alexander. There Helen, daughter of aegis-bearing Zeus, took her seat, Averting her eyes, and upbraided her husband with words: "So then, thou hast come from war: would that thou hadst perished there Overcome by a mighty man, who was once my husband! Verily of old thou used to boast that thou wert Better than Ares-loved Menelaus in strength and skill and spearmanship; But go now; challenge Ares-loved Menelaus again to fight with thee; Yet I advise thee to desist, and not to wage war and fight with fairhaired Menelaus Senselessly, lest perchance thou be speedily subdued beneath his spear!" And Paris answered her with words, and said: "Wife, do not assail my heart with evil reproaches; For this time Menelaus won with the help of Athena; But him I will overcome another day; for there are gods on our side too!" -Iliad iii. 42I-40 At this point Helen again finds herself quite unequal to resisting the ardent protestations of love made by Paris. In both scenes the resistance of Helen is depicted. And in each instance her resistance is succeeded by an outburst of indignation or of scorn on her part; but in both instances Helen ends by yielding. Such conduct helps us to understand the remorse and self-accusation with which she habitually speaks of herself. We shall meet Helen again in Book vi and in Books x and xiv. Her character is consistently drawn throughout the Iliad, and is one of the most interesting in Homer. She appears again in the Odyssey, in the Greek lyric poets, frequently in tragedy, in Theocritus, and through all Roman literature. In the ancient writers Helen is sometimes praised for her beauty, sometimes blamed for her guilt. In medieval lit THE ILIAD, BOOK IV 71 erature and in Goethe's Faust she becomes an ideal of beauty. In modern times, again, both the beauty and the guilt of Helen are emphasized. But nowhere is her character treated with such sympathy and truth to nature as here in the third book of the Iliad. The final scene of Book iii is that of Menelaus ranging the battlefield in search of Paris, whom none of the Trojans would have concealed had they seen him, "for they all hated him like black death" (iii. 454). But the search is vain, whereupon Agamemnon claims the victory for the Greeks. BOOK IV The fourth book of the Iliad may be divided into four main divisions: (I) a council of the gods on Olympus (I72) and, consequent upon this (2) the treacherous wounding of Menelaus by Pandarus (73-2 I9), which constitutes a breach of the truce of Book iii and is followed by (3) a review of the Greek forces by Agamemnon (220-421), and (4) the beginning of a general battle (422-end). A few passages notable for literary merit are here given. THE COUNCIL OF THE GODS ON OLYMPUS Now the gods, seated beside Zeus, were holding an assembly upon his golden pavement; And in their midst revered Hebe was pouring nectar, And they were pledging one another in golden goblets, And were gazing upon the city of the Trojans. -Iliad iv. I-4 With the phrase "upon his golden pavement" compare Milton, Paradise Lost, I, 678. Mammon led them on, Mammon, the least erected spirit that fell From Heaven; for even in Heaven his looks and thoughts Were always downward bent, admiring more 72 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD The riches of Heaven's pavement, trodden gold, Than aught divine or holy else enjoyed In vision beatific. ZEUS AND HERA DISPUTE ABOUT TROY And, greatly incensed, cloud-collecting Zeus answered her: "Vixen! What evil have Priam and the sons of Priam Done to thee so great that thou yearnest ever To lay waste the well-founded city of Troy? Verily, if thou couldst enter their gates and lofty walls And devour Priam and the sons of Priam and the rest of the Trojans raw, Then and only then couldst thou cure thy wrath." Then large-eyed, queenly Hera answered him: "Three cities are most dear to me, Argos and Sparta and broad-streeted Mycenae; Destroy them, if ever they become hateful to thy heart; I will not stand before them nor begrudge them to thee. And so I too must not leave my task unfulfilled; For I, as well as thou, am divine, and my birth is from the same source as thine, And crooked-counseling Kronos begat me his eldest daughter, Thy equal both in birth and because I am thy wife, And thou art called king over all the immortals. But now let us yield to each other in this, I to thee and thou to me, and the other gods will follow. Quickly bid Athena go to the dread fray of the Trojans and the Achaeans And bring it about that the Trojans shall first do harm, Contrary to the treaty, to the far-famed Achaeans." — liad iv. 30-36, 50-67 ATHENA DESCENDS LIKE A FALLING STAR With these words he roused Athena, eager as she was even before; And she came leaping down from the heights of Olympus, Like a star which the son of crooked-counseling Kronos Sends as a portent to sailors, or to a wide-spread host of men THE ILIAD, BOOK IV 73 A bright star from which many sparks do fly. In such guise darted Pallas Athena upon the earth, And leaped down into their midst, and wonder came upon all who saw her, Both horse-taming Trojans and well-greaved Achaeans. And thus many a man did speak, looking at his next neighbor: "Surely once more evil war and dread conflict is coming, Or it may be that Zeus is bringing reconciliation to both armies, Zeus, who is the dispenser of war for mankind." -Iliad iv. 73-84 ATHENA TURNS ASIDE THE ARROW OF PANDARUS Nor, O Menelaus, were the blessed gods forgetful of thee, The immortals, and first the daughter of Zeus, that gathers booty, Who stood before thee and warded off the bitter arrow. And she merely brushed it aside from thee, As when a mother scares a fly away from her sweetly sleeping child. -Iliad iv. 127-3I IVORY STAINED WITH PURPLE And as when a woman stains ivory with purpleA Maeonian or Carian woman-to be a cheek-plate for horses; And it lies in her chamber, and many horsemen desire it for their own, But it lies there as an offering for the king, Both an ornament for a horse and a glory for his driverSo, Menelaus, were thy shapely thighs and legs And fair ankles below stained with blood. -Iliad iv. I4I-47 THE SHEPHERD AND THE APPROACHING STORM So spake he (Idomeneus); and the son of Atreus passed on glad at heart. And as he went throughout the throng of men, he came to the Ajaxes; And they were both arming, and with them followed a cloud of footmen. And as when from his crag a goatherd sees a cloud Hurtling along the deep, driven by the force of the west wind, And even though he be far away, it appears blacker to him than pitch, As it comes along the deep and brings a great gust of wind with it, 74 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD And he shudders at the sight of it, and drives his flock under cover of a cave, So thickly moved the black phalanxes of strong Zeus-nourished men, Bristling with shield and spear, following the Ajaxes to wasting war. -Iliad iv. 272-82 With the phrase "a cloud of footmen" compare Virgil's imitation in Aeneid vii. 793: Insequitur nimbus peditum (there follows a cloud of footmen); compare Herodotus viii. o09 where Themistocles is speaking of the defeat of the Persians under Xerxes, "repelled so great a cloud of men"; compare also Hebrews I2:1, "compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses." No MAN'S LAND (Agamemnon chiding Diomed) Ah me, thou son of Tydeus, that fiery-hearted tamer of horses, Why dost thou cower thus and gaze upon the bridges of war? It was not the wont of Tydeus to stand aloof, But far in front of his dear companions did he fight with the foe. -Iliad iv. 370-73 The striking phrase "bridges of war," used several times in the Iliad, is thought to refer to the narrow strip of open space between two hostile armies. Milton, Paradise Lost, VI, 236, has "the ridges of grim war." THE SURGES OF THE SEA And as when, upon a loud-echoing coast, a wave of the sea Arises ever more quickly beneath the impulse of the west wind, And at first the wave rises to its crest in the sea, And then breaks with a loud roar upon the mainland, And as it goes curving about the headlands, rises to its height and spits forth the sea-foam, So the phalanxes of the Danaoi were moving, in ever quicker succession, steadily battleward. -Iliad iv. 422-28 THE ILIAD, BOOK IV 75 THE SILENT GREEKS AND NOISY TROJANS And each of the leaders commanded his own men, while the rest advanced in silence; Nor would you believe that so great a host, all with voices in their chests, XWere following silently, fearing their commanders; and about all Gleamed the armor which they wore as they advanced. But as for the Trojans, as countless sheep stand in a rich man's farmyard, Yielding up their white milk and bleating unceasingly As they listen to the bleating of their lambs, So the shouting of the Trojans arose throughout the broad army; For the sound of all was not the same, nor their voice the same; But tongue mingled with tongue, and there were men summoned from many lands. -Iliad iv. 428-38 Compare the similar contrast between Greeks and Trojans in Iliad iii. I-9. UNSEEN POWERS AMONG THE HOST Ares roused these, gleaming-eyed Athena those, And Terror and Fright, and Emulation ever eager, The sister and companion of man-slaying Ares, Who, small at first, raises herself and plants her head In heaven, and strides upon the earth. -Iliad iv. 439-43 Imitated from this is Virgil's description of Fama in Aeneid iv. I76-77: Parva metu primo, mox sese attollit in auras Ingrediturque solo et caput inter nubila condit. (Small at first through fear, presently she raises herself to the winds And stalks over the earth and hides her head among the clouds.) The Homeric passage recalls also Milton's description of Satan as he confronts the archangel Gabriel in Paradise Lost, IV, 985: On the other side Satan, alarmed, Collecting all his might, dilated stood, 76 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Like Teneriff or Atlas, unremoved: His stature reached the sky, and on his crest Sat Horror plumed.... BEGINNING OF THE GENERAL BATTLE Now when they were conjoined in one place, They dashed together their leathern shields; And spears and the wrath of men did meet, And studded shields dashed against one another, And loud rose the clash of arms. Then at the same moment rose the shouts and prayers of men, The slayers and the slain, and the earth flowed with blood. -Iliad iv. 446-5I A picture like this occurs in Scott's Rokeby, Canto V, 3 1: Then echoed wildly from within Of shout and scream the mingled din, And weapon-clash, and maddening cry Of those who kill and those who die. THE FAR ROAR OF A MOUNTAIN TORRENT And as when wintry torrents, flowing from copious springs down the mountains Join their mighty waters at the confluence of valleys within a hollow ravine, And the shepherd on the mountains hears their far roar, So sounded the shouts and the struggle of those as they joined battle. — Iliad iv. 452-56 CHAPTER V THE ILIAD, BOOKS V AND VI BOOK V The fifth book of the Iliad bears the Greek title, Diomedous Aristeia ("The Exploits of Diomed"). The phrase occurs in Herodotus ii. II6, where the historian quotes under this title a passage which is found in Book vi of the Iliad as we now have it divided; and doubtless the episode of the Exploits of Diomed originally extended as far as vi. 3II. This is the first of several examples of aristeiai or "exploits of individual heroes" in the Iliad. (Others are the Exploits of Agamemnon in Book xi, the Exploits of Hector in Book xv. 220 -746, and the Exploits of Menelaus in Book xvii). Diomed, son of Tydeus and king of Argos (Iliad ii. 567), is one of the most attractive characters of the Iliad. He is, at least after the withdrawal of Achilles, the youngest among the heroes (as he himself says in xiv. I 12). And nothing is more becoming to youth than modesty-a quality which Diomed possesses in an eminent degree. In iv. 40I-2, Agamemnon has just been finding fault with Diomed, saying that his father, Tydeus, begat a son "far inferior to himself in battle,'though better in council." So spake he; but the mighty Diomed answered him not a word, Having regard to the rebuke of his revered king. -Iliad iv. 40I-2 And when his companion Sthenelus answers Agamemnon back, Diomed sternly rebukes him. The trait of modesty appears again in the way in which Diomed waits for his elders to 77 78 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD speak in council (vii. 399, and ix. 696). His generous, openhearted character is shown when he greets Glaucus, an old "guest-friend" of his father's (vi. 2I5). But above all he is undaunted in courage, even when his elders are ready to give up the fight and go home (ix. 48, xiv. I28). Another attractive feature of Book v is found in the mythological scenes which it contains. Here the Greek divinities "move in song" with a vividness unsurpassed in any other part of the whole poem. The events described in Book v are thought of as occurring during the course of the general battle which began at iv. 446. The opening lines at once fix our attention upon the leading hero, Diomed. DIOMED Then Pallas Athena imparted courage and strength to Tydides Diomed. That he might be pre-eminent among all the Argives and win great glory. And she enkindled never-wearying fire on his helmet and shield, Like the autumnal star, which shines brightest when bathed in Ocean; Such fire did she kindle on his head and shoulders, And impelled him into the midst, where the throng was thickest. -Iliad v. i-8 Compare Tennyson, The Princess, V, 252: And as the fiery Sirius alters hue, And bickers into red and emerald, shone Their morions, washed with morning, as they came. Diomed at once slays Phegeus and inspires such terror in his brother Idaeus that he withdraws from the combat. ATHENA AND ARES And the great-hearted Trojans, when they saw the two sons of Dares, The one giving back and the other slain beside his chariot, Were all disturbed in spirit; but gleaming-eyed Athena Seized furious Ares by the hand and said to him: "Ares, Ares, thou curse of mortals, stained as thou art with blood, Thou stormer of cities, shall we not allow the Trojans and the Achaeans THE ILIAD, BOOK V 79 To fight it out, to whichsoever Zeus shall grant the glory of victory? But let us withdraw and avoid the displeasure of Zeus." Thus speaking, she led the furious Ares off the field, And seated him beside the grassy Scamander. And the Danaoi pressed back the Trojans. -Iliad v. 29-37 With this scene, compare Tintoretto's picture of "Minerva Keeping Mars away from Peace and Plenty," in the Doges' Palace, Venice. Even a goddess cannot always save the mortal that she loves, as appears at the death of a favorite of Artemis. THE DEATH OF SCAMANDRIUS And Atrides Menelaus slew with his spear Scamandrius, son of Strophius, Skilled in the chase, an excellent huntsman; for Artemis herself Had taught him how to smite all wild creatures that the forests rear Upon the mountains; but Artemis, the pourer-forth of arrows, Could not help him then, nor his skill with the bow, in which formerly he excelled; But Atreus' son, spear-renowned Menelaus, wounded him in the back with his spear, As he was fleeing before him, and he fell prone, and his armor rattled upon him. -Iliad v. 49-58 So in the scene at the close of Euripides' Hippolytus the same goddess, Artemis, leaves her sorely wounded favorite, Hippolytus, without being able to help him: Farewell! I may not watch man's fleeting breath, Nor stain mine eyes with the effluence of death, And sure that Terror now is very near. -Hippolytus, 1437 (GILBERT MURRAY'S trans.) As the b.)ttle proceeds, Diomed sweeps all before him like a torrent. THE FIGHTING DIOMED Thus they were toiling in the mighty combat; And you could not have known the son of Tydeus, 80 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD On which side he was, whether among the Trojans or the Achaeans; For he rushed along the plain like a wintry torrent at flood, Which, in its swift flow, sweeps away the bridges, And neither the bridges have power to restrain it, Nor the walls of flourishing vineyards, as it comes suddenly upon them, When the rain from Zeus descends heavily, and many fair labors of husbandmen fall before it; So were the thick phalanxes of the Trojans driven in fright Before the son of Tydeus, nor did they wait for him, though they were many. -Iliad v. 84-94 The Trojan Pandarus slightly wounds Diomed with an arrow, and in ill-timed exultation cries out: Arise, great-hearted Trojans, spurrers of horses, The bravest of the Achaeans is smitten! -Iliad v. I02-3 But Diomed's charioteer, Sthenelus, draws out the arrow, and the hero prays to his constant friend Athena. ATHENA ENCOURAGES DIOMED "Hear me, child of aegis-bearing Zeus, thou unwearied one! If ever with kindly purpose thou didst stand beside my father In hostile warfare, now help me, Athena, and grant that I may overtake This man, and may he come within the thrust of my spearThe man who smote me first, and who is now exulting over me, Who thinks that I shall not long behold the light of the sun." So spake he praying, and Pallas Athena heard him, And she made his limbs nimble, both his hands and his feet; And standing near she addressed him winged words: "Be of courage now, O Diomed, and fight against the Trojans; For I have put in thy breast the fearless courage of thy father, Such as once the shield-swaying knight Tydeus possessed. And lo, I have removed the mist from thine eyes, which till now was upon them, That thou mayest clearly distinguish between god and man. Now therefore, if any god come hither to try the combat with thee, THE ILIADD, BOOK V 81 Do not thou fight against the immortal gods, Against any of the others; but if Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus, Enter the field of battle, wound her with thy keen bronze. -Iliad v. II 5-32 Thus encouraged, Diomed re-enters the combat, slays warrior after warrior, and is driving the Trojans like cattle before him when Aeneas (the same who afterwards becomes the hero of Virgil's epic) stirs up the archer Pandarus to resist the Greek. Pandarus, where now are thy bow and winged arrows, And that glory in which no man here may vie with thee? -Iliad v. I71-72 Pandarus, who has descried the horses and helmet and shield of their opponent, answers in distress. THE INVINCIBLE DIOMED And I know not clearly whether he be god Or man, of whom I speak-the fiery-hearted son of Tydeus; Surely, 'tis not without the help of a god he fights thus madly, But one of the immortals stands beside him with shoulders wrapped in clouds, Who turned away from him my swift-flying arrow. For just now I discharged my bolt at him, and smote him in the right shoulder, Through his plated cuirass, and thought I had sent him before his time to Aidoneus; Nevertheless I did not overcome him; surely some god is angry with me! -Iliad v. I83-9I THE CHAGRIN OF PANDARUS But if I return and behold again with mine eyes My native land and wife and great, high-roofed hall, May some wretched foreigner forthwith strike off my head, If I do not take this bow in my hands and break it in pieces And burn it in the bright fire; for in vain did I bring it with me! -Iliad v. 212-16 82 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Aeneas consoles Pandarus, telling him that better fortune will be his next time and suggesting that the two drive together in the chariot of Aeneas against Diomed. Aeneas offers either to act as charioteer or to fight with Diomed; and Pandarus thinks it wiser to leave the driving to Aeneas, fearing lest the horses become frightened and run wild "longing for their master's voice" (234). Sthenelus, charioteer of Diomed, seeing two such heroes bearing down upon them, counsels retirement. But Diomed, true to his nature, rebukes Sthenelus for even speaking of flight and directs him to try to capture the horses of Aeneas, if the battle turns out favorably. THE HORSES OF AENEAS For they are of the breed which broad-browed Zeus gave to Tros, As recompense for his son Ganymede; and they are the best horses Of all that are beneath the morning and the sun. -Iliad v. 265-67 Soon the two pairs come together and fight. Pandarus, thinking that he has wounded Diomed, exults over the victory and is then slain by the uninjured Diomed. Aeneas jumps down from his chariot to guard the body of his comrade, but is himself wounded in the hip by a huge stone hurled by Diomed-"a great exploit, such a stone as two men could not carry of those that are now on earth" (303). The hip joint of Aeneas is broken by this mighty blow. APHRODITE RESCUES AENEAS The hero remained there, sunk upon his knee, and propped himself with heavy hand upon the earth, And dark night overshadowed his eyes. Then had Aeneas, king of men, perished, Had not Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus, quickly taken noticeHis mother, who bore him to the neatherd AnchisesAnd about her dear son she spread her white arms, THE ILIAD, BOOK V 83 And covered him with a fold of her shining robe, To be a defense against missiles, lest any of the swift-steeded Danaoi Strike him upon the chest and take away his life. — Iliad v. 308-I 7 So Aphrodite "bore her dear son away from battle" (3i8); and in the meantime Sthenelus, mindful of the command of Diomed, tied his own horses by the reins to the rim of his chariot and went and captured the deserted horses of Aeneas. The title "Cypris" is given to the goddess because of her being much worshiped upon the Isle of Cyprus. CYPRIS WOUNDED BY DIOMED But Diomed pressed upon Cypris with his pitiless bronze, Knowing that the goddess was without valor, nor one of those Who rule the warfare of men, neither Athena nor city-sacking Enyo. But when he overtook her as he followed her through the great throng, Reaching forward, the son of great-hearted Tydeus Sprang after her with his sharp spear, and wounded lightly her delicate hand; And at once the spear pierced her skin, through the ambrosial robe (Which the Graces themselves had woven for her), just above the base of the palm. And the immortal blood of the divinity began to flow, Ichor, such as flows from the immortal gods; For they eat not wheat, nor drink the ruddy wine, Hence are they called bloodless and immortal. -Iliad v. 330-42 Compare Paradise Lost, VI, 331-33, where Satan has just been wounded by the archangel Michael: And from the gash A stream of nectarous humour issuing flow'd Sanguine, such as celestial spirits may bleed. But Aphrodite is no heroine upon the battlefield. Straightway she abandons her son, Aeneas. 84 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD DIOMED'S CHALLENGE TO APHRODITE And with a loud cry she cast her son from her, And Phoebus Apollo rescued him in his arms By means of a dark cloud, lest any of the swift-steeded Danaoi Should plant the bronze in his breast and take away his life. And Diomed, good at the battle cry, shouted aloud to her: "Withdraw, daughter of Zeus, from war and conflict; Is it not enough that thou deceivest helpless womankind? But if thou enterest the combat, I think that thou Wilt shudder at war, even when thou hearest of it from another." — Iliad v. 343-5 Aphrodite, thereupon, borrows the chariot of Ares and flies to her mother Dione, who comforts her. THE FLIGHT OF APHRODITE And she departed wild with pain; and terrible was her suffering. Then wind-footed Iris, taking her by the hand, led her forth from the throng, Burdened with pain, her fair skin discolored with blood; And she found furious Ares seated on the left of the battle, And his spear was leaning against a cloud, while his swift horses were near it. And falling upon her knees she besought her dear brother Earnestly for his gold-filleted horses: "Dear brother, have regard for me, and give me thy horses, That I may come to Olympus, where is the seat of the gods; For I am sore grieved by a wound, which was inflicted by a mortal, The son of Tydeus, who is even at the point of fighting against Father Zeus!" So spake she; and Ares gave her the gold-filleted horses; And she mounted the chariot, grieved at heart, And beside her mounted Iris, and took the reins in her hands, And lashed the horses to a run, and they flew not unwillingly, And soon came to the seat of the gods, to steep Olympus. Then swift, wind-footed Iris stayed the horses, And loosed them from the chariot, and cast before them ambrosial food; But the goddess Aphrodite fell upon the knees of Dione, THE ILIAD, BOOK V 85 Her mother, who received her daughter in her arms, And caressed her with her hand, and spoke a word and addressed her: "Which of the celestials, dear child, hath treated thee thus, Wantonly and openly, as if thou wert doing any wrong?" Then laughter-loving Aphrodite answered her: "It was the son of Tydeus, high-spirited Diomed, that wounded me, Because I was bearing my dear son from the combat, Aeneas, who is by far the dearest to me of all. For no longer is the dread conflict between Trojans and Achaeans only. But now the Danaoi are fighting even against the immortal gods!" -Iliad v. 352-80 Thereupon Dione, to comfort her daughter, recounts various instances of the wounding of the gods by mortals: how Ares was overcome by the giants Otos and Ephialtes and confined in a brazen jar for thirteen months till he was released by Hermes; how Hera was wounded by an arrow in the right breast by Hercules; how huge Hades was smitten with an arrow by the same Hercules "at Pylos, among the dead, and given over to suffering, till he went to lofty Olympus, and Paian cured him by sprinkling pain-killing drugs upon his wound, for he was not made subject to death." Dione predicts an evil fate for Diomed. DIONE'S PREDICTION "Rash and violent man, who recks not if he do nefarious deeds, Who hath wrought harm with his bow even to the gods, who hold Olympus! But it was a goddess, gleaming-eyed Athena, who set this fellow upon thee, Fool that he is; nor does the son of Tydeus know this in his heart, That not long-lived is he who contends against the immortal gods, Nor do any children call 'Papa' about his knees, As he returns from war and dread combat. Therefore let the son of Tydeus, even if he be very strong, Now take care lest one mightier than thou fight against him, Lest forsooth the prudent Aigialeia, daughter of Adrastus, 86 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Rouse her servants from sleep with her lamentations As she longs for the husband of her youth, the bravest of the Achaeans, She, the goodly wife of horse-taming Diomed." She said; and with both hands wiped the ichor from her daughter's wrist; The wrist was healed, and the grievous pains were lessened. — Iliad v. 403-I 7 At this point Hera and Athena ridicule Aphrodite, saying that she has scratched her wrist upon a buckle while trying to persuade one of the fair-robed Achaean women to run away with a Trojan. But Zeus, although he smiles at their jest, calls Aphrodite to him and says: Not to thee, dear child, have been assigned the deeds of war, But do thou devote thyself to the lovely tasks of marriage, And all these matters shall be the concern of swift Ares and Athena. — Iliad v. 428-30 Meantime the wounded Aeneas is withdrawing from the field under the protecting hands of Apollo; but Diomed "revered not even the great god" in his eagerness to slay Aeneas and strip him of his armor. DIOMED WARNED BY APOLLO Thrice then he sprang upon him, eager to slay, And thrice Apollo smote his shining shield. But when for the fourth time he rushed upon him like a god, With a terrible cry the Far-Worker, Apollo, addressed him: "Have a care, son of Tydeus, and withdraw and do not aspire To equal the gods; since never shall these two be alike, The race of the immortal gods and the tribes of men that go upon the earth." So spake he; and the son of Tydeus gave back a little, Shunning the wrath of the Far-Darter, Apollo. -Iliad v. 436-44 Apollo then sets Aeneas down in his great temple on the height of sacred Pergamos, where Leto and Artemis heal his THE ILIAD, BOOK V 87 wound and restore him to his former glory. Meanwhile Apollo makes a phantom resembling Aeneas, around which Greeks and Trojans fight. The god himself goes to rouse Ares, who in his turn urges the Trojans to rescue their good comrade Aeneas from the surge of battle. Then Sarpedon, who dwells far off in Lycia "upon the eddying Xanthus," upbraids Hector for carelessness and warns him and the Trojans of their danger. SARPEDON WARNS HECTOR Lest, perchance, caught as in the meshes of an all-surrounding net, Ye become the spoil and prey of hostile men, Who perhaps will sack your well-founded city. All this should be thy care both night and day. -Iliad v. 487-90 The reproach of Sarpedon stings Hector to the heart, and he at once rallies the Trojans. SIMILE OF THE THRESHING-FLOOR And they wheeled about and faced the Achaeans, But the Argives remained close-thronged, and were not afraid. And as the wind bears the chaff along the sacred threshing-floors, While men winnow wheat, and yellow Demeter With rising winds separates the chaff from the wheat, And the piles of chaff grow white beneath the breeze, So then the Achaeans became white beneath the cloud of dust. -Iliad v. 497-503 AENEAS RETURNS TO THE FIELD Then Apollo himself brought Aeneas from his rich shrine, And inspired courage in the breast of the shepherd of the people. And Aeneas stood again among his comrades; and they rejoiced When they saw him coming to them alive and safe, And possessed of good courage; but they asked him not a word; For neither did that other toil permit it, which the Silver-Bowed Had roused, and Ares the destroyer of men, and Strife ever eager. — Iliad v. 512-I8 88 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD The rally of the Trojans is answered by a rally of the Greeks under the leadership of the two Ajaxes and Odysseus and Diomed. SIMILE OF THE CLOUDS And they feared neither the strength of the Trojans nor their onsets, But held their ground, like clouds which the son of Kronos On a windless day causes to stand immovable upon the mountain tops, While the might of Boreas sleeps, and that of other hard-blowing winds Which, blowing with clear blasts, scatter the shadowy clouds; So the Danaoi awaited the Trojans firmly, and turned not to flight. -Iliad v. 520-27 Here follows one of those battle scenes so common in Homer, with the names given of heroes wounded or slain on either side. Among these is a certain Trojan, Pylaimenes, whose death is mentioned in 576-79. It is interesting to find the same Pylaimenes alive and weeping at the bier of his slain son in Iliad xiii. 658. Quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus ("sometimes good Homer nods"), says Horace. One is reminded of the way in which Sancho Panza's mule, which had been killed in the first part of Don Quixote, is brought to life again in the second part. The author admits the inconsistency but says that he could not get along without the mule. Next the Greek Antilochus slays the charioteer of Pylaimenes and drives his horses away to the ships. This rouses Hector to lead a fresh charge of the Trojans under the guidance of Ares. And Ares was plying in his hands a mighty spear, And was moving sometimes before Hector and sometimes behind him. -Iliad v. 594-95 At sight of Hector and his dread companion Diomed shudders. DIOMED'S IRRESOLUTION And as when a man who is passing over a great plain Stands irresolute beside the bank of a swift-flowing river THE ILIAD, BOOK V 89 As it rushes seaward, noting how it seethes with foam, And starts away, so then the son of Tydeus drew back. -Iliad v. 597-600 The episode of the slaying of Tlepolemus by Sarpedon (627-98) contains an allusion to the earlier expedition against Troy by Hercules, father of Tlepolemus, Who once came hither to recover the horses from Laomedon, With only six ships and few men, And sacked the city of Ilios and made its streets desolate. -Iliad v. 640-42 Tlepolemos is killed; and Sarpedon, sorely wounded, is borne off the field by his friends. The battle continues, the Greeks resisting obstinately, but with the advantage on the side of their enemies. Another catalogue of names begins thus: Then whom first, whom last, did Hector, son of Priam, And brazen Ares strip of their armor? — Iliad v. 703-4 The first of this passage, which occurs also in xi. 299, and xvi. 692, is closely imitated by Milton at the beginning of his catalogue of fallen angels: Say, Muse, their names then known who first, who last Roused from the slumber on that fiery couch.... -Paradise Lost, I, 376-77 We come now to the third and final part of Book v, the brilliant episode in which Hera and Athena rush to the aid of the Greeks and in which Diomed, aided by Athena, wounds Ares. HERA AND ATHENA RUSH TO THE BATTLE Now when the goddess, white-armed Hera, Saw the Argives perishing in that stern combat, Straightway she addressed Athena with winged words: "Alas, child of aegis-bearing Zeus, thou Unwearied One, Vain is the promise that we made to Menelaus 90 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD That he should not return home till he had sacked well-walled Troy, If we are to allow destructive Ares thus to play the madman. But come, let us too bethink ourselves of impetuous valor!" So spake she, nor did the goddess, gleaming-eyed Athena, disobey. Now did she go and harness the gold-filleted horses, Hera, revered goddess, daughter of great Kronos; And Hebe swiftly set the curved wheels to the chariot, Brazen wheels, eight-spoked, about the axle of iron, About which ran a golden felloe imperishable, And over this tires of bronze were fitted, a wonder to behold; And the hubs were of silver, revolving on both sides. And the body of the chariot was strung within with gold and silver straps, And two rims ran about it, and the pole was of silver; And at its end she bound a beautiful, golden yoke, And fastened thereto breast collars all of gold; And Hera, eager for strife and the battle-cry, brought the swift-footed horses beneath the yoke. But Athena, daughter of aegis-bearing Zeus, Let fall her pliant peplos upon her father's floor, An embroidered robe, which she herself had made and toiled over with her hands; And she put on the tunic of Zeus, the Cloud-Gatherer, And began to array herself with weapons for tearful war. And about her shoulders she cast her aegis fringed with tassels, Terrible, around which on all sides was set fear like a circlet; And on it was strife, and on it was valor, and on it was bloody onset; And on it was the head of the Gorgon, A monster dread and terrible, a portent of aegis-bearing Zeus. And on her head she placed a two-horned, dog-skin helmet, four plated, Large enough to fit the footmen of a hundred cities. And she set foot in the resplendent chariot, and grasped her spear, Heavy, great, and firm, with which she overcomes the ranks of heroes, Those with whom the Daughter of a Mighty Father is wroth. And Hera with a whip quickly urged on the horses; And, self-moved, resounded the gates of heaven, which the Seasons guard, To whom has been entrusted great heaven and Olympus, Both to bend back the thick cloud and to replace it. THE ILIAD, BOOK V 91 There then, straight through them, they directed their goaded horses, And they found the son of Kronos sitting apart from the other gods On the highest peak of many-ridged Olympus; There the goddess, white-armed Hera, stayed her horses, And inquired of Zeus most high, the son of Kronos, and addressed him: "Father Zeus, art thou not indignant at Ares for these deeds of violence, So great and so good a host of the Achaeans he hath destroyed Wantonly, unfittingly, and to me lasting pain! While, unopposed, Cypris and silver-bowed Apollo rejoice Now that they have let loose this madman, who knows not any law or justice. Father Zeus, wilt thou be angry with me if I Smite Ares grievously and drive him from the field of battle?" And cloud-gathering Zeus answered her and said: "Quick now! set Athena the Giver of Booty upon him, She who oftenest forces him near to bitter pains." So spake he; nor did the goddess disobey, white-armed Hera, But lashed the horses, and they not unwillingly flew Betwixt earth and starry heaven. As far as a man can see with his eyes into the misty distance, As he sits on a cliff looking over the wine-faced deep, So far leap the high-necked horses of the gods. But when now they came to Troy and her flowing rivers, Where the Simois and the Scamander join their streams, There the goddess stayed her horses, white-armed Hera, And loosed them from the chariot, and poured thick mist about them; And the Simois caused ambrosia to spring up for them to feed upon. And the two goddesses went their way with footsteps as light as those of trembling pigeons, Eager to make defense for Argive men. -Iliad v. 7 I I-79 With regard to the first part of the foregoing passage it should be noted that the Homeric chariot was of very light construction and that when not in use it was taken apart and its body stored away separately. Here also is another instance of Homer's lively interest in material things, as well as in persons and actions. In this he is like Sir Walter Scott, whom 92 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Andrew Lang calls "the most Homeric of modern men." The episode as a whole offers a fine illustration of those fundamental qualities of Homer's style which were long since pointed out by Matthew Arnold: "Homer is rapid in his movement, Homer is plain in his words and style, Homer is simple in his ideas, Homer is noble in his manner." Arrived among the Greeks, who are thronging about Diomed, Hera takes on the form of Stentor, "who could shout as loud as fifty others," and upbraids the men for cowardice. They rally; and Athena goes to stir up Diomed, who is standing beside his chariot, holding up the strap of his baldric and cooling himself and wiping the blood from the wound which Pandarus had inflicted upon him with his arrow (v. 98). When Diomed protests that she has not permitted him to fight against any of the gods except Aphrodite, Athena gives new commands. ATHENA'S COMMAND TO DIOMED Tydides Diomed, dearest to my heart, Fear neither Ares nor any other of the immortals, Such a helper am I to thee. But come! first direct thy horses of the uncloven hoof' against Ares; This madman, an utter curse, leaning first to one side and now to the other, Who not long since promised both me and Hera That he would fight against the Trojans and help the Argives, But now stands on the Trojan side, and has forgotten his promise. -Iliad v. 826-34 There follows another passage well illustrating the vigor and rapidity of action characteristic of Homer. ATHENA WOUNDS ARES Thus speaking she thrust Sthenelus from the chariot to the ground, Dragging him back with her hand, and he quickly leaped aside. 'The epithet monychos may be translated "uncloven" or "singlehoofed." THE ILIAD, BOOK V 93 And she stepped into the chariot beside the hero Diomed, A goddess full of eagerness; and the beechen axle groaned mightily At her weight; for it bore a dread goddess and a great chieftain. And Pallas Athena grasped the whip and reins; Straightway against Ares first she directed the horses of the uncloven hoof. He now was stripping the armor from huge Periphas, By far the best of the Aetolians, the glorious son of Ochesius; Him Ares, stained with blood, was stripping of his armor. But Athena put on the cap of Hades, lest mighty Ares should see her. And when Ares the destroyer of men saw the hero Diomed, He left huge Periphas lying there, where first he slew him and took away his life; And he went straight toward Diomed, the tamer of horses. Now when they were close at hand as they came against each other, Ares first reached out over the yoke and reins of the horses With his brazen spear, eager to take away his life; And the goddess, gleaming-eyed Athena, catching the spear in her hand, Thrust it aside so that it flew above the chariot into empty air. And second rose Diomed, good at the battle cry, With his brazen spear; and Pallas Athena forced it with all her strength Deep into the loins of Ares, where he bound up his girdle; There it hit and wounded him, and bit through his fair skin, And she drew the spear out again. But brazen Ares bellowed As loud as nine or ten thousand men in war when they join battle. And fear seized upon both Achaeans and Trojans, Affrighted at the great cry of Ares, insatiate of warfare. -lliad v. 835-63 The close of Book v resembles that of Book i: there occurred the more or less humorous quarrel between Zeus and Hera, following the serious quarrel of Achilles and Agamemnon in the earlier part of the book; here are told the consequences, also slightly humorous, of a quarrel between brother and sister, Ares and Athena, following the serious battles of the preceding part; and in each case the book ends with a scene of peace and cheerfulness. 94 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD ARES COMPLAINS TO ZEUS And as after heat there appears from among the clouds A black mass of fog and an ill-blowing wind arises, So unto Tydides Diomed did brazen Ares Appear among the clouds ascending into broad heaven. And quickly he came to the seat of the gods, steep Olympus, And took his seat beside Zeus, son of Kronos, grieved in spirit, And showed the immortal blood flowing from his wound, And, lamenting, addressed him with winged words: "Father Zeus, art thou not indignant when thou seest these deeds of violence? Always we gods have suffered most terribly Through the will of one another, as we have shown favors to men. It is with thee we all find fault; for thou didst beget a senseless daughter, Accursed, whose mind is always set on evil deeds. For all the rest of us, as many as are gods on Olympus, Obey thee and are in subjection every one; And her thou dost not reprove either by word or by deed, But lettest her go, because thou thyself didst beget a destructive child, Who now hath impelled the son of Tydeus, insolent Diomed, To rage madly against the immortal gods. Cypris first he wounded at close range upon the wrist, Then against me myself he dashed like a god; But my swift feet bore me away, else I had long Suffered woe, there among the dread heaps of the dead." And with contemptuous glance cloud-gathering Zeus answered him: "Do not, thou false one, sit whining to me! Thou art most hateful to me of all the gods that hold Olympus! For always strife is dear to thee, and wars and battles. And the temper of thy mother Hera is unendurable and intolerable! Scarcely can I overcome her with words; Therefore I think that it is at her behest that thou sufferest this. But I cannot endure that thou shouldst any longer suffer woe; For thy lineage is from me, and to me did thy mother bear thee. But if thou hadst been born of any other of the gods, and so hateful, Long since hadst thou been lower than the celestials." So spake he, and bade Paian heal him. THE ILIAD, BOOK VI 95 And Paian sprinkled pain-destroying herbs upon him. And as when the sap of the fig tree quickly curdles white milk When it is liquid, and very quickly it thickens on all sides as one stirs it, So quickly did he heal impetuous Ares. And Hebe bathed him and clothed him in beautiful garments, And he took his seat beside Zeus, son of Kronos, rejoicing in his glory, And they came again to the house of great Zeus, Argive Hera and Alalkomenian Athena, When they had caused man-destroying Ares to cease from the slaughter of heroes. -Iliad v. 864-end BOOK VI Book vi is partly a continuation, partly a sequel to Book v. It consists of three chief portions: (a) a continuation of the battle scene of Book v (1-1 8), blending with the departure of Hector from the battlefield to visit Troy; (b) the visit of Hector to Troy (237-end); and, (c) inserted between these two, the episode of the Meeting of Glaucus and Diomed (I19-236), which fills in the interval till Hector can reach Troy. In a similar way in Book i the restoration of Chryseis to her father fills in the interval till the gods shall return to Olympus; and in Book iii, 121-244, the visit of Helen to the battlements fills in the interval till the victims can be brought from Troy for sacrifice. Two immortal episodes, the Meeting of Glaucus and Diomed and the Parting of Hector and Andromache, combine to render this book one of the most attractive in the Iliad. In Part I the battle of Book v continues, but without that intervention of the gods which constituted such a prominent feature of the preceding book. Note the human interest as well as the bit of primitive reflection which attaches to the death of the Trojan Axylos, slain by Diomed. THE HOUSE BY THE ROAD And Diomed, good at the battle cry, slew Axylos, son of Teuthranos, Who dwelt in well-founded Arisbe, rich in substance, and was a friend to men; 96 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD For he used to entertain all, dwelling in a house by the roadside. But at that time none of them faced and warded off grievous destruction for him. — liad vi. I2-I 7 Compare the way in which Artemis, in v. 5I, fails to rescue her favorite. Compare also the poem by S. W. Foss with the often quoted words, "Let me live in a house by the side of the road and be a friend to man." The Greeks are pressing the Trojans so hard that the prophet Helenus urges Hector to go up to Troy and command the women to make sacrifice and prayer to Athena that she may save the city from utter destruction. Hector complies, and this first part ends with one of those graphic though partial descriptions so characteristic of Homer: When he had spoken thus, Hector of the glancing plume departed; And against his ankles and his neck was striking the black hide Which ran as a rim about the outmost edge of his bossy shield. -Iliad vi. II6-I8 While Hector is on his way to Troy, Diomed is again brought to notice by his chance meeting with his friend, the Trojan Glaucus, whom he does not at first recognize. DIOMED'S CHALLENGE TO GLAUCUS And Glaucus, the son of Hippolochus, and Tydides Diomed Came together between both armies, eager to fight. And when they were close together, as they came against one another: Diomed, good at the battle cry, spoke first: "Who art thou, illustrious one, among mortal men? For I have never seen thee before in the battle where men win glory. But now thou hast advanced far before the rest In thy boldness, and awaitest my spear; But it is only the sons of the ill-doomed that oppose my might. But if thou art one of the immortals come down out of heaven, I would not fight against the celestial gods. For neither did Dryas, son of the mighty Lycurgus, live long THE ILIAD, BOOK VI 97 After he strove with the celestial gods. It was he who once chased the nurses of raving Dionysus Along the holy Nysean mount, and they all with one accord Cast their wands to the ground when smitten with an ox-goad By man-slaying Lycurgus; and Dionysus affrighted sank beneath The waves of the sea; and Thetis received the frightened god in her bosom; For terrible fright seized him at the shouts of the man. But him thereafter the gods who live at ease did hate, And the son of Kronos struck him blind, Nor did he live long after he became hateful to all the immortal gods. But if thou art any mortal of those that eat the fruit of the ploughland, Draw near, that thou mayest the sooner come to the cords of destruction." And the illustrious son of Hippolochus answered him: "Great-hearted son of Tydeus, why dost thou inquire after my race? As the race of leaves is, so also is that of men; As for the leaves, the wind sheds them upon the ground, And the forest at its burgeoning puts forth others, when the season of spring comes; So it is with the race of men, one grows up and another passes away." -Iliad vi. I I 9-49 The first part of the above passage is interesting as containing the earliest mention of Dionysus in Greek literature. Dionysus is mentioned also in Iliad xiv. 325; Odyssey xi. 3 2 5; and Odyssey xxiv. 74; there is also a Homeric hymn to Dionysus. The latter part of this passage-the comparison of the generations of men to those of leaves-has been much imitated; indeed, verse 142, "As the race of leaves is, so also is that of men," has the honor of being the very earliest verse of Homer to be quoted, so far as our record goes. The lyric poet Simonides (whether the early elegiac poet of Amorgos or the more famous choral poet of Ceos, is not quite certain) has these words: One most beautiful saying did the man of Chios utter: "As the race of leaves is, so also is that of men." 98 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD And Aristophanes in the parabasis of the Birds (vs. 685) apparently alludes to this same passage. The chorus of birds speaks: Come, ye men of existence dim, like to the race of leaves. After this preface on the brevity of human life, Glaucus goes on to enumerate his ancestors, dwelling especially upon Bellerophon, who was falsely accused by Anteia, wife of King Proetus of Tiryns, of an attempt upon her honor. Homer goes on to tell how King Proetus Sent him to Lycia, and gave him grievous signs, Having depicted many life-destroying signs in a folded tablet. -Iliad vi. I68-69 Leaf (ad. loc.) says: "It is impossible to doubt that this famous passage really implies a knowledge of the art of writing, especially since A. J. Evans' remarkable discoveries in Crete have proved the existence of written symbols in countries touching the Aegean Sea on all sides at a date far preceding even the earliest period to which the origin of Greek Epic Poetry can be assigned." The only other possible reference in Homer to the art of writing is in Iliad vii. i87, where Ajax recognizes the mark which he had previously placed upon his lot cast into a helmet. It is still open to doubt whether writing was used for literary purposes in the time of Homer. THE STORY OF BELLEROPHON But when Bellerophon came to Lycia and the flowings of the Xanthus, Hospitably did the king of broad Lycia Entertain him for nine days and sacrifice nine oxen; But when the tenth rosy-fingered Dawn appeared, Then he questioned him and asked to see the sign Which he was bringing from Proetus. And when he had received the evil sign from his son-in-law, First he bade Bellerophon slay the huge Chimaera. And she was of divine origin, not of men, THE ILIAD, BOOK VI 99 Her fore part a lion, behind a serpent, and in the middle part a goat, Breathing forth a dreadful force of burning fire. Yet he trusted in the portents of the gods and slew her. And second he fought with the glorious Solymi, And he said that this was the hardest fight of men he ever entered. And third he slew the man-opposing Amazons. But as he was returning the king contrived another evil ptot against him. Selecting out of broad Lycia the best heroes, He laid an ambush; but not one of them returned home, For the blameless Bellerophon slew them all. But when now the king recognized that he was of the godiy race of the gods, He kept him there, and gave him his daughter, And gave him half of all his kingly honor; And the Lycians set apart for him a domain better than all the rest, Beautiful for vineyard and plough-land, that he might possess it. And she bore three children to fiery-hearted Bellerophon, Isander and Hippolochus and Laodameia; But when Bellerophon, too, became hateful to all the gods, He wandered along the Aleian plain alone, Consuming his heart, avoiding the footsteps of men. -Iliad vi. 172-202 The "too" in the third line from the end may have reference to verse 140, where Lycurgus is said to have "become hateful to all the immortal gods." The last lines of the passage are famous. Pindar (Olympian xiii) tells the story of Bellerophon, concluding, "But of his fate I will be silent." Cicero (Tusc. Disp. iii. chap. 26) after remarking that, for some people, solitude is a relief from sorrow, translates these lines as follows: Qui miser in campis maerens errabat Aleis, Ipse suum cor edens, hominum vestigia vitans. (A wretch who wandered sadly in the Aleian fields, devouring his own heart, and avoiding the footsteps of men.) I00 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD And Milton in Paradise Lost, VII, 12-2 I, has this: Up led by thee, Into the Heaven of Heavens, I have presumed, An earthly guest, and drawn empyreal air, Thy tempering. With like safety guided down, Return me to my native element; Lest, from this flying steed unreined (as once Bellerophon, though from a lower clime) Dismounted, on the Aleian field I fall, Erroneous there to wander and forlorn. The conclusion of the episode of Glaucus and Diomed is also well known. "Guest-friends" was the Greek term for those who, living in different countries, made it a custom to entertain each other when on journeys. Glaucus continues his story. THE GUEST-FRIENDS "And Hippolochus begat me, and of him do I claim descent; And he sent me to Troy, and earnestly charged me Always to excel and to surpass the rest, And never to bring disgrace upon the race of my fathers, Who were by far the noblest in Ephyra and in broad Lycia. Of this race and blood do I claim to be sprung." So spake he; and Diomed, good at the battle cry, rejoiced, And planted his spear in the many-feeding earth, And with kindly words addressed the shepherd of the people: "So now thou art an old guest-friend of my father's; For the divine Oeneus once entertained the blameless Bellerophon In his hall, detaining him for twenty days. Therefore now I am a dear guest-friend to thee in the midst of Argos, And thou to me in Lycia, whenever I come to their land. And let us avoid each other's spears in the throng; For there are many Trojans for me to slay and illustrious allies, Whomsoever the god may grant and I overtake on foot; And there are many Achaeans too for thee to strip, whom thou canst. But let us exchange arms with each other, that these too May know that we claim to be old friends." THE ILIAD, BOOK VI 1OI Now when they had spoken thus, they leaped down from their chariots And grasped each other's hands, and pledged their faith. Then indeed did Zeus, the son of Kronos, take away understanding from Glaucus, In that he exchanged arms with Tydides Diomed, Gold for bronze, that worth a hundred oxen for that worth nine. -Iliad vi. 206-17, 224-36 The truth is rather that Glaucus, in a case where friendship is concerned, does not care for gold. Both he and Diomed belong to that noble class of whom Plato speaks (Republic iii. 416) who "have ever gold and silver of divine origin from the gods in their own souls, and have no need of the common sort." Hector now comes up from the battlefield to Troy. HECTOR'S RETURN TO TROY And when Hector came to the Scaean Gates and the oak tree, The wives and the daughters of the Trojans ran about him To inquire for their sons and brothers and fellow townsmen And husbands; but he bade them all in turn pray to the gods; But woes were fastened over many of them. -Iliad vi. 237-41 Hector goes first to the palace of King Priam, and there meets hid-mther, who inquires whether he has come up to pray to the gods, and offers him wine for libation. This he refuses, saying that it is not right for one bespattered with blood and filth, as he is, to lift up hands to Zeus; but he bids Hecuba assemble all the older women and make sacrifice and prayer in the temple of Athena. Hector voices his feelings with regard to Paris. HECTOR'S HATRED OF PARIS.... And I will go to Paris, to summon him, If he may be willing to hear my voice. Would that the earth might yawn for him! for the Olympian raised him up 102 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD To be a great curse to the Trojans and to noble Priam and his children. If I could see him descending into the house of Hades, I would say that my dear heart had forgot her woe. -Iliad vi. 280-85 Hecuba descends into a treasure-room, apparently like those which are still to be seen at Tiryns, or such as Schliemann found in the walls of Troy, and selects an embroidered Sidonian robe which Paris had brought home from that same voyage on which he won Helen. This she and her attendant women lay on the knees of Athena. They pray the goddess to "break the spear of Diomed and cause him himself to fall prone before the Scaean Gates." Meantime Hector has come to the house of Paris and has found him handling over his fine armor, while Helen sits among her attendant women and lays glorious tasks of embroidery upon them. Hectorup raids Paris for hijslakness. HECTOR TO PARIS.... For thy sake the battle cry and war Has been enkindled about this city; and thou thyself Wouldst quarrel with another whom thou shouldst see so remiss In hateful war. But up! lest the city be consumed with hostile fire! -Iliad vi. 328-31 Paris makes a shuffling speech in self-defense, and eromises to join Hector as soon as he can put on his armor. But Helen, remorseful for her past, and feeling keenly her present disgrace, speaks to Hector. THE REMORSE OF HELEN My brother, I who am shameless, evil-devising, horrible, Would that on that day when first my mother bore me An evil gust of wind had gone carrying me away Into the mountains or into the waves of the loud-dashing sea! Then had the wave swept me away before these things took place! But since the gods have appointed these evils so, Would that I had been the wife of a better man, THE ILIAD, BOOK VI Io3 One who felt the indignation and the many reproaches of men. But as for this Paris, neither now hath he sound understanding Nor will ever have it; therefore, methinks, shall he reap the fruit of his folly! But come in, and have a seat upon this chair, brother, Since most of all hath toil beset thy mind On account of me, shameless one, and on account of the sin of Paris, Upon whom Zeus hath laid a heavy fate, so that even hereafter We shall move in song among men yet to be. -Iliad vi. 344-58 But Hector refuses the seat, declaring that he must go to his wife and young son: For I know not whether I shall return and come to them again, Or whether the gods forthwith will subdue me beneath the hands of the Achaeans. -Iliad vi. 367-68 Upon arriving at his home Hector learns that Andromache, like the other Trojan women, has gone to the battlements to watch the progress of the conflict. So he hastens back again by the same way. THE PARTING OF HECTOR AND ANDROMACHE When he came to the Scaean Gates as he passed through the great city, Where he intended to go forth to the plain, There his wife, bought with many gifts, came running to meet him, Andromache, daughter of great-hearted Eetion, Eetion, who dwelt at the foot of wooded Plakos, In high-gated Thebe, ruling over Cilician men; His daughter was the wife of Hector, armed with bronze. So then she met him, and with her went a servant Bearing upon her bosom an innocent-hearted child, a mere infant, The beloved son of Hector, like to a beautiful star, Whom Hector used to call Scamandrius, but the rest Astyanax;2 since Hector alone protected Ilium. Then he smiled at sight of his son, but held his peace; 2 The Greek word Astyanax, used above, means "King of the City." I04 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD And Andromache stood close beside him, shedding tears, And grasped his hand, and spoke a word, and addressed him: "Reckless one! thy courage will prove thy undoing, nor dost thou regard Thy infant son, or me, hapless one! who soon will be thy widow! For soon the Achaeans will slay thee, all rushing upon thee, And for me it would be better, bereft of thee, to sink beneath the ground, For there shall be no more comfort, when thou shalt draw down thy fate upon thee, But only woe; for I have no father or revered mother." -Iliad vi. 392-4I3 Andromache goes on to tell how her father was killed when Achilles sacked her native town; how her seven brothers, all on one day, were slain by Achilles "among the trailingfooted cattle and the snow-white sheep"; and how her mother was carried away captive and then redeemed, but was finally smitten by Artemis, that is, died a natural death. "But thou, Hector, art father unto me and revered mother And brother, and thou art my strong husband; But come now, have pity, and remain here upon the tower, Lest thou make thy child an orphan and thy wife a widow." And great Hector of the glancing plume answered her: "Verily, all these things trouble me, too, wife; But I feel greatly abashed before the Trojans and the Trojan women with trailing robes, If thus like a coward I skulk far from war; Nor doth my own spirit suffer me, since I have learned Ever to be brave and to fight among the foremost Trojans, Earning great glory for my father and for myself. For well know I this in mind and in heart, There shall come a day when sacred Troy shall perish, And Priam, and the people of Priam of the good ashen spear. But I care not so much for the woe of the Trojans hereafter, Nor for that of Hecuba herself, nor for that of King Priam, Nor for that of my brethren, who, both many and brave, Shall fall in the dust at the hands of hostile men, THE ILIAD, BOOK VI I05 As for thee, when one of the brazen-clad Achaeans Shall lead thee away in tears, having taken away thy day of freedom. And perchance in Argos thou shalt weave at another woman's loom, And draw the water of Messeis or of Hypereia, Much against thy will, but stern necessity shall be upon thee; And, in that day, one beholding thee shedding tears shall say: 'This is the wife of Hector, who was bravest to fight Among the horse-taming Trojans, what time they were fighting about Troy'; Thus shall some one say in that day; but for thee it will be fresh grief, In thy lack of such a man to ward off the day of slavery; But may I die and the heaped up earth cover me Before I hear thy cry and thy dragging-away!" When he had spoken thus, radiant Hector reached for his child, But the child shrank back with a cry upon the bosom Of his well-girdled nurse, affrighted at the appearance of his own father, Afraid of the bronze and his helmet with horse-hair crest, Seeing it nodding terribly from the top of his helmet. And his dear father and queenly mother laughed aloud. And straightway radiant Hector took the helmet from his head And placed it on the ground, one glare of light; But when he had kissed his son, and dandled him in his arms, He spake, praying to Zeus and the other gods: "Zeus and ye other gods, grant that this child too, My son, may become as I am, pre-eminent among the Trojans; May he be strong like me, and rule with might over Ilios; And some day may all say: 'He is far better than his father,' As he comes up from the battlefield and bears bloody spoils, Having slain a hostile man, and his mother joys at heart." When he had spoken thus, he placed his son in the arms Of his dear wife; and she received him in her fragrant bosom, Laughing, yet with tears; and her husband noticed it and had compassion upon her, And stroked her with his hand, and spoke a word and addressed her: "My poor wife, pray be not too much grieved at heart; For no man shall send me off to Hades before my time; But his destiny I say that no man hath escaped, Neither the coward nor the brave, when once it hath befallen him. io6 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD But go home, and attend to thine own tasks, The loom and the distaff, and bid thy servants Go to their work; and war shall be a concern to men, To all that have been born in Troy, and most of all to me." Now when he had spoken thus, radiant Hector took his helmet With horse-hair crest, and his dear wife went home, Frequently turning back, and shedding great tears. -Iliad vi. 429-32, 440-96 The above passage is deservedly famous. Its opening lines, "But thou, Hector, art father unto me and revered mother, And brother," are closely imitated by Ovid (Heroides iii. 52), where Briseis writes to Achilles: Tu dominus, tu vir, tu frater eras. The lines beginning "There shall be a day when sacred Troy shall fall" (448) are said by Appian (Punica, I32) to have been recited by Scipio over the ruins of Carthage, with reference to the future fall of Rome. And the beginning of Hector's prayer for Astyanax, "Grant that this child too, My son, may become as I am," is evidently in the mind of Sophocles when Ajax prays for his child (Ajax, 550): O son, mayest thou be more fortunate than thy father, But in all else like him, then wouldst thou not be base! There is also a close imitation of the same lines in the prayer of Aeneas for his son Ascanius (Aeneid xii. 435): Disce, puer, virtutem ex me verumque laborem, Fortunam ex aliis.... Book vi closes with the picture of the light-hearted, irresponsible Paris and the care-laden Hector going forth together to battle. PARIS GOES LAUGHING Nor did Paris delay in his lofty halls, But as soon as he had put on his glorious armor, finely wrought with bronze, He hastened through the city, trusting in his fleetness of foot; THE ILIAD, BOOK VI Io7 And as when a stalled horse that has eaten his fill of barley at the manger, Breaks his halter and runs with sounding hoofs over the plain, Being wont to bathe in a fair-flowing river, And glories in his strength and holds his head high, While his mane flutters about his shoulders and he rejoices in his splendor, And quickly his legs bear him to the haunts and pasture of horses; So Paris, the son of Priam, down from the heights of Pergamos, All-shining in his armor, like the sun, went laughing aloud, And his swift feet bore him on.... -Iliad vi. 503-14 Compare the imitation by Virgil (Aeneid xi. 492-97) with interesting variations: Qualis ubi abruptis fugit praesepia vinclis Tandem liber equus, campoque potitus aperto Aut ille in pastus armentaque tendit equarum, Aut assuetus aquae perfundi flumine noto Emicat, arrectisque fremit cervicibus alte Luxurians, luduntque iubae per colla, per armos. (As when a horse, breaking his bonds, flees from his stall, free at last, and, gaining the open field, makes either for the pastures and herds of mares, or, wont to bathe in the waters of some familiar stream, flashes forth, and with neck reared on high neighs loudly in his delight, while his mane plays over his neck and shoulders.) Hector again upbraids Paris, not for cowardice, but for indifference and remissness in war, ending with these words: But let us go; and these matters we will adjust hereafter, If ever Zeus grants us in freedom to set up a mixing-bowl In our halls, when we have driven the well-greaved Achaeans out of Troy. -Iliad vi. 526-end CHAPTER VI SUMMARIES OF BOOKS VII, VIII, IX, X BOOK VII We come now to one of those great gaps in the Iliad, in which there is much inferior, perhaps later, work but nevertheless many fine passages that merit our attention. Book vii bears the title "The Duel between Hector and Ajax, and the Taking Up of the Dead." As for the first part, one naturally compares it with the duel between Menelaus and Paris in Book iii. Scholars hold various views as to the relation of the two duel scenes. Carl Robert (Studien zur Ilias [Berlin, I90g], p. 172) thinks that this part was not originally conceived of as a duel but as one of many single combats in the course of a general battle. Wilamowitz-Moellendorf (Die Ilias und Homer [2d ed. Berlin, I920], p. 314) holds that Book iii is the model, Book vii the copy. Walter Leaf (The Iliad [2d ed. London, 1920], p. 297) holds that we have two parallel and independent duel episodes; that it is impossible to say which is the older; but that the one in Book vii, with its allusion (in vs. II3) to the absence of Achilles on account of his wrath, is better suited to a place in the original Iliad or "Wrath Poem." Turning from this point, on which scholars are so far from agreement, let us summarize the contents of Part I of Book vii. Hector and Paris, leaving Troy, return to the field of battle. THE FAVORING BREEZE And as God grants to eager sailors A favoring breeze, when they grow weary at the polished oars, io8 THE ILIAD, BOOKS VII, VIII, IX, X IO9 As they drive over the deep, and their limbs are loosed with toil, So welcome did those two appear to the expectant Trojans. -Iliad vii. 4-7 The battle continues, till Apollo and Athena, meeting on the field, agree together that Hector must challenge the bravest of the Greeks to single combat. This they accomplish through the prophet Helenus. THE VULTURES And then Athena and silver-bowed Apollo Sat like vultures upon the lofty oak tree of Father Zeus, Bearer of the aegis, delighting in the men, who sat in thick ranks Bristling with shields and helmets and spears. And as a ripple raised by the fresh up-springing Zephyrus Overspreads the sea, and the deep grows dark beneath it, So sat the lines of Achaeans and Trojans upon the plain. -Iliad vii. 58-66 This is the first among several passages in the Homeric poems in which the gods are compared to various birds. It is often difficult to say whether the gods are merely likened to them or are supposed to be actually transformed for the time being into real birds. Hector delivers his challenge, ending with a reference to his opponent. A TOMB BY THE HELLESPONT And if I shall overcome him, and Apollo shall grant me the glory, I will strip off his armor and bring it to sacred Troy, And hang it up before the temple of far-darting Apollo; But his body will I restore to the well-decked ships, That the long-haired Achaeans may bury him And heap up a tomb beside the broad Hellespont; And hereafter shall one of late-born men say As he sails over the wine-faced deep in his many-oared ship: "This is the tomb of a man who died long since, Whom once radiant Hector slew as he was fighting in the front ranks." Thus shall one say, and my glory shall never perish. -Iliad vii. 8 I-9 IIO A STUDY OF THE ILIAD The arms are probably to be thought of as suspended from a tree in front of the shrine of Apollo, which was itself, perhaps, nothing more than a temporary lodge before a sacred cavern (cf. v. 448-of this same shrine). Hector's challenge is received by the Greeks in silence and apparent dismay, till at last Menelaus rises and rebukes them. THE REBUKE OF MENELAUS Ah me, empty boasters! Achaean women, no longer Achaeans! Verily this shall be a reproach, dreadful and yet more dreadful, Unless one of the Danaoi go now to meet Hector. But may ye all be turned to earth and water As ye sit there spiritless and inglorious, And I myself will arm to meet this man; But the issue of victory depends from above among the immortal gods. -Iliad vii. 96-IO2 The thought put in modern language would be, "Sit there forever, if you like, till you rot away and are turned to dust and ashes, but I will arm myself," etc. The word translated "issue" is really in the plural and originally meant "cords," perhaps to indicate a very literal connection between gods and men. Herodotus (i. 26) tells how the Ephesians, when besieged by Croesus, "dedicated their city to Artemis, and tied a rope from the temple to the wall of the city" (translation by G. C. Macaulay)-a distance of nearly a mile. But the Greek chieftains, realizing that Menelaus is no match for Hector, restrain him; and after a partly reminiscent, partly upbraiding, speech by Nestor, nine chieftains offer themselves, and it is decided to cast lots among them. THE CASTING OF LOTS.... And each marked his lot, And cast it into the helmet of Agamemnon, son of Atreus, And the people prayed to the gods and held up their hands; And thus would many a man say as he looked into broad heaven: THE ILIAD, BOOKS VII, VIII, IX, X Ii "Father Zeus, may either Ajax obtain the lot, or the son of Tydeus, Or even the king of Mycenae, rich in gold!" So spake they; and the Gerenian knight Nestor was shaking the helmet, And forth from the helmet leaped the lot which they themselves wished, That of Ajax. And a herald, bearing it everywhere along the throng, Showed it to all the chieftains of the Achaeans from left to right, But they did not recognize it, and refused it every one. But at last they came to Ajax, And he saw and recognized the mark on the lot, and rejoiced in soul. -Iliad vii. I75-89 The duel, fought with spears and heavy rocks, and at last about to be ended with the sword, results in a tie, whereupon heralds on both sides intervene with their wands. The Trojan herald, Idaeus, speaks. END OF THE DUEL No longer, dear sons, wage war and fight; For cloud-collecting Zeus loves you both, And both are warriors, this we all know; But now night is at hand, and it is good to obey night. -Iliad vii. 279-82 Ajax leaves the decision to Hector, who assents. And with that nobility which makes him, to a modern reader at least, the most lovable character of the Iliad, Hector proposes that they exchange presents. PARTING AS FRIENDS Come, let us give renowned presents to each other, That many a man among both Achaeans and Trojans may say: "Indeed they strove in soul-devouring conflict, But nevertheless they became reconciled, and parted as friends." -Iliad vii. 299-302 This brings us to the second grand division of Book vii, "The Taking-up of the Dead." In a council of the Greeks I 112 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Nestor proposes that they pause one day from war, to burn their dead. At the same time, in a council of the Trojans, the aged councilor, Antenor, proposes that they restore Helen and all her possessions and so end the war; but Paris objects, saying that he is willing to give back the possessions but not to surrender Helen. The next morning a herald is sent to the Greek camp to offer the restoration of Helen's possessions and to ask for a truce to bury the dead. DIOMED's REFUSAL So spake he; and they all became hushed in silence, And at last Diomed, good at the battle cry, spoke among them: "Let no one now accept from Paris either the treasure Or Helen; for it is well known, even to him who is very foolish, That already the cords of destruction are fastened over the Trojans." -Iliad vii. 398-402 The offer of the Trojans is rejected, but a truce for recovery of the bodies of the dead is agreed upon. Both armies go out to gather wood for the funeral pyres. And they burned their dead.... When the sun anew smote the plough-lands As he came up into heaven from the silently-flowing, deep-streaming Ocean. -Iliad vii. 421-23 Compare Paradise Lost, IV, 244: Both where the morning sun first warmly smote The open field, and where the unpierced shade Imbrowned the noontide bowers. Homer continues: And when it was not yet dawn, but still twilight, A chosen host of the Achaeans was gathered about the pyre, And they made one tomb round about it, raising a mound High from the plain. — liad vii. 433-36 THE ILIAD, BOOKS VII, VIII, IX, X I I3 Then, almost incidentally, beginning in the middle of this same line, we have the first mention in the Iliad of the wall about the Greek camp. THE WALL And before it they built a wall And lofty ramparts to be a defense both for the ships and themselves. And in the wall they made well-fitted gates, That there might be a way through them for the driving of chariots; And outside, to reinforce it, they dug a trench Deep and wide, and set stakes therein. -Iliad vii. 436-4I Poseidon takes offense at the building of the wall because the Greeks did not offer sacrifices before building it and also because he fears that its fame will overshadow that of the walls of Troy built by himself and Apollo. He fears also that if this wall is allowed to stand, mortals will no longer ask the favor of the gods before undertaking great works. Zeus answers Poseidon. ZEUS PREDICTS THE FALL OF THE WALL Ah me, thou Earth-Shaker, whose might extends far and wide, what hast thou said? Any other of the gods might have feared this danger, One who was far inferior to thee in hands and might; But thy glory shall extend as far as spreads the dawn. But up now! as soon as the long-haired Achaeans Shall return with their ships to their dear native land, Thou shalt shatter this wall and cast it wholly into the sea, And the great beach shall cover it again with sand dunes, That the great wall of the Achaeans may be utterly effaced. -Iliad vii. 455-63 There is much reason to suppose that the whole part about the wall is a later addition to the Iliad. We are to think, not of a stone wall, but rather of a mound of earth (like the Roman agger) strengthened by wooden gates and ramparts. The I 14 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD prophecy given here as to the destruction of the wall is fulfilled by Apollo in Iliad xv. 361. The closing lines of Book vii are interesting, picturing as they do an ancient market scene and giving us some idea as to how the Greeks subsisted, before the walls of Troy. THE MARKET And the sun set, and the work of the Achaeans was finished. And they slaughtered cattle among the huts and took their supper. And many ships were there from Lemnos bringing wine, Which Evenus, son of Jason, had sent, Whom Hypsipyle bore to Jason, shepherd of the people. And separately for the sons of Atreus, Agamemnon and Menelaus, The son of Jason gave wine to bear away, a thousand measures. Then did the long-haired Achaeans buy wine for themselves, Some with bronze, others with shining iron, Others with hides of cattle, and others with the cattle themselves, And still others with slaves; and they prepared a goodly feast. And all night were the long-haired Achaeans feasting, And the Trojans and their allies in the city feasted; And all night did the Counselor Zeus show them evil signs, By terror of thunder. And pale fear seized them, And they kept pouring wine from their cups upon the ground, Nor did any dare to drink till he had made libation to the mighty son of Kronos. Then they went to rest, and took the gift of sleep. -Iliad vii. 465-end BOOK VIII There are several reasons for supposing that the eighth book does not belong to the original plan of the Iliad. Nearly one-third of its whole number of verses are to be found elsewhere in Homer. Certain passages seem to be imitated, and rather imperfectly imitated, from similar incidents in other parts of the Iliad. Notably the Kero-stasia ("Weighing of Fates"), in Book viii. 66-77, seems to be imperfectly modeled after the Weighing of the Fates of Hector and Achilles in xiii. THE ILIAD, BOOKS VII, VIII, IX, X I I5 2 IO. In the original passage in Book xxii it is the fate of death which is to be decided between two men, but in Book viii it is the survival or destruction of two armies which is represented as at stake; and yet there is no such thing as the annihilation of a whole army in Homer. Another evident instance of imitation is the incident of the going forth of Hera and Athena to help the Greeks (viii. 350-96) clearly based upon the far more detailed and spirited passage in v. 7I -77. The sending of Iris also (viii. 397-43 7) seems to be modeled after the more animated similar passage in Iliad xv. 157-217. There are other marks of lateness, too, such as the reference to the legend of Hercules and Eurystheus (viii. 362-69) and the mention of the Titans in Tartarus (viii. 479). And yet, in spite of all this, the plan of Book viii is simple and straightforward. As Athena herself is made to say (370 -72), Zeus seems now to be fulfilling his promise to Thetis (i. 512). There is a look forward also to the approaching death of Patroclus and the rousing of Achilles (473-76). Grote regarded Book viii as part of the original "Wrath Poem," and the remarkable unity of this book is recognized by recent scholars. No book better exhibits the rapid and varied action of the Iliad. The scene shifts from heaven to earth. Zeus favors now one side, now the other; now the Trojans win, now the Greeks. The eagerly watching divinities, though forbidden by Zeus to take part in the battle, try to do so and are restrained by him. The scene shifts once more to heaven, and then back to the plain of Troy; and the book closes with a famous description of the starry sky at night. Book vii closed with a night of feasting on the part of both Greeks and Trojans, interrupted by terrifying thunders from Zeus. Book viii opens with a beautiful description of morning. ii6 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD THE THREAT OF ZEUS Now Dawn in crocus mantle clad was spread over all the earth, And Zeus, the hurler of lightning, made an assembly of the gods On the highest peak of many-ridged Olympus. And he himself spake to them, and the gods all listened: "Hear me, all ye gods and all ye goddesses, Let none of the female sex, nor of the male either, Try to frustrate my command, but all approve, That with all speed I may bring these matters to an end. Whomsoever I shall find wishing without knowledge of the gods To go to the help of either Trojans or Danaoi, Smitten in no seemly fashion shall he return to Olympus; Or I will seize him and hurl him into misty Tartarus, Far, far away, where is the deepest pit beneath the earth, Where the iron doors are, and the brazen threshold, As far beneath Hades as heaven is above the earth; Then shall ye know in how far I am the mightiest of all the gods. Come now! try me, ye gods, that all may know. Suspend a golden chain from heaven And take hold of it, all ye gods and goddesses, But ye could not draw the loftiest Counselor Zeus From heaven to the plain; not even if ye should struggle very hard; But whenever I should wish to pull with all my might, I would drag you up, earth and sea and all, And bind the rope about the peak of Olympus, And all would be left hanging in air; So far do I outmatch both gods and men." -Iliad vii. 1-27 The epithet in verse I is kroko-peplos (literally, "with peplos of the color of the crocus"). With verse i6, on the distance from heaven to Tartarus, compare Virgil, Aeneid vi. 577: Tum Tartarus ipse Bis patet in praeceps tantum tenditque sub umbras, Quantus ad aetherium caeli suspectus Olympum. THE ILIAD, BOOKS VII, VIII, IX, X I I7 Compare also Milton, Paradise Lost, I, 71: Here their prison ordained In utter darkness, and their portion set, As far removed from God and the light of Heaven As from the centre thrice to the utmost pole. The contest referred to was doubtless a celestial "tug-of-war," the chain being of gold only because all things belonging to the gods are thought of by Homer as made of precious metals. But poets and philosophers, both ancient and modern, have frequently ascribed a figurative meaning to this chain. Plato (Theaetetus I53c) plainly says that it is the sun. Euripides (Orestes 982) speaks of rock suspended between heaven and earth by hanging, golden chains. Leaf (ad loc.) says "The neo-Platonists took up the idea, and from them it was handed on to the alchemists of the Middle Ages, in whose mystical cosmogony the aurea catena Homeri signified the whole chain of existences up to the quinta essentia universalis." Compare the well-known passage in Tennyson's Morte d'Arthur: More things are wrought by prayer Than this world dreams of. Wherefore let thy voice Rise like a fountain for me night and day. For what are men better than sheep or goats That nourish a blind life within the brain, If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer Both for themselves and those who call them friend? For so the whole round earth is every way Bound by gold chains about the feet of God. The council ended, Zeus goes to Mount Ida to watch from its summit the progress of the battle. ZEUS ON MOUNT IDA When he had spoken thus, he yoked to his chariot His swift-flying, brazen-footed horses with luxuriant golden manes, And he himself put golden armor about him, A STUDY OF THE ILIAD And grasped his golden, well-wrought whip, and mounted his chariot, And lashed the horses to a run, and they not unwillingly flew Between earth and starry heaven. And he came to many-fountained Ida, mother of wild beasts, To Gargaros, where is his sanctuary and fragrant altar. There the father of men and of gods stopped his horses, And loosed them from the chariot, and shed much mist over them; And himself sat down on the mountain heights, exulting in his glory, Gazing upon the city of the Trojans and the ships of the Achaeans. -Iliad viii. 4I-52 Readers of Tennyson will recall that the lines O mother Ida, many-fountain'd Ida, Dear mother Ida, hearken ere I die become a kind of refrain in Oenone. The battle is soon renewed, the Trojans fighting under dire necessity "for the sake of their children and their wives." THE GOLDEN SCALES And as long as it was morning and the sacred day was increasing, The missiles continued to strike thickly on both sides, and the people kept falling; But when the sun stood in the midst of heaven, Then the Father drew up his golden scales, And in them placed two fates of outstretching death, That of the horse-taming Trojans and that of the brazen-clad Achaeans; And he seized the scales in the midst, and lifted them on high, And the fated day of the Achaeans declined. -Iliad viii. 66-72 In the section that follows (7 7-I I I ) one of Nestor's horses is killed by an arrow from the bow of Paris. Nestor makes haste to cut him loose from the chariot, but Hector is bearing down upon them, and the old man is rescued just in time by Diomed, who takes him into his own chariot, and the two confront Hector. THE THUNDERBOLT OF ZEUS Then had there been slaughter and dreadful deeds, And they would have been penned up in Troy like lambs, THE ILIAD, BOOKS VII, VIII, IX, X I I9 Had not the father of men and of gods quickly taken notice. But he thundered terribly, and hurled a dread, dazzling thunderbolt Into the ground right in front of Diomed's horses; And a terrible burst of flame rose from the burning sulphur; And both horses were seized with fright and crouched down before the chariot. -Iliad viii. I30-36 Milton (Paradise Lost, IV, 990) has apparently combined these two passages in his description of the conflict impending between Satan and the archangel Gabriel: Now dreadful deeds Might have ensued; nor only Paradise, In this commotion, but the starry cope Of Heaven perhaps, or all the Elements At least, had gone to wrack, disturbed and torn With violence of this conflict, had not soon The Eternal, to prevent such horrid fray, Hung forth in Heaven his golden scales, yet seen Betwixt Astraea and the Scorpion sign, Wherein all things created first he weighed, The pendulous round earth with balanced air In counterpoise, now ponders all events, Battles and realms. In these he put two weights, The sequel each of parting and of fight: The latter quick upflew and kicked the beam. Now Diomed is with difficulty persuaded by Nestor, who sees that the gods are adverse to the Greeks, to retire from the conflict; while Hector, in a way characteristic of Homeric heroes, exults over his enemy. THE SCORN OF HECTOR Son of Tydeus, the swift-steeded Danaoi used to honor thee above the rest With seat of honor and portions of meat and full cups; But now they will do thee no honor; for thou art no better than a woman. 120 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Go, mere plaything! since thou shalt never through my yielding Set foot upon our towers, nor carry away our women in the ships; Ere that will I send thee to thy fate. -Iliad viii. i61-66 Hector threatens to burn the ships, and calls to his horses. HECTOR TO HIS HORSES Xanthus, and thou, Podargus, and Aethon, and divine Lampus, Now repay to me that care which very abundantly Andromache, daughter of great-hearted Eetion, Bestows upon you; for in front of you she sets the honey-hearted wheat, Or pours out wine for you to drink, whenever her heart bids her, Sooner than for me, who boast of being her strong husband. -Iliad viii. I85-90 Compare the imitation of this passage by Matthew Arnold in Sohrab and Rustum: And the aged Zal himself Has often stroked thy neck, and given thee food, Corn in a golden platter soaked with wine, And said: "Oh Ruksh! bear Rustum well!" Hector prays that he may take the famous shield of Nestor and strip from the shoulders of Diomed the breastplate made for him by Hephaestus. So spake he, praying; but revered Hera was seized with indignation, And swayed to and fro upon her throne, and shook lofty Olympus. -Iliad viii. I98-99 Hera tries in vain to rouse Poseidon to help the Greeks; but he refuses, fearing the command of Zeus. The Greeks meantime are driven back to the wall, and there is danger that Hector may burn the ships. But Hera moves Agamemnon to rally the Greeks; and he, standing in the midst of the camp upon the ship of Odysseus, shouts to his men: THE ILIAD, BOOKS VII, VIII, IX, X I2I Shame, ye Argives! base, disgraceful! men in appearance only! Where have gone those boasts, when we said that we were the bravestThose empty boasts which ye made at Lemnos, While we were eating the abundant flesh of straight-horned cattle And drinking from mixing bowls well-filled with wineSaying that each of us could match in battle A hundred or two hundred of the Trojans, but now we are not equal to one! -Iliad viii. 228-34 Agamemnon concludes with a prayer to Zeus to save the Greeks, which the god answers with an encouraging omen. THE OMEN OF THE EAGLE And straightway he sent an eagle, swiftest of birds, Bearing a fawn in its talons, the young of a swift deer, And cast it down beside the beauteous altar of Zeus, Where the Achaeans were wont to sacrifice to all-disclosing Zeus. And when they saw that it was from Zeus that the omen came, Yet more fiercely did they leap upon the Trojans And bethink themselves of the joy of combat. -Iliad viii. 247-52 Various Greek heroes take part in the battle, especially the archer, Teucer, whose exploits (aristeia) occupy verses 266-329. The most notable passage in this section from the point of view of poetry is that on the death of Gorgythion. THE DEATH OF GORGYTHION He (Teucer) said; and sent another arrow from the bowstring, Aimed at Hector, and his soul longed to smite him, Yet he missed him, but smote the blameless Gorgythion, Brave son of Priam, upon the breast with an arrow; And as a poppy in a garden lets fall its head to one side, Weighed down by its fruit and the rains of spring, So did his head bow to one side, weighed down by his helmet. -Iliad viii. 300-308 I22 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Compare Virgil Aeneid ix. 433-37: Volvitur Euryalus leto, pulchrosque per artus It cruor, inque umeros cervix conlapsa recumbit, Purpureus veluti cum flos succisus aratro Languescit moriens lassove papavera collo Demisere caput, pluvia cum forte gravantur. Somewhat like these, though with different application, is the beautiful simile in Dante's Inferno ii. 2 7-30: Quale i fioretti dal notturno gielo Chinati e chiusi poi che l'Sol gl'imbianca, Si drizzan tutti aperti in loro stelo; Tal mi fec'io di mia virtude stanca. As the little flowers, bowed down and closed by the cold of night, As soon as the sun illumines them with its white light, Lift themselves up all opened upon their stems, So I recovered my wearied strength. Teucer kills Hector's charioteer, but is himself disabled by a great stone hurled by the Trojan. Thereupon Zeus again encourages the Trojans; and they advance, led by Hector "having the eyes of Gorgo or of man-destroying Ares" (349). In this crisis Hera stirs up Athena to go to the help of the Greeks "even at the very last moment" (353). Athena heartily desires the death of Hector but complains that Zeus is no longer favorable to her. THE COMPLAINT OF ATHENA Nor does he remember how often I rescued his son When he was fretted by the labors imposed by Eurystheus. Then did he cry to heaven, and Zeus sent me to help him. Would that I had known this in my prudent heart What time he sent him to the house of Hades, the warder of the gate, To bring up the dog of hated Hades out of Erebus; Then would he not have escaped the steep flowings of the water of the Styx. THE ILIAD, BOOKS VII, VIII, IX, X I23 But now Zeus hates me, and has fulfilled the counsels of Thetis, Who kissed his knees and grasped him by the beard with her hand, Supplicating him to honor the city-sacking Achilles; But the day will come when he shall again call me his dear GleamingEyed. -Iliad viii. 362-73 The passage which follows in the Iliad, about the goingforth of Hera and Athena, is closely imitated, and abbreviated, from v. 719. But Zeus, foreseeing their purpose, sends Iris to turn them back: But when Father Zeus saw them from Ida, he was furiously angry, And roused gold-winged Iris to go as his messenger: "Up, go! swift Iris, turn them back, and do not let them come to oppose me; For it is not well that we should join battle." -Iliad viii. 397-400 So spake he; and whirlwind-footed Iris arose to bear his message, And went forth from the Idaean mountains to lofty Olympus, And at the outmost gates of many-furrowed Olympus Met and stayed them, and declared unto them the command of Zeus. -Iliad viii. 409- I2 The two goddesses must perforce obey, and reluctantly they turn back. THE OLYMPIAN STABLES And for them the Horae unyoked their beautiful-maned horses, And bound them fast at the ambrosial mangers, And leaned the chariots against the all-shining walls Of the vestibule, and they took their seats upon chairs of gold, Among the other gods, troubled at heart. -Iliad viii. 433-37 Zeus returns from Ida to Olympus and holds a council of the gods, in which he taunts Hera and Athena with their failure. They bite their lips for very rage; but at length "Hera's breast could no longer contain her rage" (46i), and her outburst leads Zeus to say that the morrow will see him destroy 124 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD ing yet more of the Achaeans. Then Zeus prophesies the sequel thus: For mighty Hector shall not cease from war Till he rouse the swift-footed son of Peleus beside the ships, On that day when they shall fight by the stems of their ships In dread, narrow space over the dead body of Patroclus. -Iliad viii. 473-76 This is followed by a reference to that far-off land at the end of the earth, which has ever been the delight of poets. THE BOUNDS OF EARTH AND SEA But for thee I care not, Angry though thou be, not even if thou goest To the furthest bounds of earth and sea, where Iapetos and Kronos Sit, and have no delight either in the rays of Helios Hyperion Or in the winds, but deep Tartarus is round about them. -Iliad viii. 47 7-8I The Romans identified Kronos with their god Saturn. Compare the opening lines of Keats' unfinished epic, Hyperion: Deep in the shady sadness of a vale Far sunken from the healthy breath of morn, Far from the fiery noon, and eve's one star, Sat gray-hair'd Saturn, quiet as a stone, Still as the silence round about his lair. As the first line of Book viii gave us a description of sunrise, so, in the passage following, which some scholars think to have been originally the end of the book, we have a picture of sunset: And the bright light of the sun fell into Ocean, Dragging black night over the grain-giving plough-land. -Iliad viii. 485-86 Hector, in full expectation of taking the Greek camp the next day, holds a council of the Trojans upon the plain, urging them to "obey black night" (502) and prepare their sup THE ILIAD, BOOKS VII, VIII, IX, X I25 per there in the open, and then to keep up great fires all night long lest the Greeks "try to escape over the broad back of the sea." The book closes with a well-known description of the scene at night, which has been translated by Tennyson, Specimen of a Translation of the Iliad in Blank Verse, as follows: So Hector spake; the Trojans roar'd applause; Then loosed their sweating horses from the yoke, And each beside his chariot bound his own; And oxen from the city, and goodly sheep In haste they drove, and honey-hearted wine And bread from out the houses brought, and heap'd Their firewood, and the winds from off the plain Roll'd the rich vapor far into the heaven. And these all night upon the bridge of war Sat glorying; many a fire before them blazed: As when in heaven the stars about the moon Look beautiful, when all the winds are laid, And every height comes out, and jutting peak And valley, and the immeasurable heavens Break open to their highest, and all the stars Shine, and the Shepherd gladdens in his heart: So many a fire between the ships and stream Of Xanthus blazed before the towers of Troy, A thousand on the plain; and close by each Sat fifty in the blaze of burning fire; And, eating hoary grain and pulse, the steeds, Fixt by their cars, waited the golden dawn. -Iliad viii. 542-end BOOK IX. THE EMBASSY TO ACHILLES No book of the Iliad has been the subject of more discussion by the critics than this ninth book. The reparation offered to Achilles in this book is inconsistent with passages in other books which have been generally recognized as essential parts of the original "Wrath Poem." For example, in 126 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Book xi. 609-0o, where the battle is going against the Greeks, Achilles says: Presently, I think, the Achaeans will stand about my knees Supplicating me; for necessity no longer endurable is coming to them. These words as Leaf says, are "meaningless in the mouth of a man to whom humble supplication on behalf of the Achaeans has been made only a few hours before." And again, in xvi. 71-73, where he is sending Patroclus out to battle, Achilles says (of the Trojans): Soon in their flight They would fill the water-courses with dead, if Lord Agamemnon Were kindly disposed to me. Attempt has been made' to explain away this inconsistency by emphasizing such lines as ix. 372-73, where Achilles says that Agamemnon, shameless though he is, would not dare to look him in the face; and ix. 386-87, where he says that Agamemnon could not win over his affections again, Till he pay back to me in full the price of my heart-grieving insult, (as Leaf remarks, "in humiliation, not presents"). It is interesting to note that the Greek word meaning "in full" is emphasized by being placed at the caesural pause. But even if we suppose that Achilles demanded the appearance of Agamemnon in person in his tent and his abject apology, still this does not explain the inconsistency with such a passage as xvi. 84-86, where we find Achilles urging Patroclus to follow his directions, that he "may win great honor and glory" for him "from all the Danaoi," That they may send back the beauteous maiden And give glorious gifts besides. 1E. Kammer, Aesthetischer Kommentar zu Homers Ilias [Paderborn, I9OI], p. 208. THE ILIAD, BOOKS VII, VIII, IX, X I27 Yet this is precisely what the Greeks have done (in Book ix). But in all such discussions we should remember that the uncritical, primitive listener, probably not hearing Book ix recited on the same occasion with xi or xvi, would never notice the inconsistency. Indeed, Carl Robert thinks (Studien zur Ilias, p. 494) that some poet later than Homer, taking a hint from the passage just quoted, may have seen a chance for the insertion of Book ix with its splendid rhetoric. The use of the dual number of noun and verb in several lines (i82, I92, I96) suggests that there were originally only two ambassadors, doubtless Ajax and Odysseus; but we may be grateful for the still later revision by which the story of the aged Phoenix was added. For the author of Book ix possessed to a remarkable degree the gift of making his characters reveal themselves in their speeches. Nowhere, as Wilamowitz observes (Die Ilias und Homer, p. 65), is Homer so much the Father of Tragedy as in Book ix. Book ix opens with a vivid picture of the distracted state of mind of the Greek leaders. UNIVERSAL PANIC Thus the Trojans kept guard; but universal Panic, Companion of chill Fear, possessed the Achaeans; And all their chieftains were oppressed by intolerable grief. And as two winds stir up the fishy deep, Boreas and Zephyrus, which blow from Thrace And come suddenly upon it, and all at once the dark wave Rises to a crest, and strews much seaweed out along the salt water; So their spirits in the breasts of the Achaeans were torn asunder. -Iliad ix. I-8 Agamemnon bids the heralds summon an assembly, calling each man personally, but without shouting, so as to avoid attracting the attention of the enemy. Then, in the same words as in Book ii (III-I8 and I39-4I)-words which seem more I28 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD appropriate here after a real defeat-he complains that he has been deceived by Zeus in the matter of taking Troy and urges them to give up and return home. This is followed by depression and silence, till Diomed, late, after all the others seem speechless, breaks forth in rebuke. "WE Two WILL FIGHT ON!" Coward! dost thou really think that the sons of the Achaeans Are as unwarlike and as unvaliant as thou sayest? If thy heart impels thee to depart thus, Go; the way lies before thee, and thy ships are close by the sea. But we other long-haired Achaeans will stay, Till we sack Troy; or let every one of them Flee with the ships to their dear native land, But we two, Sthenelus and I, will fight on, Till we find out the appointed fate of Troy; For it was with God's favor that we came. -Iliad ix. 40-49 Thereupon Nestor approves the speech of Diomed, but adds that the latter is still but a young man and "did not come to the end of words" (56), that is, did not finish the matter. Nestor, carefully guarding his words, in order to placate Agamemnon, says: Clanless, lawless, hearthless is he Who loves cruel civil war. — liad ix. 63-64 Nestor, then, apparently because the matter was too delicate for discussion in the public assembly, advises that sentinels be posted about the Greek camp and that Agamemnon provide a banquet for the members of the council in his own tent. This advice is followed, and the next scene is in the tent of Agamemnon, where Nestor, after the banquet is over, having first flattered the king, suggests that he should listen to what others say. THE ILIAD, BOOKS VII, VIII, IX, X 129 NESTOR SUGGESTS GIFTS FOR ACHILLES For no other will have a better thought than this Which I have long cherished, and do even now, Ever since the time when, Zeus-descended, thou didst seize And take away the maid Briseis from the tent of the angered Achilles, Not according to my judgment; for I tried often to dissuade theeBut, giving way to thy strong passion, thou didst dishonor An excellent man, whom the gods themselves did honor; For thou didst seize and even now holdest his prize. But even yet let us consider how we may propitiate and persuade him Both with gentle gifts and kindly words. -Iliad ix. I04-I3 Nestor's words produce an immediate effect; and here, even more than in the reconciliation scene in Book xix (cf. xix. 85-89 and 134-36), Agamemnon frankly recognizes his fault. AGAMEMNON ADMITS HIS FAULT I sinned, nor do I myself deny it; Worth many others is the man whom Zeus loves from his heart, As now he hath honored this man, and overcome the host of the Achaeans. But since I sinned, yielding to my grievous thoughts, I am willing to appease him again, and give untold ransom. -Iliad ix. 116-20 Agamemnon thereupon enumerates all the presents he will make to Achilles: seven tripods, ten talents of gold, twelve prize-winning race horses, seven Lesbian slave women skilled in embroidery, Briseis herself undefiled-all these at onceand later, if they take Troy, a shipful of gold and bronze and twenty Trojan women of his own choice (Helen excepted). And if we return to Achaean Argos, that udder of the plough-land, Let him be my son-in-law, and I will honor him equally with Orestes. And I have three daughters in my well-built hall, Chrysothemis and Laodice and Iphianassa; Let him lead which of these he will without bride-price I30 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Unto the house of Peleus, and I will add gifts of reconciliation, Very many, more than ever yet father gave with his daughter. Let him yield; it is Hades that is unkind and unyielding, Hence is he most hated by mortals among all the gods. And let him submit to me, since I am more kingly, And in as much as I claim to be his elder in years. -Iliad ix. I4I-42, I44-48, I58-6I Nestor now names the ambassadors who are to make this offer to Achilles-Phoenix as leader, Ajax and Odysseus, and two heralds. They finish their meal, and Nestor, with significant looks, earnestly charges each to try to win over Achilles. The ambassadors go along the beach of the loud-dashing sea as, before this, Chryses had done; and they come to the tents and ships of the Myrmidons. ACHILLES IN His TENT And they found Achilles delighting his heart with a clear-sounding lyre, Beautiful, cunningly wrought, and upon it was a cross-bar of silver. It was one recovered from the spoil when he sacked the city of Eition. With this he was delighting his heart and singing the glories of heroes; And Patroclus sat opposite him alone in silence, Waiting for the son of Aeacus, till he should stop singing. And the ambassadors came forward, and the divine Odysseus led, And they stood before him; and Achilles sprang up in astonishment With the lyre still in his hand, leaving the seat where he had been sitting. And Patroclus too, when he saw the men, arose. And with a gesture of welcome swift-footed Achilles addressed them: "Welcome! indeed ye are dear friends that have come; surely the need is great; Angry though I am, ye are the dearest to me of the Achaeans. "Set up a larger mixing bowl, son of Menoetius, Mingle stronger wine, and make ready a cup for each; For dear indeed are the friends that are under my roof." — liad ix. I86-98, 202-4 THE ILIAD, BOOKS VII, VIII, IX, X 131 There follows the description of a truly Homeric banquet: the great meat block thrown down in the firelight, the backpiece of a goodly sheep and the chine of a fat hog, held by Automedon and cut up by Achilles; the meat roasted over the coals and served on wooden chargers, the bread set on in baskets, the libations to the gods, the bits of sacrificial meat thrown into the fire; till at last, at a hint from Ajax to Phoenix, strangely enough, not Phoenix but Odysseus fills a cup and pledges Achilles. THE APPEAL OF ODYSSEUS TO ACHILLES Hail, Achilles! Thou lackest not for an equally divided feast, Either in the tent of Agamemnon, son of Atreus, Or here now; for beside thee are many satisfying things to feast upon. But not the joys of a pleasant feast are our concern, But surpassing great distress, Zeus-nourished one, which we look upon And are filled with fear; for it is in doubt whether we save or lose The well-decked ships, unless thou put on thy valor. For close to the ships and the wall have our enemies pitched their camp, The high-hearted Trojans and their far-famed allies, Having kindled many fires throughout the army, And they say that they will no longer be restrained, But will fall upon the black ships. And Zeus, the son of Kronos, showing them favorable signs, Sends lightnings continually; and Hector, exulting in his strength, Rages exceedingly, putting his trust only in Zeus, nor does he honor Men or gods; and overpowering madness has entered his breast, And he prays that with all speed divine Dawn may appear; For he threatens to strike off the high insignia at the sterns of our ships, And burn the ships themselves with devouring fire, And slay the Achaeans beside them, driven this way and that by the smoke. And I fear greatly in heart lest the gods fulfil his threats And it be fated for us to perish at Troy, far from horse-pastured Argos. But up! if thou carest aught, though late, to rescue the sons of the Achaeans, Sore wearied by the loud-roaring onslaught of the Trojans. I32 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD And for thee thyself it will be cause of grief hereafter, Nor is there any way, when once the evil is done, to find a remedy. But better far bethink thee now how thou mayest ward off The day of evil for the Danaoi. O friend, thy father Peleus laid this charge upon thee The day when he sent thee from Phthia to Agamemnon: "My son, strength shall Athena and Hera give, If they will; but do thou restrain thy proud spirit Within thee; for kindness is best. And cease from ill-devising strife, that the Argives May honor thee the more, both young and old." So commanded the old man, but thou forgettest. But even now relent, and give up thy heart-paining wrath; And Agamemnon offers thee worthy gifts, if thou wilt cease from wrath. And if thou wilt but listen, I will tell thee All the presents that Agamemnon promised thee in his tent. -Iliad ix. 225-63 Here follows an enumeration of the presents. Odysseus continues his plea: But if the son of Atreus is still too hateful to thy heart, Himself and his gifts, at least upon all the rest of the Achaeans Do thou have pity, sore wearied as they are throughout the host; And they will honor thee like a god; Verily, thou couldst win great glory from them; For now thou mightest slay Hector, since he would come very nigh thee, Possessed with ruinous madness as he is; For he says that none of the Danaoi is his equal, Among all that the ships brought hither. -Iliad ix. 300-306 The most notable part of Book ix is, as we should expect, the great speech of Achilles in which he refuses the offer of Agamemnon. ACHILLES' GREAT REFUSAL a) Then the swift-footed Achilles answered him and said: "Zeus-descended son of Laertes, much-contriving Odysseus, It is fitting that I speak freely my mind THE ILlAD, BOOKS VII, VIII, IX, X I33 Just as I think, and as it shall be accomplished, That ye may not try to win me over with soft words, as ye sit on this side and that. For hateful to me as are the gates of Hades is that man Who hides one thing in his heart while he speaks another. b) But I will speak that which seemeth to me to be best; Nor do I think that Agamemnon, son of Atreus, will persuade me, Nor the rest of the Danaoi, since it proves a thankless task To strive with hostile men without ceasing. Equal is the portion of him who remains behind and of him who fights bravely; And in like honor are held the coward and the brave; Nor doth it profit me aught, though I have suffered woe in heart, Always risking my life in warfare. And as a mother-bird brings mouthfuls to her unfledged nestlings Whenever she finds food, though it goes hard with her herself, So have I passed many sleepless nights And lived through bloody days of warfare Striving with men for the sake of their wives. And twelve cities did I sack with my ships, And eleven on foot throughout the fertile land of Troy; And from all these took I treasures many and good, And brought all, and gave them to Agamemnon, son of Atreus; While he, remaining behind beside the swift ships, Accepted all, but distributed few, and many did he keep. c) The other prizes which he gave to nobles and kings Remain steadfastly their own; from me alone among the Achaeans Did he take, and still retains, my beloved wife, with whom let him Take his delight. Why should the Argives fight with the Trojans? Why was it that the son of Atreus gathered his host and led them hither? I34 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Was it not for the sake of fair-tressed Helen? Is it then that the Atridae alone love their wives? Nay, rather, every good and sensible man loves his wife and cares for her, As I loved mine from my heart, though she was the captive of my spear. But now, since he has taken my prize out of my hands, and deceived me, Let him not try to cheat again one who knows him well, nor can he persuade me. d) But, Odysseus, let him devise with thee and the other kings How to ward off hostile fire from the ships. Forsooth he hath accomplished much without my help; And now he hath built a wall and dug a deep, wide trench before it, And set it with palisades. But not even thus can he stay the strength Of man-slaying Hector; yet, while I was fighting among the Achaeans, Hector was not willing to risk a battle far from the city wall, But came only as far as the Scaean Gates and the oak tree; Where once he waited for me all by myself, and barely did he escape my onset. e) But now, since I am no longer willing to fight with the divine Hector, I I will tomorrow offer sacrifice to Zeus and all the gods, And load well my ships and drag them into the sea; And thou shalt behold them if thou wilt, and if thou carest aught for this, Very early in the morning sailing over the fishy Hellespont, Those ships of mine, with men in them eager to row; And if the famous Earth-Shaker grant me fair voyage, On the third day shall I come to fertile Phthia. And I have many possessions which I left behind there when I came, And other gold from here and ruddy bronze THE ILIAD, BOOKS VII, VIII, IX, X '35 Will I bring, all that I have won; but my prize, though he gave it, Did Lord Agamemnon, son of Atreus, insolently take away again. Therefore tell him all as I bid thee, openly, that the other Achaeans too may hate him, If he thinks to deceive still any of the DanaoiHe, ever clothed with shamelessness! Nor would he dare, Dog that he is, to look me in the face! Nor will I join in counsel with him nor in deed, For he hath utterly deceived me and sinned against me, Nor can he deceive me again with words; it is enough of him! But let him go his evil way unhindered; For the Counselor Zeus hath bereft him of sense. f) And hateful to me are his gifts. I care not a straw for them! Not even if he should offer me ten or twenty times As many as he now has, and others should be added thereto, Even as many as come to Orchomenos, Or to Egyptian Thebes, where very many treasures are stored up in their houses, A city of a hundred gates, and two hundred men Go forth from each with horses and chariots. Not even if he offer me gifts as many as are the sand and dust, Not even then could Agamemnon again persuade my spirit, Till he repay me in full for all my heart-paining insult. And I will wed no daughter of Agamemnon, son of Atreus, Not even if she rival golden Aphrodite in beauty, And prove the equal of gleaming-eyed Athena in skill, Not even then will I marry her. But let him choose Some other of the Achaeans, who, forsooth, is better suited to him and more kingly! For if the gods save my life, and I return home, Peleus himself will seek out a wife for me. There are many Achaean women throughout Greece and Phthia, Daughters of chieftains who protect their cities. Of these whomsoever I wish I will make my wife; 136 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD And in that land my manly heart was strongly set To marry a wife, a becoming mate, And to enjoy the possessions which Peleus had won. g) For nothing is to be valued in comparison with life, not even All they say that Ilion possessed, a well-founded citadel, Of old, in time of peace, before the sons of the Achaeans came; Nor all that the stone threshold Of the archer, Phoebus Apollo, encloses in rocky Pytho; For won may be cattle and goodly sheep, And won may be tripods and sorrel head of horses; But the soul of a man there is no way to win back Nor to bring again, when once it has passed the bulwark of his teeth. For my mother, silver-footed Thetis, says That two diverse destinies bear me toward the end of death: If I remain here and fight about the city of the Trojans, Lost is my chance of return, but my glory shall be imperishable; But if I return home again into my dear native land, Lost is my excellent fame, but long Shall be my life, nor soon shall the fate of death overtake me. h) And as for the rest of you, I would counsel you To sail home again, since no longer are you destined to find The appointed end of steep Troy; for surely doth far-thundering Zeus Hold his hand over it, and the inhabitants have taken courage. But go to the chieftains of the Achaeans; Declare openly your message; for that is the right of counselors, That they may devise some better counsel in their hearts, Which may save the ships and host of the Achaeans Upon the hollow ships; for this plan has not been realized, Which now they have devised, since I still hold my anger. But let Phoenix stay here with us and pass the night, That he may follow me in the ships to his dear native land On the morrow, if he wish; but I will use no compulsion." -Iliad ix. 307-429 THE ILIAD, BOOKS VII, VIII, IX, X i37 This long speech of Achilles, notable in the early history of Greek oratory, may be briefly summarized by sections as follows: (a) I will be plain with you; (b) fighting in another's cause is a thankless task at best; (c) but I have special reason to withdraw; for Agamemnon insulted me and robbed me of my prize, and I will not be cheated a second time; (d) forsooth he has dug a trench and built a wall during my absence; let him devise some way to keep the ships from being fired; for Hector now prevails, who formerly did not venture far from the city walls; (e) but now I am determined to sail for home tomorrow and abandon him to his own folly-wrought destruction; (f) and as for the gifts he offers, I hate them; rather will I marry the daughter of a neighboring chieftain and enjoy my possessions in Phthia; (g) for nothing is so precious as life, and my life must be short if I stay here, while it may be long and prosperous if I return home; (h) and I would advise the rest of you to go home too; for you can never take Troy; only let Phoenix pass the night here with me, and, if he will, go home with me tomorrow. So spake he; and they all became hushed in silence, Wondering at his speech; for he had spoken powerfully. And at last the aged knight Phoenix spoke among them With welling tears; for he feared greatly for the ships of the Achaeans. -Iliad ix. 430-33 And now we come to one of the gems of Book ix, the pathetic appeal of the aged Phoenix to his brilliant but selfwilled young ward. THE PLEA OF PHOENIX a) If now it is return thou hast in mind, radiant Achilles, And art not willing at all to ward off Devouring fire from the swift ships, since wrath hath fallen upon thy soul, How then, separated from thee, dear child, Could I endure to be left alone? And the aged knight Peleus I38 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Sent me with thee on the day when he sent thee from Phthia to Agamemnon, Young, as yet knowing nought of all-leveling war, Nor of assemblies where men become eminent; Therefore he sent me to teach thee all these things, To be both a speaker of words and a doer of deeds. So then I should not wish to be left behind by thee, Not even if the god himself should promise me That, stripping off old age, I might put on blooming youth, As when first I left Hellas, home of fair women. -Iliad ix. 478-79 Here Phoenix relates how he had quarreled with his father over a concubine and how his father had invoked upon him the wrath of the hated Erinnyes and how he had at last made his escape from his relatives, who were watching him by the light of fires kindled at night. Then I fled far away through Hellas with its broad dancing places, And came to fertile Phthia, mother of sheep, unto King Peleus. -Iliad ix. 478-,79 King Peleus received him kindly and made him wealthy. PHOENIX WITH THE CHILD ACHILLES b) I set so much store by thee, Achilles like unto the gods, And loved thee so from my heart, that thou wouldst not Go to the banquet with any other or dine in the hall, Until I set thee on my knees and satisfied thee With a first morsel of food, and held up the wine to thy lips; And often didst thou wet the tunic on my breast, Spurting out the wine in troublesome childishness. So I suffered very much for thee and toiled much, Ever thinking this, that the gods had granted me no issue; But I was trying to make thee my son, Achilles like unto the gods, That thou mightest some day defend me against unseemly ruin. But, Achilles, subdue thy proud spirit; Nor is it right that thou shouldst cherish a pitiless heart. The gods themselves may be moved, Whose merit and honor and might are greatest, THE ILIAD, BOOKS VII, VIII, IX, X I39 And with sacrifices and gentle prayers And libations and incense men turn them aside from their purposes, Supplicating them whenever anyone transgresses or sins. -Iliad ix. 485-50I The concluding lines of this passage are quoted by Plato (Republic ii, 364d) in order that the view of the gods which they express may later be disapproved by the philosopher. There follows the "Allegory of the Prayers" (the Litai), which is apparently the earliest instance of an allegory in Greek literature, unless the brief allegory of Ate in Iliad xix. 9I-94 be really in an older part of the Iliad and therefore earlier. THE ALLEGORY OF THE PRAYERS c) For Prayers are the daughters of great Zeus, Lame and wrinkled and casting their eyes to one side, Who long afterward come and grieve for sin. But sin (Ate) is strong and swift-footed; hence she Far outruns all and is in the lead over all the earth, Harming mankind; but Prayers cure men afterward; Whosoever reveres the daughters of Zeus as they draw nigh, Him they greatly benefit, and listen to him when he prays; But if anyone refuses and obstinately rejects them, They go and supplicate Zeus, son of Kronos, That retribution may follow, in order that their despiser may be injured and pay the penalty. But, Achilles, do thou also grant unto the daughters of Zeus That respect which bears sway in the minds of the noble. -Iliad ix. 502-I4 Phoenix emphasizes the importance of the gifts offered on the spot by Agamemnon, with promise of others to follow. He urges Achilles not to continue to nurse his wrath-a course that might have been condoned before but is now inexcusable. And to reinforce his point, Phoenix relates the story of Meleager (524-99), who was at last forced to defend his native city of Calydon but failed to obtain the rich presents which I40 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD might have been his had he relented at first. This episode is referred to as "the glories of heroes of the olden time" (klea andron). Achiles too, as we may recall, was singing the klea andron when the ambassadors came to his tent. At the beginning of the Meleager episode Phoenix tells how Artemis sent a terrible boar to devastate the fields of King Oeneus of Calydon (in Aetolia) because he had failed to make the harvest offerings (Thalysia, cf. Theocritus, Idyll vii) to her on the slope of his vineyard. The boar had already overthrown many tall trees, roots, and fruit, blossoms and all, and had caused many men to mount the funeral pyre, when the king's son, Meleager, collected heroes and dogs and slew the beast. Then a dispute arose between the Curetes and the Aetolians as to the possession of the boar's head and hide, in the course of which Meleager killed his own uncle, the brother of his mother, Althea. In the conflict that followed, as long as Meleager fought on the side of the Aetolians things went badly for the Curetes. IDAS AND MARPESSA But when anger entered the heart of Meleager, That which causes the spirit to swell even in the breast of the wise, Then he, angered in heart at his own mother, Althea, Remained with his wedded wife, the fair Cleopatra, Daughter of Marpessa, who in turn was descended from the fair-ankled daughter of Evenus, And of Idas, who was the mightiest of earth-born men Of that age, and who lifted up his bow against the king, Phoebus Apollo, for the sake of his fair-ankled bride; Whom then her father and revered mother within their halls Called Alcyone by name, because her mother, Having the same fate as the much-grieving halcyon, Wept ever, after the Far-Worker, Phoebus Apollo, snatched her away. -Iliad ix. 553-64 The legend of Idas and Marpessa is found represented on Attic vases. It is the subject of a poem by Stephen Phillips, THE ILIAD, BOOKS VII, VIII, IX, X I4I who represents Marpessa as choosing mortal life with Idas rather than immortality with Apollo. Now, continuing his story, Phoenix tells of the vengeance wreaked by Althea upon her son, Meleager. CALLING UPON THE ERINNYES And many times did Althea beat with her hands Upon the many-feeding earth, Calling upon Hades and dread Persephone, As she knelt upon the ground and wet her bosom with tears, That they might give over her son to death. And the Erinys that walketh in darkness With pitiless heart heard her from Erebos. And soon about their gates arose shouting and the din of war, As their towers were stormed. And the old men Of the Aetolians besought him, and sent excellent priests of the gods Begging him to come forth and help them, and sent him a great gift. -Iliad ix. 568-76 THE WRATH OF MELEAGER And earnestly did the aged knight Oecneus supplicate him, Standing on the threshold of his high-roofed chamber, Shaking the strongly framed doors, beseeching his son. And earnestly did his brethren and revered mother Beseech him. But he all the more refused them And earnestly did his companions implore him, They who were the nearest and dearest of all; But not even thus did they persuade his soul in his breast; Till at last his chamber was being strongly attacked, And the Curetes were climbing the towers, And setting fire to the great city. Then did his fair-girdled wife beseech Meleager In anguish, and told him all the woes That befall those whose city is taken: They kill the men, and fire burns the city to dust, And strangers lead away the children and deep-girdled women; And his spirit was roused, as he heard of evil deeds, And he started to go, and put his all-shining armor about him. 142 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Thus did he ward off the evil day of the Aetolians, Yielding to his impulse; but they no longer presented gifts to him Many and graceful; yet he warded off evil none the less. -Iliad ix. 566-76, 58I-99 Phoenix concludes with an appeal to Achilles not to be like Meleager and wait till his tardy assistance will bring him neither presents nor honor. Achilles again refuses, saying that as for honor he will receive that from Zeus, and warning Phoenix against taking the side of his enemy lest he also seem an enemy to Achilles. The hero then offers the old man lodging for the night. Both the other ambassadors having failed, Ajax urges that they return at once, and make their report to the Greeks; for Achilles, he says, will not relent, nor regard the love of his friends. AJAX TO ACHILLES Pitiless man! for one accepts expiation (poine) For the murder of a brother or a son that has been killed, And the murderer remains in the land, having paid much, And the avenger's heart and haughty spirit are restrained, Having received the expiation. But as for thee, The gods have put an implacable and evil spirit In thy breast, all for the sake of one single maiden, While now we offer thee seven by far the best, And many other gifts besides; but have a yielding heart, And have regard for hospitality, for we are under your roof. -Iliad ix. 632-40 Leaf well remarks that Ajax's numerical argument (seven maidens offered instead of the one girl, Briseis) is "well suited to the not over-subtle quality of his intellect." Van Leeuwen compares Aristophanes' Birds i638-39. Here another heavyweight, Hercules, says, O you strange fellow, Poseidon, where are you going? Shall we quarrel about one single woman? Achilles refuses the appeal of Ajax also. THE ILIAD, BOOKS VII, VIII, IX, X 143 ACHILLES' FINAL REFUSAL But my heart swells with resentment Whenever I think of this, how vilely the son of Atreus Has treated me among the Argives, like some wanderer in disgrace! But do you go and carry back your message; For I will not bethink me of bloody warfare Till the son of fiery-hearted Priam, the divine Hector, Come to the tents and ships of the Myrmidons Slaying the Argives, and consume their ships with fire. But at my tent and black ship Methinks that Hector will stay his hand, though eager for battle. -Iliad ix. 646-55 The ambassadors return to the tent of Agamemnon, where the sons of the Achaeans rise and pledge them in cups of gold and inquire the result of the embassy. Odysseus reports their failure and the threat of Achilles to return home. All remain silent for some time. THE COUNSEL OF DIOMED And at last Diomed, good at the battle cry, spoke among them: "Most glorious son of Atreus, Agamemnon, king of men, Would that thou hadst not supplicated the blameless son of Peleus, Offering countless gifts; for he is haughty at best; And now thou hast only encouraged him the more in his haughtiness. But let us have done with him, whether he will depart Or remain; and he will fight again Whenever his heart bids him, or a god rouses him. But come! as I say let us all obey: Now go to rest after first satisfying your hearts With food and wine; for in this is strength and valor. But when beautiful, rosy-fingered Dawn appears, Quickly array the people and the horses before the ships, Urging them on, and do thou thyself fight among the foremost." And when they had poured libations, each went to his tent, Where they lay down and took the gift of sleep. — Iliad ix. 696-end. I44 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD BOOK X. THE LAY OF DOLON Eustathius (twelfth century A.D.) remarks about Book x: "The ancients say that this rhapsody was composed by Homer separately and not counted among the parts of the Iliad, but was given a place in the poem by Pisistratus." The main events narrated in this book-the night raid of Odysseus and Diomed upon the Trojan camp; the meeting with, capture, and death of the Trojan spy, Dolon ("Trickster"); and the capture by the Greek heroes of the famous horses of Rhesus -are clearly not essential to the plot of the Iliad. Carl Robert (Studien zur Ilias, I90I, p. 501) is probably right in holding that it is one of the latest portions of the Iliad, inserted into, rather than adapted to, its present position. On the other hand, though probably late, this book has had considerable influence in both literature and art. The earliest play of Euripides, the Rhesus, is closely based upon this book and has been described as "the Doloncia cut up into acts." Among the pictures which Aeneas sees in the palace of Dido is one relating to the capture of the horses of Rhesus (Aeneid i. 469-73): Nec procul hinc Rhesi niveis tentoria velis Agnoscit lacrimans, primo quae prodita somno Tydides multa vastabat caede cruentus, Ardentisque avertit equos in castra, priusquam Pabula gustassent Troiae Xanthumque bibissent. The episode of Dolon was a favorite subject on Greek vases also; and here, as in the case of the Rhesus, the Homeric story was followed closely. The capture of Dolon by Diomed and Odysseus is depicted upon an Apulian vase (krater). (See Baumeister, Denkmaeler des klassischen Altertums, I, 459.) Book x is here passed over briefly, because it contains few passages of real literary merit. CHAPTER VII THE ILIAD, BOOKS XI AND XII BOOK XI In Book xi, Agamemnonos Aristeia ("The Exploits of Agamemnon"), we come upon one of the oldest portions of the original "Wrath Poem (Menis)." The book falls distinctly into two major portions. Part I is mainly occupied with a great battle scene in which three of the most prominent Greek leaders-Agamemnon, Diomed, and Odysseus-are wounded and have to withdraw from the field. Part II, usually called the Nestoris or the "Interview of Nestor with Patroclus," is not so closely connected with the main theme of the Iliad, but is obviously intended to bring the battle of the first part of Book xi into connection with the Patrokleia ("The Song of the Sending-Forth and Death of Patroclus") in Book xvi. Since the time of W. Christ's edition of the Iliad (Homeri Iliadis Carmina, 1884) scholars have with considerable unanimity regarded Book xi as a continuation of the original "Wrath Poem," from which the Iliad, as we have it, digresses at the close of Book i or at least in Book ii. There is, however, some disagreement as to the delimitation and nature of the two parts. W. Christ regards I-595 as belonging to the first part; Leaf would have it begin at 56 and extend to 669; Robert (I9OI), Finsler (I918), and Wilamowitz (1920) agree in having this part end at 574. As to the nature of Part I, W. Christ calls it carmen praeclarissimum idemque vetustissimum: Leaf says that it "is so exactly what is required after the quarrel and the promise of 145 I46 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Zeus to Thetis in the first book, and the sending of the deceitful Dream in the second, that we clearly have here the continuation of the old story of the Menis"; Wilamowitz regards it as a masterpiece of artistically unified composition, calling attention to the way in which the poet, although he sketches sharply many individual scenes, never loses sight of the few main actors. One may remark here that the same is true of Books i, xvi, and xxii. These, with Book xi, are the only books which the great French scholars A. and M. Croiset admitted into their scheme of the original Iliad. As to Part II, again opinions differ both as to its delimitation and its nature. Leaf would have it extend only to 76I and would regard 762-end as taking up again the original "Wrath Poem"; W. Christ and Wilamowitz would have it extend to the end of the book. Again, Leaf regards the whole story of the youthful exploits of Nestor as "of clearly late origin"; Wilamowitz agrees as to its lateness, but specially emphasizes its completeness. It has as its beginning the scene in the tent of Nestor, including the entrance of Patroclus; its middle or main portion deals with the exploits of Nestor, who is the hero of this little epic; and its conclusion is the appeal of Nestor to Patroclus and that hero's departure. The opening section of Book xi, namely verses I-55, is probably a later addition to the "Wrath Poem"; this section contains many repeated lines. The description of sunrise at the beginning is, however, worth noting. SUNRISE And Dawn arose from her couch beside illustrious Tithonus, That she might bring light to immortals and to mortals. -Iliad xi. I-2 Compare the description of sunrise in viii. I, Now morning in robe yellow like the crocus was spread over all the earth. THE ILIAD, BOOK XI 147 Virgil (Aeneid iv. 584-85) conflates these two passages: Et iam prima novo spargebat lumine terras Tithoni croceum linquens Aurora cubile. (And now early Dawn was sprinkling the lands with fresh light, leaving the crocus-colored couch of Tithonus.) The description of the arming of Agamemnon, which follows in Book xi, is on the whole not so well done as the corresponding passage in Book ii (35-52). The mention of the island of Cyprus and of the Gorgon's head in xi are marks of lateness. With verse 56, however, the "Wrath Poem" begins again, being continued from the early part of Book ii (I-52), where Zeus, who is beginning to fulfil the promise he had made to Thetis in i. 512, sends a false dream to Agamemnon to intimate to him that he can take Troy that very day without the help of Achilles. Agamemnon, accordingly, rises at early dawn, arms himself, and summons the Greeks. We now turn to Book xi. 56, and find that the Trojans on their side are mustering about Hector upon a hill in the plain. THE STAR AMONG THE CLOUDS And as a beautiful star appears out from among the clouds, All-brilliant, and then enters the shadowy clouds again, So Hector apeared, now among the foremost, And now among those in the rear, issuing commands. -Iliad xi. 62-65 The battle which ensues is described with unusual vigor and with a wealth of similes. From this introductory description of the general battle the following passages have been selected. THE REAPERS And as reapers opposite one another Cut a swath of wheat or barley adown 148 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD The field of a wealthy man, and the handfuls fall thickly, So the Trojans and the Achaeans, leaping upon one another, Fought; nor did either host bethink itself of destructive flight. -Iliad xi. 67-7I THE WOODCUTTER Now as long as it was morning and the sacred day increased, The missiles laid hold right well and the people kept falling; But at the time when the woodcutter prepares his supper In the mountain glens, after he has satisfied his hands With cutting tall trees, and his heart is contented, And desire of sweet food fastens on his mind, Then by their courage the Danaoi broke through the masses of men, Urging on their comrades in the ranks. -Iliad xi. 84-9I We come now to the Exploits of Agamemnon (Agamemnonos Aristeia), for which this book is named. Agamemnon leaps upon the Trojans and slays first Bienor and his companion Oileus: And Agamemnon, king of men, left them there With their breasts all-shining, since he had stripped them of their tunics, And he passed on to attack Isus and Antiphus. — liad xi. 99-Ioi Agamemnon captures the two sons of Antimachus, both in the same chariot. It was their father who would not suffer the Trojans to give back Helen. In their fright both were trying to drive; the reins slipped from their hands, and the horses were thrown into confusion. The two Trojans supplicate Agamemnon from the chariot and offer ransom; but he harshly rejects their suit and kills both with circumstances of unusual gruesomeness. THE FOREST FIRE Footmen destroyed footmen, as they fled of necessity, And horsemen horsemen.... And as when a destructive fire falls upon a dense forest, And the wind, whirling it about, bears it everywhere, THE ILIAD, BOOK XI I49 And the bushes fall root and branch, assailed by the onrush of flame, So beneath Agamemnon, son of Atreus, fell the heads Of fleeing Trojans, and many high-necked horses Rattled empty chariots along the bridges of war, Lacking their excellent drivers. But they Lay upon the ground, dearer far to the vultures than to their wives. -Iliad xi. I50-5I, I55-62 With the last line, compare Matthew Arnold in Sohrab and Rustum: Dearer to the red jackals shalt thou be Than to thy friends and to thy father old. And with the third line from the end, compare Tennyson in "Love Thou Thy Land": To follow flying steps of truth Across the brazen bridge of war. Meanwhile Agamemnon pursues the fleeing Trojans past the tomb of Ilos in the middle of the plain and past the wild fig tree near the sources of the Scamander, with cries and with hands stained with gore. THE LION AND THE CATTLE But when they came to the Scaean Gates and the oak tree, They stood their ground and waited for one another. But the Trojans were still fleeing along the midst of the plain, Like cattle which a lion frightens as he comes upon them in the grasp of night, One and all, and for one of them appears sudden destruction. And the lion first seizes it with his powerful teeth and breaks its neck, And then laps up the blood and all the entrails. So the son of Atreus, Lord Agamemnon, was pursuing them, Always slaying the hindmost, and they were fleeing. — Iliad xi. I 70-78 THE MESSAGE TO HECTOR But when now they were about to come to the city beneath the steep wall, The father of men and of gods came down from heaven I50 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD And took his seat upon the peak of many-fountained Ida, Holding the thunderbolt in his hands. And he aroused Golden-winged Iris to go bearing a message: "Up, go! swift Iris, bear this message to Hector; As long as he shall see Agamemnon, shepherd of the people, Raging in the forefront of battle, slaying the ranks of men, So long let him withdraw and leave it to the rest of the host To contend with the enemy throughout the mighty combat; But when Agamemnon, either smitten by a spear or struck by an arrow, Shall leap into his chariot, then I will grant power unto him To slay till he reach the well-decked ships And the sun set and darkness come on." -Iliad xi. 18I-94 The account of the victorious career of Agamemnon which now follows is called by Wilamowitz "a masterpiece of vivid and pathetic narrative." It is specially set off by an invocation to the Muses, appropriate (as Leaf observes) at this point, because this is the beginning of the turning point of the Iliad, leading as it does to the wounding of Agamemnon and the failure of the Greeks to succeed without the help of Achilles. INVOCATION TO THE MUSES Tell me now, ye Muses, that have homes on Olympus, Who first came to meet Agamemnon, Either of the Trojans themselves or of their famed allies? Iphidamas, Antenor's son, great and mighty, Who was reared in fertile Thrace, mother of sheep. -Iliad xi. 218-22 Homer then tells us how Iphidamas left his newly wedded wife, following "after the fame of the Achaeans" (22 7), and was slain by Agamemnon. THE YOUNG BRIDEGROOM And falling there slept brazen sleep, Poor lad, far from his wedded wife, THE ILIAD, BOOK XI ISI Fighting for his country and his youthful wife, Whose favor he never enjoyed, though he gave many gifts for her. -Iliad xi. 241-43 Agamemnon is soon wounded on the forearm by Iphidamas' elder brother and has to withdraw from the field, borne away by his beautiful-maned horses, whose breasts are flecked with froth and bodies sprinkled with dust as they carry him far from the battle. Hector notices his flight and calls to the Trojans, As when a hunter urges his white-toothed dogs Against a wild boar or a lion. -Iliad xi. 292-93 HECTOR ENTERS THE COMBAT And Hector with high courage took his stand among the foremost, And rushed into battle like a storm blowing from on high That leaps upon the violent sea and upturns it. -Iliad xi. 296-98 As the career of Agamemnon was introduced by an invocation to the Muses, the rally of the Trojans led by Hector is introduced by a question: Then whom first, whom last did Hector, son of Priam, slay When Zeus granted him glory? -Iliad xi. 299-300 Compare the same question with reference to Hector and Ares in Book v. 703, and with reference to Patroclus in Book xvi. 692. Compare also Milton's introduction to his catalogue of fallen angels in Paradise Lost, I, 376: Say, Muse, their names then known, who first, who last, Roused from the slumber on that fiery couch At their great Emperor's call....? There follows one of those similes of wind and wave and cloud that recall to a modem reader the poetry of Shelley. I52 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD THE GATHERING WAVE And as when Zephyrus scatters the clouds Brought by white Notus, smiting them with his deep blast, And the gathering wave is rolled on high, And the foam is scattered aloft, beneath The roaring of the wide-wandering wind, So then many heads among the host were subdued by Hector. -Iliad xi. 305-9 Soon the Greeks rally again, led by Odysseus and Diomed. Hector is stunned by a blow on the head from Diomed and sinks to the ground, but recovers before the Greek can smite him again and, leaping into his chariot, makes his escape. Diomed darts after him. DIOMED TAUNTS HECTOR Again thou hast escaped death, thou cur! Though evil came nigh thee; but Phoebus Apollo Hath rescued thee, to whom doubtless thou prayest When thou enterest the din of spears. — Iliad xi. 362-64 But Diomed himself is soon wounded lightly in the foot by an arrow from the bow of Paris, who springs from his hiding place and cries out exultingly. PARIS EXULTS OVER DIOMED Thou art smitten. Not in vain flew the missile from my hand. Would that it had pierced thine inmost vitals and taken away thy life! Then would the Trojans have breathed again after their distress, Who dread thee as bleating goats the lion. -Iliad xi. 380-83 The retort of Diomed is full of bitterness. DIOMED SCORNS PARIS Mere bowman, insulter, proud of thy dandified locks, spying on maidens, If now thou hadst tried to meet me face to face with weapons, Thy bow and ready arrows would not have availed thee; But now vain is thy boast, for thou hast only grazed the flat of my foot. I care not, as if a woman should strike me or young child; THE ILIAD, BOOK XI I53 For blunt is the weapon of an unvaliant, worthless man. Quite otherwise, if one be but lightly touched by me; Sharp does my weapon prove and soon deprives him of life, And both his wife's cheeks are torn, and his children orphaned, And he reddens the ground with his blood and rots away, And about him are more vultures than womenfolk. -Iliad xi. 385-95 Nevertheless Diomed is soon forced by the pain of his wound to withdraw, leaving Odysseus to confront a throng of enemies, who surround him. THE ANGRY BOAR As when the dogs and vigorous huntsmen about a boar Hurl themselves, and he comes forth from the thick brushwood Whetting his white tusks upon his curved jaws, And they throng about him, and there arises the gnashing of teeth, And they eagerly await his attack, dread though he be, So then the Trojans thronged about Zeus-loved Odysseus. -Iliad xi. 4I4-20 But in spite of all his bravery Odysseus is wounded in the side by the Trojan youth Socus, who is himself struck down by the Greek hero. ODYSSEUS TO His VICTIM Ah wretch, for thee no father or revered mother Shall close thine eyes when thou art dead; But vultures, eaters of raw flesh, shall drag thee away And flap their thick wings about thee. But when I die, the divine Achaeans shall grant me funeral honors. -Iliad xi. 452-55 These, says Wilamowitz, are words of latent pathos such as are found only in the loftiest poetry. For we know that Odysseus himself was not buried by his parents. Retreating wounded and bleeding, Odysseus calls to his friends; and Ajax and Menelaus come to his help. The situation is described in an expanded simile which is typically Homeric. I54 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD AN EXPANDED SIMILE Then they found Odysseus dear to Zeus, and round about him Followed the Trojans, as the tawny jackals in the mountains Throng about a wounded stag which a man has smitten With an arrow from his bowstring; and the stag avoids the hunter, Fleeing on foot as long as his blood is warm and his limbs sustain him; But when the swift arrow overcomes him, the ravenous jackals Begin to devour him in a shadowy glade in the mountains; And a god sends against the jackals a prowling lion, And the jackals scatter in terror; and the lion eats him; So then round about fiery-hearted Odysseus, rich in counsel, Pressed the Trojans many and valiant; but the hero, Thrusting with his spear, warded off the pitiless day. And Ajax came near, bearing a shield like a tower, And stood forth beside him; and the Trojans fled in terror this way and that. -Iliad xi. 473-86 Menelaus leads Odysseus away to a place of safety, while Ajax sweeps the Trojans before him like a mountain torrent. The physician Machaon is wounded by Paris, and Idomeneus bids Nestor carry him to the ships in his own chariot, For a physician is a man worth many others. -Iliad xi. 514 This verse is quoted by Plato in Symposium, 2 I4b. This section of Book xi, important, as we shall see later, in relation to the whole plot of the Iliad, ends with the description of Nestor bearing the wounded Machaon off the field in his chariot. Meantime Cebriones, the charioteer of Hector, urges his master to go to the help of the Trojans. The two drive on impetuously in their blood-stained chariot over the bodies and shields of the dead, and cause fear even to Ajax, who Stood astonished, and cast his shield of seven oxhides behind him, And trembled as he gazed upon the throng, like a wild animal, Turning frequently about and slowly changing knee for knee. -Iliad xi. 545-47 THE ILIAD, BOOK XI I55 So Ajax retreats slowly before the Trojans, fearing greatly for the ships of the Achaeans, for he was now the only hero left to defend them. THE ASS DRIVEN OFF BY CHILDREN And as when an ass, passing by a tilled field, Is more than a match for boys, on account of his stubbornness, Though many staves are broken about him, And he enters and feeds on the deep-standing grain; And the boys strike him with staves, but their strength is slight And scarcely do they drive him out when he has satisfied himself with fodder; So then the high-spirited Trojans and their far-famed allies Kept following great Ajax, son of Telamon, Piercing the midst of his shield with their spears. -Iliad xi. 558-65 At this point Eurypylus notices the plight of Ajax and calls upon the Greeks to come to his aid, but is himself wounded in the thigh by an arrow. We shall meet him later (8'I) "limping off the field." The narrative now returns to the point where the wounded physician Machaon was being carried off the field by Nestor in his chariot, and we have what might be called the earliest anticipation of the Patrokleia ("Song of the Death of Patroclus") in Book xvi. The poet tells how Achilles, standing by the stern of his ship, saw the distress and flight of the Greeks and called to Patroclus: And he heard from within his tent, And came forth like unto Ares, but it was for him the beginning of evil. -Iliad xi. 603-4 The last clause is imitated by Virgil in Aeneid iv. I69 -170: Ille dies primus leti primusque malorum Causa fuit.... A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Achilles, feeling that the time has now come when the Achaeans will stand about his knees supplicating his aid, sends Patroclus to the tent of Nestor to inquire whether the wounded warrior who was being carried past in Nestor's chariot was really Machaon. This leads to Patroclus' visit to Nestor, when the old man implores him to use his influence with Achilles to help the Greeks in their dire need. This in turn leads to the sending-forth of Patroclus and his death. Hence it was for him "the beginning of evil." Speaking now of Nestor and Machaon, Homer gives another tent scene. SCENE IN THE TENT OF NESTOR Now when they came to the tent of the son of Neleus, They dismounted upon the many-feeding earth, And Eurymedon, the servant of that old man, Loosed the horses from the chariot; and the heroes Dried the sweat from their tunics, standing facing The breeze by the beach of the sea. And then they entered the tent and took their seats upon chairs. And fair-tressed Hecamede, whom the old man Had won from Tenedos when Achilles laid it wasteThe daughter of great-hearted Arsinoiis, she whom the Achaeans Had chosen for him because he excelled in councilPrepared a mingled drink for them. First she drew up for them a beautiful, well-polished Table with feet of cyanus,1 and placed upon it a brazen basket, And in it an onion as a relish for their drink, And yellow honey, and beside it sacred barley meal, 1Cyanus was a dark-blue material used in the Heroic age to ornament metal work. The cup of Nestor mentioned above became famous in antiquity. Martial (Epigrams viii. 6) complains of the Roman archaeologist who discourses at length upon his treasures while the wine in his guests' cups becomes vapid. Among these treasures is a cup with two supports, descended from aged Nestor, while the pigeon (upon the cup) is worn and shining from the thumb of the Pylian king. But the best illustration of Nestor's cup is the gold cup found by Schliemann at Mycenae. (See Schuchhardt, Schliemann's Excavations, p. 24I; or Bury, History of Greece, p. 51.) THE ILIAD, BOOK XI I57 And by this a very beautiful cup, which the old man had brought from home, Set with silver studs, and it had four handles, And two golden pigeons upon each handle were feeding, And two supports were beneath it. Another could only with effort have moved it from the table When it was filled, but Nestor, old man that he was, lifted it easily. In this the woman like unto the goddesses mingled water With Pramnian wine, and grated goat's cheese over it With a brazen grater, and sprinkled white barley upon it, And bade them drink, when she had prepared the posset. -Iliad xi. 618-41 It is interesting to note how common in the Iliad is the notion that men of former times were stronger than those of the present time. In Book i. 27 I, we are told that none of those who are now mortals upon the earth could fight with the centaurs, as Nestor and his generation had done. In v. 302, Diomed seizes in his hand a great stone such as no two men now alive could carry, and hurls it at Aeneas. In xii. 3 78, Ajax hurls at his opponent a jagged stone such as not even a man in full strength of youth could lift in both hands-a man of those who are now mortals. In xii. 449, Hector easily lifts in one hand and carries like a ram's fleece a great stone such as no two men who are now mortals, and the best in the land at that, could easily pry from the ground and load upon a wagon. And in xx. 285, Aeneas easily brandishes unaided a great stone such as no two men of the present time could carry. At this point in the story Patroclus appears at the door of Nestor's tent; he sees that the wounded warrior is Machaon and is about to hasten back to Achilles when Nestor delays him by a long account of his own youthful exploits, closing with a mention of his visit to Peleus, father of Achilles, and to the father of Patroclus. This gives a picture of the long friendship between Patroclus and Achilles. Nestor asks the help of Patroclus. A STUDY OF THE ILIAD "SPEAK TO ACHILLES!" Now the aged Peleus charged his son Achilles Always to excel and be superior to the rest; While Menoetius, Actor's son, charged thee thus: "My son, Achilles is of higher birth to be sure, But thou art the elder, though he far excels in strength. So give him counsel and advise him, And direct him, and he will obey thee for his good." Thus the old man charged thee, but thou forgettest. But even now speak this word to the fiery-hearted Achilles, If perchance he may obey thee. Who knows whether by a god's help thou mightest arouse his spirit And persuade him? And good is the persuasion of a friend. But if he is heeding in his mind any warning from the gods, Or if his revered mother has told him any from Zeus, At least let him send thee forth, and let the rest Of the host of the Myrmidons follow, if any light of hope May arise for the Danaoi. And let him give thee His beautiful arms to wear, if perchance the Trojans, Taking thee for him, may desist from war; But brief is the respite from war; And easily might unwearied men thrust back the wearied Toward the city with battle cry from ships and tents. -Iliad xi. 783-803 Thus the foundation is laid for the sending-forth of Patroclus and for his death (in Book xvi) and for the capture of the arms (in Book xvii) and for the making of new armor for Achilles (in Book xviii) and in general for the central action of the Iliad. One more vivid picture brings us to the close of Book xi. As Patroclus is returning on a run to the tent of Achilles, he meets Eurypylus, who has been wounded in the thigh and is "limping off the field." Sweat is pouring from the head and shoulders of Eurypylus, and the blood is trickling from his wound; but in answer to a question from Patroclus as to the fate of the Greeks, he gives a concise summary. THE ILIAD, BOOK XII I59 THE PLIGHT OF THE GREEKS No longer, Zeus-descended Patroclus, shall there be any Defense for the Achaeans, but they will cast themselves upon the ships. For all those who formerly were bravest are lying upon the ships, Smitten and wounded at the hands of the Trojans, Whose strength ever increases. -Iliad xi. 823-27 Eurypylus then appeals to Patroclus to help him to the ships and to tend his wound, which Patroclus, "the ever kind," does. Indeed this part seems to have been introduced into the poem largely for the sake of furnishing some plausible occupation for Patroclus during the long interval between the close of the Agamemnonos Aristeia (in Book xi) and the beginning of the Patrokleia (in Book xvi). This subject is continued in xv. 390-404., BOOK XII Book xii bears the Greek title Teichomachia ("Battle at the Wall") and is chiefly notable for its similes, together with a few outstanding passages. The wall about the Greek camp (first mentioned in Book vii. 436) was probably the invention of some later poet. It will suffice for our purpose to give in translation some of the most noteworthy passages of Book xii. The poet, well knowing that no trace of the wall remained in historic times, foretells its destruction after the fall of Troy, in the tenth year of the siege at the hands of Apollo and Poseidon. He tells us that the wall was destined to stand but for a short time because it had been built against the will of the immortal gods. It was washed away, the poet says, by a great flood of all the rivers of Troy, which poured over it for nine days. The whole subject of the wall may be best dismissed with the brief saying of Aristotle, quoted by the geographer Strabo: "The poet who invented it also caused it to disappear." i6o A STUDY OF THE ILIAD SIMILE OF THE OAKS UPON THE MOUNTAIN TOP (Two Greek heroes await the attack of Asios upon the wall.) So then they stood before the high walls As do high-foliaged oaks upon the mountains, Which withstand the wind and rain all the days, Firmly supported by their great, far-reaching roots. -Iliad xii. 131-34 This simile is imitated by Virgil in Aeneid ix. 679-682, where the poet says of two Roman youths that they stoodQuales airiae liquentia flumina circum, Sive Padi ripis Athesim seu propter amoenum, Consurgunt geminae quercus intonsaque caelo Attollunt capita et sublimi vertice nutant. SIMILE OF THE HUNTED WILD BOARS (A little farther on this is said of the same Greek heroes.) And they two darting forth fought before the gates Like wild boars, which upon the mountains Withstand the noisy rabble of men and dogs, As they dash sideways and break down the brushwood about them, Cutting it off at the roots, and with it arises the gnashing of teeth, Till some hunter strikes them and takes away their lives. -Iliad xii. 145-50 SIMILE OF THE WASPS (Asios is disappointed by the stubborn resistance made by the Greeks to his attack.) And as slender-waisted, quick-moving wasps or bees Build their nests upon a winding road And do not abandon their hollow dwelling But awaiting the hunters make defense for their young; So they were not willing, though but two, To yield, till they should be either slain or taken. -Iliad xii. I67-72 THE ILIAD, BOOK XII I6I A notable passage, imitated and expanded by Shelley, is that about the omen which appears to Hector and Polydamas as they are about to cross the trench. THE OMEN OF THE EAGLE AND THE SERPENT For a bird of omen came to them as they were eager to cross, An eagle flying on high and skirting the army on his left, Bearing a huge, blood-red serpent in his claws, Still alive and gasping, and it had not yet forgotten to fight; For it drew back and struck him unremittingly on the breast by the throat; But he, pierced with pains, hurled it from him to the ground, And cast it down in the midst of the throng, And with a clanging sound flew away upon the blasts of the wind. -Iliad xii. 200-207 The first part of this simile is imitated and carried out more in detail by Virgil in Aeneid xi. 75 I-56: Utque volans alte raptum cum fulva draconem Fert aquila implicuitque pedes atque unguibus haesit, Saucius at serpens sinuosa volumina versat Arrectisque horret squamis et sibilat ore Arduus insurgens; illa haud minus urget obunco Luctantem rostro, simul aethera verberat alis. (And as when a tawny eagle, flying on high, seizes and carries away a serpent and twists his feet about it, and clings to it with his claws, while the wounded serpent turns this way and that its sinuous coils and bristles with uplifted scales and hisses with its mouth, eagerly lifting its head on high; while the eagle all the more attacks the struggling serpent with his hooked beak and at the same time beats the air with his wings....) Shelley in The Revolt of Islam, canto i, stanzas 8-14, has greatly expanded this figure of the eagle and the serpent. He has painted in more of the background of natural scenery and has given what may be called a romantic treatment of a i62 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD classical theme. He seems to draw upon both Homer and Virgil. Shelley's phrases "an eagle and a serpent wreathed in fight," "bright scales did leap," and "the vast bird would shake the strength of his unconquerable wings" seem to owe much to Virgil; but the conclusion of this splendid passage by Shelley is undoubtedly inspired by Homer, for it does not occur in Virgil, and moreover it corresponds very closely to the Greek. Shelley says, And at last Fell to the sea-while o'er the continent With clang of wings and screams, the Eagle past, Heavily borne away on the exhausted blast. As a final proof of Shelley's familiarity with this passage of Homer, it may be noted that these lines are quoted by Plato in his Ion, 539bc, and that this dialogue was translated by Shelley. HECTOR'S PATRIOTIC OUTBURST The Trojan seer Polydamas gives an unfavorable interpretation to the omen of the eagle and the serpent, and advises the withdrawal of the army. To this Hector violently objects. He says that this advice is tantamount to asking him to put his trust in mere birds rather than in the express promise of Zeus (apparently referring to a message brought to him by Iris from Zeus, in Book xi. 200-209). Hector's famous single line is: One omen is best, to fight for one's native land. -Iliad xii. 243 Compare Horace's still better-known saying (Odes iii. 2, I3): Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori, (It is a sweet and becoming thing to die for one's native land) which is perhaps based more directly upon certain lines of the Greek Lyric Poets. THE ILIAD, BOOK XII I63 SIMILE OF THE GREAT SNOWSTORM (Homer is describing the thick flight of missiles in the hottest part of the battle at the wall.) And as the flakes of snow fall thickly On a winter's day, when the Counselor Zeus has arisen To send forth snow, showing unto men his arrows; And having laid the winds to rest he pours them down continually, Till he covers the peaks of the lofty mountains and the farthest headlands And the clovery plains and the fat tilth of men; And upon the hoary sea he sheds them, and harbors and promontories; But the wave dashing against them keeps them off, Yet all else is wrapped in snow from above When the storm of Zeus weighs heavy upon it; So from their hands stones flew thickly from both sides, Both toward the Trojans and from the Trojans toward the Achaeans, As they hurled them, and all along the wall a din arose. -Iliad xii. 278-89 Urging on his fellow-countrymen to assail the wall, Sarpedon makes a memorable speech. 'NOBLESSE OBLIGE" Glaucus, why are we honored most With seats of honor and choice portions and full cups In Lycia, and why do all look up to us like gods? And a great preserve is ours by the banks of the Xanthus, Beautiful for vineyard and corn-bearing ploughland. Therefore now must we be among the foremost on the Lycian side And stand firm and meet the heat of battle, That many a man among the close-bucklered Lycians may say, "Forsooth not ingloriously do our kings bear sway In Lycia and eat fat sheep and drink choice, honey-sweet wine, But excellent is their prowess, since they fight among the foremost Lycians." O friend, if we, fleeing from this war, Were destined to be forever ageless and immortal, I would not fight among the foremost, i64 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Nor would I send thee into the battle where men win glory; But as it is, since the fates of death lie in wait for us In countless numbers, and a man can neither escape nor avoid them, Let us go, whether we are to furnish glory to another or he to us. -Iliad Xii. 310-28 The above passage is notable as voicing the feeling of the Homeric aristocracy that the special privileges which they enjoyed put them under obligation to the commons; and the latter part rises to the level of the philosophical and universal in that the very brevity of human life is cited as an incentive to noble deeds. For English readers it is especially connected with the incident related by. Robert Wood (I769) of Lord Granvillean incident repeated by Matthew Arnold in his essay "On Translating Homer." Wood tells how he was directed to wait upon Lord Granville with the preliminary articles of the Treaty of Paris, at the close of the Seven Years' War in 1763. He found him so languid that Wood proposed postponing the business till later. "But he insisted that I should stay," says Wood, "saying it could not prolong his life to neglect his duty; and repeating the following passage out of Sarpedon's speech, he dwelled with particular emphasis upon the third line ('Nor would I myself fight among the foremost'), which recalled to his mind the distinguishing part he had taken in public affairs. His Lordship repeated the last word ('Let us go') several times with a calm and determinate resignation; and after a serious pause of some minutes, he desired to hear the Treaty read... Sarpedon and his Lycians make great headway against the Greeks, and at last the hero seizes in his hands and tears down the breastwork (probably of planks) along the top of the wall (397). Then follow two interesting similes depicting the evenly balanced conflict over the wall. THE ILIAD, BOOK XII I65 SIMILE OF THE MEN WITH MEASURING-RODS But as two men contend about boundaries, Holding measuring-rods in their hands, in the common field, And within narrow space contend for their rights, So the battlements separated them. -Iliad xii. 42I-24 SIMILE OF THE POOR WOMAN WEIGHING WOOL And everywhere the towers and battlements Were sprinkled with the blood of men, Both on the side of the Trojans and on that of the Achaeans, But not even so were they able to turn the Achaeans to flight; But they held on as a poor woman, that works with her hands, Holds the balances containing on one side the weight and on the other the wool, And draws them up to make them equal, That she may win meager wages for her children's sake; So evenly were their fight and warfare balanced. -Iliad xii. 430-36 At last the battle inclines toward the Trojan side; and Hector, lifting up a great stone such as no two men of the present time could easily pry from the ground on to a wagon, breaks down the gates and rushes through them, with face like swift night and with eyes flashing fire, followed by the eager Trojans, while the Greeks flee in terror to their ships. CHAPTER VIII THE ILIAD, BOOKS XIII, XIV, AND XV The whole middle portion of the Iliad extending from the close of the battle scene of Book xi (that is, xi. 595) to the beginning of the Patrokleia (that is, xv. 592) should be considered at one time. Broadly viewed, it consists of (I) the battle for the possession of the wall about the Greek camp (in Book xii), in which the Trojans, led by Hector, finally win; (2) the battle at the ships, extending through Books xiii, xiv, and a large part of xv (to xv. 592). Leaf observes that during all this space the main action of the poem is not advanced. At xv. 674, Ajax is still defending the ships as he was at xi. 595. Again, this second part (Books xiii, xiv, and xv to the beginning of the Patrokleia) may be subdivided into two sections: (a) the various battle scenes, including especially the Aristeia of Idomeneus (Book xiii. 136-672) and (b) the Dios Apate, or "Deceiving of Zeus by Hera" (Book xiii. 1-125 and 795-837; Book xiv; and Book xv. 1-366). The episode of the Deceiving of Zeus is really one of the most beautiful in the Iliad. Wilamowitz suggests that it was composed as a counterpart to the many battle scenes of this middle part of the poem. One may compare the way in which the scenes with Helen in Book iii form an agreeable contrast to the battle scenes of that book, and the way in which the parting of Hector and Andromache relieves the battles of Book vi. BOOK XIII The Greek title of Book xiii is Mache epi tais nausin ("The Battle at the Ships"). After an early part describing i66 THE ILIAD, BOOK XIII I67 the coming of Poseidon to the help of the Greeks, followed by a continuation of the battle at the ships, the central portion of the book is taken up by the Aristeia of Idomeneus; toward the end of the book Hector rallies the Trojans and is about to burn the ships of the Greeks. The battle scenes are vigorous and varied. It may be recalled that Epinausimache ("The Battle at the Ships") was the title of one of the lost plays of the Roman tragedian Accius. The opening lines of Book xiii are interesting as giving i, some account of the tribes of the far north. THE TRIBES OF THE NORTH Now when Zeus had brought the Trojans and Hector near to the ships He left them there to endure toil and suffering unceasingly, While he himself turned away his shining eyes, Beholding afar the land of the horse-taming Thracians And the spear-fighting Mysians and the illustrious Mare-Milkers, Who feed on milk, and the Abii, most just of men. -Iliad xiii. I-6 As to the Mare-Milkers, Herodotus tells us that the Massagetae, a wild, cannibal tribe of the far north, were "milkdrinkers" (Herodotus i. 2i6). Compare also the imitation of our passage by Matthew Arnold in Sohrab and Rustum: Large men, large steeds; who from Bokhara come And Khiva, and ferment the milk of mares. As to the Abii, "most just of men," compare what Herodotus says of the Argippaeans, who "are injured by no men, for they are said to be sacred, and they possess no weapon of war" (Herodotus iv. 23, translated by G. C. Macaulay). Poseidon takes advantage of the fact that Zeus, who is regarded as a sort of umpire, has turned his attention away from the battlefield, and comes to help the Greeks. i68 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD THE COMING OF POSEIDON Nor in vain did Lord Earth-Shaker keep watch; For he sat on high, on the loftiest summit Of forest-covered Samothrace, wondering at the war and battle; For thence appeared all Ida, and the city of Priam, and the ships of the Achaeans. So then he arose from the sea and went thither, and took his seat, And pitied the Achaeans subdued by the Trojans, and was exceedingly indignant at Zeus. And straightway he came down from the rugged mountain, Advancing with swift footsteps; and the lofty mountains And forests trembled beneath the immortal feet of Poseidon as he came. He took three strides, and with the fourth reached his goal, Aegae, where his glorious palace is, in the depths of the sea, Wrought of flashing gold, imperishable forever. Then he yoked his brazen-hoofed horses to the chariot, Swift-flying horses with flowing golden manes; And himself put his golden garment about him, And grasped his golden, well-wrought whip, and mounted his chariot, And began to drive over the waves; and the monsters of the deep Gamboled beneath him, rising on all sides from their hiding-places, Nor did they fail to recognize their master; And the sea rejoicing opened a path for them; And they flew very swiftly, nor was the brazen axle wet underneath, And the lightly bounding horses bore him to the ships of the Achaeans. -Iliad xiii. IO-3I Virgil (Aeneid v. 816-26), by conflating this passage with one containing the names of the Nereids (in Iliad xviii. 39) and by slightly adapting it all, has written the following description of the quieting of a storm at sea by Neptune: The Father yokes his horses with gold and adds foaming bits to the monsters, and shakes out all the reins from his hands. Lightly he flies over the sea in his blue chariot; the waves subside, and the swollen waters recede beneath his roaring axle; the clouds flee from the vast sky. Then various are the forms of his companions, huge monsters of the deep, and the chorus of the aged Glaucus and Ino's son, Palaemon, and THE ILIAD, BOOK XIII I69 swift Tritons, and all the host of Phorcys; on his left are Thetis and Melite and the virgin Panopea, Nisaea and Spio and Thalia and Cymodoce. The Homeric passage has been imitated also by the pastoral poet Moschus (ii. 115-24) in his description of Zeus carrying Europa away over the sea: And then as he advanced the sea grew calm, And the monsters gamboled before the feet of Zeus, And the dolphins rising from the depths tumbled over the surge; And the Nereids came up out of the sea, And all, sitting upon the backs of sea-monsters, advanced in line, And the deep-resounding Earth-Shaker himself, lord of the sea, Smoothing the wave, guided his brother over the salty pathway; And about them gathered Tritons, the loud-sounding flute-players of the deep, On their outstretched shells sounding a marriage song. Homer mentions the palace of Poseidon in the passage immediately following. THE STEEDS OF POSEIDON And there is a wide cavern in the hollows of the deep sea Between Tenedos and rugged Imbros; There the Earth-Shaker, Poseidon, stayed his steeds And loosed them from the chariot and cast ambrosial food before them For them to eat, and about their feet placed golden fetters Unbreakable, indissoluble, that they might remain there And await the return of their lord; and he went to the host of the Achaeans. — Iliad xiii. 32-38 With this picture of the palace of Poseidon, compare the description of the visit of Theseus to the abode of Poseidon and Amphitrite to recover the ring cast into the depths by King Minos (Bacchylides xvi. 97): Meanwhile dolphins, dwellers in the sea, were swiftly bearing mighty Theseus to the abode of his sire, lord of steeds; and he came unto the I70 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD hall of the gods. There beheld he the glorious daughters of blest Nereus, and was awe-struck; for a splendour as of fire shone from their radiant forms; fillets inwoven with gold encircled their hair; and they were delighting their hearts by dancing with lissom feet. And in that beautiful abode he saw his father's well-beloved wife, the stately, ox-eyed Amphitrite, who clad him in gleaming purple, and set on his thick hair a choice wreath, dark with roses, given to her of yore at her marriage by wily Aphrodite. (Translated by R. C. Jebb.) Compare also the vase by Euphronios depicting the slender, boyish Theseus as standing in the depths of the sea before Amphitrite, his feet upheld by Triton, and receiving at her hands the ring and garland (Baumeister, Denkmaeler des klassischen Altertums, III, I 793). Continuing his narrative of the battle at the ships, Homer tells how the Trojans in throngs like fire or a tempest were eagerly following Hector and hoping to take the ships and slay all the chieftains of the Achaeans. Then Poseidon, assuming the form of Calchas, arouses the two Ajaxes to defend the ships. He strikes them with his scepter, restores their courage and strength, and then, Like a swift-winged hawk rose and flew away, a hawk Which poised aloft from a tall rock that only goats can climb Dashes over the plain in pursuit of another bird. -Iliad xiii. 62-64 All the rest of Book xiii is taken up by the battle at the ships, waged with varying fortunes. At 746 Polydamas, alluding to Achilles, speaks to Hector words that are prophetic of the future course of the action: There remains by the ships a man insatiate of warfare, Who, methinks, will no longer utterly refrain from battle. -Iliad xiii. 746-47 The latter part of Book xiii is especially vigorous. At the close the battle is in full progress, the advantage being with the Trojans. J. W. Mackail translates the last line thus: THE ILIAD, BOOK XIV I7I "The sound of the two hosts went up to the firmament and the splendors of God." BOOK XIV The Greek title of Book xiv is Dios Apate, or "The Deceiving of Zeus by Hera." Book xiv begins with the incident of the wounded Machaon in the tent of Nestor, where we left him at the close of Book xi. Nestor, alarmed at the uproar, leaves Machaon in the care of Hecamede; and going to his place of observation, witnesses the discomfiture of the Greeks and the ruined condition of the wall. Uncertain what to do Nestor stands there. SIMILE OF THE SILENT WAVE As when the great sea grows dark with a silent wave, Portending the swift paths of clear-blowing winds Doubtfully, nor does it roll forward nor backward, Till some deciding blast comes down from Zeus, So the old man pondered, unsettled in mind Between two courses, whether to go among the throng of the swiftsteeded Danaoi Or to Agamemnon, son of Atreus, shepherd of the people. -Iliad xiv. 16-2 2 Compare Matthew Arnold in Sohrab and Rustum: For we are all, like swimmers in the sea, Poised on the top of a huge wave of fate, Which hangs uncertain to which side to fall. Nestor decides to go to Agamemnon, and there follows an impromptu council of war among the chief Greek heroes. Agamemnon (as in Book ii. I39, and in Book ix. 26) advises flight. BETTER TO FLEE THAN TO BE TAKEN The ships that are drawn up in front near the sea Let us launch, and drag them all down into the divine sea, And let us moor them in the water by their anchor stones, I72 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Till divine night come, if even for it the Trojans cease from warfare. For it is no cause for blame to flee from evil, even by night. It is better to flee and escape from evil than to be taken. -Iliad xiv. 75-8I Odysseus administers a severe rebuke to Agamemnon. AGAMEMNON REBUKED Son of Atreus, what a speech has escaped the bulwark of thy teeth! Shame on thee! Would that thou mightest rule over some other Wretched army, and not be lord over us, for whom Zeus hath decreed That we should from youth even till old age be winding up the skein Of grievous wars, till we perish every one of us. Art thou minded thus to abandon the broad-streeted city of the Trojans, For which we have endured many woes? -Iliad xiv. 82-89 Diomed offers the counsel that they return to battle, wounded though they are. This is characteristic of his youthful courage and spirit. (Compare ix. 47, where in a similar time of discouragement, on the part of Agamemnon, Diomed declares that he and Sthenelus will fight till they find the appointed fate of Troy.) The heroes follow this advice. Poseidon, going among the Greeks in the guise of an old man, seizes Agamemnon by the hand, reminds him of the presumable exultation of Achilles at the slaughter and rout of the Greeks, encourages him to hope still for victory, and then disappears in miraculous fashion. THE SHOUT OF POSEIDON So spake he, and with a loud shout hastened over the plain, Such a shout as nine or ten thousand men raise When in battle they join in the strife of Ares; So great a shout Lord Earth-Shaker sent from his chest, And inspired courage in the heart of every man To wage war and fight unceasingly. -Iliad xiv. I47-52 THE ILIAD, BOOK XIV I73 The Dios Apate ("Deceiving of Zeus by Hera") begins at this point (I53). Hera's object is to divert the attention of Zeus from the battle till the Greeks, led by Poseidon, may gain a decided advantage. From a crag of Mount Olympus, Hera sees Poseidon laboring in the battle, and rejoices in heart; she also sees Zeus "sitting on the highest peak of many-fountained Ida" and regards him with aversion and resolves to outwit him. In true feminine fashion she begins by dressing herself in her finest array. She goes to her chamber, the doors of which are fastened with a secret bolt, bathes and anoints herself with perfumed olive oil, whose fragrance is diffused throughout the palace of Zeus and penetrates to both earth and sky. She combs her hair and puts about her an ambrosial robe which Athena had wrought for her, with many ornamental designs upon it, and fastens it over her breast with golden clasps. She wears a girdle fitted with a hundred tassels. She puts on her earrings, "from which great beauty shone," and covers herself with a veil "white as the sun." Beneath her feet she binds her sandals; she calls Aphrodite apart from the other gods, and says: Now wilt thou obey me in what I say, Or wilt thou refuse, angered at heart Because I help the Greeks, while thou helpest the Trojans? -Iliad xiv. I9o-92 Observe again the feminine trait on the part of Hera shown in trying to extract a promise to do what she desires before revealing what is to be done. Aphrodite assents, promising to help her if she'can; and Hera, with thoughts of her intended deception, makes a request. OCEANUS AND TETHYS Grant me now that love and desire with which Thou subduest all, both immortal gods and mortal men. I74 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD For I go to visit the far ends of many-feeding earth, And Ocean, origin of the gods, and Mother Tethys, Who carefully brought me up and reared me in their halls, Having received me from Rhea, what time broad-browed Zeus Reduced Kronos to a place beneath the earth and the restless sea; Them I go to visit, and will put an end to their ceaseless quarrels. -Iliad xiv. I98-205 Aphrodite, declaring that she cannot refuse the request of the wife of Zeus, delivers to her the magic girdle. APHRODITE'S MAGIC GIRDLE She said, and from her bosom loosed the embroidered band, Finely ornamented, on which were wrought for her all charms; There was love, there was desire, there was fond discourse, An allurement which steals away the senses even of the wise. This she placed in her hands, and spoke a word and addressed her: "There now, place this band in thy bosom, This finely ornamented band upon which all things have been wrought, Nor do I think that thou wilt return without accomplishing Whatever thou desirest in thy heart." -Iliad xiv. 2 I 14-2I Aphrodite thereupon returns to the palace of Zeus, and Hera starts on her mission. HERA'S APPEAL TO HYPNOS But Hera with a leap left the crag of Olympus, And setting foot upon Pieria and lovely Emathia Hasted over the snowy mountains of the horse-loving Thracians, Over the highest summits, and did not touch the ground with her feet; And from Athos set foot upon the billowy sea, And came to Lemnos, the city of divine Thoas; There she met Sleep, the brother of Death, And grasped him by the hand and spoke a word and addressed him. "Hypnos, king over all gods and all men, As once before thou didst list to my word, So now obey me, and I will feel grateful to thee all the days. Lull to sleep for me the shining eyes of Zeus beneath his brow, THE ILIAD, BOOK XIV 175 As soon as I shall lie with him in love. And as a reward I will give thee a beautiful throne, ever imperishable, All of gold; which my son, strong-armed Hephaestus, Shall fashion for thee with care, and he shall place a stool Beneath it for thy feet, upon which thou canst rest Thy shining feet at the banquet." Iliad xiv. 225-4I Hera proceeds from the summit of Mount Olympus over Pieria (the region at the northern base of Olympus) northward along the coast of Macedonia. Emathia is perhaps named from the Greek word amathos ("sand") and merely means the sea-coast. Thence she proceeds over the mountains of Thrace southeastward to the promontory of Mount Athos, and then crosses the Aegean Sea to the island of Lemnos, where she meets Hypnos. THE ANSWER OF HYPNOS And sweet Sleep answered her and said: "Hera, revered goddess, daughter of great Kronos, Any other of the ever-living gods Would I easily lull to sleep, even the flowings Of the river of Ocean, who is the origin of all; But Zeus, the son of Kronos, I may not come nigh Nor lull him to sleep, except when he bids me. For once before, in another matter, did a command of thine Teach me a lesson, on the day when that high-hearted son of Zeus Sailed from Ilios, after he had sacked the city of the Trojans. Then I, Sleep, did charm the mind of aegis-bearing Zeus, Painlessly poured about him, and thou didst devise evils for him By rousing the blasts of violent winds over the sea, And then didst bear Hercules away to well-populated Cos, Far from all his friends. But Zeus, when he awoke, was angry, And hurled the gods about his palace, and me most of all Did he seek, and would have hurled me out of his sight Down from heaven into the sea, Had not Night, the subduer of gods and of men, saved me; To her came I in my flight, and Zeus desisted, though angry; 176 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD For he hesitated to do things displeasing to swift Night. Now again in this thou bidst me do another impossible thing." But ox-eyed, revered Hera answered him: "Hypnos, why dost thou ponder these things in thy mind? Dost thou suppose that broad-browed Zeus's eagerness to help the Trojans Will at all equal his anger for his son, Hercules? But come, I will give thee one of the youthful Graces To wife and to be called thy spouse." -Iliad xiv. 242-68 These last lines have been closely imitated by Virgil in that scene of the first book of the Aeneid in which Juno goes to the abode of Aeolus, god of the winds, and seeks his aid in arousing a storm to wreck the fleet of Aeneas (Aeneid i. 50). Part of the speech of Juno to Aeolus follows: Sunt mihi bis septem praestanti corpore numphae, Quarum quae forma pulcherrima Deiopea, Conubio iungam stabili propriamque dicabo, Omnis ut tecum meritis pro talibus annos Exigat et pulchra faciat to prole parentem. -Aeneid i. 7I-75 Upon hearing this, Sleep assents, but first exacts an oath from Hera. THE OATH OF HERA Come now, swear to me by the dread water of the Styx; With one hand lay hold of the many-feeding earth And with the other of the gleaming sea, that all the gods Of the lower world round about Kronos may be our witnesses That thou wilt surely give me one of the youthful Graces, Pasithea, whom I myself long for all the days. -Iliad xiv. 271-76 The special new feature in this oath is that the person who swears lays hold of that by which he binds himself, as Hera lays hold of both earth and sea. We have already heard of the "dread Styx called on in oaths" (in Iliad ii. 755) and of THE ILIAD, BOOK XIV I77 the "steep flowings of the water of the Styk" (in viii. 369); and "the down-pouring water of the Styx" is invoked by Hera in Iliad xv. 3 7 and by the nymph Calypso in her oath to Odysseus in Odyssey v. i85. Of Kronos and his realm, with "deep Tartarus round about him," we have heard in Iliad viii. 478. The narrative of Hera and the god of Sleep continues. HERA AND HYPNOS GO TO MOUNT IDA So spake he, nor did the goddess, white-armed Hera, disobey; But swore as he bade her, and named as witnesses all the gods In Tartarus below, who are called Titans. But when she had sworn and finished this oath, They two went their way, leaving behind them the cities of both Lemnos and Imbros, And, clothed in mist, they swiftly accomplished their journey. And they came to many-fountained Ida, mother of wild beasts, Unto Lektos, where first they left the sea and sped over the dry land, And the forest-tops swayed beneath their feet; There Sleep remained, before the eyes of Zeus beheld him, Having climbed up into a very tall pine tree, The loftiest which then grew on Ida and reached through the mist into the upper air. There he sat concealed among the pine branches, Like that clear-voiced bird upon the mountains Which the gods call chalcis and men the cymindis. -Iliad xiv. 277-91 The islands Lemnos and Imbros lie naturally on Hera's path as she goes from Mount Athos toward Mount Ida; Lektos is the promontory at the southwest corner of the Troad. Tennyson's use of the phrase "many-fountained Ida, mother of wild beasts" in his Oenone has already been noticed in the comment on Iliad viii. 47. Like Hypnos, Pentheus (in the Bacchanals of Euripides, io6 I) endeavors to conceal himself among the branches of a pine tree that he may spy upon the secret rites of the Maenads. In the lines which follow we 178 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD have a description of the Hieros Gamos, or "Sacred Marriage of Zeus and Hera," typifying the union of Heaven and Earth in springtime. The nature significance of the myth is clearly evident from the closing lines as well as from the numerous references to this event in ritual observances among the Greeks and in literature. HERA AND ZEUS ON MOUNT IDA And Hera quickly ascended Gargarus, the peak Of lofty Ida, and cloud-gathering Zeus caught sight of her. And the moment he saw her, desire encompassed his prudent heart, As when first they were joined in love And in their union eluded their dear parents. And he stood before her and spoke a word and addressed her: "Hera, why dost thou come hither in such haste from the heights of Olympus? Thou hast no horses with thee or chariot in which to ride." And with crafty thoughts revered Hera answered him: "I go to visit the far ends of many-feeding earth, And Ocean, origin of the gods, and Mother Tethys, Who carefully brought me up and reared me in their halls; Them I go to visit, and will put an end to their ceaseless quarrels, Since for long time now have they refrained from each other's love Because anger fills their souls. And my horses, which bear me over both moist and dry, Stand at the foot of many-fountained Ida. But now it is for thy sake I come hither from the heights of Olympus, Lest perchance thou be angry hereafter if without thy knowledge I go to the palace of deep-flowing Ocean." And cloud-gathering Zeus answered her and said, "Hera, thither mayest thou go hereafter, But come now, let us take our delight in love, For never yet has love of goddess or woman So encompassed my heart within my breast and overcome me As now I love thee, and sweet desire possesses me." -Iliad xiv. 292-3 6, 328 THE ILIAD, BOOK XIV I79 I have omitted in the above passage lines 317-27, in which Zeus is represented, doubtless by some late interpolator of the Hesiodic school, as rehearsing to Hera a catalogue of his other love affairs, including those with the wife of Ixion, with Dana*, Europa, Semele, Alcmena, Demeter, and Leto. Such a catalogue is both unlike Homer and utterly tasteless and inappropriate at this place, being likely to arouse the resentment rather than the love of the jealous Hera. The idea that Ocean, whose stream encircles all the earth, was the "origin of the gods" and of all things was perhaps in the mind of Thales when he made water his arche ("worldmaterial"). And something very like Homer's "far ends of many-feeding earth" may be found in a choral ode of the Hippolytus of Euripides (742), where he says, Would I might come to the apple-sown beach Of the Hesperides, those singers fair, Where the lord of the sea no longer grants passage For sailors over the purple deep; Would I might come to the holy bounds Of earth and sky, which Atlas guards, Where immortal springs pour forth Close by the beds in the halls of Zeus, Where thrice-holy Earth, the giver of plenty, Increases blessedness for the gods. Seeking to overcome the apparent indifference of Hera, Zeus says, Hera, fear not lest any of gods or men may see us, With so thick a golden cloud will I cover us on all sides That not even Helios may look upon us, Whose light is keenest for beholding." He said, and in his arms the son of Kronos seized his wife; And from below the divine earth caused to spring up for them Fresh-blooming grass, and dewy lotus and crocus and hyacinth, Thick and soft..... -Iliad xiv. 342-49 I80 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD This union of Zeus and Hera typifies the marriage of Heaven and Earth in springtime. In like manner Milton (in Paradise Lost, iv, 700-702), describing the marriage of Adam and Eve, says, Underfoot the violet, Crocus and hyacinth with rich inlay Broidered the ground. And Tennyson, in Oenone, telling how the three great goddesses, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, came to the Judgment of Paris, says, And at their feet the crocus brake like fire, Violet, amaracus, and asphodel, Lotus and lilies.... Hera accomplishes her purpose of diverting the attention of Zeus from the battlefield before Troy, where he is supposed to act as a kind of umpire. In the meantime Hypnos (Sleep), having established his sway over Zeus, arouses Poseidon to come to the help of the Greeks. Poseidon leads on the Greeks, Holding in his mighty hand a dread, sharp-pointed spear, Like a flash of lightning, which no man may meet In the baleful heat of combat, but the terror thereof keeps men back. -Iliad xiv. 385-87 The battle begins again with redoubled fury, dark-haired Poseidon being opposed to radiant Hector. SIMILE OF WAVE, FIRE, AND WIND And the sea dashed against the huts and ships of the Argives, And they joined battle with a great shout. Nor does the wave of the sea shout so loud upon the mainland When it rises from the deep beneath the grievous blast of Boreas, Nor is the roaring of burning fire so great In the glens of the mountains, when it rises suddenly to burn the woods, THE ILIAD, BOOK XV I8I Nor does the wind whistle so loud about the high-foliaged oak trees, As then rose the voices of the Trojans and the Achaeans Shouting terribly as they sprang upon one another. — liad xiv. 392-40I Hector is wounded by Ajax and borne off the field by his friends to a ford of the fair-flowing, eddying Xanthus, where they pour water over him and he recovers from his swoon. In the course of the battle scene that follows occurs the description of the death of the Trojan youth Ilioneus, who, mortally wounded, falls upon his knees and spreads out his hands (495) in a posture which has suggested his name for a beautifully modeled statue in Munich. The Greeks are in full pursuit of the Trojans when this book ends. BOOK XV The Greek title of this book is Palioxis para ton neon ("The Repulse [of the Trojans] from the Ships.") Book xv forms the concluding portion of the long section of the Iliad extending from the close of the battle in which Agamemnon and the other leading Greek heroes were wounded (xi. 595) to the beginning of the canto on the exploits and death of Patroclus (xv. 592). It contains several brilliant passages. W. Christ (Homeri Iliadis Carmina [1884], p. 495) divides Book xv into three larger sections: (i) the concluding portion, or sequel, to the Dios Apate, namely, I-366; (2) the beginning of the Patrokleia, namely, 592-end; and (3) an intermediate section inserted to join these two together, namely, 367-59I. At the beginning of this book Zeus awakes on the summit of Mount Ida from his sleep beside "gold-throned Hera." He recalls an earlier deception and its punishment. 182 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD THE PUNISHMENT OF HERA And he sprang up and stood there, and beheld the Trojans and Achaeans, The men of Troy driven in confusion and the Argives wildly pursuing them, And in their midst King Poseidon. And he saw Hector lying upon the plain with his companions Sitting round about him, while, dazed in mind, he gasped and breathed hard, And blood issued from his mouth, since it was not the least among the Achaeans that smote him. And the father of men and of gods saw and pitied him, And, with a terrible frown, addressed Hera: "Verily, Hera, some evil-devising trick of thine, thou unmanageable one, Hath kept the divine Hector from the battle and frightened the people. Surely thou shalt be the first to suffer from the evil Thou hast woven, when I shall lash thee with blows. Dost thou not remember when first I suspended thee on high? And from thy feet I hung two anvils, and about thy wrists Fastened fetters of gold, unbreakable, and thou didst hang Suspended among aether and the clouds; And the gods were indignant throughout lofty Olympus, But could not come to thy aid or loose thee, But whomsoever I caught, I seized and hurled from my threshold Till he came to earth, and stirred not. But not even so Did unceasing sorrow for the godlike Hercules leave me; Then didst thou with the help of the wind Boreas devise evil, And prevail upon the storm blasts and send Hercules over the unharvested sea, And bear him far away to well-populated Cos. Thence did I rescue him and bring him again Unto horse-pastured Argos, after he had suffered many woes. Of these things will I remind thee again, that thou mayest cease from thy deceptions, And see whether the love, with which thou didst entice me Far from the gods, shall avail thee aught." — liad xv. 6-33 THE ILIAD, BOOK XV I83 With this famous passage on the punishment of Hera (the Kolasis Heras) should be compared Iliad i. 586, where Hephaestus reminds Hera of some previous occasion on which she was smitten before his eyes and he was unable to help her. The first century Roman grammarian Probus (on Virgil's Eclogue vi. 3 ) says, "What can the suspension of Juno be thought to be if not the elements of the air held in equipoise? What are the weights let down from her feet if not earth and sea lying below? Or what is the golden chain if not one of fire?" In agreement with this, Carl Robert (Preller's Griechische Mythologie, [4th ed.], I, p. 66), taking the view that Zeus is the sky and Hera the atmosphere, points out how naturally such myths of the quarrels between Zeus and Hera, or of the punishments of Hera by Zeus, could originate in a country of small mountain-inclosed valleys and quick-rising storms such as are common in Greece. In the Homeric Hymn to the Pythian Apollo, Hera is even spoken of as having brought forth the dread monster Typhon, the personification of the smoking volcano, in her anger against Zeus. The Hercules myth in Homer will be treated in connection with a later passage. Homer continues the story. HERA'S DEFENSE So spake he; and ox-eyed, revered Hera shuddered, And lifting up her voice answered him winged words: "Let earth now be witness and broad heaven above, And the down-pouring water of the StyxThe greatest and most terrible oath among the blessed godsAnd thy sacred head, and our own bridal couch, By which I will never falsely swear, Not through my behest does the Earth-Shaker, Poseidon, Work bane to the Trojans and Hector and help the Greeks, But doubtless his own soul urged him on and impelled him, I84 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD When he saw the Achaeans hard pressed at the ships, and pitied them; Nay, I will even advise him to go whithersoever Thou, Cloud-Wrapped, shalt direct." — Iliad xv. 34-46 On the form of this oath see Iliad xiv. 27I, and the comment on that passage. It is true that Hera had not persuaded Poseidon to help the Greeks, but she had rejoiced at what he was doing (xiv. 156). Zeus, still on Mount Ida, bids Hera go "among the tribes of men" and summon Iris to command Poseidon to cease from the conflict and Apollo to revive Hector. In the passage which follows we have one of the very few psychological similes in Homer. THE SIMILE OF FLIGHT AND THOUGHT So spake he; nor did the goddess, white-armed Hera, disobey, And she passed from the Idaean mountains to lofty Olympus. And as the thought of a man takes a leap, Who, having traveled far, thinks in his prudent mind, "I would be here, or there," and desires many things, So swiftly and eagerly flew revered Hera. -Iliad xv. 78-83 With the above simile may be compared Odyssey vii. 36, where the ships of the Phaeacians are said to be "as swift as a wing or thought"; and Homeric Hymn to the Pythian Apollo, 8, where Apollo goes from "rocky Pytho" to Olympus "like a thought"; and again in the same hymn, 270, where, after having lighted the fire upon his altar at Delphi the god springs up to fly back to his ship "like a thought"; and in Iliad xxii. I99-20I we find the simile of the man who is unable, in his dream, either to pursue or flee. Hera goes first to Olympus, where she comes upon an assemblage of the gods. In answer to a word from Themis, who says that she seems like one who is dismayed and who asks whether Zeus has frightened her, Hera replies: THE ILIAD, BOOK XV I85 Thou knowest thyself What his temper is, how insolent and harsh. -Iliad xv. 93-94 Hera, thoroughly indignant, takes her seat among the gods, "smiling with her lips only," while anger still clouds her brow; and, in the course of her speech advising the gods not to rebel against Zeus, she mentions the death of Ascalaphus, a favorite son of Ares. ARES DISARMED BY ATHENA So spake she; and Ares smote his strong thighs With down-turned hands, and lamenting said: "Be not wroth with me now, ye that have homes on Olympus, That I go to the ships of the Achaeans to avenge the death of my son, Even if it be the fate of Zeus that I be smitten by his thunderbolt And lie among the dead in blood and dust." So spake he, and bade Terror and Fear yoke his horses, And himself put on his shining armor. Then had still greater and more grievous Anger and wrath been wrought by Zeus upon the immortals, Had not Athena, fearing greatly for all the gods, Leaving the throne where she sat, rushed through the fore-court And snatched the helmet from his head and the shield from his shoulders, And taken the spear of bronze from his mighty hands and put it aside. -Iliad xv. 113-27 Then she scolds him roundly as a "madman, bereft of sense and undone," likely to bring punishment from Zeus upon all the gods, innocent and guilty alike. Compare somewhat similar scenes between Ares (the god of wild, unrestrained carnage) and Athena (the goddess of "civilized" warfare) in Iliad v. 29-36 and 835. Meantime Iris and Apollo are sent to Zeus, who still sits wrapped in a fragrant cloud on the top of Mount Ida. First i86 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD he sends Iris to Poseidon, commanding him to quit the field of battle. THE SIMILE OF FLIGHT AND SNOW Nor did swift, wind-footed Iris disobey, But descended from the Idaean mountains to sacred Troy. And as when there falls from the clouds snow or chill hail Driven by the blast of aether-born Boreas, So quickly and eagerly flew swift Iris. -Iliad xv. 168-72 Iris is one of the most charming of the secondary characters of the Homeric pantheon. She is oftenest spoken of as the messenger of Zeus in the Iliad; her name does not occur in the Odyssey, where her function is assumed by Hermes. In Iliad xviii. 165, she is sent by Hera without the knowledge of Zeus to bring word to Achilles about the body of Patroclus. In v. 353, she leads the wounded Aphrodite out of the combat and a little later bears her off in the chariot of Ares to her mother, Dione. In iii. 121, she comes in the guise of an old woman to summon Helen to the battlements. In Iliad xxiii. I98, when the funeral pyre of Patroclus will not burn, she listens to the petition of Achilles and bears it to the winds. She is called "swift," "swift-footed," "wind-footed," "whirlwindfooted." In two passages of the Iliad (viii. 398, and xi. I85) she is described as "golden-winged"; and in Aristophanes, Birds 575, we read: And Homer says that Iris went like a trembling pigeon. This comparison is not used of Iris in the Iliad or Odyssey, but it does occur in the Hymn to the Delian Apollo I I4, with reference to Iris and Eileithyia. And in another well-known episode of the Birds she is so fitted out with streamers (doubtless of the colors of the rainbow) that the question is asked her whether she is a ship (in full sail) or a broad-brimmed Arcadian hat. The word "Iris" means rainbow, and the rain THE ILIAD, BOOK XV I87 bow is naturally thought of as a means of communication between heaven and earth. The nature-significance of the myth is evident here, as it was in the Hieros Gamos of Book xiv. Iris delivers her message to Poseidon, commanding him to withdraw and threatening him with superior force if he does not obey. THE PARTITION OF THE UNIVERSE And, greatly incensed, the famous Earth-Shaker answered her: "Alas, good though he be, he hath spoken insolently, If he thinketh to coerce me, his equal in honor, against my will, by main force. For three brethren are we, whom Rhea to Kronos bore, Zeus, and I, and Hades third, ruling those in the world below. And in three parts have all things been divided, And each hath obtained his share of honor; To me it fell to rule the hoary sea forever, as we shook lots, And Hades drew the misty darkness, And Zeus obtained broad heaven among aether and the clouds; But earth is still common to all, and lofty Olympus. -Iliad xv. i84-93 In this we have another famous mythological passage. After the victory of the Olympians over the Titans, the spoils of war (namely, the rule of the universe) were divided among the victors. According to Hesiod (Theogony 88I-85), they voluntarily chose Zeus to be their ruler, and he divided the honors fairly among them. Pindar in a splendid passage of his seventh Olympian Ode tells (54-68) how Helios was absent when the lots were cast, "and so they left him without his share, the holy god," and Zeus was about to cast lots again; but Helios' keen glance discerned an island as yet in the depths of the sea, and he "bade gold-filleted Lachesis hold up her hands and swear a great oath of the gods" that this island (namely, the island of Rhodes) should be his when it rose to the surface of the waters. On the contrary, the Alex 188 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD andrian poet Callimachus (Hymn to Zeus 6I-64) ridicules this ancient conception of casting lots for the government of the world, saying: Who would cast lots for Olympus and Hades If he were not a very fool? Because for equal stakes Is it fitting to cast lots, but these are worlds apart; May I tell only such stories as are likely to persuade The ears of my listeners! Poseidon is at first obdurate, and exclaims: Mighty though he be, let him remain in his third part. -Iliad xv. I95 But he afterward yields to the more prudent counsel of Iris, who reminds him: Tractable are the minds of the good, Thou knowest that the Erinnyes ever attend upon the elder-born. -Iliad xv. 203-4 Poseidon having withdrawn from the battlefield and plunged into the deep, Zeus directs Apollo to revive Hector, who is still lying wounded by a great stone hurled by Ajax (xiv. 409) and who has been brought near to death. "Lo, I myself," says Hector, "thought this day to come to the dead and the house of Hades" (xv. 25I). Nevertheless Apollo restores him to strength and vigor. Apollo himself leads on the Trojans. APOLLO WITH THE AEGIS And the Trojans pounded forward in masses, and Hector led With long strides. And in front of him moved Phoebus Apollo, His shoulders wrapped in cloud, and he bore the raging aegis, Dread, shaggy on both sides, seen by all, which the bronze-smith Hephaestus gave to Zeus to bear for the routing of heroes; Holding this in his hands, he led on the host. -Iliad xv. 306-II THE ILIAD, BOOK XV I89 The aegis was doubtless originally the thundercloud with the lightnings flashing about it. It is borne most frequently and appropriately by Zeus, who alone is called aigi-ochos ("aegis-bearer"). But Zeus occasionally lends it to Athena or to Apollo-never to any others. Homer sometimes calls the aegis black (as in Iliad iv. i67) and sometimes gleaming (as in Iliad xvii. 594). A slightly later, but still very early, conception of the aegis was that of a shield made of goatskin, "shaggy on both sides" (as above); and in the same passage it is said to be the work of the bronze-smith Hephaestus. A full description of the aegis as borne by Athena is given in Iliad ii. 447-49, where mention is made of its hundred tassels, each worth a hundred oxen, and where Athena seems to be thought of as "all-radiant" while wearing it. The aegis is used, not as a weapon of actual defense or attack, but as an object of terror. So we read in a passage of Book xv, closely following the one translated above, this incident. THE POWER OF THE AEGIS As long as Phoebus Apollo held the aegis quiet in his hands, So long the missiles hit on both sides and the people fell, But when he looked the swift-footed Danaoi full in the face And shook the aegis, and at the same time shouted aloud, He unmanned their hearts within their breasts, and they forgot their impetuous valor. — Iliad xv. 3 8-22 In later times the Greeks said that the skin of which the aegis was made was that of the goat Amaltheia, which had suckled Zeus as an infant; and in the Iliad itself we read (v. 741) of the Gorgon-head as a dread terror placed upon the aegis. In art the aegis with its Gorgon-head as a central boss is commonly worn by Athena. The Gorgon-head itself is represented in archaic art as a grotesque face with wide nostrils, I9o A STUDY OF THE ILIAD high cheek bones, wide-open mouth with tusk-like teeth, and with the tongue running out at the beholder. It is so represented on an ancient metope from Selinus. But in later times the grotesque features disappeared, while the terror still remained, as in the cold, deathlike stare of the "Medusa Rondanini" in Munich. The Greeks flee till they come to the trench and pass beyond the wall (xv. 343-45). APOLLO DESTROYS TRENCH AND WALL And before them Phoebus Apollo, Easily treading down with his feet the banks of the deep trench, Thrust them down into its midst, and formed a causeway Both as long and as wide as the extent of a spear's throw, When a man makes trial and puts all his strength into it. Over this they poured in masses, and before them Apollo, Holding the aegis, very precious; and he trod down the wall of the Achaeans Very easily, as when a child overthrows a pile of sand close by the sea, Who, after he has made it for a plaything in his childish sport, Scatters it again with hands and feet in his play; So didst thou, Archer Apollo, confound the toil and moil Of the Argives, and rouse panic among them themselves. -Iliad xv. 355-66 In his note on this passage Van Leeuwen says that Heraclitus, using a like image, says that "time is a child at play," signifying that time is a.devourer, because time "reveals things unseen and hides those that are seen" (Sophocles, Ajax 647). The grammarian Proclus, commenting on Plato's Timaeus, p. ioi, says, "Others also have said that the Demiurge plays in the creation of the world, according to Heraclitus." And Lucian in one of his writings (Vitarum Auctio 14) introduces Heraclitus as complaining that nothing remains steadfast "in the play of the universe." THE ILIAD, BOOK XV I19 The last-quoted passage from Homer marks, according to W. Christ, the end of the Dios Apate. Here begins a late addition, the Second Battle at the Ships. This is interrupted by a few lines which tell how Patroclus leaves Eurypylus and returns to Achilles (xv. 390-404). The story of the conflict then continues without any specially noteworthy passages up to xv. 592, the beginning of the Patrokleia, to be treated in the next chapter. CHAPTER IX THE ILIAD, BOOKS XV, XVI, AND XVII THE PATROKLEIA The canto which includes the final struggle at the ships, the sending forth of Patroclus by Achilles, his death at the hands of Hector, and the conflict for the possession of his. body is known as the Patrokleia. It is undoubtedly one of the oldest parts of the Iliad. And the death of Patroclus marks the turning-point in the whole epic of the Wrath of Achilles. For, strictly speaking, it is not of events that Homer sings, but of a passion. The real theme of the Iliad is the triumph of love over hate. The treatment accorded Achilles by Agamemnon in the taking away of Briseis arouses the intense hatred of the highspirited young hero. He withdraws from the conflict, and the lack of his assistance brings threatened disaster upon the Greeks. But, in Book xvi, Achilles, yielding to the petition of his friend Patroclus, relents to the extent of allowing Patroclus to go forth and prevent the Trojans from burning the Greek ships and annihilating the army. Yet Patroclus, flushed with success, goes too far and is slain by Hector. This is the turning-point in the action of the poem; for Achilles is now placed in a dilemma. Either he must persist in his refusal to help Agamemnon and the Greeks and not slay Hector, and so leave his friend's death unavenged, or, obeying the finer instincts of his nature and performing what men of his time would have regarded as his sacred duty, he must give over his hatred of Agamemnon and slay Hector, even I92 THE ILIAD, BOOK XV I93 though to do this means to help the Greeks again. As we shall see in succeeding books, when it comes to the test, Achilles' love for Patroclus proves stronger than his hatred of Agamemnon. Perhaps Dante had some realization of this when he spoke of Il grande Achille, Che per amore al fine combatteo. (The great Achilles, who through love at last did fight.) -Inferno v. 65 Thus a great theme of enduring human interest is developed in the Iliad; and the beginning of the turn in the action is in Book xvi. As we should expect, the treatment is worthy of the theme. Book xvi marks one of the high places in epic poetry. Scholars are fairly well agreed that the Patrokleia begins at xv. 592, but they seem to be rather hesitant in saying just where it ends. One might say that it ended with the death of Patroclus at the close of Book xvi; but the struggle over his body (in Book xvii) is naturally connected with the story and should probably be included. And, to be consistent, we should, perhaps, include also the narrative of the bringing of the news of his death to Achilles as told in xviii. I-34. The Patrokleia has probably been changed somewhat from its original form in order to prepare for the introduction of the Hoplo-poiia ("The Making of New Armor") for Achilles in Book xviii. The introduction to the Patrokleia begins at Book xv. 592; and the poet, at the very start, takes pains to link this with the main theme of the Iliad, the "Wrath of Achilles." THE PLAN OF ZEUS And the Trojans, like lions that devour raw flesh, Continued to rush upon the ships, and were fulfilling the behests of Zeus, I94 A STUDY OF;,THE ILIAD Who continually aroused great courage in them, but dulled the spirit Of the Argives and took away their glory, and roused the others. For he planned in his heart to grant glory to Hector, Son of Priam, that he might cast unwearied, fierce-flaming fire Upon the curved ships, and fulfil the baneful prayer Of Thetis to the uttermost; since it was for this that Zeus was waiting, Till he should behold with his eyes the flame of a burning ship; For after that he intended to bring about the repulse Of the Trojans and grant glory to the Greeks. -Iliad xv. 592-602 In the vigor of the description of this concluding part of the battle at the ships we may discern the characteristics of the Menis, or original "Wrath Poem," as also in the similes that follow. Of the Greeks it is said that they were like a great rock. THE GREEKS LIKE A STORM-SWEPT CLIFF For they held their ground, close-joined like stones in a tower, As a great, steep rock, near the hoary sea, Which resists the swift courses of loud-blowing winds And the swelling waves that surge against the cliff; So the Danaoi awaited the Trojans steadfastly, and fled not. But Hector, shining with fire all about, leaped upon the throng, And fell upon them as when a wave falls upon a swift ship, A boisterous wave, wind-nourished by the clouds, And the ship is entirely covered with foam, And the dreadful blast of the wind roars about the mast, And the sailors tremble at heart, smitten with fear; For hardly are they swept along out of the reach of death. -Iliad xv. 618-28 Yet for all their steadfastness the Greeks are compelled to withdraw behind the first row of ships, and turn back in front of their very huts. Nestor exhorts them to be men and to remember their wives and children and possessions and parents, both the living and the dead, In whose stead I supplicate you here, though they are not present, To stand fast, and turn not to flight. -Iliad xv. 665-66 THE ILIAD, BOOK XV 195 Ajax now comes out of this desperate throng to defend the ships. AJAX TAKES COMMAND Nor any longer did it please the mind of great-hearted Ajax To stand where the other sons of the Achaeans stood; But with long strides he went from deck to deck among the ships, And wielded a great ship-pike in his hands, Bound together with rings, and two and twenty cubits long. And as a man well-skilled in driving horses, Who, when he rides four together, selected from many, Hastening from the plain, drives them toward a great city Along a public highway, and many admire him, Both men and women, and he without hesitation always and without falling Leaps now upon one horse and now upon another, as they fly along; So Ajax with long strides went back and forth From deck to deck of the swift ships, and his voice rose to heaven. — Iliad xv. 674-86 Then the battle at the ships is enkindled anew, till at last Hector lays hold of the ornament at the stern of the ship of Protesilaus, and shouts to the Trojans in triumph. HECTOR SHOUTS TO THE TROJANS Bring fire, and yourselves all together raise the war cry; Now Zeus grants us a day that is a recompense for all, A day to take the ships, which came hither against the will of the gods And have caused us much woe through the timidity of our elders, Who, though I was eager to fight by the stems of the ships, Held me back and restrained the people. -Iliad xv. 7I8-23 Encouraged by these words of Hector, the Trojans rush on with redoubled energy. AJAX SHOUTS TO THE GREEKS And Ajax no longer stood his ground; being driven back by the missiles, But withdrew a little, fearing that he would be killed, To the seven-foot-high bridge, and left the deck of the well-poised ship. I96 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD There he stood on guard, and with his spear Always kept from the ships whoever of the Trojans brought unwearied fire; And ever with terrible shouts exhorted the Danaoi: "O friends, Danaan heroes, servants of Ares, Be men, friends, and forget not your impetuous valor; Do we think that there are any helpers behind us, Or better wall to ward off destruction from heroes? There is no city near by fortified with towers, Where we might defend ourselves with reserves to turn the tide of battle; Nay, we are upon the plain of the well-armed Trojans; Only the sea is behind us, and we are far from our native land; Therefore in our own hands is our safety, not in slackness of fighting." -Iliad xv. 727-4I Ajax stands guard and wounds with his long pole all Trojans who approach to fire the ships. "And twelve did he wound at close quarters before the ships." So ends Book xv. BOOK XVI THE PATROKLEIA —Continued At the beginning of Book xvi the scene shifts from the desperate struggle at the ships to the tent of Achilles, and Patroclus returns. The reader will recall that at the beginning of the Nestoris (namely, at xi. 596) Achilles, who was standing at the stern of his ship watching the rout of the Greeks, sent Patroclus to the tent of Nestor to ascertain who it was that was being carried off the field, wounded, in Nestor's chariot. Then followed Nestor's appeal to Patroclus to intercede with Achilles on behalf of the Greeks (xi. 762). As he was returning, Patroclus met the wounded Eurypylus limping off the field, carried him to his tent, and dressed the wound. Patroclus is next mentioned at xv. 390, where, hearing the noise of tumult as the Trojans carry the wall, he leaves THE ILIAD, BOOK XVI 197 Eurypylus in charge of a servant and starts again to return to Achilles. THE TEARS OF PATROCLUS And Patroclus stood beside Achilles, shepherd of the people, Shedding hot tears, like a spring of deep black water, Which adown a rock, that only goats can climb, pours its dark waters. And the swift-footed, divine Achilles saw him and had pity, And, lifting up his voice, addressed him winged words: "Why art thou in tears, Patroclus, like a little girl Who keeps running along beside her mother and begging her to take her up, As she keeps plucking at her robe and hindering her as she hastens on, And keeps looking up at her through her tears, that she may take her up; Like her, Patroclus, thou sheddest tender tears. Wilt thou tell some news to the Myrmidons, or to me, myself, Or hast thou privately heard some message from Phthia? Surely they say that Menoetius, Actor's son, is still alive, And Peleus, son of Aeacus, is living among the Myrmidons, For both of whom we should be sore grieved were they to die. Or can it be that thou grievest for the Argives since they are perishing At the hollow ships because of their transgression? Speak out; do not conceal it in thy mind, that we may both know it." -Iliad xvi. 2-I9 Homer's picture of the little girl and her mother is called by Andrew Lang (Essays in Little) "the tenderest of his similes." Compare Sappho Frag. 36: "And I have flown to you like a child to its mother." (Translation by J. M. Edmonds). THE PLEA OF PATROCLUS And, deeply groaning, thou didst answer him, horseman Patroclus: "O Achilles, son of Peleus, far the bravest of the Achaeans, Be not wroth; such woe hath come upon the Achaeans. For they who formerly were bravest, one and all Lie in the ships smitten and wounded. Mighty Diomed, son of Tydeus, is smitten; Wounded is Odysseus, anoi Agamemnon, famed with the spear; I98 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Smitten is Eurypylus too in the thigh with an arrow. With them the physicians skilled in many drugs are busied, Healing their wounds; but thou, Achilles, art inexorable. May no such anger seize me as that thou cherishest, Brave, yet terrible one; what other, though late-born, shalt thou help, If thou dost not ward off unseemly ruin from the Argives? Pitiless! so then the knight Peleus was not thy father, Nor Thetis thy mother, but the gleaming sea bare thee And the steep rocks, because thy heart is cruel. But if thou art heeding any warning from the gods, Or if thy revered mother hath shown thee aught from Zeus, At least send me forth quickly and cause the rest of the host Of the Myrmidons to follow me, if perchance I may bring salvation to the Danaoi. And give me that armor of thine to buckle on my shoulders, If perchance, mistaking me for thee, the Trojans may refrain from battle, And the warlike sons of the Achaeans may take breath, Wearied as they are; but brief is the respite from war. And easily might we, unwearied men, with a shout thrust back The wearied to the city, from the ships and huts." -Iliad xvi. 20-45 With the part about "the gleaming sea" and "the steep rocks," compare Virgil, Aeneid iv. 365-67-the impassioned words of the betrayed and abandoned Dido to Aeneas: Nec tibi diva parens nec Dardanus auctor, Perfide; sed duris genuit te cautibus horrens Caucasus, Hyrcanaeque admorunt ubera tigres. (Neither was a goddess thy mother nor Dardanus thy father, perfidious man! but rugged Caucasus brought thee forth upon its hard rocks, and Hyrcanian tigers were thy nurses.) At this point Homer, whose object is not at all to conceal from us the outcome, but rather to arouse in the mind of the listener a feeling of sympathy for the gentle young Patroclus, destined like his friend Achilles to an early death, adds these words: THE ILIAD, BOOK XVI '99 So spake he supplicating, unfortunate one; since it was destined That for himself he should ask evil death and fate. -Iliad xvi. 46-47 Such a request could not fail to arouse conflicting emotions in the mind of a young man with the nature of Achilles. First he denies that it is out of regard for any warning from the gods that he refuses to fight; then he reminds Patroclus of the wrong done by Agamemnon in taking Briseis away from him as if he had been "some wanderer in disgrace." But at last his love for Patroclus gradually overmasters his hatred of Agamemnon. ACHILLES SENDS PATROCLUS TO THE FIGHT But we will let bygones be bygones; nor, in truth, was it possible For me to hold a grudge unceasingly in heart, though once I said That I would not cease my rage till the battle cry And war came to my own ships. But do thou put my armor about thy shoulders, And lead the war-loving AMyrmidons to battle, Since now the dark cloud of the Trojans Hath mightily enveloped the ships, and the Argives Lean upon the beach of the sea, holding now but small space of ground, While all the city of the Trojans hath come against them With confidence; for they see not the forefront of my helmet Gleaming close at hand; else would they flee and fill the torrent beds With their dead, if only Lord Agamemnon were friendly to me; While, as it is, they fight at our very camp. For the spear doth not rage in the hands Of Tydides Diomed to ward off destruction from the Danaoi, Nor any more do they hear the voice of the son of Atreus Shouting from his hated head; but the cry of man-slaying Hector Urging on the Trojans breaks about them, and the enemy With shouts hold all the plain, defeating the Achaeans in battle. But even so, Patroclus, averting ruin from the ships, Fall thou mightily upon the Trojans, lest they burn the ships With devouring fire and take away our longed-for return. But give heed, that I may lay the sum of my command upon thy mind, 200 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD That thou mayest win great recompense and glory for me From all the Danaoi, and that they may restore The beauteous maiden and bestow glorious gifts besides. When thou hast driven them from the ships, return again; And even if the loud-thundering spouse of Hera grant thee to win glory, Do not thou wish to wage war apart from me With the war-loving Trojans, for thou wilt deprive me of my recompense. And do not thou, exulting in war and combat, Slaying the Trojans, lead against Ilion, Lest any of the ever-living gods of Olympus Enter the combat; for dearly does the Far-Worker, Apollo, love them; But turn again when thou hast brought the light of safety among the ships, And let them contend along the plain. For would to Father Zeus and Athena and Apollo That not one of the Trojans might escape death, of all that are, Nor any of the Argives, and that only we two might escape destruction, That alone we might sack Troy's sacred diadem of towers. -Iliad xvi. 6o-Ioo 'This is really the turning-point in the story of the Iliad. And never was there a better illustration of the truth stated by Thucydides that the issues of battle lie in the souls of men. For it was because Achilles was the kind of man he was that he acted as he did. Agamemnon's grasping selfishness he could resist; but the pleading of the gentle Patroclus he could not refuse.' As pointed out in a comment on Book i, a highspirited, straightforward character like Achilles was almost bound to come into conflict with a selfish, over-reaching man like Agamemnon; and yet the same qualities that led him to resent so deeply the aggression of Agamemnon made him incapable of refusing the request of his friend Patroclus to join 1J. Van Leeuwen, ad 38-45 says: Precibus eum permovet qui permovere unus potuit, quoniam reges legati et senex praeceptor parum valebant; amicus. THE ILIAD, BOOK XVI 20I in the fight. Thereby he brings about the death of his friend and, later, loses his own life. In a very true sense it may be said that through their own nobleness both these young heroes lose their lives; and therein lies the tragedy of the war. As to the difficulty sometimes raised because Patroclus makes no mention of Machaon and the errand on which he was sent to the tent of Nestor, doubtless the best answer is that the greater matters which have come up in the interval have overshadowed this lesser point. The words "if only Lord Agamemnon were friendly to me" seem to be wholly inconsistent with the situation in the ninth book, in which Agamemnon had sent ambassadors to Achilles and offered to restore Briseis and make full reparation; it is difficult to see. how Book ix can have belonged to the original Iliad, unless (with E. Kammer, Acsthetischer Kommentar zu Homer's Ilias [90oI]) we regard Agamemnon's offers in Book ix as not touching the real point of the whole matter in the mind of Achilles, since, in spite of all the gifts he offers, he does not make the abject apology which Achilles may have thought indispensable. The prayer of Achilles at the end of this passage-that all others might perish and that he and his beloved friend, Patroclus, might be left alone to take Troy-recalls the prayer of Diomed in Book ix. 48-49, where Diomed challenges all the others to go home, "But we two, Sthenelus and I, will fight on, Till we find out the appointed fate of Troy." The scene now returns to the struggle at the ship of Protesilaus. The helmet of Ajax resounds with the blows struck upon it; his shoulder grows weary with bearing the shield; he breathes hard; and the sweat pours down over his whole body; nor can he find any chance to rest. And now, the poet being about to relate the climax of the battle at the ships, again invokes the Muses. 202 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD THE FIRING OF THE SHIPS Tell me now, ye Muses that have homes on Olympus, How first fire fell upon the ships of the Achaeans. Hector, standing near the ashen spear of Ajax, Smote it with his great sword on the spear shaft back of the point, And cut it sheer off. And Telamonian Ajax Was brandishing nothing but a pointless spear in his hand; For far from him the brazen point fell rattling to the ground, And Ajax recognized in his blameless heart the works of the gods, And shuddered, in that high-thundering Zeus Had cut away completely his purpose of battle, And willed the victory to the Trojans. And he retreated out of reach of the missiles; And the Trojans cast unwearied fire upon the swift ship, And straightway unquenchable flames enveloped her from above. -Iliad xvi. 112-23 It will be observed that in the above account of the firing of the ships, Homer (whose sympathies were naturally upon the Greek side), even though bringing about the prophesied disaster, saves the military credit of Ajax. (Compare the boast of Hector, in ix. 241-43.) The crisis in the conflict has now been reached, the assent of Achilles has been won, and we are prepared for the active participation of Patroclus in the combat. Homer continues: So the fire flamed about the stern of that ship; But Achilles smote his thighs and said to Patroclus: "Arise, Zeus-descended Patroclus, driver of horses, I see now beside the ships the onset of hostile fire; May they not take the ships and cut off our chance of escape! Arm thyself with all haste, and I will arouse the host." -Iliad xvi. I24-29 We have next the description of the arming of Patroclus, most of it paralleled in Book iii. 330, although the "starry breastplate" is unique; and it is to be noted that Patroclus does not take the spear of Achilles. This (as we learn from THE ILIAD, BOOK XVI 203 this passage and Book xix. 388, and from other sources) was the "Pelian ash" which the centaur Chiron had given as a wedding present to the father of Achilles and which no other than the hero of the Iliad could wield. Then comes the fine passage about Automedon with the horses of Achilles, which has proved an inspiration to both poet and artist. AUTOMEDON WITH THE HORSES OF ACHILLES And Patroclus bade Automedon, whom he honored most, next to mancrushing Achilles, And who was most faithful to him in battle, waiting upon his word of command, To yoke quickly the horses. And Automedon led the swift horses beneath the yoke, Xanthus and Balius, who flew swift as the blasts of the winds, Whom the storm-goddess Podarge bore to the wind Zephyrus, As she was pasturing in a meadow beside the stream of Ocean. And in the side-traces he sent the blameless Pedasus, Whom once Achilles led away when he took the city of Eetion, Who, mortal though he was, followed with the immortal horses. -Iliad xvi. I45-54 This passage receives, perhaps, its most vivid illustration in the painting in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts by Henri Regnault (1843-7I). It is quite likely, too, that Plato (Phaedrus, p. 246) in describing the chariot of the soul-one of whose horses was noble and of noble breed, and the other ignoble-may have had this passage in mind. One striking description is followed by another. THE MYRMIDONS IN ARMOR Then Achilles went and armed the Myrmidons, All in their huts, with weapons; and they were like wolves, The devourers of raw flesh, the valor of whose hearts is unutterable, Who, when they have overcome a great, horned stag in the mountains, Devour it, and the red jowls of all are stained with blood; And they go in a herd to lap the black water of a dark-flowing spring, 204 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD And belch forth bloody gore over its surface, and their spirits Are untrembling within their breasts, though their bellies are full; So the leaders and chieftains of the Myrmidons About the brave attendant of swift-footed Aeacides Moved quickly, and among them stood warlike Achilles Urging on both the horses, and the men armed with shields. -Iliad xvi. I55-67 There is some doubt as to the translation of the phrase here rendered "though their bellies are full." This is the meaning given by the scholiast, and, if correct, would seem to indicate that the poet was not always well-informed as to the habits of animals; for the sated wolf is said to be cowardly (Leaf, ad I56). So, in Book iii. 23, the lion is represented as devouring the dead body of a "horned stag or wild goat," which he has found; and this also is contrary to the actual nature of the lion. Van Leeuwen, on the other hand, understands the half-line of our present passage to refer to the heaving sides of the wolves after the chase. Passing over the "Catalogue of the Myrmidons," which is probably an interpolation, and the brief exhortation of Achilles to his men, we come to another interesting simile, also with reference to the Myrmidons. THE PHALANX OF THE MYRMIDONS With these words he aroused the courage and spirit of each. And their ranks were more closely joined, as they heard their king. And as when a man joins together with close-fitting stones The wall of a lofty house and wards off the violence of the winds, So were joined together their helmets and bossy shields. Then shield leaned upon shield, helmet upon helmet, and man upon man, And the horse-hair plumes grazed the bright crests As the men leaned forward, so close they stood to one another; And before all two men were arming themselves, Patroclus and Automedon, having but one purpose, To wage war in the forefront of the Myrmidons. -Iliad xvi. 2IO-20 THE ILIAD, BOOK XVI 205 Entering his tent, Achilles takes from the chest, which his mother Thetis gave him when he started for Troy, a finely wrought goblet from which no other man than he drank, and which he himself reserved for libations to Zeus alone. First he fumigated it with sulphur; then he washed it with his own hands and filled it with wine, and, standing forth, looked up to heaven, and poured out a libation, "nor was he unseen by Zeus, the hurler of the thunderbolt." Then follows one of the most remarkable of the many prayers of the Iliad. THE PRAYER OF ACHILLES King Zeus, Dodonaean, Pelasgian, dwelling afar, Ruling over wintry Dodona, while about thee Dwell the Selloi, thy prophets with unwashen feet, sleeping upon the ground; Once before thou didst hear me when I prayed, Didst honor me, and smite mightily the host of the Achaeans; And now again fulfil this prayer for me. I myself remain here in the assemblage of the ships, But my friend I send with many Myrmidons To do battle; therefore grant him glory, broad-browed Zeus, And strengthen his heart within him, that Hector too may discover Whether our companion knows how to fight alone also, Or whether his hands rage invincibly Only when I go with him to the toil of Ares. But when he shall have frightened away the battle and shouting from the ships, Unscathed may he return to the swift ships With all his armor and his companions, who fight hand to hand. -Iliad xvi. 233-48 The oracle of Zeus at Dodona in Epirus was one of the most ancient in Greece. Divination was by means of an ancient oak tree, through the sound of the wind or the fluttering of the sacred doves among its branches. "Prayers were scratched on thin sheets of lead, which were then rolled up and nailed to the tree. Many such tablets, some with the nails 2o6 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD still in them, are in existence now" (J. R. S. Sterrett, Homer's Iliad [I907], ad loc.). A spring sacred to Zeus, and supposed to impart inspiration, flowed at the foot of the tree. The use of the epithet "Pelasgian" perhaps indicates that the locality was sacred among this ancient people even before the coming of the Achaeans. The fact that the priests slept upon the ground and did not wash their feet is mentioned as another indication of the hoary antiquity of the oracle. Holy men were supposed to live close to nature and not to pay much attention to the trifles of toilet or comfort. Homer pictures the eagerness of the Myrmidons for combat. SIMILE OF THE WASPS And straightway they kept pouring forth like wasps by the roadside, Which boys provoke, as children are wont to do, Always teasing them, since they have their nest by the road, Foolish children! causing a nuisance common to many men; For if a traveler come that way and disturb the wasps innocently, They all fly out with valiant hearts and defend their young. -Iliad xvi. 259-65 Compare the simile of the wasps in xii. I67-72-the only two places where wasps are mentioned by Homer. Patroclus briefly exhorts the Myrmidons, and they advance upon the Trojans. THE MYRMIDONS IN ACTION They fell upon the Trojans in masses, and the ships Re-echoed terribly beneath the shouts of the Achaeans. And as for the Trojans, when they saw the valiant son of Menoetius, Both himself and his companion flashing in armor, The hearts of all were dismayed and their phalanxes stirred, Thinking that the swift-footed son of Peleus beside the ships Had cast aside his wrath and chosen friendship; And every man looked about to see where he might escape swift destruction. -Iliad xvi. 276-83 THE ILIAD, BOOK XVI 207 Then Patroclus plunged into the thickest of the fight beside the stern of the ship of Protesilaus, killed the leader of the Paeonians, and inspired terror in all the enemy. SIMILE OF THE THICK CLOUD And Patroclus drove them from the ships and quenched the flaming fire. Then the ship was left there half-burned; and the Trojans Fled with a terrible uproar, and the Danaoi poured forth against them Among the hollow ships; and an unceasing din arose. And as when Zeus, the Gatherer of Lightnings, moves away A thick cloud from the lofty peak of a great mountain, And every height comes out and jutting peak and valley, And the immeasurable heavens break open to their highest; So the Danaoi, when they had thrust back from the ships the consuming fire, Rested for a time, but there was no cessation of war; For the Trojans were not yet driven in headlong flight At the hands of the Ares-loved Achaeans from the black ships, But still withstood, and gave back from the ships only of necessity. -Iliad xvi. 293-305 In the passage that follows we are told both at the beginning and at the end (306 and 351) that each of the Greek leaders slew his man. As a matter of fact, nine leaders and nine slain Trojans are mentioned. Nine, as is well known, was the perfect number among the Greeks. J. A. Scott (Unity of Homer [I92I], p. 206) observes that, in the whole Iliad, i89 named Trojans and 53 named Greeks are slain. In the succeeding passage the Greeks are said to fall upon the Trojans as wolves do upon lambs or kids that are separated from the flock among the mountains. We have the picture of Hector listening to the whistling of arrows and the whirr of javelins, and realizing that the tide of battle has turned against him. Then comes another cloud simile. 208 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD A CLOUD OUT OF A CLEAR SKY And as when a cloud comes from Olympus into heaven Out of the clear sky, when Zeus prepares a storm, So swiftly came their shouts of dismay and flight from the ships, Nor did they cross back again in orderly fashion..... -Iliad xvi. 364-67 The above passage has caused much trouble to commentators, but Van Leeuwen seems to give the true meaning in Latin paraphrase: Ut e clara luce procella, sic Troianis ex ipsa victoria clades subito orta est. There follows a description of the hurried flight of the Trojans: And beneath the axles the men were falling Prone from their chariots; and the chariots overturned with a rattle. -Iliad xvi. 378-79 The word translated above "overturned with a rattle" is ana-kymbaliazon, which occurs here only in Greek literature. The sound effect is curiously like Paul's kymbalon alalazon ("clashing cymbal") in I Cor. 13:1. Another interesting nature-simile follows, describing the headlong flight of the Trojans. SIMILE OF THE FLOODS And as when all the darkened earth is weighed down beneath a storm On an autumn day, when Zeus pours down rain furiously, When he is indignant at men and vents his wrath, Because they with violence render crooked decisions in the assembly, And drive out justice, and regard not the avenging eyes of the gods, And all their rivers are flooded, And the torrents cut away all the hillsides, And flow loudly roaring into the purple sea, Headlong down from the mountains, and the tilled fields are wasted; So noisily panted the horses of the Trojans as they ran. -Iliad xvi. 384-93 The second half of line 387, "regard not the avenging eyes of the gods," is identical with Hesiod, Works and Days 251; and the doctrine that floods, etc., are sent upon men as THE ILIAD, BOOK XVI 209 a punishment for their sins is very ancient and widespread. Line 39I is imitated by Virgil, Georgics iv. 373: in mare purpureum violentior effluit amnis. The comparison of fast-flowing streams or waves of the sea to galloping horses is a very natural one. Poseidon, the god of the sea, was also a god of horses; Stesichorus, Frag, 49, calls him, "Poseidon, lord of hollow-hoofed horses." The story that, in his contest with Athena, Poseidon struck the rock of the Acropolis with his trident and caused the war horse to spring up is well known. After a few more exploits by Patroclus, we come to the Sarpedonos Anairesis ("Death of Sarpedon") (419-683). Sarpedon, a Lycian hero, takes active part in the action of the Iliad only three times: (i) in v. 627-98, where he kills Tlepolemus of Rhodes, but is himself severely wounded and borne off the field by his companions; (2) in xii. 290-43I, where he and his band of Lycians make an attack upon the wall; and (3) in our present passage, where his death at the hands of Hector is narrated. Question has been raised as to the genuineness of all these passages. Leaf is inclined to regard them as all by the same hand and not older than the Teicho-skopia of Book iii. Wilamowitz regards Sarpedon as an old heroic figure not originally belonging to the Iliad but introduced later, when the songs of the Iliad had become popular and when there was a demand for more. Doubtless there was in Lycia a monument known as the grave of Sarpedon; and, in order to reconcile his burial in Lycia with his death at Troy, Homer closes this incident with the account of the burial of Sarpedon by Sleep and Death. The story of the death of Sarpedon, while not originally belonging to the Iliad, seems to be at this point essential to it; for, as Wilamowitz points out, if we omit this episode, Patroclus performs no worthy exploit of arms pre 210 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD vious to his own death at the hands of Hector; furthermore, it was his victory over Sarpedon which led Patroclus to disregard the warning of Achilles and enter into the fatal combat with Hector. At the beginning of this episode Sarpedon advances to champion the cause of the Lycians, who are falling beneath the hands of Patroclus. The Greek hero leaps down from his chariot, and the two meet. SIMILE OF THE VULTURES And as crooked-taloned vultures with their curved beaks, Perched on some lofty rock, fight with piercing cries, So they with loud shouts rushed upon one another. -Iliad xvi. 428-30 Zeus is at first inclined to rescue his dear son Sarpedon from death at the hands of Hector and to have him transported in safety to far-away Lycia, but Hera asks with indignation: A man that is a mortal, long since condemned to his fate, Dost thou wish to release again from ill-sounding death? Do so; but not all the rest of us gods will approve. -Iliad xvi. 44I-43 Then she reminds Zeus that some other god may demand the same privilege of rescuing a favorite, and the king of men and of gods abandons his wish. Patroclus and Sarpedon fight, and the Lycian is mortally wounded and falls in the dust, and with his last words calls upon his friend Glaucus to rally the Lycians and come to avenge him; but Glaucus has been wounded in the arm by an arrow and is helpless. In this extremity Glaucus prays to Apollo. THE PRAYER OF GLAUCUS Give ear, 0 King, who doubtless art in the fat land of Lycia Or at Troy; but thou canst hear everywhere when a man is in trouble, As trouble now comes upon me; THE ILIAD, BOOK XVI 211 I For I bear this grievous wound, and my hand is pierced with sharp pain, Nor will the blood dry, and my shoulder is weighed down by it; And I cannot hold my spear firmly nor fight with my enemies. And a very brave man hath perished, Sarpedon, son of Zeus, But the god did not protect his son. But do thou, O King, heal this grievous wound, Lay my pains to sleep, and grant me courage, That I may call to the Lycians and urge them to fight, And myself may fight about the corpse of the slain. -Iliad xvi. 514-26 Apollo hears the prayer, allays the pains, stanches the blood, and inspires courage in the heart of his worshiper. Glaucus rouses Hector. Various subordinate heroes are slain on both sides. The battle over the body of Sarpedon waxes fiercer. THE FIGHT ABOUT SARPEDON And the noise of them rose like that of woodcutters In the glens of the mountains, and the sound is heard afar; So the din of these arose from broad-wayed earth, The din of bronze and leather and well-made oxhide shields As they were pierced with swords and two-edged spears. Nor could even a keenly observant man any longer Have recognized the divine Sarpedon, since he was covered With missiles and blood and dust from head to foot. -Iliad xvi. 633-40 But already Zeus, keeping his shining eyes steadily upon the conflict, was planning the death of Patroclus; therefore he filled the heart of Hector with fear, and the Trojans fled toward the city. The Greeks had stripped the body of Sarpedon of his armor and were about to convey it to the ships when Zeus spoke to Apollo: Come now, dear Phoebus, bear Sarpedon beyond the reach of weapons, Cleanse him of the dark blood; then bear him far away And bathe him in the flowings of a river, And anoint him with ambrosia, and place immortal garments about him; And send him to be borne by swift convoys, the twins Sleep and Death, 212 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Who will quickly set him down in the fat land of broad Lycia, Where his brethren and kinsfolk will honor him With tomb and monument, which are the prerogatives of the dead. -Iliad xvi. 667-75 All this Sleep and Death do, and the episode comes to an end (at vs. 683) with the burial of the hero. The death of Sarpedon is immediately followed by the account of the event which gives the title to Book xvi, the "Death of Patroclus." This is narrated in the vigorous and lofty style which marks the best parts of the "Wrath Poem." THE ZEAL OF PATROCLUS But Patroclus, urging on his horses and Automedon, Pursued Trojans and Lycians, and suffered great harm, Fool that he was! While if he had obeyed the command of the son of Peleus, He might have escaped the evil fate of black death. But always the purpose of Zeus is mightier than that of men. Then whom first, whom last didst thou slay, O Patroclus, when the gods summoned thee to death? -Iliad xvi. 684-88, 692-93 After giving a list of those slain by Patroclus, Homer tells how Apollo enters the fight. PATROCLUS TURNED BACK BY APOLLO Then had the sons of the Achaeans seized high-gated Troy At the hands of Patroclus —for he raged round about and before it, with his spearHad not Phoebus Apollo taken his stand upon the well-built tower Pondering evil for Patroclus and helping the Trojans. For thrice upon a corner of the lofty wall did Patroclus make assault, And thrice did Apollo beat him off, Smiting his shining shield with his immortal hands. But when for the fourth time Patroclus rushed upon him like a god, With a terrible cry Apollo addressed him winged words: THE ILIdD, BOOK XVI 213 "Give back, Zeus-descended Patroclus, it is not fated That the city of the stout-hearted Trojans be sacked by thy spear, Nor by that of Achilles, who is far mightier than thou." So spake he; and Patroclus gave back a great way, Avoiding the wrath of the Far-Darter Apollo. -Iliad xvi. 698-7 I Hector meanwhile "at the Scaean Gates was restraining his single-hoofed horses," till Apollo, in the guise of the young warrior Asius, encouraged him to renew the conflict. THE DEATH OF CEBRIONES And when he had spoken thus, he departed, a god among the toils of men; And radiant Hector commanded the fiery-hearted Cebriones To lash his horses to the combat. But Apollo went And entered the throng and sent evil panic upon the Argives, But granted glory unto Hector and the Trojans. And Hector passed by the other Greeks and slew them not, But against Patroclus directed his strong-hoofed steeds. And Patroclus on the other side leaped from his chariot to the ground, Holding a spear in his left hand; and with the other he grasped A shining, rugged stone, which he covered with his hand; And hurled it with all his might, and stood not long in awe of his man, Nor did the missile fail of its aim, but struck Hector's charioteer, Cebriones, the bastard son of glorious Priam, As he was holding the reins of the horses. Full on the forehead was he struck by the sharp stone, And the stone crushed both his brows, nor did the bone hold, And his eyes fell in the dust before his very feet, and he, like a diver, Fell from his well-wrought chariot, and the spirit left his frame. And thou, horseman Patroclus, taunting him didst say: "Indeed! a very nimble man! how easily he dives! Doubtless if he were upon the fishy sea, This man would satisfy many, searching for oysters, Leaping from a ship, even if the sea were very stormy, So easily now does he dive from his chariot upon the plain. So then there are divers among the Trojans too!" — liad xvi. 726-50 214 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD On the use of the taunt in Homer and Virgil, see A. L. Keith in Classical Journal, XIX (June I924), 554. Thereupon both Patroclus and Hector try to obtain the body of Cebriones. THE STRUGGLE OVER CEBRIONES Both strove for Cebriones like lions That on the mountain tops fight over a slain hind, Both hungry, both high-spirited; So two masters of the battle cry, Patroclus, son of Menoetius, And radiant Hector, rushed on eager to pierce each other with the pitiless bronze. And Hector, when he had seized the body by the head, would not let go; And Patroclus on the other side held it by the foot; and the rest Of the Trojans and the Danaoi joined in mighty combat. And as the East wind and the South strive with one another In the mountain glens to shake the deep forest, The oak and the ash and the smooth-barked cornel, And they dash their tapering branches against one another With a loud roaring, and there is a snapping of broken branches, So Trojans and Achaeans leaped upon one another and fought, Nor were either minded of destructive flight; And many sharp spears were planted about Cebriones, And many winged arrows that had leaped from the bowstring, And many great stones battered their shields As they fought about him; and he lay in a whirl of dust, Mighty and mightily outstretched, forgetful of his arts of horsemanship. -Iliad xvi. 756-76 No passage illustrates better than this the vigor of the early epic: Homer's description of wild animal life upon the mountains, the fierceness of the human struggle, the magnificent picture of the wind-tossed trees, and the characteristic touch of tenderness even for a fallen enemy in the concluding line. THE FALL OF PATROCLUS While yet the sun stood in mid-heaven, The missiles on both sides laid hold and the people fell; THE ILIAD, BOOK XVI 215 But when the sun passed over to the time of the unyoking of oxen, The Achaeans prevailed beyond measure. And they dragged the hero Cebriones beyond the reach of weapons And beyond the tumult of the Trojans, and stripped the armor from his shoulders, And Patroclus leaped upon the Trojans, purposing evil against them. Thrice then he leaped upon them like swift Ares, With a terrible cry, and thrice slew nine men; But when now for the fourth time he rushed upon them, like a god, Then appeared for thee, 0 Patroclus, the end of life; For Phoebus met thee in mighty combat, A dread god. Put Patroclus did not observe him coming through the tumult; For Apollo encountered him wrapped in thick mist, And stood behind him, and smote his back and broad shoulders With down-turned hand, and his eyes grew dizzy. And Phoebus Apollo struck the helmet from his head; And it rattled as it rolled beneath the feet of the horses, That upright four-crested helmet, and its plumes Were defiled with blood and dust. For formerly it was not permitted That the horsehair-crested helmet should be defiled with dust, But it protected the head and beauteous brow of a divine hero, Achilles; but then Zeus gave it to Hector To wear upon his head, but destruction was near him too. But Patroclus' long-shadowing spear was utterly broken in his hands, A spear heavy and long and tipped with bronze; and from his shoulders His rimmed shield with the baldric fell to the ground. And King Apollo, son of Zeus, loosed his breastplate. And confusion seized his mind, and his radiant limbs were loosed, And he stood astonished; and a Dardan man from close by Struck him in the back between the shoulders with his sharp spear, Euphorbus, son of Panthouis, who surpassed those of his age With the spear and in horsemanship and in fleetness of foot. For then he had caused twenty men to dismount from their chariots, Though he had but just come with his own chariot and was learning the art of war; He first, horseman Patroclus, hurled his weapon at thee, But did not overcome thee; and ran back and mingled with the throng 216 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD When he had snatched the ashen spear from thy body, Nor did he await even the unarmed Patroclus in the conflict. But Patroclus, checked by the blow of the god and by the spear, Withdrew among the throng of his companions, avoiding death. But Hector, when he saw the great-hearted Patroclus Retreating and smitten by the sharp bronze, Came close to him in the ranks, and wounded him with a spear In the small of his back, and drove the bronze right through. And he fell with a crash, and great grief came upon the host of the Achaeans. -Iliad xvi. 777-822 There follows one of those pictures of a conflict between animals, found so often in Homer and in early Greek works of art. THE LION AND THE BOAR And as when a lion overcomes in combat an unwearied boar, And they two with high courage fight upon the mountain tops Over a slender spring, and both wish to drink of it, And the lion by his might overcomes the panting boar; So Hector, son of Priam, with his spear, at close quarters, took away The life of the valiant son of Menoetius after he had slain many. -Iliad xvi. 823-28 With the above simile and an earlier one (756-58) already translated, compare what Creasy says (Fifteen Decisive Battles, "Battle of Tours") about the Arab and the German contending for the remnants of the Roman empire: Their conflict brought back upon the memory of Gibbon the old Homeric simile, where the strife of Hector and Patroclus over the dead body of Cebriones is compared to the combat of two lions that in their hate and hunger fight together on the mountain tops over the carcass of a slaughtered stag; and the reluctant yielding of the Saracen power to the superior might of the Northern warriors might not inaptly recall those other lines of the same book of the Iliad, where the downfall of Patroclus beneath Hector is likened to the forced yielding of the panting and exhausted wild boar that had long and furiously fought with a superior beast of prey for the possession of the scanty fountain among the rocks at which each burned to drink. THE ILIAD, BOOK XVI 217 Patroclus is down, and, according to the custom of Homeric heroes, Hector exults over his fallen enemy. HECTOR TO PATROCLUS "Patroclus, doubtless thou didst say thou wouldst ravage our city And take away the day of freedom from the Trojan women, And carry them away in thy ships to thy dear native land. Fool! but before all this, the swift steeds of Hector Strode forth to war; thus am I myself pre-eminent among the war loving Trojans, Because I ward off from them the day of doom. But thee the vultures shall devour right here. Ah wretched man! not even Achilles, brave though he was, availed thee, He who doubtless charged thee very earnestly, as he remained behind while thou wentest forth: 'Return not, Patroclus, thou driver of horses, Unto the hollow ships, till thou cleave The bloody tunic of man-slaying Hector about his breast.' Thus doubtless he charged thee, and persuaded thy senseless mind." And feebly thou didst answer him, horseman Patroclus: "Now at last thou mayest utter thy boast, Hector, For Zeus, son of Kronos, and Apollo have granted thee the victory; And easily they overcame me; for it was they that stripped the armor from my shoulders. But even if twenty such as thou had met me, All had perished in their steps, subdued beneath my spear. But ruinous fate and the son of Leto slew me, And of men Euphorbus; while thou only in the third place dost despoil me. And another thing I will tell thee, and do thou lay it to heart: In truth thou thyself shalt not long survive me, But already death and violent fate are standing beside thee, And thou shalt be overcome by the hands of the blameless Achilles, son of Aeacus." -Iliad xvi. 830-54 Homer brings the great scene, and Book xvi, to an end with the death of Patroclus. 218 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD THE DEATH OF PATROCLUS When he had spoken thus, the fate of death enshrouded him. And his soul, fleeing from his limbs, descended unto Hades, Lamenting her fate, since she was leaving manhood and youth. And even after he was dead, radiant Hector addressed him: "Patroclus, why dost thou prophesy unto me sheer destruction? Who knoweth whether Achilles, son of beautiful-tressed Thetis, Shall not be first to lose his life, smitten by my spear?" So then he spake, and drew the brazen spear from the wound, Setting his foot upon him, and thrust him down upon his back, Clear of the spear, and straightway rushed after Automedon, The godlike servant of swift-footed Aeacides; For he was eager to strike him; but the swift horses bore Automedon away, Those immortal steeds which the gods gave to Peleus as a glorious gift. -Iliad xvi. 855-end With the second and third lines of this passage, compare Matthew Arnold's description of the death of Sohrab: And from his limbs Unwillingly the spirit fled away, Regretting the warm mansion which it left, And youth, and bloom, and this delightful world. -Sohrab and Rustum BOOK XVII THE PATROKLEIA-Continued The seventeenth book bears the Greek title Menelaou Aristeia ("The Exploits of Menelaus") and is mainly concerned with the fight over the body of Patroclus, resulting in the recovery of the body by the Greeks but the loss of the armor to Hector and the Trojans. It is reasonable to suppose that some account of the struggle for the possession of the body of Patroclus must have formed a part of the original poem; but all editors agree that the story as we have it has been so enlarged and changed that the original parts cannot be readily distinguished from the interpolations. When it THE ILIAD, BOOK XVII 2I9 comes to particular passages, the editors do not agree very well among themselves. Leaf holds that "in the original form of the story Hector alone slew Patroklos, and immediately proceeded to take his armor"; and that "we have a narrative which has developed by successive stages from a comparatively short combat over the body of Patroklos between Hector on the one side and Aias and Menelaos on the other." Avoiding the discussion of points which are still in dispute among leading scholars, it will be sufficient for our purpose to call attention merely to the passages most noteworthy from a literary or artistic point of view. The book begins with an interesting simile, as Menelaus protects the body of Patroclus: Nor did it escape the son of Atreus, Ares-loved Menelaus, That Patroclus had been overcome by the Trojans in the combat. But he came forward among the champions, equipped with shining bronze, And strode about Patroclus as a cow about her calf, her first-born, Mourning, a heifer that has never brought forth before. -Iliad xvii. I-5 A little farther on Euphorbus is killed by Menelaus. THE DEATH OF EUPHORBUS And he fell with a crash, and his armor rattled upon him; And his hair, like that which the Graces boast, was wet with blood, And his locks, bound with clasps of gold and silver. And as a man raises a vigorous shoot of the olive In a lonely spot, and the rain waters it abundantly, A fair, flourishing shoot, and the breath of winds From all quarters sways it, and it teems with white blossoms; But a blast coming suddenly with a great hurricane Tears it from its trench and strews it upon the earth; So when Menelaus, son of Atreus, had slain Euphorbus of the good ashen spear, son of Panthoiis, he stripped off his armor. -Iliad xvii. 50-60 220 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD The word translated above "bound with clasps of gold and silver" is sphekoo (from spheex, the "wasp"). One naturally thinks of the early Athenian custom of binding up the hair with golden tettiges ("grass-hoppers"). Leaf calls attention to the "little spirals of gold or silver such as have been found.... in graves in Etruria, in Greece and at Hissarlik." The comparison of youth to a shoot of the olive is Biblical-"thy children like olive plants round about thy table" (Ps. 128:3)-compare Odyssey vi. 162, where Odysseus, with reference to Nausicaa, says: In Delos once, beside the altar of Apollo, I saw a young shoot of the palm-tree, much like you, growing up. On an early Greek vase, from Camirus in Rhodes, Menelaus and Hector are represented as fighting over the prostrate body of Euphorbus-a scene which fits in here better than anywhere else, but does not correspond exactly to the situation. Describing the fierceness of the struggle over the body of Patroclus, Homer makes use of a fine simile. THE SOUND OF MANY WATERS And the Trojans pounded forward in a mass, and Hector led. And as when at the mouth of a Zeus-descended river The wave roars loudly against the stream, and on all sides The headlands along the beach re-echo with the salt water, Cast up beyond its bounds-with so great a shout advanced the Trojans. -Iliad xvii. 263-66 Leaf, commenting on this simile, says: "The scholia say that Solon burnt his poems in despair of their ever bearing comparison with this fine simile. They tell the story equally of Plato, and with more reason, as Solon's poems have survived." The dust of conflict hung over the contestants like a thick mist, says Homer. THE ILIAD, BOOK XVII 221 THE DUST OF CONFLICT So they strove, like fire; nor could you say That either sun or moon was safe; For all the chieftains that stood about the dead son of Menoetius Were enveloped in darkness, as they battled; While the others, both Trojans and well-greaved Achaeans, Fought unannoyed in the clear air, and the keen rays of the sun Fell upon them, nor did a cloud appear anywhere upon earth or mountains. -Iliad xvii. 366-73 Somewhat like the first part of this are the lines of Milton (Paradise Lost, IV, 990) describing the impending conflict between Satan and the archangel Gabriel: Now dreadful deeds Might have ensued; nor only Paradise, In this commotion, but the starry cope Of Heaven perhaps, or all the Elements At least, had gone to wrack, disturbed and torn With violence of this conflict. Compare also Matthew Arnold, Sohrab and Rustum: For a cloud Grew suddenly in Heaven, and dark'd the sun Over the fighters' heads; and a wind rose Under their feet, and moaning swept the plain, And in a sandy whirlwind wrapp'd the pair. In gloom they twain were wrapp'd, and they alone; For both the on-looking hosts on either hand Stood in broad daylight, and the sky was pure, And the sun sparkled on the Oxus stream. Perhaps the most unusual of all the similes used to describe the tense struggle over the body of Patroclus is the following one. THE STRUGGLE FOR THE BODY OF PATROCLUS And as when a man gives over the hide of a great bull To his people to stretch, after it has been drenched with fat; And having received it, they all stand about it in a circle 222 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD And stretch it, and the moisture goes out of it as the fat sinks in, While many men tug at it, and it is stretched through and through; So both sides tugged the body, this way and that, in small space. -Iliad xvii. 389-95 Achilles, meanwhile, was in ignorance of what had taken place. ACHILLES UNAWARE OF HIS LOSS Nor did the divine Achilles yet know that Patroclus was dead; For they were striving far from the swift ships Beneath the walls of Troy; therefore he never thought That he was dead, but alive, and pressing upon the gates, And that he would return again; nor did he suppose at all That he would sack the city without him, or even with him; For often, listening to her apart, he had learned this from his mother, Who always reported to him the purpose of great Zeus; But now it proved that she had never told him mny evil so great as was wrought, That he should suffer the loss of him who was by far his dearest friend. -Iliad xvii. 401- 1 We come now to a new section, which W. von Christ calls Automedontos Aristeia ("The Exploits of Automedon"), beginning with the famous passage about the mourning horses of Achilles. THE MOURNING HORSES OF ACHILLES Thus they strove, and the iron din Rose through the restless air to the brazen sky. And the horses of Aeacides, far from the battle, Mourned, when first they learned that their driver Had fallen in the dust beneath the hands of man-slaying Hector. Yet Automedon, the valiant son of Diores, Often flicked at them and struck them with his swift whip, And often spoke to them with kind words and often with chiding; Yet they were unwilling either to go back to the ships Beside the broad Hellespont or to warfare among the Achaeans, But just as a stone remains immovable Upon the tomb of a man or a woman that is dead, THE ILIAD, BOOK XVII 223 So they stood still, hitched to the beautiful chariot, Abasing their heads to the ground; and hot tears Fell from their eyes to the ground, as they mourned And longed for their driver, and their flowing manes were defiled As they streamed downwards from the hames on either side of the yokes. -Iliad xvii. 424-40 With this passage about the weeping horses with drooping manes, compare Matthew Arnold, Sohrab and Rustum, after Rustum has mortally wounded his son Sohrab, not knowing who he is: And Ruksh, the horse, With his head bowing to the ground and mane Sweeping the dust, came near, and in mute woe First to the one and then to the other moved His head, as if inquiring what their grief Might mean; and from his dark, compassionate eyes, The big warm tears roll'd down, and caked the sand. Homer continues with one of those bits of philosophical reflection such as are found only rarely in the early Greek epics. Referring again to the horses of Achilles, the poet says that Zeus pitied them. THE IMMORTAL STEEDS And the son of Kronos saw them mourning, and took pity upon them, And shaking his head said to his own soul: "Ah wretched steeds; why did we bestow you upon King Peleus, A mortal, while you are ageless and immortal? Was it that you might share their woes with unhappy men? For surely there is no creature more wretched than man Among all that breathe and move upon the earth." -Iliad xvii. 441-47 Thus again, in reflective passages like the above, Homer appears as the father of Greek tragedy. The sentiment of the last two lines may be closely paralleled in Aeschylus and Sophocles.2 2 For example, Agamemnon I327, Oedipus Rex 1i86. 224 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD At a later point in the conflict Zeus shakes the aegis from the top of Mount Ida and frightens the Greeks. ZEUS SHAKES THE AEGIS Then the son of Kronos seized the aegis, tasseled, Glittering, and enveloped Ida with clouds, And amid flashes of lightning thundered very loud, and shook the mountain, And gave victory to the Trojans, and frightened the Greeks. -Iliad xvii. 593-96 This seems to be a clear example of the use of the aegis in its original significance as the thunder-cloud with the lightnings playing about it. The advantage now shifts to the Trojan side, and Ajax at the conclusion of a speech in which he exhorts the Greeks to bear off the body of Patroclus utters his famous prayer for light. PRAYER OF AJAX FOR LIGHT "Would there were some comrade to bear word With all speed to the son of Peleus, Since I think that he has not even heard the evil tidings That his dear friend has perished. But I cannot anywhere see such an one among the Achaeans; For they are all covered with darkness, themselves and their horses alike. But, Father Zeus, do thou rescue the sons of the Achaeans from underneath the darkness, And restore the day, and grant us to behold it with our eyes; And in the light destroy us even, since so it is pleasing to thee!" So spake he; and the Father pitied him as he shed tears, And straightway scattered the darkness and thrust away the mist, And the sun shone forth again, and all the battle was revealed. -Iliad xvii. 640-50 The first part of this passage seems to prepare the way for the sending of Antilochus to Achilles at the beginning of Book THE ILIAD, BOOK XVII 225 xviii. Commenting on the prayer of Ajax, Pseudo-Longinus (On the Sublime, chap. ix, sec. io) says: "He does not, you observe, ask for his life-such a request would have been unworthy of his heroic soul." Menelaus, fearing that the Greeks will be seized with panic and abandon the body to the enemy, cries out to them. "REMEMBER PATROCLUS!" Ye Ajaxes, leaders of the Argives, and Meriones, Let every one bethink him now of the kindness of poor Patroclus, For his nature was to be gentle to all, As long as he lived, but now death and fate have overtaken him. -Iliad xvii. 669-72 Having thus exhorted his companions, Menelaus looks sharply about till he finds Antilochus, son of Nestor, and sends him to bear the sad message of the death of Patroclus and the loss of the arms to Achilles. Then, at the suggestion of Telamonian Ajax, Menelaus, and Meriones lift up the body to carry it off the field, while the Ajaxes hold back the Trojans. And so, at last, they bear off the body of Patroclus. MENELAUS WITH THE BODY OF PATROCLUS As mules, exerting their great strength on either side of it, Drag off from the mountain side along a rugged pathway A beam or great ship timber; and their spirit Is wearied at the same time by toil and by sweat, as they strive; So they two arduously bore off the corse. -Iliad xvii. 742-46 This concluding incident of Book xvii is well illustrated by the fine Hellenistic group of Menelaus with the body of Patroclus, in the Loggia dei Lanzi at Florence. All that remains now to bring the Patrokleia to a fitting conclusion is an account of the delivery of the message by Antilochus and of its reception by Achilles. This we find at 226 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD the beginning of Book xviii. It is placed here for the sake of completeness. ACHILLES LEARNS OF THE DEATH OF PATROCLUS Thus they fought like devouring fire, And Antilochus came as a swift-footed messenger to Achilles. And found him before the straight-horned ships, Pondering those things, in his heart, which had indeed been accomplished; And, deeply moved, he said to his own proud spirit: "Ah me! why now do the long-haired Achaeans Throng in fright over the plain to the ships? May it not prove that the gods have brought to pass my soul's fear, As once my mother declared unto me and said That the bravest of the Myrmidons, while still I lived, Should leave the light of the sun at the hands of the Trojans. Surely now, the valiant son of Menoetius is dead, Rash man! Indeed I bade him repeatedly, as soon as he had thrust Away the hostile fire, to return to the ships, and not fight mightily against Hector." While he was pondering these things in mind and in heart, The son of illustrious Nestor drew near, Shedding hot tears, and uttered his grievous message: "Ah me! son of fiery-hearted Peleus, truly grievous Is the message thou shalt hear; oh would it had never come about! Patroclus lies dead, and they are fighting over his body Stripped of its armor, and Hector of the glancing helm has the arms." So spake he; and as for Achilles, a black cloud of woe encompassed him. And he seized dust and ashes in both his hands And scattered it over his head and defiled his fair countenance, And the black ashes settled upon his fragrant tunic. Then stretching his great body over great space, With his own hands he tore his hair and defiled it. And the serving maids whom Achilles and Patroclus had won, Grieved to the heart, cried aloud, and ran forth and surrounded the fiery-hearted Achilles, And all beat their breasts, and the knees of every one trembled. And Antilochus on the other side was mourning and shedding tears, THE ILIAD, BOOK XVII 227 As he held fast the hands of Achilles; and lamentation filled his noble heart; For he feared lest Achilles should cut his own throat with steel. -Iliad xviii. 1-34 Lines 9-II above are an apparent contradiction of xvii. 410 (already translated); there it is stated that Thetis had never told Achilles of the fate coming upon his dearest companion. Some explain the contradiction by difference of authorship of the two passages. An ancient Greek commentator suggested that Patroclus was not regarded as a Myrmidon because he came from Opuntian Locris, while Achilles and his Myrmidons came from Phthia. CHAPTER X THE ILIAD, BOOKS XVIII AND XIX THE SHIELD OF ACHILLES; THE RECONCILIATION WITH AGAMEMNON The portion of the Iliad covered in this chapter and the next includes some of the most varied and interesting and also some of the most highly imaginative work in the whole poem. While much of it has been ruled out by the critics as not belonging to the original "Wrath Poem," there is a great deal that is of high literary merit, mingled, to be sure, with some inferior work. In general, it may be said that the books included in these chapters bridge the gap from the end of the Patrokleia to the beginning of the Hektoros Anairesis ("Song of the Death of Hector"). BOOK XVIII The Greek title of Book xviii is Hoplo-poiia ("Making of the Armor"), and the description of the shield of Achilles is really the heart of the book. Wilamowitz (Die Ilias und Homer, p. 163) holds that the author of Book xviii in its present form had before him three older cantos, the Patrokleia, the Hoplo-poiia, and the Achilleis (that is, Books xxii and xxiii), which he has very skilfully combined. In the original form of the story Patroclus probably went forth wearing his own armor (not that of Achilles); and when the news of his death was brought to Achilles, the hero rushed forth without waiting to put on his armor, and with a shout turned back the Trojans. 228 THE ILIAD, BOOK XVIII 229 Wilamowitz thinks that it was precisely this splendid passage (xviii. 202-38) which suggested to the author of xviii the possibility of making use of the fine "Description of the Shield." For since Achilles was without armor, he must have new armor. To prepare for the insertion of this he introduced the "Exchange of Armor" in xvi, the "Capture of the Armor" in xvii, the "Interview between Thetis and Achilles" in xviii, and, to connect it with the Achilleis, Hector's allusion to the advice of Polydamas in xxii. 99. This piecing together has, however, been done with the highest skill. The first thirty-four lines of Book xviii have already been treated (as part of the Patrokleia) in chapter ix. We left Antilochus holding the hands of Achilles, lest that hero in his excess of grief at hearing of the death of Patroclus should take his own life. Thetis, from her seat in the depths of the sea beside her aged father (where we found her in i. 357), hears her son's lamentation, and shrieks aloud, and all the Nereids gather about her. It may be that the " Catalogue of the Nereids" which follows is an interpolation; but their names are, as Wilamowitz says, "as melodious as the splash of the waters of a quiet sea": There were Glauce and Thaleia and Cymodoce, Neseia and Speio and Thoe and large-eyed Halie. -Iliad xviii. 39-40 These names all have to do with the sea: Glauce means "gleaming"; Thaleia means "blooming"; Cymodoce means "wave-swift"; Neseia, "she of the island," Speio, "she of the cavern," Thoe, "swift," Halie, "she of the coast." These sea nymphs and many others gather about Thetis, and she makes her plaint to them. THE WAIL OF THETIS Ah, wretched am I, mother of a hero born to woe, I who bore a son blameless and mighty, 230 A STUDY OF THE ILIJD Pre-eminent among heroes; and he grew up like a tender plant; And I reared him like a plant in a hollow of the vineyard And sent him on the curved ships to Ilios To fight against the Trojans, but I shall not receive him again Returning home to the house of Peleus. -Iliad xviii. 54-60 Thereupon Thetis with her train of Nereids goes to Achilles at Troy and begs him to tell her his grief. ACHILLES VOICES HIS GRIEF TO THETIS "Child, why weepest thou? And why has grief come to thy heart? Out with it! Conceal it not! Lo, all has been fulfilled for thee From Zeus, as thou didst pray of yore, holding up thy hands, That all the sons of the Achaeans might be hemmed in at thy prows In sore need of thee, and that they might endure unseemly things." And, groaning heavily, swift-footed Achilles answered her: "Mother mine, these things, to be sure, hath the Olympian fulfilled for me, But what pleasure have I in them, since my dear companion has perished, Patroclus, whom I honored above all my companions, Like my own life; him have I lost, And Hector hath slain him and stripped off his huge arms, a wonder to behold, Beauteous, which the gods gave as glorious gifts to Peleus On that day when they bestowed thee to be the bride of a mortal. Ah, would that thou hadst dwelt there among the immortal goddesses of the sea, And that Peleus had married a mortal for his wife! But as things are, it is only that thou mayest have untold grief in thy heart For thy son dead and gone, whom thou shalt not receive again As he returns home, since my spirit no longer biddeth me to live, even, Or to be among men, unless Hector first Be smitten by my spear and lose his life And pay the penalty for the death of Patroclus, son of Menoetius." -Iliad xviii. 73-93 THE ILIAD, BOOK XVIII 231 There follows a fine passage which has been made famous by Plato's quotation of a part of it (Apology p. 28c). THE RESOLVE OF ACHILLES And Thetis, shedding tears, answered him again: "Swift-fated shalt thou be, alas! my son, as thou sayest; For straightway after Hector, fate stands ready for thee." And greatly stirred with indignation, the swift-footed Achilles answered her: "Let me die at once! since it was not destined that I should defend my comrade when he was slain; But he perished far from his native land, And had need of me to be his defender against disaster. And now, since I shall return no more to my dear native land, Nor have I proved a light of salvation to Patroclus or to the rest Of my companions, who in vast numbers were subdued by divine Hector But am sitting here beside the ships, a useless burden upon the earth; Though I have no equal among the brazen-clad Achaeans In war, albeit others are better in councilWould that Strife might perish from among both gods and men, And Wrath, which urges on even the prudent man to be angry, And which is far sweeter than down-trickling honey, But increases in the breasts of men like smoke, As now did Agamemnon, king of men, anger me. But now, though grieved, we will count these things as over and past, Subduing our own spirits within our breasts to necessity; And now I go to find the destroyer of that dear head, Hector; and my death will I accept whensoever Zeus Shall wish to bring it to pass, and the other immortal gods." -Iliad xviii. 94-I 6 Achilles goes on to speak of the impossibility of any man avoiding his fate (for not even Hercules, though a son of Zeus, could do so) and of his intention of first punishing the Trojans. At this point Thetis reminds Achilles that he has no armor, and promises to visit the workshop of Hephaestus and ask him to forge new armor for her son. 232 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Then (xviii. I48) the scene shifts back again to the battlefield, where the Greeks (in a passage inconsistent with the close of Book xvii) are represented as still contending fiercely over the body of Patroclus. But it is a losing fight, and of Hector it is said: And now he would have dragged it away and won unspeakable glory, Had not swift, wind-footed Iris come running As a messenger from Olympus to the son of Peleus to prepare for battle; Secretly she came, unknown to Zeus and the others; for Hera sent her forth. -Iliad xviii. I65-6S The burden of Iris' message is to bid Achilles go show himself at the trench apd frighten the Trojans so that the Achaeans may have some respite from war (xviii. I98). The passage which follows, about the terrific appearance and great shout of Achilles, has been translated by Tennyson under the title "Achilles over the Trench." ACHILLES OVER THE TRENCH So saying, light-foot Iris pass'd away. Then rose Achilles dear to Zeus; and round The warrior's puissant shoulders Pallas flung Her fringed aegis, and around his head The glorious goddess wreath'd a golden cloud, And from it lighted an all-shining flame. As when a smoke from a city goes to heaven Far off from out an island girt by foes, All day the men contend in grievous war From their own city, but with set of sun Their fires flame thickly, and aloft the glare Flies streaming, if perchance the neighbors round May see, and sail to help them in the war; So from his head the splendour went to heaven. From wall to dyke he stept, he stood, nor join'd The Achaeans-honouring his wise mother's word THE ILIAD, BOOK XVIII 233 There standing, shouted, and Pallas far away Call'd; and a boundless panic shook the foe. For like the clear voice when a trumpet shrills, Blown by the fierce beleaguers of a town, So rang the clear voice of Aeakides And when the brazen cry of Aeakides Was heard among the Trojans, all their hearts Were troubled, and the full-maned horses whirled The chariots backward, knowing griefs at hand; And sheer-astounded were the charioteers To see the dread, unweariable fire That always o'er the great Peleion's head Burn'd, for the bright-eyed goddess made it burn. Thrice from the dyke he sent his mighty shout, Thrice backward reel'd the Trojans and allies; And there and then twelve of their noblest died Among their spears and chariots. -Iliad xviii. 202-3I Compare Milton (Paradise Lost, I, 314) where Satan is calling to the fallen angels, who are lying "abject and lost" upon the flood of the lake of fire in hell: He called so loud that all the hollow deep Of hell resounded..... Thomas DeQuincey, Homer and the Homeridae, touching upon both these passages, says (of Achilles): "Simply by his voice he changes the face of the battle. He shouts, and nations fly from the sound. Never but once again is such a shout recorded by a poet-'He called so loud that all the hollow deep of hell resounded.' Who called? That shout was the shout of an archangel." The succeeding verses in Homer tell how the Greeks rescued the body of Patroclus and placed it upon a bier. ACHILLES AT THE BIER OF PATROCLUS And among them followed the swift-footed Achilles Shedding hot tears, when he saw his faithful comrade 234 A STUDY OF THE ILLAD Lying upon the bier, torn by the sharp bronze. Him he sent forth to war with horses and chariots, But did not receive him returning again. — Iliad xviii. 234-38 Wilamowitz (Die Ilias und Homer, p. i69) says: "No more beautiful ending for the Patrokleia can be imagined; I am convinced that these are the original verses, even though no proof for the statement can be advanced." There follow a few transitional lines describing the setting of the sun and the cessation of the conflict. Then we have an account of the night-council of the Trojans on the plain, in which the prudent Polydamas advises Hector and the Trojans to withdraw by night within the walls of Troy, now that Achilles has taken the field again; but Hector angrily rejects this advice, declaring that he will stand before Achilles and not flee. "Impartial is Enyalios, and slayeth even the slayer" (vs. 308) he says of the war-god. Balancing this night-council of the Trojans we have an account of the mourning of the Achaeans for Patroclus. Achilles leads their lamentation, "laying his man-slaying hands on the breast of his friend" (vs. 3I7). ACHILLES MOURNS FOR PATROCLUS Ah me! vain was the word I cast forth on that day, Encouraging the hero Menoetius in his halls; Lo, I said that I would restore his illustrious son to him in Opus, After he had sacked Troy and obtained his share of the booty. But Zeus fulfilleth not all the thoughts of men; For we are both destined to redden with our blood the common earth Here in Troy, nor shall I return, Nor the aged knight Peleus receive me in his halls, Nor Thetis, my mother, but the earth shall cover me here. -Iliad xviii. 324-32 THE ILIJD, BOOK XVIII 235 This section is completed by the account of Achilles' vow to slay Trojan youths upon the bier of Patroclus, and the description of the bathing and anointing of the hero's body. We come now to the brilliant passage for which Book xviii receives its Greek title of Hoplo-poiia ("The Making of the Armor"). Thetis, true to her promise to Achilles (I36), goes to Hephaestus to obtain new armor for her son. THETIS GOES TO HEPHAESTUS And silver-footed Thetis came to the house of Hephaestus, Imperishable, starry, pre-eminent among the immortals, All of bronze, which Crook-footl himself had made. And she found him sweating, busied about his bellows, All in haste, for he was making twenty tripods To set about the wall of his well-built palace-hall; And he placed golden wheels beneath the foundation of each, That of their own accord they might enter the assembly of the gods, And then return home again, a wonder to behold! Now they were almost completed, but the cleverly wrought handles Were not yet attached to them, and he was preparing these and pounding the rivets. While he was busied about these with cunning thoughts, Silver-footed Thetis, the goddess, drew near. And Charis of the shining veil saw her and came forward, That fair Grace whom the illustrious Strong-armed had married;. And she grasped her hand and spoke a word and addressed her: "Why, long-robed Thetis, comest thou to our home, A goddess revered and dear? Thou hast not come often heretofore. But follow me within, that I may set presents of hospitality before thee." -Iliad xviii. 369-87 The scene shifts now from the home to the workshop of Hephaestus, which is, apparently, near by. HEPHAESTUS IN HIS WORKSHOP And Charis called the famous artisan Hephaestus and addressed him: "Hephaestus, come forth hither! Thetis now hath need of thee." 1 "Crookfoot" is a nickname for the lame Hephaestus. 236 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Then the illustrious Strong-armed answered her: "Verily now, a dread and revered goddess is within my hall, She who rescued me when pain overcame me after my sheer fall Through the petulance of my shameless mother, who wished To conceal me because I was lame; then had I suffered woe In my spirit, had not Eurynome and Thetis received me in their bosoms, Eurynome, daughter of refluent Ocean. And for them throughout nine years I wrought many trinkets of bronze, Buckles and curved spirals and rosettes and necklaces, In a hollow cavern; and, round about, the stream of Ocean, Seething with foam, flowed unceasingly; Nor did any other either of gods or of mortal men know this, But Thetis and Eurynome knew, they who saved me. It is Thetis now who hath come to our home; therefore there is every need That I give back in full to fair-tressed Thetis the reward for saving my life. But set fair gifts of hospitality before her While I put away my bellows and all my tools." He said; and rose from his anvil-block, himself a huge bulk, Halting, and beneath him his slender legs moved swiftly. And he moved the bellows away from the fire, and gathered All his tools into a silver chest, those tools with which he toiled, And wiped his brow and both hands with a sponge, As well as his sturdy neck and shaggy breast; And put on his tunic and seized his thick staff, and went toward the door Halting. And servants all of gold, like unto living young women, Moved beside their master, and there was intelligence in their minds, And they had voices and strength too, and understood works of skill From the immortal gods; these then panted as they supported their master. -Iliad xviii. 39I-42I These self-propelled mechanical serving-maids are evidently works of magic, like the fabled statues of the mythical artist Daedalus, which are said to have been so lifelike that they had to be chained down, lest they should walk away! He THE ILIAD, BOOK XVIII 237 phaestus comes to Thetis and welcomes her in almost the same words as those used by Charis. Thetis thereupon tells briefly the story of Achilles and asks for new armor for him. Hephaestus willingly complies with her request. HEPHAESTUS PROMISES THE ARMOR Take courage! Let not these things be a care to thy mind. Would that I might as surely hide him far from ill-sounding death As it is certain that beautiful armor shall be beside him, Such as all men shall admire when they see it. — liad xviii. 463-67 Hephaestus then turns to his bellows and forge, and heats unwearied bronze and tin and precious gold and silver in the fire; then he sets the great anvil upon its block and grasps his mighty hammer in one hand and his tongs in the other. He is now ready to forge the shield of Achilles. The shield of Achilles, which is the subject of the remaining part of this book, has been much discussed. Leaf (Iliad, ii. 605) reconstructs a shield of the shape of those depicted on the Mycenaean dagger-blades in the scene of the lion-hunt. Van Leeuwen (lias, ii, 672) reconstructs a round shield with sun, moon, and stars in the center and the scenes of daily life arranged symmetrically in circles about this, the stream of Ocean forming the outmost circle. Carl Robert (Studien zur Ilias, p. I 5) holds that the poet had in mind no definite work of art. He holds that the description is the work of a poet, not that of an artist, still less that of an archaeologist. Whether we are to conceive of a definite, artistic shield or not, it will be generally admitted that the poet's description surpasses anything that could have been made in his own time-or in any future time, for that matter. The opening lines are magnificent. 238 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD THE CELESTIAL BODIES And on it he wrought the earth, and on it the heaven, and on it the sea, And the unwearied sun and the full moon, And on it all those wonders with which heaven is crowned, The Pleiades and Hyades and the strength of Orion, And the Bear, which they call also by the name of the Wain, Which turns itself about in the same place and watches Orion, And alone is without share in the baths of Ocean. -Iliad xviii. 483-89 With the last line, compare Tennyson's Ulysses: To sail beyond the sunset and the baths Of all the western stars.... We pass now to the second division of the shield, and in doing so pass from heaven to earth. THE MARRIAGE S- NE_ And on it he made two cities of mortal men, Fair and beautiful. And in them were marriages and feasts; And they were leading the brides from their chambers By the light of flaming torches through the city, And loud rose the marriage song, And youths were whirling about in the dance, And among them flutes and phorminxes gave forth their sound, And the women stood and wondered, each in her own doorway. -Iliad xviii. 490-96 THE TRIAL SCENE And the people were gathered together in assembly, And there a strife had arisen, and two men were striving About the price paid as satisfaction for a man that had been slain. The one claimed that he had paid all, setting forth his cause to the people, While the other denied that he had received anything; And both were eager to take the matter before a judge. And the people were shouting on both sides, the partisans of each. And heralds were restraining the people, And old men were sitting on polished stones in a sacred circle, THE ILIAD, BOOK XVIII 239 And were holding in their hands wands received from strong-voiced heralds. Then the old men arose before them and rendered their decisions in turn. And two talents of gold lay in the midst To be given to him who should render his decision most justly among them. -Iliad xviii. 497-508 Van Leeuwen calls attention to similar passages about polished stones in a sacred circle for the use of judges or councilors in Odyssey iii. 406, where it is said of Nestor that he Came out and took his seat upon polished stones, Which were before his lofty doors, White, gleaming with ointment, upon which Neleus sat of yore, a councilor like unto the gods. So also in Odyssey viii. 6, King Alcinoiis and Odysseus in the land of the Phaeacians, near the ships, Came and took their seats on polished stones preparatory to holding an assembly. Through the inclosing of such sacred circles with walls and columns, in later times, came round buildings like the Tholos, which was headquarters for the magistrates at Athens. Lucian (The Fisherman, xli) parodies the last two lines of our passage. He is speaking of an assemblage of philosophers on the Acropolis, in which it is not necessary for the contestants to bring temperance or justice or self-control, but only syllogisms: And there lie in the midst two talents of gold, To be given to him who is the best quarreler among all. Such are the scenes in the City at Peace; now comes the City at War. THE CITY AT WAR And about the other city sat two armies of men, Gleaming with their weapons. And they were divided in counsel, 240 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Whether to overthrow the city utterly, or to divide All that the lovely city contained within it into two parts. But the citizens were not yet persuaded, but were secretly arming for an ambush. And their dear wives and young children were standing Upon the walls, and making defense, and among them men whom old age oppressed; And the citizens went forth, and Ares and Pallas Athena led them, Both fashioned of gold, and wearing golden garments, Fair and large with their weapons, like gods, Eminent and apart; but the people were smaller. And when they came where it suited them to lie in ambush, At a river where there was a watering-place for all men, There they sat down enwrapped in shining bronze. And far from their own host sat two pickets, Waiting till they should espy sheep and crooked-horned cattle. And soon these appeared, and two herdsmen followed them, Delighting themselves with Panspipes, for they suspected no trickery. But the ambushers saw them first and rushed upon them, And quickly intercepted the herds of cattle and fair flocks Of snow-white sheep, and slew the shepherds beside them; And when the citizens heard the great noise among the cattle, As they were sitting before their places of assembly, At once they mounted upon their high-stepping horses And went after them, and soon they came there. And, taking their stand, they fought a battle by the river banks, And smote one another with brazen spears. And among them mingled Strife and Tumult, and among them The baleful Spirit of Death, holding one man who was newly-wounded and still alive, And another that was unwounded, while another that was dead She was dragging off, through the din of battle, by the feet; And the cloak about her shoulders was reddened with the blood of men. And there mingled with them, as it were, living men who fought, And they were trying to drag away each other's dead. -Iliad xviii. 509-40 The scene of the women and children and old men upon the city walls is like that on the fragment of a silver vessel THE ILIAD, BOOK XVIII 24I found at Mycenae (Bury, History of Greece, p. 21; Tsountas and Manatt, Mycenaean Age, p. 213). It is common in Egyptian art to represent the gods or the kings as much larger than the common people. The Greek word translated above as "Spirit of Death" is Ker; the Keres seem to be much like the northern Valkyries. The scene of dragging away the body of an enemy by the feet may be paralleled by Iliad xvii. 288 (where the Trojan Hippothoiis tries thus to drag away the body of Patroclus) and in later times by the well-known figures of the "snatchers" from the Aeginetan pediments in Munich. On the next major division of the shield Hephaestus placed three scenes dealing with agriculture and two dealing with animal husbandry. PLOUGHING (I) And on it he placed a soft fallow field, a rich ploughland, Broad, thrice-ploughed; and in it many ploughmen, Turning about their yoked oxen, were driving them this way and that. And when they had turned about and come to the headlands of the field, A man came and gave into their hands a cup of honey-sweet wine; Then they turned again along their furrows, Eager to come again to the headlands of the deep-ploughed field. And the metal appeared dark behind them, and was like a ploughed field, Though it was of gold; but it was wrought as a surpassing wonder. -Iliad xviii. 541-49 REAPING (2) And on it he placed a royaT domain; and there reapers Were mowing, holding sharp sickles in their hands. And some of the handfuls were falling to the ground one after another 242 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Among the furrows, and others the binders were tying in sheaves with straw bands. And by them stood three binders, and behind these Boys, gathering handfuls, and carrying them in their arms Eagerly offered them. And the king stood among them In silence by the furrow, holding his scepter, rejoicing in heart. And heralds far off under an oak tree were preparing a feast, And had sacrificed an ox and were busied about it; and the women Were sprinkling white barley meal abundantly over it as a dinner for the reapers. -Iliad xviii. 54i-60 THE VINTAGE SCENE (3) And on it he placed a great vineyard heavy with clusters of grapes, A fair, golden vineyard; and in it were black clusters of grapes; And it was supported on poles all of silver, And about it was a trench of cyanus, and about it ran A hedge of tin; and there was but one path leading to it, By which went the carriers when they gathered the vintage. And youths and maidens in child-like glee Were bearing the honey-sweet fruit in baskets. And in their midst a youth was playing charmingly Upon a clear-sounding phorminx, and was singing the beautiful Linos-song With delicate voice; and they, beating time simultaneously, Followed with songs and shouts and skipping feet. -Illiad xviii. 561-72 Van Leeuwen translates the word linon (vs. 580) as carmen auctumnale, and regards it as a song, mournful, to be sure, in character, in view of the passing of summer, but nevertheless used by the vintagers on a joyous occasion. The folk songs in honor of Linos are of later date than Homer. Some have thought that this vintage scene-surely one of the most charming in Homer-was suggested to the poet by a fresco on an inner wall of the palace at Knossos (A. Shewan). THE ILIAD, BOOK XVIII 243 There follow two scenes of herdsman's life, which balance in a way the scenes of ploughing and harvesting and grape-gathering given above. THE HERD (i) And on it he made a herd of straight-horned cattle; And the cattle were made of gold and tin, And with bellowing they were hastening from their stable to the pasture Beside a sounding river among the swaying reeds. And four herdsmen all of gold walked beside the cattle, And nine swift-footed dogs followed. But two terrible lions among the foremost cattle Had laid hold of a bellowing bull; and he with loud bellowings Was being dragged away; and the dogs and men were pursuing him. And the lions, having torn open the hide of the great bull, Were lapping up the entrails and black blood; but the herdsmen Merely set the swift dogs on them, urging them on; But they shrank from biting the lions, But stood near them and barked and avoided them. — lliad xviii. 573-86 Scenes of lions attacking cattle or deer are among the commonest in very early Greek art, as on engraved gems or in an archaic work of sculpture in the Acropolis museum., THE SHEEP (2) And on it the illustrious Strong-armed made a pasture In a fair ravine, a broad pasture for snow-white sheep, And stations and huts and covered folds. — Iliad xviii. 587-89 We come now to the next to the outmost circle of the shield, which is brilliantly decorated with a Cretan dance of youths and maidens. TXiE-DASCE And on it the illustrious Strong-armed skillfully wrought a dancing place Like to that which once in broad Crete 244 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Daedalus made for fair-tressed Ariadne. There youths and cattle-earning maidens Were dancing, holding each other by the wrist. The maidens wore garments of fine linen, And the youths well-woven tunics, gleaming softly with oil; And the maidens wore beautiful fillets, And the youths had golden swords depending from silver baldrics. And sometimes they would run with skilled feet, Very easily, as when a potter sits and tries a wheel Fitted to his hands, to see if it will run; And at other times they would run in lines opposite one another. And a numerous throng stood about the lovely dance Delighting in it; and two tumblers among them, Leading the singing and dancing, were whirling about in their midst. -Iliad xviii. 590-605 Rev. James Baikie suggests (Sea Kings of Crete, p. Io3) that the dancing-place of Ariadne may be the Theatral Area at the palace of Minos in Knossos. Leaf (Iliad, ii. 609-Io) argues that the dancing-place was really the maze of the Cretan labyrinth as traced on the coins of Knossos. "The complicated curves of the Labyrinth seem to have been marked on the dancing-floor in order to guide the dancers in their mazy windings-possibly there may have been low walls such as are still formed of turfs or stones in Northern Europe, where the Labyrinth figure is still used for children's games, and, still more strangely, retains in Norway and Gotland the name of Trojeborg or Troburg ('Troy-burg')." The dance itself, and the custom of holding each other by the wrist (rather than by the hand), are illustrated in the topmost row of figures on the Fran;ois vase in Florence. The description of the shield concludes with a reference to the ocean. THE RIM OF OCEAN And on it he placed the great strength of the river of Ocean About the outmost rim of the skilfully made shield. -Iliad xviii. 606-7 THE ILIAD, BOOK XIX 245 There follow a few lines describing the other pieces of armor-the breastplate, the helmet, and the greaves. The book concludes with these lines: But when the illustrious Strong-armed had made all the weapons, He lifted them up and placed them before the mother of Achilles. And she, like a hawk, leaped down from snowy Olympus Bearing the shining arms from Hephaestus. -Iliad xviii. 614-end As to the construction of the shield, it may be said that it was doubtless the same as that on the dagger blades from Mycenae. The shield was probably composed of concentric rings of leather overlaid with metal. On the dagger blades from Mycenae "the whole picture," says Schuchhardt, "is formed by various metals inlaid on a thin bronze plate." Mention is made in Homer of gold, silver, cyanus (blue glass paste) and tin as used in making the various scenes on the shield. The artistic treatment was probably free and naturalistic, as on the gold cups from Vaphio. It is curious that we find no allusion to seafaring life and only slight allusion to the gods, in both of which limitations the art of the shield is again like that of the Mycenaean age. BOOK XIX MENIDOS APORRHESIS ("RENUNCIATION OF WRATH") The first thirty-nine verses of this book form the conclusion of the Hoplo-poiia. Thetis brings the new armor to Achilles and takes measures for the preservation of the body of Patroclus. Then follows what should have been one of the great scenes of the Iliad. We should have had at this point a magnificent account of the struggle of emotions in the mind of Achilles, ending in a reconciliation with Agamemnon and the beginning of his career of vengeance upon the Trojans. These matters are indeed touched upon in the Iliad as we 246 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD have it, but the first two are not given the masterly treatment that we could desire; and between the scene of reconciliation and the beginning of the Achilleidos Proteleia ("Achilles' Preliminary Sacrifices," or "Career of Vengeance") is inserted much inferior matter. This includes a lengthy debate as to whether the Greek army shall be given a meal before it goes out to battle-a topic peculiarly inappropriate at a time when we should be passing directly from the nobler heights of moral feeling in the scene of reconciliation to the intense and terrible activity of Achilles' career of vengeance. There are several short interpolations, which are quite clearly marked off: (I) the "Allegory of Ate" ("Infatuation"), vss. 91-133, to be compared with the "Allegory of the Prayers" in ix. vss. 502-23, including the legend of the birth of Hercules, both very late; (2) the "Lament of Briseis for Patroclus," vss. 282-302, beautiful in itself, but not especially appropriate here; and (3) the "Incident of the Speaking Horse," vss. 399-424. The critics emphasize the relations between xix and ix; allusions to gifts offered by Agamemnon (xix. 140-41 and 192-95), and allusion to the oath (xix. I75-77). Book xix opens with one of those brief but beautiful descriptions of early morning of which there are several in the Iliad: Now Dawn, in crocus-mantle clad, arose from the flowings of Ocean That she might bring light to immortals and to mortals. -Iliad xix. I-2 Compare viii. I, where Eos kroko-peplos (the same epithet as used here) "was scattered over all the earth"; and xxiii. 226-27: When Eos-phoros ("the morning star") went forth to announce the light to earth, After whom Eos kroko-peplos was scattered over the sea. THE ILIAD, BOOK XIX 247 Compare Hamlet, Act I, scene I: But looke, the Morne in Russet mantle clad, Walkes o'er the dew of yon high Easterne Hill. Homer goes on to tell how Thetis brought the new armor to Achilles and set it down before him: And all that beauteous armor crashed aloud, And fear seized all the Myrmidons, nor did any dare To look upon it, but stood trembling. -Iliad xix. I3-15 Then we have the summoning of an assembly by Achilles and the speech in which the hero renounces his wrath against Agamemnon. ACHILLES RENOUNCES HIS WRATH Son of Atreus, was this better for both of us, For thee and for me, that we, though grieved at heart, Raged in heart-consuming strife for a mere girl? Would that Artemis had slain her among the ships with an arrow On that day when I destroyed Lyrnessos and took her captive! Then had not so many of the Achaeans bit the dust At the hands of their enemies, because I had given way to wrath. Nay, it was for Hector and the Trojans that this was profitable; But methinks that the Achaeans will long remember this strife between me and thee. But now, though grieved, let us count these things as over and past, Subduing our own spirits within our breasts through necessity; Lo! now I cease my wrath; nor was it right That I should rage forever unrelentingly; but come now, Rouse the long-haired Achaeans to battle That once more I may draw nigh and make trial of the Trojans, Whether they will wish to pass the night at the ships; But methinks that many a one among them will gladly bend the knee in rest, If he make his escape out of the flaming combat from beneath my spear. -Iliad xix. 56-73 The Achaeans rejoice to hear Achilles thus renounce his wrath, and Agamemnon, who is wounded, and perhaps nerv 248 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD ous too, answers from where he has been sitting, apparently rising in his place but not coming into the midst as was customary. He lays all the blame upon the gods. AGAMEMNON LAYS THE BLAME ON THE GODS But I am not to blame, But Zeus and Fate and the Erinys that walketh in darkness, Who cast grievous infatuation upon my mind in the assembly On that day when I arbitrarily took away the prize of Achilles. But what could I do? A divine power bringeth all things to their end. Revered is Ate, the daughter of Zeus, who harmeth all, Cursed goddess! Tender are her feet, for not upon the ground Doth she tread, but walketh upon the heads of men, Harming mortals; and one of the twain at least she entangleth. -Iliad xix. 86-94 This personification of Ate is very much like that of the Litai ("Prayers") in ix. 502-23. There are also several verbal correspondences; scholars are not agreed as to which passage is older; probably both are very late additions to the Iliad. E. B. Clapp (Iliad, Books xix-xxiv) compares Ps. 91:6, "the pestilence that walketh in darkness." He also quotes Shelley, Adonais, 24, where, speaking of the Muse Urania, "childless Mother," roused by the death of Adonais, the poet says: Out of her secret Paradise she sped, Thro' camps and cities rough with stone, and steel, And human hearts, which to her airy tread Yielding not, wounded the invisible Palms of her tender feet where'er they fell. Plato, Symposium, 195d, quotes vss. 92-93 and applies them to Eros. There follows in Homer another passage about Hercules, which looks like an interpolation within an interpolation, being apparently dragged in much as the Meleager episode is in ix. 524, and the Niobe episode in xxiv. 602. The poet goes on THE ILIAD, BOOK XIX 249 to relate how Zeus himself was outwitted by Hera in the matter of the birth of Hercules. Zeus had boasted, on the day when Alcmene was about to bring forth his son Hercules, that the hero who was to be born that day should rule over all those that dwelt round about. Then Hera bound him to his promise by an oath. Thereupon she held back the birth of Hercules and hastened that of Eurystheus, thereby subjecting Hercules all his life to Eurystheus, who imposed upon him the famous labors. And Zeus, deeply grieved, seized Ate (the goddess of infatuation) by her shining hair, and swore a mighty oath that she should never again come to Olympus and starry heaven, and hurled her down to earth and the tilth of men (vss. 126-31). Agamemnon, in concluding his answer to Achilles, shows a better spirit. AGAMEMNON'S APOLOGY So I too, when great Hector of the glancing plume Was destroying the Argives by the stems of their ships, Could not forget the infatuation with which I first was harmed. But since I was infatuated and Zeus took away my sense, I wish to make amends again and to give countless recompense; But arise for war, and rouse the rest of the people. And I am come to offer all the gifts which the divine Odysseus Promised yesterday to thee when he came to thy tent. And if thou wishest, wait, though eager for war, And my servants shall take the gifts from my ship and bring them, That thou mayest see that I will give that which satisfies the heart. -Iliad xix. I34-44 Achilles does not wish to wait for the gifts to be brought, but to go at once to battle. Odysseus urges that the army have a meal before going to war and that Agamemnon take the required oath that he has not violated the honor of Briseis. Agamemnon declares that he is ready to take the oath. But Achilles has no mind for such things. 250 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD ACHILLES REFUSES TO EAT Now they lie torn whom Hector, son of Priam, subdued What time Zeus granted him glory, And ye are urging us to eat. Yet I myself Would bid the sons of the Achaeans to wage war right now Fasting and hungry, and then at sunset To prepare a great feast, when we shall have avenged the insult. But before that shall it in no wise please me That either food or drink enter my throat, while my friend lies dead, Who lies now in my tent, torn with sharp bronze, With feet turned toward the door, while round about His companions mourn; therefore I care not for these things, But only for slaughter and blood and the dire groaning of men. -Iliad xix. 203-I4 Odysseus, however, still insists on the necessity of eating before fighting. The gifts are brought; Briseis is restored; Agamemnon takes the oath, and, as was usual, kills a victim -in this case a goat. And Talthybius, whirling it about, cast it Into the great gulf of the hoary sea to be the prey of fishes. -Iliad xix. 267-68 After another short speech by Achilles, in which he recognizes the hand of Zeus in the taking away of Briseis and the consequent death of many of the Greeks, the assembly breaks up. Achilles returns with Briseis to his tent. And Briseis, tearing her breast and throat and face with her hands, casts herself upon the body of Patroclus and wails aloud and laments him. THE LAMENT OF BRISEIS Patroclus, most gracious to my poor heart, I left thee alive when I went forth from the tent, And now I come and find thee dead, leader of the hosts, As I return; so it is that one affliction after another always comes upon me. My husband, to whom my father and revered mother gave me, THE ILIAD, BOOK XIX 25I I saw before the city torn with the sharp bronze, And my three brothers, who were born of the same mother as I And who were dear to me, all drew down the day of destruction upon themselves; Nor didst thou leave me to weep when the swift Achilles Slew my husband and sacked the city of godlike Mynes, But thou didst ever say that thou wouldst make me The wedded wife of the divine Achilles, and take me in the ships To Phthia, and spread a wedding feast for me among the Myrmidons. Hence it is that I wail thee unceasingly, O ever kind! -Iliad xix. 287-300 Achilles steadfastly refuses to eat, on account of his great sorrow for Patroclus, whom he mourns in a passage that follows. The passage is, however, probably an interpolation, for it contains an allusion to Neoptolemus, the son of Achilles, who is supposed to be growing to manhood at this time in the island of Scyros. Neoptolemus figures prominently in the Epic Cycle, but belongs to a later stage of epic development than that represented by the Iliad. Zeus, concerned for the sustenance of Achilles, sends Athena to him, who distils nectar and ambrosia upon his breast, "that hunger may not come to him." We come now to the beginning of the Achilleidos Proteleia (literally, "the preliminary sacrifices of Achilles"), or "Achilles' Career of Vengeance." The style becomes more vigorous, the action quicker, and the power of imagination evinced much greater. The poet describes the mustering of the troops under Achilles. THE ARMING OF THE TROOPS And as the cold snowflakes fly forth thickly from Zeus, Driven by the blasts of aether-born Boreas, So then their thick-clustering helms, shining brightly, Were borne forth from the ships, and bossy shields, And cuirasses formed of mighty plates, and ashen spears. 252 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD And the radiance rose to heaven, and all the earth round about Laughed with the brightness of the gleaming bronze, And the din of the tramping of men rose from below, And in their midst was the divine Achilles putting on his armor. -Iliad xix. 357-64 The various pieces of armor are described briefly, and allusion is made to the fierce anger of Achilles. In connection with the shield we have a noteworthy simile. THE GLEAM OF THE SHIELD Then he took up his shield, great and firm, From which there rose a gleam like that of the moon, Or as when a gleam of flaming fire appears to sailors on the sea, And it burns high up on the mountains in a lonely sheepfold; While storm winds bear the sailors, sore against their will, Over the fishy deep far from their friends. So from the beautiful, finely wrought shield of Achilles Rose a gleam into the upper air. -Iliad xix. 373-80 With the comparison of the shield to the moon, compare Milton, Paradise Lost, I, 283: He scarce had ceased when the superior Fiend Was moving toward the shore; his ponderous shield, Ethereal temper, massy, large, and round, Behind him cast. The broad circumference Hung on his shoulders like the moon..... Achilles grasps his spear, "a Pelian ash" which none but he can wield, and now Automedon and Alkimos yoke his horses. Then Automedon mounts the chariot, and behind him Achilles, "all-radiant in his armor like the shining Hyperion" (vs. 398). THE SPEAKING HORSE And with a terrible cry he shouted to his father's horses: "Xanthus and Balius, far-famed offspring of Podarge, In other wise take care to bring thy charioteer THE ILIAD, BOOK XIX 253 Safely back to the throng of the Danaoi when we have had our fill of war, And do not leave him there dead as ye did Patroclus." And from beneath the yoke the glancing-footed steed Xanthus Answered him, and straightway bowed his head, and all his mane Falling down over his collar, beside the yoke, reached the ground; And the goddess, white-armed Hera, endowed him with speech: "Forsooth this time we will bring thee back safely once again, mighty Achilles, But nigh to thee is the day of destruction; nor are we To blame, but a great god and mighty fate. For not through our slowness or sloth Did the Trojans strip the armor from the shoulders of Patroclus; But the most excellent of the gods, whom fair-haired Leto bore, Slew him in the front ranks, and granted glory unto Hector. And we might vie in fleetness with the blasts of Zephyrus, Which, they say, is the swiftest of winds, but for thee thyself It is fated to be overcome with might by a god and a man." So spake he, and the Erinnyes stayed his voice. And, deeply moved, the swift-footed Achilles answered him: "Xanthus, why dost thou prophesy my death? Thou hast no need. WVell do I myself know that it is fated for me to perish here, Far from my dear father and mother; but nevertheless I will not cease till the Trojans have enough of war." He said; and, shouting, guided his single-hoofed horses among the foremost. — liad xix. 399-end. With this incident of the speaking horse compare the passage in Book xvii. 426, where the horses droop their heads and shed tears, mourning for Patroclus. CHAPTER XI THE ILIAD, BOOKS XX AND XXI BOOK XX THE BATTLE OF ACHILLES WITH THE RIVER-GODS; BATTLE OF THE GODS The Greek title of this book is Theomachy ("Battle of the Gods"). As a matter of fact, only the prologue to the battle is contained in Book xx, the real "Battle of the Gods" being found in Book xxi. What we should naturally expect at this point is a continuation of the Achilleidos Proteleia ("Achilles' Career of Vengeance") from the end of Book xix; and in the original form of the Iliad this was probably found, leading up to the climax of "Achilles' Career of Vengeance" in the slaying of Hector (now in Book xxii). But, in the expanded form of the poem which has come down to us, the whole "Battle of the Gods," including the "Battle of Achilles against the River-Gods," has been inserted. Moreover, not even this inserted "Battle of the Gods" is allowed to go forward directly, but is interrupted by the long interpolated incident called the Aeneid (xx. 75-380), and is interwoven with another fragment of the Achilleidos Proteleia (xx. 479-end). The interrelation of parts in these two books may be set forth by the following table: BOOK XX I. Prologue to the Theomachy (of Book xxi.) 1-74. II. The Aeneid ("Combat of Aeneas with Achilles"), including a lengthy passage (vss. 213-41) about the lineage of the royal house of Troy, vss. 75-380. 254 THE ILIAD, BOOK XX 255 III. Continuation of the Achilleidos Proteleia (from the end of Book xix.) 38I-end. BOOK XXI I. The battle of Achilles with the River-Gods (Mache Parapotamios): a) Prologue: Achilles pursues the fleeing Trojans into the River Xanthus, whose waves are crimsoned with their blood, vss. I-33 b) The Lycaon Episode, vss. 34-138 c) The Asteropaeus Episode, vss. I39-202 d) The Combat of Achilles with the River-Gods, vss. 203-384 II. The Theomachy ("Battle of the Gods") (continued from xx. 74) 385-525 III. Introduction to the Hektoros Anairesis ("The Death of Hector") vss. 526-end. Book xx begins with another council of the gods, more fully attended than any other in the Iliad. A COUNCIL OF THE GODS And Zeus commanded Themis to summon the gods to an assembly, From the top of many-furrowed Olympus. And she Went everywhere, and commanded them to come to the house of Zeus. Nor were any of the rivers absent, except Oceanus, Nor any of the nymphs, who inhabit the beautiful groves And fountains of rivers and grassy meadows. And they came to the house of cloud-gathering Zeus, And sat in the polished portico, which Hephaestus Had made for Father Zeus with cunning thoughts. Thus were they gathered within the house of Zeus, Nor did the Earth-Shaker fail to heed the goddess, But came from the sea and joined the others, And took a seat in their midst, and inquired the counsel of Zeus: "Why pray, Hurler of the Bright Thunderbolt, hast thou called the gods to assembly? Art thou concerned for the Trojans and Achaeans? For their warfare has now been enkindled very near us." -Iliad xx. 4-I8 Van Leeuwen very plausibly conjectures that in the original form it was Zeus as revered on Mount Ida, not the Olym 256 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD pian Zeus, who favored the Trojans and called this council. In that case the last line, which speaks of the battle as "very near," would require no explanation. Zeus on Mount Ida would then be summoning his own nymphs and rivers; and the presence of these deities, who do not ordinarily attend the council of the Olympian gods, would be explained. Oceanus cannot come; for he encircles all things and binds them together. Zeus replies to Hephaestus, saying of mortal men, "They are my care, though they perish" (vs. 2 I); he bids the gods go fight on either side they choose: For if Achilles fight alone against the Trojans, They will not withstand, even for a short time, the swift-footed son of Peleus. -lliad xx. 26-27 Thereupon the gods take part on either side: Hera, Athena, Poseidon, Hermes, and Hephaestus help the Greeks; Ares, Apollo, Artemis, Leto, the River Xanthus, and Aphrodite help the Trojans. Athena stands beside the trench, beyond the wall, and shouts on the one side; Ares from the highest point in the city calls aloud, urging on the Trojans. Zeus thunders on high; Poseidon below shakes the earth and the mountain tops; and even Hades (Aidoneus) is terrified. HADES SEIZED WITH FRIGHT And all the spurs and peaks of many-fountained Ida were shaken, And the city of the Trojans, and the ships of the Achaeans. And Aidoneus, lord of those below, was seized with fright; And in terror leaped from his throne and shouted aloud, Lest Poseidon, the Earth-Shaker, should tear open the earth, And his habitations should be revealed to mortals and immortalsHabitations, dread and moldy, which even the gods do hate. -Iliad xx. 59-65 Grote compares Herodotus vii. 2I2, where Xerxes at Thermopylae, watching the progress of the battle, leaps thrice THE ILIAD, BOOK XX 257 from his seat, fearing for his army. Poseidon is pitted against Apollo; Athena against Ares; Hera against Artemis, Hermes against Leto; And against Hephaestus that mighty, deep-eddying river Which the gods call Xanthus and men Scamander. -Iliad xx. 73-74 The episode which follows, namely the combat of Achilles with Aeneas, is sometimes called the Aeneid. It is probably one of the latest additions to the Iliad. It interrupts seriously the course of the narrative; for Achilles, who was earlier represented as burning to avenge the death of Patroclus, is here represented as listening to long speeches, including a wholly inappropriate genealogy of the ruling house of Troy. Moreover, this episode is not particularly good from a literary point of view, but it does contain here and there a line worth noting; and the genealogy of Aeneas includes many names which recur in the Aeneid of Virgil. And the prophecy contained in vss. 303-8 is regarded by M. Schanz (Geschichte der roemischen Litteratur, ii. 54) as the ultimate source of the myth which connects Aeneas with the founding of Rome. While Achilles is ranging the field of battle, eager to meet Hector, Apollo exhorts Aeneas to oppose him; but Aeneas, still remembering the time when Achilles had driven him from Mount Ida and had nearly killed him, is reluctant to enter such a conflict. "For," says Aeneas, "always one of the gods is beside him to ward off destruction." Apollo, however, reminds Aeneas that he is sprung from the great goddess Aphrodite, while the mother of Achilles is only an inferior sea divinity-Thetis. Meantime Hera, alarmed apparently for the safety of Achilles, urges Athena and Poseidon to see that he does not fail in courage, saying, We have all come down from Olympus to enter this fight, That Achilles may suffer no harm among the Trojans today; 258 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD But later he shall suffer all those things which Destiny Wove for him with her thread on the day his mother bore him. -Iliad xx. I125-28 The gods agree to withdraw and let Achilles and Aeneas fight it out. Poseidon and the other divinities on the Greek side retire to the ancient Wall of Hercules, wrapping their shoulders in impenetrable mist. The opposing gods on the Trojan side take their seats on the brow of the Hill Beautiful with Apollo and Ares in their midst. This Wall of Hercules (not elsewhere mentioned) seems to belong to the myth that Poseidon, after being refused his wages by Laomedon for building the walls of Troy (cf. xxi. 446-57), sent a sea monster to ravage the land and devour the king's daughter, Hesione; and that Hercules slew the monster but was in turn cheated of his promised reward, namely, the immortal horses which Zeus gave to Tros as a recompense for his son Ganymede (cf. v. 266 and 460). Presently the two heroes advance to the combat. Achilles is compared to a raging, wounded lion as he goes toward Aeneas. THE LION ACHILLES And the son of Peleus from the other side advanced to meet him, Like a ravenous lion, which men are eager to slay, Gathering themselves together, a whole village; but he, At first despising them, advances, but when one of the war-swift youths Has struck him with a spear, he stretches wide his jaws, And gathers himself together for a leap, and the froth collects about his teeth, And his valiant heart is straitened within him, And he lashes his sides and haunches with his tail, And rouses himself for the fight, and with gleaming eyes Rushes straight forward in his wrath, if haply he may slay One of the hunters, or himself be slain in the forefront of the throng; So Achilles was roused by his courage and proud spirit To go to meet great-hearted Aeneas. — Iliad xx. I64-75 THE ILIAD, BOOK XX 259 In spite of all this eagerness to fight, Achilles is represented as listening patiently to a long speech by Aeneas (vss. 199-258), which, although inappropriate in its present connection, is of interest to us as containing the lineage of the royal house of Troy, including many names already familiar to us through Virgil's Aeneid. Among these may be mentioned: Dardanus, Tros, Ilus, Assaracus, Ganymede, Laomedon, Tithonus, Priam, Lampus, Clytius, Hicetaon, Capys, Anchises, and Hector. The Attic hero Erichthonius is mentioned in verse 230. Fick suggested that the passage was an Attic interpolation dating from about 6Io B.C. at a time when the Athenians were trying to gain a foothold in Sigeum in the Troad. Van Leeuwen, however, (ad. 215) holds that there were originally two separate lines of descent, the one from Zeus Idaeus (including Tros, Ilus, Laomedon, Priam, and Hector), the other from Poseidon Erichthonius (including Dardanus, Assaracus, Capys, Anchises, and Aeneas). In our present account the two lines have been combined after the following fashion: (i) gods (Idaeus, Erichthonius), (2) eponymous heroes (Tros, Ilus, Dardanus), (3) mortal kings (Laomedon, Priam, Assaracus, Capys, Anchises), (4) kings' sons (Hector, Aeneas). The beautiful lines about the swift horses of the king of Troy, horses sired by the north wind, Boreas, have been imitated by Virgil and applied to the Italian princess Camilla. THE HORSES OF THE WIND And they, when they bounded over the corn-giving plough-land, Would skip over the tops of the ears nor break down the grain; And when they bounded over the broad back of the sea, They would run over the tops of the breakers upon the hoary sea. -Iliad xx. 226-29 260 A STUDY OF THE ILIdD Virgil (Aeneid vii. 8o8), says of Camilla: She would fly over the tops of the stalks of grain without touching them, nor would she injure their tender ears in her flight; or, lifted on high, she would direct her course through the midst of the sea with its swelling flood without wetting the soles of her feet in the water. Near the end of this long speech by Aeneas is found the simile of the women quarreling in the street, which was rejected by the Alexandrian critic Aristarchus as being beneath the dignity of epic poetry but which is nevertheless one of the most striking passages in the whole speech. THE STREET QUARREL But why need we upbraid one another in quarrel and strife, Like women, who, inflamed with anger because of a heart-devouring quarrel, Rush into the middle of the street and upbraid one another With many things both true and untrue, for anger impels them To utter the false as well as the true. -Iliad xx. 25I-55 An account of the duel between Achilles and Aeneas follows; but at its crisis Poseidon (after a preliminary conference with Hera) intervenes to save the life of Aeneas. This may well cause surprise, for Poseidon is everywhere else on the side of the Greeks. Van Leeuwen holds (ad. vs. 293) that behind this may be discerned a more ancient myth according to which Poseidon (as Zeus Idaeus) was patron of the city of Troy, and not, as in the Iliad, its enemy. A few lines from the prophecy of Poseidon in regard to Aeneas may be quoted. C'CHILDREN'S CHILDREN" And it is fated that he escape, In order that the race of Dardanus may not be left without seed, Or perish unseen, Dardanus whom the son of Kronos loved Above all the sons borne to him of mortal women. THE ILIAD, BOOK XX 26I For already the son of Kronos hates the race of Priam; But now the might of Aeneas shall bear sway over the Trojans, And children's children, and they who shall be born from them. -Iliad xx. 302-8 Virgil in Aeneid iii. 97-98, incorporates the last two lines of the above passage into the oracle delivered to Aeneas by Apollo at Delos; observe, however, that Virgil intensifies the meaning by adding the word cunctis ("all"), Hic domus Aeneae cunctis dominabitur oris, Et nati natorum et qui nascentur ab illis. (Here the house of Aeneas shall bear sway over all shores, and children's children, and they who shall be born from them.) The manner of Aeneas' rescue by Poseidon is most unusual; the god pours a mist over the eyes of Achilles; then he lifts Aeneas high from the ground and hurls him over many ranks of men and many teams of horses to the outmost edge of the battle, where the Caucones were preparing for war (329). Then, in a brief transitional passage bridging the gap between the close of the Aeneid and the continuation of the Achilleidos Proteleia, Achilles urges on the Greeks, and Hector the Trojans. Hector's words are full of courage. THE COURAGE OF HECTOR I will go to meet him, even if his hands be like fire, If his hands be like fire and his valor like burnished steel. -Iliad xx. 371-72 But before they meet, Apollo warns Hector to withdraw, and we come to a continuation of the Achilleidos Proteleia from the end of Book xix. Van Leeuwen regards the remainder of Book xx as part of the Mache Parapotamios. Achilles springs upon the Trojans with a terrible cry, his mind clothed with valor (381), and slays man after man, till at length Hector, aroused by the death of his younger brother, Polydorus, draws near. 262 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD ACHILLES CHALLENGES HECTOR "Nearby is the man who hath most touched me to the heart, He who slew my honored friend, nor any longer do we fear one another along the bridges of war." He said; and with ill-boding glance addressed the divine Hector: "Draw near, that thou mayest the sooner come to the cords of destruction." -Iliad xx. 425-29 Hector, though recognizing his inferiority, declares that the issue "lies upon the laps of the gods" (435) and goes to meet Achilles; but Apollo snatches him away and covers him with thick mist. The foiled Achilles cries, "Again thou hast escaped death, thou curl But the evil came nigh thee" (449-50). Achilles slays man after man, raging like a fire. THE ONSLAUGHT OF ACHILLES As when devouring fire rages through the deep ravines Of an arid mountain range, and the wood deep within is burned, And the wind, driving it everywhere, whirls it about, So he rushed everywhere, like a god, with his spear, Following up those who were being slain, and black earth flowed with blood. And as when one yokes the broad-browed oxen To tread out the white barley on his well-founded threshing-floor, And quickly it is shelled out beneath the feet of the loud-bellowing oxen, So beneath Achilles, the stout of heart, the single-hoofed horses Were treading under foot the dead and their shields together; And all the axle beneath was spattered with blood, and the rim About the chariot, by drops, cast up from the horses' hoofs and from the tires. But the son of Peleus was eager to win glory, and his invincible hands were bespattered with gore. -Iliad xx. 49go-end BOOK XXI MACHE PARAPOTAMIOS ("THE BATTLE BY THE RIVERSIDE") The analysis of this book has already been given in connection with that of Book xx. The two oldest parts are doubt THE ILIAD, BOOK XXI 263 less the introduction to the Hektoros Anairesis ("Death of Hector"), which is found in xxi. 526-end; and the "Lycaon Episode" (34-138), which Cauer regards as part of the Menis. The "Asteropaeus Episode," which follows, is regarded by Leaf as "but a weaker echo of the death of Lykaon"; Wilamowitz would place it on the same level with the Aeneid of Book xx. The "Battle of Achilles with the River-Gods" (Mache Parapotamios), for which the book is named, is magnificent in its wild grandeur, a highly imaginative matching of Achilles with the powers of nature herself, and yet containing an element of exaggeration alien to the oldest parts of the poem. The Theomachy (385-525) itself looks like the attempt of a late imitator to outdo the conflicts of the gods in Book v. It lacks dignity, and is regarded by Leaf as "one of the very few passages in the Iliad which can be pronounced poetically bad." Book xxi begins at the point in the story when Achilles has pursued the Trojans to the banks of the river Xanthus. ACHILLES AT THE RIVER XANTHUS Now when they came to the ford of the fair-flowing river, Eddying Xanthus, whom immortal Zeus begat, Diverting part of his foes, Achilles pursued them plainward, Toward the city, over that same ground where the Achaeans once Fled affrighted on the day that radiant Hector raged; There they poured forth, panic-stricken, and Hera Spread a thick mist before them to restrain them, But half of them were huddled into the deep-flowing, silver-eddying river. And they fell in with a great splashing, and the deep stream And the banks round about roared aloud; and they with shouts Swam this way and that, whirled about by the eddies; And as when locusts gather together, impelled by blasts of fire To flee riverward, and the fire rises suddenly 264 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD And burns unweariedly, while they cower in fear Along the surface of the water, so at the hands of Achilles Was the sounding stream of deep-eddying Xanthus Filled with horses and men in wild confusion. But the Zeus-descended left his spear there upon the bank, Leaning against the tamarisk bushes; and sprang in like a god, Holding his sword only, and devised baneful deeds, And smote continually, turning this way and that; And from them arose shameful groans as they were smitten With his sword, and the water grew red with blood. -Iliad xxi. I-2 I This imaginary scene at the Xanthus is like the historical scene at the Assinarus so vividly described by Thucydides (vii. 84). The historian tells how in that last terrible hour of the defeat at Syracuse the Athenians, crazed with thirst, drank the water of the Assinarus, muddy and bloodstained as it was, and even fought for it. After describing the capture by Achilles of twelve Trojan youths destined to be sacrificed at the funeral pyre in revenge for the death of Patroclus, the poet gives us a scene of strange and terrible beauty-the "Lycaon Episode." We are told how Achilles had once before taken the Trojan youth Lycaon, the son of Priam, as he was cutting saplings in his father's vineyard, and had sold him into slavery in Lemnos. Then Eetion of Imbros, a guest friend of the family, ransomed him and sent him back to his father's house. THE LYCAON EPISODE And for eleven days he took his delight with his friends, When he had returned from Lemnos; but on the twelfth The god brought him again into the hands of Achilles, Who was destined to send him on the journey to Hades, sore against his will. Now when the swift-footed, divine Achilles saw him Unarmed, without either helmet or shield, or even his spear, (For he had cast all to the ground, because the sweat distressed him, THE ILI4D, BOOK XXI 265 As he tried to make his escape from the river and his limbs grew weary with toil); Strongly moved, Achilles said to his great heart: "Ah me! a great wonder is this I behold before mine eyes; Surely the strong-hearted Trojans whom I slew Will rise again from beneath the misty darkness, As now this youth hath come, having escaped the day that knows no pity, Though sold into divine Lemnos; nor did the depths Of the hoary sea detain him-a barrier that detains many against their will. But come now; he shall taste the point of my spear, That I may see now and know in my mind Whether he will return thence likewise, or whether The life-giving earth will hold him back, That which stayeth even the very mighty man." So pondered he as he waited, but the other came nigh amazed, Eager to grasp his knees, and greatly did he wish at heart To escape evil death and black fate. Then the divine Achilles lifted his long spear, Eager to wound him; but he ran underneath and grasped his knees, Bowing low; and the spear, eager to sate itself in man's blood, Flew over his back and was implanted in the ground. But Lycaon with the one hand grasped his knees and supplicated him, And with the other held the pointed spear, nor let go; And lifting up his voice addressed him winged words: "I supplicate thee, Achilles, and do thou regard me and have pity. I am, as it were, thy sacred suppliant, Zeus-nourished one! For with thee first did I taste the meal of Demeter, On that day when thou didst seize me in the well-founded vineyard, And didst lead me away and sell me far from father and friends Unto holy Lemnos, and I won for thee a hundred cattle. And now I have been ransomed by the gift of thrice as many; And this is the twelfth morn for me, since I returned to Troy After much suffering; but now ruinous fate hath placed me Again in thy hands; surely I must be hateful to Father Zeus, In that he hath given me again to thee; and for short life Did my mother bare me, Laothoi, daughter of aged Altes, 266 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Altes who ruled over the war-loving Leleges, Possessing steep Pedasus on the Satnio. His daughter did Priam have to wife among many others; And from her were we two born, and thou wilt slaughter us both. Him didst thou subdue among the foremost footsoldiers, The divine Polydorus, when thou didst smite him with thy sharp spear, And now shall it be evil for me here; for I think not To escape thy hands, since a god hath brought me nigh thee. And I will tell thee another thing, and do thou lay it to heart: Slay me not; for I am not from the same womb as Hector, Who slew thy friend gentle and mighty." So then the illustrious son of Priam addressed him With words of supplication, but the voice he heard was pitiless: "Fool! talk not to me of ransom, nor even name it; Before Patroclus drew upon him the day of fate, It was more pleasing to me to spare the Trojans, And many of them I took alive and sold; But now it is not possible that any escape death, Whom the god may place in my hands before Ilios, Of all the Trojans, and especially of the sons of Priam. But, friend, die thou too. Why dost thou grieve so? Patroclus died too, who was far better than thou. Seest thou not how fair and great I also am? I am sprung from a noble father, and a goddess mother bore me; Yet there rests upon me too death and violent fate. There shall be either a morning or afternoon or midday When someone shall take away my life also in war, Smiting me either with the spear or with an arrow from the bowstring." -Iliad xxi. 45-I 3 Plutarch, in his Life of Alexander the Great, chap. liv, tells how the austere philosopher Callisthenes, who accompanied Alexander on his Persian campaigns, several times warned the young monarch by quoting line I07: Patroclus died too, who was far better than thou. Achilles slays the young Lycaon and throws his body to the fishes in the Scamander to devour. He exults over his fallen enemy, and over the Trojans. THE ILIAD, BOOK XXI 267 Nor shall the fair-flowing, silver-eddying river, To whom ye have long offered many bullocks, And into whose eddies ye let down single-hoofed horses alive, Protect you. But even so shall ye perish by an evil fate, Till ye all pay the penalty for the death of Patroclus And the destruction of the Achaeans, many of whom ye slew At the swift ships while I was far away. -Iliad xxi. I30-35 These words arouse the anger of the river-god, which is still further inflamed by the outcome of the Asteropaeus episode. Asteropaeus, namely, a son of the river Axius, fights with Achilles and is slain by him. The passage contains reminiscences of the famous meeting of Diomed and Glaucus in Book vi, but is inferior both to it and to the Lycaon episode. The words of Achilles to Asteropaeus (I50), Who and whence art thou who hast dared to come to meet me? may have been in the mind of Milton when he made Satan at the Gate of Hell say to Death (Paradise Lost, II, 68i): Whence and what art thou, execrable Shape? Again the boasting of Achilles, toward the close of the passage, where he claims descent from Zeus and superiority to all river-gods, still further rouses the anger of the river Scamander. Achilles says of Zeus: With him not even Lord Achelous can vie, Nor the mighty strength of deep-flowing Ocean, From whom all rivers and the whole sea and all deep wells do flow. -Iliad xxi. 194-97 Many of the followers of Asteropaeus are slain by Achilles. THE RIVER-GOD SCAMANDER And now still more of the Paeonians had the swift Achilles slain, Had not the deep-eddying river put on the likeness of a man And in anger spoken and addressed him from its deep whirlpools. -Iliad xxi. 2 11-13 268 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Scamander complains to Achilles. THE RIVER-GOD COMPLAINS My lovely streams are choked with dead, Nor can I pour forth my stream into the divine sea, Being clogged with the bodies of those whom thou slayest unsparingly, But come now, stay thy hand; horror overcomes me, thou ruler of hosts. -Iliad xxi. 218-2I Achilles, however, only leaps the more eagerly upon the Trojans. The river-god thereupon upbraids Apollo. THE STRUGGLE OF THE RIVER-GOD WITH ACHILLES "Alas! thou of the silver bow, son of Zeus, Thou hast not obeyed the counsels of the son of Kronos, Who earnestly bade me stand by the Trojans and help them, Till late-setting evening come and shadow the fertile ploughland." He said; and Achilles, famed with the spear, springing from the bank Leaped into the midst; and the river-god dashed upon him, Rushing on with his surges, and roused all his streams in turbulence And pushed along many bodies of the dead, which lay in its depths In heaps-those whom Achilles had slain. These he cast upon shore, Bellowing like a bull; but the living he saved in his fair streams, Hiding them in his whirlpools great and deep. And terribly did the turbulent wave surround Achilles As its stream fell upon his shield and pushed him about, Nor could he keep his footing; but he grasped a great, well-grown elm In his hands; but the tree, torn up by the roots, clave asunder The whole bank, and reached over the fair stream with its Thick branches, and dammed up the river as it fell to its whole length within it. But Achilles, springing out of the billows, started to fly Over the plain with swift feet, seized with fear. Nor did the great river-god cease, but rose against him With black surface, that he might cause the divine Achilles To cease from his toil, and might ward off destruction from the Trojans. And the son of Peleus sprang back, as much as a spear's cast, With the swoop of that black hunter, the eagle, THE ILIAD, BOOK XXI 269 Which is at the same time the mightiest and swiftest of birds; Like him he sprang, and the bronze re-echoed terribly upon his breast; And, withdrawing beneath this, he fled; but the river, flowing After him with a great roar, pursued him. And as when a ditcher, holding a mattock in his hands And casting out the impediments from a conduit, Directs a way for the water among the plants and gardens From a spring of black water; and as it flows forward All the pebbles are swept away, and it swiftly pours down And trickles over the sloping ground, and outstrips its leader; So always the wave of the stream overtook Achilles, Swift as he was; but gods are mightier than men. And as often as the swift-footed, divine Achilles Would try to stand against it and to find out Whether all the immortals who hold broad heaven were impelling him to flight, So often the great wave of the heaven-fallen river Would beat upon his shoulders from above, while he Would leap upward with his feet, and he was sore distressed, for the river Was wearying his limbs as it flowed swiftly beneath him, And washed the sand from beneath his feet. -Iliad xxi. 229-7I Thereupon Achilles prays to Zeus, bewailing his fate, which is, apparently, to be not that which Thetis had foretold, but merely to be swept away like some swineherd's boy as he crosses a wintry mountain torrent (282). In answer to his prayer Poseidon and Athena appear (in human form) and promise that he shall yet perform his vow to slay Hector. Encouraged, he turns toward the plain, which is by this time flooded and filled with the floating bodies of the slain. "And the overflowing river no longer held him back; for Athena endued him with great strength" (304). Then the river-god Scamander, angrier than ever at Achilles, raises his waves to a great height, and shouts to the river Simois. 270 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD THE SCAMANDER CALLS TO THE SIMOIS "Dear brother, let us together try to stay the strength of the man, Since soon he will sack the great city of King Priam, And the Trojans will not remain through the turmoil. But help me with all speed, and fill thy streams with water From the sources, and swell all thy channels, And lift up a great wave, and raise a loud noise Of logs and of hosts, that we may check this fierce man, Who now prevails and thinks to be a match for gods. For methinks neither his might shall avail him nor his beauty, Nor that beautiful armor of his, which shall lie far below The marsh, covered with slime. And I will wrap him round With sand-dunes, and pour gravel about him in unmeasured quantity, Nor will the Achaeans know how to gather together his bones, So much slime will I cover over him. And his tomb Shall be made right here, nor will he need a mound, When the Achaeans perform his funeral rites." He said, and sprang upon Achilles, turbulently swelling on high, Teeming with foam and blood and the bodies of the dead. And the boiling wave of the heaven-fallen river Stood lifted on high, and was sweeping away the son of Peleus. But Hera cried aloud, fearing greatly for Achilles, Lest the great, deep-eddying river should sweep him away; And straightway addressed Hephaestus, her dear son: "Arise, Crook-foot, my child! for we always thought That thou wert a match for eddying Xanthus in battle; But aid us with all haste, and show forth thy fierce flame." -Iliad xxi. 308-33 Hera promises that she will rouse Zephyrus, the west wind, and "White Notus," the south wind (literally, "he that makes white, or clear" [argestes]) and that the flame fanned by them shall burn the heads and the weapons of the Trojans, while Hephaestus is to burn the trees along the banks of the Xanthus. FIRE BATTLES WITH WATER And all the plain was dried, and the bright waters stayed. And as when in autumn Boreas quickly dries THE ILIAD, BOOK XXI 27I A fresh-watered vineyard, and he rejoices who tills it, So all the plain was dried and the bodies of the dead burned, And Hephaestus turned his all-shining flame toward the river. And the elms and willows and tamarisks were burned, And the clover and rushes and marsh grass, Which grew in abundance about the fair streams of the river; And the eels and fishes in its eddies were troubled, And leaped this way and that in its fair streams, Distressed by the blast of crafty Hephaestus. And the strength of the river was consumed, and he spoke a word and addressed the fire-god: "Hephaestus, none of the gods can contend against thee, Nor can I fight against thy flaming fire. Cease from strife, and let Achilles even now Drive the Trojans from their city. What have I to do with strife and rescue?" -Iliad xxi. 345-60 Reduced to this extremity, while its waters boil as in a caldron, the river-god appeals to Hera to stay the onset of her son, promising never again to try to help the Trojans, not even if all Troy be consumed with devouring fire. She grants his prayer and cries to the fire-god. HERA RESTRAINS HEPHAESTUS "Hephaestus, my son of high renown, stay thy hand; For it is not right to smite an immortal god thus for the sake of mere mortals! " So spake she; and Hephaestus quenched his flaming fire, And the waves in refluent course flowed down over the fair river bed. — Iliad xxi. 379-84 We come now (vss. 385-525) to the Theomachy proper, whose prologue we have already found in xx. I-74. The battle of the gods here described is regarded by Wilamowitz as an exaggerated imitation of the battles of Book v. The thought in the poet's mind doubtless was that the battle between the gods in heaven was taking place at the same time 272 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD that the conflict between Achilles and Hector was occurring on earth. "Shield-piercing" Ares begins the conflict by attacking Athena, whom he contemptuously salutes as "Dog-fly," upbraiding her for impelling Diomed to attack him (v. 825-59). But Athena soon lays Ares low with a great, black, jagged stone which men of former times had placed on the plain to be a boundary of the ploughland. Ares as he falls covers seven acres of land. The editors compare Odyssey xi. 577, where the giant Tityus in Hades covers nine acres of ground; and Iliad v. 860, where Ares shouts as loud as nine or ten thousand men. Aphrodite takes Ares by the hand (vs. 416) and is leading him off the field when Athena overtakes her, strikes her on the breast, and leaves both her and Ares prostrate upon the ground. Then Poseidon (vs. 435) tries to stir up Apollo against the Trojans by reminding him of the wrongs they both have suffered at the hands of Laomedon. THE TREACHERY OF LAOMEDON Dost thou not remember all the wrongs we suffered about Ilion, We alone of the gods, what time we came from Zeus And served the haughty Laomedon a full year for stated wages, And he gave orders and laid commands upon us? Then I built a wall about the city of the Trojans, Both wide and very beautiful, that the city might be impregnable; And thou, Phoebus, didst tend the trailing-footed, crooked-horned cattle On the slopes of many-folded, forest-covered Ida. But when the gladsome Seasons brought on the time of pay, Then dread Laomedon cheated us of all our wages, And sent us away with threats, declaring that he would bind us Hand and foot and sell us into distant islands; And boasted that he would cut off the ears of both of us with bronze, And we in distress of spirit went away deprived of the wages Which he promised, but did not pay. -Iliad xxi. 44I-57 THE ILIAD, BOOK XXI 273 Apollo, however, refuses to fight in a quarrel concerning Wretched mortals, who, like the leaves, sometimes Flourish and are full of life, eating the fruit of the ploughland, And at another time waste away spiritless. -Iliad xxi. 464-66 Compare Iliad vi. 146-49 and the literary parallels there cited. Thereupon Artemis reproaches Apollo for lack of courage in the presence of Poseidon. This interference with her plans enrages Hera. HERA SCOLDS ARTEMIS How hast thou dared now, thou shameless cur, to oppose me? I will be hard for thee to rival in power, Even though thou art armed with the bow, Since Zeus made thee as a lioness unto women, And granted thee the power to slay whom thou wilt.' -Iliad xxi. 48I-84 Then Hera, seizing both the wrists of Artemis in her left hand, with her right snatches the bow from her shoulder and beats her about the ears with it, smiling scornfully to see her turn away her head. Hermes declines to fight with Leto, the mother of Artemis, telling her that she may freely boast of her victory over him. Leto then gathers up the arrows of Artemis and follows her daughter off the field. Artemis meantime has fled to Olympus and seated herself sobbing upon the knees of her father Zeus; "and her ambrosial robe trembled round about her" (507). This passage recalls the flight of the wounded Aphrodite to Dione in v. 370. The other divinities return to Olympus beaten or victorious; but Apollo enters Troy, concerned lest the Achaeans, led on by Achilles, sack the city that day, contrary to destiny. This brings us to xxi. 526, the beginning of the canto on the death of Hector, which will be treated in the next chapter. 1A woman who died a natural death was said to have been slain by the gentle arrows of Artemis. CHAPTER XII THE ILIAD, BOOK XXI (526 to end) AND BOOK XXII HEKTOROS ANAIRESIS ("THE DEATH OF HECTOR") In this canto we reach the end of Achilles' career of vengeance, which culminates in the death of Hector. This is the real climax of the action of the Iliad. The Introduction (xxi. 526-end) deals with a secondary character, Agenor, and is mainly occupied with an account of the deception by which Achilles was diverted from his pursuit of the main body of the fleeing Trojans. But at the beginning of Book xxii our attention is concentrated upon the two main antagonists, Achilles and Hector. The appeals of Priam and Hecuba to Hector at the beginning of Book xxii, and their lamentations and those of his wife Andromache at the end, frame in, as it were, with a rich border of sentiment the vigorous central action of the two main characters. BOOK XXI (526 to end) INTRODUCTION TO "cTHE DEATH OF HECTOR" At xxi. 526, we come upon the concluding portion of Achilles' career of vengeance, which is to culminate (in Book xxii) in the slaying of Hector. The battle of the river-gods and the battle of the gods are now past, and Achilles is in full pursuit of the panic-stricken Trojans. PRIAM'S COMMAND TO THE GATEKEEPERS And the aged Priam was standing upon the god-built tower And caught sight of the mighty Achilles; and the Trojans Were thronging amain in flight before him, nor was there any help. 274 THE ILIAD, BOOK XXI 275 And with a groan Priam came down from the tower, And gave command to the illustrious gatekeepers beside the wall: "Hold the gates wide open in your hands, till the people Come in flight to the city; for Achilles Is now driving them before him, here, close upon us; methinks there will presently be sad work. But as soon as they are crowded within the walls and recover their breath, Shut again the closely-fitted gates; For I fear lest this murderous man make assault upon the wall." -Iliad xxi. 526-36 So then the Trojans, parched with thirst and covered with dust from the plain, continue their flight. APOLLO AROUSES AGENOR Then would the sons of the Achaeans have taken high-gated Troy, Had not Phoebus Apollo aroused the divine Agenor, The blameless and mighty son of Antenor. And Apollo inspired courage in his heart, and himself Stood beside him and warded off the heavy hands of Death. -Iliad xxi. 544-48 And Agenor stood still and reflected within himself. THE SOLILOQUY OF AGENOR Ah me! If I flee before the mighty Achilles Where the other Trojans are being driven in panic, He will take me none the less and cut my throat for a coward. But suppose I leave these to be driven before Achilles, son of Peleus, And flee on foot afar from the wall by another path Toward the level plain, till I come to the glades And crags of Ida and enter among its thickets; Then at evening, when my sweat is dried, And I have bathed in the river, I will return to Troy. But why does my heart speak to me thus? May Achilles not observe me withdrawing from the city toward the plain, And, darting after me, overtake me with his swift feet! For no longer, in that case, will it be possible to avoid death and fate; 276 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD For he is mighty above all other men. But come now, let me go to meet him before the city; For surely this man's skin is vulnerable to the sharp bronze, And there is but one life within him, and men say that he is mortal, But Zeus, the son of Kronos, grants him glory. -liad xxi. 553-70 Having thus encouraged himself, Agenor awaits Achilles and strikes him with his spear; but Achilles' armor, "the gift of a god," wards off the blow, and Agenor is about to be slain when Apollo snatches him away and covers him with thick mist. Then Apollo takes on the appearance of Agenor and deludes Achilles into pursuing him along the Scamander, till all the Trojans except Hector have safely entered the city. Here ends Book xxi. BOOK XXII THE DEATH OF HECTOR At the beginning of Book xxii we are told how the Trojans, "like frightened fawns," were cooling themselves and satisfying their thirst as they leaned upon the battlements while the Greeks drew near to the walls. IMMORTAL TO MORTAL But destructive fate held Hector fast to remain there Before Ilios and the Scaean Gates. And Phoebus Apollo said to the son of Peleus: "Why, son of Peleus, dost thou pursue me with swift feet, Thyself a mortal, and I an immortal god?" -Iliad xxii. 5-9 When Apollo has revealed his identity to Achilles and the futility of further pursuit, the hero does not hesitate to upbraid him, though he is a god: Thou hast wronged me, Far-Worker, most destructive of all the gods, Verily I would punish thee, if I had the power! -Iliad xxii. 5, 20 THE ILIAD, BOOK XXII 277 The Homeric heroes do not hesitate to "talk back" to the gods. Compare the words of Menelaus to Zeus in iii. 365, after the hero has broken his sword on the crest of Paris' helmet. Thereupon Achilles turns back toward Troy with the speed of a prize-winning horse. ACHILLES LIKENED TO SIRIUS And the aged Priam was the first to behold him before his eyes, All-radiant as a star as he hastened over the plain, The star that goes forth in harvest time, and its rays Shine brightly among many stars in the darkness of night, And men call it also by the name of the Dog of Orion; And it is most brilliant: but it has been made an evil sign, For it often brings fever to wretched mortals: So Achilles' brazen armor gleamed about his breast as he ran. -Iliad xxii. 25-32 Compare Matthew Arnold, Sohrab and Rustum, describing Rustum's spear: Whose fiery point now in his mail'd right hand Blazed bright and baleful, like that autumn star, The baleful sign of fevers..... Homer continues, referring to Priam, who pleads with Hector to return. PRIAM'S APPEAL TO HECTOR And the old man groaned and beat his head with his hands, Lifting them on high, and with deep groans called aloud, Supplicating his dear son; but he stood before the gates, Steadfast in his desire to join battle with Achilles. And, stretching out his hands, the old man addressed him piteously: "Hector, I beg thee, dear child, await not this man, Alone, without the others, lest thou quickly draw thy fate upon thee, Overcome by the son of Peleus, since he is far superior. Merciless man! Would he were no dearer to the gods Than he is to me! Then soon the dogs and vultures would devour him 278 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD As he lay unburied, and dread grief would pass from my heart; He who has bereft me of sons many and brave, Slaying them or selling them to distant isles. But come within the walls, my child, that thou mayest save The Trojans and the Trojan women, and not bring great glory To the son of Peleus, and thyself be bereft of thy own life. And, besides, have pity upon me, wretched old man, yet fully conscious of my woe, Hapless man! whom Father Kronides on the threshold of old age By a grievous fate will destroy after I have lived to see many evilsMy sons slain, and my daughters dragged away, And their bridal chambers laid waste, and their infant children Dashed upon the ground in the dread combat, And my daughters-in-law dragged away beneath the destructive hands of the Achaeans. And me myself, last of all, the ravenous dogs at my very gates Shall tear, when some one with the sharp bronze Either smiting me or shooting from afar shall take the life from my limbsDogs which I reared in my halls and fed at my tables, the guardians of my gatesThey, when they have lapped up my blood, shall lie down maddened at heart in my forecourt. But for a young man all things are fitting, though he lie Slain in war, torn with the sharp bronze; and all things Are beautiful for him as he lies dead, whatever may appear; But when the dogs disfigure the hoary head and hoary beard And nakedness of an old man that lies slain, This is the most pitiable sight for wretched mortals." -Iliad xxii. 33-45, 56-76 The commentators compare Tyrtaeus x. 21: For this is a disgraceful sight, that an older man Should lie fallen among the champions in front of younger men, When his head is already white and his beard hoary, And he breathes out his valiant spirit in the dust, Covering his blood-stained nakedness with his hands THE ILIAD, BOOK XXII 279 A disgraceful sight and blame-worthy for the eyes to beholdHis body laid bare; but for young men all things are fitting, As long as one has the glorious bloom of lovely youth. That there exists some relation between these two passages is evident, but there is great diversity of opinion as to what that relation is. The older view was that Tyrtaeus (seventh century B.C.) simply imitated Homer. Leaf, believing this passage to be a late addition, suggests that the imitation may have been in the opposite direction. Van Leeuwen holds that either Tyrtaeus imitated Homer or that both have imitated a common original. Homer continues with the piteous appeal of Hecuba to her son. HECUBA TO HER SON So spake the old man, and with his hands was tearing out his gray hair, Plucking it from his head; but he did not persuade the heart of Hector. And his mother, on the other side, was shedding tears and lamenting him, Loosing her robe and with one hand holding up her breast; And shedding tears she addressed him winged words: "Hector, my child, reverence this, and pity me myself, If ever I held up to thee my care-soothing breast, Call this to mind, dear child, and ward off the hostile man From within the walls, and do not stand as a champion before him. Merciless man! for if he slay thee, never shall I Lament thee, dear son, upon thy bier, I who bore thee, Nor shall thy wife, bought with many gifts; but far from us Beside the ships of the Argives shall the swift dogs devour thee." -Iliad xxii. 77-89 With Hecuba's entreaty compare the words of Clytemnestra in the course of her impassioned appeal to her son Orestes to spare her life (Aeschylus, Libation-Bearers 896): Stay thy hand, O son, and revere, my child, this breast. 280 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD THE SOLILOQUY OF HECTOR Thus they two, sorrowing, addressed their dear son With earnest supplication; but they did not persuade the heart of Hector, But he awaited the mighty Achilles as he drew near. And as a serpent of the mountains in his hole awaits a man, Fed on poisonous herbs, and dread anger enters into him, And his look is terrible as he coils about his hole; So Hector, possessed of unquenchable anger did not retreat, But leaned his shining shield against a projecting tower, And, greatly moved, said to his proud spirit: "Ah me! if I enter the gates and walls, Polydamas first of all will bring reproach upon me, He who bade me lead the Trojans to the city In the course of this night, when the divine Achilles arose. But I did not obey; verily that would have been much better. But now, since I have brought destruction upon the people by my folly, I fear the Trojans and the Trojan women with trailing robes, Lest some man of lower rank than I may say: 'Hector, trusting in his might, hath brought destruction upon the people.' So they will say; and for me in that case it would be far better Either to slay Achilles, man to man, before I return, Or myself to perish gloriously before the city. But if I put down my bossy shield and mighty helmet, And lean my spear against the wall, And go unarmed to meet the blameless Achilles, And promise him Helen and her possessions with her, All that Alexander brought to Troy in the hollow shipsHelen that was the beginning of strifeTo give all this to the Atreidae to carry away, And at the same time to share with the Achaeans All the treasures that this city conceals; And afterward exact from the Trojans an oath Confirmed by council that they will not conceal anything But will divide all in two partsBut why has my heart pondered these things? I fear to go and supplicate him, for he will not take pity on me, THE ILL4D, BOOK XXII 281 Nor will he respect me, but will kill me unarmed as I am, Just like a woman, when I strip off my armor. Forsooth it is not now possible to parley with him From oak and rock, as youth and maiden do, As youth and maiden parley with one another. It were better to join in strife with all haste; Then we shall see to which one the Olympian will grant glory." -lliad xxii. 90-I30 The commentators are sorely perplexed as to the meaning of the phrase "from oak and rock." Perhaps we shall do best to regard this delightful allusion to the innocent talk of a pair of lovers as only a "beautiful, fleeting gleam out of that dear life from which Hector is so soon to part" (Wilamowitz, Die Ilias und Homer, p. 97). Now begins the famous scene of the pursuit of Hector by Achilles about the walls of Troy. THE PURSUIT OF HECTOR So pondered he as he waited; but Achilles drew near Like unto Enyalios, a warrior with tossing plume, Brandishing the dread Pelian ash down from his right shoulder; And on both sides the bronze kept flashing like the gleam Either of flaming fire or of the rising sun. And Hector, when he saw it, was seized with trembling, Nor any longer did he endure to remain there, But left the gates behind him, and fled affrighted. And the son of Peleus, trusting to his swift feet, dashed after him. As a hawk upon the mountains, the swiftest of birds, Lightly swoops down upon a trembling pigeon; And she flees out from under him, and he, near at hand, with shrill screams Repeatedly darts after her, and his spirit bids him seize her; So Achilles with eagerness flew straight after him, And Hector fled beneath the walls of the Trojans, and swiftly plied his limbs. And they, past the lookout and the wind-shaken fig tree, Always out from under cover of the walls, dashed along the wagon-road, 282 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD And came to the fair-flowing springs, Where the two sources of the eddying Scamander rise up; For the one flows with warm water, and round about Vapor rises from it as if a fire were burning beneath it; While the other even in summer flows forth like hail, Or like chill snow, or crystals of ice. And there, hard by them, are beautiful stone washing troughs, Where the wives of the Trojans and their fair daughters Used to wash their shining garments of old, before the sons of the Achaeans came. Past these they ran, the one fleeing and the other pursuing; Before fled a good man, and behind a far better pursued him, Swiftly, since it was not a victim for sacrifice or an oxhide shield They strove to win, such as are the prizes for the feet of men, But for the life-of Hector, the tamer of horses, they ran. And as when prize-winning, single-hoofed horses Run very swiftly about the turning points, Where a great prize is set, either a tripod or a woman, in honor of a man that is dead; So they two thrice encircled the city of Priam On swift feet; and all the gods were looking on. — Iliad xxii. I3 -66 Croiset (Histoire de la Litte'rature Grecque, I, 220) quotes this passage and comments upon the simplicity and directness of the narrative, which eschews all extraneous ornament and yet omits no necessary detail. R. C. Jebb (Classical Greek Poetry, p. 59) calls attention to the final words as marking the climax of intensity of interest. Not only the Trojans from the walls watch the race, but the very gods in heaven! Zeus grieves to see Hector, who has offered to him many sacrifices upon the peaks of Ida, so near to his end, and inquires of the gods whether they shall save him from death-a suggestion which calls forth an indignant protest from Athena. Zeus thereupon grants her permission to work her will, and she goes leaping down from the heights of Olympus. THE ILIAD, BOOK XXII 283 ACHILLES GAINS ON HECTOR And the swift Achilles continually followed Hector, eagerly driving him on. And as when a dog pursues the young of a deer upon the mountains, When he has roused him from his hiding place, through the glens and through the ravines; And even if the fawn escape his notice by crouching down beneath a bush, Still he runs on steadily, tracking him out till he find him; So Hector could not escape from the swift-footed son of Peleus. And as often as he would start to rush in front of the Dardanian Gates Beneath the well-built towers, on the chance That they might defend him from above with their missiles, So often Achilles would get in front of him and turn him aside Toward the plain, while he himself ever sped along on the city side. And, as in a dream one is not able to overtake a fugitive, Nor is he able to escape, or the other to pursue, So he could not catch him on foot, or Hector avoid him. How could Hector have escaped the fates of death Had not Apollo for the very last time met him Close at hand, and roused his spirit and swift limbs? But the divine Achilles kept nodding to the others with his head, Nor would he suffer them to cast their bitter darts at Hector, Lest any should smite him and win the glory, and he come off second. -Iliad xxii. I88-207 The psychological simile, so common in Dante, is rare in Homer, who prefers usually to draw our attention to some parallel in the objective, material world rather than to any inner working of the mind. This simile of the dream, however, refers to a fact that is of universal experience, and, in spite of some objection made to it in antiquity, seems eminently fitting in its place. Virgil has paid it the compliment of imitation in A eneid xii. 9o8-I2. At this point the scene shifts again to heaven, and we have the famous incident of the Psychostasia ("Weighing of Souls"). 284 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD THE WEIGHING OF SOULS But when now for the fourth time they came to the two springs, The Father drew up his golden scales, And in them placed two fates of outstretching death, That of Achilles and that of Hector, the tamer of horses; And he seized the scales in the midst, and lifted them on high, And the fated day of Hector declined And descended unto the house of Hades, and Phoebus Apollo left him. -Iliad xxii. 208-I3 Almost the same words occur in viii. 69-72, only there it is the fates of the two armies which are weighed-an idea which does not seem quite so simple and natural as the weighing of two men against each other. Our passage in Book xxii is probably the original and the one in Book viii the copy. The Psychostasia has had great influence in both literature and art. Aeschylus composed a tragedy (no longer extant) with this title, in which Thetis and Eos (the two mothers) were represented as weighing the lives of their warring sons, Achilles and Memnon, against each other. Aristophanes (Frogs 1365) parodies at considerable length the weighing scene; here it is the poetry of Aeschylus which is weighed by Dionysus against that of Euripides. Virgil imitates our passage in Aeneid xii. 725-27, where Jupiter is represented as weighing the fates of Aeneas and Turnus. Milton's imitation in the case of the archangel Michael and Satan at the end of Paradise Lost, Book iv, has already been quoted in connection with Iliad viii. 69-72. A fine Greek marble relief of the transitional period, in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, shows a similar scene, where a winged figure, probably Eros, holds the scales. In the balances are two diminutive figures of men, while two goddesses, one rejoicing and the other mourning, are seated on either side. Athena now comes to Achilles and encourages him and THE ILIAD, BOOK XXII 285 promises him success, saying of Hector that he cannot escape them now. ATHENA SPURS ON ACHILLES It is now no longer possible for him to escape us, Not even if the Far-Worker Apollo suffer much woe, Grovelling before the feet of aegis-bearing Zeus. But do thou stand here and recover thy breath, And I will go and persuade this man to fight opposite thee. -Iliad xxii. 2I9-23 Then Athena assumes the form of Hector's brother Deiphobus and (falsely) promises to support him, and thus brings him to a stand before Achilles. The two heroes approach for combat, and Hector speaks. No MORE OF COVENANTS "No longer, son of Peleus, will I flee from thee, As before I fled thrice about the city of Priam, Nor endured to abide thy oncoming; but now my spirit Has bid me stand against thee, whether to slay or be slain. But come hither, let us call upon our gods; for they will be The best witnesses and guardians of covenants. For I will not evilly treat thee, if Zeus grant me The power to outlast, but I will take away thy life; But when I shall have stripped thee of thy famous armor, Achilles, I will give back thy body to the Achaeans; and do thou do the same." But eyeing him askance, the swift-footed Achilles said: "Hector, unforgettable foe, say no more to me of covenants. Just as there can be no faithful oaths between lions and men, Nor can wolves and lambs have concordant minds, But to the end devise evil for one another, So it is not possible for me and thee to be friends, Nor shall there be oaths between us, till one or the other Fall and sate with his blood the shield-bearing warrior Ares. Nor is there any longer means of escape for thee, but straightway Pallas Athena shall subdue thee to my spear; now shalt thou Pay all at once for the woes of my companions Whom thou hast slain while raging with the spear." -Iliad xxii. 250-72 286 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Thereupon Achilles and Hector fight. Achilles casts his spear first, but Hector crouches down and avoids it, and the spear is fixed in the ground. Then Athena, unnoticed by Hector, recovers the spear and gives it back to Achilles. Hector jeers at Achilles for his failure. HECTOR'S TRIUMPHANT CRY Now try to avoid my brazen spear. Would thou mightest receive it entire in thy body! And the war would become lighter for the Trojans, If thou shouldst perish; for thou art a very great curse to them. -Iliad xxii. 285-88 Then Hector hurls his spear and strikes the shield of Achilles fairly in the midst, but the metal turns the point. Hector retreats and stands with downcast eyes; for his effort has been in vain, and he has no second spear. In his extremity he calls to Deiphobus for a second spear; but Deiphobus is nowhere near. HECTOR FORESEES HIS END And Hector understood in his heart, and said: "Alas! surely now the gods have summoned me to death; For I thought that the hero DeYphobus was with me, But he is within the fortifications, and Athena hath tricked me. Now surely evil death is nigh to me and no longer far away; Nor is there any means of escape. Doubtless it has long been More pleasing so to Zeus and the son of Zeus, the Far-Darter, Who of old gladly rescued me; but now fate overtakes me. May I not perish without an effort or ingloriously, But only after I have performed some great feat for future generations, even, to learn about!" — Iliad xxii. 296-305 With these words Hector draws his sword, and, gathering himself together, rushes upon his foe as an eagle swoops down out of the black clouds upon a tender lamb or timid hare. Achilles also starts forward, his heart filled with fierce anger. THE ILIAD, BOOK XXII 287 HECTOR MORTALLY WOUNDED And as a star goes forth among stars in the darkness of nightThe evening star, which stands fairest among the stars in heavenSo shot a gleam afar from the well-sharpened spear which Achilles Brandished in his right hand, purposing evil for the divine Hector, And eyeing his fair body, where best it might yield him an opening. And all the rest of his body was covered by the fair brazen armor Which he had stripped from the mighty Patroclus when he slew him; But there appeared, where the collar bones separate the neck from the shoulders, His throat, where the loss of life is most speedy; There, as Hector was rushing upon him, Achilles smote him with his spear; And right through his tender throat came the spear point. Nor did the ashen spear, heavy with bronze, cut his windpipe, But he could still speak and answer him with words. And he fell in the dust; and the divine Achilles exulted over him: "Hector, doubtless thou thoughtest, when thou wert stripping the armor from Patroclus, That thou wouldst be safe, and hadst no regard for me, since I was not beside him; Fool! but far from him, I, a great avenger, Was left behind at the hollow shipsI who have loosed thy limbs. But thee the dogs and birds Shall rend shamefully, while the Achaeans shall perform his burial rites." -Iliad xxii. 3I 7-36 With the opening lines of this passage compare Milton, Paradise Lost, V, I66-67: Fairest of Stars, last in the train of night, If better thou belong not to the Dawn. THE LAST REQUEST OF HECTOR And faintly Hector of the glancing plume addressed him: "I supplicate thee by thy life and knees and parents, Let not the dogs tear me beside the ships of the Achaeans, But rather do thou accept bronze and gold in abundance, 288 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Gifts which my father and revered mother shall give thee, And surrender my body home again, that the Trojans And wives of the Trojans may give me my share of fire when I am dead." -Iliad xxii. 337-43 Achilles replies fiercely to this last appeal of Hector. THE REFUSAL OF ACHILLES Supplicate me not, thou cur, by my knees or by my parents; Would that my mind and spirit might even impel me myself To cut off thy flesh and eat it raw, such wrongs hast thou wrought me! Since there is no man that can keep the dogs from thy head. Not even if they bring hither and weigh out Ten or twenty times as much ransom, and promise other beside, Not even if Dardanian Priam bid them pay thy weight in gold, Not even then shall thy revered mother Lay thee upon the couch and lament the son she bore, But the dogs and the birds shall devour thee utterly. -Iliad xxii. 345-54 With the hate expressed in the opening lines above, compare the words of Zeus to Hera (iv. 35) about her savage hatred of Priam and the Trojans, and Hecuba's outburst of hatred for Achilles (xxiv. 212). Compare the scene in Dante's Inferno (xxxii. I27) in which Count Ugolino actually gnaws the skull of his enemy Ruggieri. There follow the last words of Hector. THE DYING PROPHECY OF HECTOR "Verily I know thee well, and see thee as thou art; nor was I destined To persuade thee. Surely thou hast a heart of iron within thee. Beware now, lest I bring down the wrath of the gods upon thee In that day when Paris and Phoebus Apollo, Brave though thou art, shall destroy thee at the Scaean Gates." Thus then, when he had said this, the fate of death encompassed him, And his soul, fleeing from his limbs, descended unto Hades, Lamenting her fate, since she was leaving manhood and youth. THE ILIAD, BOOK XXII 289 And him, even as he lay dead, Achilles addressed: "Die; and I shall accept my fate Whenever Zeus wills to bring it to pass, and the other immortal gods." -Iliad xxii. 356-66 Almost the same words had already been used by the poet in describing the death of Patroclus (xvi. 855). The similarity is doubtless intentional; it has to do with that symmetry, that balance of part against part, which is such a notable feature of ancient Greek literature and art. The death of Patroclus at the hands of Hector absolutely demanded (according to Greek feeling of the heroic age) the death of Hector at the hands of the friend of Patroclus. Compare the scene of Aeschylus' Agamemnon (vss. I372 ff.) in which Clytemnestra, standing beside the dead bodies of Agamemnon and Cassandra, tries to justify her deed, with that scene of the Libation-Bearers (vss. 973 ff.) in which Orestes stands beside the dead bodies of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus and tries to justify his deed by appeal to the command of Apollo. The situation in both cases is well expressed by the words of Edmond in King Lear (Act V, sc. 3): "The Wheele is come full circle; I am heere." The prophecy as to the approaching death of Achilles had already been made in less definite terms by the horse Xanthus in xix. 4I7. Achilles draws his spear out of the body of Hector and strips the bloody armor from his shoulders. "EVEN THERE WILL I REMEMBER" And the rest of the sons of the Achaeans ran about him, And beheld the stature and glorious form of Hector; Nor did any stand beside him without inflicting a wound, And thus many a man would say, glancing at his next neighbor: "Ah me! Surely Hector is much softer to the touch Than when he was trying to burn the ships with blazing fire." Thus many a man would say, and wound him as he stood beside him. 290 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD And when the swift-footed, divine Achilles had stripped him of his armor, He stood in the midst of the Achaeans and spoke winged words: "O friends, leaders and counselors of the Argives, Since the gods have granted us to subdue this man, Who has wrought more evil than all the rest put together, Come now, let us make an attempt upon the city with our arms, That we may again ascertain what mind the Trojans have, Whether they will abandon the city utterly, now that he is fallen, Or purpose to remain, though Hector is no more. But why does my heart converse thus with me? Patroclus lies by the ships, a corpse unwept, unburied; him I will not forget What time I am among the living and my limbs can stir. And if in the house of Hades men forget the dead, Yet even there will I remember my dear comrade. But come now, let us sing a song of victory, we youths of the Achaeans, And come to the hollow ships, and bring this man; 'We have won great glory; we have slain Hector the divine, To whom the Trojans throughout the city prayed as to a god.'" -Iliad xxii. 369-94 What seems to us mere wanton brutality, as described early in this passage, was probably only an attempt to prevent the ghost of the dead enemy from wreaking vengeance upon his slayer. For another strong expression of Achilles' love for Patroclus, compare xxiii. 47. Compare the Shakespeare play, Troilus and Cressida, Act V, sc. 9 (Achilles, after the death of Hector): On, Myrmidons, cry you all a maine, "Achilles hath the mighty Hector slaine". Thereupon Achilles fastens the body of Hector by the heels to his chariot and lets the head drag behind. HECTOR DRAGGED AT THE CHARIOT WHEELS And mounting his chariot, and taking up the famous armor, He whipped his horses to a run, and they flew along not unwillingly. THE ILIAD, BOOK XXII 291 And the dust arose as he was dragged along, and his dark locks Fluttered round about him, and his head lay all in the dust, That head so beautiful before; but Zeus permitted it then To be dishonored by his enemies in his own native land. -Iliad xxii. 399-404 Hippothoiis (xvii. 288-9I) had similarly attempted to drag away the body of Patroclus by tying a baldric to the foot. For the general sentiment of the last two lines, compare xvi. 795-97. Naber thought the paean over Hector (vss. 393-94) was the end of the original Iliad. Leaf holds that "404 forms an admirable and dramatic close to the Menis." Compare Croiset (Histoire de la Litteraturc Grccque, I, 2 i6): The first great scene of the Iliad was a quarrel, as a result of which Achilles swore that the Achaeans, henceforth deprived of his assistance, should have to repent of having offended him. The last great scene must by a real moral necessity show the reconciliation brought about, not by engagements and discourses, but by the facts, by a decisive victory, by the death of Hector. It is by the name of Hector that Achilles frightens the Achaeans when he separates himself from them (I, 240); it is by the death of the Trojan hero that he reassures them when he returns to them (XXII, 393). These two scenes, which correspond to one another, are the very foundation of the unity of the poem. The rest of Book xxii is taken up with the lamentations of the Trojans over Hector. His mother, Hecuba, is the first to see him. THE GRIEF OF PRIAM And she tore her hair, and cast her rich veil far from her, And shrieked aloud at sight of her son. And his dear father wailed piteously, and the people round about Were filled with lamentation and groaning throughout the city. And their distress was just as if all beetling Troy Were smoldering in fire from its heights. And the people were scarcely restraining the old man, 292 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Who was beside himself with grief and eager to go forth outside the Dardanian Gates. And he besought all, rolling in the dirt, Calling every man by name: "Cease friends, and, grieved though you are, let me, all alone, Go forth from the city and come to the ships of the Achaeans; I will supplicate this accursed man, this worker of terrible deeds, If perchance he may revere my age and take pity upon my years. And besides, his father, Peleus, is such as I am myself, He that begat him and brought him up to be a curse to the Trojans, And especially to me above all hath he caused woe, So many of my sons hath he slain in their bloom; But for all these I do not grieve nor mourn so much As for Hector alone, bitter sorrow for whom will bring me down to the house of Hades. 0 would that Hector had died in my arms! Then would we have satisfied ourselves with mourning and lamenting, His unhappy mother who bore him, and I myself." -Iliad xxii. 406-28 Virgil, describing the sorrow and consternation caused by the death of Dido, closely imitates the earlier part of this passage (Aeneid iv. 667-71): Lamentis gemituque et femineo ululatu Tecta fremunt; resonat magnis plangoribus aether, Non aliter, quam si immissis ruat hostibus omnis Karthago aut antiqua Tyros, flammaeque furentes Culmina perque hominum volvantur perque deorum. With verse 425 compare the words of Jacob (Gen. 42:38); "Then shall ye bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to the grave." THE GRIEF OF HECUBA So spake he weeping, and the citizens groaned in response. And for the Trojan women Hecuba began the loud lament: "My child, wretched am I! Why should I live, victim of sorrow, Now that thou art dead? Thou who wert my boast Day and night throughout the city, and the help THE ILIAD, BOOIK XXII 293 Of all the Trojans and Trojan women in the city, Who used to welcome thee as a god; for thou wert their great glory While thou wert alive; but now death and fate have come to thee." -Iliad xxii. 429-36 The effectiveness of this brief lament lies in its utter truthfulness. It is the pathos inherent in the fact itself, not in any rhetorical amplification, that appeals to us. ANDROMACHE ON THE WALLS So spake she weeping; but the wife of Hector had not yet heard anything; For no faithful messenger had come to her To tell her that her husband was waiting outside the gates; But she was weaving a purple doublet in the inner part of the house, And was embroidering floral patterns thereon. And she had commanded her fair-tressed servants in the hall To set a great tripod over the fire, that there might be A warm bath for Hector when he returned from battleFond heart! nor did she know that, far from any thought of refreshing water, The gleaming-eyed Athena had subdued him beneath the hands of Achilles. And she heard the shrieks and lamentations from the tower; And her limbs were shaken, and the shuttle fell from her hands. And she spake again among her fair-tressed servants: "Come hither, two of you, and follow me; I will see what deeds have been wrought. I heard the voice of my revered mother, And my own heart throbs in my throat, and my limbs fail beneath me; Surely some evil is nigh unto the sons of Priam. Would that the thing I say might be far from my ears! But I greatly fear lest the divine Achilles, Having cut off my bold Hector far from the city, is driving him toward the plain. And I fear lest he wrest from him the fatal pride which possessed him, Since he would never remain among the mass of men, But would run far before them, yielding in courage to none." 294 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD So spake she, and hasted through the hall like a mad woman, With beating heart, and the servants went with her. But when she came to the tower and throng of men, She stood upon the wall and glanced sharply about, And saw him dragged before the city, and the swift horses Were dragging him pitilessly toward the ships of the Achaeans. And black night covered her eyes, And she fell back and gasped forth her spirit. And she cast far from her head the shining ornaments, Her diadem and hood and woven fillet, And the veil which golden Aphrodite gave her On that day when Hector of the glancing plume Led her from the house of Eetion, after he had given countless bridal presents. And about her stood her husband's sisters and brothers' wives in throngs, Who supported her among them as she was distraught unto death. -Iliad xxii. 437-74 THE GRIEF OF ANDROMACHE Now when her breath returned and she came to her senses again, She lifted up her voice in mourning, and said among the Trojan women: "Hector, unhappy am I! So then we were both born unto the same fate, Thou in Troy, in the house of Priam, And I in Thebe at the foot of wooded Placos, In the house of Eetion, who brought me up when I was little, He unhappy, I unhappy! O would that I had never been born! But now thou goest unto the house of Hades, below in the secret places of the earth. But thou leavest me in wretched sorrow, A widow in thy halls; and our child is still a mere infant, He to whom thou and I did give life, all unhappy we! Nor shalt thou be a help unto him, O Hector, since thou art dead, Nor he to thee. For if he escape the tearful war of the Achaeans, Always unto him-unhappy! —will be toil and sorrow hereafter; For other men will take away his fields; For the day that makes a child an orphan deprives him of all his companions; THE ILIAD, BOOK XXII 295 And always his head is bowed and his cheeks are wet with tears, And in his need the child goes the round of his father's companions, Plucking one by the mantle and another by the tunic; And one of them, taking pity upon him, holds a cup for a moment to his lips; And it moistens his lips merely, but does not wet his palate. And a child, both of whose parents are living, drives him with blows from the feast, Striking him with his hands and chiding him with reproachful words: 'Away with thee! thy father is not feasting with us.' And in tears the child returns to his widowed mother, Our Astyanax, who of old sat on his father's knees And ate only marrow and the fat of sheep; And whenever sleep overtook him and he ceased from his play, He would sleep upon his bed, in the arms of his nurse, On a soft couch, when he had satisfied his heart with good things. But now he shall suffer many hardships, being bereft of his dear fatherHe, the king of the city, as the Trojans call him by titleFor thou alone, Hector, didst save for them the city's gates and lofty walls. But now the worms shall devour thee beside the curved ships, Far from thy parents, when the dogs have done with thee, A naked corse; yet thy garments lie in the halls, Fine and lovely, wrought by the hands of women. But now all these will I burn with devouring fire, Useless as they are to thee (since thou shalt not lie in them) But they can only be used now as an honor to thee in the eyes of the Trojans and the Trojan women." So spake she weeping, and the women groaned in response. -Iliad xxii. 475-end CHAPTER XIII THE ILIAD, BOOKS XXIII AND XXIV THE FUNERAL OF PATROCLUS AND THE GAMES; THE RANSOMING OF HECTOR S BODY While these two books are, in the opinion of the majority of scholars, not part of the original poem, we should feel keenly the loss of either of them. The account of the funeral of Patroclus "maintains throughout a high level of beauty and pathos," says Leaf. It touches also upon the great theme of the immortality of the soul (in the appearance of Patroclus to Achilles); and, incidentally, it has served as a model to Matthew Arnold for the funeral of Balder in his "Balder Dead." The description of the funeral games gives us our earliest glimpse of Greek athletics and has served as a model for Virgil's account of the funeral games of Anchises in the fifth book of the Aeneid. And without the story of the ransoming of Hector's body by Priam (in Book xxiv) we should miss some of the finest traits in the character of Achilles, as well as the beautiful beginnings of the Threnos ("Dirge") in the lamentations over Hector, with which the Iliad closes. BOOK XXIII When the Greeks come to the ships, bringing the body of Hector with them, the others scatter among their ships; but Achilles holds back the Myrmidons to mourn with him. They drive their chariots thrice around the dead Patroclus, whose body is evidently here conceived of as lying in the open, although in xix. 211-12 it was said to be lying in the hut of 296 THE ILIJAD, BOOK XXIII 297 Achilles with the feet turned toward the door, ready for departure. And Achilles, laying his man-slaying hands upon the breast of his friend, began the lament. "HAIL, 0 PATROCLUS!" Hail! 0 my Patroclus, even in the house of Hades, Since now I fulfil for thee all that I promised before, That I would drag Hector hither and give him to the dogs to devour And that I would cut the throats of twelve noble Trojan youths Before thy funeral pyre, angered for thy death. -Iliad xxiii. I7-23 The funeral feast is prepared; many cattle and sheep and bleating goats are slaughtered, "and many white-toothed swine, teeming with fat.... and everywhere about the dead the blood flowed in streams." Then with difficulty they persuade Achilles to go to the hut of Agamemnon, where he refuses to bathe in the water made ready for him, declaring with an oath: No, by Zeus, who is the highest and best of the gods, It is not fitting that my head enter the bath Till I place Patroclus on the fire and heap up a mound over him, And cut off my locks, since no second grief like this Shall come to my heart what time I am among the living. -Iliad xxiii. 43-47 When the funeral feast is over, all go home to rest. THE SPIRIT OF PATROCLUS But the son of Peleus lay by the shore of the loud-dashing sea, Groaning heavily, among the hosts of many Myrmidons, In the open, where the waves were dashing on the beach. Then sleep overmastered him, loosing the cares from his spirit, Pouring sweetly about him; for his bright limbs were very weary With pursuing Hector to windy Troy; And there came to him the spirit of poor Patroclus, In all points like unto himself-in stature and eyes and voice, 298 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD And such garments had he about him; And stood above his head, and spoke a word to him: "Thou sleepest and art forgetful of me, Achilles. Not when I was alive didst thou disregard me, but now that I am dead. Bury me with all haste; I would enter the gates of Hades. The souls keep me afar, the phantoms of the dead, Nor will they suffer me yet to mingle with them beyond the river, But vainly I wander outside the wide-gated house of Hades. But give me thy hand, I beseech thee; for never again Shall I come forth from the realm of Hades, when ye have given me my share of fire. For nevermore in the land of the living shall we, sitting far From our dear comrades, take counsel together; but hateful fate Hath swallowed me up-the fate that was mine the day I was born; And for thee thyself it is fated, O Achilles like unto the gods, To perish beneath the walls of the wealthy Trojans. And another thing will I tell thee and command thee, if thou wilt obey me: Lay not my bones far from thine, 0 Achilles, But close beside them, since I was reared up in thy halls; For Menoetius brought me from Opus, still but a youth, Unto your halls, under cloud of grievous manslaughter, On that day when I slew the son of Amphidamas, Fool that I was! unintentionally, angered over a game of knucklebones; Then the knight Peleus received me in his halls And brought me up kindly and named me thy attendant; So also may one urn enclose the bones of both of us." -lliad xxiii. 59-9I Compare the close imitation by Matthew Arnold in "Balder Dead" where the ghost of the hero appears to his wife, Nanna: Then Balder's spirit through the gloom drew near, In garb, in form, in feature as he was. And for a similar instance of going into exile, compare Iliad ix. 447, where Phoenix comes fleeing to Peleus. Returning to Book xxiii, we find Achilles answering Patroclus. THE ILIAD, BOOK XXIII 299 THE EMPTY AIR "Why, dear heart, hast thou come hither, And why dost thou charge me thus? But I Will fulfil all things for thee and obey thee as thou biddest, But draw nigh; let us for even a moment throw our arms About one another and take our fill of sad lamentation." Speaking thus, he reached out with his loving arms, But grasped him not; for his spirit, thin as smoke, Went moaning beneath the earth. And Achilles sprang up astonished, And smote his hands together, and cried in sorrow: "Ah me! so then there really is even in the house of Hades A spirit and phantom, but there is no substance at all; For all night long the spirit of poor Patroclus Was standing over me, grieving and lamenting, And laid many commands upon me, and was wondrous like himself." -Iliad xxiii. 94-I07 For the attempt to grasp an unsubstantial shade there are many literary parallels. Odysseus (Odyssey xi. 204) tries thus to grasp the shade of his mother in Hades, a passage which is closely imitated by Virgil (Aeneid ii. 790-94) in the scene of the parting of Aeneas and his wife, Creusa. And in the Georgics (iv. 499) Eurydice as she stretches out appealing hands to her husband, Orpheus, Dixit et ex oculis subito, ceu fumus in auras Commixtus tenuis, fugit diversa.... And in "Balder Dead" we read:.... And Nanna in her sleep stretch'd out Her arms toward him with a cry-but he Mournfully shook his head, and disappear'd. And as the woodman sees a little smoke Hang in the air afield, and disappear, So Balder faded in the night away. Homer tells next how "rosy-fingered Dawn" found Achilles and the Myrmidons still mourning around Patroclus. With the morning Agamemnon sends forth men and mules to gather 30o A STUDY OF THE ILIAD wood for the funeral pyre. They search everywhere, even to the shoulders of Mount Ida, where they eagerly cut down great oaks, bind them on the mules, and drag them plainward through the thickets. Then there is a procession of warriors, fully armed, in chariots; and the body of Patroclus is carried in the midst, and his corse is covered with their shorn hair in sign of grief. Achilles stands behind and holds his friend's head in his hands. Then they raise the funeral pyre; and Achilles, standing far off, shears his own hair, which had long before been vowed to the river Spercheius (in southern Thessaly) if he should return safe home from the war; and, deeply moved, he looks toward the wine-faced deep and speaks. ACHILLES TO THE RIVER SPERCHEIUS "Spercheius, in vain did my father Peleus make a vow That, if I returned thither unto my dear native land, He would shear my locks for thee and offer a sacred hecatomb of sheep, Fifty males without blemish unto thy waters, Where stands thy shrine and fragrant altar. So spake the old man, but thou hast not fulfilled his desire. And now, since I return no more unto my dear native land, To the hero Patroclus would I dedicate my hair to go its way." So spake he, and placed the locks in the hands of his dear companion, And roused in them all a desire for lamentation. -Iliad xxiii. I44-53 Then had the light of the sun set upon their lamentations, says Homer (vs. I 54), had not Achilles called upon Agamemnon to dismiss the general host, and to retain the nearer friends to heap up the great funeral pyre, measuring a hundred feet this way and that. Then many sheep and cattle were slaughtered before the pyre, and the body was wrapped in fat from head to foot, and the flayed carcasses were heaped about the bier; and four horses were sacrificed upon it, and two of Patroclus' nine dogs were slain and put upon the pile, and THE ILIAD, BOOK XXIII 3oi twelve excellent sons of the Trojans they slew with bronze, and the fire was set. And Achilles groaned and called upon his friend. ACHILLES FAREWELL TO PATROCLUS Hail! O my Patroclus, even in the house of Hades; For all things have been fulfilled for thee, as I promised. Twelve excellent sons of the great-hearted Trojans Shall the fire devour along with thee, but Hector, son of Priam, I will not give to the fire to be consumed, but to the dogs. -Iliad xxiii. 179-83 Hector is, however, rescued from this fate by Aphrodite and Apollo; for the goddess anoints him with fragrant ambrosial oil, and Apollo protects him with a black cloud that covers all the region. But the funeral pyre, though lighted, will not burn. Thereupon Achilles pours out a libation from a golden cup and prays to the winds Boreas and Zephyrus. IRIS RUNS TO ZEPHYRUS And swift Iris, Listening to his prayers, came as a messenger to the winds. And they were all at a feast in the house of stormy Zephyrus; And Iris ran and stood upon the stone threshold; And when they saw her before their eyes, All sprang up and called her, each to his side; But she refused to sit down..... -Iliad xxiii. I98-204 She delivers her message from Achilles and departs. The winds start up with a wondrous din, driving the clouds before them, and sweep over the deep and rouse the waves beneath their clear blowing and come to fertile Troy and fall upon the pyre; and the fire roars loudly. All night it bums, while Achilles stands and pours libations and calls upon the spirit of poor Patroclus. 302 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD THE FUNERAL PYRE And as a father grieves as he burns the bones of his childless son, Who dies and brings sorrow upon his wretched parents, So Achilles grieved as he burned the bones of his companion, Creeping about the pyre and groaning piteously. But when the morning star came to herald light over the earth, After whom crocus-robed dawn is spread abroad over the sea, Then the burning pyre died down, and the flame was extinguished. And the winds returned home again along the Thracian deep. -Iliad xxiii. 222-30 Achilles, worn out by his long labor and watching, falls asleep. But soon Agamemnon and the other chieftains come, and Achilles gives directions as to gathering the ashes of Patroclus and preserving them in a golden urn till the time that he too shall be "hidden in Hades" (vs. 244). A tomb also is to be raised: And they made the tomb round, and set up foundation stones before it Round about the pyre; then they heaped up earth over it. -Iliad xxiii. 255-57 This tomb, according to Leaf, was like the "circle of the tombs" at Mycenae, where the upright stones were "evidently intended as the revetment of a tumulus which has since disappeared." Plutarch relates that Alexander the Great, soon after landing in Asia, offered sacrifices at Troy and ran naked with his companions about the tomb of Achilles (Vita Alex. 15), as at funeral games. The whole second part of Book xxiii (257-end) is taken up with the funeral games in honor of Patroclus. When the tumulus has been finished, Achilles detains the people and brings forth the prizes for the various athletic contests. First, and in far the greatest detail, is described the chariot race. The prizes for this were, for the winner, a slave-woman skilled in household tasks, and a tripod; for the second prize was offered a six-year-old horse; for the third, a brand-new caldron; THE ILIAD, BOOK XXIII 3o3 for the fourth, two talents of gold; and for the fifth, a twohandled bowl never yet touched by the fire. The small value placed upon the Homeric talent of gold is noteworthy. The Homeric talent was in the form of a long, round bar of metal, and was probably equal in value to the Babylonian-Phoenician shekel. Coined money was as yet unknown (AmeisHentze, ad Od. iv. 129). Leaf observes that the Sicilian gold talent was equal to only six Attic drachmas. This would make the talent worth about $I.io. Achilles declares that his own immortal steeds, originally given by Poseidon to Pelops, shall not enter the contest. They stand mourning their dead charioteer Patroclus, and their manes flow down upon the ground, and they are grieved at heart. (Cf. xvii. 436-40.) As contestants in the chariot race, appear: (i) Eumelus, (whose father Admetus is a character in the Alcestis of Euripides); (2) Diomed with the horses he won from Aeneas (in v. 323); (3) Menelaus with his own horse Podargus ("Swiftfoot") and with the mare Aethe ("Sorrel"), which King Echepolus of Sicyon had once given to Agamemnon in lieu of service against Troy; (4) Antilochus, son of Nestor, to whom his father gives the expert advice about rounding the dangerous goal post, quoted by Plato in the Ion (p. 537). ROUNDING THE GOAL POST And do thou, almost grazing this, drive close by with thy chariot and horses And thyself bend gently a hair to the left, in thy well-plaited chariot, And goad on the horse on the right with cries, and slack his rein, But let thy left-hand horse graze the pillar So that the hub of thy well-wrought wheel may almost reach to it, But avoid touching it..... -Iliad xxiii. 334-40 The last contestant is (5) Meriones, the attendant of Idomeneus, with his flowing-maned horses. Lots are cast for po 304 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD sitions in the race, and the aged Phoenix is placed near the turning posts as umpire. THE CHARIOT RACE And they all together lifted their whips over their horses, And smote them with thongs, and urged them on eagerly with cries; And the horses passed quickly over the plain, far from the ships; And the dust rose from beneath their breasts, And hung over them like a cloud or a tempest, And their manes flowed on the blasts of the wind. And the chariots sometimes rolled along the many-feeding earth, And again leaped on high; and the drivers stood in their chariots, And the heart of every man beat high with hope of victory. And each urged on his horses, and they flew over the plain in a cloud of dust. -Iliad xxiii. 362-72 But when they have turned the posts and are on the home stretch, Eumelus gains the lead; and Diomed follows so closely that the breath of his horses is hot on the back and shoulders of Eumelus as they lower their heads and fly onward. At this point Apollo, angered at Diomed, snatches the whip from his hands; and his horses slacken their speed, while tears of rage start from the hero's eyes. Athena sees it and gives back the whip to Diomed. Then she goes to Eumelus and breaks the yoke of his horses and causes them to start asunder, so that the pole of his chariot slips to the ground and he falls out and is badly bruised, and Diomed passes him in the race. Menelaus follows hard after Diomed; and Antilochus urges his horses to overtake Menelaus, threatening them with death at the hands of Nestor if they should fail him now. Antilochus sees ahead of them a narrow gulley in the coursereally the dried-up bed of a winter torrent, now used as a roadway. Here Antilochus crowds upon Menelaus and forces him to slow up to avoid a collision, while Antilochus darts THE ILIAD, BOOK XXIII 305 ahead as far as the cast of a discus, to the great indignation of Menelaus. The poet at this juncture (vs. 448) skilfully shifts our point of view to that of the excited spectators. Idomeneus first espies in the lead a bay horse with a white spot "round like the moon" on his forehead. He cries out that different horses are now ahead and that the former leader has probably met with some mishap upon the plain. IDOMENEUS TO THE SPECTATORS But rise you yourselves, too, and see; for I cannot clearly make him out, But I think that he is an Aetolian, a ruler among the Argives, The son of horse-taming Tydeus, mighty Diomed. -Iliad xxiii. 469-72 At this Ajax becomes very angry and taunts Idomeneus with no longer being "so very young." We know from xiii. 361 (where he is called mesaipolios) that Idomeneus was already growing gray. Ajax suggests that his eyesight is not of the keenest and declares that the same horses as formerly, namely those of Eumelus, are in the lead. Idomeneus offers to bet a tripod or a cauldron, with Agamemnon as judge. Ajax is about to make an angry rejoinder when Achilles interposes to make peace between them. At the finish Idomeneus is proved to have been right; for Diomed came in first, And stood in the midst of the assembly, and much sweat Streamed from the necks of the horses and from their breasts to the ground. -Iliad xxiii. 507-8 Sthenelus, the charioteer of Diomed, receives the prizes and cares for the horses. Antilochus comes in second, having beaten Menelaus more by trickery than by superior speed. Menelaus is third, Meriones fourth, and Eumelus last of all, dragging his broken chariot after him and driving his horses 306 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD before. Achilles takes pity upon him and proposes to give him the second prize; but Antilochus objects, saying that Eumelus should have prayed to the gods and in that case would not have come in last. He suggests that Achilles provide from his abundant store an additional prize. He refuses to surrender second place. Achilles readily assents and confers upon Eumelus a brazen breastplate. But here Menelaus rises to dispute with Antilochus the second prize, alleging that the latter had passed him by a trick and requiring Antilochus to stand before his horses and chariot and take his whip in hand, and, touching the horses, to swear that he had not voluntarily delayed his competitor. To this Antilochus makes a reply that is creditable to himself. THE APOLOGY OF ANTILOCHUS Hold now! for I am far younger than thou, King Menelaus, And thou art older and of higher rank. Thou knowest what the faults of a young man are like, For his thoughts are hasty, and his wisdom slight; Therefore let thy heart forbear; and I myself Will surrender to thee the mare I won; or even if thou Shalt demand another better one from my stable I would rather give it thee, Zeus-nourished, than all the days Be estranged from thy heart, and be a sinner in the eyes of the gods. -Iliad xxiii. 587-95 So saying, Antilochus surrenders the horse to Menelaus, of whom the poet says: And his heart was gladdened as the dew about the ears of corn Gladdens them, as the wheat is growing, and the fields bristle with it. -Iliad xxiii. 597-98 Menelaus thereupon restores the horse to Antilochus again, praising his wisdom in former times and that of his father, Nestor. This scene of antique, princely courtesy is THE ILIAD, BOOK XXIII 307 justly regarded by Leaf as one of the most lifelike and delightful in the Iliad. Meriones receives fourth prize. The fifth prize Achilles gives to Nestor without a contest. A PRIZE FOR NESTOR There now, let this be a treasure for thee too, old man, And let it be a reminder of the funeral of Patroclus; For thou shalt never again see him among the Argives; But I give thee this prize without a contest; For thou wilt not box or wrestle or throw the javelin or run, Since already grievous old age presses upon thee. -Iliad xxiii. 618-23 Nestor thanks Achilles in a long speech of reminiscence, the burden of which is: hos pot' eon ("thus was I once"). The remaining contests may be treated much more briefly, as, indeed, they are more briefly described by the poet himself. First comes a boxing contest between Euryalus and Epeius. It is a bloody affair, the contestants' arms being wound with the cestus or strap, to make the blows harder. At last Euryalus is "knocked out," and his friends lead him off, dragging his feet and spitting forth thick blood. Virgil in his imitation of this scene adds the gory detail: mixtosque in sanguine dentes (Aeneid v. 470). This is followed by a wrestling match between Ajax and Odysseus, in which the two are so evenly matched that Achilles after a time intervenes and declares it a "draw" and decides that both shall receive equal prizes. As first prize in the foot race, which comes next in order, Achilles offers a silver mixing-bowl (krater), And it excelled in beauty all on earth, by far, Since skilled Sidonian artists had wrought it with care, And Phoenician sailors had brought it over the misty deep, 308 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD And landed in the harbor, and given it as a present to King Thoas; And Jason's son, Evenus, had given it to the hero Patroclus As the price of Lycaon, the son of Priam. -Iliad xxiii. 742-47 This is the only mention of the Phoenicians in the Iliad, though they are common enough in the Odyssey. Mantles, richly embroidered, the work of Sidonian women, are mentioned in Iliad vi. 289-go. A similar krater of silver, with rim inlaid with gold, is mentioned among the presents given by Menelaus to Telemachus in Odyssey iv. 6I5 if. The Sidonians are regularly represented as artists and the Phoenicians as traders. The lesser Ajax (the son of Oileus), Odysseus, and Antilochus enter the foot race. Ajax takes the lead; Odysseus presses hard upon him; then Odysseus prays to Athena, and she causes Ajax to slip in the blood and gore of the sacrifices, and Odysseus comes in first. Ajax accepts second prize, saying, Alas! surely it was a goddess that caused my feet to slip, She who, as of old, stands by Odysseus like a mother and helps him. — Iliad xxiii. 782-83 Next we are treated to a mock duel between Telamonian Ajax (the great Ajax), and Diomed. Ajax thrusts his spear through his opponent's shield, and Diomed aims a blow at the other's neck; but the Greeks cry out in alarm for the safety of the heroes and demand that the contest cease and the prize be divided. The next contest consists in throwing a heavy mass of iron just as it comes from the forge, its value seeming to be as a stock of iron from which farm implements can be made. The prize is won by the mighty Polypoites, who has already been mentioned in xii. I29, as one of the heroes who stood like oak trees to defend the gates in the wall in front of the ships. THE ILIAD, BOOK XXIV 3o9 The contest in archery, which follows, consists in shooting at a dove tied by her foot, with a cord, to the mast of a ship. Teucer, the famous archer, and Meriones enter. Teucer shoots first but fails to make a vow to the gods. He misses the dove but severs the cord that tied her to the mast. She flies aloft; and Meriones, holding his arrow aimed till he can vow a hecatomb to Apollo, brings her down and thus wins the first prize of ten double axes. Virgil, Aeneid v. 509, closely imitating this passage, elaborates it somewhat by having the first bowman strike the mast, the second cut the hempen cord, and the third bring down the bird. Virgil adds a portent: an arrow shot into the clouds by the aged Acestes "caught fire, marked its path with flames, then vanished away into thin air" (translated by H. R. Fairclough). The last contest is that of throwing the javelin. Agamemnon and Meriones enter; but Achilles, without waiting for the actual contest, awards first prize to Agamemnon. BOOK XXIV The Greek title of this book is Hektoros Lutra ("The Ransoming of Hector"), and the great scene of Priam before Achilles at dead of night in the Greek camp is indeed the heart of the book. The council of the gods and the journey of Priam lead up to this, and the account of Hector's funeral forms a natural sequel to it. Croiset notes that the description of the journey of Priam to the Greek camp has something Odyssean about it. Hermes, so well known as the messenger of the gods in the Odyssey, is prominent in this book, though we should remember that Iris, the usual messenger of the gods in the Iliad, is also present in Book xxiv. Although narration is the essence of the epic, the poet of Book xxiv, like that of Book ix, is especially strong in his 3Io A STUDY OF THE ILIAD speeches. Here, as there, we must recognize Homer as the Father of Tragedy. The scene of Priam before Achilles in this book, the Cassandra scene of the Agamemnon of Aeschylus, and the scene of the death of Socrates in Plato's Phaedo are perhaps the three greatest scenes in Greek literature. The opening of Book xxiv takes us back to the end of xxiii. The assembly at the funeral games of Patroclus breaks up; the people return to the ships, prepare supper, and go to sleep. But Achilles cannot rest. THE RESTLESS ACHILLES But Achilles Continued to mourn, mindful of his dear friend, nor did sleep, The subduer of all, overcome him, but he turned this way and that, Longing for the manhood and high spirit of Patroclus, Sadly recalling all that they had gone through together And the hardships he had endured with him both in fighting with men And in cleaving the perilous waves of the sea. Minded of these things, he was shedding great tears, Lying now on his side, and now on his back, And yet again face downward; again he would spring up And wander madly along the shore. Yet it did not escape him That dawn was appearing over sea and strand. -Iliad xxiv. 3-13 This is curiously like a passage in the Confessions of Augustine, Book vi, chap. xvi: "O crooked paths! Woe to the audacious soul which hoped by forsaking Thee to gain some better thing! Turned it hath and turned again upon back, sides, and belly, yet all was hard. For Thou alone art rest." Homer goes on to tell how every morning Achilles would bind the body of Hector behind his chariot and drag it three times about the tomb of Patroclus, and leave it in his hut, outstretched face downward in the dust, till at last the gods took pity and urged the "clear-sighted Argeiphontes" (that THE ILIAD, BOOK XXIV 3I I is, Hermes) to steal it away. But Poseidon (perhaps because of the wrong done him by Laomedon) and the two goddesses Hera and Athena, offended by the slight put upon their beauty at the Judgment of Paris, oppose this. At length, on the twelfth morning after the death of Hector, Apollo upbraids the gods for forgetting all the sacrifices offered by Hector and for allowing the pitiless Achilles to maltreat even the senseless clay. Hera replies that Hector is but mortal, while Achilles is a god, and reminds Apollo that he among the others attended the wedding of Peleus and Thetis and held the phorminx ("lyre"). At this point Zeus interposes, and, calling to mind the sacrifices offered by Hector, sends Iris to Thetis. He hopes that Thetis may persuade Achilles to accept ransom for the body. Describing the journey of Iris, Homer says, So spake he; and whirlwind-footed Iris rose to bear the message. And betwixt Samos and rugged Imbros She leaped into the black sea, and the watery expanse roared above her, And she leaped into the depths like a leaden plummet. -Iliad xxiv. 77-80 Iris finds Thetis in a hollow cave of the sea with the other sea goddesses round about her, weeping for the approaching doom of Achilles. Thetis wraps her dark veil about her and hastens to Zeus, though she says that she fears to mingle among the immortals. Zeus receives her kindly and bids her go to Achilles and tell him that the gods are angry with him for his treatment of Hector. She is also to counsel him to accept ransom from Priam for the body of Hector. Thetis finds Achilles in his hut; and, reminding him that he has not long to live, but that "death and violent fate already stand near him" (vs. I32), she delivers the message from Zeus; and Achilles promises to obey. 312 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Zeus now sends Iris to Troy that she may arouse Priam to go to the Greek camp and ransom Hector's body. She assures Priam that Hermes will act as his guide and that Achilles will spare a suppliant like himself. Iris finds Priam and his kindred sitting in the courtyard mourning for Hector; and, "speaking small" (vs. I70), she reports to the trembling old man the word of Zeus. Priam commands that a mule cart be made ready; and, descending into a vaulted chamber fragrant with cedar and containing many treasures, he calls to Hecuba and tells her his purpose. She cries out at this and asks him where his senses are gone. THE PROTEST OF HECUBA Why dost thou wish to go alone to the ships of the Achaeans, Before the eyes of a man who hath slain sons of thine Both many and brave? Surely thy heart is of iron. For if he shall catch thee and see thee before his eyes, Pitiless and faithless is he, nor will he have mercy on thee, Or show thee respect. But now let us wail far from him, Sitting in the hall; and for Hector doubtless violent fate Wove thus with her thread what time I bore him, That he should sate the swift-footed dogs, afar from his parents, Beside a mighty man, whose heart would that I to the midst Might cleave to and devour! So should there be deeds of requital For the fate of my son, who was slain, not acting the coward, But standing in defense of the Trojans and the deep-bosomed Trojan women, Minded neither of flight nor of retreat. -lliad xxiv. 203-I6 Compare xxii. 346 (already translated) and Much Ado about Nothing, Act IV, sc. I (the indignant words of Beatrice) "O God, that I were a man! I would eat his heart in the market-place." Leaf says: "Those who find in such ex THE ILIAD, BOOK XXIV 3I3 pressions a proof that Homeric Greece retained traces of cannibalism will of course be prepared to extend the same conclusion to Elizabethan England." Priam tells Hecuba not to try to restrain him, nor to be a bird of ill omen to him in the halls, declaring that he has heard the messenger goddess with his own ears and seen her face to face; "nor shall her command be in vain" (vs. 224), "And if it be my fate To meet my death beside the ships of the brazen-clad Achaeans, I reck not; rather let Achilles slay me forthwith, When I have once clasped my son in my arms and satisfied my desire for wailing!" -Iliad xxiv. 224-27 Thereupon Priam gets together the ransom, consisting of fine raiment and gold, tripods, kettles, and cups. He then drives the Trojans from his palace with words of abuse, telling them that now that Hector is dead they will be the easier victims of the Achaeans, but praying that he himself may enter the house of Hades before his eyes see the city sacked and laid waste. His own sons also he upbraids. PRIAM REBUKES His SONS Haste ye, evil children, bringers of disgrace! Would that Ye all had been slain rather than Hector at the swift ships! Ah me, all unhappy! since I have begotten the noblest sons In broad Troy, and of these, I tell thee, not one is left, Neither godlike Mestor nor the charioted warrior Troilos, Nor Hector, who was like unto a god among men, nor did he seem To be the son of a mortal man, but of a god. These Ares destroyed, but all the base are left, Cheaters and dancers, excellent beaters of time! Purloiners of lambs and kids from your own folk! — Iliad xxiv. 253-62 3I4 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Dante in the Vita Nuova expressly refers to these lines in praise of Hector where he says of Beatrice, "Certainly of her might have been said those words of the poet Homer, 'She seemed not to be the daughter of a mortal man, but of God'" (translated by Dante Gabriel Rossetti). Thus addressed, the sons of Priam prepare the mule cart, "heap it with the boundless ransom of the head of Hector" (vs. 276), and yoke the mules. As Priam is about to start, Hecuba brings him wine in a golden cup and bids him pour a libation to Zeus and ask for a favorable omen, and, failing this, not to go. In answer to his prayer Zeus sends Priam a wide-winged eagle on the right, and he sets forth encouraged; but all his friends follow "lamenting bitterly, as if he were going to his death" (vs. 328). Zeus, seeing Priam and the herald Idaeus on their way, takes pity upon them and sends Hermes to be their guide and protector. The description of the preparations and appearance of Hermes is noteworthy. THE GUIDE HERMES So spake he (Zeus); nor did the Guide, the Argus-slayer, disobey; Quickly then beneath his feet he bound his fair sandals, Ambrosial, golden, which bear him over both the moisty deep And over the boundless earth, swift as the blasts of the wind; And he seized his wand, with which he lays a charm upon the eyes of men Whom he will, and others too he wakes out of sleep; With this in his hands the mighty Argeiphontes sped on his way. And quickly then he came to Troy and the Hellespont, And went his way in the likeness of a king's son, At the age when the down first appears upon his cheeks, when youth is most pleasing. -Iliad xxiv. 339-48 This passage, or part of it, recurs several times in the Odyssey (v. 43-49; i. 97-98; xxiv. 3-4). The employment of Hermes, rather than Iris, as messenger is also characteristic of THE ILIAD, BOOK XXIV 315 the Odyssey. Van Leeuwen suggests that the real reason for his employment here lies in his cunning (it had been suggested that he should steal away the body) and in his power of lulling to sleep (in this case the sentinels) with his magic wand. The personal appearance of Hermes is such as we see represented in the famous "Hermes" of Praxiteles or in the "Orpheus and Eurydice" relief. Compare the close imitation in Aeneid iv. 238-44. The herald Idaeus first espies the god and warns Priam of someone approaching. The effect upon Priam was that "he was terribly afraid, and the hair stood on end upon his curved limbs, and he stood amazed" (vss. 358-59). This is, again, closely imitated in Aeneid iii. 48: "obstipui, steteruntque comae." But Hermes (still unknown to Priam) speaks kindly to the old man, representing himself to be in the service of Achilles; he assures the father that his son's body is still safe in the hut of Achilles and is miraculously preserved from corruption. Then, at the request of Priam, Hermes takes charge of the expedition, guides the two old men to the Greek camp, pours sleep upon the eyes of the sentinels, opens the massive door of the hut of Achilles, and only then reveals his identity. HERMES TO PRIAM Old man, I am an immortal god, Hermes, who has come to thee; But now I depart again, nor will I come into the sight of Achilles; For it would be a cause for blame that mortals Should welcome thus an immortal god face to face. -Iliad xxiv. 46o-64 This brings us to the second and more important half of Book xxiv, which includes the petition of Priam and the funeral of Hector. Hermes departs to Olympus; Idaeus is left with the wagon and mules. Priam enters the hut where Achilles is sitting. 316 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD PRIAM BEFORE ACHILLES And he had just ceased from his meal, From eating and drinking; and the table still stood beside him. And great Priam entered without their knowing it, and, standing near him, He grasped the knees of Achilles and kissed his handsThose dreadful, man-slaughtering hands which had slain so many of his sons. And as when a dire curse falls upon one who in his native land Has slain a man, and who comes to the land of others, To the house of a wealthy man, and amazement seizes the beholders; So Achilles was amazed at the sight of godlike Priam; And the rest too were amazed and looked at one another. -Iliad xxiv. 475-84 On the Homeric concept of the suppliant (hiketes, literally, "one who comes"), compare Iliad ix. 46i (story of Phoenix, who goes into voluntary exile after a quarrel with his father), and Iliad xxiii. 87 (story of Patroclus, who goes into voluntary exile after killing a companion in a quarrel over the knucklebones). Priam now makes his first appeal to Achilles. PRIAM'S SUPPLICATION TO ACHILLES Remember thy father, Achilles like unto the gods, Of such age as I, on the ruinous threshold of old age. And doubtless the dwellers round about take advantage of him, Nor is there anyone to ward off bale and bane; Yet he, hearing that thou art alive, Rejoices at heart, and hopes all the days That he will see his dear son returning from Troy; But I am all unhappy, since I have begotten sons, the noblest In broad Troy, of whom, I tell thee, not one is left. Fifty I had when the sons of the Achaeans came; Nineteen were from one womb, And the others concubines bore unto me in the halls. Of many of my sons furious Ares loosed the knees; But he who was my only one, he who saved city and citizens, THE ILIAD, BOOK XXIV 317 Him thou didst lately slay, as he made defense for the city, Hector, my son. Now for his sake I come to the ships of the Achaeans To ransom him from thee, and bring countless ransom. But revere the gods, O Achilles, and pity me myself, Remembering thine own father; but I am far more wretched, For I have endured to do such a thing as no man on earth hath done before, To stretch out a suppliant hand to the lips of the slayer of his son. -Iliad xxiv. 486-506 The scene of Priam before Achilles was famous in ancient literature and art. Matthew Arnold says that the last two lines are "one of the most essentially grand and characteristic things in Homer." THE PITY OF ACHILLES FOR PRIAM So spake he; and roused in Achilles desire of lamentation for his father; And taking him by the hand he pushed the old man gently aside. And they two full of memories-Priam for man-slaying Hector, Crouching before the feet of Achilles-wept bitterly; And Achilles bewailed now his father and now Patroclus, And the sound of their wailing rose throughout the hut. But when the divine Achilles had satisfied himself with wailing, And the desire of it had left his mind and limbs, Straightway he arose from his seat, and raised up the old man by the hand, Pitying his hoary head and hoary beard, And, lifting up his voice, addressed him winged words: "Ah, wretched man! surely thou hast endured many evils in thy heart. How didst thou dare to come all alone to the ships of the Achaeans Into the sight of a man who had slain thy sons, Many and brave? Surely thy heart is of iron. But come now, take thy seat upon a chair, and let us suffer Our woes to rest within our hearts, though grieved; For there is no profit in chill lamentation. For thus have the gods woven the fates for wretched mortals, That they should live in sorrow, while the gods themselves are free f rom care." — Iliad xxiv. 507-26 318 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Without a passage like this we should have missed the finer side of the character of Achilles. It is good to know that he could rise above the limitations of his own personal grief to sympathize with an enemy; while, in the allegory of the two jars, which follows, he seeks to reach in a kind of primitive philosophy the realm of the universal. ACHILLES GRANTS THE REQUEST OF PRIAM "For two jars (pithoi) stand on the floor of the palace of Zeus, Filled with gifts such as he bestows, the one with evils, the other with blessings; Now he to whom Zeus, the Hurler of Lightning, gives them mingled, Sometimes lights upon evil, sometimes upon good; But him to whom Zeus giveth of the evil only, he maketh an object of scorn, And an evil gadfly drives him over the divine earth, And he flits this way and that, honored neither of gods or men. So unto Peleus also they gave glorious gifts From the day of his birth; for he surpassed all men In prosperity and wealth, and ruled over the Myrmidons; And though he was a mortal, they made a goddess his wife. But upon him too the god imposed evil, In that he had no progeny of princely sons in his halls; But one son did he beget, doomed to an untimely end, Nor do I cherish his old age, since very far from my native land, I sit in Troy, troubling thee and thy children. And we hear that thou, old man, wert blest of yore; All that Lesbos, the seat of Makar, bounds out at sea, And the highlands of Phrygia, and the vast HellespontAll these, old man, they say that thou didst excel in wealth. But since the celestials have brought this curse upon thee, Always there is battle and slaughter round about the city. Bear up! and do not grieve unceasingly in thy heart; For thou wilt not accomplish anything by grieving for thy son; Nor wilt thou raise him up again; ere that, shalt thou suffer fresh evil." Then the aged, godlike Priam answered him: "Do not yet offer me a seat, Zeus-nourished, while Hector THE ILIAD, BOOK XXIV 319 Lies in thy hut uncared for; but with all haste release him That I may behold him before my eyes, and do thou receive The abundant ransom which we bring. And mayest thou have joy of this, And come to thy native land, since from the first thou didst permit me, myself, To live and behold the light of the sun." And with grim glance the swift-footed Achilles answered him: "Old man, provoke me now no longer; for I purpose of myself To release Hector unto thee; for the mother who bore me, The daughter of the old man of the sea, Came as a messenger unto me from Zeus; And I know, Priam, in my heart, nor does it elude me, That one of the gods hath brought thee to the swift ships of the Achaeans. For no mortal would have dared to come to the camp, Not even if he were full of youthful vigor, nor could he have escaped The sentinels, nor easily have lifted the bolt of our doors; Therefore do not now stir up further the angry spirit within me, Lest, old man, I spare not even thee thyself within my hutSuppliant as thou art-and sin against the laws of Zeus." — Iliad xxiv. 527-70 With this allegory of the two jars compare the allegory of the prayers (Litai) in ix. 502, and the allegory of infatuation (Ate) in xix. 9I. In Homer, allegory seems to be a primitive mode of philosophizing. The last two lines above give us a vivid idea of the tenseness of the scene; Achilles can hardly trust his self-control even now, and Priam's peril is well expressed by the words of Horace (Odes ii. i): incedis per ignis suppositos cineri doloso ("you advance over fires hidden beneath treacherous ashes"). With these words of warning, Achilles springs forth from the hut "like a lion," and brings back the ransom of Hector, leaving behind two mantles and a tunic with which to wrap the body. Then he has the servants wash and anoint the corse, 320 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD but out of sight of Priam. This he does that the aged king may not fail to restrain his indignation, and so rouse Achilles to kill him "and sin against the laws of Zeus" (586). When all is done, Achilles loads the body on the wagon and calls again upon the spirit of Patroclus. ACHILLES' LAST WORDS TO PATROCLUS Patroclus, be not wroth with me, if thou learnest, Though thou art in the house of Hades, that I Have released the divine Hector unto his dear father, Since I have received no unworthy ransom. And to thee will I give thy share too, as is fitting. -Iliad xxiv. 592-95 Then Achilles returns to his hut and addresses Priam. THE LEGEND OF NIOBE Thy son is released unto thee, as thou didst beg, And he lies upon his bier; and at the shining of dawn Thou shalt see him, and thyself carry him away; But now let us bethink ourselves of supper; For even the fair-tressed Niobe bethought herself of food, She whose twelve children perished in her halls, Six daughters and six sons in the prime of youth. These Apollo slew with his silver bow, Angered at Niobe; those, Artemis, the pourer-forth of arrows, Because Niobe presumed to liken herself to fair-cheeked Leto; She said that Leto bore two, while she bore many; Yet they, though they were but two, slew them all. Now they lay for nine days in their gore, nor was there any To bury them; for the son of Kronos had turned the people to stone; But on the tenth day the celestial gods buried them. So then she bethought herself of food, when she was weary with weeping. And now somewhere among the rocks on the lonely mountains, On Mount Sipylus, where they say the beds of the nymphs are, Who dance about the Achelois —there, though but a stone, She broods over the woes sent by the gods. THE ILIAD, BOOK XXIV 321 But come now, let us too take thought for food, old man divine, Then shalt thou wail thy son again, When thou hast brought him to Troy, and he will cause thee many tears. -Iliad xxiv. 599-620 The legend of Niobe has every appearance of being an interpolation. But it is a favorite theme in art and literature. In a beautiful choral ode of the Antigone, Sophocles tells how "like clinging ivy the growth of stone subdued her; and the rains fail not, as men tell, from her wasting form, nor fails the snow, while beneath her weeping lids the tears bedew her bosom" (Antig. 824, translated by Jebb). The Niobe group in Florence is well known. Travelers state that a colossal stone image of a woman seated on a throne with her hands upon her breast may still be seen on Mount Sipylus east of Magnesia. Professor Sterrett says that he "has seen water oozing from two spots where the eyes should be." This image is probably older than Greek times. It perhaps was originally intended to represent Cybele, the Great Mother, so much worshiped throughout Asia Minor; it may even be the work of the Hittites, whose empire once included this central part of the coast land (D. G. Hogarth). Achilles and Priam now have supper, after which they admire each other's size and physical beauty. It is interesting to note that not only the beauty of youth (in Achilles) is admired, but also the beauty of the aged Priam; in later times the Athenians caused a group of handsome old men, the Thallo-phoroi, to march in the same (Panathenaic) procession with youths. Priam asks for a place to sleep, and Achilles has a couch prepared for him in a portico (aithousa) of his hut, saying that it is safer for him to sleep outside ( ektos [vs. 650]) so that no visitor to Achilles may see him and bring word to Agamemnon. Priam requests a truce of twelve days for the burial 322 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD of Hector, which Achilles grants; and all retire for the night. But Hermes comes again to Priam and warns him to make his escape from the enemy camp at once and by night. The return journey is made in safety, and Hermes disappears again just as they come to the ford of the Xanthus and as "crocus-robed dawn is spread over all the earth" (695). The first to spy them as they return with the body of Hector is the prophetess Cassandra, who with a loud cry rouses all the Trojans. They throng about the wagon, while Hector's wife and mother in turn place their hands upon his head, and then pluck out their own hair in token of grief. At the command of Priam the body is placed upon a couch within the palace. THE LAMENT OF ANDROMACHE And beside it they set singers, Leaders of the dirge, who poured forth their mournful song While the women wailed in response; and for them White-armed Andromache began the lamentation, Holding the head of man-slaying Hector between her hands. "Husband, young hast thou perished out of life, and thou leavest me A widow in thy halls, and thy son is yet a mere infant, To whom we gave life, thou and I, unhappy! nor do I think That he will come to manhood; for, ere that, this city shall be Utterly sacked; for thou hast perished, my protector, Who didst rescue me myself, and uphold our excellent wives and infant children; Who now will soon be carried away in the hollow ships, And I with them; but thou, child, shalt either Follow me where thou shalt perform many tasks unworthy thy station, Toiling before the face of a pitiless master; or one of the Achaeans Shall seize thee by the hand and hurl thee from the tower, a grievous fate An angry man, whose brother, perhaps, Hector slew, Or his father or son, since very many of the Achaeans Bit the firm dust at the hands of Hector. For thy father was not gentle in the dread combat; THE ILIAD, BOOK XXIV 323 Hence it is that the people mourn him throughout the city. And thou hast left unspeakable lamentation unto thy parents, Hector; but to me most of all shall be left grievous woes; For thou didst not in dying stretch out thy hands from the couch unto me, Nor didst thou give me any charge, which I might always Have remembered night and day as I shed tears." -Iliad xxiv. 720-45 The "singers" (aoidoi) mentioned at the beginning of this passage were doubtless the professional mourners still commonly employed in oriental countries. The death of Astyanax, Hector's son, is not related in the Iliad, but is thus described in a fragment of the Little Iliad belonging to the Epic Cycle (Frag. xix [edited by Allen] ): But the illustrious son of great-hearted Achilles Led the wife of Hector down to the hollow ships. And, snatching the child from the bosom of his fair-tressed nurse, He caught him by the foot and hurled him from the tower, And dark death and violent fate received him after his fall. After the death of Achilles, Odysseus had brought Neoptolemus to Troy and given him the armor of his father Achilles. Hecuba next takes up the lament for Hector. THE LAMENT OF HECUBA "Hector, by far the dearest of all my sons to my heart, In truth, while thou wert alive, thou wert dear to the gods; And they cared for thee even in the fate of death. For my other sons the swift-footed Achilles Would sell, when he took them, beyond the unharvested deep To Samos and to Imbros and to misty Lemnos; But when he reft away thy life with the pointed bronze, Many times he dragged thee about the tomb of his companion Patroclus, whom thou didst slay; yet not so did he raise him up again; But now fresh and uncorrupt thou liest in the halls 324 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Like unto him whom silver-bowed Apollo Cometh upon and slayeth with his gentle darts." So spake she weeping, and roused unceasing lamentation. -Iliad xxiv. 748-60 THE LAMENT OF HELEN Then Helen, third in order, led them in lamentation: "Hector, dearest of all my husband's brothers to my heart, For indeed my husband is the godlike Alexander, Who brought me to Troy-would I had perished ere that! For this is now the twentieth year for me Since I went hence and left my native land; But never yet have I heard from thee evil word or vile; But if any other in the halls upbraided me, Either of my husband's brothers or sisters or brothers' wives, Or my mother-in-law-but my father-in-law was always kind as a fatherYet thou, dissuading that one with words, wouldst restrain anger With thy gentleness and thy gentle words. Therefore I bewail thee and myself, luckless one! at the same time, For no one any longer in broad Troy will be Kind or loving toward me, but they shudder at me, all." — Iliad xxiv. 761-75 Observe how the mother, Hecuba, turns even the spiteful treatment accorded Hector into a sort of distinction for him. Of the succeeding passage J. W. Mackail (Lectures on Greek Poetry, p. 35), says: "Helen's words over the body of Hector are the high water mark of the Iliad; and it is not of Hector that they leave us thinking, but of her." Thomas Hughes, in Tom Brown at Rugby (Part II, chap. v.) makes little Arthur break down at the two lines (vss. 77I-72) about the gentleness of Hector, affected by "the most touching thing in Homer." The Iliad closes with a brief description of the funeral rites of Hector. We are told of the gathering of wood for the funeral pyre, of the burning of the body, of the quenching of THE ILIAD, BOOK XXIV 325 the flames with wine the next day, of the gathering up of the bones, of their deposition in a golden urn wrapped with dark robes, of the burial, of the heaping up of the funeral mound, and of the posting of sentinels. And then they gathered together, and duly shared a noble feast In the palace of Priam, the Zeus-nourished king. So they were busied about the funeral of Hector, the tamer of horses. -Iliad xxiv. 802-end And so we come to the end of our word-pictures from the Iliad. The pleasant task of selection and translation is finished. But the music of the poetry of Homer, "the Ionian father of the rest," lingers in our memory like the voices of those many birds which the father of English poetry, Chaucer, heard in his dream; and our minds are illumined with bright pictures like those which he beheld in the stained glass windows of his dream-chamber. And sooth to seyn, my chambre was Ful wel depeynted, and with glas Were al the windows wel y-glased, That to beholde hit was gret Ioye. For hoolly al the storie of Troye Was in the glasing y-wrought thus, Of Ector and king Priamus, Of Achilles and Laomedon, Of Medea and of Iason, Of Paris, Eleyne and Lavyne. -CHAUCER, The Book of the Duchesse. ANALYSIS OF THE ILIAD For purposes of literary study the Books may be divided as follows: BOOK I I. Proem: Stating the theme of the epic, I-7 II. The suit of Chryses for the release of his daughter, and its harsh rejection by Agamemnon, 8-32 III. The prayer of Chryses to Apollo and the sending of the pestilence, 33-52 IV. The summoning of an assembly by Achilles, 53-67 V. Revelation of the cause of the pestilence by Calchas, 68-Ioo VI. Denunciation of Calchas by Agamemnon, 10I-I5 VII. Agamemnon's unreasonable demand, I 6-20 VIII. First phase of the quarrel, 121-87 IX. Intervention of Athena, 188-222 X. Second phase of the quarrel, 223-47 XI. Nestor's unsuccessful attempt at reconciliation, 247-84 XII. Third and final phase of the quarrel, 285-303 XIII. Preparations for the restoration of Chryseis, 304-I7 XIV. The fetching of Briseis from the tent of Achilles, 318-48 XV. Scene between Achilles and Thetis, 348-430 XVI. Restoration of Chryseis, 430-87 XVII. The wrath of Achilles, 488-92 XVIII. Supplication of Thetis and promise of Zeus, 493-530 XIX. Quarrel between Zeus and Hera, 53I-67 XX. Intervention of Hephaestus, 568-94 XXI. Feasting and song upon Olympus, 595-611 (end) BOOK II Part I. The dream, and the assembly, 1-483 I. The false dream sent to Agamemnon, 1-40 II. The arming of Agamemnon, 41-47 III. The first council (Boule), 48-86a 326 ANALYSIS OF THE ILIAD 327 a) Proem, 48-52. b) Address of Agamemnon, 53-75 c) Address of Nestor, 76-86a IV. The first assembly (Agora) of the Greeks, 86b-141 a) Boisterous assembling of the Greeks, 86b-iooa b) Address of Agamemnon, Idob-I4I V. Rush of the Greeks to embark for home, 142-54 VI. Intervention of Athena incited by Hera, i55-8i a) Hera to Athena, 155-65 b) Athena to Odysseus, I66-8i VII. Odysseus recalls both princes and commons to the assembly, I82-2I0 VIII. The Thersites episode, 2II-77 a) Description of Thersites, 211-24 b) Thersites rails at Agamemnon, 225-42 c) Thersites rebuked and chastised by Odysseus, 243-68 d) Amusement of the people, 270-77 IX. The second assembly (Agora), 278-393 a) Speech of Odysseus about portent at Aulis, 278-332 b) Speech of Nestor about tactics, 333-68 c) Speech of Agamemnon about coming battle, 369-93 X. Applause of Greeks; supper and sacrifice, 394-40I XI. Second council (Boule); prayer and sacrifice; Nestor advises against delay, 402-40 XII. Muster of the Greeks, 44I-83 a) Summons by the herald, 441-44 b) Apparition of Athena, 445-54 c) Series of similes describing muster of the army, 455-83 Part II. Catalogue of the ships, 484-877 (end) I. Catalogue of the Greeks a) Proem: Invocation to the Muses, 484-93 b) Catalogue of the Greek forces, 494-785 II. Catalogue of the Trojans, 786-877 (end) BOOK III I. Proem: Advance of both armies, I-I4 II. Encounter between Paris and Menelaus, 15-37 III. Paris, rebuked by Hector, proposes a duel, 38-75 328 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD IV. Preparations for the duel, 76-I20 V. The Teicho-skopia ("Visit of Helen to the Battlements") 121 -244. a) Iris summons Helen, I2I-38 b) Helen goes to the Scaean gates, 139-60 c) Helen points out the Greek leaders to Priam, 161-244 VI. Preparations for the duel-continued, 245-325 a) Priam summoned to the field, 245-63 b) Prayer and sacrifice, 264-313 c) Casting of lots, 3 4-25 VII. The duel scene, 326-72 VIII. Paris rescued by Aphrodite, 373-82 IX. Helen summoned by Aphrodite, 383-420 X. Helen with Paris, 421-47 XI. Menelaus searches the field for Paris, while Agamemnon claims the victory for the Greeks, 448-61 (end) BOOK IV I. The treacherous wounding of Menelaus by Pandarus, I-2I9 a) Council of the gods upon Olympus, 1-72 b) Athena stirs up the Trojan Pandarus to shoot an arrow at Menelaus, 73-103 c) Pandarus aims an arrow at Menelaus and wounds him in the flank, I04-47 d) Agamemnon tries to comfort Menelaus and sends for the physician Machaon, who spreads healing herbs upon the wound, I48-2I9 II. Review of the Greek troops by Agamemnon, 220-421 a) Agamemnon commends those of his troops who are actively preparing for battle and rebukes those who are hesitating, 220-49 b) Agamemnon praises Idomeneus and the Cretans, 250-7I c) Agamemnon commends the two Ajaxes and the Argive troops, 272-91 d) Agamemnon praises the aged tactician Nestor and his Pylian troops, 292-325 e) Agamemnon finds that Menestheus and Odysseus are not yet making preparations and upbraids them, but is satisfied when ANALYSIS OF THE ILIAD 329 he discovers that he has roused the spirit of Odysseus, 326 -63 f) Agamemnon upbraids Diomed and his charioteer Sthenelus, declaring that they are not so good as their fathers. Sthenelus replies, but is sharply rebuked by Diomed, 364-421 III. Beginning of a general battle, 422-544 (end) BOOK V Part I. "Diomedes makes havoc of the Trojans, and, though wounded by Pandarus, returns to the fight and drives Aphrodite bleeding from the field" (Leaf), I-453 I. Diomed is endowed with strength and courage by Athena, I-8 II. Fortunes of various heroes in the battle, 9-83 a) Phegeus slain by Diomed, while his brother Idaeus is rescued by Hephaestus, 9-26 b) Athena leads Ares off the field, 27-36 c) Agamemnon slays Hodius, 37-42 d) Idomeneus slays Phaestus, 43-48 e) Menelaus slays Scamandrius, who had been trained by Artemis, 49-58 f) Meriones slays Phereclus, 59-68 g) Meges slays Pedaeus, 69-75 h) Eurypylus slays Hypsenor, 76-83 III. The exploits of Diomed, 84-453 a) Diomed wounded by Pandarus, 84-132 b) Diomed slays various Trojan heroes, among them the sons of the aged Phaenops, I33-65 c) The Aeneas episode, 166-453, including: (I) Conversation between Aeneas and Pandarus, I66-238 (2) Combat of Aeneas with Diomed, 239-3I0 (3) Rescue of Aeneas by Aphrodite, 3II-430 (4) Onset of Diomed checked by Apollo, 43I-53 Part II. "Ares and Apollo rally the Trojans, and Diomedes for a while retreats to the background; the principal episode is the killing of Tlepolemos by Sarpedon" (Leaf), 454-7I0 I. Ares and Apollo rally the Trojans, 454-70 II. Sarpedon rouses Hector, 47I-518 III. The Greeks rally to the attack, 519-89 330 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD IV. The Greeks give back before Hector, who is accompanied by Ares, 590-626 V. Tlepolemus of Rhodes is slain by Sarpedon, 627-98 VI. The Greeks retire slowly before Hector and Ares, 699-710 Part III. Hera and Athena come to the rescue of the Greeks, Diomed wounds Ares by the help of Athena, 7II-909 (end) I. Hera and Athena go to the help of the Greeks, 711-79 II. Diomed, aided by Athena, wounds Ares, 780-909 (end) BOOK VI I. Continuation of the battle of Book v, a series of "battle vignettes" (Leaf), 1-118. In this section note: a) The death of Axylus, 12-19 b) The vain supplication of Adrastus, 55-65 II. Appeal of Helenus to Hector to go up to Troy to institute sacrifice and prayer to the gods to help the Trojans, 73-118. Note the picture of Hector going off the field, II6-I8. III. The meeting of Glaucus and Diomed, 119-236. In this section note: a) The myth of Lycurgus, 128-41 b) The comparison of the generations of men to leaves, I45-49 c) The myth of Bellerophon, I50-2II d) The exchange of armor, 212-36 IV. The visit of Hector to Troy, 237-529 (end) a) Hector with his mother, Hecuba, 237-85 b) The sacrifice by Hecuba and the women to Athena, 286-311 c) Hector with Paris and Helen, 312-68 d) Parting of Hector and Andromache, 369-502 e) Hector and Paris go forth to battle, 503-29 (end) BOOK VII Part I. The duel between Hector and Ajax, 1-322 I. Return of Hector and Paris to the battlefield, 1-16 II. Intervention of Athena and Apollo, 17-42 III. Hector, incited by the prophet Helenus, challenges the Greeks to a duel, 43-9I IV. Deliberations of the Greeks ANALYSIS OF THE ILIAD 331 a) Menelaus offers to meet Hector, but is restrained, 92-122 b) Nestor, recounting his own youthful exploits, stirs up the heroes, 123-69 V. The casting of lots, 170-205 VI. The duel, 206-72 a) Preparations on both sides, 206-43 b) The actual fighting, 244-72 VII. Intervention of the heralds, exchange of presents, rejoicings in both camps, 273-322 Part II. Recovery and burning of the bodies of the dead, 323-484 (end) I. Agamemnon commands the burning of the dead, 323-37a II. The building of the wall about the camp, 337b-43 III. Council of the Trojans, 344-80 a) Antenor proposes to surrender Helen and all her possessions, 344-53 b) Paris objects to surrendering Helen but is ready to give back her possessions, 354-64 c) Priam advises that the herald Idaeus be sent to the Greeks to offer Helen's wealth and to ask for a truce for the recovery of the bodies of the dead, 365-80 IV. Idaeus bears his message to the Greeks, 381-97 V. Spirited reply of Diomed, 398-404 VI. Agamemnon refuses to accept Helen's possessions but grants the truce, 405-I7a VII. Both Greeks and Trojans collect and burn their dead, 4I7b-36a VIII. The Greeks build a wall about their camp, 436b-41 IX. Deliberation of the gods concerning the wall, 442-64 a) Poseidon complains because the Greeks have not offered sacrifice, 442-53 b) Zeus promises that Poseidon shall at last overthrow the wall, 454-64 X. The night-scene; market of the Lemnians; portents from Zeus, 465-84 (end) BOOK VIII I. Zeus in a council of the gods on Olympus, held at early dawn, forbids the gods to take part in the battle on either side, 1-40 II. Zeus goes to Mount Ida to view the battle, 4I-52 332 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD III. The battle begins anew (after the duel and truce of Book vii), 53-I29 a) The weighing of fates (Kerostasia) in the golden scales by Zeus, 66-77 b) The plight of Nestor and his rescue by Diomed, 78-III c) Diomed and Nestor drive against Hector and kill his charioteer, 112-29 IV. Zeus intervenes to help the Trojans by casting a thunderbolt before the horses of Diomed, 130-56 V. Diomed, warned by Nestor, turns back; while the Trojans, led by Hector, pursue, 157-97 VI. Hera tries in vain to rouse Poseidon to help the Greeks; but he refuses, fearing the command of Zeus, I98-2II VII. Hera moves Agamemnon to exhort the Greeks, which he does, reminding them of their boasts at the feast on Lemnos, 212-44 VIII. Zeus sends an omen to encourage the Greeks, 245-52 IX. Diomed and the archer, Teucer, work havoc among the Trojans, 253-334 X. Zeus again encourages the Trojans, and the Greeks flee pursued by Hector, 335-49 XI. Hera stirs up Athena to help the Greeks and both go forth in Athena's chariot, 350-96 XII. Zeus sends Iris to turn them back, 397-437 XIII. Zeus returns to Olympus and holds a second council, in which he rebukes Hera and Athena and foretells the victorious course of Hector till he slay Patroclus and rouse Achilles, 438-88 XIV. Night council of the victorious Trojans on the plain, 489-565 (end) a) Speech of Hector, confident of victory on the morrow, 497 -54I b) The scene at night upon the plain, 542-65 (end) BOOK IX I. Dejection of the Greeks, I-8 II. The assembly of the Greeks, 9-78 a) Speech of Agamemnon advising Greeks to return home, 9-28 b) Diomed's spirited rejoinder, 29-49 ANALYSIS OF THE ILIAD 333 c) Nestor condemns the lover of strife, advises the posting of sentinels, and calls on Agamemnon to make a feast for the members of the council, 50-78 III. The posting of sentinels, 79-88 IV. The banquet in the tent of Agamemnon, 89-I81 a) Nestor advises that Achilles be appeased by restoration of Briseis, 89-113 b) Agamemnon assents and enumerates the gifts he will offer, 114-61 c) Nestor names the ambassadors who are to visit Achilles, 162-72 d) The banquet, and final directions to the ambassadors, 173-81 V. The scene in the tent of Achilles, 182-655 a) The welcome by Achilles and the feast, 182-221 b) Speech of Odysseus, stating Agamemnon's offer, 222-306 c) Great speech by Achilles, rejecting the offer, 307-429 d) Appeal of Phoenix, including the allegory of the prayers and the episode of Meleager, 430-605 e) Answer of Achilles to Phoenix, 6o6-22a f) Appeal of Ajax, 622b-42 g) Answer of Achilles to Ajax, and return of ambassadors, 643-57 h) Night in the tent of Achilles, 658-68 VI. Report of the ambassadors, 669-713 (end) a) Agamemnon's question, 669-75 b) Odysseus's answer, 675-92 c) Diomed's counsel, 693-713 (end) BOOK X I. Summons of the Greek chieftains to a night council, I-I79 a) Agamemnon, unable to sleep, goes to call Menelaus, 1-24 b) Menelaus, on his way to call Agamemnon, meets the king and takes counsel, 25-71 c) Nestor is summoned by Agamemnon, 72-130 d) Odysseus is summoned by Nestor, 131-47 e) Diomed is summoned by Odysseus, 148-76 f) Ajax and Meges are summoned by Diomed, 177-79 II. Visit of the chieftains to the sentinels, 180-93 334 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD III. Night council of the Greeks, I94-253 a) Nestor's speech, urging the sending of spies to the Trojan camp, 204-17 b) Diomed volunteers, but asks for a comrade, 218-26 c) Many volunteer, 227-32 d) Agamemnon bids Diomed choose among the volunteers, 233-39 e) Diomed chooses Odysseus, 240-47 f) Odysseus accepts, 248-53 IV. Night raid of Diomed and Odysseus, 254-98 a) Diomed and Odysseus arm and set out, 254-71 b) Athena sends a favorable omen in form of a heron, the rustle of whose wings is heard in the darkness, 272-76 c) Both Odysseus and Diomed offer up prayer, 277-94 V. Night council of the Trojans, 299-33I a) Hector calls for a spy to go to the Greek camp, 299-312 b) Dolon volunteers, 313-31 VI. Night raid of Dolon, 332-37 VII. The capture and death of Dolon, 338-468 VIII. The capture of the horses of Rhesus, 469-525 IX. Return of Diomed and Odysseus to the Greek camp, 526-79 (end) BOOK XI Part I. General battle, and defeat of the Greeks, I-595 I. With the coming of morning Agamemnon calls to the Greeks to gird themselves for battle, and then arms himself, 1-55 II. Muster of the Trojans, 56-66 III. Beginning of a general battle, 67-9Ia IV. The exploits (Aristeia) of Agamemnon, I9b-247 (including the despatch of Iris by Zeus to warn Hector to retire before Agamemnon) V. The wounding and retirement of Agamemnon, 248-83 VI. The rally of the Trojans, led by Hector, 284-309 VII. The rally of the Greeks led by Odysseus and Diomed, 3Io-67 VIII. The wounding of Diomed, 368-400 IX. The exploits of Odysseus, 40I-3 X. The wounding of Odysseus, 434-6I ANALYSIS OF THE ILIAD 335 XI. The exploits of Menelaus and Ajax, 462-503 XII. The wounding of the physician Machaon, who is borne off the field in the chariot of Nestor, 504-20 XIII. Second rally of the Trojans, led by Cebriones and Hector, 521-43 XIV. The slow retreat of Ajax, 544-95 Part II. Mission of Patroclus to Nestor, 596-848 (end) I. Achilles sends Patroclus to inquire after a wounded warrior, who proves to be Machaon (see sec. XII, above), 596-617 II. Scene in the tent of Nestor, 6I8-803 a) Return of Nestor from the battlefield, 618-43 b) Visit of Patroclus, 644-803, including the long, interpolated passage (668b-762a) on the youthful exploits of Nestor, and the appeal of Nestor to Patroclus to persuade Achilles to help the Greeks (762-803) III. Return of Patroclus to Achilles, including the appeal of the wounded Eurypylus for aid, 804-48 (end) According to Leaf, verses I-55 are an interpolated introduction; 56-669 belong to the original "Wrath Poem"; 670-761, the youthful exploits of Nestor, are, again, interpolated; while the concluding portion, 762-end, belongs to the original "Wrath Poem." BOOK XII I. The Trojans reach the trench; prophecy of the future destruction of wall and trench, I-33 II. Continuation of the battle; since the horses fear to cross the trench, Polydamas advises an attack on foot, 34-79 III. The Trojans attack in five divisions, 8o-Io7 IV. The Asios episode (ending inconclusively), 108-74 V. Various heroes continue the assault upon the wall, I75-94 VI. The omen of the eagle and the serpent and its interpretation, I95-229 VII. The patriotic outburst of Hector, 230-50 VIII. Hector and the Trojans attack; the Ajaxes and the Greeks resist, 25I-89 IX. The attack of Sarpedon and the Lycians, 290-43I X. Hector at last passes the wall, 432-71 (end) 336 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD BOOK XIII I. Zeus turns his attention away from the battlefield; meanwhile Poseidon revives the courage of the Greeks, I-I24 II. Continuation of the battle at the ships, 125-205 III. The Aristeia of Idomeneus, who for a while stays the victorious advance of Hector upon the ships, 206-672 IV. Hector rallies the Trojans, and at the close of the book is about to take the ships, 673-837 (end) BOOK XIV I. Nestor, alarmed by the uproar, comes out of his tent and witnesses the plight of the Greeks, I-26 II. War council of the Greek leaders, including (a) speech of Agamemnon advising the launching of the ships and flight by night; (b) speech of Odysseus in opposition; (c) speech of Diomed urging the chieftains to join in the battle, wounded as they are, 27-132 III. Poseidon, assuming the form of an old man, encourages Agamemnon and leaves the field with a great shout, 133-52 IV. Hera arrays herself in all her finery preparatory to visiting Zeus, I53-86 V. Hera goes to Aphrodite and borrows her magic girdle, 187-223 VI. Hera goes to Lemnos to win the assistance of Hypnos, god of sleep, 224-79 VII. Hera and Hypnos go to Mount Ida, 280-91 VIII. The Hieros Gamos ("Sacred Marriage") of Zeus and Hera on the top of Mount Ida, 292-35I IX. Hypnos goes to the ships and urges Poseidon to help the Greeks, 352-60 X. Poseidon leads the Greeks against the Trojans, 36I-87 XI. The general battle at the ships is renewed, Hector is wounded by Ajax and the tide of war turns in favor of the Greeks at the close of this book, 388-522 (end) BOOK XV I. Zeus awakes; he upbraids Hera, 1-46 II. Zeus decrees that Poseidon leave the field and that Apollo help the Greeks, 47-II2 ANALYSIS OF THE ILIAD 337 III. Ares wishes to avenge the death of his son, Ascalaphus, but is restrained by Athena, 113-4 IV. Zeus sends Iris to bid Poseidon withdraw from the conflict, which he does under protest, I42-2I9 V. At the command of Zeus, Apollo, holding the aegis before him, rallies the Trojans and drives the Greeks in panic flight, 220 -389 VI. Patroclus leaves Eurypylus in the tent of Nestor and returns to Achilles, 390-404 VII. Continuation of the battle at the ships, 405-59I VIII. Beginning of the Patrokleia, 592-746 (end) THE PATROKLEIA (Book xv. 592-xviii. 34) I. The Introduction, xv. 592-746 (end) a) Victorious advance of the Trojans against the Greek ships, led by Hector, 592-702 b) Desperate fight at the ship of Protesilaus; Hector lays hold of the ship and calls for fire, while Ajax tries to rally the Greeks, 703-46 (end of Book xv) II. Patroclus with Achilles, xvi. I-Ioo a) Patroclus pities the Greeks, charges Achilles with hardness of heart, and appeals to Achilles to let him go forth and drive back the Trojans, xvi. 1-47 b) Achilles answers Patroclus, defending his own course but granting his friend's request and sending him forth, warning him, however, to do no more than turn back the Trojans from the ships, 48-Ioo III. Retreat of Ajax; firing of the ships, 101-23 IV. Patroclus sent forth by Achilles, 124-255 a) Patroclus receives the command and puts on the armor of Achilles, 124-44 b) Automedon with the horses of Achilles, 145-54 c) The Myrmidons, I55-220a d) The prayer of Achilles, 220b-52 V. Victorious advance of Patroclus, 253-418 VI. Death of Sarpedon, 4I9-683 VII. Death of Patroclus, 684-867 (end of Book xvi) a) Reflections of the poet, 684-91 338 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD b) Continued advance of Patroclus, 692-97 c) Apollo smites the shield of Patroclus, 698-711 d) Apollo encourages Hector, 712-25 e) Hector confronts Patroclus, 726-35 f) Patroclus kills Cebriones, Hector's charioteer, 736-50 g) Patroclus and Hector fight over the body of Cebriones, 751-76 h) Fall of Patroclus: struck with the open palm by Apollo, wounded by Euphorbus, laid low by Hector, 777-829 i) Hector taunts Patroclus, 830-42 j) Patroclus' answer, foretelling the death of Hector, 843-54 k) Death of Patroclus; Automedon escapes with the horses and chariot of Achilles, 855-end of Book xvi VIII. The exploits (Aristeia) of Menelaus, xvii. 1-261 a) Menelaus, defending the body of Patroclus, combats with land slays Euphorbus, 1-69 b) Apollo rouses Hector; Menelaus calls Ajax to his help; Glaucus upbraids Hector, who puts on the armor of Achilles, 70-I97 c) Zeus foretells the approaching death of Hector, 198-208 d) Hector rouses the Trojan allies, 209-36 e) Menelaus exhorts the Greeks, 237-6I IX. Combat over the body of Patroclus, 262-399 a) Ajax as champion on the Greek side, 262-87 b) The Trojan Hippothois tries to drag away the body but is killed by Ajax, 288-303 c) Hector leads on the Trojans, but retires before Ajax, 304-18 d) Apollo rouses Aeneas to help the Trojans, while Ajax still rallies the Greeks, 319-65 e) The fight grows fiercer, 366-99 X. Achilles is still in ignorance of the death of Patroclus, 400 —I I XI. Continuation of the battle, 412-23 XII. The exploits (Aristeia) of Automedon, 424-542 XIII. The exploits of Menelaus (continued), 543-761 (end of Book xvii) a) Athena, concealed in an iridescent cloud, rouses Menelaus, 543-8I b) Apollo rouses Hector, 582-92 ANALYSIS OF THE ILIAD 339 c) Zeus shakes the aegis from Mount Ida, frightening the Greeks, 593-96 d) Hector drives Idomeneus from the field, 597-625 e) The prayer of Ajax for light, 626-50 f) Ajax moves Menelaus to send Antilochus with a message to Achilles, 65I-711 g) Menelaus and Ajax bear the body of Patroclus, stripped of its armor, off the field, 712-61 (end of Book xvii) i XIV. Antilochus brings the news to Achilles, xviii. I-34 a) Foreboding of Achilles, I-I4 b) Grief of Achilles, 15-34 BOOK XVIII I. News of the death of Patroclus brought to Achilles, I-34 a) Foreboding of Achilles, I-I4 b) Grief of Achilles, 15-34 II. Interview between Thetis and Achilles, 35-147 a) Thetis hears the wailing, 35-38 b) Catalogue of the Nereids, 39-49 After much deliberation I have thought it more appropriate to regard XVIII. 1-34 as the concluding portion of the Patrokleia than as the beginning of the Achilleos Anastasis ("Arousing of Achilles") W. Christ and J. Van Leeuwen regard these lines as the beginning of the Achilleos Anastasis. But it seems to me more like a sequel than an exordium. Wilamowitz (Die Ilias und Homer [Berlin, 1920], p. I55) says: "What we have of the Patrokleia breaks off abruptly at 34." W. Schmid (Wilhelm von Christ's Gesch. der Griech. Litteratur [4th ed.], I, 54) holds that the Patrokleia ends at Book xviii. 242, after the great shout of Achilles and with the setting of the sun. In confirmation of this, Cauer (Grundfragcn der Homerkritik [3rd ed., 1923], p. 687) quotes with approval the words of Wilamowitz further on: "How if Achilles, just as he was, sprang up in unreasoning rage, rushed forth, and uttered his great shout? Athena would in that case do well to cause the unarmed, raving hero to appear yet more fearful than he was. "At his shout the Trojans give back. The bearers (of the body of Patroclus) are able to lay their burden upon a bier, and Achilles himself accompanies the return of the dead. Him he sent with horses and chariot Into battle, but did not receive him returning again. -Iliad xviii. 237-38 "No finer conclusion for the Patrokleia can be thought of." 340 A STUDY OF THE ILLID c) Plaint of Thetis to the Nereids, 50-64 d) Thetis comes and tries to comfort Achilles, 65-77 e) Achilles' answer to Thetis, 78-93 f) Thetis warns Achilles of early death if he slays Hector, 94-96 g) Struggle of emotions in the mind of Achilles; he chooses to avenge the death of Patroclus and, himself, meet an early death, 97-126 h) Thetis reminds Achilles that he has no armor, 127-47 III. Achilles, roused by Iris, goes forth unarmed to the trench and with a great shout turns back the Trojans, 148-238 IV. Night council of the Trojans on the plain, 239-314a a) Polydamas advises the Trojans to retire within the city walls now that Achilles is aroused b) Hector rejects the wise counsel of Polydamas V. Achilles mourns for Patroclus, 314b-55 VI. Colloquy of Zeus with Hera, 356-67 VII. Visit of Thetis to Hephaestus, to obtain new armor for Achilles, 368-477 VIII. Description of the shield of Achilles, 478-end a) General description; the heavenly bodies, 478-89 b) The city at peace; marriage; trial; dance; council, 490-508 c) The city at war; the two armies; the gods; the ambush; the herds, 509-40 d) Ploughing and reaping; vintage; oxen and lions; the sheep station, 541-89 e) Choral dance of youths and maidens, 590-606 f) The ocean stream surrounding all, 607-17 (end) BOOK XIX I. Conclusion of the Hoplo-potia; the new armor is brought to Achilles by Thetis, 1-39 II. The Menidos Aporrhesis ("Renunciation of Wrath"), by Achilles, 40-275 a) Achilles calls an assembly, 40-55 b) Speech of Achilles renouncing his wrath, 56-73 c) Reply of Agamemnon, including allegory of Ate, illustrated by legend of birth of Hercules, 74-144 d) Answer of Achilles, urging immediate battle, 145-53 ANALYSIS OF THE ILIAD 34I e) Reply of Odysseus, advocating eating before fighting, 154-83 f) Response of Agamemnon, favoring delay till gifts are brought, I84-97 g) Reply of Achilles, again urging immediate battle and refusing to taste food till Patroclus is avenged, I98-2I4 h) Answer of Odysseus, again urging necessity of eating before fighting, 215-37 i) The promised gifts are brought, and Agamemnon takes the required oath, 238-68a j) Final speech of Achilles, 268b-75 III. Lamentation for Patroclus, 276-337 a) Lament of Briseis, 276-300 b) Achilles refuses to eat and mourns for Patroclus, 30I-37 IV. Athena at the command of Zeus refreshes Achilles with nectar and ambrosia, 338-56 V. Beginning of the Achilleidos Proteleia ("Achilles Career of Vengeance"; literally, "Achilles' Preliminary Sacrifices," the crowning sacrifice being the death of Hector), 357-424 (end) (including the incident of the speaking horse, 399-424) BOOKS XX AND XXI For analysis of Books xx and xxi see Introduction to Book xx. THE HEKTOROS ANAIRESIS (Book xxi. 526-xxii) I. Introduction, xxi. 526-611 (end of Book xxi) a) Priam, witnessing from the citadel of Troy the panic flight of his countrymen, commands that the gates be opened to receive them, xxi. 526-43 b) Apollo intervenes to save Troy by inspiring valor in Antenor's son, Agenor, 544-52 c) Agenor's soliloquy before entering the fight against Achilles, 553-70 d) Agenor fights with Achilles but is wounded and is about to be killed, 571-94 e) Apollo snatches Agenor away and covers him with thick mist; then he himself assumes the form of Agenor and entices Achilles to pursue him far from the city, till all the Trojans (except Hector) are safe within the walls, xxi. 596-6II 342 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD II. Hector left alone without the walls, xxii. I-89 a) As the Trojans enter the gates, Apollo undeceives Achilles, who reproves him and turns toward Troy, xxii. I-24 b) Priam appeals to Hector to come within the walls, 25-76 c) Hecuba makes a passionate appeal to Hector, but in vain, 77-89 III. Meeting between Hector and Achilles ending in the death of Hector, 90-394 a) Hector awaits Achilles, 90-98 b) Reflections of Hector as he awaits Achilles, 99-I30 c) Achilles pursues Hector about the walls of Troy, I3I-66 d) Zeus weighs the fates of the two combatants, and Athena intervenes on the side of Achilles, 167-246 e) Hector, encouraged by Athena in the guise of Deiphobus, halts and confronts Achilles, 247-72 f) The conflict begins, 273-96 g) Hector, tricked by Athena, continues the conflict with desperation till he is mortally wounded by Achilles, 297-330 h) The parley between Hector and Achilles, 331-54 i) Hector's prophecy and his death, 355-66 j) The Greeks exult over the death of Hector and sing a paean, but Achilles cannot forget the unburied Patroclus, 367-94 IV. Sequel to the death of Hector, 395-5I5 (end) a) Achilles drags the body of Hector about the walls, 395-404 b) Lamentations of Hecuba and of Priam, 405-36 c) Andromache, hearing their cries, rushes distractedly to the battlements, 437-76 d) Lament of Andromache, 477-515 (end) BOOK XXIII Part I. The funeral of Patroclus, I-257a I. Achilles and the Myrmidons mourn for Patroclus, 1-23 II. The funeral feast, 24-56 III. The spirit of Patroclus appears to Achilles, 57-I07 IV. The Greeks gather wood for the funeral pyre, Io8-28a V. The funeral procession, I28b-37 VI. Lamentations for Patroclus, 138-53 VII. Agamemnon dismisses the host; the chiefs remain, 154-60 ANALYSIS OF THE ILIAD 343 VIII. The funeral pyre and the slain victims, 161-83 IX. Aphrodite and Apollo miraculously preserve the body of Patroclus, I84-9I X. Achilles prays to the winds, who are summoned by Iris, and the pyre is consumed, I92-225 XI. The Greeks gather up the ashes of Patroclus and raise a mound, 226-57a Part II. The funeral games in honor of Patroclus, 257b-897 (end) I. The chariot race, 257b-650 a) The prizes offered, and Achilles' opening speech, 257b-86 b) The contestants, 287-304a c) Advice of Nestor to his son Antilochus, 304b-48 d) The casting of lots; Phoenix as umpire, 349-61 e) The start, 362-72 f) The home stretch, 373-416 g) Antilochus by a trick passes Menelaus, 417-47 h) The spectators watch the race; a quarrel between Idomeneus and Ajax is stopped by Achilles, 448-98 i) The finish, 499-533 j) Achilles proposes to give the unfortunate Eumelus second prize; Antilochus objects, and an additional prize is provided, 534-66 k) Menelaus upbraids Antilochus, who surrenders his prize and then receives it back again, 566-614 I) Meriones receives fourth prize, and Achilles gives the fifth (uncontested) to Nestor, 6I4-50 II. The boxing match, 65I-99 III. The wrestling bout, 700-739 IV. The foot race, 740-97 V. The mock duel, 798-825 VI. Throwing a mass of iron, 826-49 VII. The contest in archery, 850-83 VIII. Throwing the javelin, 884-97 (end) BOOK XXIV I. Achilles mourning for Patroclus cannot rest, I-2I II. The council of the gods and its sequel, 22-I87 a) The slight to their beauty offered by Paris renders Hera and At1ena implacable toward Troy, 23-30 344 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD b) Apollo pleads for the rescue of Hector's body, 31-54 c) Hera objects, 55-63 d) Zeus, recalling the many sacrifices offered by Hector, sends Iris to summon Thetis to placate Achilles, 64-76 e) Iris descends to Thetis in the depths of the sea, and delivers the message from Zeus, 77-II9 f) Thetis goes to Achilles and prevails on him to surrender the body of Hector for ransom, I20-40 g) Zeus sends Iris to bid Priam go to the Greek camp, 141-58 h) Iris encourages Priam to undertake the journey, I59-87 III. Priam, in spite of the earnest protestations of Hecuba and the Trojans, determines to go to the Greek camp, I88-32I a) Priam confides in Hecuba, who tries in vain to dissuade him, 188-227 b) The ransom is made ready, 228-37a c) Priam drives the Trojans from his halls and chides his sons, 237b-64 d) Priam, about to begin his journey, pours out a libation and prays to Zeus, who sends him a favorable omen, 265-321 IV. Priam's journey to the Greek camp, 322-467 a) Priam sets forth with the herald Idaeus and is met by the god Hermes in the form of a beautiful youth, 322-57 b) Priam is persuaded to intrust himself to the guidance of this youth and comes in safety to the hut of Achilles, where Hermes reveals his identity, 358-467 V. Priam in the hut of Achilles, 468-682 a) Priam appears like a fugitive suppliant before Achilles, 468-84 b) Priam's first appeal to Achilles, 485-506 c) Achilles, greatly moved, answers Priam, relating the allegory of the two jars, 507-5I d) Priam's second appeal to Achilles, 552-58 e) Achilles grants the request, 559-70 f) The body of Hector is prepared to be restored to Priam, 571-90 g) Achilles' petition to the spirit of Patroclus, 591-95 h) Achilles, inviting Priam to eat, tells the story of Niobe, 596 -6I7 ANALYSIS OF THE ILIAD 345 i) The feast in the hut of Achilles, 6i8-32 j) Achilles orders a bed to be prepared for Priam in the portico of his hut and grants a truce of ten days for the burial of Hector, 633-82 VI. Priam, aroused by Hermes, returns by night to Troy with the body of Hector, 683-722 a) Hermes warns Priam of his danger if seen by Agamemnon, and urges him to return at once, 683-98 b) Cassandra sees them coming and cries out to the Trojans, who surround the car with loud lamentations, 699-7I5 c) Priam commands them to make way; he places the body on a bier in the palace and sets leaders of the dirge round about it, 7i6-22 VII. The funeral of Hector, 723-804 (end) a) Lament of Andromache, 723-45 b) Lament of Hecuba, 746-59 c) Lament of Helen, 760-75 d) Priam gives directions for the funeral pyre; description of the burial of Hector, 776-804 (end of the Iliad) TOPICS FOR FURTHER STUDY I. THE MINOAN (CRETAN) AGE: J. Baikie, The Sea-Kings of Crete (London, I9IO). A. Mosso, Palaces of Crete (Putnam, I907). C. H. and H. Hawes, Crete The Forerunner (Harper, I909). R. M. Burrows, Discoveries in Crete (London, I907). H. R. Hall, Aegean Archaeology (London, I915). 2. THE MYCENAEAN AGE: J. B. Bury, History of Greece (2d ed., Macmillan, I916), chap. i. Schuchhardt, Schliemann's Excavations (Macmillan, I89I). Tsountas and Manatt, The Mycenaean Age (Houghton, Mifflin, I897). 3. ON THE RELATION OF THESE TO HOMER: H. Browne, Handbook of Homeric Study (Longmans, Green, I905), pp. 278-314. 4. HOMERIC GEOGRAPHY: R. C. Jebb, Homer (Ginn, I887), pp. 38-44. W. Leaf, Troy: A Study of Homeric Geography (Macmillan, I912)., Homer and History (Macmillan, I915). 5. THE STATE OF SOCIETY IN THE HOMERIC AGE: Grote, History of Greece, Part I, chap. xx. 6. THE SOCIAL STATUS OF WOMEN IN THE HOMERIC AGE: T. D. Seymour, Life in the Homeric Age (Macmillan, I907), chap. iv. A. G. Keller, Homeric Society (Longmans, Green, I902), chap. v. H. Browne, Handbook of Homeric Study (I905), pp. 204-I6 7. SLAVERY AND SERVITUDE IN HOMER: Seymour, Life in the Homeric Age, chap. ix. 8. CHILD LIFE IN THE HOMERIC POEMS: Seymour, Life in the Homeric Age, pp. 138-46 9. THE FORM OF GOVERNMENT IN THE HOMERIC AGE: Seymour, Life in the Homeric Age, chap. iii. Keller, Homeric Society, pp. 248-68. 346 TOPICS FOR FURTHER STUDY 347 o1. DAILY OCCUPATIONS IN HOMER: Keller, Homeric Society, chap. ii. I. FOOD AND TABLE MANNERS IN HOMER: Seymour, Life in the Homeric Age, chap. vii. 12. THE SHIELD OF ACHILLES: W. Leaf, (ed.), The Iliad, (London, I902), Vol. II, Appendix I. 13. OLYMPUS AND THE GODS: Seymour, Life in the Homeric Age, chap. xiv. Thomas Keightley, Mythology of Greece and Rome, chap. v. 14. HOMERIC NOTIONS OF A FUTURE LIFE: Seymour, Life in the Homeric Age, chap. xv. Keller, Homeric Society, pp. o10-II. I5. THE PRAYERS OF THE "ILIAD": E. J. Strittmatter, Classical Weekly, XVIII (1925), 83:90. 16. ACHILLES AND PATROCLUS: J. A. Symonds, Studies of the Greek Poets (London, 1902), Vol. I, chap. iii. 17. HECTOR: J. A. Scott, The Unity of Homer (University of California Press, 1921), chap. vii. 18. THE WOMEN OF HOMER: Symonds, Studies of the Greek Poets, Vol. I, chap. iv. Seymour, Life in the Homeric Age, pp. II7-27. Keller, Homeric Society, chap. v. I9. THE HOMERIC SIMILES: J. W. Mackail, Lectures on Greek Poetry (Longmans, Green, new ed., I926), pp. 66-70. Jebb, Homer, pp. 26-32. E. G. Wilkins, Classical Weekly, XIII (I922), I47, 154. 20. PLACE OF THE "ILIAD" AND "ODYSSEY" AMONG EPIC POEMS: Jebb, Classical Greek Poetry, pp. 32-42. A. Lang, Homer and His Age (Longmans, Green, I906), chap. xvi. 21. THE EPIC CYCLE OF TROY: D. B. Monro, The Odyssey (Clarendon Press, I901), II, 340-84. W. C. Wright, Short History of Greek Literature (American Book Co.), chap. iii. 348 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD 22. LITERARY CRITICISM OF THE HOMERIC POEMS: A. Lang, Essays in Little, Homer and the Study of Greek (Scribner's, I907). Matthew Arnold, On Translating Homer, Sec. III (the four qualities of style). Jebb, Classical Greek Poetry (Houghton, Mifflin, 1897), chaps. ii and iii. G. Murray, Rise of the Greek Epic (Clarendon Press, I9II), lect. ix. A. and M. Croiset, Abridged History of Greek Literature (Macmillan, 1904), chap. iii. 23. HOMER AND VIRGIL: J. Conington, Virgil (1883), II, xxii-xxx. W. Duff, Literary History of Rome (London, I9IO), pp. 455-64. 24. HOMER AND MILTON: Comparison of subjects, catalogues, battle scenes, similes, treatment of the supernatural. 25. HOMER AND MATTHEW ARNOLD: F. L. Clark, Sohrab and Rustum, Classical Weekly, XVII, 3 (I923). W. P. Mustard, Balder Dead, "Studies in Honor of Gildersleeve" (Baltimore, I902). 26. HOMER AND TENNYSON: Mustard, American Journal of Philology, XXI (I900), I43-53. 27. A STUDY OF HOMERIC EPITHETS: Mackail, Lectures on Greek Poetry, pp. 64-67. INDEX Accius, 167 Achilleidos Proteleia, 246, 251, 254, 261 Achilleis, 228, 229 Achilles, 20, 21, 22; retort of, 23; great oath of, 25; defiance of, 27; prayer to Thetis, 29; sulks in tent, 32; with Myrmidons, 53; in his tent, I30; great refusal of, 132; as a child, 138; reproved by Ajax, 142; final refusal of, 143; reproved by Patroclus, I98; sends Patroclus forth, I99; prayer to Zeus, 205; unaware of death of Patroclus, 222; informed by Antilochus, 226; seeks sympathy of Thetis, 230; resolves to avenge Patroclus, 23I; great shout of, 232; at bier of Patroclus, 233; mourns for Patroclus, 234; renounces wrath, 247; refuses to eat, 250; like a lion, 258; challenges Hector, 262; onslaught of, 262; at the Xanthus, 263; struggles with the Scamander, 268; rebuked by Apollo, 276; likened to Sirius, 277; pursues Hector, 281; gains on Hector, 283; refuses to make covenant, 285; wounds Hector, 287; refuses Hector's request, 288; remembers Patroclus, 289; calls on spirit of Patroclus, 297; addresses the Spercheius, 300; farewell of, to Patroclus, 301; mourns by seaside, 310; pities Priam, 317; grants Priam's request, 318; last words of, to Patroclus, 320 Aegis, 48, i88, 189, 224 Aeneas, 8i, 82, 87, 261 Aeneid (i.e., Iliad, xx. 75-380), 254, 257, 26i Aeschylus, 223, 279, 289, 310 Agamemnon, 47; refuses Chryses, I9; vents wrath, 21; threatens leaders, 22; folly of, 28; robing of, 39; scepter of, 40; battle prayer of, 48; prayer before sacrifice, 66; admits fault, I29; exploits of, I48; lays blame on the gods, 248; apologizes to Achilles, 249 Agamemnonos Aristeia ("Exploits"), 145, 148, 159 Agenor, 275 Agora, 40, 45 Air, empty, 299 Ajax (son of Oileus), 308 Ajax (son of Telamon), III, 142, I54, 195, I96, 202, 224, 305, 307 Aleian plain, 99 Allegory, I39, 246, 319 Allen, T. W., 50 Ameis-Hentze, 303 Analysis of Iliad, 326-45 Andromache, I03, 293, 294, 322 Antilochus, 226, 304, 306 Aphrodite, 68, 82, 83, 84, 174 Apollo, 20, 31, 36, 86, i88, I90, 212, 273, 275, 276 Appian, I06 Archilochus, 9 Ares, 78, 92, 94, i85, 272 Ariadne, 244 Aristeia. See Exploits Aristophanes, 98, i86, 284 Aristotle, 159 Arnold, Matthew, 92, i20, 149, 164, 71, 218,221,223, 277, 298,299, 3I7 Artemis, 273 Ass, simile of, I55 Assembly, 40 Asteropaeus, 263 Astyanax, I03, 295, 323 Ate, 248 Athena, 23, 48, 72, 73, 78, 8o, 89, 92, I22, I85, 285 349 35S A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Athens, 5I Augustine, 3Io Automedon, 203 Automedontos Aristeia ("Exploits"), 222 Bacchylides, I69 Baikie, James, 244 Baumeister, 144, I69 Bellerophon, 98 Bible, 8, Io, 14, I5, 31, 74, 208, 248, 292 Boar, simile of, 153, i6o, 216 Boule, 40, 47, 48 Bounds of earth and sea, 124 Bridegroom, 150 Briseis, 28, 250 Bury, J. B., I56, 241 Calchas, 21, 46 Callimachus, i88 Cassandra, 322 Catalogue, 30, 55, 179, 229 Cattle, 149 Cauer, 263 Cebriones, 213, 214 Celestial bodies, 238 Chariot, go, 9I Chariot race, 304 Charis, 235 Chaucer, 325 Child, 103, 138, 260 Chimaera, 98 Christ, W., I45, 146, i8I, 191, 222 Cicero, 99 City at war, 239 Clapp, E. B., 248 Clark, F. L., 13 Clouds, simile of, 88, 147, 207, 208 Coleridge, 15 Creasy, E. S., 216 Croiset, I46, 282, 291, 309 Cyanus, 156 Cypris (Aphrodite), 83 Daedalus, 236, 244 Dance scene, 243 Dante, 58, 122, I93, 288, 314 Darkness, 221 Dawn (Eos), 246, 322 De Quincey, 233 Diomed, 79, 88, 92, 112, 143, 152, I72, 305; character of, 77, 78; encouraged by Athena, 80, 8i; wounds Cypris, 83; challenges Aphrodite, 84; warned by Apollo, 86; meets Glaucus, 96; persistence of, 128; in chariot race, 304, Diomedous Aristeia ("Exploits"), 77 Dione, 85 Dionysus, 97 Dios A pate ("Deceiving of Zeus"), i66, 171, 173, I8I, I91 Dodona, 54, 205 Dog of Orion, 277 Dolon, I44 Don Quixote, 88 Dream (Oneiros), 39 Duel, 67, III Eagle, 121, i6i Emphasis, 9, 33 Enyalios, 234 Epeius, 307 Epic Cycle, 323 Erinnyes, 14I, i88, 253 Eumelus, 304, 305 Euphorbus, 219 Euphronios, 170 Euripides, 79, 117, I44, 177, 179, 303 Euryalus, 307 Eurypylus, 155, 158, I59 Eustathius, I44 Exploits: of Agamemnon, 145, I48, I59; of Automedon, 2 2 2; of Diomed, 77; of Idomeneus, I66; of Menelaus, 218 Fick, 259 Finsler, I45 Firestone, C. B., 59 INDEX 351 Firing of ships, 202 Floods, 208 Forest fire, 148, i8o Foss, S. W., 96 Funeral pyre, 302 Glaucus, 96, 1oo, loI, 163, 2io Goal post, 303 Goethe, 71 Golden chain, 116 Gorgon head, 189 Gorgythion, 121 Granville, Lord, 164 Greek language, 7, 8, 9 Greek literature, I, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, io, 11 Grote, 115, 256 Guest friends, Ioo Hades, 256 Hawtrey, 14, 65 Hecamede, 156 Hector, IoI, I02, 151, i88, 213, 232, 261, 262, 325; rebukes Paris, 6o; returns to Troy, 1o1; hates Paris, 11o; parts from Andromache, 103; scorns Diomed, 119; urges on his horses, 120, 149; patriotic outburst of, 162; urges Trojans to burn ships, 195; slays Patroclus, 217, 218; soliloquy of, 280; pursued by Achilles, 287; tries to make covenant; foresees his end, 286; is wounded, 287; last request of, 287; dying prophecy of, 288; dragged at chariot wheels, 290 Hecuba, 02, 279, 292, 312, 323 Hektoros Anairesis ("Death of Hector"), 228, 255, 263 Hektoros Lutra ("Ransoming of Hector"), 308 Helen of Troy: summoned to battlements, 62; praised by elders, 63; remorse of, 65; summoned by Aphrodite, 68; upbraids Paris, 69; character of, 70; remorse of, I02; lament of, 324 Hellespont, Io9 Hephaestus, 35, 36, 235, 237, 271 Hera, 34, 72, 89, 120, 173, 174, 176, I77, I78, 182, I83, 2IO, 271, 273 Hercules, 89, 175, I82, 248, 249 Herd, scene of, 243 Hermes, 314 Herodotus, 74, iio, I67, 256 Hesiod, 187, 208 Hexameter, 1I, 12, 13, I4 Hieros Gamos ("Sacred Marriage"), I78, 187 Hipponax, 1o Hogarth, D. G., 321 Homeric Hymn, 183, 184, i86 Hoplo-poiia ("Making of Armor"), 193, 228, 235, 245 Horace, 88, 162, 319 Horses: of Aeneas, 82; of Hector, 120; of Rhesus, 144; of Poseidon, I68, 169; mourning, 222; immortal, 223; speaking, 252; of the wind, 259 House, 95 Hughes, Thomas, 324 Hypnos, 174, 175, 177 Ida, Mount, 117, 177, 178 Idas, 140 Idomeneus, 305 Iliad: introduction to Book i, 36, 37; ii, 38; iii, 57; iv, 71; v, 77; vi, 95; vii, io8; viii, II4; ix, I25; X, 144; Xi, 145; xii, 159; xiii, 166; xiv, I71; xv, 181; xvi, 196; xvii, 218; xviii, 228; xix, 245; xx, 254; xxi, 262; xXii, 274, 276; xxiii, 296; xxiv, 309; theme of, 192; turning-point of, 200 Ilioneus, 181 Inge, Dean, 15 Intervention of divinity, 23, 42, 67 Iris, 55, 62, 123, i86, 301, 3II Ivory, polishing, 73 Jebb, R. C., 282 Juvenal, 59 Kammer, E., 126, 201 Keats, 7, 17, 124 Keith, A. L., 214 352 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD Keres, 241 Kero-stasia ("Weighing of Fates"), I4 Klea Andron ("Glories of Heroes"), 140 Kolasis Heras ("Punishment of Hera"), I83 Kroko-peplos (Epithet of Dawn), II6 Labyrinth, 244 Lament: of Thetis, 229; of Briseis, 250; of Priam, 291; of Hecuba, 292, 323; of Andromache, 294,322;of Achilles, 297; of Helen, 324 Lang, A., 92, I97 Laodamia, 53 Laomedon, 272 Leaf, W., 98, io8, 126, 145, 146, 150, 209, 219,220,237,244,279, 303, 307 Lessing, 63 Lion, I49, I5I, 152, 193, 214, 216, 258, 273, 285 Listening audience, 3, 4 Litai ("Allegory of Prayers"), 139 Longfellow, 14 Longinus, 225 Lots, casting, iio Lucian, I90, 239 Luke, 8 Lycaon episode, 263, 264 Macaulay, 51 Machaon, I54 Mache epi tais nausin, I66 Mache parapotamios, 255, 261, 262, 263 Mackail, J. W., I70, 324 Market, at ships, II4 Marlowe, 64 Marpessa, 140 Marriage, on shield, 238; of Zeus and Hera, 178, 187 Martial, 156 Measuring rods, I65 "Medusa Rondanini," I90 Meeting of Diomed and Glaucus, 96 Meleager, I40, I4I Menelaou Aristeia ("Exploits"), 218 Menelaus, 60, IIo, 219, 225, 304, 306 Menidos Aporrhesis ("Renunciation of Wrath"), 245 Menis, ("Wrath Poem"), 145, I46, 194 Meter, I I, 12, 13, 14 Milton, i8, I9, 27, 30, 32, 35, 39, 47, 59, 71, 74, 75, 83, 89, Ioo, 112, 117, 119, 151, i80, 232, 252, 267, 287 More, P. E., i Moschus, 169 Muses, 5, 150 Muster: of Greeks, 49; of Trojans, 55 Naber, 291 Neo-Platonists, I 17 Neoptolemos, 251 Nestor, 25, 26, 46, 128, 129, 156, 158, 239, 307 Nestoris, I45, I96 Niobe, 320 Nireus, 53 "Noblesse Oblige," 163 North, tribes of, I67 Notus, 270 Noyes, Alfred, 15, 32 Number of troops, 54 Oaks, i60 Oath, 25, I76 Oceanus, I73, 179, 244 Odysseus, 42, 131, 132, 153, 172, 220, 299, 307 Olympus, 32, 36, 71 Omen, 121, i6i Ovid, io6 Paian, 95 Palioxis para ton neon, I8I Pandarus, 73, 80, 8i, 82 Panic, 127 Paris, 60, 6i, 67, 68, 69, Ioi, io6, I52 Parting of Hector and Andromache, 103 Partition of universe, 187 / i INDEX 353 Patroclus, 28, 155, 157; besought by Nestor, 158; by Eurypylus, 159; appeals to Achilles, 197; sent forth by Achilles, I99; turned back by Apollo, 212; struggles over Cebriones, 214; slain by Hector, 217; death of, 218; struggle over body of, 221; borne off by Menelaus, 225; spirit of, appears, 297; funeral of, 300 Patrokleia, I45, I55, I59, I66, 18I, 191,192,193, 207, 225, 226, 228, 234 Paul, io, 208 Peneios, 54 People, common, 66, 67 Phalanx, 204 Phillips, Stephen, 140 Philoctetes, 53 Philosophy, traces of, 223, 318, 319 Phoenician sailors, 307, 308 Phoenix, 137, 138, 304 Pindar, 53, 99, 187 Plato, 101, 117, 154, 162, 190, 203, 231, 248, 303, 310 Ploughing, 241 Plutarch, 42, 50, 266, 302 Polydamas, I70 Poseidon, 167, i68, 169, 170, 172, I8o, 209 Prayers, 20, 29, 32, 48, 66, 105, 139, 205, 210, 224 Priam, 55, 64, 274, 277, 291, 312, 313, 315, 316 Probus, 183 Proclus, I90 Proem, I8 Protesilaus, 53 Psychological simile, 184, 283 Psycho-stasia ("Weighing of Souls"), 283, 284 Pygmies, 58, 59 Pylaimenes, 88 Quarrel, 34, 260 Quintilian, 63 Reapers, 147, 241 Regnault, H., 203 Rivers. See Peneios, Simois, Scamander, Xanthus Robert, Carl, io8, 127, I44, 145, 183, 237 Sappho, 8, io, 197 Sarpedon, 87, 163, 2IO, 211 Sarpedonos Anairesis ("Death of Sarpedon"), 209 Scales, golden, 118 Scamander, 257, 267, 268, 270 Scamandrius, 79 Scepter, 40 Schanz, M., 257 Schliemann, 156 Scott, J. A., 207 Scott, Sir Walter, 76, 91 Sea, 41, 45, 73, 74 Serpent, 60, i6i, 280 Shakespeare, 42, 64, 247, 289, 290, 312 Sheep scene, 243 Shelley, 5, i6i, 162, 248 Shepherd, 73 Shield of Achilles, 237, 245, 252 Sidonian artists, 307, 308 Simile: of bees, 40; various, 49; of cranes, 58; of serpent, 60; of star, 73; of staining ivory, 73; of shepherd, 73; of sea, 74; of sheep, 75; of wintry torrents, 76, 80; of autumnal star, 78; of threshing-floor, 87; of clouds, 88; of irresolute man, 88; of man on cliff, 9I; of leaves, 97; of stalled horse, I07; of favoring breeze, io8; of vultures, Io9; of poppy, 121; of seaweed, I27; of star among clouds, 147; of reapers, 147; of wood-cutter, 148; of forest fire, 148; of lion and cattle, 149; of angry boar, 153; of wounded stag, I54; of ass, I55; of oaks, i60; of wild boars, I60; of snowstorm, 163; of measures, i65; of weighing wool, I65; of silent wave, 171; of wave, fire, and wind, I80; of snow and hail, I86; of storm-swept cliff, 194; of circus rider, 195; of little girl, I97; of wolves, 203; of archi .354 A STUDY OF THE ILIAD tect, 204; of wasps, 206; of thick cloud, 208; of cloud from clear sky, 208; of floods, 208; of vultures, 210; of wood-cutter, 211; of lions, 214; of tree branches, 214; of lion and boar, 216; of olive shoot, 219; of many waters, 220; of stretching hide, 221; of island city, 232; of snowflakes, 251; of fire on mountains, 252; of lion, 258; of street quarrel, 260; of ditcher, 269; of vineyard, 271; of Sirius, 277; of race horses, 282; of pursuing dog, 283; of mad woman, 294 Simois, 270 Simonides, 97 Sirius (Dog of Orion), 277 Sleep and Death, 2II, 212 Snow, i86 Snowstorm, I63, 251 Sophocles, 26, 54, io6, I90, 223, 321 Spercheius, 300 Stables, Olympian, I23 Star, 73, 78, I47 Sterrett, J. R. S., 206, 321 Stesichorus, 209 Storm-swept cliff, I94 Street quarrel, 260 Strength of heroes, I57 Sunrise, II2, 146, 246 Symmetry, 289 Talthybius, 250 Tartarus, II6, 124 Teicho-machia, 159 Teicho-skopia, 62, 209 Tennyson, I4, 15, 26, 41, 64, 78, II7, ii8, 125, I49, i8o, 232, 238 Tenses, 8, 9 Terpander, 13 Tethys, I73 Teucer, 309 Thamyris, 52 Theocritus, 140 Theomachy, 254, 255, 271 Thersites, 42, 43, 44, 45 Thetis, 29, 30, 32, 229, 230, 235, 311 Thought, simile of, 184 Threnos ("Lament"), 296 Threshing-floor, 87 Thucydides, 264 Thunderbolt, II8 Tlepolemos, 52, 89 Topics for study, 346-48 Trial scene, 238 Tsountas and Manatt, I56, 241 Tyrtaeus, 278 Van Leeuwen, 190, 200, 208, 237, 239, 255, 259, 260, 26I, 279, 315 "View from Battlements," 62 Vintage scene, 242 Virgil, I4, 58, 74, 75, io6, 107, II6, I22, I44, I47, I55, i6o, i6i, i68, 176, I98, 209, 260, 283, 292, 299, 307, 309,315 Vultures, I09, 210 Wall, before ships, 113, I59, 190; of Hercules, 258 Wasps, i6o, 206 Wave, I52, 171, i80 Weighing souls, 283, 284; wool, I65 Wilamowitz-Moellendorf, io8, I27, 145, 146, 150, 153, i66, 209, 228, 229, 234, 263, 271 Wind, simile of, i80 Wolves, 203, 204 Wood, Robert, 164 Wood-cutter, I48, 2ii Wordsworth, 53 "Wrath Poem," 145, 46, I47, 194, 228 Writing, 98 Xanthus (horse), 253; (river) 257, 263 Zephyrus, 301 Zeus, 33, 34, 72, 86, 94, II3, ii6, II7, ii8, I23, 124, 178, I79, 182, I93, 2II, 224, 282 PRINTED ] [IN U-SA Jun6> '' J ctn. 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