HOMER, THE ILIAD, Pt. 4
Books VII-IX

STUDY QUESTIONS

Homer begins the Iliad by telling us that it will be about the Rage of Achilles. You might think that Homer has gotten quite side-tracked as we are nearly half-way through the book and do not know much about his conflict with Agamemnon then we did at the end of book 1. Why do you think Homer does not return to the conflict between Achilles and Agamemnon until here in book 9?

There is another Chiasm in (lines 148-187) Nestor’s speech. See if you can find it for yourself!

Phoenix, Ajax and Odysseus are chosen as the embassy to Achilles. When they approach Achilles, they find him in a very un-warlike activity- playing a lyre and singing songs about the great deeds of the ancient warriors. What does Achilles interest  in these songs tell us about his character?

Even though Odysseus’ speech show Achilles fairly reasonable grounds for return to the battle-lines, he takes quite poorly to this first speech- "I hate that man who says one things but hides another in his heart."(lines 378-379) Here he is probably refering to Agamemnon, but he could also be insulting the crafty Odysseus. Achilles has nothing but scorn for all the gifts that Agamemnon offers. If it was the removal of Briseus that was the cause of Achilles anger, why does the prospect of her return not persuade him more?

Even though Achilles does make concessions to the embassy, when Odysseus returns to camp he only tells Agamemnon what Achilles told him, i.e. that Achilles will sail home tomorrow, rather than the modified answers that Achilles gave Phoenix and Ajax. Why do you think Odysseus doesn’t tell the full truth?