The Iliad, Book 12

I’m back!  I took a few days off blogging (although not off reading) and I am back to discuss book 12 of the Iliad.  Here goes:

Summary, Book 12

Book 12 was not one of my favorites.  It begins with some weird foreshadowing about how the gods are going to destroy the wall that the Achaeans built to protect their ships.  (Remember how pissed Poseidon was about that wall?  In case you thought he was going to forget – he isn’t.)  They will destroy it once Troy falls, but they will leave it in tact for now.  That seems rather pointless.  At least give me a threat with some teeth.

For now, however, the wall is serving its purpose and the Trojans are being held at bay.  Polydamus, a Trojan, approaches Hector and tells him that they should leave their chariots behind and try to penetrate the Trojan fortifications on foot.  Hector agrees, and the Trojans divide themselves into five separate companies.  We get a pretty boring explanation of what the companies are and why they are the way they are.  Hector leads one, Paris leads another, and the other three are led by Helenus, Aeneas and Sarpedon.

When they get to the fortifications they encounter two spearmen who manage to keep them at bay.  Am I misreading this, or is it really TWO spearmen who are holding off five companies of Trojans?  If so, that’s just embarrassing.  I don’t care how powerful they are.

In the midst of this, the Trojans get a bad sign.  An eagle flies overhead, carrying a bloody snake in its talons.  The snake is still struggling and strikes at the eagle.  The eagle cries out in pain and drops the bloody serpent into the midst of the Trojans.  Get it?  GET IT?  “It was a sign, a powerful omen, from aegis-bearing Zeus.”  Polydamus tells Hector that they should heed the omen and stop trying to advance.

But our friend Hector of the shining helmet does not like this advice one bit.

“Polydamas, I don’t like what you’ve just said.
You know how to offer better comments.
But if you’re serious in what you say,
the gods themselves must have destroyed your wits.

Harsh.  I mean, if you believe in omens, that one’s a doozy.  But Hector’s not done:

“Why are you afraid of war, of battle?
Even if the others are all slaughtered
by Achaean ships, you need have no fear
that you’ll be killed. Your heart is neither brave
nor warlike. But if you hold back from war,
or with your words convince some other man
to turn away from battle, then you’ll die,
struck by my spear.”

Gosh, he sure did a 180 on following Polydamus’s advice.  I can sense Hector is going down a dark path.  Zeus tries to kick up dust to disorient the Achaeans, but it’s not helping much.  The two Ajaxes motivate the Achaeans to get ready for battle.  The Trojans are not doing well, but then Zeus “inspires” Sarpedon (who is, incidentally, Zeus’s son) and he goes in for the kill.  Sarpedon and Glaucus breach the Achaean fortifications, but Hector is right behind them, breaking through a wall with a huge boulder that Zeus had lightened for him.

Hector moved up closer,
planted himself before the doors, his legs wide apart
to throw with greater force, then hurled that rock
right at the centre of the doors. He smashed both hinges.                                 
The stone’s momentum took it clear through the doors.
The gates groaned loudly. The bolts were sheared right off.
The impact of that boulder shattered all the planks.
Glorious Hector, his face like night’s swift darkness,
leapt inside. 

Actually, I’m going to go ahead and just quote the rest of this, because it is very vivid:

The bronze which covered his whole body                        
was a terrifying glitter. In his hand he held two spears.
Once he’d jumped inside the gates, no one moving out
to stop him could hold him back, except the gods.
From his eyes fire blazed. Wheeling through the throng,
he shouted to his Trojans to climb the wall.
His men responded to his call. Some scaled the wall,
others came pouring through the hole made in the gates.
Danaans were driven back among their hollow ships                                         
in a rout, and the noisy tumult never stopped.

This is not the Hector we know.  I mean, we know that Hector is a great warrior, but he has always seemed to be one of the more rational figures.  This description calls to mind chaos and recklessness, especially when you consider the fact that he disregarded Zeus’s omen.  Not good.

Reading Notes

No Achilles, no Diomedes, no Agamemnon and (yay!) no Nestor!

I feel like we are reaching a pivotal point in the story.  Hector is becoming wild and reckless.  Zeus is still trying to help the Trojans, but there is only so much that even he can do.  Things are descending into chaos.

Stay tuned for part 13!

-Lily