The Iliad, Book 13

Summary, Book 13:

Once Hector has breached the Achaean ships, Zeus is feeling pretty confident.  Perhaps too confident.  He is positive that his threats will stop the other gods from interfering in the battle, and that the Trojans have it in the bag.

If my memory serves me correctly, the gods have already defied this threat, so I’m not sure why he is so confident.  In any case, he’s wrong.  Poseidon has been lurking and “nursing a powerful anger against Zeus.”  As soon as Zeus “turns his radiant eyes” from the Trojans, Poseidon swoops in.

First, Poseidon takes part in the time-honored Iliad tradition of appearing to a mortal in the guise of someone else for unclear reasons. In this instance, he appears to the two Ajaxes as Calchas.  You may remember Calchas from the beginning of the saga.  He gave one of the few pieces of genuinely good advice, when he suggested that Agamemnon return Chryseis to her father after her father, a priest of Apollo, had Apollo send a plague to the Achaeans.  So I guess it makes sense in this case for Poseidon to appear as one of the few people in this adventure who is not in a permanent cranio-rectal inversion.

Poseidon-as-Calchas:

“But perhaps some god will inspire the hearts                             
in both your chests, so you two can stand firm.
You could get other men to do the same.
Hector may be keen, but you could push him
back from our swift ships, even if Zeus himself
is driving him ahead.”

“Perhaps.” Wink-wink-nudge-nudge.

The Ajaxes really get into the spirit of things and while they simmer with excitement, Poseidon moves on to the other Achaean troops who are crying at the sight of Trojans pouring over the wall.  I guess Poseidon is laying aside his rage about this unauthorized wall to help the Achaeans in their time of need.  I’m sorry, but every time I think of that I can’t help thinking of this:  http://entertainment.time.com/2013/12/31/taylor-swift-divides-neighbors-with-beachfront-wall/

The Trojans are coming!

The Trojans came on in a mass, led by Hector,                                   
always charging forward, like a rolling boulder,
which some river in a winter flood dislodges
from a cliff beside its banks, its great flood eroding
what supports that lethal stone. In its fall, it bounces—
woods crash underneath it, as it accelerates                                                    
in a straight line, unimpeded—then it hits the plain,
where, for all its impetus, its motion stops.

I think this is a pretty power visual.  Homer certainly paints a vivid picture of battle.  Which is good, because I always find battle scenes difficult to visualize.

Anyway, Hector’s progress is arrested by tightly-packed Achaeans, and he is forced to retreat somewhat.  And now things are getting real.  An Achaean, Teucer, kills a Trojan named Imbrius.  Imbrius is the husband of one of Priam’s illegitimate daughters.  An enraged Hector tries to kill Teucer by throwing a spear at him.  Teucer dodges it and it ends up hitting Amphimacus – who is Poseidon’s grandson. 

Needless to say Poseidon, who was already not a big Trojan fan, is incensed.  Appearing as someone else, he baits Idomeneus into a rage, ready to go nuts on the Trojans.  From what I can gather, Idoemneus is especially intent on killing Deïphobus.  He tries, and in the meanwhile kills several other people.  Deïphobus calles for Aeneas, whose brother-in-law Idomeneus has killed.  “His words had wings.”

Deïphobus and Aeneas go to kill Idomeneus.  They miss him and accidentally kill Ascalaphus, who is the son of the god Ares with a mortal woman.  Then we get a description of Menelaus’s feats on the battlefield.

While all of this is happening, Hector is still on a rampage.  His Trojan troops, however, are getting fatigued.  Polydamas steps in with some advice.  Thus far, his advice has been on the solid end of the spectrum.  He encourages Hector to call a conference of their finest men to weigh their options.  Hector agrees and goes to round up some of the men when he encounters Paris and decides to taunt him:

“You may be the best-looking man around,
but you’re a useless woman-mad seducer.
Where are Deïphobus, brave prince Helenus,                                        
Adamas, son of Asius, and Asius,
son of Hyrtacus? Where’s Othryoneus?
Tell me that. All of high Ilion
has been destroyed. Your own death is certain.”

Paris retorts:

“Hector, you’re now blaming someone innocent.
At other times I have held back from war,                                 
but not this time. When my mother bore me,
she did not produce a total coward.”

Ha!  That one made me laugh.  “I’m not a TOTAL coward!” And these two are brothers!  On the same side!  And yet, Hector is won over. “Warrior Paris’ words won his brother’s heart.”

The book ends with a threat and an omen.  Ajax taunts Hector, and when he is done with his speech an eagle appears – an omen.  Hector is, as ever, unconcerned about omens.  He says:

“I wish it were as certain that I was
the son of aegis-bearing Zeus himself,
with Hera for my mother, and honoured
like Apollo or Athena, as I am that this day                               
brings disaster to the Argives—all of them.”

And the fighting resumes.

Reading Notes

Even if I did not know the story of The Iliad, it is becoming increasingly apparent that Hector is hurtling toward disaster.  I feel bad for his wife and baby.

The descriptions are great, as are the few lines about each warrior that is killed.  And yet, the story is at its best when it focuses on its core characters.  The past few books have been all over the map in terms of characters and it is confusing and a bit distracting.  I want to know what happens to the “heroes”. (Anti-heroes?)

-Lily