The Iliad, Book 9

Summary, Book 9:

Book 9 opens at the Achaean camp, and suffice to say the outlook isn’t brilliant.  Agamemnon is in despair, and he’s gone to the emasculation well one too many times during his motivational speeches.  Now he’s ready to give up.  He tells his men that Zeus has misled him, and that they should all head back to their native land.

The Achaeans are… surprised, to say the least.  You can just feel the stifling awkwardness that follows this declaration.  Finally, Diomedes responds:

“Son of Atreus, I’ll be the first to challenge
your foolishness, as is my right, my lord,
in our assembly. So don’t be angry.”

Diomedes, a word of advice.  If you don’t want people to be angry at you, you should start by not calling what they have just said “foolishness.”

Anyway, Diomedes goes on to announce that Agamemnon has underestimated insulted him and his men, and that if Agamemnon leaves, he will stay and fight even if he and Sthenelus have to do it all by themselves.  The Achaeans cheer in agreement, and now of course Nestor has to get his two cents in.

“Son of Tydeus, you’re excellent in battle
and the best Achaean of your age in council.
No Achaean will fault what you’ve just said
or oppose it. But your speech is incomplete.
You are still young—you might well be my son,
my youngest born. Still, you spoke sensibly,
in what you said to the Achaean king.
For you spoke justly and kept to the point.                              
But come, I can claim to be your senior,                                                     
so I shall explain this matter fully.
Let no one take issue now with what I say,
not even mighty Agamemnon.”

Okay, I get that the repetition of things such as Hector’s helmet and Nestor’s age are in some sense memory devices for people telling or hearing the story of the Iliad.  Still, Nestor won’t stop bringing up his age and supposed wisdom every time he talks, so I’m going to nominate him for a “Who Caresies?” award.  I expect the acceptance speech to be lengthy.

Actually, wait a minute!  Nestor has something USEFUL to say.  (Cue the ‘Hallelujah’ Chorus.)  He suggests that Agamemnon make peace with Achilles (although not without patting himself on the back for having been the one to urge Agamemnon against taking Achilles’s lady friend from him.)  Agamemnon is in complete agreement, and where is all of this common sense coming from?

Agamemnon decides he will offer Achilles one of his daughters in marriage, tons of land and wealth, various goods such as horses and chariots, seven craftswomen (?) and… he will return Briseis!  Who he claims he never slept with.  Sorry son of Atreus, but there are two possibilities here:  1) You are lying or 2) You are a freaking moron.  Why did you alienate your best warrior for a woman you didn’t even sleep with?  It’s just bizarre.

Nestor calls together a group of Achaeans, including Ajax and Odysseus, to be the ones to approach Achilles with Agamemnon’s offer.  Achilles is, to put it mildly, not receptive to Agamemnon’s request:

“He [Agamemnon] stayed back, at the swift ships.
He shared very little of what he got,
keeping most of it for his own use.
He gave prizes to the best of men, the kings,
and they hung on to them. From me alone
he stole away a prize, a woman I love.
Let him have his pleasure in bed with her.                                     
Why must Argives fight against the Trojans?
Why did Atreus’ son collect an army
and lead it here if not for fair-haired Helen?
Are Atreus’ sons the only mortal men                                                         
who love their wives? Every good and prudent man
loves his wife and cares for her, as my heart
loved that girl, though captured with my spear.”

Aww, he did love Briseis, even though he “captured [her] with [his] spear.”  Which also sounds kind of phallic to me, although maybe I just have a dirty mind.  For some reason, he encourages Phoenix, one of the men there to persuade him to fight, to abandon Agamemnon and come home with him.  The men are “astounded” and Phoenix, while grateful for the invitation (apparently Phoenix was something of a father figure to Achilles) still tries to convince Achilles to rejoin the troops.  Ajax also tries to guilt Achilles to stay, but neither one is successful.  Achilles stands his ground.

Dejected, the men go back to Agamemnon where Odysseus gives him the bad news.  No one knows what to say, but Diomedes attempts to rally their spirits:

“Mighty Agamemnon, king of men,
you should not have begged noble Peleus’ son,
offering countless gifts. At the best of times
he’s a proud man Now you’ve encouraged him                                          
to be prouder still. Let’s leave him alone,
whether he goes or stays. For he’ll fight
when the spirit in his chest moves him,
or when god drives him to it.”

Diomedes suggest they go to sleep, and that in the morning they return to battle with Agamemnon leading the  charge.  Fair enough, I guess.  The soldiers “pour libations” and then they go to sleep, and that’s where the book ends.

Reading Notes

How old is Achilles supposed to be?  He is coming across as an angsty teenager.  I understand that he is insulted, and I’m not really Team Agamemnon here, but he should either rejoin the battle or leave.  Sticking around, pouting and refusing to help his fellow warriors, is unbecoming.

Also, I’m a little sarcastic and “jokey” as I review these books.  But all kidding aside, I am enjoying it.  I really can see why the Iliad continues to be studied.  So many character archetypes and plot devices derive from this work, and I’m not even half way done.  They may not be likeable archetypes, but they are recognizable.  Besides, no real person is all good or all bad (although some come closer than others), so I suppose it is a realistic enough portrayal of humanity.  There is no perfect hero or clear villain.  Just a bunch of flawed, complex people making generally self-serving decisions.