A sampling of comments on Iliad Rhapsody 11

2016.09.27 / updated 2018.09.11 | By Gregory Nagy

Rhapsody 11 marks the point in the Iliad where Patroklos is drawn into a fatal pattern of impersonating Achilles. Pivotal is the story that Patroklos hears from the old hero Nestor. My comments here on Iliad 11 work around Nestor’s story at I.11.670–803 as analyzed in the book Hippota Nestor by Douglas Frame, 2009:105–130.

Rhapsody 11 marks the point in the Iliad where Patroklos is drawn into a fatal pattern of impersonating Achilles. Pivotal is the story that Patroklos hears from the old hero Nestor. My comments here on Iliad 11 work around Nestor’s story at I.11.670–803 as analyzed in the book Hippota Nestor by Douglas Frame, 2009:105–130. [[GN 2016.09.22.]]

I.11.001–002
subject heading(s): Ēōs ‘Dawn’, Tīthōnos

At O.05.001–002 and here at I.11.001–002, Ēōs as goddess of the dawn is linked with a myth that tells how she abducted the young hero Tīthōnos. The myth is narrated in Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite 218–238. [[GN 2017.04.12 via GMP 252.]]

I.11.005–016
subject heading(s): bay of the Hellespont; klisiā ‘shelter’; eris ‘strife’; post-heroic age; sterns of the Achaeans ships; Scamander; Hellespont; headquarters of the Achaeans; naustathmon ‘ship-station’

As indicated already in the comment for I.08.220–227, the ships of the Achaeans are beached along the shores of a large U-shaped bay that opens into the Hellespont. See again Map 1 and Map 2 at HPC 157 and 158 respectively. At the upper left and the upper right tips of the U-shaped bay, at the northwest and northeast, are the beached ships of Achilles and of Ajax respectively, I.11.008–009. Also at those points are the klisiai ‘shelters’ of these two heroes, I.11.007. As for the beached ship of Odysseus, it is located at the base of the U-shaped bay, at the south in the middle of the bayline, I.11.005–006. There will be more to say about this location in the later comments at I.11.806–808 and at I.14.027–036. To be highlighted already now, however, is a detail about the ship of Odysseus: the goddess Eris ‘Strife’, who is here the spirit of war personified, I.11.004, is shown standing on the deck of this beached ship, which is said to be located en messatōi ‘in the middlemost space’, I.11.006, and from here she projects her voice of divine authority, shouting mightily to all the Achaeans stationed at their own ships, I.11.005–014, and all the Achaeans stationed at all the beached ships can hear the divine voice—from the ship of Achilles at one extreme of the U-shaped bay all the way to the ship of Ajax at the other extreme, I.11.007–009. Then, Agamemnon too shouts to the Achaeans, I.11.015–016, and his royal voice is figured here as an extension of the divine voice emanating from the goddess Eris herself, I.11.005–014.  Later, in the comment on I.18.587–589, there will be more to say about the klisiā ‘shelter’ of Achilles, mentioned here together with the klisiā of Ajax, I.11.007–008: it can be argued that Achilles frequents this ‘shelter’ not only as an epic hero in the time of the Trojan War but also, in post-heroic times, as a cult hero (HPC 153). [[GN 2016.09.22.]]

I.11.032–040
subject heading(s): shield of Agamemnon

In the ancient world, the description of this shield was interpreted by some as an allegory of the cosmos, analogous to the description of the Shield of Achilles at I.18.478–609. One such interpreter was Crates of Mallos, contemporary of Aristarchus. For background on Crates, see the comment on I.14.245–246–246a. [[GN 2016.09.22 via HPC 358.]]

I.11.041
subject heading(s): helmet of Agamemnon

The description of the helmet of Agamemnon here at I.11.041 is cognate with the description of the helmet of Athena at I.05.743. [[GN 2016.09.22 via HC 4§100.]]

I.11.058
subject heading(s): the expression ‘(and) he was honored [tīein] as a god [theos] in the district [dēmos]’ (θεὸς [δ’] ὣς τίετο δήμῳ); hero cult; cult hero

The description of the epic hero Aeneas here indicates that there were rituals honoring him as a cult hero, and it may be that such rituals of hero cult were linked with myths about what happened to him after death. See anchor comment for I.05.077–078. [[GN 2016.09.22 via BA 149, 269; GMP 132–133.]]

I.11.078–079
subject heading(s): aitios ‘responsible’; Will of Zeus

At I.11.078, the gods are said to hold Zeus aitios ‘responsible’, as expressed by the verb aitiân, derived from the adjective aitios, for the fact that the Trojans are now winning in the Trojan War while the Achaeans are losing. At I.11.079, this fact is attributed to the Will of Zeus: the god ‘wishes’ for this to happen, as expressed by the verb boulesthai ‘ wish, plan’. [[GN 2016.09.22 via PH 238.]]

I.11.104–112

subject heading(s): epic deeds of Achilles before the time dramatized in our Iliad; Achilles the Aeolian

This narrative alludes to the epic deeds of Achilles in the region of Mount Ida. These deeds, taking place before the time dramatized in the Iliad, will be analyzed in another comment. [[GN 2016.09.22 via BA 140.]]

I.11.200
subject heading(s): antagonism between immortal and mortal; mētis ‘mind, intelligence’

The description of Hector here as comparable to the god Zeus himself with regard to mētis ‘mind, intelligence’ is an implicit affront to Athena, who is the divine personification of mētis. See the comments on I.06.286–311, I.07.017–061, I.08.538–541, and I.10.043–052. [[GN 2016.09.22 via BA 145 and GMP 204.]]

I.11.218–231
subject heading(s): aristeiā ‘epic high point’; ‘best of the Achaeans’; plot of the Iliad; narrative arc

This narrative centers on the aristeiā ‘epic high point’ of Agamemnon in the Iliad. On aristeiā ‘epic high point’, see the comment on I.05.103. [[GN 2016.09.22 via BA 17.]]

I.11.218
subject heading(s): re-invocation of Muse(s); ennepein ‘narrate, tell’; Mousa ‘Muse’; singing as narrating
lemmatizing: ἔσπετε νῦν μοι Μοῦσαι Ὀλύμπια δώματ’ ἔχουσαι

It has already been noted in the comment on I.02.484 that the Master Narrator tends to re-invoke the Muse or the Muses at special moments of poetic self-awareness about the need for high fidelity to tradition (see also Martin 1989:238). Such a moment is now at hand as Agamemnon the over-king is about to have his own moment of experiencing an ‘epic high point’. At such a moment, the Narrator must be ready to do his very best in recapturing that heroic experience. And, to express his readiness, the Narrator in all his self-awareness will now re-invoke the Muse or the Muses. In this context, the ‘I’ who is re-invoking the Muse(s) is meant to be seen as a re-enactment of ‘Homer’ himself, as originally enacted by the speaker who invokes the Muse at I.01.001 and at O.01.001. [[GN 2016.09.22 via PasP 44n11, 61.]]

I.11.227
subject heading(s): kleos ‘glory’ of the Achaeans

Even the most minor character in the Iliad—and the hero Iphidamas here is a striking example—is willing to die simply for the chance of getting included in the kleos ‘glory’ of the present performance, which is of course the Homeric Iliad itself. What makes the example of Iphidamas even more striking is that he is not even fighting on the Achaean side in this war. [[GN 2016.09.22 via BA 57, PH 148, H24H 1§§14–20.]]

I.11.288
subject heading(s): aristeiā ‘epic high point’; ‘best of the Achaeans’; plot of the Iliad; narrative arc

Here at I.11.288, Hector is boasting that Agamemnon, ‘the best man’, ho aristos, is now out of the picture. There is an irony built into the words of Hector, and this irony emerges from the context. The aristeiā ‘epic high point’ of Agamemnon in the Iliad, inaugurated in grand style when the Master Narrator invokes the Muses at I.11.218, does not go all that well for the high king. Early on in the fighting, he gets wounded in the hand, I.11.253. He tries to fight on, but the pain from the wound finally gets to him, I.11.268–272. The intensity of his pain is compared here to the birth-pangs experienced by a woman at the climax of her labor, I.11.269–271. Unable to withstand such pain any more, Agamemnon jumps back on the platform of his war chariot and orders his driver to drive him back to the safety of the beached ships of the Achaeans, I.11.273–274, shouting to his fellow warriors that they should now follow him in retreat and defend the ships, I.11.275–278, since, as he says, Zeus has not supported the ongoing offensive initiated by the Achaeans, I.11.278–279. So, the aristeiā ‘epic high point’ of Agamemnon has not exactly turned out to be a spectacular success. And Hector knows it. As the chariot of Agamemnon speeds this over-king away from the scene of battle, I.11.280–283, Hector notices, I.11.284, as expressed by the verb noeîn ‘take note’. It is in this context, then, that Hector says what he says at I.11.288: ‘the best man’, ho aristos, is now out of the picture. But of course the truly best of all the Achaeans is not yet in the picture. [[GN 2016.09.22 via BA 31.]]

I.11.295
subject heading(s): ‘equal to Ares’; thoós ‘running, swift’; Ares; ‘equal to a blast of wind’

The description of Hector as īsos Arēi ‘equal to Ares’ here at I.11.295 is parallel to his being described as atalantos Arēi ‘equal to Ares’ at I.08.215. For Hector and in fact for any heroic warrior in the Iliad, even for generic warriors, the idea of being ‘equal to Ares’ is parallel to the idea of being a therapōn of Ares, where therapōn is to be understood in the deeper sense of ‘ritual substitute’. About this deeper sense, see the comment on I.02.110. [[GN 2016.09.25.]]

I.11.297-298
subject heading(s): Battle for the Ships

The onslaught of Hector and his Trojans against the Achaeans is pictured here as a violent blast of wind in a storm that churns up the sea, which is called the pontos here at I.11.298. This onslaught will threaten the safety of the beached ships of the Achaeans, and thus it will threaten the very survival of the Achaeans and even of all Greeks as notional descendants of the Achaeans. See further on the Battle for the Ships in the comment on I.01.320–348. [[GN 2016.09.25 via BA 334, 337.]]

I.11.297
subject heading(s): ‘equal to a blast of wind’; thoós ‘running, swift’; Ares

Here at I.11.297, two verses after I.11.295, where Hector is described as īsos Arēi ‘equal to Ares’ (ἶσος Ἄρηϊ), the same Trojan hero is now further described as īsos aellēi ‘equal to a blast of wind’ (ἶσος ἀέλλῃ). This verse-final phrase īsos aellēi ‘equal to a blast of wind’ (ἶσος ἀέλλῃ) matches rhythmically the verse-final phrase īsos Arēi ‘equal to Ares’ (ἶσος Ἄρηϊ). Aside from the match in form, there is also a deep-seated match in meaning here between the phrases ‘equal to Ares’ and ‘equal to a blast of wind’, since the god of war is traditionally linked with violent winds. See the comment on I.05.430. Such a link is also attested in the cognate poetics of other Indo-European languages besides Greek: analysis in BA 334, 337. [[GN 2016.09.25 via BA 294, 327.]]

I.11.317–319
Q&T via BA 81
subject heading(s): Will of Zeus; kratos ‘winning-power’; akhos ‘grief’; Akhaio-/Akhaiā-; etymology; Will of Zeus

In the words of Diomedes, the Will of Zeus is now in effect: the plan of the god is to give kratos ‘winning-power’ to the Trojans and to take it away from the Achaeans, I.11.319. In this verse, we see that Zeus ‘wishes’ for this to happen, as expressed by the verb boulesthai ‘want, wish, plan’. See also the comment on I.11.078–079, where boulesthai ‘wish, plan’ is already expressing the same idea. And, by taking kratos ‘winning-power’ away from the Achaeans, Zeus is giving them akhos ‘grief’ instead, on which see the comment on I.01.509. [[GN 2016.09.25 via BA 81, 334, 337.]]

I.11.322
subject heading(s): therapōn ‘attendant, ritual substitute’; “taking the hit”

Diomedes and Odysseus agree to fight as a team, I.11.310–319. Diomedes throws a spear at Thumbraios, who is riding on a chariot and who gets knocked to the ground by the piercing wound, I.11.320–321. Then Odysseus symmetrically wounds with his own piercing spear-throw the charioteer of Thumbraios, Molion, who is described here as the therapōn of Thumbraios, I.11.322. Presumably, Molion too has been riding on the same chariot and gets knocked to the ground. Molion is not overtly called the hēni-okhos ‘chariot driver’ of Thumbraios, but the context shows that he is exactly that, the chariot driver. And, although Molion is the therapōn of Thumbraios, Molion does not get to “take the hit” for Thumbraios the chariot fighter, since that fighter is hit even before his driver is hit. So we see here an unexpected variation on the theme of the therapōn as ‘ritual substitute’ as well as ‘attendant’. [[GN 2016.08.04 via the comment on I.04.227 via Nagy 2015.05.01, 2015.05.08, 2015.05.15, 2015.05.20.]]

I.11.347
subject heading(s): pēma ‘pain’; micro-Iliad; First Song of Demodokos; kulindesthai ‘roll’; Will of Zeus; boulē ‘wish, plan’ in the specific sense of ‘plan’

In the words of Diomedes, Hector is a pēma ‘pain’ for the Achaeans, I.11.347. The pain that he inflicts on them is visualized by way of the verb kulindesthai ‘roll’ in this same verse, I.11.347. The comparison that is implied by this verb becomes explicit at I.13.136–142, where we will see the menacing image of a boulder that breaks off from mountainous heights overhead and starts rolling downward from above, ever increasing in speed as it nears ground zero: only when the boulder has reached a level plain does it finally stop ‘rolling’, as expressed by the verb kulindesthai at I.13.142 (see H24H 5§10). In the framing verses of I.13.136-142, this visualization of the menacing boulder that is rolling down from the heights above is being compared to Hector himself as he rushes toward the Achaeans. The same visualization is implicit in the use of the verb kulindesthai ‘roll’ at I.11.347, where Hector is pictured as a pēma ‘pain’ that is rushing toward his enemies. See also the comment on I.17.098–101, where the death of Patroklos is viewed retrospectively as a great pēma ‘pain’, I.17.099, that was sure to kulindesthai ‘roll’ down from the heights like some boulder and to crush anyone daring to attack a warrior who is being protected by a god. And the same visualization of a breakaway boulder is implicit also in the combination of pēma ‘pain’ with kulindesthai ‘roll’ at O.08.081 of the “micro-Iliad” that is narrated at O.08.072–083, which is the First Song of Demodokos. In this song, at O.08.081, the ‘beginning of the pain [pēma]’ is pictured at the very beginning of the overall narrative: the pēma ‘pain’ is starting to ‘roll’, as expressed again by way of kulindesthai, and we see further at O.08.082 that this pain will be rolling toward Trojans and Achaeans (=Danaans) alike. Ultimately, both sides in the Trojan War will feel the pain, and it is all because Zeus willed it to be this way: everything will happen the way it will happen ‘because of the plans [boulai] of Zeus’, O.08.082 (Διὸς μεγάλου διὰ βουλάς). [[GN 2016.09.25 via BA 77.]]

I.11.488
subject heading(s): therapōn ‘attendant, ritual substitute’

The immediate context here shows that the therapōn ‘attendant, ritual substitute’ is a chariot driver. He is not named. Nor is he described explicitly as a hēni-okhos ‘chariot driver’, but that is what he is doing here—driving the chariot. [[GN 2016.08.04.]]

I.11.497–500
subject heading(s): left-right co-ordination; viewing the scene of chariot fighting; Scamander; Achaean Wall; viewing the “theater of war”

Hector does not yet notice that Ajax is fighting on the right-hand side of the battleground since he, Hector, is at this moment fighting on the left-hand side, near the banks of the river Scamander. Although the perception is attributed to Hector here, the actual perspective is that of the Master Narrator, who consistently views the scene of chariot fighting from the Achaean point of view. In terms of this perspective, Hector is now fighting on the east side of the battleground while Ajax is fighting on the west side. The map of the battleground can be visualized on the cumulative basis of references, as here at I.11.497–500, to left-right positioning in descriptions of the fighting. What follows is an outline of the overall mapping. The Achaeans are encamped in the north and defending the Wall that separates them and their beached ships from the Trojans, who are attacking from the south. The river Scamander, flowing from the southeast toward the northwest and emptying into the Hellespont, separates Troy in the northeast from the encampment of the Achaeans in the northwest. Meanwhile, the Wall of the Achaeans separates their encampment and their ships in the northwest from the Trojans who are attacking the Wall from the south. The Achaeans built the Wall because the Trojans, emboldened by the momentum of Hector, have by now crossed over from the southeast side of the river Scamander to the southwest side, moving into the plain situated to the south of the Achaean Wall. So now this whole plain to the west of the Scamander has become a battleground for chariot fighting. Hector is fighting further to the east, staying close to the west bank of the Scamander, while Ajax is fighting further to the west. [[GN 2016.09.25 via HPC 160–165 (especially 164n53), with bibliography.]]

I.11.506
subject heading(s): aristeiā ‘epic high point’; ‘best of the Achaeans’; plot of the Iliad; narrative arc; aristeuein ‘strive to be the best’

The wounding of a hero, as in the case of the wound suffered by the hero Makhaon here, can put a stop to his aristeiā ‘epic high point’. See also the comment on I.11.288. The verb aristeuein here at I.11.506 can be interpreted as meaning ‘have an epic high point’, and we see that the wounding of Makhaon has stopped him from having such a high point. For more on aristeuein, which can also be translated as ‘strive to be the best, to be aristos’, see the comment at I.07.092–169. [[GN 2016.09.25 via BA 31.]]

I.11.508
subject heading(s): ‘breathing-out [pneîn]; menos mental power’

The idea of ‘breathing out’ something called menos ‘mental power’ implies that such power was previously ‘breathed in’, that is, ‘breathed into’ the hero, by a divine force. Such a ‘breathing in’ happens for example at I.10.482: as it is pointed out in the comment on that verse, the goddess Athena is pictured there in the act of literally ‘breathing’, pneîn, into the hero Odysseus something called menos ‘mental power’. Here at I.11.508, the aggregate of warriors who are ‘breathing-out [pneîn] mental-power [menos]’ are the Achaeans viewed as a group; so also at I.03.008; by contrast, at I.02.536, the epithet applies to a sub-group, the Abantes. [[GN 2016.09.25 via GMP 114.]]

I.11.564
subject heading(s): polu– as ‘many different’ vs. ‘many’

The epikouroi ‘allies’ of the Trojans are described as polu-ēgerées, which means not ‘consisting of many groups’ but ‘consisting of many different groups’. Compare also I.02.804, I.17.156, I.11.642. [[GN 2016.09.25 via PasP 49n29.]]

I.11.599-600
subject heading(s): viewing the “theater of war”; viewing the scene of chariot fighting

The perspective of Achilles in viewing from his shelter the scene of chariot warfare as narrated here is precisely coordinated with the overall visual mapping of the ongoing battle. See the comment at I.11.497–500. [[GN 2016.09.25 via HPC 162n43.]]

I.11.604
Q&T via BA 33
subject heading(s): ‘equal to Ares’; ‘equal to a superhuman force [daimōn]’

Achilles calls out to Patroklos, who now comes out of the shelter. At this moment Patroklos is described as īsos Arēi ‘equal to Ares’, and the very application of this epithet here to Patroklos dooms him to die as a ritual substitute for Ares as god of war. That is why the ominous remark is added: ‘and that was the beginning of his doom’ (κακοῦ δ’ ἄρα οἱ πέλεν ἀρχή). Much later, when he is finally killed, Patroklos is described as atalantos Arēi ‘equal to Ares’, I.16.784. For Patroklos, however, the ritual substitution involves not only Ares who is the god of war for the generic warrior: it involves also the god Apollo as the divine antagonist of Achilles. In Iliad 16, the death of Patroklos as a ritual substitute will be marked not only by the epithet atalantos Arēi ‘equal to Ares’ at I.16.784 but also by the epithet daimoni īsos ‘equal to a superhuman-force [daimōn]’ at I.16.705 and at I.16.786. This daimōn ‘superhuman force’ will be Apollo, the divine antagonist of Achilles. [[GN 2016.09.25 via BA 33, 293–294; PH 307.]]

I.11.620
subject heading(s): therapōn ‘attendant, ritual substitute’; Eurymedon

Eurymedon here is explicitly called the therapōn of Nestor, functioning as the ‘attendant’ of the old hero: at this moment, Eurymedon is taking care of the horse team of Patroklos, who has just driven his chariot to the headquarters of Nestor as the old hero’s guest, I.11.618–622. That passage is analyzed in the context of comparable passages at I.04.227. [[GN 2016.08.04.]]

I.11.624–627
subject heading(s): epic deeds of Achilles before the time dramatized in the Iliad; Achilles the Aeolian

The narrative here at I.11.624–626 refers to the epic deeds of Achilles on the Aeolian island of Tenedos. These deeds, taking place before the time dramatized in the Iliad, will be analyzed in the anchor comment that immediately follows, at I.11.624–627. [[GN 2016.09.25 via BA 140.]]

I.11.624–627/ anchor comment on: Aeolian women in the Iliad, part 3
subject heading(s): conquest of Tenedos by Achilles the Aeolian; Hekamede the Aeolian; conquest of Lesbos by Achilles the Aeolian; seven captive Aeolian women from Lesbos; conquest of Lyrnessos and Thēbē by Achilles the Aeolian; Briseis the Aeolian; Chryseis the Aeolian; Andromache the Aeolian
see also anchor comment at I.02.689–694 on: Aeolian women in the Iliad, part 1
see also anchor comment at I.09.128–131 / I.09.270–272 on: Aeolian women in the Iliad, part 2

The references at I.09.128–131 and at I.09.270–272 to the story about the conquest of the Aeolian island of Lesbos by Achilles are complemented by the reference here at I.11.624–627 to a story about the conquest of the Aeolian island of Tenedos by the same hero. At Lesbos, Achilles is said to have captured seven unnamed Aeolian women, I.09.128–131 / I.09.270–272. At Tenedos, he is said to have captured one particular Aeolian woman named Hekamede, who was thereafter allotted as a war-prize to Nestor I.11.624–627. And why was Nestor allotted this war-prize? Because Hekamede excelled in intelligence, signaled here by way of the word boulē, I.11.627. On the meaning of boulē in the specific sense of clever ‘planning’, see the comment on I.11.627 immediately after this comment. For the moment, however, the focus of interest is not on the matching of Nestor with Hekamede in terms of their shared intelligence but rather on the degrading of Hekamede as a captive woman. In the narrative at I.11.624–627, we can see how it all happened. After Achilles conquered Tenedos and captured Hekamede, what must have happened next is that he handed her over to his fellow Achaeans, who then acted as a group in alloting her as a war-prize to Nestor. Parallel is the story of the seven unnamed Aeolian captive woman who were captured by Achilles when he conquered the Aeolian island of Lesbos, as noted in the anchor comment at I.09.128–131 / I.09.270–272: again, Achilles must have handed over these seven unnamed Aeolian captive women to his fellow Achaeans, who then acted as a group in allotting them as war-prizes to Agamemnon. Also parallel are the stories of two other Aeolian captive women, Chryseis and Briseis, who were captured by Achilles when he conquered the cities of Thēbē and Lyrnessos respectively, as noted in the anchor comment at I.02.689–693: yet again, Achilles must have handed over these two Aeolian captive women to his fellow Achaeans, who then acted as a group in allotting them as war-prizes—to Agamemnon in the case of Chryseis and to Achilles himself in the case of Briseis. Yet another Aeolian captive woman is of course Andromache herself, who originated from the city of Thēbē: in this case, however, as noted in the anchor comment at I.09.128–131 / I.09.270–272, she is taken captive only after Troy is conquered by the Achaeans, who allot her as war-prize to Neoptolemos, son of Achilles, as we read in the Iliou Persis, attributed to Arctinus of Miletus, plot summary by Proclus p. 108 line 9 (ed. Allen 1912). [[GN 2016.10.06.]]

I.11.627
subject heading(s): boulē ‘wish, plan’

The Aeolian captive woman Hekamede excels in intelligence, as does Nestor, and such excellence is expressed here by way of the noun boulē in the specific sense of ‘plan, planning’, that is, having an aptitude for cleverness in planning. [[GN 2016.10.05.]]

I.11.664–667
subject heading(s): fire of Hector

Achilles is said here to be uncaring whether Hector sets fire to the ships of the Achaeans. [[GN 2016.09.25 via BA 335.]]

I.11.668
subject heading(s): īs ‘force, violence, strength’

This noun īs ‘force, violence, strength’ is a synonym of the noun biē. [[GN 2016.09.25 via BA 89.]]

I.11.670
subject heading(s): īs ‘force, violence, strength’

This noun īs ‘force, violence, strength’ is a synonym of the noun biē. [[GN 2016.09.25 via BA 89.]]

I.11.699–702
subject heading(s): four-horse chariot; Dardanidai

Homeric references to four-horse chariot teams are rare, indicative of Athenian agenda. See the comments on I.05.263–273 and I.08.185. [[GN 2016.09.25 via HPC 210.]]

I.11.671-761
subject heading(s): Gates of the Sun; Pylos; entrance to the underworld; pulartēs ‘gate-closer’; Hēraklēs; Hādēs; Gates of Hādēs

In the course of this lengthy narrative, I.11.671-761, the idea of a ‘gate’ of the Sun is linked with Nestor’s Pylos and with the underworldly Pylos of I.05.397. See also the comment at I.05.395–404. [[GN 2016.09.25 via GMP 225–226.]]

I.11.690
subject heading(s): bíē Hēraklēeíē ‘force of Hēraklēs’; biē ‘force, violence, strength’; kleos ‘glory’

See the comment on I.02.658. [[GN 2016.09.25 via BA 318.]]

I.11.735
subject heading(s): phaethōn ‘shining’ as epithet of Helios

At later points, at O.12.132 and at O.23.246, the links that connect phaethōn ‘shining’ as epithet of Helios with the names Phaethōn and Phaethousa will be examined. [[GN 2016.09.25 via GMP 235.]]

I.11.784
subject heading(s): aien aristeuein ‘strive to be the best always’; aristeuein ‘strive to be the best’

To ‘strive to be the best always’, that was the instruction of Peleus to his son Achilles, and this instruction is relevant to the title ‘best of the Achaeans’ as claimed by the figure of Achilles. [[GN 2016.09.25 via BA 28.]]

I.11.787
subject heading(s): biē ‘force, violence, strength’

Conventionally, the heroic superiority of Achilles is measured in terms of his biē ‘force, violence, strength’. See the comment on I.09.346–352. [[GN 2016.09.25 via BA 47.]]

I.11.806-808
subject heading(s): bay of the Hellespont; headquarters of the Achaeans; naustathmon ‘ship-station’; sterns of the Achaeans ships; Scamander; klisiā ‘shelter’; Hellespont; eris ‘strife’; post-heroic age

Here as well as earlier at I.08.220–227 and at I.11.005–016, also later at I.14.027–036, the headquarters of the Achaeans are said to be located at the same place where the ship of Odysseus is beached, on the shores of the south end of the bay of the Hellespont. It is here, next to the beached ship of Odysseus, that the Achaeans of the Iliad hold their assemblies and perform their sacrifices, as we see from the wording at I.11.807–808. Such a centerpoint, then, is not only topographical: it is also political—even sacral. And it is from here that the king Agamemnon shouts his speech of royal authority, as we saw at I.08.220–227. Likewise, it is from here that the goddess Eris ‘Strife’, who is the spirit of war personified, shouts at the Achaeans with her voice of divine authority at I.11.005–014, echoed by Agamemnon’s voice of royal authority at I.11.015–016. The location of this political and sacral centerpoint is the naustathmon ‘ship-station’ of the Achaeans according to Strabo 13.1.31–32 C595 (quoted at HPC 153) and 13.1.36 C598 (quoted at HPC 154), who equates such a station with something called the limēn ‘harbor’of the Achaeans’. But such a notion of ‘harbor’ is misleading from the standpoint of the Iliad. As noted in the comment on I.08.220–227, the ships of the Achaeans were not floating at anchor in the bay of the Hellespont: rather, they were beached along the shores of the bay. [[GN 2016.09.25 via HPC 155–158, 160–161.]]

I.11.818
subject heading(s): devouring of corpses by dogs

For Patroklos to picture here the devouring of heroes’ corpses by dogs is to show the intensity of his anxious feelings about the future. [[GN 2016.09.25 via BA 226.]]

I.11.832
subject heading(s): Cheiron the Centaur; dikaios ‘righteous’

The description of Cheiron as dikaiotatos ‘most righteous’ among the Centaurs is relevant to the conflicted temperament of Achilles: from boyhood on, this hero has a savage streak, tempered by the civilizing power of the Centaur as his mentor. [[GN 2016.09.25 via BA 326.]]

I.11.843
subject heading(s): therapōn ‘attendant, ritual substitute’

In the immediate context, only the surface meaning of therapōn as ‘attendant’ is evident. [[2016.08.04 via BA 292.]]

Bibliographical Abbreviations

BA       = Best of the Achaeans, Nagy 1979/1999.

GMP    = Greek Mythology and Poetics, Nagy 1990b.

H24H   = The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours, Nagy 2013

HC       = Homer the Classic, Nagy 2009|2008

HPC     = Homer the Preclassic, Nagy 2010|2009

HQ       = Homeric Questions, Nagy 1996b

HR       = Homeric Responses, Nagy 2003

MoM   = Masterpieces of Metonymy, Nagy 2016|2015

PasP    = Poetry as Performance, Nagy 1996a

PH      = Pindar’s Homer, Nagy 1990a.

Bibliography

See the dynamic Bibliography for AHCIP.

Inventory of terms and names

See the dynamic Inventory of terms and names for AHCIP.