Achilles Rage In Homer's Iliad

In Homer’s Iliad, Achilles’s rage is a major element of the plot, as he withdraws from battle based on spite, essentially, when the Achaeans desperately need his help. Agamemnon therefore sends an embassy consisting of Ajax, Phoenix, and Odysseus to convince him to return. Odysseus in particular is often described by Homer as a “tactician,” or one who is generally calm and logical. His speech does contain fairly methodical rhetorical strategies, such as appeals to emotion and the ancient desire for honor, and maintains a relative sense of sincerity, while still establishing a tone of urgency. Odysseus begins his speech with a benediction, stating “[to] your health, Achilles!” (Iliad, 9.269) While this is simply a means of praising Achilles, …show more content…
However, he is waiting for dawn in order to “lop the high horns of [the Achaeans’] sterns and gut [their] ships with fire and all [their] comrades pinned against the hulls, panicked by thick smoke.” (Iliad, 9.291- 9.293) While “high” may be a physical description of the ships, it may also be an appeal to Achaean patriotism - the description of their threatened comrades also achieves this to some extent. The use of several ‘and’s in this sentence, as Odysseus continues to add events that could occur in this hypothetical situation, conveys a sense of panic, just like that of their comrades - presumably, this would be even more effective when the poem was recited rather than read silently. The last clause of said sentence, “and all our comrades pinned against the hulls, panicked by thick smoke,” also comes off as somewhat ungrammatical - the tense of the verb “pinned” does not agree with the preceding “he threatens.” This may be attributed to the translation, rather than the original intent; either way, it contributes to the unusually terrified tone of the