Disclaimer: I am not an ancient Greek scholar. For the full disclaimer, Read here.
“But when the sun had reached mid-heaven, the sire of all balanced his golden scales, and put two fates of death within them, one for the Trojans and the other for the Achaeans. He took the balance by the middle, and when he lifted it up the day of the Achaeans sank; the death-fraught scale of the Achaeans settled down upon the ground, while that of the Trojans rose heavenwards. Then he thundered aloud from Ida, and sent the glare of his lightning upon the Achaeans; when they saw this, pale fear fell upon them and they were sore afraid.”
Iliad, Book 8; Samuel Butler translation
Book 8 Summary
Zeus warns the other Olympians to stay out of the war and then settles down on Mt. Ida to watch. When the scales of fate tip in favor of the Trojans, he sends lightning and thunder down upon the Achaeans which frighten them into retreating. Diomedes is the only one willing to keep fighting. He catches up with a stranded Nestor, whose horse was shot dead by Paris, and Diomedes convinces him to make a stand against the Trojans. Zeus sends a lightning bolt right in front of Diomedes and Nestor implores him to retreat which Diomedes reluctantly agrees to do. The Trojans push the Achaeans all the way back to their ships, and are only stopped by a bulwark the Achaeans had built around their camp during the ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Hera and Athena are angry that Zeus has forbidden them from interfering in the war and plan to defy his orders. However, when he sees them leave Olympus, he threatens them with severe punishment and they retreat back to Olympus.
The Trojans end the day by camping outside the Achaeans’ camp, burning fires all around so they can catch the Achaeans if they decide to get on their ships and flee Troy.
For a list of the major characters, with Greek and Latin names, go here.
The Anger of Achilles Bares Its Fangs
It’s finally beginning to happen. Achilles is getting his revenge on Agamemnon.
I haven’t talked about the anger of Achilles since Book 1, but what I said still stands: the anger of Achilles acts throughout the Iliad. And now we are seeing it materialize.
Here’s a reminder of the chain of events:
Agamemnon dishonors Achilles in front of the council
Achilles removes himself and his army from the war
In his anger, Achilles begs his mother, the sea goddess Thetis, to petition Zeus to cause the Achaeans to lose the war until Agamemnon regrets dishonoring Achilles
Zeus hears out Thetis and vows to honor the petition
Zeus sends a deceptive dream to Agamemnon to get him to attack the Trojans prematurely
After a series of events, the two armies clash, many begin dying, and it appears the Achaeans have the upper hand
Now we see in Book 8 Zeus stepping in and honoring Achilles’ petition. He frightens the Achaeans back to their camp and now the Trojans have them surrounded. The only thing stopping the Trojans from going any further is the bulwark the Achaeans built around their camp during the ceasefire and the fact that the day ended.
Things are not looking good for the Achaeans—and they’re about to get worse. Much worse.
Spoiler Alert, Zeus!
Toward the end of Book 8, Zeus says this to Hera:
“To-morrow morning, Juno, if you choose to do so, you will see the son of Saturn destroying large numbers of the Argives, for fierce Hector shall not cease fighting till he has roused the son of Peleus when they are fighting in dire straits at their ships’ sterns about the body of Patroclus.”
Iliad, Book 8; Samuel Butler translation
Wait, what?! What the heck, Zeus?!
All kidding aside, this is something Homer does over and over again in the Iliad. He reveals to his audience exactly what’s going to happen in the future. Under normal circumstances, it just spoils the story. However, for a master storyteller like Homer, it only serves to raise the tension.
The anger of Achilles is another great example of this. We know Zeus has decided to honor Achilles’ petition and the Achaeans will start losing.
As the armies meet on the battlefield and Paris and Menelaus have their duel, Achilles’ anger looms over it. We know the war won’t end like this. And sure enough, the truce is broken and the fighting erupts again.
As the Achaeans fight and claim the advantage over the Trojans, we know it’s not a matter of if, but when the Achaeans will begin losing. And sure enough, Zeus steps in to finally fulfill Achilles’ petition and terrorizes the Achaeans.
Let’s put that aside though and address the elephant in the room.
If this is the first time you’re reading the Iliad and know nothing about the Trojan War, you may be wondering: who is Patroclus and why will the armies be fighting over his body?
All we learn in this line is Patroclus is associated with Achilles (the son of Peleus).
However, Patroclus was introduced way back in Book 1. It’s rather innocuous, though. Achilles asks Patroclus to bring out Briseis, the girl he won as a war prize, so that she can be given to Agamemnon. Patroclus obeys the command. That’s it.
However, Patroclus is going to play a much bigger role in the near future. We’re going to find out exactly how Patroclus is associated with Achilles, how he ends up dead, and why both armies will fight over his body.
This line that Zeus speaks now in Book 8 will haunt the story until its culmination in Books 16-18. After that, the anger of Achilles will take on a radically different meaning.
Unlike Zeus, though, I don’t want to spoil too much.
We Have To Talk About Diomedes
It’s official: Diomedes is the coolest character in the Iliad. The only other characters who may match Diomedes in coolness is Hector and maybe Telamonian Ajax.
Achilles may be the Achaeans’ strongest warrior, but he’s whiny and mopey and doesn’t care that people, even people who respect him, will die in his quest for vengeance against Agamemnon.
Agamemnon may be the commander of the Achaean army, but he’s selfish, prideful, and erratic.
Menelaus lacks confidence and is indecisive.
And while Odysseus is cunning and Telamonian Ajax is a tower, and they’re some of the better characters in the Iliad, they both ran as soon as the thunder and lightning started.
But not Diomedes. He ran toward the enemy instead. It was this action that saved Nestor’s life who was stranded on the battlefield.
Diomedes didn’t care if he was going to get burnt to a crisp. He cared more about whether he would be a coward or not. In fact, the Iliad makes it clear that Diomedes would have died if Zeus hadn’t intervened with more thunder and lightning.
All had then been lost and no help for it, for [Diomedes and Nestor] would have been penned up in Ilius like sheep, had not the sire of gods and men been quick to mark, and hurled a fiery flaming thunderbolt which fell just in front of Diomed’s horses with a flare of burning brimstone.
Iliad, Book 8; Samuel Butler translation
Diomedes only turned around when Nestor convinced him it was wiser to retreat. Even then, when Diomedes was being taunted by Hector, he tried turning around to confront him only to be stopped by another thunderbolt.
And then, when the Achaeans are pushed back into their camp and launch a counterattack, Diomedes was the first one out the gate pushing back against the Trojans.
And remember: earlier he had been shot by Pandarus with an arrow. So, he’s been doing all this crazy stuff while wounded.
If there is a character in the Iliad to look up to on the Achaean side, at least to this point, it’s Diomedes. In my mind, he’s the one that most closely represents the hero role model. It’s a shame he isn’t better known to the modern audience compared to other Greeks characters.
If you could point out a flaw in Diomedes, it’s that he’s too eager to prove himself. However, you can’t deny his stalwart courage and honorable nature.
That’s all for Book 8 of the Iliad.
May your days be filled with grace.
-Andronikos
The booklist I am going through can be found here.
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Thumbnail: Zeus Halts the Chariot of Diomedes and Nestor with a Bolt of Lightning by Louis Moritz. Created 1810. Public domain.
Whose side do you think Homer is on? The most noble and admirable characters would seem to be Hector, Andromache and Priam, but most of the attention is on the Greeks. The characters with the most enduring fame are Achilles, Odysseus, Ajax and Agamemnon, and "the face that launched a thousand ships" has a smaller part than I would have expected.