Book 15
Book 15 of Homer’s Iliad relates
the rallying of Trojan troops and warlords for battle, and the surge of violence
and Greek demoralization that follows. It continues many themes presented
in books 1-5, somewhat magnified by the tumultuous and emotional situation.
Bravery, valued early on in this particular time and setting, is all the more
vital in the ensuing battle. Pride, both of the gods and men, remains an institution.
The heavens are in a constant state of turmoil, in which the gods continually
take and switch sides in the Greek/Trojan battle, fight with each other over
their favorites, and harrow Zeus for support. The armies’ success hinges
not on their own devices, but on the will and whims of the gods—the
masters of their fates.
At the beginning of the book, Troy’s outlook
is grim. The Trojans are huddled away from battle, pushed back by Greek forces.
Hector lies on the war-plain, bloody and winded, unable to stand and fight.
Poseidon, the ocean god, stands stalwart among the Greeks. Upon witnessing
this from Ida, mountain mother of beasts, Zeus chastises Hera for siding with
the Greeks. She swears that it was all Poseidon’s doing. Zeus then tells
her to hold a council with all the gods, warning them that until Hector is
killed by Achilles, the Trojans must have the upper hand in battle. She agrees
and retreats to Olympus.
Emotions run high in the council. Ares in particular
is angered by Zeus’s mandate, and must be calmed by Athena. Eventually
the provisions are agreed to by all, and Iris, a messenger, and Apollo, the
sun god, are sent to Ida to converse with Zeus. On the great god’s order,
Iris travels to Poseidon and convinces him to desist from aiding the Greeks.
In the meantime, Apollo flies to Hector and bolsters him with strength for
battle.
With the gods’ help, Hector becomes “a glorious animal, head held
high, mane streaming like wind on his shoulders.” He riles his troops
and leads a charge, breaking through the Greek sand-wall and pressing on towards
their ships. The sight of the dangerous Hector strikes terror into the hearts
of the Greeks. The tables begin to turn.
Death swiftly ransacks both armies. The Trojans
cannot quite overtake the ships, but quickly gain strength and determination,
while the Greeks’ hope for victory is waning. The gods are ever against
them, breaking the bow of Teucer, the brother of Ajax. Nestor pleads to Zeus
for help, and gets but a peal of thunder in acknowledgement of his request.
Patroclus decides to leave the sickbed of his friend, Eurypylus, to plead
with Achilles to fight.
At last Hector gains the stern of one of the
Greek ships. He cries out to his men to burn the ships. Ajax, sensing the
situation’s immediacy, encourages his troops to hang on and keep fighting.
His spear “carves holes in the various Trojans who thought that they
might please Hector by bringing fire to the ship.” The book ends with
this glimmer of hope for the Greeks.
--Amy Koehler
Book 16
Although the drum of war beats wildly,
Achilles doggedly refuses to join in battle against the Trojans. Patroclus
pleads for assistance from Achilles, whose grudge against Agamemnon renders
him unaffected by his comrade’s supplications. Patroclus offers an alternative—to
wear Achilles’s armor instead of his own while defending the ships from
Trojan attack. Achilles agrees to this plan after commanding that Patroclus
fight only in defense of the ships and to not attack the city of Troy.
Following his trade of armor, Achilles
orders additional aid for Patroclus, including fifty ships with fifty men
aboard each. Prior to battle, Achilles appeals to Zeus by praying for two
things: Patroclus’s victory and return to camp, alive. The poem reveals,
however, that Zeus will grant only one prayer, the former, and deny Achilles
of the latter.
With newfound faith and courage, Patroclus
finds that Achilles’s armor has a strangely powerful effect. Invigorated
with energy radiating from Achilles’s mantel, Patroclus leads the Achaeans
through battle. Violence ensues with the crushing of men’s skulls and
the severing of limbs. Now the weaker army, the Trojans begin retreating as
the Achaeans relentlessly pursue. Patroclus kills numerous Trojans, including
Sarpedon, the son of Zeus. Before the death, Zeus contemplated whether he
should rescue Sarpedon from a bloody end, but Hera dissuaded him by suggesting
that such an action would anger other gods with mortal sons.
Throughout the fighting, the gods distort
the outcome of battle. Zeus finds a way to avenge his son’s death by
affecting Prince Hector with momentary Cowardice so that he retreats his troops
toward the gates of Troy, thus encouraging Patroclus to disobey Achilles’s
aforementioned command—to only fight in defense of the Achaean ships.
Although the Achaeans trounce upon the Trojans, Apollo prevents the sacking
of Troy by not allowing Patroclus to ascend its fortifications. The action
culminates in the ultimate conflict between Patroclus and Hector. Patroclus
aims to plummet Hector with a stone but instead strikes Hector’s chariot
driver, Cebriones, in the head and kills him. Apollo intervenes by knocking
Achilles’s armor off Patroclus, exposing him to vulnerability and mental
powerlessness. Zeus then gives Hector Achilles’s helmet before a Dardan
fighter spears Patroclus “squarely between the shoulder blades”
[937]. Acting the opportunist, Hector then delivers a fatal stab to Patroclus’s
back. Before his passage to the underworld, Patroclus foretells Hector’s
imminent death and thus brings a suspenseful end to Book 16.
--Katherine Kuang