Day 28: Agamemnon Responds

Lines 126-32

λαοὺς δ' οὐκ ἐπέοικε παλίλλογα ταῦτ' ἐπαγείρειν.
ἀλλὰ σὺ μὲν νῦν τήνδε θεῷ πρόες, αὐτὰρ Ἀχαιοὶ
τριπλῇ τετραπλῇ τ' ἀποτίσομεν, αἴ κέ ποθι Ζεὺς
δῷσι πόλιν Τροίην ἐυτείχεον ἐξαλπάξαι."
τὸν δ' ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη κρείων Ἀγαμέμνων·
"μὴ δὴ οὕτως, ἀγαθός περ ἐών, θεοείκελ' Ἀχιλλεῦ,
κλέπτε νόῳ, ἐπεὶ οὐ παρελεύσεαι, οὐδε με πείσεις.

And it is not seemly for the army to gather and collect them.
But, if you give her up now to the god, then we Achaeans
will repay you three, even four times that, if Zeus
Should ever grant us well walled Troy to sack."
And so ruling Agamemnon adressed him in reply:
"Not so, though you are brave godlike Achilles,
Do not be stealthy of mind, for you shall neither
Pass me by, nor win me over.


I love the back and forth between Achilles and Agamemnon. I can imagine this scene going through the mind of any king or general engaged in a contentious conference throughout antiquity it is so memorable, and it is memorable because, even though one admires the characters, it is primarily an example of how not to behave in a confrontation. But passion often moves men in directions they should not go...