Day 37: Achilles Speaks and Athena Answers

Lines 201-11
καί μιν φωνήσας ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·
"τίπτ' αὖτ', αἰγιόχοιο Διὸς τέκος, εἰλήλουθας;
ἦ ἵνα ὕβριν ἴδῃ Ἀγαμέμνονος Ἀτρεΐδαο;
ἀλλ' ἔκ τοι ἐρέω, τὸ δὲ καὶ τελέεσθαι ὀίω·
ἧς ὑπεροπλίῃσι τάχ' ἄν ποτε θυμὸν ὀλέσσῃ."
τὸν δ' αὖτε προσέειπε θεά, γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη·
"ἦλθον ἐγὼ παύσουσα τὸ σὸν μένος, αἴ κε πίθηαι,
οὐρανόθεν· πρὸ δέ μ' ἧκε θεὰ λευκώλενος Ἥρη,
ἄμφω ὁμῶς θυμῷ φιλέουσά τε κηδομένη τε.
ἀλλ' ἄγε λῆγ' ἔριδος, μηδὲ ξίφος ἕκεο χειρί·
ἀλλ' ἦ το ἔπεσιν μὲν ὀνείδισον, ὡς ἔσεται περ.

And he addressed her, speaking winged words:
"Why on earth do you come now, child of aeigis bearing Zeus?
So that you might know the insolence of Atreus' son Agamemnon?
But I ask you this, though I know how this should be accomplished:
Perhaps he may lose his spirit at once through this arrogance."
And the goddess, flashing eyed Athena, addressed him in turn:
"I came from the heavens to check your anger,
If you should obey; for the goddess, white armed Hera,
Who loves and cares for you both in equal measure in her heart,
Sent me here. But come now, cease from strife, and do not
Draw that sword in your hands. But revile him with words,
When the chance comes.



There is an interesting comment on this scene in Bernard Knox's introduction to Robert Fagles translation of the Iliad. He speaks of how it often is stated that the gods are the ones who decided things in the poem and that human agency counts for naught. What Knox points out so eloquently is that Athena only commands Achilles to do something that he had already thought of in the previous section. In fact this is an excellent example of Homer's skillful employment of the uneasy confluence of human and divine wills in this world.