Day 39: The Face of a Dog and the Heart of a Deer

Lines 223-32
Πηλεΐδης δ' ἐξαῦτις ἀταρτηροῖς ἐπέεσσιν
Ἀτρεΐδην προσέειπε, καὶ οὔ πω λῆγε χόλοιο·
"οἰνοβαρές, κυνὸς ὄμματ' ἔχων, κραδίην δ' ἐλάφοιο,
οὔτε ποτ' ἐς πόλεμον ἅμα λαῷ θωρηχθῆναι
οὔτε λόχονδ' ἰέναι σὺν ἀριστήεσσιν Ἀχαιῶν
τέτληκας θυμῷ· τὸ δέ τοι κὴρ εἴδεται εἶναι.
ἦ πολὺ λώιόν ἐστι κατὰ στρατὸν εὐρὺν Ἀχαιῶν
δῶρ' ἀποαιρεῖσθαι, ὅς τις σεθεν ἀντίον εἴπῃ·
δημοβόρος βασιλεύς, ἐπεὶ οὐτιδανοῖσιν ἀνάσσεις·
ἦ γὰρ ἄν, Ἀτρεΐδη, νῦν ὕστατα λωβήσαιο.

The son of Peleus addressed anew Atreus' son
With bitter words, and did not in any way slacken
His rage: "You drunken sot, who has the face of a dog
And heart of a deer, never arming for war with the host,
Nor having the courage in his heart to go on ambush
With the chiefs of the Achaeans; since this seems to be death
For you. Indeed it is far superior down through the broad camp
Of the Achaeans for gifts to be seized than for those who might
Speak against you, a king who devours the goods of his people,
Since you rule over worthless men: For now indeed son of Atreus,
You may have insulted for the last time.


Achilles heeds Athena's warning not to harm Agamemnon and instead directs a venomous verbal onslaught against him. I cannot imagine a great insult in a society that valued both individual prowess in battle and physical beauty that to tell a man who is supposed to be the greatest among the assembled kings than to tell him that he has the face of a dog and the heart of a deer...