Book 11: Lots more killing sprees, the Trojans come out on top (again)
Agamemnon kills a bunch of people
It’s now the next morning and Zeus sends down the goddess of Hate to the battlefield. She settles in the Greek camp on Odysseus’ ship, given that his tent marks the middle of the camp (Big Ajax is at one end with Achilles at the other) and therefore she can affect everyone equally. The goddess gives out a great cry to put strength into the Greek soldiers, which is noted as gearing them up for battle more than the idea of going home does.
Following this, there is a very long description of Agamemnon putting on his armour. When he finishes, Athena and Hera order a crash of thunder to bring Agamemnon great honour and make the scene more dramatic.
All the Greeks now begin pairing up with a charioteer, hop into their vehicle, and then ride into the army’s starting positions.
Zeus is described as hurling turmoil upon the Greeks as Homer warns us the king of the gods will send many of the men down to Hades. On one side of the ditch just outside the camp, the Greeks prepare themselves, and on the other, the Trojans are gathering around Hector, Aeneas and Poulydamas. The armies then erupt in screaming, charging into the inevitable bloodbath.
As the men begin to fight one another, Homer tells us that the gods are not down on the battlefield at this moment. For now, they are all in their various homes, unable to see what is happening but blaming Zeus for the troubles of men. Not that Zeus has ever cared what the other gods think, but anyways.
On the battlefield, Agamemnon is noted as breaking through the Trojans, killing Bienor and then Oileus by stabbing the latter straight in the face as soon as he hopped off his chariot to fight him. Homer describes the spear going right through the guy’s head to his brain. He then continues to kill, getting Isos and Antiphos (two sons of Priam). Agamemnon kills Isos by throwing his spear at the Trojan’s chest, then kills Antiphos by stabbing him with a sword near his ear. He then strips them both of their armour, much like he did with the first pair. Next, Agamemnon targets Peisandros and Hippolochus who were both riding in one chariot. They were so scared that they let go of the reins (just … let go of them) and immediately began to plead with Agamemnon to keep them for ransom instead of killing them. But Agamemnon kills Peisandros with a spear to the chest, then kills the other by chopping off his arm clean at the shoulder. Agamemnon is said to have gone on longer in battle, but no more specifics are made.
Zeus now has Hector emerge from the dust and blood of war to urge the Trojans into battle. The Trojans go to guard the fig tree much as Andromache had advised, yet Agamemnon goes into the middle and kills all of them aside from those who fled in terror.
The Greeks have successfully pushed the Trojans back, so now Agamemnon is cutting a clear path to the walls of Troy.
The king of the gods calls Iris to him and asks her to go talk to Hector. He says that Hector needs to keep fighting, and if the Trojan prince does this, Zeus will ensure that the Trojans make their way to the ships of the Greeks by the evening.
Iris runs off to Hector and she relays the information we just heard. Once she finishes she leaves, and Hector stirs up all the Trojans to keep going because he understands the assignment. The Trojans now go to meet Agamemnon.
Lots of deaths!
Homer evokes a muse to help him recount the Trojan soldiers who stood up against Agamemnon. Iphidamas, son of Antenor, comes face to face with the son of Atreus. Agamemnon throws his spear — but misses him! Iphidamas goes in to stab Agamemnon in his corselet, however doesn’t manage to harm the Greek because the spearhead of his weapon bent on impact. Agamemnon grabs Iphidamas’ hand, gets the weapon out of it, and then stabs the Trojan in the neck using his sword.
Koon, Antenor’s oldest son, notices this and so he now steps in to face Agamemnon. Koon stabs Agamemnon in the middle of the arm, just underneath the elbow, causing Agamemnon to “shudder in fear” — but he doesn’t give up. He springs at Koon, who is now trying to drag back Iphidamas’s limp body. Agamemnon strikes Koon with his spear and then leans in to chop off his head. The head rolls over Iphidamas’ body.
Agamemnon continues in battle and is chucking rocks at people (no one specific), despite his arm still bleeding from the injury Koon gave him. It’s only when the blood stops pouring out of his arm that he really starts to feel it. Realising that his time in battle that day has come to an end, Agamemnon jumps into his chariot and has his driver steer him back towards the Greek camp.
Hector notices Agamemnon being driven away and he yells to his army. He alerts them that the Greeks’ best man is gone, which indicates that Zeus is on their side. Hector leads the soldiers out into battle, and Homer tells us that Zeus has now granted him glory.
Thus, Hector’s killing spree begins. Hector kills Asaios, Autonoos, Opites, Dolops, Opheltios, Agelaos, Aisymnos, Oros and Hipponoos. Homer says there would have been more chaos had not Odysseus yelled out for Diomedes to help stop Hector. As Diomedes runs over, he kills a Trojan called Thymbraios by stabbing him in the left chest with a spear. At the same time, Odysseus kills Molion. They leave those guys where they are and move together to continue fighting in the same area. Diomedes kills two sons of Merops of Perkote, while Odysseus kills Hypeirochos and Hippodamos.
Just so that everyone knows, we are told that Zeus is STILL on Mount Ida.
Anyways, Diomedes stabs Agastrophos, son of Paion, in the hip joint. Hector sees this and gives out a war cry to rally up the Trojans, which simultaneously causes Diomedes to shiver. The son of Tydeus tells Odysseus that they have to stand their ground against “Hector the huge”.
Diomedes fires a spear at Hector and it hits the prince of Troy’s helmet. However, the helmet was a gift from Apollo, meaning that the spear bounces off of it. Despite the hit startling Hector, he gathers himself back up and hops in his chariot as Diomedes approaches. Diomedes picks up his spear yet again and shakes it at Hector saying (something along the lines of) “You’ve escaped death only because Apollo saved you, but I’ll get you next time!” To vent his frustration, Diomedes goes on to strip the armour from Agastrophos.
Diomedes Gets Shot :(
As he does this, Paris sees him and pulls out his bow and arrow. Diomedes is too busy getting the armour to notice when Paris releases his bow, meaning that Paris has a clear shot. The arrow launches forward and lands on the top of Diomedes’ right foot, going clean through to the ground.
Paris laughs and says (something like) “Muwahaha, I hit him! I wish I had hit you in the belly and really killed you!” Naturally, Diomedes doesn’t care, and so he replies with (something along the lines of) “Excuse me, pretty boy, but if you actually met me in battle you wouldn’t be able to do anything to me! You literally shot me in the foot only because you’re at a safe distance!”
Odysseus comes to stand in front of Diomedes to give him the chance to address his injury. Diomedes sits down and pulls the arrow out of his foot. He then jumps into a chariot and is driven back to the camp.
The son of Laertes is now alone, and no one comes to stand beside him since everyone else is scared. Odysseus has a little soliloquy discussing what he should do — Should he run? No, that would be the weak thing to do. Should he stay? Well, it’s a suicide mission to stay on the battlefield alone. However, Odysseus does not have much time to think because while he’s saying all of this, the Trojans come to circle around him.
Odysseus Gets Cornered
First Odysseus stabs Deiopites in the shoulder with his spear and then he kills Thoon and Ennomos. Following them, he stabs Chersidamas in the belly. Charops and his brother Sokos come to stand over Chersidamas and threaten Odysseus. Charops stabs Odysseus’ shield and the spear goes right through it, going so far as to tear away at Odysseus’ ribs.
Seeing this, Athena would not allow her favourite Greek to die. She diverts the spear away from any organs to ensure that he doesn’t get a fatal injury. Charops speaks to Sokos which causes Sokos to turn, meaning that Odysseus sees his chance and fires his spear in between Sokos’ shoulders. He throws the spear with such force that it pops out the other side of Sokos’ chest.
Odysseus then says (something like) “Ha ha ha that was too quick!” and walks over to pull his spear out of Sokos. When the spear is released from the body, blood is described as springing out of the wound.
The Trojans see this and they all start attacking Odysseus, so he shouts back for the Greeks to help. Three times he called, and three times Menelaus hears a faint, unintelligible cry from across the battlefield. Menelaus suggests to Big Ajax that they should go and check on Odysseus, which Ajax agrees with.
The pair find Odysseus surrounded by a sea of Trojans. Big Ajax immediately steps into position and stands by him with a shield, pushing the Trojans back. While Ajax quite literally acts as a wall, Menelaus drags Odysseus out of there and leads him to his chariot, taking him back to the camp.
More Random Fighting
Big Ajax remains in battle and kills Doryklos. He goes on to stab Pandokos, Lysandros, Pyrasos and Pylartes. Homer tells us that Ajax continues to kill people, but they are all unnamed.
On the other side of the battlefield, Hector is also killing loads of people (there is a note here that Idomeneus and Nestor are on that side, which explains why they were of no help to Odysseus).
However, drama now erupts as Paris shoots Machaon, the medic, with a 3 barbed arrow in the right shoulder. Idomeneus calls out to Nestor (something like) “GET YOUR CHARIOT, MACHAON IS HURT!” Nestor immediately drags Machaon into his chariot and they go back to the camp.
Kebriones goes to speak to Hector, suggesting that the pair of them should go and help those trying to fight off Big Ajax. Hector agrees and they ride over to Ajax in a chariot. When they get close, Hector is described as killing a bunch of men (again not specific) but he continues to steer clear of Big Ajax.
Zeus, however, causes Big Ajax to suddenly feel a pang of fear. Ajax stops stunned, then turns around to run (Homer notes that he is unwilling) because he fears more for the Greek ships than the men on the battlefield. Ajax is forced to stop along the way as the Trojans pile on for the attack and uses his huge shield to beat them off.
Eurypylos sees Big Ajax going to defend the ships and he decides to go help. He immediately throws his spear and hits Apisaon in the liver, killing him. When Eurypylos goes to strip this Trojan of his armour, he, unfortunately, draws attention from Paris. Paris shoots him with his arrow and hits him in the thigh. To avoid dying, Eurypylos literally has to drag himself back behind the group of Greek men and then screams for one of them to help Ajax. The men shield Eurypylos and help Ajax enough so that he can retreat closer to the group.
Back At The Greek Camp
From where he’s hiding, Achilles can see shapes resembling Menelaus and Machaon returning to camp. As he stands on the stern of his ship, straining his eyes, he calls for Patroclus to assist him.
Patroclus appears and Achilles tells him to go and see who the two men in the chariot are. He’s worried that it may be Machaon who is injured, so sends Patroclus to check out the situation.
As Nestor hops off his chariot, Eurymedon unfastens the horses. Hekamede (daughter of Arsinoos turned Nestor’s war prize, won by Achilles when in Tenedos) is making them a potion of Pramneian wine, grated goat’s-milk cheese and barley mixed together. She then instructs the men to drink it to rejuvenate their strength.
Patroclus approaches Nestor’s tent as this is happening, and Nestor leads him over to a table to sit and feast. But Patroclus declines, saying he’s just here to check who the injured man was in Nestor’s chariot. Now that he knows it is Machaon, he’s going to go back and deliver the news to Achilles.
Nestor snaps, saying that Achilles knows “nothing” of pain. He says that the best men of the Greek army are now injured, mentioning how Diomedes was hit by an arrow, Odysseus got ambushed, Agamemnon was injured and even Eurypylos got wounded in the thigh. To Nestor, this list is just topped off with Machaon’s new wound, considering he may be the most important of all given that he is the medic.
The whole speech Nestor says is long, but in summary: Nestor reminds Patroclus of when they came to retrieve the Myrmidons for the Trojan war. He remembers how even then Achilles always listened to Patroclus, and now they should take advantage of that. Nestor suggests that if Achilles is adamant about not fighting, maybe Patroclus could convince Achilles to send him into battle in Achilles’ armour instead. That way the Trojans will think he is Achilles and run in fear, which could buy the Greeks a lot of time, land and territory.
Patroclus listens, internalises Nestor’s words, and then leaves the tent. When he reaches Odysseus’ ships, he runs into a very injured Eurypylos — the guy is limping and sweating profusely because of his leg, dark blood still dripping from his open wound.
Eurypylos asks if Patroclus will help bring him back to his ship and assist in cutting out the arrow from his leg. He says that he’s only asking Patroclus because he notes that Achilles was taught how to tend to wounds like this by Cheiron, and Eurypylos has no doubt that he passed on the information to Patroclus. Eurypylos needs to trust that the guy cleaning out such a terrible wound with warm water and putting medicine on it ACTUALLY knows what he’s doing!
Patroclus is momentarily stuck at a crossroads, knowing that he must deliver the message to Achilles about Machaon, and further, Nestor’s suggestion, however doesn’t feel right leaving Eurypylos in his condition. After some deliberation, he puts his arm around Eurypylos to bring him back to his ship and clean him up (as he should).
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Thumbnail Image: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/250546
Terracotta amphora (jar)
Attributed to the Swing Painter ca. 540–530 BCE.
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 154
Obverse and reverse, warrior departing in quadriga (4-horse chariot)
”A soldier bidding farewell to his parents was a popular subject in vase-paintings. Here he has mounted a chariot drawn by four horses; and his charioteer, dressed in a long white and red chiton, prepares to drive him to the battlefield. The great warriors of Homer's Iliad were conducted to and from combat in this way.” (Copied from the Met Museum website).