Notes on The Iliad: Book One to l. 264

In the opening lines, the poet raises the complex play between mortal and immortal agency. He begins with Achille's rage and its consequences, and seems to assign blame to Achille's for those consequences. Yet, then he quickly deflects it, ending the long sentence detailing Achille's rage and it's consequences with the simple phrase, "And the will of Zeus was moving toward its end"(I,6).

The action ensues with Agamemnon's insult to Apollo. Wronged by Agammenon, Chryses prays to Apollo for vengence against the Greek leader and Agammenon hears him. A human, comic touch in Apollo's response to Chryses' prayer. Apollo comes down from Olympus "storming at hear...The arrows clanged at his back as the god quaked with rage"(I, 51-53). Apollo sends terrible disease to the Acheans. Another immortal, Hera then gets involved. Witnessing the disease wrought devastation around him, Achille's calls a meeting. But, he does so after "the impulse seized him" and that impulse is courtesy of Hera.   

In the opening sequence, we also get a glimpse of the poem's ambiguous relation to the Greek leader, Agamemmnon. He comes across as flawed, mean, petty and weak with his peremptory dismissal of Apollo's priest, Chryses.  His foibles are further exposed when the seer Calchas, called on to explain why Apollo is mad at them and how he might be appeased, agrees to do so but only if Achille's promises he will protect him from Agamemnon's anger.

Achille's response to Calchas  is filled with insults, implicit and explicit. When Calchas seeks protection if he speaks, he only makes oblique reference to the fact that he's afraid of Agamemnon. Achille's plays along, telling him that he will guarantee his safety, even against Agamemnon if that is whom Calchas refers to. In making his own reference to Agamemnon, Achille's questions the legitimacy of Agamemnon's authority. He promises to protect Calchas from any angry Achean who might be offended and attack Calchas, "even if you mean /Agamemnon here who now claims to be, by far/ the best of the Acheans"(I, 107-108).

Next, confronted with why Apollo is angry, Agamemnon is willing to make it right if someone will give him one of their own women won as spoils. Achilles points out that, without any new booty about, the only way this could be accomplished is by someone's being forced to give back a spoil, a war-gift. This constitues a breach of decorum. Petty, Agamemnon suspects that Achille's is ultimately just out "to cheat me"(I,154). At this point, Achille's takes off the verbal gloves, and declares, "Shameless-/armored in shamelessness-always shrewed with greed"(I, 174-175).

Achille's has overstepped. Agamemnon declares that he will send Chryseis back to her father and take Achille's Briseis in return, and explains, "So you can learn just how much greater I am than you/And the next man up may shrink from matching words with me, from hoping to rival Agamemnon strength for strength"(I, 219-222). At this point, the author of this epic has gone to great lengths to undermine the authority and character of Agamemnon. This is clearly an imperfect human being.

Achille's is enraged by Agamemnon's plan. He is on the brink of attacking his leader until the goddess Athena intervenes at the behest of Hera; these two always seem to act in tandem, with Hera seeming to harbor the agency and Athena serving as her weapon/tool/agent of choice. In a way, she is the counterpart in this quality to Ares who seems to never initiate action unless called upon by other gods.  The gods intervene in various direct and indirect, clear and obscured ways in the action. In this case, she comes down so that only Achille's can see her begs him to not attack. She promises future rewards. Achilles complies but doesn't curb his tongue, addressing Agamemnon as "Staggering drunk, with your dog's eyes, your fawn's heart!"(I, 264).