Year: 2009
Type: article
Abstract: The scene from Homer's Iliad book 8 where Diomedes rescues a chariot-wrecked Nestor from the advancing Hektor has been accused of being inadequately motivated. Not only is this scene well integrated into book 8, but it has been carefully prepared for in the preceding books. What motivates Homer to incorporate the scene of rescue is the practical consequence of having Zeus impose arbitrary defeat on the Akhaian army. To give the narrative of that defeat minimum dimensions, and appropriate dramatic force, the Akhaians must stage a counteroffensive. However, continuing to fight in the face of direct opposition by Zeus would have seemed both foolhardy and impious. Homer's solution is to adapt a scene from the Aithiopis that can serve to exonerate Diomedes for his failure to retreat in flagrant opposition to Zeus's will. What unifies the scene is the theme of “akhos,” Diomedes' outraged indignation at the seeming arbitrariness of the Akhaian defeat and loss of time, exacerbated by Hektor's boasting speech as Diomedes flees.
Source: Classical Philology
DOI: 10.1086/605340
Author: Erwin F. Cook
Institution: Trinity University
Language: English
Topic: Classical Antiquity Studies
Subfield: Anthropology
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2047597418