The fighting reaches a new pitch, and things look dire for the Achaean leaders. They do what they can, and so does Hera. Book 14 and its famous ‘Dios Apate’ appear strange nestled between bouts of gruesome fighting, but like many things that seem out of place in the Iliad, it serves a wider purpose. In this episode I explain why this strange event belongs where it does, and how it explores on of the Iliad’s more prominent themes: the gulf between the gods and mortals.

Sources used for this episode:

* Golden, L. (1989). ΔιἘς ἀπάτη and the Unity of “Iliad” 14. Mnemosyne, 42(1/2), 1–11. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4431774

* Griffin, J. (1980). Homer on life and death. Oxford University Press.

The Trojans have broken through the wall, and the fighting is fierce! Zeus takes a brief reprieve from supervising the battle, and Poseidon has a chance to step in and aid the Achaeans. He empowers the Aiantes, and the Cretans Idomeneus and Meriones, the former of which excels in battle this book. There is some humorous banter between the two Cretan heroes, but after putting jokes aside the two enter the fray. While not much appears to occur, this book connects with larger themes in the Iliad like the continuous cycle of violence that the heroes are caught in, as well as the pervading wrath of Achilles that drives the Iliad. Achilles wrath is reflected ‘mise en abyme’ style to us through the clever use of Trojans characters and traditions.

Sources used in this episode:

* Kirk GS. Book 13. In: Janko R, ed. The Iliad: A Commentary. Cambridge University Press; 1991:39-148.

* The Best of the Achaeans: Concepts of the Hero in Archaic Greek Poetry, by Gregory Nagy. Accessed online from The Center for Hellenic Studies, http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hul.ebook:CHS_NagyG.The_Best_of_the_Achaeans.1999.

* Fenno, Jonathan. “THE WRATH AND VENGEANCE OF SWIFT-FOOTED AENEAS IN ILIAD 13.” Phoenix, vol. 62, no. 1/2, 2008, pp. 145–61. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25651702. Accessed 28 Sept. 2025.

In this episode we cover the teichomachia, or the battle around the walls of the Greeks. This book contains some great similes and we also hear a great speech from Sarpedon on why the heroes fight, which connects both Hector and Achilles. Hector is on display this book, and it all points to his moment of triumph when he picks up a big rock. His breach of the wall is contrasted with the beginning of the book when we are told how the gods destroyed the wall after the war. I touch on why this happens, and why we are privy to its destruction in the first place.

Sources for this episode:

* Maitland, Judith. “Poseidon, Walls, and Narrative Complexity in the Homeric Iliad.” The Classical Quarterly, vol. 49, no. 1, 1999, pp. 1–13. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/639485. Accessed 25 June 2025.

* PORTER, JAMES I. “Making and Unmaking: The Achaean Wall and the Limits of Fictionality in Homeric Criticism.” Transactions of the American Philological Association (1974-), vol. 141, no. 1, 2011, pp. 1–36. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41289734. Accessed 25 June 2025.

* Scholia quote came from the blog SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE, here: https://sententiaeantiquae.com/2017/09/11/tension-and-precarity-the-iliads-simile-of-the-weaving-woman/

* (if you like Homer go check out Joel’s blog and also substack, he’s really good)

In this episode we return to proper Iliadic form: battle. After the night raid both sides are ready to go. We cover the Aristeia of Agamemnon, and also that of Hector. I also go over why Diomedes features so prominently in this book. Lastly, I touch on the connections between book 11 and the last two, which we’re surprising to me! Just goes to show that there is always something new to learn about this tale.

Sources:

* Rabel, Robert. “The Theme of Need in ‘Iliad’ 9-11.” Phoenix, vol. 45, no. 4, 1991, pp. 283–95. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1088100. Accessed 31 Mar. 2025.

In this episode I cover the black sheep of the Iliad, one of the strangest books in the poem: the night raid of Diomedes and Odysseus, or the Doloneia. We cover Diomedes and Odysseus brave expedition to spy on the Trojans, and meet the colorful character Dolon, if only for a brief while. I also discuss some ways that scholars have criticized this book for its awkwardness of place and subject, but also show some modern evidence that Book 10 is part of a larger theme of ‘Ambush’ and that computers think it is actually very ‘Iliadic’.

Sources:

* Dué, Casey, and Mary Ebbott. 2010. Iliad 10 and the Poetics of Ambush: A Multitext Edition with Essays and Commentary. Hellenic Studies Series 39. Washington, DC: Center for Hellenic Studies. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hul.ebook:CHS_Due_Ebbott.Iliad_10_and_the_Poetics_of_Ambush.2010.

* Pavlopoulos, J., Konstantinidou, M. Computational authorship analysis of the homeric poems. Int J Digit Humanities 5, 45–64 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42803-022-00046-7

Continuing from the last episode, we cover the 2nd half of Iliad book 9. Having already heard from Odysseus and Achilles, we hear from a new character: Phoenix. He delivers the longest speech in the entire poem, detailing 3 paradeigmatic stories on why Achilles should return to battle. Achilles replies, and lastly we hear from straight-talking Ajax. Achilles position is beginning to look a bit unreasonable by the end of the book, which closes with very little accomplished on the embassies part. Lastly, I dive into the key changes that occur within Achilles to close out this amazing chapter!

In this 10th episode of the Homeric Epic Podcast, we cover the first half of book 9, the start to the pivotal ‘Embassy to Achilles’. The tension between Achilles and Agamemnon has reached a critical point, and Agamemnon, desperate to save the Greek forces, sends an embassy to Achilles with lavish gifts, hoping to persuade him back into the fight. Achilles’ response is a powerful, emotional speech that lays bare his disillusionment with the heroic code and reinforces his wrath. This book is so densely packed with theme and characterization, that I was forced to split it into two parts!

In this 9th episode of the Homeric Epic Podcast, we delve into book 8 of the Iliad, full of heroes and Gods driving chariots. We see how Diomedes inviting Nestor to flee the battlefield mirrors a different moment from the Trojan war, and how Athena and Hera try to copy the mortal champions, but don’t have the chutzpah to defy the thunderbolts of Zeus. Lastly, we take a look at the famous simile of the watchfires that closes out this book.

All of this looking forward to the 9th book of the Iliad, not just because this is the 8th book, but also because of the foreshadowing and literary connections that tie the story together.