West, The Making of the Iliad: Disquisition and Analytical Commentary, 13–14) of an earlier version in which only the two acknowledged leaders of the embassy took part.

Several explanations have been offered, of which the most plausible is that we have here the incomplete reshaping (perhaps by Homer himself: M. But there is also Phoinix to be considered, as well as a couple of heralds. He says that the use of the dual (182) rather than the plural here and elsewhere in this scene indicates two characters only. In lines 182, 184, and 188, Green provides the reader with three clarifications. In book 9, the embassy to Achilles, Green offers a remarkable example of the translator’s skill in setting the tone for a desired reconciliation with Achilles: Referring to the latter half of line 5, Green asserts here, probably, Zeus’ agreement to the prayer of Thetis (see 1.503–530) to recompense her son for Agamemnon’s insulting treatment of him (the main subject of book 1) by giving the advantage in the war to the Trojans until such time as the Achaians should make him adequate amends. 11.88–91) that he’d rather be a hireling and alive than king of the dead. The physical body is the real “them.” This is what Achilles has in mind when he famously says in Hades ( Od. In line 4, he argues that the word “selves” (Greek autous) strikingly emphasizes the epic’s intense preference for this mortal physical existence over any vague, insubstantial afterlife. In lines 4 and 5 above, Green offers insightful notes further explaining the intent of the original Greek. Using succinct wording Green echoes the theme of the poem-the destructive wrath of Achilles and its effects, including the fulfillment of Zeus’ plans for mankind.

The iliad translation