In this book all conflicts are now resolved through the intervention of gods who were freed in the last book by Zeus to take part in the conflict as they saw fit, since Achilles had returned to the fight.
At the start of this book Achilles’ onslaught against the Trojans continues. He splits the Trojan forces. One half flees towards the city while Hera blocks their way with a dense cloud. Achilles drives the other half towards the Xanthus River. Horses and men are driven into the water. Achilles leaps into the river to continue his attack on the Trojans. As he tires of killing, he takes captive twelve young warriors, restrains them and sends them back to the Greek ships with other fighters. Once they are dispatched, he finds Lycaon in the river. Achilles had formerly captured Lycaon in his father’s orchard on a raid. He sold him into slavery in Lemnos, but Lycaon was released from slavery by Eation who bought him and sent him to Arisbe. From there he escaped to return to Troy. Lycaon only arrived back in Troy twelve days ago – has only enjoyed eleven days in the city – and now faces Achilles again. This time Achilles decides he will kill Lycaon. Lycaon dodges a spear thrust from Achilles and seizes his knees to beg for his life. He reminds Achilles of the price he fetched last time he was sold. He then tries to invoke pity by telling Achilles how recently he returned home. Then he tells how his brother, Polydorus, was killed by Achilles. They are both sons of Priam, but their mother is Laothoë, one of Priam’s many wives, and so they have a different mother to Hector. But Achilles feels no pity for him and says he has no mercy to give to Trojans since Patroclus was killed, especially sons of Priam. Achilles prophetically says all will one day meet their deaths, even himself. Achilles plunges his sword in Lycaon’s shoulder and lets the river sweep him away.
This act emboldens Achilles. He reiterates his desire to kill Trojans, but he is also boastful, claiming that not even the river will save the Trojans as they are washed to their deaths. This begins to stir the anger of Xanthus, the river god.
Achilles sees Asteropaeus, a grandson of the Axius River, who faces him at the ford. Asteropaeus is ambidextrous and bears a spear in either hand. The river Xanthus imbues his spirit with courage. Asteropaeus tells Achilles that he is the leader of the Paeonian troops who have arrived at Troy only twelve days before, and announces that he is the son of Pelegon, who was fathered by the Axius River god. Asteropaeus flings both his spears at Achilles at once. One is stopped by Achilles’ new shield while the other grazes Achilles’ right arm and draws blood. Achilles throws his own spear and misses Asteropaeus. It sticks into the river bank. As Asteropaeus tries in vain to withdraw the spear from the river bank, Achilles kills him. Achilles strips his armour and then boasts that his own divine parentage was greater than Asteropaeus’. Achilles becomes even more boastful. He says that nothing can defeat him, not even the king of the river gods or the ocean itself. Achilles pulls his spear from the river bank and Asteropaeus’ troops flee in terror. Nevertheless, Achilles goes on another killing spree and is only stopped when the river swirls into the shape of a human and calls for him to stop. The river demands Achilles take his fight back to the plains before Troy, since the river is now dammed with Trojan corpses. Achilles agrees, but swears his determination to force the Trojan forces behind the walls of Troy and kill Hector.
Scamander, the river god, appeals to Phoebus Apollo, reminding him of his duty to save Trojan lives. He urges the god to support the Trojans. Achilles hears this appeal and once more leaps into the river. The river surges, expelling many corpses and moving those still living into sheltered positions. It then sends an enormous wave against Achilles. Achilles attempts to cling to a tree, but the tree is swept into the river. Achilles flees in terror, hoping to return to the plain. The pursuit of the river is relentless, and Achilles fears he will be overcome. He pleads to the gods for help. Achilles could have accepted death at the hands of Hector, but he feels that dying alone, drowned by the river, will be an ignominious death. Poseidon and Athena answer his call. They help support him and Poseidon assures Achilles it is not his fate to die in the river. Even so, he warns Achilles that he should return to the ships once the Trojans are forced back into their city. Implicitly, he is telling Achilles that to go further will be to tempt the fate that awaits him. The gods then leave Achilles and he is swept towards the plain with a mass of corpses. But Achilles’ confidence has returned and he attacks the river again. The Xanthus River is enraged by Achilles and it calls upon the Simois river to divert its waters so that Achilles might be drowned and his body lost in the silt. Hera, perceiving what is happening, calls upon her son, Hephaestus, the god of fire, to intervene. Hephaestus burns the plains of Troy with its many corpses, and next burns the banks of the river, its foliage, and even sears the fish and eels that live in it. The river begins to dry and its strength begins to diminish. It stops flowing. The river calls for Hephaestus to stop and swears it will no longer take part in the conflict. Hera calls off the attack.
Now the gods begin to enter into the fray against each other, on whichever side they support. Zues is amused by the chaos. Ares swears revenge against Athena because she helped drive Diomedes to wound him with his spear [Book 5]. He tries to stab Athena but her shield deflects the attack. She then lifts a massive boulder from the plains and throws it into his neck. Ares is struck to the ground and weakened. Athena boasts how much stronger she is than him. Aphrodite, an ally of Ares, tries to help him from the field. Hera, seeing her support Ares and warns Athena who has begun to leave. Athena beats Aphrodite into submission.
Poseidon challenges the younger god, Apollo, to fight. He questions why Apollo is loyal to the Trojans, since they were both duped by Laomedon who had them build Trojan defences and herd Trojan cattle, but refused to pay them. Apollo refuses to fight Poseidon, saying that the mortals are not worth fighting over. Artemis witnesses this refusal and goads Apollo, suggesting that he is a coward. Hera is enraged at Artemis’ words. She seizes Artemis’ bow and arrows and beats her with her own weapons. Artemis flees in tears. Hermes reassures Leto, Artemis’ mother that he will not fight her. Leto gathers up Artemis’ bow and arrow to return them to her daughter. Artemis seeks comfort from Zeus.
Meanwhile, Apollo enters Troy while the rest of the gods return to Olympus. Achilles continues his slaughter on the plain before Troy. Priam, who witnesses this, commands that the gates of Troy be opened to allow their fleeing troops to re-enter the city. As this is done, Apollo heads out to forestall Achilles while the troops retreat. Apollo inspires Prince Agenor to face Achilles so as to delay him. As Agenor awaits the confrontation, he debates whether it is foolhardier to face Achilles, who is mortal, after all, or be a coward and run, only to face certain death in the future at Achilles’ hands. He gathers his courage and resolves to face Achilles. When Achilles arrives before him Agenor speaks of the odds that face Achilles within the city. He hurls his spear at Achilles but it is deflected by Achilles’ armour. But before Achilles can respond Apollo spirits Agenor from the battlefield. Apollo then uses trickery to keep Achilles away from the fleeing Trojans, leading him on a chase across the fields towards the river.
In the meantime, the Trojan troops reach the ramparts and enter the city.
The number 12 caught my attention a couple of times as I read this book of The Iliad. Lycaon, who is Achilles’ first named kill in this book, has returned to Troy only 12 days before, after he escaped from the state of slavery he was subjected to by Achilles, himself. The next opponent of consequence that Achilles faces is Asteropaeus, leader of the Paeonian troops who have only arrived in Troy 12 days before. I thought it an odd coincidence that both these rivals had arrived so recently and that emphasis was made upon the number. Lycaon’s story makes sense of his recent arrival, while Asteropaeus’ arrival after the war has been dragging on for ten years is curious.
I wonder – I continue to wonder – whether it was an intentional signal of the significance of the part the gods play in this book. The number 12 is significant in Greek mythology. There were twelve main Olympians: Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis, Apollo, Ares, Hephaestus, Hermes, and either Hestia or Dionysus. There were the twelve titans whom the gods defeated and imprisoned in Tartarus. There were the twelve labours of Heracles. As in other religions, certain numbers take on significance through their repetition: the three sons of Noah; the three patriarchs of Israel; the three days Jonah spent inside the fish; the three gifts of the Magi to Jesus; Peter’s three denials; the three days before the resurrection of Christ; the Holy Trinity.
In this book the supernatural elements of The Iliad are more significant than ever. There is not one conflict that is now resolved without incurring an intervention by the gods. Lycaon’s death is the catalyst for the wrath of the river god, Scamander. Achilles’ killing of Asteropaeus provokes Scamander to finally rise against him. Athena and Poseidon save Achilles from the river. Hera and Hephaestus eventually subdue the river god. The gods enter into a conflict between themselves. And it is Apollo who lures Achilles away from Troy so that the fleeing Trojans can be saved.
While Achilles’ conflict with the river would make a good scene in a modern fantasy film, it is the gods who play the primary part in this book. Achilles, no matter how mighty a warrior he is, exists and succeeds at their whim. As Prince Agenor readies himself to face Achilles before the walls of Troy, he reasons to himself:
It is a thought that has already been shown to be true in this book. Though the ambidextrous Asteropaeus is killed by Achilles, he also manages to inflict a minor wound on him before he dies, the only person to achieve this in The Iliad:
Achilles has already acknowledged the reality of his own mortality to Lycaon:
Achilles is resolved to the reality of this death until he faces the River Xanthus and fears he will be drowned. A physical drowning is not Achilles’ great fear, but the possibility of drowning in the river reveals the possibility of an ignominious death:
Achilles understands and accepts the fragility of his mortal life. But in this scene, he faces his true horror, the fragility of reputation and glory. This is what he lives for, and he feels betrayed by his mother who has promised “I’d die beneath the walls of the armoured Trojans”. Instead, Scamander, in his plea for help from Simois, envisages a different fate for the Greek hero:
For the first time in this book Achilles faces the possibility of an ignominious, anonymous death, and this is what truly terrifies him, causing him to flee the river and call on the gods to save him. It is the closest we come to seeing Achilles die in The Iliad, and several aspects of this book presage his death. In the meantime, it is the gods who are the real players in this epic battle, and all that happens, happens at their whim.
Achilles incurs the wrath of Scamander, the river god (also known as Xanthos, to avoid confusion) when he boasts of Zeus’ power, and by extension, his own power as the progeny of Zeus:
What results is a reminder of the power of the gods. Achilles initially fears he will be drowned by the river as it surges against him. The following images represent moments in that supernatural conflict:
Runciman’s wonderful sketch captures the spirit of the moment that Achilles defiantly faces the river as it rises against him. It is a quite literal interpretation of the scene, with the corpses of Trojan soldiers visible through the water, at Achilles feet.
Schopin’s painting captures a later moment in the river scene. Achilles stands, gesturing forward with his sword ready for action. He is flanked by Poseidon, carrying the trident, and Athena, wearing her helmet which not only represents her prowess as a warrior, but also her wisdom. They face Scamander, the river god, the water of the river seemingly surging from his body. While this is an appealing piece of art, it is curious for a couple of reasons.
The first is that the image is quite static, despite the surging water and the moment of conflict it represents. All the figures could have been lifted from different studies by the artist without reference to their placement in the frame. None of the figures seem to be looking or interacting with each other. Only their proximity and context suggest it. Achilles’ attention seems to be taken by something in the distance rather than the river god immediately before him.
Another interesting aspect of this painting is the portrayal of Achilles, himself. In this scene in The Iliad Homer reveals Achilles to be at his most vulnerable:
The stance of all of the figures in this painting is highly stylised, and Achilles martial stance is quite heroic, despite the fact that The Iliad he is literally breaking down and in need of support by the two gods. I can only presume that Schopin has chosen to represent Achilles according to the popular perception of him and his reputation, rather than remain true to the scene by representing the momentary vulnerability of the hero.
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This eighteenth century engraving by Probst is obviously a representation of Achilles fighting in the river. In some sources it is purported to also represent the moment that Achilles kills Asteropaeus. The naked figure lying in the foreground is identified as Scamander in some sources. I am not entirely sure if this is correct.
If we assume it is correct, like many pieces of art that represent scenes from The Iliad, the details are not quite right. Asteropaeus appears to be fleeing Achilles, whereas he was in fact trying to withdraw Achilles’ spear from the river bank to use as his own weapon when Achilles delivered a mortal blow.
If the fleeing figure is not Asterepaeus, he represents one of the many Trojans killed by Achilles in the river. The corpses were so numerous that Scamander complains that the river is clogged with them.