The Iliad Agamemnon Quotes

Rage - Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus' son Achilles - Home quote, The Iliad

Rage – Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles,
murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses,
hurling down to the House of Death so many sturdy souls,
great fighters’ souls, but made their bodies carrion,
feasts for the dogs and birds,
and the will of Zeus was moving toward its end.
Begin, Muse, when the two first broke and clashed,
Agamemnon lord of men and brilliant Achilles.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 1, lines 1-8. The opening lines describe the ferocity of the Trojan War and the rage of Achilles, the greatest Greek warrior and hero to fight in that war. We learn about the conflict within the Greek camp between Achilles and King Agamemnon. While some of the most powerful heroes of the time took part in the Trojan war, it claimed the lives of many of these mighty heroes. We also learn about higher forces at play and shaping the lives of humans and influencing events – the will of Zeus, king of the Greek gods, who seems to control fate.

The girl – I won’t give up the girl. Long before that,
old age will overtake her in my house, in Argos,
far from her fatherland, slaving back and forth
at the loom, forced to share my bed!

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 1, lines 33-36. Agamemnon says this to Chryses about his daughter Chryseis, whom Agamemnon has enslaved. He will not give up the girl, he says, and indeed is going to force her to sleep with him. Despite pleas from his own military to accept the Chryseis’ offer of ransom for the return of his daughter, the proud and selfish Agamemnon refuses. Chryses is the priest of Apollo at Chryse and this dishonor shown to him will have have serious consequences for the Greeks.

Down he strode from Olympus’ peaks, storming at heart
with his bow and hooded quiver slung across his shoulders…
First he went for the mules and circling dogs but then,
launching a piercing shaft at the men themselves,
he cut them down in droves.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 1, lines 51-59. Apollo, a god of healing, sends a plague to the Greek camp which kills many soldiers. He has been angered by Agamemnon’s offense to Apollo’s priest Chryses in refusing a ransom to free the priest’s daughter Chryseis.

And the matchless runner reassured him: "Courage!
Out with it now, Calchas. Reveal the will of god,
whatever you may know. And I swear by Apollo
dear to Zeus, the power you pray to, Calchas,
when you reveal god’s will to the Argives – no one,
not while I am alive and see the light on earth, no one
will lay his heavy hands on you by the hollow ships.
None among all the armies. Not even if you mean
Agamemnon here who now claims to be, by far,
the best of the Achaeans."

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 1, lines 99-108. Achilles moves to reassure Calchas who is fearful of explaining Apollo’s anger in sending the plague. The courageous Achilles lives up to his hero reputation by promising that he will protect Calchas even if it is from King Agamemnon.

But I am willing to give her back, even so,
if that is best for all. What I really want
is to keep my people safe, not see them dying.
But fetch me another prize, and straight off too,
else I alone of the Argives go without my honor.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 1, lines 135-139. The proud Agamemnon is a very selfish king. He is willing to give back his spoil of war, the enslaved daughter of Apollo’s priest Chryses. But he will only do so if he is given another "prize," because otherwise he would be left without honor.

if our generous Argives will give me a prize,
a match for my desires, equal to what I’ve lost,
well and good. But if they give me nothing
I will take a prize myself – your own, or Ajax’
or Odysseus’ prize – I’ll commandeer her myself
and let that man I go to visit choke with rage!

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 1, lines 159-165. To repair his pride, Argamemnon agrees to give up the Trojan woman Chryseis, daughter of Chryses, if he gets a new prize of war. Fuelling his fight with Achilles further, he threatens to take the Greek hero’s war prize Briseis or Great Ajax’s, even if they choke with rage.

And now you threaten to strip me of my prize in person –
the one I fought for long and hard, and sons of Achaea
handed her to me.
My honors never equal yours,
whenever we sack some wealthy Trojan stronghold –
my arms bear the brunt of the raw, savage fighting,
true, but when it comes to dividing up the plunder
the lion’s share is yours, and back I go to my ships,
clutching some scrap, some pittance that I love,
when I have fought to exhaustion.
No more now –
back I go to Phthia. Better that way by far,
to journey home in the beaked ships of war.
I have no mind to linger here disgraced,
brimming your cup and piling up your plunder.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 1, lines 190-202. The dispute between the two dominant Greeks Achilles and Agamemnon escalates. A proud Achilles launches a strong verbal attack on Agamemnon for theatening to take his war prize, Briseis. He complains that Agamemnon takes the lion’s share (metaphor) of the spoils and honors of war, while he gets the scraps after fighting to exhaustion. Achilles says that he would rather go home than remain in Troy dishonored.
Picture of Agamemnon lashing back at Achilles

You – I hate you most of all the warlords
loved by the gods. Always dear to your heart,
strife, yes, and battles, the bloody grind of war.
What if you are a great soldier? That’s just a gift of god.
Go home with your ships and comrades, lord it over
your Myrmidons!
You are nothing to me – you and your overweening anger!

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 1, lines 208-213. As his conflict with Achilles comes to a head, Agamemnon delivers this hostile speech to Achilles. Acknowledging that Achilles is a great warrior who has fought many battles, he tells him that this is only so because the gods have helped him. And on Achilles’s threat to quit the war, Agamemnon tells him to go home with his ships and soldiers, that Achilles and his anger are nothing to him.

Pallas Athena! the terrible blazing of those eyes,
and his winged words went flying: "Why, why now?
Child of Zeus with the shield of thunder, why come now?
To witness the outrage Agamemnon just committed?
1 tell you this, and so help me it’s the truth –
he’ll soon pay for his arrogance with his life!"

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 1, lines 235-240. Achilles asks the goddess Athena why she has appeared to him. Achilles is in a rage because of Agamemnon’s disrespect to him, by threatening to take away his war prize Briseis.

Her gray eyes clear, the goddess Athena answered,
"Down from the skies I come to check your rage
if only you will yield.
The white-armed goddess Hera sped me down:
she loves you both, she cares for you both alike.
Stop this fighting, now. Don’t lay hand to sword.
Lash him with threats of the price that he will face."

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 1, lines 241-246. Achilles considers attacking Agamemnon, but goddess Athena is sent down from heaven by Hera to calm their favored hero. Athena asks Achilles to stay his anger, and demands self control and obedience from him.

Staggering drunk, with your dog’s eyes, your fawn’s heart!
Never once did you arm with the troops and go to battle
or risk an ambush packed with Achaea’s picked men
you lack the courage, you can see death coming.
Safer by far, you find, to foray all through camp,
commandeering the prize of any man who speaks against you.
King who devours his people! Worthless husks, the men you rule.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 1, lines 264-270. Achilles uses metaphorical language to taunt Agamemnon and compare him to lowly animals. The Greek warrior is himself proud in battle and he is far from impressed by what he says is Agamemnon’s lack of courage in the fight against Troy. Achilles is also furious with Agamemnon for commandeering his "prize" slave Briseis.

True, old man – all you say is fit and proper –
but this soldier wants to tower over the armies,
he wants to rule over all, to lord it over all,
give out orders to every man in sight. Well,
there’s one, I trust, who will never yield to him!

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 1, lines 335-339. Agamemnon responds to Nestor’s attempt to mediate in his dispute with Achilles, when the elder captain and king of Pylos asks that they both back down. But fueled by his intense pride, the angry Agamemnon ignores Nestor’s plea, accusing Achilles of wanting to rule and lord it over everyone. He vows that he will never yield to Achilles.

They were afraid, they held the king in awe
and stood there, silent. Not a word to Achilles.
not a question. But he sensed it all in his heart,
their fear, their charge, and broke the silence for them:
"Welcome. couriers! Good heralds of Zeus and men.
here, come closer. You have done nothing to me.
You are not to blame. No one but Agamemnon –
he is the one who sent you for Briseis.
Go, Patroclus, Prince, bring out the girl."

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 1, lines 390-398. When Agamemnon’s messengers arrive at Achilles’s camp to take Briseis, looking fearful, Achilles attempts to put at ease. Offering a hand of friendship, he assures them that he attributes no blame to them, but to Agamemnon alone. He orders his close friend and confidant Patroclus to bring out the girl.

But let them both bear witness to my loss…
in the face of blissful gods and mortal men,
in the face of that unbending, ruthless king –
if the day should come when the armies need me
to save their ranks from ignominious, stark defeat.
The man is raving – with all the murderous fury in his heart.
He lacks the sense to see a day behind, a day ahead,
and safeguard the Achaeans battling by the ships.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 1, lines 400-407. Agamemnon sends two heralds to seize Briseis from Achilles and Achilles consents to hand her over. He tells the heralds that Agamemnon is an inferior leader and says that Agamemnon will not be there to save the Achaeans when the need arises. Achilles also predicts that the day will come when they will need the help of Achilles.

at last one plan seemed best:
he would send a murderous dream to Agamemnon.
…"Zeus commands you to arm your long-hatred Achaeans,
to attack at once, full force –
now you can take the broad streets of Troy!"

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 2, lines 5-7, 33-34. Zeus gives a false steer to Agamemnon in his war with the Trojans, by sending a fraudulent dream of hope commanding him to attack Troy immediately. The king of the gods is fulfilling his promise to Thetis to help the Trojans. This interference by the gods in human affairs is an example of dramatic irony. Agamemnon is convinced by Zeus that his army is about to inflict defeat on the Trojans, but the reader knows that the Trojans will be able to inflict terrible damage in this full-on attack.

Cronus’ son has trapped me in madness, blinding ruin –
Zeus is a harsh, cruel god. He vowed to me long ago,
he bowed his head that I should never embark for home
till I had brought the walls of Ilium crashing down.
But now, I see, he only plotted brutal treachery:
now he commands me back to Argos in disgrace,
whole regiments of my men destroyed in battle.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 2, lines 130-136. Agamemnon blames Zeus for his defeat in battle by the Trojans and the destruction of whole regiments of his army. The king who forced Achilles out of the army fails to take personal responsibility.

Cut and run! Sail home to the fatherland we love!
We’ll never take the broad streets of Troy.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 2, lines 64-65. After nine years laying siege to the city of Troy, Agamemnon shows his weakness as a leader when he commands his army to retreat from the Trojans and sail home. It is hard to find a speech anywhere like it by a battle commander trying to motiviate his troops. Agamemnon is actually testing his troops, using reverse psychology to rally his men, hoping they will disagree with him and demand to fight on. But his test backfires. What do his soldiers do? They run for the ships!

I tell you this, so help me it’s the truth:
if I catch you again blithering on this way,
let Odysseus’ head be wrenched off his shoulders
never again call me the father of Telemachus
if I don’t grab you, strip the clothing off you,
cloak, tunic and rags that wrap you private parts
and whip you howling naked back to the fast ships
out of the armies’ muster – whip you like a cur!

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 2, lines 302-308. Odysseus launches a verbal attack on Thersites before physically attacking him. Thersites, described as "the ugliest man who ever came to Troy" with a head full of obscenities, has angered Odysseus by telling the collected Greek armies that they should desert Agamemnon.
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