Sword and Scepter: Divine Influence and Human Action in Iliad I
The subject of the interaction between gods and mortals in Homeric epic has long been
the focus of much scholarly inquiry, and the appearance of Athena to Achilles in Iliad I is an
important instance of such interaction. Scholarship concerning the meeting between goddess and
hero, however, has not focused fully on the physical nature of the encounter, particularly as it
relates to the physicality of Achilles’ action both before and after the epiphany. In this paper, I
will argue that Athena’s use of physical force influences the behavior of Achilles, with the
explicit result that the physical action Achilles ultimately takes is a compromise between his will
and Athena’s.
Athena’s appearance in the scene occurs just as Achilles is engaged in the act of drawing
his sword in the assembly of the Achaeans; she appears to Achilles alone and grabs him by the
hair (Iliad I.188-198). This physical interaction between the goddess and the hero ends his
violent act and, as I will argue, causes his behavior to change immediately. Athena tells Achilles
to “cease from strife” and instead “reproach him [Agamemnon] with words” (Iliad I.210-211, my
translation). After Athena exits, Achilles puts his sword away and delivers a verbal invective
against Agamemnon, cursing the Achaeans to be slaughtered by Hector while Achilles does not
fight. But while Achilles submits his will to Athena’s, this paper will demonstrate that his anger
against Agamemnon is still manifested in physical action. Achilles engages in a powerful verbal
assault on Agamemnon: the poet describes the words used by Achilles to address Agamemnon as
ἀταρτηροῖς (“harmful”), and Achilles’ speech act therefore maintains an injurious, retributive
aspect; In fact, the exchange of insults in Iliad I has been compared to the battle scenes
throughout the epic (e.g. Pulleyn 2000: 185). So, although Achilles puts away his sword, he takes
up the scepter that the judges held in order to preserve the laws decreed by Zeus. This scepter, an
instrument of justice, is symbolic of Athena, and I will show how Achilles uses it in two ways:
first, to accomplish his own desire of harming Agamemnon, and second, as a fulfillment of
Athena’s will that he reproach Agamemnon with words. This action with the scepter, as I will
argue, replaces Achilles’ initial response of drawing his sword against Agamemnon: indeed, the
act of swearing on the scepter and throwing it to the ground is the symbolic equivalent of
Achilles’ intended act of drawing his sword and killing Agamemnon. Thus, the result of Athena’s
intervention is that Achilles fulfills both his will to respond to Agamemnon with physical action
and Athena’s will that the hero not draw his sword and instead respond verbally.
Finally I will suggest that Athena’s appearance is therefore an important example of how
divine figures influence human action in Homeric epic. This paper analyzes these events with the
ultimate goal of better understanding how divine characters act to affect human behavior, and
how such behavioral changes are manifested in the human character’s physical actions.
Working Bibliography:
Nagy, Gregory. 1999. Best of the Achaeans. Revised ed. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins
University Press.
Redfield, James. 1975. Nature and Culture in the Iliad. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Tsagarakis, Odysseus. 1977. Nature and Background of Major Concepts of Divine Power in
Homer. Amsterdam: B.R. Grüner Publishing Co.
Pulleyn, Simon. 2000. Homer: Iliad Book One. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.
Edwards, Mark W. 1987. Homer: Poet of the Iliad. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University
Press.