Welcome back myth readers. This week's books were probably the most intense we've seen so far. I kind of loved it, though there were some moments that I found heartbreaking. The atmosphere in these books and the sheer rage of Achilles were amazing to read. I think most of the books, past the half-way mark, really cement how much this story is a masterpiece.

Next week we will be finishing the Iliad by reading books 23 and 24.

Additionally, for those of you who are interested in finding out what happens to some of our warriors post-Iliad, we will be reading the 'Epitome' section from our May/June read 'The Library of Greek Mythology' during the following week. A discussion post will go up for that section on or before September 9. Please note that the 'Epitome' was written centuries after the Iliad/Odyssey by a different writer. It is also part of a larger text and the section, while mainly focusing on the events post-Iliad, also tells the story of Theseus and the Minotaur. If you want to skip the non-Iliad part of the text, then you can start reading around the section titled '13. The Trojan War'

This is a super optional reading week. If you are a fan of modern Greek retellings and/or just want to know what happens right after the end of the Iliad, this text may be of interest to you.

We will be starting our reading of The Aeneid by Virgil on the weekend of September 9.

As usual, questions will be in the comments.

Summary:

Book 21:

Achilles continues his on his rampage. He kills so many men that the river Scamander is clogged with bodies. The god of the river, also called Scamander, gets angry at this and wants to save Troy, so he takes the form of man and begins fighting Achilles. He comes close to drowning Achilles but then Athena and Hera intervene, getting Hephaestus to boil Scamander until he submits and backs off. Achilles then kills more Trojans, including a young son of Priam. He sends twelve prisoners back to the Greek ships to be a part of Patroclus’ funeral sacrifice.

Meanwhile, the gods start fighting on the battlefield against each other. Zeus is happy with this. We get some great moments like Athena fighting Ares and punching Aphrodite in the chest. Poseidon lectures Apollo about their joint past and why he shouldn’t be supporting the Trojans because they treated them badly. Apollo storms off and gets called a ‘baby’ by Artemis. Artemis then faces off against Hera, who boxes her around the ears and sends her scurrying back to Olympus. Hermes, in perhaps a moment of decency (or self-preservation), refuses to fight Apollo and Artemis’ mother, Leto. Most of the gods head back to Olympus, giving up on the fight for the day, except for Apollo, who heads into Troy.

The Trojans flee inside the city, but some of the warriors know they won’t get there in time to escape Achilles. One such warrior is Agenor, son of Priam’s advisor Antenor. Apollo comes to him and inspires him to stand his ground. He faces Achilles down and then Apollo takes his place and runs off, forcing Achilles to chase him and allowing the remaining Trojans to get into the city.

Book 22:

Achilles chases Apollo, disguised as Agenor, until it become obvious that “Agenor” is really an immortal. Apollo then speaks to Achilles, revealing his identity and mocking Achilles for getting distracted. Achilles gets even angrier and tells Apollo that he has robbed him of the glory of killing more fleeing Trojans. Achilles then heads back to the city of Troy.

Priam and Hecuba are watching from the walls of Troy. As the minutes tick down, they realise that Hector is choosing to not retreat to safety. They both beg him to change his mind, but he refuses. Earlier in this day’s battle, Hector turned down the advice of one of his men to retreat at that time. He is against retreating now, because he realises the advice was sound and that he has failed his army by allowing them to stay on the field so long. He seems to see retreating at this point as admitting to his failure and embarrassing himself.

Achilles attacks Hector and chases him around the walls of Troy three times. Hector gets some minor help from Apollo (who gives him stamina). Back on Olympus, Zeus is sad about Hector’s incoming death and ponders if he should change fate by saving him. Athena, echoing Hera’s response (to Sarpedon’s death) tells him that he can do what he likes but that not all the gods will approve. Zeus decides to stick to the plan. He tells Athena to do whatever she wants. By choosing this fate he calls Apollo back to Olympus.

Hector is (understandably) scared but he gets a little boost of confidence when his half-brother and fellow warrior, Deiphobus, appears and offers to fight alongside him. Hector faces down Achilles but loses his spear in the fight. He turns to Deiphobus for help, only to find that Deiphobus was never there, but a godly trick to get him to fight. Hector realises that this is his end. Achilles spears him in the throat.

As he lays dying, Hector tries to get Achilles to swear to return his body to his parents. Achilles refuses. Hector warns Achilles that his heart of iron could get him in trouble with the gods, but Achilles doesn’t care. In his final breaths, Hector tells Achilles how he will die at Paris and Apollo’s hands very soon.

Hector dies. Achilles defiles his body, piercing his legs and dragging him around the walls of Troy three times in the dirt. Priam and Hecuba cry from the walls. The book ends with Hector’s wife, Andromache, finding out about Hector’s death – she goes to the wall and laments his death, knowing that she and everyone in Troy is now doomed.

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