Mythology

Delahoyde & Hughes

HOMER'S ILIAD:

BOOK XII: The Trojans Storm the Rampart

Questions for Book XII:

What is a rampart?

Why does Homer give us a flashforward to the destruction of the rampart?

Why do you think Hector rejects the bird-omen and Polydamas' logical interpretation of it?

We first hear of the destruction of the rampart which will take place in the future. It's a peculiar flashforward, possibly for a momentary melancholic perspective. We will later get flashforwards related to individuals. Here we get only a taste of the future desolation on the wider scale.

A bird omen occurs. An eagle flying by with a serpent in its beak is bitten by the prey. The bird shrieks and flings the serpent amid the Trojan warriors. Polydamas interprets this in a grim way, which seems appropriate. Hector, on the other hand, may be growing reckless; he rejects this as an omen. The Trojans are doing well and indeed by the end of the book have pushed the Greeks back to their ships. This is exciting and impressive, but must strike us with a note of doom, because we know that this is as far as the Trojans will be allowed to progress in this war.

Hector actually threatens to kill Polydamas if he attempts to perpetuate this prophecy of doom among the Trojan warriors. This moment in the epic will become important later on as Hector, near defeat, reflects that he should have listened to Polydamas. Twenty / twenty hindsight.

It is important to note that Hector smashes the Argives gates with a huge boulder, which he is able to lift and heave because Zeus is helping him. At this point in the war, the son of Cronus is still engaged in carrying out his promise to Thetis.

Hector shouts to his Trojans: "The wall, storm the wall." The Argives scatter back in terror.