Book 4 is where everything KICKS OFF. Book 1 gave us conflict between Greeks. Book 3 teased us with a possible resolution through single combat. Now? Zeus orchestrates the breaking of sacred oaths, and the full-scale war begins. This is Homer showing you that divine politics matter MORE than human agreements, and that war—once started—has its own terrible momentum.
The gods, meanwhile, had sat down in assembly with Zeus on Olympus' golden floor. Lady Hebe served them with nectar, and they drank each other's health from cups of gold as they looked out over the Trojans' town.
— Rieu, lines 1-4
Notice how casual this is. The gods are literally having drinks while watching mortals prepare for battle. Homer's setting up one of his key themes: the gods are NOT on your side. They're playing their own games, and humans are the pieces.
Book 4's Central Question
What happens when sacred oaths—the foundation of civilised society—are deliberately broken by divine manipulation? Answer: chaos, blood, and the full horror of war.
What Book 4 Establishes
Divine manipulation trumps human agency: Zeus and Hera's marriage politics decide Troy's fate
Oaths mean nothing when gods interfere: Sacred vows broken because Athene manipulates Pandarus
Agamemnon as complex leader: Effective commander who's also petty and insulting
War's brutal reality: Individual deaths get names and backstories—Homer shows the COST
Book 4 Structure
Book 4 has FOUR major movements. Understanding this structure helps you see how Homer builds from divine scheming to human slaughter.
SCENE 1
Divine Council on Olympus
Lines 1-72
Zeus needles Hera. She REFUSES to let Troy survive. Zeus agrees to let Athene break the truce.
SCENE 2
Athene Breaks the Truce
Lines 73-219
Athene manipulates Pandarus into shooting Menelaus. The arrow wounds but doesn't kill. The truce is BROKEN.
SCENE 3
Agamemnon's Review
Lines 220-421
Agamemnon inspects his troops—praising some, insulting others. Shows his leadership style: effective but abrasive.
SCENE 4
Battle is Joined
Lines 422-544
The armies clash. Epic similes. Individual deaths described in brutal detail. This is what war actually LOOKS like.
The Movement
Notice how we move from gods → divine manipulation → human preparation → mass slaughter. Each step makes the violence feel more INEVITABLE. By the time battle starts, there's no going back.
Zeus vs Hera: Divine Marriage Politics
Book 4 opens with Zeus deliberately winding up Hera. He KNOWS how to provoke her, and he does it because he's frustrated that his plan to honour Achilles is taking so long. Troy's destruction? That's just collateral damage in a divine marriage spat.
'Two of the goddesses are on Menelaus' side – Hera from Argos and Athene from Alalcomenae. But they are happy just to sit up here and watch; whereas laughter-loving Aphrodite is always at Paris' side, shielding him from death. Only a moment ago she whisked him off when he thought his end had come.'
— Rieu, lines 7-12
Zeus's Provocation
"happy just to sit up here and watch": Accusing Hera and Athene of being LAZY/cowardly
"laughter-loving Aphrodite is always at Paris' side": She ACTS while you just WATCH
"Only a moment ago": This JUST happened and you did NOTHING
Zeus's Fake Proposal
Zeus pretends to suggest making peace—letting Menelaus take Helen home. He KNOWS Hera will refuse. This is Zeus being manipulative, testing her while setting up the oath-breaking that will restart the war.
Hera's Furious Response
'Dread son of Cronus, what are you suggesting now? How can you think of making all my efforts count for nothing, the pains I took, the sweat that poured from me as I toiled round in my chariot and gathered the army to make trouble for Priam and his sons?'
— Rieu, lines 24-28
Breaking Down Hera's Rage
"Dread son of Cronus" = formal address when ANGRY
"what are you suggesting now?" = you're being ABSURD
"the pains I took, the sweat that poured from me" = I worked HARD for this
"gathered the army" = this war exists because of MY effort
"to make trouble for Priam" = my GOAL was Troy's destruction
Hera sees Zeus's proposal as a betrayal. She's invested YEARS of divine effort into destroying Troy, and he's casually suggesting giving up. This isn't about Helen or Paris—it's about Hera's honour and her hatred of Troy (remember: Paris chose Aphrodite over her in the Judgement).
The Bargain: Cities for Cities
'When it is my turn to desire the sack of a town and I choose one where favourites of yours are living, make no attempt to curb my anger, but let me have my way, since I have given in to you this time of my own accord, though much against my inclination.'
— Rieu, lines 42-46
💡 The Deal Explained
Zeus trades Troy (his favourite city) for future permission to destroy Hera's favourites (Argos, Sparta, Mycenae). Human cities are BARGAINING CHIPS. Zeus values keeping Hera happy MORE than he values Troy surviving. This is divine politics: mortals pay the price.
'The three towns I love best are Argos, Sparta and Mycenae with its broad streets. Sack those, whenever they incur your hatred. I shall not make a stand on their behalf nor begrudge them to you.'
— Rieu, lines 51-54
Hera IMMEDIATELY accepts. She'll trade her OWN favourite cities if it means Troy falls NOW. This shows how much she hates Troy—willing to sacrifice everything for revenge.
Zeus Sends Athene
'Off with you immediately to the Trojan and Greek battle front, and try to arrange for the Trojans to be the first to break the oaths made with the proud Greeks.'
— Rieu, lines 70-72
Why "the Trojans to be the first"?
Zeus wants the Trojans to LOOK like oath-breakers
Gives Greeks moral justification for the slaughter to come
Even when orchestrating betrayal, Zeus cares about APPEARANCES
The gods manipulate but want mortals to seem responsible
Athene's Masterclass in Manipulation
Athene disguises herself as Laodocus (a Trojan warrior) and finds Pandarus. Her speech is BRILLIANT manipulation. She doesn't COMMAND—she tempts with glory and rewards.
'Pandarus, shrewd son of Lycaon, you should do what I say. If you could bring yourself to shoot a flying arrow at Menelaus, you would cover yourself in glory and put every Trojan in your debt, lord Paris most of all.'
— Rieu, lines 93-96
Athene's Appeals
Glory: "cover yourself in glory"
Gratitude: "put every Trojan in your debt"
Paris's favour: "lord Paris most of all"
Promised gifts: Rich offerings from Paris
What She Hides
You'll break sacred oaths
ALL Trojans will be blamed
You'll restart the war
Troy will eventually be destroyed
💡 Who's Responsible?
Is Pandarus guilty? YES—he made the choice. But he was manipulated by a goddess in disguise. Homer explores a key question: when divine and human agency collide, where does responsibility lie? The Greeks will blame ALL Trojans. But WE know Athene orchestrated this.
The Shot
He quickly fitted the sharp arrow to the string and promised the renowned Lycian-born Archer-god Apollo an impressive offering of first-born lambs when he got back home to sacred Zeleia.
— Rieu, lines 119-122
Notice: Pandarus promises Apollo a sacrifice for SUCCESS. He thinks he's doing something GOOD—winning glory and favour. He doesn't realise he's being played.
The Arrow's Flight
Pandarus draws his bow (made from wild goat horns, over a metre long—Homer gives us ALL the details). The arrow flies. And Athene—WHO TOLD HIM TO SHOOT—deflects it.
Athene's "Protection"
But the blessed immortal gods did not forget you, Menelaus, and first of these was the war-leader Athene, daughter of Zeus, who took her stand in front of you and warded off the piercing missile, turning it away just so much from your flesh, like a mother brushing a fly away from her gently sleeping child.
— Rieu, lines 127-133
The Absurdity
Athene manipulates Pandarus into shooting
Then SAVES Menelaus from the shot
The arrow wounds but doesn't kill
Perfect for Zeus's plan: oath broken, Greeks outraged, Menelaus alive
Athene guides the arrow to wound Menelaus—painful but not fatal. It hits "where the golden buckles of the belt fixed together and the body-armour overlapped". Blood flows, Agamemnon panics, and the war restarts. All according to plan.
Agamemnon's Prophecy
'My dear brother, it was your death, then, that I swore to when I took the oath and sent you out alone to fight for us against the Trojans, who have now trampled on the sacred oaths. But oaths sealed by our right hands and solemnized with libations of wine and the blood of lambs cannot have been sealed in vain.'
— Rieu, lines 155-159
'Olympian Zeus may postpone the penalty, but he exacts it, in full, in the end, and oath-breakers pay a heavy price with their own lives and their wives' and children's too.'
— Rieu, lines 160-162
Dramatic Irony
Agamemnon is RIGHT—Troy will be destroyed. But he doesn't know ZEUS HIMSELF orchestrated the oath-breaking. The gods don't just punish oath-breakers; they CREATE oath-breaking situations to justify their plans.
Leadership on Display
After Machaon treats Menelaus's wound, Agamemnon tours his commanders. This section is CRUCIAL for understanding Agamemnon as a leader. He's effective, but he's also petty, insulting, and plays favourites.
The Pattern
Agamemnon praises warriors who are ALREADY motivated (Idomeneus, Ajax, Nestor) but INSULTS those who aren't actively fighting yet (Odysseus, Diomedes). This is terrible psychology—you don't motivate people by questioning their courage.
The Good: Idomeneus
'Idomeneus, of all my Greeks with their swift horses, there is not one I honour more than you, on the battlefield, on other missions and at feasts for senior advisers when the Greek leaders mix themselves sparkling wine.'
— Rieu, lines 257-260
This is PERFECT leadership. Specific praise ("I honour you MORE than anyone"), multiple contexts (battlefield, missions, feasts), public recognition. Idomeneus responds graciously. Everyone wins.
The Insult: Odysseus and Menestheus
'You, Menestheus, son of a noble father, and you, Odysseus, master of sharp practice, always looking out for number one, why are you hanging back like this and leaving others to advance?'
— Rieu, lines 338-341
Why This Is Terrible
They're waiting for orders—battle hasn't started
"master of sharp practice" = calling Odysseus SNEAKY/dishonest
"looking out for number one" = accusing them of COWARDICE
Public humiliation in front of their troops
'Son of Atreus, why do you say such a thing? How can you maintain that, when we Greeks unleash the dogs of war against the horse-taming Trojans, we shirk the fighting? You'll have your wish, if that's what is troubling you, and see the father of Telemachus at grips with the front ranks of these horse-taming Trojans. As for you, you're all hot air.'
— Rieu, lines 350-356
Odysseus's response is ICE COLD. He doesn't shout—he questions Agamemnon's judgment, promises to prove him wrong, and ends with a devastating insult: "you're all hot air." Agamemnon backs down IMMEDIATELY.
The Unfair Comparison: Diomedes
'That was Tydeus from Aetolia. You are his son. But you do not fight as he did, though you may be better when it comes to talking.'
— Rieu, lines 399-400
Agamemnon compares Diomedes unfavourably to his father Tydeus. This is CRUEL—Diomedes is one of the best warriors in the Greek army. But Diomedes stays SILENT, accepting the rebuke with maturity.
💡 Diomedes's Silence
Why doesn't Diomedes defend himself like Odysseus? Because he respects the chain of command. His companion Sthenelus DOES speak up ("we are far better men than our fathers!"), but Diomedes shuts him down: "Agamemnon will get the credit if we win or the grief if we lose—so let him give orders."
The Armies Advance
Homer's description of the armies advancing is one of the great set-pieces of the Iliad. Notice the contrast: Greeks (disciplined, silent) vs Trojans (chaotic, noisy).
As the waves of the ocean under a westerly gale race one after the other on to a booming beach; far out at sea the white horses rise, then break and crash thunderously on the shore and, arching up, climb headlands and send the salt spray flying – so, one after the other, the Greek contingents moved relentlessly into battle.
— Rieu, lines 422-428
Epic Simile: Greeks as Waves
INEVITABILITY: Like waves, the Greek army is a force of nature
"one after the other": Repetition creates rhythm and momentum
"relentlessly": Nothing can stop them
Power imagery: "crash thunderously", "climb headlands" = overwhelming force
As for the Trojans, like sheep that stand in their thousands in a rich man's yard, yielding their white milk and bleating incessantly because they hear their lambs, so a hubbub went up through the great army. Their speech and dialects were all different, as they spoke a mixture of languages – the troops hailed from many parts.
— Rieu, lines 433-438
The Trojan simile is deliberately LESS impressive. Sheep bleating? But Homer's not being entirely unfair—the Trojans are defending their home with allies from across Asia Minor speaking different languages. Unity is harder when you're not a single ethnic group.
The Clash
The armies advanced and met in a single space with a clash of shields, spears and bronze-armoured warriors. The bossed shields collided and a great roar went up – the screams of the dying, the jeers of the victors – and the earth ran with blood.
— Rieu, lines 446-451
Homer gives us SOUND first: clash, roar, screams, jeers. Then the visual: earth running with blood. This is sensory overload—war assaults every sense.
Individual Deaths
Homer now zooms from mass battle to individual deaths. Each death has a name, backstory, and brutal physical detail.
Antilochus kills Echepolus
"The bronze spear hit Echepolus' forehead and pierced right through the bone. Darkness engulfed his eyes and he crashed, like a tower, in the thick of the action." (lines 459-462)
Ajax kills Simoisius
Simoisius was born by the River Simois when his mother was visiting her parents. "His life was too short to repay his parents for their loving care, for it ended when he met the spear of great-hearted Ajax." (lines 477-479). Ajax's spear goes through his shoulder, and "he crashed to the ground in the dust like a poplar" (line 482).
💡 Why the Backstories?
Homer tells us Simoisius's origin story RIGHT before his death. This HURTS. Every death is someone's son, someone's future, lost. War isn't glorious—it's the destruction of human potential.
Odysseus kills Democoön
After Leucus (Odysseus's companion) is killed, Odysseus "infuriated by his companion's death, hit [Democoön] with his spear on the temple, and the bronze tip passed right through and came out the other side." (lines 501-503)
Deaths lead to revenge killings. The cycle continues. Bodies pile up. And Homer gives us a final, haunting image:
Indeed, this was no idle skirmish. Anyone arriving fresh in the middle of this battle uninjured by throw or thrust of a sharp spear – he would have needed Athene to shield him from the hail of missiles and lead him by the hand – would have soon found that out. Trojans and Greeks that day lay there in their multitudes, stretched out alongside each other, face down in the dust.
— Rieu, lines 539-544
Homer's Verdict
The book ends with a counter-factual: imagine arriving in this battle. You'd need DIVINE PROTECTION just to survive. Trojans and Greeks lie "face down in the dust" in equal numbers. No one is winning. War is just mutual destruction.