Book 9's embassy is a MASTERCLASS in character revelation. Homer gives us four distinct personalities, each with different values, persuasive strategies, and relationships to Achilles. By the end of the book, we understand not just WHAT they want (Achilles to fight), but WHO they are.
Why This Scene Matters for Character
Character isn't shown through description—it's shown through ACTION and SPEECH. The embassy reveals character through: (1) what each person argues, (2) how they argue it, (3) how Achilles responds to them, and (4) what they value most.
The Four Personalities
Achilles: The Principled Rebel
Values personal integrity above social obligations. Honest to the point of brutality. Questions the entire heroic system. Chooses isolation over compromise.
Odysseus: The Diplomat
Values effectiveness and social harmony. Persuasive, intelligent, strategic. Believes in working within the system. Willing to manipulate to achieve goals.
Phoenix: The Father Figure
Values personal relationships and emotional bonds. Appeals to love not logic. Uses stories and examples. Caught between loyalty to Achilles and duty to Greeks.
Ajax: The Blunt Warrior
Values friendship and practical common sense. Direct, honest, no rhetorical flourishes. Appeals to shame and social obligation. Most "normal" of the four.
What We Learn About Character
How each speaker approaches the problem reveals their core values and personality
What they emphasise in their speeches shows what THEY think matters most
How Achilles responds to each reveals the depth and nature of their relationships
Who comes closest to success tells us what might move Achilles (Ajax's friendship appeal)
Why all three fail shows that Achilles has moved beyond the value system they all share
Achilles: The Man Who Says No
Everything about Book 9 is unexpected because of ACHILLES. In heroic society, you DON'T refuse reasonable compensation. You don't reject your society's entire value system. You don't choose life over glory. Achilles does all three.
Achilles's Core Trait: Radical Honesty
"I hate like the gates of Hades the man who says one thing and hides another in his heart." This isn't just about OTHER people lying—it's about Achilles's commitment to saying exactly what he thinks, even when it's socially destructive.
"I must speak out and tell you bluntly how I feel and what I mean to do. Otherwise you will sit here coaxing me, one after the other."
— Achilles to Odysseus, Book 9
Achilles KNOWS Odysseus, Phoenix, and Ajax will try to manipulate him. So he pre-empts it: "I'm going to tell you the truth, and that's final." This is both admirable (honest) and antisocial (refuses to engage in normal persuasion/negotiation).
Achilles's Psychology
What Drives Achilles
Personal integrity: He won't compromise his principles for social acceptance
Wounded pride: Agamemnon's insult cut DEEP—treated "like a worthless vagrant"
Philosophical conviction: He's reasoned his way to rejecting the heroic code
Maternal influence: Thetis told him his two destinies—he's CHOOSING
Notice: Achilles isn't just angry (though he is). He's also THINKING. His refusal isn't emotional spite—it's a philosophically reasoned rejection of a system he now sees as exploitative and hollow.
How Achilles Responds to Each Speaker
To Odysseus: Cold
Accuses him of hiding his true feelings
Rejects logic and compensation entirely
Most hostile response
Won't engage with diplomatic language
To Phoenix: Gentle but Firm
Calls him "dear old friend"
Acknowledges their bond
But still refuses
Almost asks Phoenix to choose sides
To Ajax: Softens Slightly
"Everything you say is after my own heart"
Admits Ajax speaks sense
Offers small concession (defend own ships)
Closest to being moved
What This Reveals
Dislikes manipulation (Odysseus)
Values personal bonds (Phoenix)
Respects honesty (Ajax)
But principles trump everything
Achilles's Transformation
In Book 1, Achilles was ANGRY. By Book 9, he's something else: philosophical, articulate, questioning. Homer shows us a character who's GROWN through isolation.
They found him delighting his heart with a clear-toned lyre, a beautiful thing, skilfully made, with a silver bridge. He had taken it when he sacked the city of Eëtion. With this he was entertaining himself, singing of the glorious deeds of men.
— Book 9, lines 186-189
💡 Achilles the Bard
This is HUGE. Achilles is singing about heroes—he's become a POET, not just a warrior. He's contemplating kleos from the outside, like a bard at a feast. He's moved from DOING heroism to THINKING ABOUT heroism. No wonder he questions it.
Achilles's Strengths and Weaknesses
✓ Strengths
Honest, principled, intellectually courageous, refuses to be manipulated, thinks independently, values personal integrity above social pressure
✗ Weaknesses
Inflexible, socially isolated, excessive in his anger, can't compromise, condemns comrades to death through inaction, pride prevents reconciliation
The Tragic Element
Achilles is RIGHT that the heroic code is flawed and exploitative. But his refusal to rejoin the war will lead to Patroclus's death—which proves he CAN'T actually opt out. His principled stand costs him the person he loves most. Homer shows us that being right philosophically doesn't mean your choices won't destroy you.
Odysseus: The Master Diplomat
Odysseus speaks FIRST in the embassy, and his speech is a masterpiece of rhetoric. He knows his audience, structures his argument carefully, and appeals to multiple motivations. If anyone can persuade Achilles, it should be Odysseus.
Odysseus's Core Trait: Persuasive Intelligence
"Odysseus of the nimble wits"—his defining characteristic is mētis (cunning intelligence). He's always thinking several moves ahead, adapting his approach to his audience, finding the most effective argument.
Odysseus's Rhetorical Strategy
Look at how carefully Odysseus constructs his speech. It's not random—it's a calculated persuasive structure.
Odysseus's Speech Structure
1. Hospitality/friendship first: Thanks Achilles for the feast, establishes warmth
2. Paint the crisis: Describes Greek desperation in vivid detail
3. Present Hector as threat: "He prays for dawn" to burn the ships
4. List Agamemnon's gifts: Overwhelming material compensation
5. Appeal to duty: Save your comrades from destruction
6. Offer glory: "You could kill Hector and win enormous fame"
Every element is calculated: establish rapport, create urgency, show compensation is generous, appeal to duty, offer glory. This is TEXTBOOK persuasion. And it fails completely.
Why Odysseus Fails
"I hate like the gates of Hades the man who says one thing and hides another in his heart."
— Achilles's response to Odysseus
Achilles SEES THROUGH the rhetoric. Odysseus is being diplomatic, strategic, careful—and Achilles interprets this as DISHONESTY. "You're hiding your true feelings behind pretty words."
What Odysseus Values
Social harmony
Effectiveness
Working within the system
Diplomatic language
Compromise and negotiation
What Achilles Values
Personal integrity
Brutal honesty
Challenging the system
Direct confrontation
Principled refusal
💡 A Clash of Worldviews
Odysseus thinks being diplomatic is GOOD—it maintains social bonds and achieves goals. Achilles thinks it's BAD—it's manipulation disguised as politeness. Neither is wrong from their own perspective. They're operating from incompatible value systems.
Odysseus's Character Traits
Intelligent and strategic: Always thinking about the best approach
Adaptable: Changes tactics based on situation (diplomat in Book 9, spy in Book 10)
Loyal to the Greek cause: Puts mission success above personal feelings
Pragmatic: Willing to use any means (including deception) to achieve objectives
Emotionally controlled: Doesn't let feelings interfere with effectiveness
Respected but not loved: People trust his competence but find him calculating
Odysseus Across Books 9 & 10
Book 9 shows Odysseus FAILING (can't persuade Achilles). Book 10 shows him SUCCEEDING (night raid works perfectly). This contrast reveals his true strengths.
Book 9: Diplomatic Mission
Uses rhetoric and persuasion
Fails because Achilles rejects the system
Can't solve problems diplomacy can't fix
Limited by social norms
Book 10: Intelligence Mission
Uses cunning and deception
Succeeds through practical intelligence
Excels when rules don't apply
Thrives in morally ambiguous situations
Odysseus's Range
Homer shows us Odysseus has RANGE—he can be a diplomat, a warrior, a spy, a strategist. He's the most versatile character in the Iliad. His limitation? He can't connect with someone who's rejected the entire social framework. He needs SOME shared assumptions to work with.
Can seem manipulative, prioritises effectiveness over honesty, uses people as means to ends, lacks deep emotional connections, ineffective when system breaks down
Phoenix: The Emotional Heart
Phoenix is the EMOTIONAL centre of the embassy. He's not a commander or a diplomat—he's Achilles's old tutor, the man who raised him. If Odysseus appeals to logic and Ajax to shame, Phoenix appeals to LOVE.
Phoenix's Core Trait: Parental Love
"Achilles, dear child" (philon teknon)—Phoenix doesn't argue from authority or duty. He argues from the bond of love between a father-figure and the boy he raised. This is deeply personal.
Phoenix's Relationship to Achilles
"It was I who made you what you are, godlike Achilles, because I loved you from my heart. You would not go with anyone else to a feast or eat in the house without me. I used to sit you on my knees and cut up your food for you and give you wine. How often you wetted the front of my tunic, spilling wine in your baby helplessness!"
— Phoenix to Achilles, Book 9
This is INTIMATE. Phoenix is reminding Achilles: "I fed you as a baby. I cleaned up after you. I RAISED you." He's invoking the deepest possible bond—not just teacher-student, but parent-child.
Phoenix's Backstory (Briefly)
Phoenix had to flee his own father (after a family conflict involving a concubine). Peleus took him in, and Phoenix became Achilles's tutor and substitute father. He has NO other family—Achilles IS his family.
This makes Phoenix's position TRAGIC. He loves Achilles like a son. But he's also supposed to persuade him to help the Greeks. He's torn between personal loyalty and duty.
Phoenix's Persuasive Strategy
Phoenix uses STORYTELLING, not argument. He tells the tale of Meleager, another hero who withdrew from battle in anger.
The Meleager Story (Summary)
Meleager defended his city until his mother cursed him
He withdrew in anger, refusing all gifts and pleas
Only when the city was about to fall did his wife convince him to fight
He saved the city but received nothing because he waited too long
Moral: Accept compensation NOW, before it's too late
💡 Phoenix's Manipulation
This is emotional blackmail disguised as wise storytelling. Phoenix is saying: "You're like Meleager. If you wait until disaster strikes, you'll fight anyway—but get no rewards. Take the gifts NOW." It's a calculated use of myth to change behaviour.
Why Phoenix Fails
"My dear old friend, Phoenix, father to me, I have no need of that kind of honour. I think I have been honoured by the will of Zeus."
— Achilles to Phoenix, Book 9
Achilles is GENTLE with Phoenix—"dear old friend", "father to me"—but he still refuses. Why? Because accepting out of love would mean betraying his principles. Even affection can't move him.
"Do not confuse my feelings with your tears and groans, doing a favour to the warlike son of Atreus. You should not love him, or I might come to hate you, though I love you now."
— Achilles continues, Book 9
The Ultimatum
Achilles is essentially saying: "Choose sides, Phoenix. You can't be loyal to BOTH me and Agamemnon. If you keep trying to reconcile us, I might start hating you." This is harsh—Achilles is asking his father-figure to share his anger or lose him.
Phoenix's Character Traits
Deeply emotional: Appeals to love not logic
Parental: Treats Achilles as a son, not an equal
Storyteller: Uses myth and example rather than direct argument
Torn loyalties: Loves Achilles but obligated to the Greek cause
Manipulative (gently): Uses emotional bonds to influence behaviour
Ultimately ineffective: Love alone can't override Achilles's principles
Phoenix's Strengths and Weaknesses
✓ Strengths
Genuine love for Achilles, emotional intelligence, uses storytelling effectively, understands personal bonds, willing to be vulnerable
✗ Weaknesses
Divided loyalties, uses emotional manipulation, can't separate love from duty, ineffective when faced with principled refusal, somewhat self-pitying
💡 The Tragic Position
Phoenix is the most sympathetic of the three envoys because he's genuinely TRAPPED. He loves Achilles. He wants the Greeks to win. He can't have both. Odysseus and Ajax can walk away and continue their lives. Phoenix has invested everything in Achilles—if this relationship breaks, he has nothing.
Ajax: The Honest Warrior
Ajax speaks LAST, and his speech is the SHORTEST. No rhetorical flourishes. No emotional appeals. No elaborate arguments. Just blunt, honest frustration. And ironically, he comes closest to succeeding.
Ajax's Core Trait: Straightforward Honesty
Ajax is not clever like Odysseus or emotional like Phoenix. He's a warrior who values friendship, speaks plainly, and expects others to do the same. He represents "normal" heroic values without philosophical complications.
Ajax's Blunt Appeal
"Royal son of Laertes, Odysseus of the nimble wits, let us go. I do not think we shall achieve our purpose by continuing this mission."
— Ajax to Odysseus, Book 9
Ajax is ready to GIVE UP. He's seen Odysseus's diplomacy and Phoenix's emotion fail. He knows more talk won't help. But then he tries ONE more thing—a direct, honest appeal to basic decency.
"Achilles has made his great heart savage within him. He is a cruel man, with no feeling for the love of his companions, who honoured him by the ships above all others. Pitiless!"
— Ajax continues, Book 9
Ajax's Accusations
"savage" = you've become inhuman/animal-like
"cruel" = this isn't just anger, it's CRUELTY to your friends
"no feeling for the love of his companions" = you've forgotten friendship
"Pitiless" = you have no compassion for people who love you
Ajax isn't arguing about honour or glory or the heroic code. He's saying: "We're your FRIENDS. We love you. And you're letting us die." This is an appeal to basic human decency.
The Key Argument: Blood-Price
"A man will accept compensation from the killer of his brother or his own dead son. The killer stays on in his own country after paying a heavy price, and the other's heart and proud spirit are held in check when he has accepted the blood-price. But the gods have put an implacable and evil fury in your heart because of a single girl."
— Ajax to Achilles, Book 9
The Devastating Comparison
Ajax makes the single most powerful argument of the entire embassy: Men accept compensation for MURDER. Someone kills your BROTHER or your SON, and you take blood-price and let them live in the community. But you won't accept compensation for a GIRL? (Ajax doesn't mean this contemptuously—he's pointing out the disproportion.)
This is BRILLIANT. Ajax is saying: your anger is out of proportion to the offence. If the system allows compensation for ultimate injuries (murder of family), surely it should work for lesser ones (seizure of a war prize).
Ajax's Final Appeal: Guest-Friendship
"We are under your roof. We come as representatives of the Greek people and we would like to think we are closest to you in friendship of all the Greeks, however many there are."
— Ajax concludes, Book 9
Ajax's Three Claims
"Under your roof": Xenia (guest-friendship) creates sacred obligations
"Representatives": We speak for everyone, not just Agamemnon
"Closest to you in friendship": WE are your philoi, your true friends
Ajax is reframing the issue: forget Agamemnon. Think about US—your friends who've fought beside you, who honour you, who are asking for help. This isn't about politics. It's about friendship.
Why Ajax Almost Succeeds
"Royal son of Telamon, Ajax, leader of the people, I feel that everything you say is very much after my own heart. But I swell with rage when I remember how the son of Atreus treated me like some worthless vagrant there in front of the Greeks."
— Achilles to Ajax, Book 9
"Very much after my own heart" = I AGREE with you, Ajax. You're RIGHT. But: "I swell with rage" = I can't control this anger, even though I know you're making sense.
What Works About Ajax
Honest and direct
Doesn't try to manipulate
Appeals to friendship not politics
Makes practical, proportionate argument
Why He Still Fails
Achilles's wound is too deep
Public humiliation can't be undone
Achilles has moved beyond the system
Principles override friendships
💡 The Small Victory
Ajax DOES achieve something: Achilles offers to defend HIS OWN ships if Hector reaches them. It's not rejoining the war, but it's movement. Ajax's honesty and friendship appeal create the only crack in Achilles's refusal. If anyone could have succeeded, it would have been Ajax.
Ajax's Character Traits
Blunt and direct: Says exactly what he thinks without rhetorical decoration
Values friendship: Personal bonds matter more than politics or honour
Practical: Makes common-sense arguments about proportion and social norms
Honest: Won't manipulate or use clever wordplay
Frustrated but not angry: Disappointed in Achilles but not hostile
Represents normalcy: The "regular guy" perspective among heroes
Ajax's Strengths and Weaknesses
✓ Strengths
Honest, direct, values friendship, practical common sense, no pretence, makes strongest logical argument, treats others with respect
✗ Weaknesses
Not eloquent, limited rhetorical skills, gives up easily, can't understand philosophical complexity, assumes others share his values
Why Ajax Matters
Ajax represents what NORMAL heroic values look like—no philosophical questioning, no cunning manipulation, just straightforward warrior ethics: fight well, value your friends, accept reasonable compensation, get on with it. He's the baseline against which we measure how far Achilles has moved beyond conventional heroism.
Four Characters, Four Approaches
The embassy fails because each envoy assumes Achilles still operates within the heroic value system. But Achilles has REJECTED that system. Let's compare how each approaches the problem.
Appeal: Friendship, shame, basic decency Assumes: Social obligations matter Strategy: Blunt honesty, practical argument Almost succeeds because: Achilles respects his directness
Achilles
Position: Rejects the entire system Values: Personal integrity above all Problem: Can't be persuaded within the framework Tragedy: Principled stand will cost him Patroclus
What Each Values Most
Core Values Comparison
Odysseus values EFFECTIVENESS: What works? What achieves the goal? Willing to use any means.
Phoenix values RELATIONSHIPS: Personal bonds and emotional connections trump politics.
Ajax values FRIENDSHIP: Loyalty to companions and basic human decency matter most.
Achilles values INTEGRITY: Being true to yourself even if it isolates you completely.
None of these is "wrong"—they're different priorities. The tragedy is that they're INCOMPATIBLE in this situation.
Rhetorical Styles Compared
Odysseus
Longest speech
Carefully structured
Multiple appeals (duty, honour, glory)
Diplomatic language
Hides true feelings
Phoenix
Second-longest speech
Personal and emotional
Uses story (Meleager)
Parental tone
Manipulative but loving
Ajax
Shortest speech
Unstructured, blunt
One main point (disproportion)
Plain language
Totally honest
Achilles
Speaks three times (responds to each)
Increasingly philosophical
Brutally honest
Rejects rhetoric itself
Questions assumptions
Who Comes Closest to Success?
AJAX—because he's the most honest and appeals to friendship rather than the heroic system Achilles has rejected. Achilles actually AGREES with Ajax ("everything you say is after my own heart") and offers a small concession: he'll defend his own ships.
The Irony
The least eloquent speaker almost succeeds where the master rhetorician (Odysseus) fails completely. This suggests that in dealing with Achilles, HONESTY matters more than SKILL. But even Ajax's honesty isn't enough to overcome Achilles's wounded pride and philosophical conviction.
Key Points for Revision
Achilles: Radical honesty, rejects heroic code, values integrity over social bonds, transformed from warrior to philosopher-poet
Odysseus: Master diplomat, uses rhetoric and strategy, appeals to logic and duty, fails because Achilles sees through diplomatic language
Phoenix: Father-figure, appeals to love and emotion, uses storytelling (Meleager), torn between loyalty to Achilles and duty to Greeks
Ajax: Blunt warrior, appeals to friendship and shame, makes strongest practical argument (blood-price comparison), comes closest to succeeding
Each speaker reveals their core values through what they emphasise: Odysseus (effectiveness), Phoenix (relationships), Ajax (friendship), Achilles (integrity)
The embassy fails not because the arguments are weak, but because Achilles has rejected the entire value system they're operating within
Honesty vs manipulation: Achilles responds best to Ajax's directness, worst to Odysseus's diplomacy
Character through action: Homer reveals personality through speech patterns, arguments chosen, and responses received
Important Quotations
"I hate like the gates of Hades the man who says one thing and hides another in his heart."
— Achilles to Odysseus (Book 9)
"It was I who made you what you are, godlike Achilles, because I loved you from my heart."
— Phoenix to Achilles (Book 9)
"A man will accept compensation from the killer of his brother or his own dead son... But the gods have put an implacable and evil fury in your heart because of a single girl."
— Ajax to Achilles (Book 9)
"Royal son of Telamon, Ajax, leader of the people, I feel that everything you say is very much after my own heart."
— Achilles to Ajax (Book 9)
Essay Ideas for Character Analysis
Character Comparison Essays
Compare persuasive strategies of the three envoys
Which approach comes closest to success and why?
How does each speaker reveal their own character?
Odysseus in Book 9 vs Book 10 - range of skills
Ajax as representative of "normal" heroism
Achilles-Focused Essays
How has Achilles changed from Book 1 to Book 9?
Is Achilles's refusal justified or excessive?
Achilles as warrior vs Achilles as poet/philosopher
The importance of honesty to Achilles's character
Why does Ajax come closest to persuading him?
Using Character Analysis in Essays
Connecting Character to Themes
Heroic values: Ajax represents traditional values, Achilles questions them, Odysseus adapts them
Friendship: Phoenix and Ajax emphasise different types of bonds (parental love vs warrior comradeship)
Rhetoric and persuasion: The three speeches show different persuasive techniques and their effectiveness
Integrity vs pragmatism: Achilles (principled) vs Odysseus (effective) as competing models
Social bonds vs personal conviction: The embassy shows the tension between individual and community
💡 Essay Technique Tip
Don't just DESCRIBE what characters say—ANALYSE what it reveals. "Odysseus appeals to duty" is description. "Odysseus's emphasis on duty reveals his pragmatic worldview where effectiveness matters more than emotional truth" is analysis. Always ask: what does this choice of argument/language/approach tell us about the character's VALUES?
The Bigger Picture: Character Development
Book 9 shows us that character in Homer isn't STATIC. Achilles has CHANGED from Book 1:
Book 1 Achilles
Angry, reactive
Withdraws impulsively
Wants Zeus to hurt the Greeks
Operates within heroic code
Defines himself as warrior
Book 9 Achilles
Philosophical, articulate
Refuses after careful thought
Sings about heroes with lyre
Questions/rejects heroic code
Explores other identities (poet, thinker)
The other three characters are MORE STATIC—they represent fixed positions. But Achilles is in MOTION, which is why he's the protagonist. His journey from Book 1 to Book 9 to Book 24 is the arc of the entire epic.