Similes in the Homeric Poems 9783666251443, 3525251440, 9783525251447

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HYPOMNEMATA HEFT 49

HYPOMNEMATA UNTERSUCHUNGEN UND

ZU I H R E M

ZUR

ANTIKE

NACHLEBEN

Herausgegeben von Albrecht Dihle / Hartmut Erbse / Christian Habicht Hugh Lloyd-Jones / Günther Patzig / Bruno Snell

H E F T 49

VANDENHOECR

& RUPRECHT

IN

GÖTTINGEN

CARROLL M O U L T O N

Similes in the Homeric Poems

VANDENHOECK & RUPRECHT

IN

GÖTTINGEN

CIP-Kurztitelaufnahme

der Deutschen

Bibliothek

Moulton, Carroll Similes in the Homeric poems. 1. Aufl. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1977. (Hypomnemata; H. 49) ISBN 3-525-25144-0

© Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht in Göttingen 1977. - Printed in Germany. Ohne ausdrückliche Genehmigung des Verlages ist es nicht gestattet, das Buch oder Teile daraus auf foto- oder akustomechanischem Wege zu vervielfältigen Gesamtherstellung: Hubert & Co., Göttingen

TO MY MOTHER AND TO THE MEMORY OF MY FATHER

Preface This book is intended not only for classical scholars but also for readers of Homer who may not know Greek. Therefore, all quotations from the text of the Iliad and Odyssey, with the exception of single words and short phrases, appear also in translation. I am beholden to the University of Chicago Press and to Harper and Row for permission to reprint the polished versions of Richmond Lattimore. Quotations from the Homeric poems are from the Oxford text of T. W. Allen. Similes are ordinarily referred to by the number of the verse in which the first comparative word appears; the numeration of verses in English corresponds with that in Greek. The spelling of Greek names is cheerfully inconsistent. I have thought it best to give the familiar, Latinized versions of well known names (e. g. Achilles, Hecuba) and to transliterate others directly (e.g. Demodokos). I am grateful to the Chairman of the Department of Classics of Princeton University, Professor W. R. Connor, for arranging a sabbatical leave in the Fall Term of 1974, when this book was put in final form, and to the Dean, Canons, and Students of Christ Church for according me hospitality in Oxford. In that city, Professor Hugh Lloyd-Jones and Dr. J. B. Hainsworth helped me with numerous acts of kindness and encouragement. Also, I wish to record a more general debt to my colleagues in Princeton University, and particularly to Professors J. J. Keaney and B. C. Fenik. Both saw much of this book in draft, and saved me from many errors. In addition, Professor Fenik (now of the University of Cincinnati) provided the splendid example of his own important work on Homer. Without the stimulus of his learned, patient conversations with me, this book would certainly not have been written. It would be impossible to single out the many books and essays on Homer from which I have derived at least some profit. Homeric criticism, voluminous as it has been, is also a fascinating chart of the history of classical scholarship in the last three centuries. Outstanding debts are acknowledged in the notes, and there too the reader may find mention of important interpretations from whose emphasis I have chosen to diverge. But it would be impractical to include discussion of all such commentary in a book of this length, or perhaps in any volume. There are many others whom I am eager to thank. The memories of teachers and fellow students are still vivid. May I be permitted to pass over their names in silent gratitude? Since the most profound acknowledgement remains — to my parents, who seemed always to know that I would derive pleasure from the study of Greek and Latin. To my mother, then, and to the memory of my father this essay is dedicated. Southampton, New York New Year's Day, 1975

C. Moulton 7

Contents Preface Principal Abbreviations Introduction

7 10 11

PART I: THE ILIAD Chapter 1. Simile Sequences. A (1) Simile Pairs A (2) Simile Pairs (continued) Β (1) Successive Similes Β (2) Dispersed Sequences C Conclusion

18 19 22 27 33 49

Chapter 2. Similes and Narrative Structure A (1) Dynamic Symmetry in Iliad IV A (2) Narrative and Variation Β Symmetry and Reversal in Iliad V C The Structure of Iliad XII D (1) The Similes of Iliad XV D (2) Narrative and Variation: XV.362 E (1) Dynamic Symmetry in Iliad XVII E (2) Narrative through Simile: XVII.722f.. F Patterns of Imagery in Iliad XXII G Conclusion

50 52 55 58 64 67 70 73 75 76 86

Chapter A Β C D

3. Similes and Characterization Paris and Other Heroes: Iliad III and VI Agamemnon: Iliad XI Achilles and Patroklos Conclusion

88 88 96 99 116

PART II: THE ODYSSEY Chapter 4. Similes and Narrative Themes A Odyssey and Iliad 8

117 117

Β C

Associative Composition Thematic Allusion

Chapter 5. The Singer and the Hero A Bird Imagery Β Lion Imagery C Parents and Children D The Singer and the Hero

120 126 135 135 139 141 145

Conclusion

154

Selected Bibliography

156

Index Locorum

159

9

Principal Abbreviations I. Books and Commentaries Ameis-Hentze K. F. Ameis and C. Hentze, Anhang zu Homers Ilias3 (Leipzig 1896) Béraid V. Bérard, Introduction à l'Odyssée II (Paris 1924). Fenik, Battle Scenes Β. C. Fenik, Typical Battle Scenes in the Iliad (Wiesbaden 1968) Fenik, Studies Idem, Studies in the Odyssey (Wiesbaden 1974). Frankel H. Fränkel, Die homerischen Gleichnisse (Göttingen 1921). Kirk G. S. Kirk, The Songs of Homer (Cambridge 1962). Krischer T. Krischer, Formale Konventionen der homerischen Epik (Munich 1971) Leaf W. Leaf, ed. The Iliad2 (London 1900-1902, two volumes). Scott W. C. Scott, The Oral Nature of the Homeric Simile (Leiden 1974). Shipp G. P. Shipp, Studies in the Language of Homer'1 (Cambridge 1972). Stanford W. B. Stanford, ed. The Odyssey of Homer2 (London 1965, two volumes). Webster T. B. L. Webster, From Mycenae to Homer (London 1958). Whitman C. H. Whitman, Homer and the Heroic Tradition (Cambridge, Mass. 1958). Wilamowitz U. von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, Die Ilias und Homer2 (Berlin 1920).

II. Journals AJP = American Journal of Philology BICS = Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies CJ = Classical Journal Comp. Lit. = Comparative Literature CP = Classical Philology CQ = Classical Quarterly CW = Classical World GRBS = Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies HSCP = Harvard Studies in Classical Philology JHS = Journal of Hellenic Studies Mus. Helv. = Museum Helveticum REG. Revue des Études Grecques Rh. M. = Rheinisches Museum TAPA = Transactions of the American Philological Association UCPCP = University of California Publications in Classical Philology WS = Wiener Studien

10

Introduction Before summarizing the specific goals and emphases of this study, it will perhaps be useful to set down such prejudices as the reader may well come to feel it contains. Though not a rigid Unitarian, I am impressed on every new reading of the Homeric poems by their structural economy. 1 The hypothesis of a single, monumental composer is sensible, I believe: a singer who was monumental not only in his greatness compared to a long tradition of predecessors, but who also put one or both of the epics in substantially their present form, and whose oeuvre can thus be called monumental in scale. The classic exposition of this hypothesis is by G. S. Kirk in The Songs of Homer (Cambridge 1962). I am not as ready as Kirk to accept that stylistic and structural differences between the Iliad and the Odyssey demand that we posit separate monumental composers for each epic. 2 1 freely admit non liquet on this point. Therefore, in the context of discussions of the Iliad, I designate its author with the name Homer, or with the clumsier term "the Iliad poet," and if I use the term ''Odyssey poet" it is without parti pris. The more important question ist: did one man play the major role in the monumental composition of each poem as we now have it? The consistency of both epics persuades me that the answer is yes, despite anomalies of various kinds. On the whole, however, I have kept the poems separate in the discussions of similes that follow. This is for practical reasons of exposition, and is also related to genuine differences between the epics in the function and character of their similes. The narrative of the Odyssey is organized in a different way from that of the Iliad, and I have tried to show in Chapter 4 how the difference bears on the function of similes. All this should not be taken as implying two composers, but is rather to be traced, in my judgment, to the uniqueness of each epic, and the skill with which a composer has adapted comparisons to the distinct themes, structure, and milieux of each. Books on the Homeric similes have not been numerous, although every general work on Homer may be expected to include a short tribute to some of their remarkable qualities. 3 The first significant full-scale study in this century was 1 On the dangers of the rigid Unitarian position, see particularly the acute observations of F. Combellack, "Contemporary Unitarians and Homeric Originality," AJP 71 (1950) 3 3 7 364. 2 Kirk 288f. Compare A. Heubeck, Der Odyssee-Dichter und die Ilias (Erlangen 1954). 3 This is not to say that the literature on similes is small: see the surveys by H. J. Mette in Lustrum 1 (1956) 3 7 - 3 8 ; 2 (1957) 295; 11 (1966) 5 2 - 5 3 . Cf. J. P. Holoka, in CW 66

11

H. Fränkel's Die homerischen Gleichnisse (Göttingen 1921). Despite telling and occasionally rancorous criticism afterwards, this book remains a landmark. From time to time, scholars had glancingly attacked the belief, prevalent in the nineteenth century and championed by Finsler, that similes were to be approached through a search for their Vergleichspunkt or point of correspondence with the narrative; the scholia, as well, provide considerable evidence of this approach in antiquity. 4 Once the tertium comparationis was located, according to this theory, the critic's job was largely done. The disproportionate emphasis on Übereinstimmung led to some Analyst excesses, and was narrow at best; Wilamowitz, discussing the cloud similes in Iliad XVI, went so far as to protest: „Kindisch wäre es die tertia comparationis zu suchen." 5 But it was Fränkel who finally liberated criticism from a strict confinement to the search for correspondence points, and who pointed to the rich powers of suggestion below the surface of many comparisons. The past fifty years have seen rejection of many of his interpretations as too symbolic, needlessly contrived, and tenuously grounded in the text. 6 But the value of much of Fränkel's book remains, and its historical importance is irrefutable. If I have not referred to it often, it is because the emphasis and organization of this essay are quite different; but every reader will see how much I have learned from its spirit. Fränkel wrote more than a decade before Milman Parry's revolution of Homeric studies. That an oral tradition lies behind the monumental composition of the poems (whether or not the monumental composer himself enjoyed the faculty of writing) cannot reasonably be doubted, and the intelligent critic's response to such phenomena as repetition will now be very different from the debates of the old Analysts and Unitarians.7 At first sight, Parry's discussions of formulaic verse-making may seem irrelevant to the study of similes, since there are so few repeated lines and phrases in them, and few long similes are repeated as a whole. Yet at a deeper level, all literary criticism of the Homeric poems must be radically altered by the Parry-Lord hypothesis.8 For example, (1973) 2 8 6 - 2 9 0 ; A. Lesky, Horneros (Stuttgart 1967) coll. 3 7 - 3 8 ; Chapter 1, note 1 below. 4 See A. Clausing, Kritik und Exegese der homerischen Gleichnisse im Altertum (Parchim 1913) 18, 6 2 - 6 4 , 71, 76. 5 Die Ilias und Homer2 (Berlin 1920) 134. 6 See G. Jachmann, Der homerische Schiffskatalog und die Ilias (Cologne/Opladen 1958) and D. J. N. Lee, The Similes of the Iliad and the Odyssey Compared (Melbourne 1964). 7 Parry's writings have recently been edited, and supplemented with a superb and penetrating introduction, by Adam Parry, The Making of Homeric Verse (Oxford 1971). For a survey of developments in this area of Homeric studies, see J. B. Hainsworth, Homer (Greece and Rome, New Surveys in the Classics, Monograph no. 3, Oxford 1969). Hainsworth's article "The Criticism of an Oral Homer", JHS 90 (1970) 9 0 - 9 8 is a valuable and sensible approach to problems of literary criticism in light of oral theory. B. C. Fenik has provided a perceptive analysis of the trends of scholarship since Parry in Studies in the Odyssey (Wiesbaden 1974) 1 3 3 - 1 4 2 . 8 See A. B. Lord, The Singer of Tales (Cambridge, Mass. 1960) passim.

12

a recent study of the similes by W. C. Scott, The Oral Nature of the Homeric Simile (Leiden 1974), has offered a typology of the comparisons, usefully categorizing them in terms of occasion (narrative context) and vehicle (substance of the comparison itself). Scott has also analyzed some of the ways in which long similes develop syntactically. It is his conclusion that the similes are products of oral composition. Whether or not we accept this conclusion (and here I think the evidence falls short of what is required for proof), it will be profitable to make some effort with Scott to view the similes within the matrix set up by Parry for considering individual words and phrase-units. 9 Why does the singer choose from his repertory a lion simile, or a fire simile, at a particular point? Is it only because they are obviously suitable tableaux for the narrative situation in hand? Or can patterns of more subtle artistry be discerned? This book argues the latter contention, and is concerned to set out a detailed demonstration o f the relationships o f major similes t o narrative structure, characterization, and themes. We start b y exploring the organization o f the imagery, a topic that has been neglected in favor of concentration on individual similes. In Chapter 1 we examine simile sequences, successive and dispersed; the evidence to be discussed clearly signals the importance of an associative method o f composition, by which comparisons are linked in pairs or series. 1 0 These sequences, in the large majority, display their own internally coherent movement. They serve to illuminate and intensify the narrative movement in a variety of ways, and Chapter 2 is devoted to an analysis of the sophisticated interaction 9 As is stated below, I will not be attempting in this essay to discuss whether the similes are the products of oral composition. Whatever the truth here, though, I do not believe that the linguistic and formal arguments advanced by G. P. Shipp in Studies in the Language of Homer2 (Cambridge 1972) and D. J. N. Lee (see note 6 above) aie successful in consigning all but a few short similes (in the Iliad at least) to the outer darkness of interpolation: see my article, "Similes in the Iliad" Hermes 102 (1974) 381-397. 10 The importance of this technique was adumbrated in an important article by W. J. Verdenius, "L'Association des Idées comme principe de Composition dans Homère, Hésiode, Théognis," REG 73 (1960) 345-361 (cf. 347 for an analysis of the role of association in the simile at XII. 146). Verdenius' treatment, perforce, was summary. So, too, J. Notopoulos hinted at the role of associative composition in similes which affect characterization: cf. "Continuity and Interconnexion in Homeric Oral Composition," TAPA 82 (1951) 97. Most recently, dictional patterns of association form the starting point for the most interesting investigation of formula, motif, and structural design in the epics by M. Nagler, Spontaneity and Tradition (Berkeley 1974). Nagler's "generative" theory of the formula, involving as it does an abstract, preverbal template or "Gestalt" and an almost unlimited number of concrete instantiations, or allomorphs, gives to association a primary role in oral composition and poetic signification: see op. cit. 13f. and Appendix A, and also Nagler's earlier article, "Towards a Generative View of the Homeric Formula," TAPA 98 (1967) 269-311. I regret that Nagler's book, which extends his thesis to embrace the motif, the motif sequence, and a structural analysis of the poems, appeared when this study was substantially complete. Nevertheless, I am happy to note that his theoretically oriented researches, in their main thrust if not in all details, reinforce my conclusions about the importance of associative tendencies in composition.

13

between simile sequences and narrative structure. The ordering of imagery in the Iliad is concomitant with the careful ordering of narrative episodes: our conclusion, i. e. that the associative technique of composition effectively conveys poetic signification over extended narrative units, may well seem novel or repugnant to those who believe a priori that oral poetry is simple or primitive; but this contention draws firm support, not only from the text of the poems themselves, but also from recently developed theory about the production and internal logic of oral poetry. 11 Suffice it to say that the contentions that follow about the functions of simile sequences in the poems would be harmonious, I believe, with the thesis that similes, as well as narrative, stemmed from an oral tradition; but I am not concerned to argue this point in the chapters below. The third chapter of this study centers on the contribution of similes to characterization in the Iliad, and is primarily devoted to the portraits of Achilles and Patroklos. The Odyssey chapters are largely taken up with an analysis of how similes further the epic's major themes, as well as with how differences from the Iliad are reflected in the later poem's comparisons. In some ways, it would be more interesting to organize the material on different lines, and to treat the major similes as they occur in the poems, in the order that audiences must apprehend them. Yet the amount of cross-reference and repetition dictated by this method seems best avoided, and I can only apologize here to readers should they feel that Homer's lines, already detached from their narrative contexts to some extent, have been further heartlessly scrambled.12 I have found it impossible, and unnecessary, to discuss every single comparison. Some of the short similes (though by no means all) tell us very little about the poet's technique, and I have felt free to disregard them. When I discuss patterns of similes within a defined stretch of the narrative, however, I have included reference in a footnote to any comparisons not mentioned in the text. I have not treated the similes of Iliad X, since that book is now judged spurious by virtually all scholars. With these exceptions, the large majority of full, or developed, similes in both poems is included. Homeric metaphor, embedded as it is in the formulaic diction, has been excluded from this study. Treatment of the problems it presents is not easily integrated with my objectives here, in spite of the evident fact that some material is shared by metaphor and simile in the poems. Ancient critics were primarily concerned with similes in a rhetorical context, and readers interested in their theories are best referred to the recent survey 11 See the remarks on "intentionalism" and "primitivism" below, pp. 15f., and compare Nagler, Spontaneity and Tradition (note 10 above) passim. 12 Full listings of similes and their subjects in the Homeric poems may be found in the books of Lee (note 6 above) and W. C. Scott, The Oral Nature of the Homeric Simile (Leiden 1974).

14

of M. H. McCall.13 Little of what they had to say is relevant to our study of the Homeric similes. Aristotle's literary discussion of imagery in the Poetics and the Rhetoric, for example, is mainly concerned with metaphor as a broad category, in which similes are only one element.14 Thus there is little reference to ancient literary criticism in the pages that follow. In fact, my interest is less in the individual simile in isolation than in the comparisons' placement and combinations, particularly in Chapters 1 and 2. In the course of the argument there, however, and also in the chapters on characterization and themes, I have occasion to offer detailed analyses of individual comparisons which illustrate a special feature of the poet's technique. The responses of most readers to great poetry must inevitably include some subjective elements, and I have thus allowed myself to speak of "implication" or "suggestion" in some simile passages. I can only hope that the identification of these elements, which often play an important role in a simile's total effect, does not strain credibility, since I have always tried to make sure that reasonable basis for inference is solidly "there" in the actual verses being analyzed. One other question requires brief discussion here. This is the matter of the author's "intention!" In the pages which follow, my objective is to demonstrate how similes in Homer are related to the poems' narrative design, characterization, and themes. Sometimes, these relationships involve intricate and sophisticated patterns which extend over considerable portions of the epics. These patterns are so effective, and involve such a large proportion of the developed similes, that I find it impossible to believe that they are purely accidental, or the product of a passive enslavement of the monumental poet to the pressures of the tradition that preceded him. Whether or not conscious deliberation governed the placement of every passage (in this or any other work of literature) is a question that even psychological critics may be hard pressed to answer. In the end, there is no proof either way. But reasonable persons, I think, may let the question pass, in the belief that the unconscious intuitions of a great poet may be as inspiredly "right" as the most deliberate judgments of a great critic. Cumulative evidence persuades me that the patterns of imagery described below are integrally related to the way the poems work, and to the responses they evoke from readers. Indeed, the patterns to be analyzed will not, I hope, be taken to represent an exhaustive treatment of the material; much research remains to be done on the epics' structural aspects, areas in which we are just beginning to apprehend Homeric artistry. The matter of intentionalism really resolves itself into two questions when we are dealing with Homer. The first is the lack of any external evidence bearing on the monumental singer's conscious intention in composing the work. This 13

Ancient Rhetorical Theories of Simile and Comparison (Cambridge, Mass. 1969). '« Cf. Poetics 1457b—1459a; Rhetoric 1406b, 1410b, 1412b-1413a.

15

deficiency is not crippling; and Homer is scarcely to be singled out. We possess very little of this sort of evidence for any of the great works of fiction, ancient or modern. Sophocles, for example, declines to have any of his characters state the author's intention in composing Oedipus the King. Yet, from evidence in the play, it is reasonable to make certain inferences about Sophocles' purposes, e.g. that the drama is not about the committing of the double crime, but about Oedipus' terrifying discovery of it. It is idle, therefore, to dispute the matter of intention theoretically. Logic simply does not demand that, before we say anything about a literary work, we need explicit information concerning the author's state of mind when he composed it; if logic did so demand, we could say very little indeed. But there is a second problem, involving the Homeric poems more specifically. Internal evidence may suitably provide the basis for reasonable inference. But some critics, imagining support in Milman Parry's proof that the Homeric poems stem from an oral tradition and in Parry and Lord's South-Slavic "analogy," have gone on to infer that Homeric poetry is primitive, and therefore simple. Every pejorative sense of these two adjectives surfaces here, and the theory is often appended to vague, developmental conceptions of world literature: since Homer is the earliest poet of the West who survives, and since he was an oral poet, it must follow that his narrative structure, his imagery, his characters, and all else about the poems are conceived on a primitive basis. Subtle design, dramatic economy, cross-references in the narrative and in the imagery are therefore all ruled out, a priori15 Such views of the nature of Homeric poetry are flatly contradicted by the epics as we have them. More than that, the "primitive" school may be indicted of a serious methodological error: the assumption, without a trace of evidence, that "oldest" always means "simplest." One of the lessons which should have been available from the work of Parry and many of his successors is the extraordinary, sophisticated skill with which the Greek oral tradition manipulated formulae, the smaller building blocks of the poems. And the work of B. C. Fenik has presented a powerful case for the same skill in the arrangement of larger units, i.e. the battle scenes in the Iliad. We cannot ignore the plain implications of such studies for the character of the epics by taking refuge in outmoded, comfortable ideas about the "growth of literature," or by cultivating the prejudice that mechanics of a traditional style somehow deprive oral epic of all but rudimentary poetic signification. We have all become sensitive to the differences between what C. S. Lewis called primary and secondary epic, and common sense dictates a divergence between l s Unfortunately, the work of B. Snell and A . W. H. Adkins on ideas and values in the poems, admirably perceptive in many respects, has given credence to this point of view; even E. R. Dodds, by his too rigid division between "shame culture" and "guilt culture," may betray readers in the vital task of interpreting Achilles' emotions in the later books of the Iliad (one of these emotions, unquestionably, is guilt).

16

our approach to epic poetry and, say, our approach to lyric. The Homeric poems, to be sure, reveal important differences from Virgil's Aeneid. We may yet hope that the exercise upon them of judgment, tact, and attention to detail will prove rewarding. Scrupulously to explore the Aeneid and Ulysses, while denying such analysis to the poems that were their predecessors and inspiration on the ground that Homer was somehow "primitive," is arbitrary at best. And the most convincing refutation of such prejudice is, as always, the text of the poems themselves.

2 Moulton

17

PART I. THE ILIAD

CHAPTER 1

Simile Sequences The placement of the similes in the Iliad and Odyssey and their relation to narrative themes and structures are highly skilled. All that we know of the ancient epics' composition makes it understandable that modern criticism has been more united in analyzing the sophistication of the similes in the Aeneid. With Homer, the case has been different. The similes' powerful effect on every reader has been analyzed in a variety of ways. Some critics claim that the images exist independently from the narrative: they are intended to provide relief, and so acquire a "life of their own." Others believe that similes are more closely related to their contexts, but disagree on how to define this relation; similes mark crises in the action, it is asserted, or they serve to mark off the episodes, or they ornament the narrative symbolically, prompting emotions comparable to those evoked in the narrative context. 1 Considerable evidence can be mounted for some of these general theories, and they all possess a certain plausibility at first inspection. Yet, counter-examples in every case may suggest a common difficulty: the attempt to provide a single key for the explanation of roughly 450 comparisons in b o t h poems. Such reductionism has its uses, since the partial truth in each thesis may alert us to an important function of some (if not all) of the Homeric comparisons. In this chapter and the next, I will basically be attempting to answer the question, how are similes in the Iliad organized? Is there evidence for sustained 1 See, for example, M. D. Reeve, "The Language of Achilles," CQ 23 (1973) 193: "... a conclusion few people would wish to dispute: Homer elaborates his similes without regard to the narrative." For the idea of similes as relief from the narrative, and as a source of variation that prevents monotony in battle scenes, see C. M. Bowra, Tradition and Design in the Iliad (Oxford 1930) 123, and W. B. Stanford, Greek Metaphor (Oxford 1936) 128. A useful survey of the principal theories of similes' relationship to the narrative is to be found in S. Bassett, "The Function of the Homeric Simile," TAPA 52 (1921) 132-147. Bassett regards the Homeric simile as the chief lyrical ornament of the poems (146), and says that it serves to heighten the emotion of the listener: "The Homeric simile does not so much make the action clearer or more vivid and actual, as it clarifies, or rather stimulates, the mind of the listener, and makes it more responsive to the mood or action of the narrative" (147). Bassett quotes with approval Fränkel's view that similes have not one function, but many (134, note 2): cf. H. Frankel, Die homerischen Gleichnisse (Göttingen 1921) 98.

18

simile composition, within a narrow compass of the narrative, or over longer units? And, if this composition exists, how do the simile sequences created by such a technique interact with the progression of the narrative? It is my contention that evidence for such a technique does indeed exist, and that the technique involves a sufficiently large number of similes, and is such an efficient conveyor of poetic meaning, that a full analysis of simile sequences is deserved. All similes in the Iliad are not organized into sequences, and this discussion does not therefore purport to uncover the essential nature of "the Homeric ùmile" It is, rather, with similes that we are concerned. Before we proceed to a detailed demonstration of imagery's relationship with narrative, characterization, and themes, we must investigate the deployment of the similes.2

A ( l ) Simile Pairs In a sequence of comparisons, either verbal repetition or the repetition of certain key motifs functions to connect the members of the sequence. Our first category involves cases where a pair of similes, which present essentially the same vehicle, are employed for essentially the same referent within a narrow compass of the narrative. The second comparison is commonly longer than the first; the effect is to elaborate or intensify the initial comparison. At XI.297, for example, Hector is given a brief stormcloud simile: έν δ' è'îrea' υσμίνχι imepaéï ίσος àéXkj), rj re καθαλλομένη ίοεώέα πόντον òpiveu

... and hurled himself on the struggle of men like a high-blown stormcloud which swoops down from above to trouble the blue sea-water. Shortly thereafter, as he wreaks havoc on the Greek chieftains, Hector is compared to the west wind, which stirs the clouds and the sea (XI. 304-309): τούς 'dp' Ö y' ήγβμό^ας Δαναών ¥kev, αύτάρ έπειτα πληθύν, ώ ς (mòre νβφέα Ζέφυρος στυφελίξχ) áfiyearáo Νότοιο, ßadeiji λαίλαπι τύπτων πολλόν δέ τρόφι κύμα κvXivôerai, ύφόσε δ' αχντ\

305

2

For an analysis of the organization of Imagery, see J. T. Sheppard, "Traces of the Rhapsode: An Essay on the Use of Recurrent Similes in the Iliad" JHS 42 (1922) 220237. Sheppard's paper strongly reacts against the notion that the similes are merely ornamental, and his treatment of sequences of imagery is a brilliant tour de force. Sheppard is, however, most preoccupied with arguing a Unitarian point of view: the similes of his sequences are seldom analyzed in any detail, and the connections he identifies (e.g. of ΠΙ. 10, IV.275, IV.452, and VIII.555, all involving shepherds) are over large units of the narrative and are often unconvincing. Yet Sheppard's summary remark on the technique of simile composition he observed merits quotation: "... the recurrent themes and images have cumulative value. They affect the audience like repeated themes of music" (237).

19

σκίδναται έξ όμέμοιο πολυπλάγχτοιο £ωής· ώς 'άρα πυκνά καρήαθ' υφ 'Έκτορι δάμνατο λαών. He killed these, who were lords of the Danaans, and thereafter the multitude, as when the west wind strikes in the deepening whirlstorm to batter the clouds of the shining south wind, so that the bulging big waves roll hard and the blown spume scatters high before the force of the veering wind's blast. So the massed high heads of the people were struck down by Hektor. Although the vehicle has changed somewhat (Hector is now the wind battering clouds and sea, rather than a whirlwind descending on the sea), the change is not great: the details of the second simile function to amplify the image of the first, and result in conferring on it greater force. It is appropriate that the expansion here accompanies a reference to the widening field of Hector's victims at 304-305; he slaughters certain chieftains (cf. the catalogue in 301—304), and then the multitude (πληθύν).3 A second example of this type of intensification and expansion is furnished by the pair of lion similes for Sarpedon before his assault on the wall. He receives a short simile at XII. 292-293: el μή ap' υίόν èòv Σαρπηδόνα μητίετα Ζεύς ώρσεν έπ Άργειοισι, λέονθ' ώς βουσίν ελιξιν. had not Zeus of the counsels driven his own son, Sarpedon, upon the Argives, like a lion among horn-curved cattle. Following this simile, there is a description of Sarpedon's shield (294—297), just prior to his entrance into battle. The lines serves as auxesis for the warrior. A far longer simile follows almost immediately at XII. 299: βή p (μεν ώς re λέων όρεσίτροφος, (k τ' έπώευής δηρό ν ef¡ upe ιών, κέλεται δέ έ θυμός άγηνωρ μήλων ιτ€ψήσοντα και ές πυκινόν δόμον έλθείν et neρ γάρ χ' εϋρ-ησι παρ' αύτόφι βώτορας ανδρας συν κυοί και δούρεσσι φυλάσοοντας περί μήλα, οϋ pà τ' άπείρητος μέμονε σταβμοίο δίεσθαι, άλΧ Ö y' äp' ή ήρπαξε μετάλμενος, ήε και αυτός ββλητ' èv πρώτοιοι θοης από χειρός άκοντιώς ¡>α Τ&Γ' άντίθεον Σαρπηδόνα θυμός ανήκε τείχος έπαίξαι διά τε ¡)ή%αοθαθα ύσμ&ηνδ' Ιέναι

475

These, as men who are goatherds among the wide goatflocks easily separate them in order as they take to the pasture, thus the leaders separated them this way and that way toward the encounter The contrast, amounting almost to a disjunction, between martial and peaceful scenes that is a frequent effect of Homeric similes is explicit here: compare νομώ μιγέωσιν in 475 with ύσμίνηνδ' Ιέναι in 477. This contrast will necessarily affect an audience's appreciation of the final two similes in the whole sequence, of which the last is also explicitly pastoral. From the tableau of many chieftains and goatherds, the picture narrows again to the commander, Agamemnon. In a tripartite simile, he is compared to three important gods, Zeus, Ares, and Poseidon (477—479): μετά δέ κρβίων Αγαμέμνων, δμματα και κεφαλήν ¿κελος Ad τβρπικεραύνω, "Apeï δέ ξώνην, στέρνον δέ Ποσειδάωνι. and among them powerful Agamemnon with eyes and head like Zeus who delights in thunder, like Ares for girth, and with the chest of Poseidon. Agamemnon is the first mortal in the Iliad to be given a simile; at 1.104 his eyes are like fire.23 Immediately after the triple comparison quoted above, he receives a fully developed simile which is the climax of the long series. The grammatical construction of the triple simile is itself unusual in the Iliad.24 Note the grammatical connection of the simile at 474 with the preceding comparison: cf. 459. Such variation is also evident in the different introductory expressions, or comparative words, used for the seven similes: ή óre, ώς, οσσα, rjúre, ώς, ΐκελος, ήότ€. 22 For goatherds as typical in simile, see IV. 275. 23 The other simile for a mortal in the first book (for Theseus at 1.265) occurs in a disputed line (see Leaf, ad loc). Even if genuine, the simile is hardly memorable, since it consists of the formulaic and not particularly distinctive phrase έπιείκe\ov άθανάτοισιμ (cf. IV. 394, XI.60, Odyssey 15.414, 21.14, 37). 24 For a more expanded triple comparison, see XIV. 394, 396, and 398. There, the comparative word τόσον is employed three times, and the poet manages to compress successive

31

Furthermore, the leader is compared to three of the most powerful Olympian gods. 25 These factors all call attention t o this simile, and increase its importance. We may hesitate at the mention of Zeus in 478; a slight undercurrent of reference may be suggested to the Zeus-Agamemnon deception scenes, which have dominated the early part of II. 26 But the net explicit effect of the comparison is to stress the commander's splendor: the simile itself assumes the f u n c t i o n of

auxesis.

This effect is amplified and complicated by the last simile of the sequence, in which Agamemnon is pictured as the outstanding bull of a herd (480—483): ήύτε βονς άγβληιρι μέγ έ'ξοχος èVXero πάντων ταύρος - ό γ ά ρ r e βόεσσι τοϊον αρ' Άτρεΐδην έκπρεπέ'

έν πολλοίσι

μεταπρέπει

θήκβ Zeùç ί ? μ α π και εξοχον

480

άγρομένησικείνω,

ήρώεσσιν.

like some οχ of the herd pre-eminent among the others, a bull, who stands conspicuous in the huddling cattle; such was the son of Atreus as Zeus made him that day, conspicuous among men, and foremost among the fighters. The progression from 11.476 is notable: as one of the chieftains who marshal the army, Agamemnon must be called a herdsman in the terms of the earlier simile, whereas he is now only a part, albeit on outstanding part, of the herd itself. 27 This too may suggest a link to the earlier narrative of II and to the deception of Agamemnon; in fact Zeus, mentioned in this simile at 482 and shortly before at 478, has control of the commander, and may be said to be the true herdsman. Such conclusions are left unstated, however, and on the surface Agamemnon's pre-eminence is guaranteed by verbal repetition: έ'ξοχον(483) repeats έ'ξοχος (480), while έκπρεπέ' (483) echoes μεταπρέπβι (481). The detail of άΎρομένrjai (481) is associated with έπει «e νομφ μνγέωσιν (475), and suggests another connection of the last simile with the earlier, pastoral picture of the goatherds. Let us now review the important features of simile composition exemplified by these successive similes. The sequence shows considerable variation: the grammatical structures used to expand the series, as well as the different introsimiles into one grammatical unit. A simile which also exhibits three terms, though τόσσον is used only once, occurs at XVII. 2 0 - 2 1 . 25 This is the only such comparison for Agamemnon. Achilles receives ten such similes, and by far outstrips all other characters in both poems. On this subject, see Anne Amory Parry, Blameless Aegisthus (Leiden 1973) 218-223. 26 Note the phrase at 482 below, ήματι neiνψ, and compare 11.37. 27 For this sort of development within a single simile, see the comparison for Aeneas at XIII. 492; there, the comparison begins by likening the Trojan to the lead ram of a herd, but by the end he appears to have been equated to the shepherd (493-495). I am grateful to B. C. Fenik for this observation.

32

ductory expressions, or comparative words, illustrate this point. 28 The vehicles themselves are also diverse, but are clearly strung together through repeated words or phrases, or through recurring motifs. Each simile of the set, pendantlike, follows naturally on its predecessor. Moreover, the series can be shown to proceed in a definite direction, from the wild, natural world to the world of the pastoral. The one exception is the sixth simile (477—479), which deals with the immortals. The progression, carried forward by an association of ideas, pivots around the mid-way point of the series: the fourth simile (469) first hints at the pastoral world with the detail of the milk pails, and it is also in the fourth simile that the poet broaches the contrast between the destructive will of the army and pastoral tranquillity. The entire movement, if compared to a series of views with a camera lens, clearly exhibits a contraction of the frame, until the audience is finally brought to concentrate on the supreme leader of the expedition. This is only appropriate, since the army plays a key role in the action of II: the similes of this book are virtually all concerned with the host. Agamemnon is at last singled out in glory; as we have seen, whatever equivocal impressions we may have of him after his foolish conduct earlier in this book seem to give way to the description of his powerful exterior image. With this introduction, then, the focus of the poem can be permitted to widen to include a unique breadth of detail: after a second invocation, begging the aid of the Muses (492), the singer turns to the catalogue of ships.29 There can be no doubt that this group of successive similes powerfully emphasizes the appearance of the army en masse, and its effect is to draw attention to this picture before the poet turns to enumerating the individual contingents. That the catalogue was more significant in poetic terms for the original audiences than for us is extremely probable, and the simile group may have lent an additional fillip to this tour de force. Thus, the sequence marks an important point in the singer's ordering of his narrative. I hope to have shown from this analysis that the sequence is controlled by an associative technique, and that it is internally coordinated by its own coherent movement.

Β (2) Dispersed Sequences (i) XVI.297ff. In the first section of the Patrokleia, three developed similes emphasize the important role of Patroklos and the Myrmidons in restoring the Greeks' initiative. These are the cloud images of XVI.297, 364, and 384; though the latter two 28

See note 21 above. On the invocation, and on the importance of the Muses and Mnemosyne in oral poetry, see W. Minton, "Homer's Invocations of the Muses: Traditional Patterns," TAPA 91 (1960) 2 9 2 - 3 0 9 and M. Detienne, Les Maîtres de Vérité dans la Grèce archaïque (Paris 1967) 9fî. 29

3 Moulton

33

are problematic, these comparisons have an important relation to the narrative of this book, and should be regarded as a sequence.30 Like the successive similes we examined in the previous section, they are strung together by associated details. The first member of the group compares the effect of Patroklos' appearance to a clearing sky (XVI. 297-302): ώ ς δ' o r ' άφ' ύψηλής

κορυφής ορεος μ ε γ ά λ ο ι ο

κίνηση πυκινήν νεφέλτρ οτεροπιγγερέτα εκ τ' è'yavev πάσαι σκοπιαί και πρώονες και νάπαι,

ούρανόθεν

δ' äp' imeppàyr\

Zeik,

ασπετος

'άκροι αίθήρ,

300

ώ ς Δαναοί νηών μέν άπωσάμενοι δήϊον ττϋρ τυτθόν άνέπνευοαν, πολέμου δ' οι) yiyuef έρωή.

And as when from the towering height of a great mountain Zeus who gathers the thunderflash stirs the cloud dense upon it, and all the high places of the hills are clear and the shoulders out-jutting and the deep ravines, as endless bright air spills from the heavens, so when the Danaans had beaten from their ships the ravening fire, they got breath for a little, but there was no check in the fighting. The passage goes on to emphasize the continuing struggle; at this point, Patroklos' appearance affords the Greeks only momentary relief (303—305). Leaf finely describes the simile's effect: "The sudden gleam of new hope is magnificently compared to a sudden burst of light through clouds hanging over a mountain peak, as though a cleft were opened into the very depths of heaven." 3 1 The simile is typical both in content and narrative context: we may recall the army simile at V.522, comparing the stubbornly resisting Greeks to windless clouds, stationary over a mountain peak.32 There is also a repetition of two lines used earlier in the famous star simile for the Trojan watch fires (XVI. 299-300 = VIII.557-558), an echo which nicely underlines the reversal of that earlier high point of Trojan confidence. The mention of Zeus, which will be repeated in the next two cloud similes, hints that the reversal is to be connected with the long-range movement of the Διός βουλή. After the Patrokleia, indeed, the Trojans never succeed in mounting a full-scale offensive. The next cloud comparison at XVI. 364 has been excised by some commentators because it seems unclear, and because it is connected with a passage containing several problems. Hector's flight at 367 is surprising, and the mention of the trench at 370 appears inconsistent with Apollo's destruction of the wall and the trench at XV.356f. Hence, Leaf condemns XVI.364-371 as an interpolation, arguing that the simile is an obscure effort to duplicate the earlier cloud com30

As was recognized by Wilamowitz, Die Ilias und Homer2 (Berlin 1920) 134. Leaf, ad loc. « See B.C.Fenik, Typical Battle Scenes in the Iliad (Wiesbaden 1968) 192.

34

parison at 297. 33 But the simile is perfectly intelligible, if we are not unduly bound by the correspondence set up in the earlier image: ¿X δ' στ' άπ' Ούλνμπου νέφος άρχεται ούρανόν είσω αιθέρος έκ δίης, ore τε Ζεύς λαίλαπα τείι/η, ώ ς των έκ νηών γένετο Ιαχή τε φόβος τε, ούδέ κατά μοίραν περαον πάλιν

365

As when a cloud goes up deep into the sky from Olympos through the bright air when Zeus brings on the hurricane, so rose from beside the ships their outcry, the noise of their tenor. In no good order they went back Whitman has suggested that it is Patroklos who is implicitly compared to the tempest (Χαϊλαψ) of 365. 34 If the earlier simile has described Zeus' removal of a cloud and the coming of clear weather in connection with the Greeks' new hope, this image equates Patroklos with Zeus' whirl-wind, driving a cloud before it, in connection with the Trojan panic. This interpretation fits well with the picture at 384, where the violence of the λαϊλαψ sent from Zeus also falls on the Trojans, and the description is much intensified and more elaborate. Admittedly, in the passage following 3 6 4 - 3 6 7 , the inconsistency of the trench remains. This does not bear directly on the comparison, however. As for the problem of Hector's sudden departure at 3 6 7 - 3 6 8 . Fenik has proposed that lines 3 5 8 - 3 6 3 , describing Ajax's efforts to strike Hector with his spear and the Trojan's resistance, be dropped; Hector's exit can thus be introduced more smoothly. 35 If this suggestion be adopted, the immediate context for our simile is thus reduced to a progression of episodes which, structurally, is paralleled elsewhere in the poem: 1. 2. 3. 4.

The Greeks attack like ravening wolves ( 3 5 1 - 3 5 6 , simile) The Trojans forget their valor and fall victims to φόβος ( 3 5 6 - 3 5 7 ) The Trojan cries are like a cloud, driven by a whirl-wind (364-365, simile) They retreat, with shouts of panic: φόβος (366-367). 3 6

At XVI. 384, a long simile completes this sequence of cloud comparisons. It likens the noise of the Trojan retreat to the violent whirl-wind and rainstorm of Zeus, which he sends against unjust mortals. Like the storm itself, the lines gather force and culminate in a picture of destruction (384—393): ώς δ' imo λαίλατη πάσα κελαινή βέβριθε χθών ήματ όπωρινώ, οτε λαβρότατον χέει ϋδωρ Ζεύς, οτε δή fa' άνδρεοοι κοτεοσάμενος χαλεπήνγι,

33 34 35 36

385

Leaf, ad loc. C. Η. Whitman, Homer and the Heroic Tradition (Cambridge, Mass. 1958) 1 5 1 - 1 5 2 . Fenik, Battle Scenes 1 9 3 - 1 9 4 . Compare X V . 2 6 2 - 2 8 0 for a similar progression and placement of similes.

35

oî ßifj elv àyopfj

σκολιάς

κρίνωσι

θέμιστας,

έκ δβ δίκην έ λ ά σ ω σ ι , θεών ömv ούκ àXéyovreç • των δέ τε πάντες

μέν ποταμοί

πλήθουσι

ρέοντες,

π ο λ λ ά ς δέ κλιτϋς τότ άποτμή-γουσι yp-ράδραι, ές δ' α λ α πορφυρέην μ ε γ ά λ α στενάχονσι ρέουσαι έξ όρέων

έπικάρ,

μινύθει

δέ τε βργ'

390

άνθρώπων

ώς ίπποι Τρωαι μεγάλα στενάχοντο θέουσαι. As underneath the hurricane all the black earth is burdened on an autumn day, when Zeus sends down the most violent waters in deep rage against mortals after they stir him to anger because in violent assembly they pass decrees that are crooked, and drive righteousness from among them and care nothing for what the gods think, and all the rivers of these men swell current to full spate and in the ravines of their water-courses rip all the hillsides and dash whirling in huge noise down to the blue sea, out of the mountains headlong, so that the works of men are diminished; so huge rose the noise from the horses of Troy in their running. Largely because of the mention of righteousness (δίκη) at 388 and the simile's moral tone, this has become one of the most controversial passages in the Homeric poems.37 Leaf defends the lines, except for 387—388, where he notes several irregularities, and judges the couplet to be an imitation of Hesiod, Works and Days 220—224 and 249-251, where very similar language occurs.38 Since the word δίκη in Homer does not generally denote "justice" as an abstract notion, some critics are persuaded that this passage contains an improbable advance beyond the usual meaning of the word in the Iliad, i.e. an arbitrator's settlement of a case, or an assertion by a claimant in a dispute.39 " See E. R. Dodds, The Greeks and the Irrational (Berkeley 1951) 32 and 52, note 16; P. von der Miihll, Kritisches Hypomnema zur Hias (Basel 1952) 247; H. Lloyd-Jones, The Justice of Zeus (Berkeley 1971) 5 - 6 . se The passages from Hesiod are as follows (Erga 220-224, 249-251): της Sé Δίκης ρόθος ¿λκομένης, fi κ' 'άνδρες α-γωσι 220 δωροφάη/οι, σκολιχις δέ δίκχις κρίνωοι θέμιστας. τ) δ' Επεται κλαίουσα πάλιν και V¡6ea λαών, f¡épa έσσαμ^ρτ), κακόν άνθρώποισι φέρουσα, οϊ τέ μιν ¿ξβλάσωσι και ούκ Weíav 'e'veyiav. έτγΰς yà ρ έν άνθρώποισιν èôvreç άθάνατοι φράζονται, 'όσοι σκολιχισι δίκχισιν 250 άλλήλους τρίβουσι detòv 8πιν ούκ à\éyovreç. With Erga 221, cf. Theog. 8 5 - 8 6 . 39 The word δίκη occurs in the Iliad only at XVI. 388, 542, XVIII. 508, XIX. 180, and XXIII.542. For its usual meaning, see Lloyd-Jones, The Justice of Zeus 166, note 23. There

36

The a c c e p t a n c e o r r e j e c t i o n o f X V I . 3 8 7 — 3 8 8 is an i m p o r t a n t issue, n o t o n l y for historians of early G r e e k m o r a l t h o u g h t , b u t for t h e b e n t of the p r e s e n t passage. Are t h e Trojans, b y implication, associated w i t h evil m e n w h o have ignored the gods' wishes? In one other passage at least, also in a simile, Achilles' r o u t o f t h e T r o j a n s is c o m p a r e d t o t h e d e s t r u c t i o n of a b u r n i n g city, u p o n w h i c h the gods have released their w r a t h ( X X I . 5 2 2 f . ) : the s e n t i m e n t of X X I . 523, if n o t the language, is close t o X V I . 3 8 6 . 4 0 The close similarity of XVI. 3 8 7 - 3 8 8 t o the Hesiodic passages, it seems t o me, is insufficient grounds f o r the c o u p l e t ' s rejection. Countless o t h e r phrases in H o m e r i c d i c t i o n are comf o r t a b l y theorized b y m a n y critics t o have passed f r o m the oral t r a d i t i o n t o Hesiod. 4 1 A n d o n e aspect, a t least, of L e a f ' s criticism of o u r passage is aesthetically irrelevant. He complains t h a t the couplet "entirely spoils the balance of the simile by laying weight on a point which is far removed f r o m the required p i c t u r e " (ad loc). This is to ignore the highly paratactic development of most of the p o e m ' s long similes, a n d t o assume that the " r e q u i r e d p i c t u r e " of this comparison is merely a description of nature's violence. 4 2 Should the couplet be retained, on the other hand, the result is a balance between man's offensive violence (ßt'77, 387) and the gods' violent retribution ( 3 8 9 - 3 9 2 ) , a balance which is thoroughly coherent. Whatever our judgment of the disputed couplet, we m a y conclude the analysis here by observing that the simile as a whole serves as a climax for the sequence of cloud comparisons in XVI. The change in the Greeks' battle position has at first been gradual. With H e c t o r ' s flight, the t r o o p s have gathered m o m e n t u m , and have n o w m o u n t e d a strong offensive. C o r r e s p o n d i n g l y , t h e first c l o u d simile at 297 characterizes the brief pause in the fighting, the second the beginning of the Trojan retreat, and the third their full-scale rout. Appropriately, the third comparison, which continues the m e n t i o n of Zeus in his role as weather god (and most probably as dispenser of justice), is the most elaborate and violent, and matches the intensity of the Greeks' newly f o u n d spirit. 4 3 As in the are more frequent uses of the word in the Odyssey, where it develops the meaning "characteristic," "distinguishing mark," e.g. at 4.691, 11.218, 14.59, 18.275, etc. At 14.84 it appears to have a more general sense, close to the overtones in our passage, of "justice." The simile in Iliad XVI has been recently discussed by H. Munding, "Die Bewertung der Rechtsidee in der Ilias," Philologus 105 (1961) 165-168: Munding favors rejection of the simile on the grounds of the Hesiodic parallels. M. Gagarin, in "Dike in the Works and Days," CP 68 (1973) 81-94, takes no position on the genuineness of the lines, but argues that the uses of 6ίκη at XVI. 388 and 14.84, as well as in the Erga, do not evince an abstract notion of justice, but rather the process of litigation, or peaceful arbitration. 40 For discussion of the simile at XXI. 522, see Chapter 3 below. 41 Valuable discussion is to be found in A. Hoekstra, "Hésiode et la tradition orale," Mnemosyne IV 10 (1957) 193-225. M. L. West, ed. Hesiod Theogony (Oxford 1966) 46 has recently asserted Hesiod's priority. 42 For parataxis in Homeric similes, see Scott 140-161. 43 On the last comparison and its context, cf. Frankel 27-28. Zeus is not portrayed, of course, as totally one-sided in his support of the Greeks (cf. his pity for Sarpedon at 37

successive sequence of images at II.455f., this sequence is co-ordinated by associated motifs (cloud, whirl-wind, Zeus, mountain, noise), and possesses its own coherent movement. The effect of intensification, which we noted in some of our examples of simile pairs, is clearly evident also in the final comparison of this sequence. (ii) II.87ff. The assembly called by Agamemnon is plainly the pivot of the action in II: the narrative at the beginning recounts his deceitful dream, while the second half of the book is devoted to the mustering of the army and to the catalogue. The crucial importance of the assembly is underlined by a sequence of similes at 11.87, 144, 147, 209, and 394. (Only two short comparisons intervene, at 289 and 337, both in speeches and both comparing the Greeks to unwarlike women and/or children; they hardly disrupt the pattern). Every major phase of the action is marked by a full simile. At 87 the Greeks approach the agora in swarms like bees. At 144 and 147 they are moved by Agamemnon's disingenuous speech like sea waves, or waves of grain in a wheat field, and they sweep to the ships to return home. At 209, after Odysseus chides them, the soldiers return to the assembly like a wave that resounds on the beach. And at 394, fired by encouraging speeches (the last by Agamemnon), the army shouts its approval, with a noise like waves crashing upon a rocky promontory, and disperses to the ships, this time to prepare for battle (398-401). Two arrivals at the assembly and two departures are thus emphasized by similes; the first departure, which threatens to undo the whole expedition (cf. the words of Hera at 157-162), is given two similes. Besides the similes' deliberate placement at important turns of the narrative, two patterns characterize this group: the careful manipulation of land and sea motifs, and the notion of direction, which becomes steadily more important in the sequence. The patterns are related as follows. At 11.87, as the army comes to assembly for the first time, the soldiers are compared to clusters of bees streaming from a hollow rock: ήϋτε U&vea eloi μελιασάων άδινάων, πέτρης έκ η/λωρυρής atei νέον έρχομενάων βοτρυδόν δέ πέτονταί έτι' ävdeaiv eiapivoioiv a t μέν τ £νθα αΚκ πεποτήαται, αί δέ r e è'vOa· ώ ς των ëOvea π ο λ λ ά νεών diro και κλισιάων

90

XVI.431 —461, and his sending of darkness at 567 in the fight over Sarpedon's body). With respect to cloud imagery, it may be observed that this vehicle for similes also plays a role in Homeric metaphor, e.g. in the phrase Ύρώων νέφος at XVI.66 (compare the metaphorical use of light at XVI. 39 and 95). For discussion of Homeric metaphors that are related to the similes, see W. B. Stanford, Greek Metaphor (Oxford 1936) 118-143.

38

ήϊόνος προπάροιθε βαθείης ίλαδόν εις ά"/ορήν •

έστιχόωντο

Like the swarms of clustering bees that issue forever in fresh bursts from the hollow in the stone, and hang like bunched grapes as they hover beneath the flowers in springtime fluttering in swarms together this way and that way, so the many nations of men from the ships and the shelters along the front of the deep sea beach marched in order by companies to the assembly This simile introduces motifs that will be repeated later in the sequence: the rock, the shore, even the varied movement of the bees' flight. 44 After Agamemnon's first speech (110—141), the soldiers leave the assembly to return to the shore. They are on the brink of setting sail from Troy for home (cf. 151—154). Two similes in succession, one sea and one land comparison, mark the event (11.144 and 147): Kivήθη δ' àyop-η φη κύματα μακρά θαλάσσης, πόντου Ίκαρίονο, τά μέν τ' Εύρος r e Νότος r e ¿¿pop' έπαι'ξας πατρός Δώς έκ νεφελάων.

145

ώς δ' öre κίνηση Ζέφυρος βαθύ λήιον έλθών, λάβρος έπαι-γίζων, έπί τ' ήμύει άσταχύεσσιν,

ώ ς των πάσ' άγορή κινήθηAnd the assembly was shaken as on the sea the big waves in the main by Ikaria, when the south and south-east winds driving down from the clouds of Zeus the father whip them. As when the west wind moves across the grain deep standing, boisterously, and shakes and sweeps it till the tassels lean, so all of that assembly was shaken Both similes present the action of wind, in one case stirring up the waves, in the second causing ears of wheat in a field to bow down. The two comparisons are tightly bound by verbal repetition: κινήθη δ' άγορή (144), ώς δ' οτε κινήαη Ζέφυρος ... (147), ώ ς των πάσ' ά^ορή κινήθη (149). The length of the successive similes (144—149) almost exactly balances the succeeding narrative (149— 154), and the similes' content precisely complements the narrative situation of the army, poised between land and sea. 45 44

It is to be noted that some details in the simile do not exactly correspond with those in the narrative: for example, the rock, compared to the many ships and tents, or the flight of the bees in various places (II. 90), compared to the single destination of the soldiers. For all that, the passage is an effective image, and can hardly be used as evidence for similes' completely independent existence from narrative. 45 For the theory that these similes serve to advance the narrative, or give it a new turn, see R. Hampe, Die Gleichnisse Homers und die Bildkunst seiner Zeit (Tiibingen 1952) 10-12. Shipp (218-219) criticized Hampe's contention; but though Shipp's objections

39

At 209, with the return of the army from the ships to the agora, a sea simile pictures the waves breaking on the beach. Like the next developed simile at 394, this comparison's principal tenor is noise. One may further note that unlike the sea waves at 144 (κύματα μακρά θαλάσσης), where no direction is implied, the κϋμα of 209-210 rolls in to shore, and parallels the army's direction as it moves from the beach to the assembly point (207f.): oi δ' ά-γορήνδ€ αύτις è-neaaevovTO νβών äno και κλισιάων ήχγΐ, ώς ore κύμα πόλυφλοίσβοιο θαλάσσης

αίγιαλώ μεγάλω βρέμεται, σμαραγει δβ re πόντος.

210

they swept back into the assembly place from the ships and the shelters clamorously, as when from the thunderous sea the surf-beat crashes upon the great beach, and the whole sea is in tumult. 46 The army's martial spirit has been revived at this point. The content of the simile, showing a wave moving into shore to crash upon the beach, parallels the host's physical movement. At the assembly for the second time, the soldiers' resolution is tested from a different quarter. The speech of Thersites (225 —242) parallels the speech of Agamemnon in that the former urges the Achaeans to return home (235-238); but the parallel is parodie, in that Thersites is not taken seriously by the army (cf. 215-216), and the phrasing of his speech deliberately transposes Achilles' reproach of Agamemnon to the low style (cf. 11.242 with 1.232). The formal parallelism of Thersites' advice with Agamemnon's test is confirmed by the sequel in each episode: it is Odysseus who thwarts the potential ill effect of both speeches (cf. II. 246f. for his response to Thersites). Three speeches follow Thersites' humiliation. Odysseus, Nestor, and especially Agamemnon confirm the army's will to fight, and the whole assembly episode ends as it began, with a gathering of the Greek chiefs in council (402-440). The narrative of this episode is thus carefully ordered; so, too, there is a coherent progression in the simile sequence we have been examining. The army's dispersal on this particular passage are generally well taken, more suitable examples can be found to support Hampe's view (cf. the similes at XI.544-574, XVII.43-69, XVII.725f.). On the action at 11.144 and 147, see also Leaf, ad loc. Ancient criticism preferred the second simile (schol. Τ to 11.147: Ηπειρωτική ή παραβολή όπερ αμεινον), apparently because the action of the narrative, on land, was better clarified by a land comparison! See A. Clausing, Kritik und Exegese der homerischen Gleichnisse im Altertum (Parchim 1913) 5 0 - 5 1 . Clausing stresses the ancient critics' interest in the Vergleichspunkt (18, 6 2 - 6 4 , 71, 76). 46 Note the onomatopoetic quality of 210, and for σμαρα-γεί, rare in Homer, cf. the simile at 11.463. One may compare the motifs of the sea similes at 11.144 and 209 with IV.422, a more elaborate version incorporating some of the same elements: cf. Β (2) (iii) below.

40

is marked by the last comparison of the series at 394. Here, the motifs of the preceding similes are drawn together: ώ ς & p a f , 'ApyeíoL δέ μ β γ ' 'ίαχον, ώ ς ó r e

κύμα

àKTfì έφ' ύψηλτ), ö r e κινήσγι Ν ό τ ο ς έλθών, προβλήτι

οκοπέΧω-

παντοίων

ανέμων,

τον δ' οϋ ποτβ κύματα tir'

αν ëv6'

ένθα

395 λείπει

γένωνται.

So he spoke, and the Argives shouted aloud, as surf crashing against a sheer ness, driven by the south wind descending, some cliff out-jutting, left never alone by the waves from all the winds that blow, as they rise one place and another. The wind comes down to strike the waves (cf. 144 and 147); the motifs of the rock and varied movement reappear (cf. 87-90). The simile is naturally connected with the earlier wave images at 144 and 209. All three comparisons, when considered together, exhibit a directional pattern. In II. 144 the direction of the army is seaward, and the waves described in the simile are out at sea; at 209 the army marches landward, and the wave is now depicted as breaking on the beach. In 394 there is a departure from this pattern, but it is a departure easy to understand, given the army's new spirit. The soldiers move physically back to the ships (398), but this time to prepare for war: their psychological direction is once more focused on the conquest of Troy. This is explicit in the subsequent description of the marshaling for battle (11.453—454): Toiai δ' αφαρ π ό λ ε μ ο ς η/λυκίων yévef έν νηυοί

ΎλαφνρχίΟί φιΚην ¿ς πατρίδα

ήέ

νέβσθαι

yaiap.

And now battle became sweeter to them than to go back in their hollow ships to the beloved land of their fathers. Hence at 394 we have a sea simile which portrays motion toward land of such violent insistence that the army's new resolution can scarcely be doubted. The waves do not simply resound on the beach; they pound ceaselessly upon a headland (396). The simile itself reveals a dynamic expansion: note that κύμα (394) becomes κύματα (396) and Νότος (395) is extended to παντοίων ανέμων (397). 47 With the action marked by this simile, the setting is complete for the great battle which lasts through VII. We may now summarize the principal conclusions from the analysis of this sequence. The string of similes from 11.87 to 394 is based on two essentially simple motifs, land and sea, which have been varied by the poet to suit the needs of each major stage in the narrative. The placement of the similes at 47

With the tableau at 11.394, compare XV.618. It is worth pointing out that the simile sequence which ends at II. 394 also has the effect of adding vividness to the rapid shifts on the part of the common soldiers, who are (with the exception of the caricature Thersites) seldom characterized by Homer in any detail.

41

such major stages of a distinct episode, and the co-ordination of the group by the notion of direction, leave us in no doubt that the comparisons should be considered as a series, even though the connecting links are more complex than in the sequences we have so far considered. However, the same technique which produced the successive similes at II.455f. and the cloud sequence at XVI. 297f. is responsible for this series: the associative repetition of phrases and motifs within a small compass of the narrative. That such associative composition is carefully controlled is supported both by the internal progression of the similes as a group, and by the careful ordering of the narrative in this episode. As in the other sequences we have studied, there is a cumulative aspect to this group also: the three wave similes mount in violence, as the army's mood turns from despair to ferocity. This progression is not as obtrusive as in the other sequences, however, since in this case each single element of the series does not contribute equally to the movement of the whole. It is, rather, the last two similes of the group (which might be considered by themselves as a pair) which must effect the climax of the whole series. The action of the episode, if compared to the narrative of XVI.297f., is far more complex: it is not surprising to observe a more complicated pattern in the progression of the similes in II than we noted in XVI. (iii) IV.275ff. At IV. 223f. Agamemnon inspects the troops (the Epipolesis), and the general battle commences. We will have more to say about this episode as a whole in the next chapter; analysis here will be restricted to the four fully developed similes which occupy a central position in it. 48 These are: IV. 275, 422, 433, and 452. The first comparison is used for the followers of the Aiantes, and includes several motifs that later recur (IV. 2 7 3 - 2 8 0 ) : ήλθε δ' ¿ π ' Αίάντβσσί

Κίών àvà ούλαμόν

ανδρών ·

τώ δέ κορυσσέσθην, άμα δέ νέφος ehero πεζών. ώς δ' ör' άπό σκοπιής efôeν νέφος αίπόλος άνήρ έρχόμενον κατά πόντον ύπό Ζβφύροω ίωήςτώ δέ τ' ανευθβν έόντι μελάντερον ή lire πι'σσα φαίνετ Ιόν κατά πόντον, ayei δέ r e λ α ί λ α π α πόλλήν, βίγηοέν r e ι δ ώ ν , ύπό r e σπέος η λ α σ ε μήλατοϊαι αμ' Αίάντεσσι 48

275

280

The other similes in this narrative segment occur at: IV. 243, 253, 394, 462, 471, and 482. With the exception of 243 (Agamemnon's simile of the fawns) and 482 (which compares Simoeisios to a tree), the similes are internal; none of them disturbs the pattern discussed here. This portion of the narrative, together with the aristeia of Diomedes (book V), was analyzed as a unit by T. B. L. Webster, who recognized the role of similes in scene composition, and who pointed to many of the cross-references among comparisons see From Mycenae to Homer (London 1958) 227-231.

42

On his way through the thronging men he came to the Aiantes. These were armed, and about them went a cloud of foot-soldiers. As from his watching place a goatherd watches a cloud move on its way over the sea before the drive of the west wind; far away though he be he watches it, blacker than pitch is, moving across the sea and piling the storm before it, and as he sees it he shivers and drives his flocks to a cavern; so about the two Aiantes moved the battalions The west wind and the sea are also prominent at 422, a simile used for the Greeks as a whole that also emphasizes a threatening, aggressive posture ( 4 2 2 428): ώς δ' στ' έν αίγιαλώ πολυηχέί κύμα θάλασσης bpvm' έπαοούτερον Ζεφύρου imo κινήσαντοςπόντω μέν τε πρώτα κορύσαεται, αύτάρ έπειτα χέρσω ^ηγνύμενον μεγάλα βρέμει, άμφί δέ τ άκρας κυρτά> èòv κορυψούται, άποπτϋει δ' άλός αχνην ώς TÒT' έπασσύτεραι Ααραών κίνυντο φάλαγγες νωλεμέως πόλεμόνδε •

425

As when along the thundering beach the surf of the sea strikes beat upon beat as the west wind drives it onward; far out cresting first on the open water, it drives thereafter to smash roaring along the dry land, and against the rock jut bending breaks itself into crests spewing back the salt wash; so thronged beat upon beat the Danaans' close battalions steadily into battle This simile resembles the violent sea comparisons for the Greeks at 11.209 and 394, when their flight to the ships was reversed, and their martial spirit renewed by Odysseus and Agamemnon. The immediate association, however, is with the earlier image at IV.275: compare κορύσαεται (424) with κορυσσέσθψ (274), and also έπασσύτεραι Δαναών κίνυντο φάλαγγες I νωλεμέως πόλεμόνδε (427— 428) with the soSatz at 281, ές πόλεμοι ττυκιναί K'WWTO φάλαγγες. At IV.433 the Trojans receive a simile that strikingly differs in tone: here, bleating sheep are milked in a farmer's yard (433—436): Τρώες δ', ώ ς τ' ô'tèç πολυπάμονος ανδρός èv αύλχι μυρίαι έστήκασιν άμελγόμεναι "γάλα λευκόν, άξηχές μεμακυϊαι άκούουσαι ima άρνών, ώ ς Τρώω»' άλαλητός àwà οτρατόν εύρύν όρώρει·

435

But the Trojans, as sheep in a man of possessions' steading stand in their myriads waiting to be drained of their white milk and bleat interminably as they hear the voice of their lambs, so the crying of the Trojans went up through the whole army. 43

The sheep here may remind us of the herdsman and his goat flocks at 279. In that simile, the μήλα required protection from the approaching storm, whose violence was amplified in the sea simile at 422. Now the Trojans, on the defensive, are explicitly linked with passive farm animals. The emphasis on noise in the third simile (cf. also 436—438) serves also to associate this comparison with the preceding one (cf. 422 and 425). 49 The final simile of this sequence shows several familiar details recurring in yet a new combination. The armies meet, and are like winter torrents in the mountains ( 4 5 2 - 4 5 6 ) : ώς δ' ore χείμαρροι ποταμοί κατ δρεοψι ρέοντες ές μιoydyneiap συμβάλλετον οβριμον ϋδωρ κρουνών έκ μεγάλων κοίλης εντοοθε χαράδρης, τών δέ τε τηλόσε δούπον έν οϋρεσιν εκλύε ποιμήν ώς τών μιογομένων γένετο ιαχή τε πόνος τε.

455

As when rivers in winter spate running down from the mountains throw together at the meeting of streams the weight of their water, out of the great springs behind in the hollow stream-bed, and far away in the mountains the shepherd hears their thunder; such, from the coming together of men, was the shock and the shouting. The water's violence recalls the wave simile at 422, and the details of sea and storm at 276 and 278. As noise was prominent in the comparisons at 422 and 433, so is it the main feature of 455 and 456. Finally, the shepherd who hears the torrents from afar at 455 balances the herdsman who sees the ominous storm-cloud from his lookout at 2 7 5 - 2 7 6 . Thus the motifs of water (sea/river), west wind, herdsman (goats/sheep), and noise are skilfully varied and re-combined in the four similes. If we assign each motif a number, we may represent the pattern of association as follows: 275: sea (cloud and storm), ominous threat west wind herdsman 49

1 2 3

In the wave simile at IV.422, the main point of the comparison is to highlight the swift, steady strength of the Greeks (cf. έπασσύτερον at 423 and έπασσύτεραι and vojXeμέως at 4 2 7 - 4 2 8 ) . Though noise is a detail of the simile (cf. πολυηχέι at 422 and ßpeßei at 425), the poet soon turns to a contrast with the Trojans, on the defensive. At 4 2 9 431, the Greeks are said to march in ominous silence (cf. ακήν at 429, σιγή at 431), and the Trojans become associated with the noise of the passive sheep in the simile at 433. This contrast between silence and noise is a repeated narrative element: it also appears at III. 1 - 9 . It must be admitted that, in this respect, the poet has not combined simile and narrative in the passage of IV with particular smoothness. The same type o f "inconsistency," caused by a singer's desire to emphasize two quite different aspects of a situation in rapid succession, occures between simile and narrative at XXII. 1 5 7 - 1 6 4 (cf. Chapter 2 below).

44

422: sea (wave), violence west wind noise 433: sheep noise 452: rivers, turbulence shepherd noise

1

2 4 3 4 1

3 4

The four similes are skilfully integrated with the progression of the narrative. As in II, the stress in book IV is on the Greek army, not the Trojans. The former are on the offensive after the breaking of the truce: note that the first two individual exploits, those of Antilochos and Ajax, both involve Greek victories (IV.475f.). The Greeks thus receive more attention in the similes, where aggressiveness and violence are clearly associated with the Greek side. The third simile of the group, devoted to the Trojans, presents a highly effective contrast with the threatening overtones of the first two. Equated to noisy farm animals, the Trojans are portrayed as passive and vulnerable: the babble of the different tongues of their allies (437—438) seems as futile as the sheep's echoing bleats. Despite the contrast with the first two similes, however, the third is clearly part of the sequence: the simile at 275 establishes the motif of animals and protection. That the entire sequence (including the comparison at 452) possesses its own coherent, internal movement is also clear. The imminent storm at 275 yields to the breaking wave at 422; the Trojan cries at 433 give way to the conflict of action at 452. The sequence, in other words, presents two climaxes, in the second and fourth similes; the fourth comparison, involving both armies, functions as the major climax for the entire group. 50 (iv)

XI.292ff.

Analysis has been focused thus far on simile pairs and sequences which are carefully controlled, through the association of motifs, within a narrow compass of the narrative. We may conclude the discussion of simile sequences by noting a long, loosely associated series of comparisons in XI—XII, in which one motif, the hunted beast, predominates. After the aristeia of Agamemnon in XI, the similes reflect a change in the tide of the battle; most of the vehicles link the Greeks with animals which are either on the defensive, or on the offensive with50 The inclusion in the sequence of the fourth simile at 452, and its importance as the climax of the series, may also be inferred from the symmetrical patterning in 422f.: one simile for the Greeks (422), one for the Trojans (433), and the last for both armies (452). With regard to the last simile, note the interesting verbal connection between free (451) and frióme': (452); this idea is supplanted by the connection of μισγάγκειαν (453) and μίoyoßivu>v (456), which gives way in turn to the stress on noise in 455 and 456. The simile itself is thus an illustration of paratactic, associative composition.

45

out success. It is to be expected, of course, that warriors on the defensive will be described by animals in the corresponding position; yet emphasis of this feature is not beside the point when we recall the tendency of many critics to concentrate on similes' departures from the narrative.51 At XI. 292 Hector, having noticed Agamemnon's withdrawal and spurred on the Trojans, is compared to a huntsman: ώ ς δ' óre πού τις θηρητηρ κύνας aeúji èn àyροτέρω σνι καπρύρ ήέ

ώς έπ' Άχαιοίσιν "Εκτωρ

àpyitôovTaç λέοντι,

aeie Τρώας μεγάθυμους

Πριαμίδης, βροτολοιγώ

Ισος "Αρηϊ.

295

As when some huntsman drives to action his hounds with shining teeth against some savage beast, wild boar or lion, so against the Achaians Hektor the son of Priam, a man like the murderous war god, lashed on the high-hearted Trojans. After this point, virtually all the similes for the Greeks in XI, and many in XII, have a defensive emphasis.52 Associated motifs recur in different combinations as follows: XI.324: Odysseus and Diomedes, responding to Hector's assault, are like boars who whirl to attack hunting dogs. XI.414: Odysseus, rushed by the Trojans, is like a wild boar surrounded by hounds and young men. XI.474: Odysseus, surrounded by Trojans, is like a stag that is wounded by a hunter and surrounded by scavengers.53 XI. 546: Ajax is like a wild beast who turns slowly (away from his attackers: cf. XVII. 109). The series of beast images has been noted by Webster 232-233. In Diomedes' short aristeia, he is wounded by Paris, who compares Diomedes to a lion before whom bleating goats shudder (XI. 383). Though Diomedes answers him derisively, minimizing the wound's importance, he is forced to retire from the battle immediately after the exchange ( 3 9 9 - 4 0 0 ) . Whatever aggressive element is attributed to Diomedes in Paris' simile is thus soon forgotten, since the Greek hero must retreat. 53 One detail of this simile, the lion at X I . 4 8 0 - 4 8 1 is problematic. Odysseus is clearly the wounded deer, and the Trojans are the scavengers. Can Menelaus and Ajax be equated to the lion, who scatters the scavengers and eats the deer? The simile does indeed seem to have acquired an independent existence, to the extent that the two tableaux it presents cannot be applied to a single situation in the narrative. But note that Ajax, only slightly later in the narrative, does resemble the lion in the simile; for just as the lion scattered the scavengers (θώες μέν re bUrpeaav, 481), Ajax scatters the Trojans (Τρώες Sè Siérpeoav Κλλυδις άλλος, 486). The first picture in the simile thus corresponds to the narrative section which precedes it, the second to the narrative which ensues. Note the similarity in situation with the comparison at XV.271, though in XI it is the scavengers who are dispersed, in XV the men. 52

46

XI. 548: Ajax is like a hungry lion, repulsed by men as he attempts to attack a herd of oxen. XI. 558: Ajax is like a greedy donkey in a corn field, who eats the grain despite the small boys who beat him with sticks. XII. 146: The Lapiths, resisting Asios' offensive, are compared t o wild boars who gnash their teeth at hunters. XII. 167: Asios, in his speech o f complaint to Zeus, compares the Greeks to wasps or bees, who stand by their children to protect them against hunters. This series o f similes, deployed over a substantial narrative segment, displays noteworthy differences in technique from our earlier examples. First, a considerable number of comparisons, including five fully developed ones, is interspersed in the string o f hunting images (cf. the stormcloud at XI. 297, the whirlstorm at X I . 3 0 5 , the river at X I . 4 9 2 , the oak trees at XII. 132, and the snowflakes at XII. 156). Secondly, a hunting simile for Hector intervenes at XII.41 which seems to have a peculiar relation to the narrative: Hector is on the offensive, and yet the elaborate simile pictures a wild beast o n the defensive. 54 Thus the series of associated similes is interrupted not only by compar54 Since antiquity, critics have noted that this long simile's details fail to match the narrative situation: see Clausing (note 45 above) 68; Leaf, Introduction to M (vol 1,525);Scott 61, note 4. Most obviously, Hector rallies his troops for an offensive effort (i.e. to cross the ditch), while the simile portrays a hunted beast on the defensive. Indeed, the simile would be far more appropriate, from the point of view of the literal matching of details, to the narrative situation of a surrounded warrior: with Fränkel (67) we may compare the boar used for Odysseus at XI.414. Why, then, is the image used for Hector in this situation?

Various attempts have been made to show that correspondence between simile and context is not completely lacking. On the literal level, just as the beast burns (ατρέφεται, XII. 42, 47) in his charges against the hunters, so Hector may be said to move from group to group of his companions, as he goes along the battle line, endeavoring to fire their courage for the difficult and dangerous task of traversing the ditch (at 49 he is said to move i v ύμιλον). This is not a very convincing parallel, since no exact verbal repetition connects the movement of the animal and Hector's movement; again, the boar or lion moves to attack, while Hector only moves to encourage an attack. If we examine the psychological correspondence between simile and narrative, however, we are on better ground. Scott (op. cit.), following Shewan, Homeric Essays (Oxford 1935) 224f., defends the spirit, or emotional tone, of the simile: the portrait of the beast conveys Hector's courage, but also his frustration. There can be no doubt that, from this point of view, the hunting tableau conveys Hector's presumed emotions at the beginning of XII. He is confronted with a formidable obstacle: how to sustain the battle momentum of the Trojans, who must cross the ditch and breach the wall. Those Greek defenses, the subject of the first section of the book (XII. 1 - 3 3 ) , will not be penetrated by the Trojans until the book's end. The objective is so difficult that Hector will receive two advisory speeches from Poulydamas, the second countenancing giving it up altogether. Though this advice is ignored, and Hector eventually succeeds in the attempt, it is notable that the Trojans must run considerable risks in their offensive: the ditch has been planted with stakes which 47

isons with unrelated material, but by a simile which appears to reverse the established pattern. Most importantly, however, the associated images do not possess a coherent, internal movement: there is no identifiable progression in the string as a whole. The climactic patterning which we observed in earlier examples of simile pairs and sequences does not operate here to co-ordinate all elements in the series. And yet it looks as if certain elements are more tightly bound together than others, even if the string as a whole lacks a clear progression. Consider the two comparisons at XI. 292 and XI. 324. In the first, Hector is a hunter spurring on his hounds to attack a boar or a lion. There follow three other similes (we have already discussed the pair at XI. 297 and 305), a brief exchange between Odysseus and Diomedes, and a description of their resistance. They are like boars who whirl against pursuing hounds: τώ δ' ώ>' ομίλου làure κυδοίμβον, ώς ore κάπρω èv κυοί θηρεντησι μέ^α φρονέοντε πέσητον ώς tfkenov Τρώας πάλιν όρμένωthen went into the ranks and wrought havoc, as when two wild boars hurl themselves in their pride upon the hounds who pursue them. So they whirled on the Trojans again and destroyed them. The two comparisons are thus closely related: the terms in both vehicles have exactly the same equivalents in the narrative. The two successive similes at XI.548 and 558 are also closely linked. The vehicles (lion and donkey) insure a vivid contrast; noticeable too is a balancing set of details. In the first comparison, the lion, attacked with javelins (552), terrify the horses (50—57), and the Greeks, showering missiles from atop the wall, must naturally enjoy an advantage over those trying to break through. Admittedly, not all these facts are clear at the beginning of XII; but the project alone of crossing the ditch, which is the context of the simile at XII.41, is enough to accord with the desperate situation confronted by the lion or boar. Summarizing, then, we may say that both simile and narrative convey a particular emotional tone: the desperate courage born of necessity. Even though the beast in the comparison is on the defensive, and is eventually killed, the simile stresses his fearlessness, his refusal to run, and his assault on his pursuers (cf. 4 5 - 4 8 ) . This emphasis, besides differentiating the passage from the simile at XI.414 (where it is the men's steadfastness that is stressed at 418), brings the spirit of the comparison closer to the situation of Hector in the narrative. It is interesting that the simile's closest analogue also occurs in XII, in a passage which is far more smoothly adjusted to the context: at 299, in a comparison which balances 41f. to some extent, Sarpedon is given a lion simile, as he mounts a strong offensive against the wall. In this passage, the lion attacks a sheep-fold, despite the resistance of men and dogs, and is said either to succeed or be killed in the effort (XII. 3 0 5 - 3 0 6 ) . With the detail at XII.46 (άγηνορϊη Sé μιν 'έκτα), compare also the simile used for Patroklos at XVI. 752— 753).

48

fails to gain his objective (551—552), whereas in the second the donkey, attacked with sticks (559), succeeds in eating (562). Moreover, the images closely reflect the movement of the narrative here, since Ajax, smitten by Zeus with fear (544), is said to recover his valor at 566-568: the donkey's success at 558, which is used to characterize the hero's stubbornness in the face of superior odds, also foreshadows Ajax's successful resistance (cf. 568—573). 55

C

Conclusion

Our examination of simile pairs and sequences has attempted to explore one aspect ofHomeric composition, the organization of imagery. We have observed a technique which is primarily associative: repeated words and key motifs bind the images together. The coherent patterns which emerge illuminate and often intensify narrative events and themes. For instance, the components of a simile pair may function structurally for balance or contrast. Or the components of a pair or sequence evince clear, internal progressions. Such progressions, which are demonstrable in the large majority of our examples, argue for a carefully controlled, sustained compositional technique, rather than for random association. All our examples, except the last (XI.292f.), were of groups deployed within a relatively narrow narrative compass; the last sequence, which extends over more than 700 verses, exhibits a for looser co-ordination as a whole, although some of its individual elements are closely linked. Associative composition is thus a technique which organizes imagery in Homer. But it does not work in isolation. In the next chapter, we will continue our study of the deployment of imagery by analyzing the relationship of similes to narrative structure. 55 For more comment on these similes, see "Similes in the Iliad" Hermes 102 (1974) 3 8 6 - 3 8 7 , and for the question of similes' role in sustaining or advancing the narrative movement, see note 45 above. Most of the lion simile for Ajax is later repeated for Menelaus: X I . 5 5 0 - 5 5 5 = XVII.659-664.

4

Moulton

49

CHAPTER 2

Similes and Narrative Structure We explored in the first chapter some of the characteristics of simile sequences. It was shown there that a sequence of images commonly unfolds through associative repetition of elements in the comparisons. Such repetition was seen to be carefully controlled within short narrative segments: sequences possess their own coherent movement. Pairs or strings of similes are employed for balance, contrast, and intensification; the organization of such series in many cases reflects the orderly composition of the narrative. In this chapter, analysis will focus on how simile sequences are co-ordinated within larger narrative units. We will focus on similes in battle contexts, and will consider sequences linked by associative repetition of detail. The inquiry will lead us also to consider strings of similes whose components are not linked by association, but whose deployment may illuminate the technique of the Iliad poet. How is the placement of similes related to the progression of the narrative? The examples in our analysis will suggest that a variety of patterns of this relationship is discernible: some of these patterns have already been adumbrated in the discussion in the first chapter. We will examine the major portions of books IV, V, XII, XV, and XVII in order to set forth the patterns in detail; the discussion will conclude with an analysis of XXII, where we may see a particularly subtle and sophisticated interaction of similes and narrative. First, we may venture to offer qualifications of two generally accepted notions about the function of similes. In our discussion of II. 87f. we saw that the poet employs simple organizing principles to accommodate his comparisons to the major turning points in the narrative.1 But we cannot remain content with the generalization that similes are always placed at such important turning points. Such an analysis of simile placement in Homer is vulnerable to many counterexamples, and quite fails to convey the sophistication with which the poet deploys his imagery (cf. below on IV.275). Secondly, we must approach the battle similes with especial care. An outstanding characteristic of the similes in the Iliad is their concentration in battle contexts. Over three-fourths of the developed comparisons occur in scenes of fighting.2 Explanations of this See Chapter 1, Β (2) (ii). In the Aeneid, where the proportion of battle scenes to the rest of the poem is roughly similar to the ratio in the Iliad, less than half the similes occur in battle contexts; cf. R. Hornsby, Patterns of Action in the Aeneid (Iowa City 1970) 7. 2

50

clustering have centered on similes' function of "relief from the narrative;" many critics have stressed this as a general function of all similes, but one particularly appropriate in battle scenes, which would be monotonous without variation. 3 We must weigh this view with the same caution that we employ for the idea of similes marking turning points: absolute dismissal would be no more sensible than unquestioning acceptance (cf. below on IV. 482). In particular, the concept of relief from the narrative involves a different society's expectations and preferences. We have little way of knowing how monotony would have been defined by Homer's audience. Two further points are relevant. First, recent studies of the battle scenes have already shown how much variation exists among them. No battle sequence is precisely like any other, and the differences may easily have been more apparent to Homer's contemporaries than to us. 4 Secondly, a view which emphasizes the imagery's departures from the narrative tends to obscure its remarkable integration with it. Every simile requires a balanced assessment; a principal constituent of the memorable Homeric similes is the tension between the effects of "sameness" and "difference" evoked by the comparisons (cf. below on XV. 362). Both elements of this tension have had their critical proponents: those who have sought to pin down the Vergleichspunkt, and those who have emphasized symbolic interpretations of the similes. It is a truism that many similes describe a world which contrasts sharply with the world of the narrative, and we are thus justified to some extent in speaking of relief.5 But our focus in this chapter will address the problem in a new way: we will concentrate on the integration of simile and narrative, and on the subtlety with which the first complements the second, from the viewpoint of the imagery's organization, rather than with the critical presupposition that analysis of Übereinstimmung represents the sole, or even the most reliable, test of such integration 6 To anticipate part of our conclusion: just as elements of typical battle scenes are adjusted and selected by the poet to produce continual variation, so are certain motifs in similes repeated, varied, and re-combined. The continually varied elaboration of both the battle scenes and the similes used in them may be regarded as a major aspect of the Iliad poet's technique. If it is true, as most suppose, that the Iliad was composed near the end of a long oral tradition, in

3

See Chapter 1, note 1 above. The best recent study of these scenes is B. C. Fenik, Typical Battle Sc€n€s in the Iliûd (Wiesbaden 1968); see particularly 2 5 - 2 6 , 92, 2 2 9 - 2 3 1 . 5 See, for example, D. H. Porter, "Violent Juxtaposition in the Similes of the Iliad" CJ 68 (1972) 1 1 - 2 1 . 6 For a protest against the explanation of similes as "relief from the narrative," see the sensible remarks of C. R. Beye, The Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Epic Tradition (Garden City 1966), 1 0 5 - 1 0 6 , 110; on similes' integration with narrative, cf. Frankel 1 0 4 - 1 0 7 . 4

51

which many of the elements of such scenes and similes, like elements of the formulaic diction, became well established, we may sensibly regard the poet's success in such elaborations and re-combinations as a measure of his originality and skill.7

A ( 1 ) Dynamic Symmetry in Iliad IV Let us start the inquiry into similes and narrative structure by considering anew the comparisons in the second half of IV.8 Examination of the Epipolesis (IV. 223—544) reveals that it is carefully composed on a principle of balancing scenes and quasi-symmetrical episodes. First, Agamemnon is described as ranging over the field (IV. 223—233). He delivers an encouraging speech to the Greeks who are eager to fight (234-239), a speech of rebuke, containing a simile, to those who hang back (242—249). He then approaches Idomeneus, who is given a short simile at 253, and delivers a speech of exhortation (257—264), which is answered by Idomeneus (266-271). Agamemnon next comes to the Aiantes, whose followers are compared in a full simile to a threatening cloud (275); he encourages them, but receives no answer (272-291). The third episode of encouragement shows a further variation. Agememnon finds Nestor encouraging his own followers (292—309), and praises him (313—316); he is then answered by Nestor (318—325). The series of quasi-symmetrical episodes ends with the same line that concluded the Idomeneus scene (326 = 272). There follow two episodes which picture Agamemnon rebuking a pair of warriors, first Odysseus and Menestheus (326—363), and then Diomedes and Sthenelos (364—421). In each case, the rebuke is unmerited, and conciliation follows. But each incident, despite the similarities, reveals significant variation. In the first, Agamemnon's speech ( 3 3 8 - 3 4 8 ) is answered by Odysseus (350—355), the major warrior of the pair; Agamemnon, in turn, withdraws his rebuke and conciliates Odysseus (358—363). In the second episode, it is Sthenelos, the minor warrior of the pair, who answers Agamemnon (404—410). Diomedes gives the third speech (411-418), but not to Agamemnon. Rather, he advises Sthenelos to be quiet, obey orders, and respect the commander. After these three encouraging scenes and two, slightly longer rebuking scenes, there is a general description of the armies (422—456). Here are placed three 7 The issue of Homeric originality will always be controversial, and some sensible caveats are set forth by F. Combellack, "Contemporary Unitarians and Homeric Originality," AJP 71 (1950) 3 3 7 - 3 6 4 (especially 349). 8 Cf. Webster 2 2 7 - 2 3 1 , and Chapter 1, Β (2) (iii) above, with note 48. Analysis of the second half of IV as a unit is clearly justified when one considers IV.539-544, lines which summarize and round off the previous action, and V. 1 - 8 and 8 5 - 9 4 , the elaborate introductions of Diomedes.

52

similes: one for the Greeks (422), one for the Trojans (433), and the last for both armies (452). Then follow two individual exploits of almost equal length: Antilochos kills Echepolos (457-472), and Ajax slays Simoeisios (473-489). Echepolos receives a short simile at 462; both armies are compared to wolves at 471 in a brief summary passage; Simoeisios is given a long, developed simile at 482. Even in the general fighting scene which closes the fourth book, symmetry and balance are important. Upon the death of Simoeisios, Antiphos aims for Ajax and misses, killing Leukos instead (491). Avenging Leukos, Odysseus kills Demokoon (499). Note that neither Antiphos nor Odysseus slays the man responsible for the previous slaying. In a speech at 509—513 Apollo encourages the Trojans; his action is matched by the description at 514-516 of Athena spurring on the Greeks. The deaths of Leukos and Demokoon are balanced by a more symmetrical pair of slayings at the end: Peiros kills Diores (517-526), and is in turn slain by Thoas (527-538). Both are wounded in a similar way (compare 525 with 531), and are explicitly conjoined as fallen leaders of their contingents (536-538). The book's final lines reinforce this tableau, and provide a clear conclusion for the whole series of episodes (539—544): ά>θα nev ούκέτι ëpyov άνήρ όνόοαιτο μετελθών, ό'ς τις è'r' tì/3λητος και άνούτατος όξεϊ χαλκφ δινεύοι κατά μέσσον, äyot δέ è Παλλάς Άθήι>η χειρός έλουα', αύτάρ βελέωι> άπερνκοι έρωήν πολλοί yàp Τρώων και 'Αχαιών ήματι κείνίο πρηνέες èv κονίχιαι παρ' άλλήλοισι τέταντο.

540

There no more could a man who was in that work make light of it, one who still unhit and still unstabbed by the sharp bronze spun in the midst of that fighting, with Pallas Athene's hold on his hand guiding him, driving back the volleying spears thrown. For on that day many men of the Achaians and Trojans lay sprawled in the dust face downward beside one another. The following chart summarizes the principal incidents of the Epipolesis, and also lists the similes (with full comparisons in italics): Narrative (1) Agamemnon encourages the Greeks (2) Agamemnon rebukes those who hang back

Similes 243

(3) Agamemnon encourages Idomeneus; Idomeneus responds 253 (4) Agamemnon encourages the Aiantes; no answer 275 (5) Agamemnon encourages Nestor, who is exhorting his own followers; Nestor responds 53

(6) Agamemnon rebukes Odysseus and Menestheus; Odysseus answers Agamemnon; Agamemnon responds (7) Agamemnon rebukes Diomedes and Sthenelos ; Sthenelos answers Agamemnon; Diomedes addresses Sthenelos 394 (8) General description of Greeks and Trojans

422, 433, 452

(9) Exploit of Antilochos: death of Echepolos (10) Exploit of Ajax: death of Simoeisios

462, 471 482

(11) General fighting (a) Antiphos kills Leukos (b) Odysseus kills Demokoon (c) Apollo encourages the Trojans (d) Athena encourages the Greeks (e) Peiros kills Diores ( f ) Thoas kills Peiros (g) Conclusion It is clear that the poet found balancing groups of episodes to be a useful compositional device. Yet his skill is not displayed in mere symmetry. For the most remarkable aspect of the structure of the Epipolesis, outlined above, is that symmetry and balance, functional devices for the composition and elaboration of scenes, are never obtrusive. They appear only from close analysis and reduction of the passage to a schema, while the narrative itself, even upon repeated inspection or audition, retains its freshness. This results, I believe, from the variation which the poet has superimposed upon a basically symmetrical scheme. Despite the similarities, no episode in a pair or group is exactly like any other. The narrative moves from one episode to the next, then, in a progression that is apparently fresh and new. When the progression is closely scrutinized, however, it is clear that symmetry and balance have played an important role in its creation. For this reason, I would like to describe the technique, which has many parallels elsewhere in the Iliad, by the term "dynamic symmetry." It will be evident that the type of composition I am describing differs from another technique well recognized in the Iliad: Ring-composition, or the "geometric" structure demonstrated by Myres and Whitman. The latter's analysis, in particular, has the defect of only presenting parallel, or directly contrasting, elements in the poem's structure, and does not take into account the ingenious variations which are built on symmetrical frameworks. 9 9

For the "geometric" structure of the Iliad, and pervasive patterns of hysteron proteron composition, see J. L. Myres, "The Last Book of the Iliad," JHS 52 (1932) 2 6 4 - 2 9 6 , and Whitman 249 - 2 8 4 . The fold-out chart at the end of Whitman's book presents his analysis in schematic form. It will be obvious that the technique of dynamic symmetry,

54

The placement of the major similes in this passage of Iliad IV reinforces the pattern of dynamic symmetry in the narrative. In the schema above, for example, items (1) and (2) do not precisely balance one another: in his speech of rebuke, Agamemnon uses the simile of the fawns at 243. Or consider the variation in items (3), (4), and (5). A short simile is used for Idomeneus, a longer one for the scene with the Aiantes, and none at all for the Nestor scene, the longest and most elaborate of the three. Another device contributes to the variation here, of course. Idomeneus answers Agamemnon, unlike the Aiantes; Nestor delivers a speech to his own followers, unlike Idomeneus or the Aiantes. A more regular symmetry governs the three similes at 422, 433, and 452. The first compares the Greeks to a wave crashing on the shore ; the second likens the Trojan cries to the bleating of sheep at milking time; the last is employed for both armies as they clash, like two mountain torrents. 10 Finally, the poet uses a short simile for Echepolos in item (9) as he falls like a tower at 462; in the balancing episode, the death of Simoeisios at item (10), a far more elaborate comparison is given the falling warrior at 482. The placement of similes in this passage, we may conclude, is a functional part of the poet's technique, since it contributes to the variation which prevents precise symmetry in pairs, or groups, of episodes. Note that the technique embraces both the composition of narrative detail and the deployment of comparisons; it is in this sense (purely on the formal level, at the moment) that we are compelled to observe the integration of similes with narrative structure. 1 1

A (2) Narrative and Variation The foregoing analysis has shown that the placement of similes is closely related to the compositional technique of the narrative in the Epipolesis: comparisons are one means of varying episodes which, if reduced to their essentials, stand in which will be illustrated in the pages that follow, may co-exist with the technkjue of Ring-composition; such a combination of structuring principles is evident, for example, in book XXII (see below). 10 Cf. the discussion in Chapter 1, Β (2) (ii) for these similes as part of a sequence; our focus here is on the orderly, balanced structuring of the episode as a whole. 11 That this technique would be harmonious with the putative circumstances of oral composition needs no emphasis. Those who object that there is no proof of the author's "intention" here, or who claim that the oral tradition would have been too "primitive" to generate such a compositional technique, may be referred to the remarks in the Introduction. On "intentionalism," see also M. S. Silk, Interaction in Poetic Imagery (Cambridge 1974) 59-64, 233-235. In the analysis above of IV, the brief simile at 394, comparing Maion to the immortals, has been omitted; it hardly affects the pattern we have analyzed.

55

a symmetrical relationship to other episodes. Such "variation" must be understood differently from the standard notion of a simile's function of "variation" of, or relief from, its immediate context. The reason is that variation of groups of episodes reveals a technique conscious of similes' deployment over a wider narrative compass, rather than merely a focus on the immediate requirements of narrating a single action sequence. Here our remarks on the sequence of associated similes at IV. 275f. in Chapter 1, B(2) (iii) furnish an important supplementary conclusion. We showed there that this simile sequence is itself constructed with the use of recurring, quasi-symmetrical elements (sea/river, west wind, herdsman, and noise), and evinces a clear, internal progression. In this respect, too, "variation" of the narrative is accomplished through a technique which subsumes both immediate exigencies and more longrange, progressive requirements of the narrative line. In this portion of the Iliad, then, comparisons play an active and functional role in the poet's narrative technique. And the passage also provides evidence that this role is to be distinguished from the widely noticed fact that similes often mark important narrative turning points. The simile for the Aiantes' followers at IV. 275, for example, marks no such turning point. Yet it is important to realize that a) it serves as a device for variation to distinguish this episode from Agamemnon's encouragement of Idomeneus and Nestor, and b) it initiates a sequence of associated comparisons which exhibits variation and re-combination of a small number of motifs, appropriately adjusted to reflect the narrative tone and the movement of this particular passage. Before we leave Iliad IV, it will be instructive to see how an individual simile challenges the truism that Homeric comparisons merely afford relief from the story's main events. This is the simile for Simoeisios at IV.482. As we pointed out, this simile balances to some extent the short image for Echepolos at 462, where that warrior falls like a tower.12 But the Simoeisios episode is far more memorable than the death of Echepolos. More of the warrior's background is given, the simile for his death is more elaborate, and the poet achieves a telling poignancy within the brief space of fifteen verses (473-487): evQ' eßeX 'Ανθεμίωνος viòv Τελαμώνιος Μας, ήίθεον θαλερόν Σιμοείσιον, öv ποτε μήτηρ 'Ίόηθεν κατιούσα nap' δχθ·ησιν Σιμόεντος -γείνατ', ènei (>α τοκεύσιν αμ' εσιτετο μήλα τοϋνεκά μιν κάλεον Σιμοείσιον· ούδέ τοκεύσι θρέπτρα φιλοις άπέδωκε, μινννθάδως δέ οί αιών ë-πλεθ' im' Αΐαντος μεγάθυμου δ ουρί δαμέντι. •πρώτον γάρ μιν Ιόντα βάλε στήθος παρά μαζόν

475 'ώέσθαι-

480

12 The word mípycx; has been used metaphorically at IV.334 and 347; its usual function in similes is to describe Ajax's shield (cf. VII.219, XI.485, XVII. 128).

56

δβξιόν

άντικρύ

ήλθεν-

ò δ' èv Kouír¡OL χαμαί

òè δι ώμου

η fra τ' èv eìajievf) λείη,

ελεος

χάλκεον

έ'γχος

véaev

aïyeipoç

μεγάλοω

πεφνκει

άτάρ r e οί οξοι έ π ' άκροτάτχι

πεφύαοι-

την μέν θ' ά ρ μ α τ ο π η γ ό ς άι>ήρ αϊθωνι έξέταμ',

οφρα ίτυν κάμψη

η μέν τ άξομένη

περυαιλλέϊ

κβιτο ποταμοϊο

παρ'

σιδηρά

ώς,

485

δίφρφοχθας.

There Telamonian Aias struck down the son of Anthemion Simoesios in his stripling's beauty, whom once his mother descending from Ida bore beside the banks of Simoeis when she had followed her father and mother to tend the sheepflocks. Therefore they called him Simoeisios; but he could not render again the care of his dear parents; he was short-lived, beaten down under the spear of high-hearted Aias, who struck him as he first came forward by the nipple of the right breast, and the bronze spearhead drove clean through the shoulder. He dropped then to the ground in the dust, like some black poplar, which in the land low-lying about a great marsh grows smooth trimmed yet with branches growing at the uppermost tree-top, one whom a man, a maker of chariots, fells with the shining iron, to bend it into a wheel for a fine-wrought chariot, and the tree lies hardening by the banks of a river. In some ways, the effect resembles that of the similes used for the deaths of the young Trojans Gorgythion at VIII. 306 (compared to a poppy) and Euphorbos at XVII. 53 (compared to an olive shoot). 13 Yet the death of Gorgythion lacks the detail of the episode in book IV, and our feelings about Euphorbos are complicated by his part in the death of Patroklos ( X V I . 8 0 6 - 8 1 5 ) . The death of Simoeisios is outstanding as the poet's portrait of a doomed young warrior, come to the war from his parents, and soon to perish (cf. All—4,19).14 A warrior's end is a typical occasion for a simile in the Iliad, and his fall is often compared to a tree. 15 Yet this passage remains highly individual: details have been combined in a unique fashion, and the comparison is economically integrated with the context. Observe, for example, the irony and pathos of the balancing details of Simoeisios' birth and death: as he was born by a river (πα/?' ΰχϋησιν Σψόεντος, 475), so the tree, its growth ended, lies hardening by a river13

See Webster 228, note 1. Fenik (Battle Scenes, 1 5 0 - 1 5 2 ) has pointed out that the Simoeisisos episode includes details which are closely related to the descriptions of three other scenes involving Trojan victims: cf. Iphition at XX. 381f., Satnios at XIV.442f., and the twins Aisepos and Pedasos at VI.21f. These three episodes, however, are not accompanied by similes. 15 Cf. Chapter 1, note 8 above. 14

57

bank (ποταμοϊο παρ' οχθας, 487). The war cuts short the youth's life; in the simile, the poplar is cut down with the iron that could serve a military hero (cf. αίϋωνι σιδήρ^ at 485). 1 6 Such close connections are ill described by characterizing similes as "relief from the narrative," or by merely stating that they are used to mark important events or turning points in a decorative fashion. In the Simoeisios episode, it is no exaggeration to say that the simile is integral to the passage's effect, and is welded to the narrative, affording it pathos and internsity. 17

Β Symmetry and Reversal in Iliad V The aristeia of Diomedes, as H. Erbse has observed, falls into three principal sections, and centers on the wounding of Aphrodite and Ares. 18 As with the Epipolesis, let us first analyze the structure of the narrative, and then examine simile placement. In the first section of this book (V. 1—453), Diomedes is introduced with two similes (at 5 and 87), which are separated by a scene of general fighting.19 He is wounded by Pandaros, but Athena revives his strength (84—143). 20 The first portion of his aristeia completes this section, and is organized as follows: (1) Aeneas consults with Pandaros (166—238) (2) Diomedes consults with Sthenelos ( 2 3 9 - 2 7 3 ) 16

For the phrase αίθωνι σώήρψ in a military context, see XX. 372. As is recognized by M. Coffey, "The Function of the Homeric Simile," AJP 78 (1957) 117: "Sometimes details which aie logically unessential enhance t h e total picture. In the simile of the felled poplar (IV. 48 2) the additional details - the growth of the tree, and the purpose for which it has been felled - have a graphic value. As a result one is more interested in the tree, and so feels more sympathy for the fallen warrior to whom it is compared." Coffey fails t o consider, however, how the episode is differentiated from related incidents in the poem (see note 14 above); furthermore, the language of the episode warrants a stronger statement of the connection between simile and narrative. For remarks on the contrast in this passage between productive human activity and a context of destruction, see Porter (note 5 above) 14f.; he compares XIII. 389 (= XVI.482), XVII. 389, and XVII. 740. 18

See „Betrachtungen über das fünfte Buch der Ilias," Rh. M. 104 (1961) 178, 171. " For a discussion of V. 5 in the context of other similes in the poem which elaborate „der Glanz der Waffen" in an aristeia, see Krischer 3 6 - 3 8 . 20 This scene, if considered beside others in the longer range of the narrative of books I I I - V , also reveals dynamic symmetry. In III Paris combats Menelaus, is bested, and is saved b y A p h r o d i t e ( 3 2 4 - 3 8 2 ) . A t the beginning of IV ( 1 0 4 - 1 0 7 ) , Pandaros shoots Menelaus, w h o is saved by A t h e n a . A t V. 8 4 - 1 4 3 Pandaros shoots Diomedes, w h o is revived by Athena. Later in b o o k V ( 2 9 7 - 3 3 3 ) , Aeneas combats Diomedes, is bested, and is saved by Aphrodite. Needless to say, n o individual rescue is like any o t h e r ; the last episode, where the goddess herself is wounded, is the most distinctive, and contrasts with the first, especially with III. 381.

58

(3) Pandaros killed by Diomedes ( 2 7 4 - 2 9 6 ) (4) Aeneas fights Diomedes and is injured (297—310) (5) Aeneas saved by Aphrodite ( 3 1 1 - 3 3 3 ) (6) Aphrodite wounded by Diomedes: scene with Dione and Zeus ( 3 3 4 - 4 3 0 ) (7) Diomedes rebuffed by Apollo ( 4 3 1 - 4 5 3 ) . Certain elements in this episode balance one another (for example items 1 and 2, items 3 and 4, items 5 and 7), but with less precision and more variation in length than in the Epipolesis. There are only two short similes: at 299 Aeneas is compared to a lion (item 4), and at 438 Diomedes resembles a daimon (item 7). The second major division of book V runs from 454 to 710, and is dominated by Hector, Sarpedon, and Ares. The Greeks are on the defensive (cf. 6 0 5 - 6 0 6 , 701-702), and Diomedes is temporarily eclipsed (cf. the end of the first section, 4 4 3 - 4 4 4 ) . The balancing episodes in this section display the technique of Ringcomposition. At its beginning, Apollo addresses Ares, encouraging him to exhort the Trojans, which he does (454—470); at the conclusion, we are shown the assault led by Hector and Ares, and a brief catalogue of their victims is given (699-710). So too, near the beginning Sarpedon rebukes Hector for not taking charge of the fighting; Hector heeds the rebuke, but does not answer him (471 — 493). Just before the end, Sarpedon, injured by Tlepolemos' spear, pleads with Hector to aid him; this time his plea is ignored, again with no answer (682— 691). We will postpone discussion of the major similes until we see how the movement of this group of episodes is completed. The book concludes with the second part of Diomedes' aristeia (711-909). Just as Ares accompanied Hector in battle in the preceding section, so Athena here aids Diomedes as his charioteer (835—839), and participates in the wounding of Ares (855-859). Just as in the wounding of Aphrodite in the first section of the book ( 4 1 7 - 4 3 0 ) , there is a scene on Olympus with Ares and Zeus ( 8 6 8 906), and each scene includes a strong ironic element. 2 1 The balancing effect of the two scenes on Olympus, in fact, supports the view that the woundings of Aphrodite and of Ares are the central events of V. The Ares episode includes four similes (860, 864, 884, and 902); the third comparison, which calls Diomedes δαίμονι Ισος, is used for him twice in the Aphrodite episode, when he charges Apollo (438 and 459). 22 In the book as a whole, the gods and mortals mix with Note the teasing words of Athena at 422-425 (which acquire an ominous undertone given the portrait of Aphrodite's power at the end of III), and the ironic play on Zeus' children at 880 and 895-896. On Diomedes' words to Aphrodite at V.348, which seem to be paralleled in tone only by Helen's words to the goddess at III.399f., see Fenik, Battle Scenes 40. 22 This phrase is also used for Patroklos charging the god Apollo at XVI. 705 and 786, and for Achilles charging Hector, who is under Apollo's protection, at XX. 447; the comparison also appears for Achilles at XX.493, XXI. 18 and 227. 59

each other as in few other narrative segments. 23 The long speech of Dione recounts the injuries which the gods have suffered from mankind (382—415); if Diomedes be thrice compared to a daimon, Athena can serve as his charioteer, and Ares can fight in mortal likeness (604). Two Greek offensives under Diomedes' leadership are thus recounted in V; the middle section shows the Trojans ascendant. The vehicles and placement of many of the similes correspond to this movement, and reinforce its structure. First, we may note that the comparisons of V, for the most part, show variations on a small number of motifs: water at 87 and 597; lion at 136, 161, 299, 476, 554, and 782; weather at 522 and'864. 24 The first two motifs are manipulated to underline the contrast between the first section of V (Diomedes on the offensive), and the second segment (Trojans ascendant). For instance, Diomedes is compared to a lion at 136: δή τότε μιν τρις τόοσον eXev μένος, ώς re λέοντα, öv βά τε ποιμήν ά*γρώ έπ' είροπόκοις όίεσσι χραύση μέν τ' ούλης ύπβράλμενον ούδέ δαμάσσητού μέν τε σθένος ώρσεν, έπειτα δέ τ' ού ττροσαμύνει, αλλά κατά σταθμούς δύεται, τά δ' έρημα φοβείται· αί μέν τ άγχιστίναι έπ' άλλήλησί κέχυνται, αύτάρ ò έμμεμαώς βαθέης έξάλλεται ούληςώς μεμαώς Τρώεσσι μί-γη κρατερός Αιομήδης.

140

Now the strong rage tripled took hold of him, as of a lion whom the shepherd among his fleecy flocks in the wild lands grazed as he leapt the fence of the fold, but has not killed him, but only stirred up the lion's strength, and can no more fight him off, but hides in the steading, and the frightened sheep are forsaken, and these are piled pell-mell on each other in heaps, while the lion raging still leaps out again over the fence of the deep yard; such was the rage of strong Diomedes as he closed with the Trojans. Diomedes, though wounded by Pandaros, has just been revived and encouraged by Athena, who has implanted μένος in him (cf. 125). The lion frightens the shepherd, who cannot defend his flocks; the beast wreaks havoc and escapes. This comparison is effectively balanced and reversed at V.554, when the Greeks Orsilochos and Krethon, slain by Aeneas, are compared to lions killed by men: 23

For the strange events in V, see Fenik, Battle Scenes 39; he remarks that XX and XXI are the only comparable books in the poem. 24 I omit the elaborate star comparison which introduces Diomedes at V. 5; other full similes not included in the discussion are at 499 (Greeks whitened by dust compared to chaff on a threshing floor), 770 (the stride of horses compared to the distance a man can see from his lookout), 860 (Ares' shout resembles that of nine or ten thousand men), and 902 (Ares' wound heals as speedily as fig juice curdles milk).

60

οϊω τώ ye λέοντε δύω ορεος κορυφήσιν έτραφέτην ύπό μητρί βαθείης τάρψεσιν ύληςτώ μεν αρ' άρπάξοντε βόας και ϊφοα μήλα σταθμούς ανθρώπων κεραιξετον, οφρα και αύτώ άνδρών έν παλάμτ?σι κατέκταθεν όξεϊ χαλκώ ·

555

These, as two young lions in the high places of the mountains, had been raised by their mother in the dark of the deep forest, lions which as they prey upon the cattle and the fat sheep lay waste the steadings where are men, until they also fall and are killed under the cutting bronze of men's hands In the later lion simile, the poet does not provide an exactly balancing description, since Aeneas is not compared to a beast. It is, rather, his Greek victims who are likened to the young lions, previously destructive, now doomed. The simile's variation and balance complement the shift in the battle narrative, in which at this point the Trojans have the upper hand. 25 The same technique is revealed by comparing V. 87 with 597. In the first simile, Diomedes is likened to a destructive winter torrent: Owe yàp αμ πεδίον ττοταμώ πλήθοντι έοικώς χεψάρρω, ό'ς τ ώκα βέων έκέδασσε ·γεφύρας· τον δ' οϋτ' αρ τε ^έφυραι έερ^μέναι ίσχανόωσιν, οϋτ' άρα έ'ρκεα Ισχει άλωάων έριθηλέων έλθόντ' έζαπίνης, irr' έηιβρίστ? Διός ομβροςπολλά δ' υπ' αύτού ëpya κατήριπε καΚ αίξηών• ώς ύπό Ύνδείδη πυκιναί κλονέοντο φάλayyeς Ύρώων, ούδ' apa μιν μίμνον πολέες ττερ έόντες.

90

since he went storming up the plain like a winter-swollen river in spate that scatters the dikes in its running current, one that the strong-compacted dikes can contain no longer, neither the mounded banks of the blossoming vineyards hold it rising suddenly as Zeus' rain makes heavy the water and many lovely works of the young men crumble beneath it. Like these the massed battalions of the Trojans were scattered by Tydeus' son, and many as they were could not stand against him.

25

For the typical elements in this simile, see Fenik, Battle Scenes 58. The lion simile at V. 161 is used for Diomedes, and reinforces the long comparison at 136. At 299 Aeneas is compared to a lion in a short, internal simile. Sarpedon compares Hector's relatives to dogs who slink away from a lion at 476; at 782 the motif is definitively associated again with the Greeks, when the followers of Diomedes are said to resemble lions or boars. The lion comparisons at 136 and 554 are by far the most elaborate of the entire group.

61

In the second comparison, Diomedes is now a man, who jumps back helpless in front of a turbulent river. But the reversal is clear enough; Diomedes, once the aggressor, must give way before Hector (597—600): ώς δ' στ' άνήρ άπάλαμνος, 'ιών πολέος πεδίοιο, οτήχι έπ' ώκυρόω ποτ(ψ ω αλαδε προρέονη, άφρώ μορμύροντα Ιδών, άνά τ' εδραμ' όπίσσω, ώς τότε Τυδεί'δης άνεχάξετο

600

And like a man in his helplessness who, crossing a great plain, stands at the edge of a fast-rushing river that dashes seaward, and watches it thundering into white water, and leaps a pace backward, so now Tydeus' son gave back The reversal of the narrative situation in the first two segments of V is thus stressed by corresponding pairs of associated similes. We may note, too, that the narrative itself includes at least two balancing details. At 185 Pandaros tells Aeneas that he feels sure Diomedes is accompanied by a god; at 604 Diomedes tells the Greeks that Ares, in mortal likeness, fights by the side of Hector. Once again, the careful composition and placement of similes is concomitant with the balanced, orderly presentation of narrative detail. Finally, we may consider the weather similes at V. 522 and 864. In the first the Greeks are on the defensive; they resemble stationary clouds above a mountain summit: τούς δ' Αιαντες δύω και 'Οδυσσεύς και Διομήδης 6τρυνον Δαναούς πόλεμιξέμεν οί δε και ούτοι oihe βίας Τρώων ύπεδείδωαν olire ίωκάς, àXK εμενον νεφέλ-ηαιν έοικότες, ας τε Κρονίων νψεμίης εοτηαεν έπ' άκροπόλοισιν ορεοαιν άτρέμας, 6ψρ' εϋδχισι μένος Βορέαο καί αΚΚων ζαχρειών άνέμων, όί τε νέφεα σκιόεντα ττνονηαιν \iyvpf¡ai διασκώνάσιν άέντεςώς Δαναοί Τρώας μένον ε'μπεδον ούδέ ψέβοντο.

520

525

Now the two Aiantes and Odysseus and Diomedes stirred the Danaans to fight these; since themselves they did not fear the force of the men of Troy nor their charges onward, but stayed where they were, like clouds, which the son of Kronos stops in the windless weather on the heights of the towering mountains, motionless, when the strength of the north wind sleeps, and the other tearing winds, those winds that when they blow into tempests high screaming descend upon the darkening clouds and scatter them. So the Danaans stood steady against the Trojans, nor gave way. 62

The second weather simile marks the departure of the wounded Ares from the field (864): οίη δ' έκ νεφέων έρεβεννή φαίνεται άήρ καύματος άνέμοω δυσαέος όρνυμένοιο, τοϊος Ύυδειδη Αιομήδεί χάλκεος 'Άρης φαίνεθ' όμού νεφέεσσιν ιών εις ούρανόν εύρύν.

865

As when out of the thunderhead the air shows darkening after a day's heat when the stormy wind uprises, thus to Tydeus' son Diomedes Ares the brazen showed as he went up with the clouds into the wide heaven. This simile is hard to interpret clearly. 26 The dark air rising after a day's heat and the stirring wind almost lead us to expect a storm; yet the departure of Ares represents the passing of a threat to Diomedes and the Greeks, from whose point of view the description is given. The best way to understand the comparison is probably to equate Ares' disappearance with the dissolution of the clouds in the sky after a thunderstorm; this is supported by the detail of Ares surrounded with clouds at 867. 27 If we compare the image with the simile at 522, we note the following: Diomedes is connected with both (519 and 866); in the first the clouds are stationary and the winds calm ( 5 2 2 - 5 2 5 ) , while in the second the wind is rising (865) and Ares moves up into the sky with the clouds (867); both images allude to dark clouds or storm (525—526, 864). Variation of the same motifs, and the placement of the similes in the narrative movement, warrant consideration of these images as an associated pair. The Greeks in their defensive resistance of segment (2) of V are like stationary clouds while the might of the winds sleeps; the winds' blast darkens the clouds and scatters them (526). So too the Greeks must retreat when Ares joins Hector in the battle (590f.). But in segment (3), when Athena encourages Diomedes to challenge Ares (826f.), the pattern is reversed; Ares is wounded, and the stormcloud is seen disappearing (867), again with a blast of wind. The variations of three motifs, then, which are prominent in the majority of the full similes in V, reflect an adjustment to the distinct stages of the narrative in Diomedes' aristeia. That the similes are generally appropriate to their contexts is to be expected; it is the links between associated pairs which we have stressed here. The associated lion, water, and weather images are deployed for contrast and reversal. But the images are not arranged with perfect symmetry, nor is there 26 Webster (note 8 above) adduces XVI. 297 as a parallel, but this is inexact; the comparison at XVI. 364 is closer as an inverse analogy. 27 One may imagine that he brings the storm clouds up to Olympus, if they are taken to represent the bitter reproaches he utters in the scene that follows at 872f. On the interpretation of some of the details in this simile, see Leaf, ad loc.

63

a precise reversal of matching details within them. We remember, however, that the technique of dynamic symmetry, as we defined it, requires such variation.28

C The Structure of Iliad XII29 This book recounts the three Trojan assaults on the Greek wall. The first, led by Asios, is unsuccessful (34—194). The second phase of the attack, organized by Sarpedon and Glaukos, balances and intensifies the earlier assault, but it too ends in failure (195-435). Only Hector is finally able to breach the wall, and does so under the patronage of Zeus (436—471). If we compare the similes and the structure of the narrative in the first and second phases of the attack, it is clear that dynamic symmetry plays an important role in the poet's composition. For example, the description of the trench and Poulydamas' first speech (34—79) are balanced and intensified by the omen and Poulydamas' second, more forbidding speech (195-229). The failure of Asios is expanded into the more elaborate attack, and ultimate failure, of Sarpedon and Glaukos. This parallelism is underscored by a striking pair of associated similes, the second considerably more elaborate than the first. As the Greeks defend the wall against Asios' assault, they fling stones at the Trojans; the missiles are compared to snowflakes (XII. 156—158):

νιφάδες δ' ώς πιπτον εραξε, ας τ' άνεμος ζαής, νέφεα ακιόεντα δονήσας, ταρφειάς κατέχευεν έπί χθονί novkvßoreipfl· the flung stones dropped to the ground like snowflakes which the winds' blast whirling the shadowy clouds drifts in their abundance along the prospering earth. In the second assault, the Aiantes encourage the men along the wall to resist, and a fierce battle ensues, as the armies attack each other with a thick volley of stones (278-289):

των δ\ ώς τε νιφάδες χιόνος πίπτω σι θαμειαί ήματι χειμερίω, οτε τ ώρετο μητίετα Ζεύς ναρέμεν, άνθρώποισι πιφαυοκόμενος τά α κήλα•

280

α As is evident, the patterns we have traced in book V are not as clearly established as the dynamic symmetry in IV; not only does the former narrative contain more variation in the episodes, but there are substantially more similes involved. Nevertheless, the structural function of the similes connected with the principal motifs (lion, water, and weather) is unmistakable. 29 I am grateful to B. C. Fenik for pointing out to me many of the succeeding details of the structure of book XII.

64

κοψήσας ύψηλών

δ' άνέμους όρέων

χέει

κορυφάς

εμπβδον,

Oppa

και πρώσνας

καλύψη άκρους

πεδία λωτούντα και όνδρών πίονα έργα, αλός πολιής κέχυται λιμέσιν re και άκταις, κύμα δέ μιν προσπλά£α> έρύκβται- άλλα τβ πάντα βΐλ,υται καθύπερθ', οτ' έπιβρίοη Διός ομβροςώς των άμφοτέρωσβ λίθοι πωτώντο θαμειαί, ai μέν αρ' ές Τρώας, ai δ' έκ Τ ρ ώ ω ν ές 'Αχαιούς, και

και τ έφ

βαλλομένων

το δέ τείχος

νπερ πάν δούπος

285

όρώρει.

And they, as storms of snow descend to the ground incessant on a winter day, when Zeus of the counsels, showing before men what shafts he possesses, brings on a snowstorm and stills the winds asleep in the solid drift, enshrouding the peaks that tower among the mountains and the shoulders out-jutting, and the low lands with their grasses, and the prospering work of men's hands, and the drift falls along the grey sea, the harbours and beaches, and the surf that breaks against it is stilled, and all things elsewhere it shrouds from above, with the burden of Zeus' rain heavy upon it: so numerous and incessant were the stones volleyed from both sides: some thrown on Trojans, others flung against the Achaians by Trojans, so the whole length of the wall thundered beneath them. It is to be noted that the contexts and vehicles of the similes are virtually identical; each produces an effect of uncanny beauty, the thick snowfall corresponding with the numerous stones thrown by soldiers on both sides. If the second image is more celebrated, it is perhaps because the poet has slightly altered some details: the winds, for example, which gusted in the first simile to drive the clouds before them, are still in the second comparison, as they are calmed by Zeus (cf. XII. 157 with 281). The contrast between the vehicle and the occasion is thus rendered more striking.30 The second comparison is clearly an expansion of the snow image at 156; located by the poet in the second, more serious assault on the wall led by Sarpedon and Glaukos, the second simile is appropriately more elaborate and detailed. As in the simile pairs we discussed in Chapter 30 For contrast in the details of these similes, cf. Whitman 148-149; on the second, more extensive snow comparison, see also P. Damon, "Homer's Similes and the Uses of Irrelevance," UCPCP 15 (1961) 262f. (reprinted in Modes of Analogy in Ancient and Medieval Verse, Berkeley 1973). Damon rightly remarks on the contrast between the martial connotations of the simile's first three lines and the soft sound pattern and static quality of the second portion of the passage. Snow similes are rare in the Iliad: apart from the mention of snow as an alternative detail in similes at X.5, XV. 170, and XXII. 151, the only snow comparisons besides those in XII are at III. 222 and XIX.357.

5

Moulton

65

1 A(l), the effect achieved is intensification (cf. XI.297 and 305, XII.293 and 299, etc.). We may also speak of the snow similes balancing one another, since they are placed at comparable points of quasi-symmetrical narrative segments. This pair of images again supports the contention that, in many narrative segments of the Iliad, the same technique governs both the composition of the narrative and the deployment of the similes: dynamic symmetry. Besides the speeches of Poulydamas and the snow similes, the narrative of XII presents further evidence of a carefully composed, balanced structure. For example, the description of Ajax killing Epikles with a huge stone at 380 is repeated and varied at 446, when Hector picks up the giant stone which he launches to breach the wall. Within the first two phases of the assault, there are matching groups of similes: note the comparisons for hunted animals in Asios' assault at 146 and 167 (though these latter two are not closely associated), and the two similes toward the end of the book, which emphasize the evenness of the battle just before Hector's success. At 421 the Greeks and Lykians are compared to two men who fight bitterly over a boundary line; in a corresponding picture at 433, the battle is compared to the scales of a widow as she weighs wool. (It is important to observe the stress on the evenly matched opponents in the context of each simile: cf. 417—420 and 436). 31 We are also presented with comparisons which, like the snow images, reinforce the progression in the narrative from the first assault to the second. For example, the short simile at XII. 40, comparing Hector to a storm-wind, is balanced by the comparison at 375, likening the Lykians to a storm-wind.32 So too the longer similes at XII.41 and 299, which liken Hector and Sarpedon to lions, contribute to the balanced structure of the two episodes.33 The preceding points are summarized in the schema below. Full similes are indicated by italics; on the left are listed simile pairs which link both the segments of Iliad XII, on the right pairs which occur within an individual segment. All the full similes of both segments are listed, with the exception of XII. 132, which likens the Lapiths, resisting Asios, to deep-rooted trees. When the dynamic symmetry of the narrative is compared to the sophisticated, resonant structure achieved through the technique of associated images, it is clear that in Iliad XII, as in our preceding examples, the poet deploys similes which subserve the shaping of larger narrative units. The technique of simile composition is integrally related to the composition of narrative.

The second comparison possibly prompts the pastoral simile for Hector as he picks up the stone, shortly thereafter: at 451 he is compared to a shepherd who easily hefts a wool fleece. 32 Different words are used: άέλλη at XII.40, λαίλαψ at 375. 33 It is to be recalled that XII. 299 expands and intensifies the simile at 293: cf. Chapter 1 (A)(1). On XII.41, see Chapter 1, note 54.

66

(a) XII. 34-194

(Assault of Asios)

40: Hector = storm-wind 41: Hector = lion

—156:

Stones = snowflakes

Γ- 146: I

Lapiths = hunted boars

1

Greeks = hunted wasps or bees

I I

— 167:

(b) XII. 195- 435 (Assault of

Sarpedon)

— 278: Stones = snowflakes - 299: Sarpedon = lion —375: Lykians = storm-wind

c

293: 299:

Sarpedon = lion Sarpedon = lion

421:

Greeks and Lykians = men disputing boundary Battle = widow's scales

433:

D ( 1 ) The Similes of Iliad Χ V Iliad XV exhibits a rich collection of similes, set in a narrative structure which resembles IV in its symmetrical patterning. The opening of the book (XV. 1 — 261) is concerned with the gods. Zeus remonstrates with Hera (1—77) and then sends her to Olympus with messages for Iris and Apollo (78-167); Iris travels to Poseidon, bearing a message which bids the gods withdraw from battle (168— 219); Apollo journeys to earth to encourage Hector (220-261). When the narrative returns to the human struggle, balancing passages are devoted to a description of Hector's assault and the Greek panic (262—280), and to Thoas encouraging the Greeks (281-305). This pair of descriptions is elaborated in the next pair: a passage devoted to Hector and the Trojans (306—311) and a description of the Greeks' fear of the Trojans under Apollo's protection (312— 327). The Trojan assault aided by the god is recounted from 328 to 389; an intervening passage relates the alarm of Patroklos and his departure from Eurypylos (390—404); the Greek resistance and an inconclusive general combat are then described (405-483), in which Hector and the Trojans are balanced against Ajax and Teukros. Hector and Ajax are the major heroes of the rest of XV, and their actions and speeches are related in remarkably symmetrical fashion. For example, Hector's speech to the Trojans at 484—499 is balanced by Ajax's speech to the Greeks at 500—513. In the scene of general fighting which follows (514—564), Hector's exhortation of Melanippos (552—558) is matched by another speech of Ajax (560-564). The exploit of Antilochos (565-591) is ornamented by two related 67

and contrasting similes, at 579 and 586. Immediately afterwards, there is a scene of general fighting, which depicts the gradual capitulation of the Greeks, and in which five similes are integrally linked to the narrative progression (592673). At the ships Ajax resists (674—688), as Hector makes his definitive assault (688-695): both heroes are given similes (at 679 and 690). A scene of general fighting closes the book (696—746), but even here the principal antagonists are contrasted: at 718-725 Hector addresses the Trojans, while at 733-741 Ajax exhorts the Greeks. The structure of XV as a whole may be summarized thus: Narrative

Similes

(1) The gods: journeys (a) Zeus and Hera (b) Hera journeys to Iris and Apollo (c) Iris journeys to Poseidon (d) Apollo journeys to Hector

80 170 237

(2) Hector attacks: Greek panic (3) Thoas encourages the Greeks

263, 271 302

(4) Hector and the Trojan assault, with Apollo (5) Greek panic

323

(6) Trojan assault, aided by Apollo (7) Patroklos' alarm (8) Greek resistance (Hector vs. Ajax)

358,362,381 410

(9) Hector's speech to the Trojans (10) Ajax's speech to the Greeks (11) General fighting (a) Hector's speech to Melanippos (b) Ajax's speech to the Greeks (12) Exploit of Antilochos: death of Melanippos (13) General fighting: gradual retreat of the Greeks (14) Ajax's resistance at the ships (15) Hector's final attack

579,586 592,605,618, 624,630 679 690

(16) General fighting (a) Hector's speech to the Trojans (b) Ajax's speech to the Greeks The dynamic symmetry of the narrative of XV underlies a movement of the battle to a climax: at the end of the book, Hector takes hold of the ship of Protesilaos and calls for fire. This is the culmination of the day's battle which 68

began in book XI ; its drastic effect for the Greeks will cause the fateful interview between Achilles and Patroklos, which is prepared for as early as XI.595f., when Achilles notices the wounding of Machaon.34 Hector is the chief personality of book XV; not surprisingly, he is involved in six similes, the most for any individual in this book. 35 Let us examine the major similes of XV. The pair at 263 and 271, placed in virtual succession, are not associated similes, but function as balancing comparisons which emphasize Hector's assault and the Greek panic, item (2) on the schema above. The first simile, comparing Hector to a horse which breaks free to rush over the plain, is a repetition of an earlier image for Paris (XV. 2 6 3 - 2 6 8 = VI. 506-511), though it is as fully appropriate here as in its earlier context. 36 The picture of Hector's unfettered valor is almost immediately balanced by a contrasting simile which shows the Greeks in panic, just as dogs and hunters who pursue a stag or goat are turned aside by the appearance of a lion. 37 Thoas then encourages the Greeks, item (3). The next portrayal of Trojan assault and Greek panic, items (4) and (5), includes but one simile, at XV.323. But its poetic signification is notable. It balances and intensifies the earlier image at 271; this time, the Greeks are not the hunters, but rather a flock or herd that is stampeded by two wild beasts. Moreover, the single lion of the earlier simile, which symbolized Hector at 275, has now been replaced by a dual threat (324): Hector is now aided by Apollo (cf. 318, 326), and his assault is more formidable. We will defer consideration of the similes used for Apollo at the ditch (XV. 3 58 and 362) to the second part of this analysis. In the assault the third simile of item (6) describes a wave swamping a ship (381). This is balanced in item (8): under Ajax's leadership, the Greeks mount a temporarily successful counterattack, and the equal battle (413) is compared to the even chalkline of a shipwright (410). Two similes are used for Antilochos' slaying of Melanippos in item (12), and the details of the comparisons strongly suggest that they are intended as a contrasting pair. In the first (579), Antilochos' spring is compared to the attack of a hound who falls upon a fawn struck by a hunter, while in the second (586) « Passages where Achilles is mentioned in the intervening books aie: XI. 599, XIII. 113, 348, XIV.49, XV.64 , 390. His situation is regularly brought to the audience's attention. 35 As Professor Fenik has commented to me on the structure of books XV and XII: "Each represents a climax, Trojan victory after long struggle. Each climactic Trojan breakthrough is then halted by resistance from the Greek side: first by Poseidon, beginning of XIII; then by Patroklos, beginning of XVI. It is all very orderly; no surprise, then, that symmetry on a large scale should be mirrored in smaller structures within it." 34 See Chapter 3 below. 37

Compare the situation and details at XV.271 with the simile at XI.474, and cf. Chapter 1, note 53.

69

the hero's retreat resembles a wild animal slinking away after it has killed a dog or an ox-herd and is confronted by a group of men. The associated details help underline the reversal in the narrative. After this exploit, which describes the last successful battle offensive of a Greek hero in this book, the gradual retreat of the Greeks, item (13), includes a series of five similes, carefully keyed to the narrative movement. The series' components are co-ordinated with each other; and several of them are resonant with images which occurred earlier in this book. XV. 592 605 618 624 630

Trojans compared to ravening lions Hector rages like Ares or destructive fire Greeks resist like a rock battered by the sea Hector falls on the Greeks like a wave on a ship Hector resembles a lion, falling on cattle as a helpless herdsman stands by.

The third simile, the only one used for the Greeks, stands in the center of the series. That their resistance is unsuccessful is stressed by the fourth simile, where the sea is also prominent. The rock was battered; now the ship is overwhelmed. These similes are obviously an associated pair, whose poetic signification is reversal. The whole series of five images is bounded by the lion similes, of unequal length, at 592 and 630. The second is a more elaborate intensification of the first. Thus association of details functions coherently to link four of the five comparisons. But association also serves to echo earlier, more tentative phases of the Trojan assault. Compare the lion simile at 630, for example, with the simile for the Greeks at 271, when dogs and hunters pursuing a quarry were

The schema below summarizes the relationships we have outlined: XV. 263: 271: 323: 381 410 579 586 592 618 624 630 70

Hector = horse Greeks = dogs and hunters turned aside by lion Greeks = flock or herd stampeded by two wild beasts Trojans = wave swamping ship Even battle = shipwright's chalkline Antilochos = hound attacking fawn Antilochos = wild animal slinking away after killing dog or ox-herd Trojans = lions Greeks = rock battered by sea Hector = wave falling on ship Hector = lion falling on cattle

1

•

turned aside by a lion, and with the simile at 323, where the Greeks resembled a flock or herd stampeded by two wild beasts. Secondly, we may juxtapose the ship simile at 624 with the comparison at 381, when the Trojans were likened to a wave swamping a ship. The later image confirms the Trojan strength, after the associated simile of the shipwright's chalkline at 410 suggested the even battle resulting from a temporary Greek counter-offensive. As in our analysis of Iliad XII, the similes here furnish evidence of deployment which is manipulated to aid the constuction of a sustained narrative unit. Associated images vary balancing sub-sections of the narrative; they result in contrast, intensification, and reversal; and, at least on some occasions in the narrative's climactic phase, they provide effective resonances of earlier images and events.

D (2) Narrative and Variation: XV. 362 Two similes are employed for Apollo in the third description of a Trojan attack, item (6). The first (XV.358) measures the pathway created by the god over the ditch by the length of a spear-cast. The second is the justly admired simile of the sand-castles (361-366): è'peare ¿X ττάντ äyopevoaι. Cf. Κ. Riiter, Odysseeinterpretationen (Göttingen 196 9) 2 3 7 - 2 3 8 , 254. I am glad to acknowledge indebtedness here to the excellent undergraduate thesis of Mr. George Woodbridge, entitled "Paradeigma and Symbol in the Homeric Odyssey" (Princeton University, 1974). 22 We may also wish to include Odysseus' narrative of his adventures to Penelope, recounted in indirect discourse, at 23.310-341. On Odysseus' indirect association with bards, see the comments in chapter 4 above on 6.102 and 15 Off. and 8.115 and 516. One may note too that his function as both omen and interpreter in Penelope's dream in 19 somewhat parallels his dual role as hero and singer.

147

For with all peoples upon the earth singers are entitled to be cherished and to their share of respect, since the Muse has taught them her own way, and since she loves all the company of singers." Later he praises the accuracy of the bard's tale of the Achaeans, and commends his inspiration (8.487-491): Αημόδοκ, έ'ξοχα δή σε βροτών αίνίξομ άπάρτων • ή σέ ye Μούσ' έδίδαξε, Διός πάϊς, ή σέ y' 'Απόλλων. λίην yàp κατά κόσμον 'Αχαιών οίτον άείδεις, 0σσ' £ρξαν τ' Ζπαθόν τε και οσσ έμόγησαν 'Αχαιοί, ώς τέ που ή αύτός παρεών 1) άλλου άκουσας.

490

"Demodokos, above all mortals beside I prize you. Surely the Muse, Zeus' daughter or else Apollo has taught you, for all too right following the tale you sing the Achaians' venture, all they did and had done to them, all the sufferings of these Achaians, as if you had been there yourself or heard it from one who was." He asks for the story of the Trojan horse; When it is told, he cannot restrain his tears and Alkinoos orders Demodokos to cease (537—538). At the beginning of book 9, however, Odysseus reiterates that he has indeed been pleased by Demodokos' song, and his praise of the bard and of Alkinoos' hospitality is considerably elaborated. These lines (9.2—11) accomplish two purposes. They set the figure of the singer in a favorable and pleasant context of festivity; and they prepare the scene for Odysseus' own great performance as singer in the Apologoi: 'Αλκίνοε κρεϊον, πάντων άρώείκετε λαών, f¡ TOI μέν τάδε καλόν άκουέμεν έστίν αοιδού τοιούδ' οίος 0δ' έστί, θεοίς έvaλίyκιoς αύδήν. ού yàp έγώ yé τί φημι τέλος χαριέστερον είναι fj tir' έϋφροσύνη μέν'έχχ\κατά δημον απόντα, δαιτυμόνες δ' ανά δώματ' άκουάξωνται άοιδού ήμενοι έξείης, παρά δέ πλήθωοι τράπεξαι σίτου και κρειών, μέθυ δ' έκ κρητήρος άφύασων οινοχόος φορέχισι και èyxeiji δεπάεσσιτοϋτό τί μοι κάΚλιστον évi φρεσίν εϊδεται είναι.

5

10

"Ο great Alkinoos, pre-eminent among all people, surely indeed it is a good thing to listen to a singer such as this one before us, who is like the gods in his singing; for I think there is no occasion accomplished that is more pleasant than when festivity holds sway among all the populace, and the feasters up and down the houses are sitting in order 148

and listening to the singer, with bread and meats, and draws the wine and carries seems to my own mind to

and beside them the tables are loaded from the mixing bowl the wine steward it about and fills the cups. This be the best of occasions."

The simile of 9.4 repeats Telemachus' words for Phemios at 1.371. But that Odysseus himself will supersede both Phemios and Demodokos can scarcely be doubted. In the interlude of book 11, which interrupts the tale of the underworld, Alkinoos compares him to a singer (11.367—369): ooi δ' έ'πι μέν μορφή έπέων, 'évi δε ιρρένες έσθλαί, μϋθσν δ' ώς 6τ' άοιδος èmσταμενως κατέλεξας, πάντων 'Apyeiiov σέο τ αυτού κήδβα λ υγρά. "You have a grace upon your words, and there is sound sense within them, and expertly, as a singer would do, you have told the story of the dismal sorrows befallen yourself and all of the Argives."23 It must be presumed that Odysseus narrates his true history in the Apologoi, despite the large humber of folk-tale elements which modern analysis has been able to isolate in the adventures. Just as he is a master of true account, so does he excel at false mythoi, as Athena amusingly declares after he has told the goddess his first lying tale (13.291-295): κερδαλέος κ' εϊη και ¿πικλοπος δς σε παρέλθοι έν πάντεσσι δόλοισι, και εί θεός άντιάσειε. σχέτλιβ, πουαλομήτα, δόλων άτ\ ούκ äp' εμελλες, ούδ' èv στ] περ έών -γαίη, λήξειν άπατάων μύθων τε κλοπίων, οϊ rot πεδόθεν φίλοι είσίν.

295

"It would be a sharp one, and a stealthy one, who would ever get past you in any contriving; even if it were a god against you. You wretch, so devious, never weary of tricks, then you would not even in your own country give over your ways of deceiving and your thievish tales. They are near to you in your very nature." The swineherd Eumaeus, who does not yet know the identity of the stranger who has stayed in his hut, has also been powerfully impressed by the yarns Odysseus has told him. Referring to the lying tales of book 14, he excitedly declares to Penelope that the man resembles a poet (17.514, 518-521): of ò' ye μυθεϊται, βέλγοιτό κέ TOI φίλον ητορ.

23 Just prior to these lines, Alkinoos praises Odysseus as an honest man, in verses (363-366) that are humorously ironic when set beside Athena's words at 13.291ff. and Odysseus' behavior in the second half of the poem.

149

ώς δ' òr' άοώόν άνήρ ποτιδέρκεται, ό'ς τβ öewf εξ ένείδ-η δβδαώς èVe' ίμερόεντα βροτοϊσι, τού δ' Ομοτον μεμάαοιν άκουέμεν, όππότ άείδ·η • ώ ς έμέ κείνος εθελγε παρήμνος èv μεγάροισι.

520

"Such stories he tells, he would charm out the dear heart within you "But as a man looks to a singer, who has been given from the gods the skill with which he sings for the delight of mortals, and they are impassioned and strain to hear it when he sings to them, so he enchanted me in the halls as he sat beside me." Two brief passages in the Homilía also refer to this motif. Odysseus becomes in effect the singer of his wife's κλέος (and implicitly his own) when he first addresses Penelope at 19.107. "Lady, no mortal in all the vast earth would reproach you," he says, "for your κλέος reaches the broad heaven" (107-108; cf. 8.74, 9.20). He then applies to her the expansive epic simile of the good king whose subjects are righteous and prosper (109-114). Penelope tells the stranger her grief, and explains her trick to deceive the suitors by weaving the shroud for Laertes. Odysseus, persistently questioned, claims he was born the brother of Idomeneus on Crete, and has there entertained Odysseus. Predictably, Penelope is much moved: her tears are compared to melting snow in a memorable simile at 19.205. Before the poet describes her reaction, however, he interposes a simile that refers to Odysseus' tale (19.203): 'Ίσκε φεύδεα πολλά λέγων έτύμοισιν όμοια. He knew how to say many false things that were like true sayings.24 Here the phrasing resembles the speech of the Muses in the proem to Hesiod's Theogony (27-28): ϊδμεν φεύδεα πολλά λέγειν έτύμοωιν όμοια, '¡¿μεν δ\ εύτ' έθέλωμεν, άληθέα γηρύσασθαι. "We know how to say many false things that are like true sayings, and we know how, when we wish it, to speak the truth." The Odyssey line has sometimes been thought an interpolation. 25 But it finds its immediate application in an outstanding facet of Odysseus' lying tales: they do ring true, especially, of course, when they concern Odysseus himself. This 24 The word 'ίσκε here, which Lattimore takes with Xéywv and translates as "knew how to say," presents a difficulty; it probably means "make like to," "imitate" in the sense of "feign" (cf. 4.279). If it retains that meaning here (cf. LSJ), the word όμοια would seem pleonastic. But for other views, see Stanford, ad loc. 25 M. L. West, ed. Hesiod Theogony (Oxford 1966) thinks the Odyssey verse inappropriate to its context; see his comment on Theog. 27.

150

is illustrated almost directly, when the stranger precisely describes his "guest" Odysseus' clothes, and the physical appearance of his herald (19.221—248). The characterization of Odysseus by the poet as the creator of falsehood that appears true has a broader significance as testimony to the hero's poetic powers; he is singled out, in effect, as a bard who may charm or move his audience through the power of poetic fiction. The last image in the Odyssey to include this motif occurs at a highly dramatic moment in the poem, and is thematically crucial to our appreciation of it. This is the simile at 21.406, where Odysseus, after the suitors have failed, strings the bow. The scene is charged: with his first shot, Odysseus will symbolically regain his wife by winning the contest, and with his second he will slay Antinoos, most insolent of the suitors. 26 Then all disguise is at an end, and Odysseus proclaims his identity (22.35-41). In that speech, the claims of family, society, and divine justice are asserted. The bow is Odysseus' greatest instrument of heroism in the poem (21.404—411): ' Ώ ς άρ

εφαν μνηστήρες-

αύτίκ'

ènei μέγα

ώς in

άνήρ

ρηϊδίως αψας

τόξον

φόρμιγγος

έτάνυσσε

δεξιτερή

ή δ' imo καλόν

χεψί

τάνυσεν λαβών

'Οδυσσεύς,

και ϊδε

émστάμενος

έϋστρεφές

σπουδής

δ' apa

πολύμητις

πάρτη,

και

vé ω π ε ρ ί κ ό λ λ ο π ι

άμφοτέρωθεν

ώς αρ' ärep

άτάρ έβάστασβ

χορδήν,

έντερον μέγα

οίός,

τόξον

πειρήσατο

ώ ε ι σ ε , χ ε λ ι δ ό ν ι είκέλη

405

άοώής

'Οδυσσεύς, νευρής-

410

αύδήν.

So the suitors talked, but now resourceful Odysseus, once he had taken up the great bow and looked it all over, as when a man, who well understands the lyre and singing, easily, holding it on either side, pulls the strongly twisted cord of sheep's gut, so as to slip it over a new peg, so, without any strain, Odysseus strung the great bow. Then, plucking it in his right hand he tested the bowstring, and it gave him back an excellent sound like the voice of a swallow. By a fine irony, Antinoos is shown as shirking the challenge of the contest. At 2 1 . 1 8 6 187, we are told that he and Eurymachos, though the best of the suitors, intentionally hang back. At 2 4 5 - 2 5 5 , Eurymachos fails to string the bow, and bitterly laments the dishonor of the suitors' weakness, compared to Odysseus. In a speech which is a masterpiece of indirection and hypocrisy ( 2 5 7 - 2 6 8 ) , Antinoos urges, not that he himself be allowed to try the bow straightaway, but that the contest should be deferred until after the feast. When Odysseus asks to be allowed a try, Antinoos violently assails him as a d r u n k e n upstart. Eurymachos, by contrast, continues to focus on the social disgrace of them all, if the beggar should happen to succeed ( 2 8 8 - 3 2 9 ) . The careful individuation of the two leading suitors, who constitute one of several pairs of character "doublets" in the Odyssey, is discussed by Fenik, Studies 1 9 8 - 2 0 5 .

151

This is the climactic scene of the Odyssey, and Odysseus is shortly to reveal his identity. The simile of the passage definitively establishes our conception of him as both hero and singer, and is unusually complex and rich in resonances: it is the culmination of the sequence of comparisons, spread across much of the narrative, which we have been tracing. The double repetition of άοιδής (406) and äeiae (411) emphasizes the motif of the singer; the unusual close succession of two similes in the passage formally indicates its importance. As we have noted, it is the guise of a swallow that Athena adopts as she watches the slaughter of the suitors in the next book (22.240). Thus, the motif of Odysseus as singer is indirectly conjoined with the theme of divine aid for the homecoming and vengeance. The passage is, on any view, a stroke of brilliance. The image is perfectly adapted for the physical action of stringing a bow; it arrests us in suspense with a vignette that sharply contrasts with the grim slaughter to come; at deeper levels of our appreciation of Odysseus' character, it fuses for us those two aspects of behavior so often contrasted in the Homeric epics, and in subsequent Greek poetry: words and action. In the Odyssey, the man of words is a military hero, when he must be. That his words are so often those of a poet is the crowning tribute. Odysseus' character is so extraordinary, his talents so great, that he may justly be portrayed as both the winner and the commemorator of his own κλέος, as both the singer and the hero. 2 7 The similes of the Odyssey examined in this chapter function in an important way to aid the poet's development of his themes. They may all, in a general fashion, be related to the characterization of the hero and to his progress toward homecoming. But each sequence we have considered has a far more defined aspect than this (which is after all the major strand of the epic's plot). The bird similes, together with the omens, emphasize the moral facet of Odysseus' triumph: the gods, with the exception of Poseidon, are on his side, and combine to aid him against unjust opponents and to encourage his wife and son. The lion similes illustrate his vengeance ; some of their details are reminiscent of the contrasting paradigm of Agamemnon's tragedy. The imagery centering on parents and their young is largely employed to underline Telemachus' progress toward manhood and to call attention to the emotional links in Odysseus' family, ties so strong that the hero will not exchange them for Calypso and immortality (cf. 5.203-224). Odysseus is shown to reject Calypso's offer of timeless bliss. But, in several ways, his destiny as mortal hero is paradoxically to possess a timeless quality. 27

In both its placement and the effect of its vehicle, the developed simile at 21.406 is comparable to the Hesperus image for Achilles at the culmination of the Iliad, the slaying of Hector (XXII. 317). Both images are unusually complex, and rich in their resonances and echoes of earlier passages in the epics. And both images occur at the moment of the chief characters' crucial act.

152

This dimension is explicit in the twice-repeated scenes of physical rejuvenation, when Athena transforms him in his appearances to Nausikaa and Penelope. Both scenes are ornamented with identical similes (6.232 = 23.159). We know from the Homeric system of "double determination" that such scenes do not merely indicate a magical intervention by the gods in human affairs. Rather, Athena represents externally, to some degree, Odysseus' own inner capacities.28 Both goddess and man are seen to participate in the hero's metamorphosis. Just as Odysseus is frequently pictured to be a craftsman, it is only fitting that Athena should be compared to a goldsmith (6.232-235): ώ