Going Around in Circles: Circular Symmetry in Books 9-10

Book 10 is apparently the most controversial book in the Iliad. Many people would actually axe out book 10 in their own editions of the Iliad because it did not fit in with the rest of the narrative. Evidence being that the events that happen in book 10 are never referenced anywhere else in the epic. The main event of book 10 is that the Greeks go behind Trojan lines and ambush multiple soldiers. Though the Greek characters are the protagonists of the story and maybe the context for ambushes back then meant cowardly, the Trojans were about to do the same thing to the Greek wall in book 8, although admittedly they did not pursue the venture as night fell.

 Diomedes and Odysseus proceed to the Thracian camp, where they kill twelve soldiers and their king, Rhesus. They also steal Rhesus’s chariot and horses. Athena warns them that some angry god may wake the other soldiers; Diomedes and Odysseus thus ride Rhesus’s chariot back to the Achaean camp. Nestor and the other Greeks, worried that their comrades were killed, greet them warmly.

Although the episodes in Books 9 and 10 take place during the same night, providing a break from the fighting, little continuity exists between them. The mission to Achilles’ tent occurs early in the evening, while the mission across the Trojan line occurs quite late—during the third watch, according to Odysseus, or around 3 a.m. The only seeming connection between the two books is the Greeks’ desperateness, accentuated by Achilles’ obstinacy, which troubles the commanders’ sleep and makes them so ready to meet. Despite this lack of continuity, some symmetry nevertheless exists between the two halves of the night. In each case, a meeting of the Achaean command yields a proposal by Nestor to send an expeditionary force to provide the Achaeans with fresh information. Odysseus goes on both expeditions. The mission to Achilles’ tent ends in failure, while the mission toward Troy brings success.