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Book Nine
Agamemnon (4.412-18) - add his wounding of Ares (5.855-63). Leaf
takes oys at 31 to imply that Diomedes modestly waited for his seniors to
speak first; rather what is implied is his self-confidence in speaking up when
no others dared, cf. 696, and 7.399, 10.219. — The epithet phrase (3of|V
dyaOos is generically applied to Telamonian Aias, Hektor and Polites but
is the regular epithet in the third—fifth foot for Diomedes and Menelaos.
The sense 'with powerful voice', like that of Stentor (see 5.785 and n.)
alludes to the penetrating shout of a commanding officer urging on his men
(OJJIOKAEGO I6X ) or summoning colleagues (e.g. 11.312, 11.461, cf. 12.337,
14.147), see further Griffin, HLD 376°.
31 oys 6E §T[ |iET6EiTT6 is the formular (5X //., 2X Od.) response to
perplexity in disturbing or embarrassing circumstances.
32 TipcoTa is imprecise. Diomedes appears to mean that he will begin
with Agamemnon's foolish proposals (and proceed to the pusillanimity
that the others have displayed by their prolonged silence). Diomedes speaks
to Agamemnon in general terms, but his words are easily referred to the
events of book 1 where Agamemnon, OEUIS ... dyoprj or no, could not
abide the Trocpprjcria of Akhilleus. For Diomedes' sensitivity towards his
lack of senior status cf. 14.111-12 \vt\ TI KOTCO dydar|CT0£ EKOCCTTOS | OUVEKCC 8fj
ySVEI^Cpi VECOTaTOS ElUl [JIEO' U|ilV.
33 Cf. 2.196 Ouuos 6E [iEyas lori SioTpEcpEcov |3acTiAf|Gov. Agamemnon,
being a king, must be presumed to be easily provoked by contradiction,
cf. 1.78, 2.196. The Odyssey (2.230 = 5.8) suggests that a good king should
be TTpO9pcov, dyocvos, and f)7nos, not ydhs-nos; but the fact that the plea was
made tells us something about traditional notions of regal character.
34 dAK-qv |i£v pioi TTpcoTov: the IJLEV is answered by the 6E of TOCC/TOC 6E TrdvTOc
(35), but note the emphatic position and contrast of dAKfjv 8E (39). bT read
TTpcoTOS (dvTi TOO sis KOCI uovos T), which sharpens the point - 'You criticized
me first; don't object if I criticize you now.' Diomedes' allusion is to
Agamemnon's ill-judged censure at 4.3701!. That the brave vassal is a
better protector of society's values than his weak and ungrateful lord is a
potent theme (latent in the Akhilleus story itself) and common in heroic
poetry, see Introduction 46-7. It makes the exchange in book 4 more
natural there and more easily recalled here. Odysseus had suffered similarly
at Agamemnon's hands at 4.339ft 0 . For subsequent reference to what appear
at the time to be relatively unmemorable details cf. Hektor's recollection at
22.99-103 of Pouludamas' advice given at 18.254-83. The poet knows
what he has sung, naturally, even though his thoughts seem normally to be
directed forwards towards his immediate narrative goal.
35 Agamemnon did not in fact call Diomedes d7TT6AE|Jios KOU dvaAKis in
book 4, but it is easy to imagine that he did since the combination of
the two terms (or of KOCKOS and dvaAKis) is evidently a traditional reproach
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