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Book Twelve
cf. 23.477, Od- 6.131-2, and see Schwyzer, Gr. Gr. 11 50 (ocrae is the only
word cited). For the similes of night (463) and fire cf. a fine passage from
Manas, 'In his eyes a furnace blazed. A living dragon it was ... His look was
like the midnight's look, angry as a cloudy day' (cited by Bowra, HP 99).
469-71 Verse 471 = 16.296. The scene, the Trojans pouring over the
wall and the intense din of battle, is repeated at 15.395-6, where Patroklos
is roused by the noise to emerge at last from Eurupulos' hut. The narrative
line as always is sequential on the surface, which results in implausibilities
such as the prolonged inaction of Nestor and Patroklos while the slaughter
continues around them. For the view that the sequential series of events in
books 12-15, or some of them, should be understood as simultaneous see
15.262-404^
The book ends on a cliff-hanging note with the conclusion of the first
Achaean attack - retreat episode. It would be a good place for the singer
to pause. How long he paused, however, is a moot point, for books 12 and
13 are securely linked by anticipation and recall. The leaders of the catalogue
(12.88-102) supply the slain in book 13; Pouludamas repeats his
advice to Hektor; Menestheus continues, and concludes, his undistinguished
career; atrocious slayings (11.146, 11.261) recur at 13.202 and
14.497; m i n or details of expression are kept in mind: TT&S 8' dpa