The Iliad by Homer | Book 2 Summary & Analysis

Agamemnon gathers the troops and he tests their will to fight by encouraging them to sail for home. This is a trick. Some of the soldiers rush for the ships and Odysseus and Nestor berate them, but they inspire the ones who stay. Agamemnon commands the army to prepare for battle and he makes sacrifices to Zeus. The Trojans assemble as well. Achilles and his Myrmidons will be sitting out the upcoming battle. Now in Book 2, the Achaeans and the Trojans have already been fighting for nine long years. Homer, the author of the epic poem, briefly explains the cause of the war. Now Zeus, the god of gods, wisely not wanting to do it himself, appointed Prince Paris of Troy to judge which of the goddesses was most beautiful, Hera, Athena, or Aphrodite. Paris picked Aphrodite because she promised him the most beautiful mortal woman in the world would be his if she won. Unfortunately for the city of Troy, that was Helen, the wife of Menelaus, who was Agamemnon's brother. Helen ran away with Prince Paris and the Achaeans as revenge attacked Troy. So Paris's choice has brought the hatred of the goddesses Hera and Athena upon his city of Troy. Zeus dictates his message for Agamemnon in a personified dream. The dream repeats nearly verbatim to Agamemnon. Agamemnon then relays the whole dream in exactly the same words to his troops. Even if you've read it before, you'll hear it again in exactly the same way. It's also worth mentioning in Book 2 that the language is representative and evocative of war. From the ways bees are described to the gathering of the animals, war is everywhere.