116 pages • 3 hours read
Homer, Transl. Robert FaglesThe Iliad
Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | Adult | BCEA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Books 13-16Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Book 13 Summary: “Battling for the Ships”
After driving the armies into conflict, Zeus turns his gaze away, certain that none of the gods will dare interfere. Poseidon, however, continues following developments and, feeling pity for the Achaeans, enters their camp, which the Trojans are swarming. In the guise of Calchas, he encourages the two Ajaxes, filling their hearts and bodies with strength, leaving them feeling renewed and longing for battle. When Poseidon soars away like a hawk, Little Ajax realizes he is a god. Poseidon travels down the Achaean lines, lifting their spirits with a mix of encouragement and berating. Hector continues to advance, certain of Zeus’s approval. He kills Poseidon’s grandson Amphimachus, infuriating the god, who further rouses the Achaeans.
Encountering Idomeneus, Poseidon assumes the guise of King Thoas and asks why the Achaeans are flagging. Idomeneus blames “the pleasure of overweening Zeus” (349). Poseidon urges him to do his best, and Idomeneus rushes toward his camp to arm. He runs into his aid, Meriones, who has come to replace his weapons. After exchanging brags and jibes, Idomeneus praises Meriones’s bravery, and they enter battle together. The Trojans swarm them, and the fighting intensifies.
