THE TROJAN SAGA AND THE ILIAD 459Indeed, Andromache became the slave of Neoptolemus after the fall of Troy,
and her infant son Astyanax was thrown from the city walls.
A major development in the theme of Achilles' wrath occurs in the ninth
book. Should Achilles have relented when Agamemnon offered to restore Brisei's
with many valuable gifts? It is a measure of his sensitive and passionate nature
that he refused the offer, presented by three envoys, Odysseus, Phoenix, and
Ajax, son of Telamon.
Odysseus' speech to Achilles echoes for the most part the directions given
by Agamemnon, but it begins and ends with more tactful and artful persuasion.
In describing the successes of the Trojans, Odysseus emphasizes the danger to
Achilles and the opportunity to destroy Hector. The fury of Hector cannot wait
to come down to destroy their ships. Then he lists the gifts to be given to Achilles
immediately upon his return: seven tripods, ten talents of gold, twenty shining
cauldrons, twelve prize-winning horses, seven women from Lesbos, particularly
beautiful and skilled (whom Achilles had picked out for himself when he took
Lesbos!), and Briseis, with a solemn oath that Agamemnon had never slept with
her. In addition, if the gods were to grant that Priam's city be sacked, Achilles
might heap up his ship with gold and bronze and choose twenty Trojan women
for himself, the most beautiful after Helen. Beyond this, if they return safely to
Greece, Agamemnon promises to make Achilles his son-in-law, with a dowry
larger than any ever given before and a kingdom of seven rich cities over which
he might rule like a god.
At the conclusion of his speech, Odysseus is careful not to repeat Agamem-
non's final instructions: "Let him be subdued—Hades is the most hateful of gods
and mortals because he is inexorable and inflexible. Let him submit to me, inas-
much as I am more royal and assert that I am the elder" (9. 158-161). Instead
Odysseus, with more tact and wisdom, begs that Achilles, even if his anger and
hatred of Agamemnon are too great for forgiveness, should at least have pity
on the other Greeks, who are worn out in battle and will upon his return honor
him like a god. In conclusion Odysseus tries to win Achilles over by playing
upon his jealousy of Hector's arrogant success, implying that now is his chance
to achieve his desire for glory through the defeat of Hector, who thinks that no
Greek is his match. By questioning some of these values in his reply, Achilles
reveals a sensitivity and introspection that make him unique (9. 308-345):f
"I must give a direct answer to your speech, telling you honestly what I think
and what I will do, so that you ambassadors may not try to wheedle me one af-
ter the other. For I hate the man who hides one thing in his heart and says some-
thing else as much as I hate Hades and his realm. I will say outright what seems
to me best. I do not believe that the son of Atreus, Agamemnon, will persuade
me, nor will the other Greeks, since it was no pleasure for me always to fight
against the enemy relentlessly. The coward is held in equal honor with the brave
man who endures and fights hard, and equal is his fate. The one who does noth-
ing and the one who does much find a similar end in death. It was no advan-