Book 21

Abstract

Abstract Book 21 continues the battle narrative of Achilles’s aristeia, which began in book 20 and will end with Hector’s death in book 22. Book 21 recounts the battle in and around the river Scamander, the river’s attack against Achilles, and the conflict among the gods that ensues; by the end of book 21, the Trojan army is taking refuge within the walls of Troy as Achilles is approaching the city. Under the category of themes, this chapter discusses battlefield supplications, corpse mutilation, genealogies embedded in battle speeches, Achilles’s mortality, divine conflict, and the disparity between mortals and immortals. Under the category of poetics, this chapter discusses prolepsis, analepsis, and epic retardation.