Iliad Reading Notes II

Summaries of the stanzas

Stanza 80
· Achilles asks the seers why Apollo is angry with them.
Stanza 90
· Calchas said he would tell Achilles the answer if he swears to protect Calchas whenever he tries to talk to the king, Agamemnon.

Stanza 100
· Achilles agrees and swears by the god Apollo that he will never let a soldier or Agamemnon lay a hand on Calchas.
Stanza 110
· Calchas says that Apollo is angry with Agamemnon because he burned his priest so the priest prayed to the god and Apollo answered his prayer to keep the plague going on until they carry out a task.


Questions about the reading:

1. Why do you think Achilles agreed to protect Calchas?
2. Why does Calchas want to be protected when he hasn’t been involved with Agamemnon and the other priest?

Predict what will happen next

I think Achilles will try to complete the task to stop the plague and I think he will succeed.