Book 11 Summary

Dawn rises from her bed and Zeus sends the goddess of Hate down to the Greeks to stir up the battle. At first, Agamemnon is doing very well on the field, slaughtering many Trojans and causing them to retreat. Zeus sends Iris to tell Hector to pull back until Agamemnon is wounded, and then the power will swing in Hector's favor.

Eventually Agamemnon is wounded by Coon, son of Antenor. He calls for a chariot to take him back to the ships, and Hector begins to advance as Zeus had promised. Soon, nearly all the best Greek warriors have been wounded or incapacitated, while Achilles watches the battle from his ship. He becomes curious about the state of the battle, and sends his close friend, Patroklos to Nestor to gather information.

When Nestor learns why Achilles has sent him, he wonders aloud why...