Quote 1
(Agamemnon:)
'This is the word the Achaians have spoken often against me
and found fault with me in it, yet I am not responsible
but Zeus is, and Destiny, and Erinys the mist-walking
who in assembly caught my heart in savage delusion
on that day I myself stripped from him the prize of Achilleus
Yet what could I do? It is the god who accomplishes all things.' (19.85-90)
When Agamemnon is trying to patch things up with Achilleus, do you find his excuse convincing? (Erinys, just so you know, is the personification of vengeance.) If you are familiar with Shakespeare's Hamlet, you might want to compare Agamemnon's excuse with the similar one made by Hamlet to Laertes (Act 5, Scene 2, lines 226-244). Then read Laertes's response and see if it sounds like something Achilleus might say.
Quote 2
(Agamemnon:)
Still I am willing to give her back, if such is the best way.
I myself desire that my people be safe, not perish.
Find me then some prize that shall be my own, lest I only
among the Argives go without, since that were unfitting. (1.116-119)
This is what gets the ball rolling: the pride of Agamemnon. Do you think there is any legitimacy to what he's saying here, or should he just put up and shut up?
Quote 3
(Agamemnon:)
Be men now, dear friends, and take up the heart of courage,
and have consideration for each other in the strong encounters,
since more come through alive when men consider each other,
and there is no glory when they give way, nor warcraft either. (5.529-532)
This quotation follows the previous one nicely, illustrating a similar point. Even though the Iliad shows us – time and again, and in great detail – the negative side of pride, it also shows us some of the positives. One advantage of pride is that it can make people perform good actions out of fear of losing respect. In this case, Agamemnon thinks that if his men keep pride in mind, they will get through the battle more safely. Can you think of any other instances – in the Iliad, elsewhere in literature, or in real life – where pride has this positive effect?