The Burden of Truth #6
From Iliad by Homer, Trans. E.V. Rieu (London: Penguin, 1950), pp. 121 (ePub edition):
Come, let us consult some prophet or priest or some interpreter of dreams (dreams, as you know, are sent by Zeus) and find out from him why Phoebus Apollo is so angry with us. He may be offended at some broken vow or failure in our rites. If so, he may be willing to accept an offering of unblemished sheep and goats and save us from the plague
One can be going through the worst of sufferings and not be bothered to run diagnostics on what the problem could be. In response to Agamemnon’s disrespect of his priest, Apollo rained plagues for nine days straight. The Iliad tells us for that duration, many funeral pyres were burned. The interesting thing about this matter is that none of Apollo’s arrows even got to Agamemnon, the main culprit. People with influence have a way to shield themselves from the fall out of their miscreancy. The funeral pyres were filled with the bodies of what I’m guessing would be considered foot soldiers. The furious god didn’t shoot at Achilles, Odysseus, Agamemnon, Ajax, etc. If he did, it wasn’t recorded, so I am basing my assumptions on what is in the text. The warriors couldn’t personally be attacked because they had the protection of one or some of the gods of Olympus. The foot soldiers definitely did not have the same support structure. Since the warriors were shielded from the havoc that Apollo was wreaking, they did not bother to find out why the plague god was angry in the first place. This is similar to how we often shield our leaders from the very problems they should be solving. They are either clueless or, to be charitable, far removed from the problems of the common person. That's why we use phrases like 'out of touch' to describe them. To touch something or someone means that you are curious about them and interested in establishing common ground. This should come from a place of love, tolerance, and mutual respect, rather than from a position of parachuting in without understanding. When someone is out of touch, they slowly disconnect from the bonds that allow them to be sensitive to the plight of others and to go above and beyond to alleviate it. Agamemnon lost that sensitivity. There are drawbacks to being sensitive because you can’t see the forest for the trees and sometimes leaders must make decisions that may not sit well, but could ultimately be beneficial. If a leader makes unpopular decisions for too long, they may become insensitive to others' thoughts and feelings. Agamemnon and his inner circle could watch the funeral pyres without being bothered because they saw it as the cost of achieving their individual and group aims. 🧯
On the tenth day, the goddess Hera couldn't bear to watch the suffering in the Greek camps any longer, but she didn’t want intervene directly. Instead, she gave Achilles the idea to assemble the men and discuss how to find a solution to Apollo's anger. It's interesting that they were able to attribute a specific kind of attack to a particular god, which may be in line with the biblical injunction that "by their fruits you shall know them." However, I'm mystified as to why they waited for ten days before taking action, especially since they knew the source of the attack. Furthermore, it took a goddess to give them an idea on how to proceed. I suppose we can assume that, when one is in the throes of suffering, it's difficult to find a way out. The same problem that might seem difficult to resolve for one person could be a walk in the park for someone else. This is often because we either exaggerate the complexity of the problem or are too blinded by it to see a way out. This is precisely where books, films, and therapy can offer an alternative perspective or approach to the problem, or even help us determine if it is a problem in the first place. Another thing to note is that Achilles was open to accepting the advice of the goddess. We are sometimes tempted to rely on our own understanding and dismiss the advice of others by saying things like, "it's more complex than you think." This is why there may be a part of ourselves that our friends know intimately that we have no access to. They can see that the route we're on is a dead end but may be unwilling to point it out because we've insolently dismissed their advice in the past. We may eventually work out the problem ourselves, but by then we may have wasted so much time that we'll have to live with regrets of having not listened in the first place. Listening, however, is not only an art, but a curatorial practice. We must figure out which friends' advice is worth heeding — do they have our best interests at heart, or do they want to hold us back or remain indifferent to our journey? ♻️
Achilles had to heed Hera's advice because she was a goddess who had the interests of the Greeks at heart, and couldn't stand to see them suffer. Her ultimate aim was to ensure their flourishing. The assembly that Achilles called was attended by everyone, including Agamemnon. The latter, although being the leader of the Greeks couldn’t afford to not attend. After all, the person who called it was the most competent in warfare. If someone else had called that assembly, Agamemnon probably wouldn’t have showed up. Like most strong-willed leaders, he would probably not have paid any weight to what a person with lesser competence had to say. While some may say, 'I don't care what people think,' I'm more of the mindset that certain individuals' perspectives matter to me. I care what my mother and a handful friends think. We may dismiss some voices, there are those whose input we simply can't afford to disregard, due to the potential consequences. As everyone took their seats, Achilles addressed Agamemnon and suggested that they consult a priest to find out why Apollo was so angry. Perhaps the Greeks had broken a vow or forgotten to perform a rite in honor of Apollo. Achilles goes on to suggest that they make amends ASAP or he’ll have to sail back home before all his men dies. Achilles strikes on something important: sometimes we are so busy with the business of living that we forget to honor the vows we make to ourselves or make the occasional sacrifices needed to shield ourselves from plagues, not just of the body but also of the mind. And when everything is decomposing all around us, we lack the humility to find a priest who can help us navigate or rejuvenate ourselves. We can also serve as our own priests. What is the role of a priest? They usually act as a conduit to the divine. But how can we establish such a connection? In my opinion, it involves self-honoring, judicious personal energy expenditure, concern for others, making a vow between oneself and the divine, and occasional sacrifices to demonstrate one's commitment to one's calling. In the Iliad, Calchas, the priest who could figure why Apollo was so angry, was said to know everything about the past, present, and future. Wisdom, therefore, lies in understanding consequences — adverse or beneficial. This is why certain people are better able to navigate their lives than others, I suppose. Sometimes, if we sit still, we can discern precisely which actions led us to our current situation and extrapolate from the present what some of our current behaviors might bring in the future. In my opinion, this is what priesthood entails. 🔰
Thanks for reading. If there's anything you'd like to chat about, or if you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email. I'd love to hear from you. :)