Disobedience in the Courtroom: Iliad 18.497–508

This article aims to combine a literary and a detailed linguistic approach to the “trial scene” in the Shield of Achilles. Legal historians attempt to reconstruct a judicial system, encountering textual issues and incompatibilities. Ekphrasis is rarely mentioned, and writings on ekphrasis rarely treat the trial scene in detail when discussing the Shield. A close reading, underpinned by the theory of ekphrasis, is able to address these difficulties. This passage describes a series of alternative dispute solutions, rather than a coherent judicial process. This presentation argues that this makes the passage central to the poetics of the Shield, not an outlier.