Book II

Jove sends a false dream to Agamemnon, urging him to attack Troy immediately.

The dream, disguised as Nestor, tells Agamemnon to attack, and the king awakens convinced of victory.

Agamemnon tells his council of the dream and proposes testing the army's morale by suggesting retreat.

Nestor endorses the plan, and the Greek army gathers like a swarm of bees for the assembly.

In a speech designed to test them, Agamemnon tells his troops their efforts are futile and they should return home.

The army rushes to the ships, but Juno sends Pallas to command Ulysses to halt their flight.

Ulysses takes command, persuading the princes and chastising the common soldiers to stop the retreat.

As the army reassembles, the misshapen Thersites alone continues to clamor, delighting in reviling the Greek leaders.

Thersites insults Agamemnon's greed, prompting a fierce verbal rebuke and threat from Ulysses.

Ulysses strikes Thersites with the scepter, and the approving army falls silent as he prepares to speak.

Ulysses reminds the army of the prophecy at Aulis, where a serpent ate nine birds, signifying nine years of war.

After the army cheers Ulysses, Nestor gives a rousing speech, urging them to fight and organize by tribe.

Agamemnon praises Nestor, laments his feud with Achilles, and commands the warriors to prepare for immediate battle.

After the chiefs feast on the sacrifice, Nestor urges Agamemnon to sound the alarm and assemble the troops for war.

Pallas inspires the Greek warriors as they assemble like fire, birds, and insects, a gleaming and numberless host.

The poet invokes the Muses to help him list the Greek forces, beginning with the fifty ships of the Boeotians.

The catalogue continues with the forces from Aspledon, Phocis, Locris under Ajax the less, and Euboea under Elphenor.

The catalogue lists the forces from Athens, Salamis, the Argive territories, and the hundred ships led by Agamemnon.

The list continues with the Spartans under Menelaus, the Pylians under Nestor, and the Arcadians under Agapenor.

The catalogue details the forces of the Epeans, the islanders under Meges and Ulysses, the Aetolians, and the Cretans.

The list includes Tlepolemus from Rhodes, the handsome Nireus, and the troops from the Calydnæan islands.

The catalogue lists Achilles' inactive Myrmidons and the troops of Protesilas, the first Greek to die at Troy.

The list continues with Thessalian forces, including those of Philoctetes (left behind) and the healer-princes Podalirius and Machaon.

The catalogue of Greeks concludes with the Perrhaebians and Magnesians, noting that Ajax was now bravest while Achilles sulked.

As the Greek army advances, the messenger Iris, disguised as Polites, warns Priam and Hector to assemble their forces.

The Trojans and their allies pour from the gates and assemble, led by the great heroes Hector, Aeneas, and Pandarus.

The list of allies includes troops from near the Hellespont, Pelasgians, and the Thracians, Ciconians, and Paeonians from Europe.

The catalogue concludes with the Paphlagonians, Mysians, Phrygians, Carians, and finally the Lycians led by Sarpedon and Glaucus.