Book IV begins with an argument among the gods in which Zeus taunts Hera and Athena about the possibility of ending the war at once because Paris has lost the duel with Menelaos. However, after Hera's impassioned argument against the Trojans, Zeus immediately sends Athena to trick Pandaros. Pandaros, referred to as a "fool" for being taken in by Athena, breaks the truce and attempts to kill Menelaos with an arrow. These two scenes — the argument and attack — are followed by parallel scenes among the Greeks. Agamemnon reviews his troops, taunting or praising the warriors as he thinks best. He is similar to a modern football coach "psyching up" individual players in different ways before the game. Agamemnon's attitude toward his warriors is similar to Zeus' attitude toward the other gods. His comments are intended to produce a particular response. Zeus mocks another god to produce a particular reaction. Agamemnon criticizes or praises based on his assessment of the warrior's personality. After the review, the first major battle scene of the Iliad begins.
The significant comparison between the scenes involving the gods and those involving Agamemnon and the troops is that for the gods, their decisions are almost jokes; Zeus can mock Hera and Athena even though he knows that he will send Athena to Pandaros and that the war will continue. In contrast, for Agamemnon and the soldiers, the taunting and the fighting are matters of life and death, of individual and collective survival.
