The reconciliation that ends the first wrath of Achilles and the actions that initiate the second both occur in Book XIX. The book is made up of two main sections: the reconciliation between Agamemnon and Achilles, and Achilles' preparation for battle.
The reconciliation between Agamemnon and Achilles brings closure to the incident that began the Iliad. In a sense, Achilles rejoins the ranks of the Achaians, and Agamemnon once again becomes the undisputed leader of the Greek forces. That Agamemnon has difficulty apologizing to Achilles is obvious from his attitude, speech, and ideas. For example, he never calls Achilles directly by name, and he tries to avoid taking responsibility for his actions. He essentially says, "The devil made me do it," as an explanation for his decision to take Briseis. The actual word Agamemnon uses is not "devil" but até (Ruin in the Fagles translation). Até is often translated as "delusion" rather than "ruin" and was a Greek all-purpose excuse for irrational acts. Moreover, blaming one's actions on an outside force is similar to the recurring image in the Iliad of gods speaking directly to humans to influence their actions. This idea adds some substantiation to the psychological notion that the gods, in this case até, represent a part of the human mind. Therefore Agamemnon is perhaps blaming his irrationality on a voice that led him astray.
