With this book begins a great retardation in the story of the Iliad. From the beginning of N till we return to the Μῆνις near the end of 0, the action does not advance; every step gained by either side is exactly counterbalanced by a corresponding success on the other, so that things are brought back to the point at which we start. From time to time the story becomes confused and then again flows on clearly for a while. In order to disentangle the original elements we must be guided by these passages of clear narrative, regarding the intervals of confusion as the joints by which they have been patched together.

Looking at the three books N Ξ O together, we see that they contain two main stories—the Aristeia of Idomenens, and the Deceiving of Zens. The former occupies the bulk of N, while the latter includes the main part of Ξ and the first 366 lines of O.

The Aristeia of Idomeneus seems to be a work of the same class as the Aristcui of Diomedes in E, and is composed for the special honour of Cretan heroes. That it does not belong to the later strata of the Iliad is clear from the fact that it altogether ignores the wall. Not only is there no mention of any fortification between 124 and 679, but in 385, and perhaps in 326, chariots are introduced exactly as if the battle were in the open plain. The episode was, in fact, designed for insertion into the retreat of the Greeks as we left it at the end of Λ.