The Iliad 4.240–241

And whomsoever again he saw holding back from hateful war, them would he chide roundly with angry words: Ye Argives that rage with the bow, ye men of dishonour,171.1 have ye no shame? Why is it that ye stand thus dazed, like fawns that, when they have grown weary with running over a wide plain,stand still, and in their hearts is no valour found at all? Even so ye stand dazed and fight not. Is it that ye wait for the Trojans to come near where your ships with stately sterns are drawn up on the shore of the grey sea, that ye may know if haply the son of Cronos will stretch forth his arm over you?

οὕς τινας αὖ μεθιέντας ἴδοι στυγεροῦ πολέμοιο, τοὺς μάλα νεικείεσκε χολωτοῖσιν ἐπέεσσιν·

Lattimore commentary

The ensuing scene gives a good sense of the role of rhetoric in battle, a continuing feature of later Greek historical narratives (e. g., Xenophon’s Anabasis). A combination of pep talk, flattery, and ritual insult, this series of short speeches includes regular reference to the feasts provided by the commander (260, 345), with hints that repayment is due from his fighters.

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