Abstract
This paper applies speech-act theory to the diapeira (‘test’) of Iliad, II. By focusing on the content, declared intentions, and varied outcomes of the test, it argues that rather than depicting Agamemnon as a failure, the scene instead shows him effectively using rhetoric in a situation that it ultimately uncontrollable. Instead, the ‘ failure’ of the scene to meet audience expectations is an invitation to explore the limits of speech and the inscrutability of intention. Accordingly, the diapeira is both an example of complex characterization and a sophisticated display of the challenges of interpretation.