The importance of Nestor in Homer's IliadThe role of the character Nestor in Homer's Iliad is often overlooked. Nestor is not only an Achaean advisor, respected and listened to because of his age, but he also "serves as a link between the peace of the home that the Achaeans leave and the barbarity of the war to which they succumb" (Richardson 24) . Nestor incites action, instills values ​​and motivates the characters to maintain a balance between this peace and barbarism. Nestor first appears in the first book during an argument between Achilles and Agamemnon over Briseis, a war prize belonging to Achilles. As tensions rise and swords are about to be drawn, Nestor calms the situation by demanding the two men's attention, then asking them for the respect he has earned with his age, because he has " known much greater men who did not disdain him.” He then advises Agamemnon to give up the young girl, because she belongs to Achilles. As for Achilles, Nestor advises, “do not challenge your king and your captain.” Nestor thus creates an order that is on the verge of being lost. The many years of fighting have exhausted patience and men have become caustic. It is here that we begin to see the barbarity that is prevalent later in the epic. Nestor here attempts to reestablish the values ​​of respect for the authority and property of others. The second book begins with Agamemnon's dream of a final and imminent Trojan defeat. He and his war council plan an assault on the city of Troy, and to test the loyalty of his army, Agamemnon announces that they will return home, giving up. When the army learns that after nine years of war in the service of Agamemnon, they will see their homeland again, chaos reigns and, in a mad rush, they break...... middle of paper..... .barism, peace and war, home and adventure, connects the present to the past and reveals the continuity of life. “No other character has Nestor’s ability to bring order out of disorder” (Goodrich 117). Works cited and consulted: Bespaloff, Rachel. On the Iliad. Trans. Mary McCarthy. New York: Pantheon Books, 1947. Clarke, Howard. Homer's Readers: A Historical Introduction to the Iliad and the Odyssey. Newark, Del. : University of Delaware Press, 1981. Goodrich, Norma. Myths of the hero. New York: Orion Press, 1962. Homer: Iliad. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Books, 1990. Richardson, Nicholas. The Iliad: a commentary. Flight. VI: books 21-24. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1993. Willcock, Malcolm M. A Companion to the Iliad: Based on the Richmond Lattimore Translation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1976