Mēnis, then, is a charged word, more solemn and potent than its more mundane counterparts, chólos, or kótos—“anger,” “rancor.”21 Mēnis “is a dangerous notion, which one must fear; a sacral, ‘numinous’ notion.”22 In the Iliad, it is used only of gods and of Achilles. Like Demeter, Achilles makes his wrath felt by the withdrawal of his considerable abilities. “Wrath, sing goddess, of Peleus’ son Achilles, / and its devastation.” The devastation comes not from what he does do but from what he does not.
