Zeus sends a false dream to Agamemnon promising victory, prompting him to test his army's loyalty by falsely urging retreat, a plan that backfires as soldiers rush for their ships. Odysseus, spurred by Athena, beats down the insubordinate Thersites and rallies the fleet with the Aulis omen, promising Troy falls in the tenth year. The kings sacrifice a bull to Zeus, who accepts the offering but silently refuses swift victory, and Athena stirs the gathered ranks into battle frenzy, named in the famous Catalogue of Ships. Iris warns Troy of the advance, and Hector musters his own forces in answer.