Read the passage from The Iliad. Thus he spoke, and they all held their peace, till Menelaus of the loud battle-cry addressed th
em. "And now," he said, "hear me too, for it is I who am the most aggrieved. I deem that the parting of Achaeans and Trojans is at hand, as well it may be, seeing how much have suffered for my quarrel with Alexandrus and the wrong he did me. Let him who shall die, die, and let the others fight no more." Menelaus most strongly affects the epic plot through his
Menelaus most strongly affects the epic plot through his compelling speech. You can see here in the speech that 'they all held their peace,' meaning that everybody stopped fighting in order to hear what Menelaus had to say. And what he said resonated with everyone so that their fighting stopped completely - his speech made them have a change of heart and heed his advice.
