Summary: Book 17
There is nothing alive more agonized
than man
of all that breathe and crawl across the earth.
(See Important Quotations Explained)
A fight breaks out over Patroclus’s body. Euphorbus, the
Trojan who first speared him, tries to strip him of Achilles’ armor
but is killed by Menelaus. Hector, spurred on by Apollo, sees Euphorbus’s fall
and comes to help. Menelaus enlists the help of Great Ajax, who forces
Hector to back down and prevents the body from being removed
or desecrated. He arrives too late to save the armor, however, which
Hector dons himself. Glaucus rebukes Hector for leaving Patroclus’s
body behind and suggests that they might have traded it for Sarpedon’s.
Hector reenters the fray, promising to give half of the war’s spoils
to any Trojan who drags Patroclus’s corpse away.
Aware of Hector’s impending doom and perhaps pitying it,
Zeus temporarily gives Hector great power. Ajax and Menelaus summon more
Achaeans to help them, and they soon force the Trojans, including
mighty Hector, to run for the city’s walls. Aeneas, invigorated
by Apollo, rallies the fleeing men to return to the fight, but after
much effort they remain unable to take the corpse. Achilles’ charioteer,
Automedon, becomes involved in the fighting as Zeus imbues his team
with fresh strength. Hector tries to kill Automedon so that he can steal
the chariot, but Automedon dodges Hector’s spear
and brings a Trojan down in the process. He strips the Trojan of
his armor, claiming that in doing so he eases the grief of Patroclus’s
spirit, though this present victim could hardly compare to the great
Patroclus.
Athena, disguised as Phoenix, gives fresh strength to
Menelaus, while Apollo, himself disguised as a Trojan, lends encouragement
to Hector. Menelaus sends Antilochus for help from Achilles, who
still doesn’t know of Patroclus’s death. Zeus begins moving the
battle in the Trojans’ favor but relents long enough for Menelaus
and Meriones to carry away Patroclus’s body.
Summary: Book 18
When Antilochus brings word to Achilles of Patroclus’s
death, Achilles loses control of himself. He weeps and beats the
ground with his fists and covers his face with dirt. He utters a
“terrible, wrenching cry” so profound that Thetis hears him and
comes with her water-nymph sisters from the ocean to learn what
troubles her son (18.39).
Achilles tells her of the tragedy and insists that he shall avenge
himself on Hector, despite his knowledge that, should he choose
to live the life of a warrior, he is fated to die young. Thetis responds
that since Hector now wears Achilles’ armor, she will have the divine
metalsmith Hephaestus make him a new set, if Achilles will delay
exacting his revenge for one day.
Thetis departs, and Iris, sent by Hera, comes
to tell Achilles that he must go outside and make an appearance
on the battlefield. This appearance alone will scare the Trojans
into abandoning the fight for Patroclus’s body. Achilles leaves
his tent, accompanied by Athena, and lets loose an enormous cry
that does indeed send the Trojans fleeing.
That night, each army holds an assembly to plan its next
move. In the Trojan camp, Polydamas urges his comrades to retreat
to the city now that Achilles has decided to return to battle. Hector
dismisses the idea as cowardly and insists on repeating the previous
day’s assault. His foolhardy plan wins the support of the Trojans,
for Athena has robbed them of their wits. Meanwhile, in the Achaean camp,
the men begin their mourning for Patroclus. Achilles has men clean
Patroclus’s wounds to prepare him for burial, though he vows not
to bury him until he has slain Hector. Thetis goes to Hephaestus’s
mansion and begs him to make Achilles a new set of armor. Hephaestus
forges a breastplate, a helmet, and an extraordinary shield embossed
with the images of constellations, pastures, dancing children, and
cities of men.
