A: Menelaus and Paris fought as their armies watched. Just as Menelaus was about to drag Paris back to the Greek camp, Aphrodite rescued Paris.
Q: What did Agamemnon offer Achilles in return for coming back? How did Achilles answer?
A: Agamemnon offered rich treasure and the return of Briseïs. Achilles was insulted, because he considered Agamemnon’s offer to be bribery. He refused to rejoin the Greeks.
Q: Which warrior then wore Achilles’ armor and what happened to him?
A: Patroclus borrowed the Achilles' armor and led the Myrmidons into battle. At first, the Greeks were winning. Then, Hector killed Patroclus and put on Achilles’ armor.
EXPERT COMMENTARY
Although some historians may have expressed doubts about the actual existence of Troy and the Trojan War, according to translator Robert Fagles:
... the Greeks of historic times who knew and loved Homer’s poem had none. For them history began with a splendid Panhellenic expedition against an Eastern foe, led by kings and including contingents from all the more than one hundred and fifty places listed in the catalogue in Book 2. History began with a war. That was an appropriate beginning, for the Greek city-states, from their first appearance as organized communities until the loss of their political independence, were almost uninterruptedly at war with one another.5
Fagles also noted that Homer’s epic examined the effects of war on the individual:
The Iliad accepts violence as a permanent factor in human life and accepts it without sentimentality, for it is just as sentimental to pretend that war does not have its monstrous ugliness as it is to deny that it has its own strange and fatal beauty, a power, which can call out in men resources of endurance, courage and self-sacrifice that peacetime, to our sorrow and loss, can rarely command. Three thousand years have not changed the human condition in this respect; we are still lovers and victims of the will to violence, and so long as we are, Homer will still be read as its truest interpreter.6
Achilles is the main character in Homer’s Iliad and his temper is evident at the beginning. His life was destined to end prematurely, according to writer and publisher Roberto Calasso:
Instead of a god who would live longer than other gods, he became a man who would have a shorter life than other men. And yet, of all men, he was the closest to being a god.... Achilles is time in its purest state, drumming hooves galloping away. Compressed into the piercing fraction of a mortal life span, he came closest to having the qualities the Olympians lived and breathed: intensity and facility. His furious temper, which sets the Iliad moving, is more intense than that of any other warrior, and the fleetness of his foot is that of one who cleaves the air without meeting resistance.7
When the Greek forces were gathering for battle, two major warriors did not appear, Odysseus and Achilles. This occurred, according to classicist Barry B. Powell, because Odysseus’ wife, Penelope, had recently had a child, Telemachus, and “Odysseus had lost his taste for war.”8 When Agamemnon and Menelaus sent messengers to fetch Odysseus,
... they were astonished to find him on the seashore, dressed like a madman, following a plow to which was hitched a horse and a jackass. Palamedes, son of Nauplius, was not deceived. Famed, like Odysseus, for his cleverness, he had invented the alphabet, dice, numbers, and astronomy. Palamedes seized Telemachus from Penelope’s arms, raced to the beach, and cast the child into the sand before the blade of the plow: If Odysseus were mad, he would plow on, but if sane, he would spare his infant son. Odysseus stopped the plow and joined the expeditionary force.9
A seer prophesied that Troy could not be captured without Achilles, but that he would die in battle. According to classicists Mark P. O. Morford and Robert J. Lenardon, Achilles’ mother, Thetis, tried an unusual method to keep him from serving in the Greek forces:
To circumvent his early death, she [Thetis] tried to prevent his going by disguising him as a girl and taking him to the island of Scyros, where he was brought up with the daughters of Lycomedes, king of the island.... Odysseus and Diomedes exposed Achilles’ disguise at Scyros. They took gifts for the daughters of Lycomedes, among them weapons and armor, in which Achilles alone showed any interest. As the women were looking at the gifts, Odysseus arranged for a trumpet to sound; the women all ran away, thinking it was a battle signal, but Achilles took off his disguise and put on the armor.10
3
ACHILLES VERSUS HECTOR
INTRODUCTION
The role of fate plays an important part in “Achilles Versus Hector.” Achilles knew that his death had been foretold. An oracle, or prophet, prophesied that if Achilles fought at Troy, he would die soon after Hector’s death. As such, Achilles’ death represents the classic tragedy of the death of each human being. Achilles might strive his hardest, but ultimately, he would die, and he knew it. This attempt by mankind to overcome death became a common theme of many Greek myths.1
Another important theme of the myth is the role of the gods. The Olympians interacted with each other and with the human characters. They took sides in the conflict and sometimes even joined in the actual fighting. They tried to affect the outcome of the war by helping a favorite hero or harming one from the opposition. Often, they showed less heroism than the humans for whom they were supposed to set examples.
This story contains two episodes, known as theomachies, in which the gods actually fought with each other on the battlefield. Athena and Hera joined with Diomedes, a prince of Argos, in fighting with Aphrodite and Ares. Diomedes wounded Aphrodite, who fled in tears to Mount Olympus. Diomedes also wounded Ares, who received no sympathy about his injuries when he complained to Zeus. In another episode, Hera attacked Artemis, who burst into tears. Thus, the theomachies point out how ridiculous the gods appear when they try to battle like mortals. At the same time, the theomachies demonstrate the difference between human suffering and the minor nature of the divine injuries.2
Achilles Versus Hector
The death of his friend Patroclus filled Achilles with deep grief—and feelings of revenge. “The very prophecy that my mother revealed to me has come to pass. She said that the best of my Myrmidons would fall at the hands of Trojans while I was alive. I could not prevent this from happening, even though I warned dear Patroclus not to battle Hector.” Achilles rubbed soot and ashes over his face. He rolled in the dirt and tore at his hair and cried out in grief.
His mother, the sea nymph Thetis, heard his cry and swam up from her cave deep in the sea. “Why so sad, my son?” she asked.
“Hector has killed my dear friend, Patroclus. I must return to battle and kill Hector in revenge for slaying my comrade,” Achilles said. “Please do not try to hold me back, even though it is fated that my death will follow soon after that of Hector.”
In tears, Thetis replied, “You are right, my son, you must save your exhausted comrades from defeat. But your own armor is in the hands of the Trojan prince, Hector. Please wait one more day until you return to battle. I will have Hephaestus, the armorer of the gods, craft you a new set of armor.”
Achilles agreed to wait, but was eager to help the Achaeans recover the body of Patroclus with no further delay. Without any armor, Achilles stood before the Trojans and gave a great war cry. The Trojans panicked and retreated. The Achaeans moved in quickly, retrieved Patroclus’ body, and swept from the battlefield.
The Trojans discussed what they should do next. Some wanted to retreat within the safety of the walls of Troy rather than fight out in the open now that Achilles had returned to the battlefield. But Hector had tasted of success in battle. “No more should we hide behind our walls. We have driven the Greeks back to their ships. Surely victory is within our grasp. I will meet Achilles in hand-to-hand combat.”
Hector’s fellow Trojans roared in agreement at his pronouncement. Little did they know that his advice would prove to be folly.
That night, while Achilles and his men prepared Patroclus’ body for a funeral, Thetis flew up to Mount Olympus to get Achilles’
new armor. Hephaestus had forged a massive shield, a gleaming breastplate, and a sturdy helmet. After Achilles donned the splendid armor, he went to where the Greek leaders were gathered. “Agamemnon, was it better for both of us and for our comrades that we fought over a slave girl?” he asked. “Instead, let us direct our anger toward our true enemy, the Trojans.”
Agamemnon offered Achilles the gifts he had promised him before, but he would not accept blame for his actions. “Achilles, the gods made me act the way I acted. But what is done is done. Let us stop talking and return to battle!”
Achilles answered, “King Agamemnon, do whatever pleases you with these gifts. For now, war calls us.”
The next morning, with this mighty warrior leading them, the Greeks stormed onto the battlefield. Achilles fought like a raging lion, slaughtering many Trojans, including Priam’s beloved son, Polydorus. As the Trojans fled in Achilles’ path, the gates to Troy were flung open, and the Trojan forces sought safety behind their city walls.
Finally, Hector stood alone before the walls of Troy. His parents begged him to come inside the walls, where he would be safe. Yet Hector, as the leader of the Trojans, felt responsible for their losses. He had counseled the Trojans to stay outside the city walls and fight. Hector thought to himself, “It will be more honorable to face Achilles in a duel. Even if I surrender to him, Achilles is filled with such rage that he will kill me anyway.”
Yet when Achilles approached Hector, Hector turned and fled, because he saw Athena at Achilles’ side. Three times, Hector ran around the city, with Achilles chasing him on foot.
Cunning Athena tricked Hector into stopping by appearing to him in the form of his brother, Deiphobus. Hector thought he could defeat Achilles with the help of his brother. However, Hector did not realize that Athena, in the form of Deiphobus, had disappeared.
Then, Hector asked Achilles to agree to giving the body of whichever one of them died in their fight back to his respective family. “Let us swear to the gods that whoever wins our battle will not mutilate the body of the loser. If I win, once I have stripped your marvelous armor from your body, I will return your corpse to your loyal warriors.”
With a dark glance, Achilles refused. “If I win, you will pay for the death of my comrade, Patroclus.”
With that, Achilles hurled his spear at Hector. When it missed, Athena brought it back to Achilles. Hector still could not see Athena. After Hector’s spear hit the shield of Achilles, he turned to his brother to get another spear. But his brother was not there. Hector realized then that he had been tricked. He vowed not to go to his death without a struggle. He charged toward Achilles, but the Greek drove his spear through Hector’s throat.
With his dying breath, Hector begged Achilles to give his body to his father and mother. “Please, allow the Trojans to do me honor once I am dead.”
“Do not beg me for mercy, for I plan to feed you to the dogs,” Achilles answered.
Hector warned Achilles, “Do not mistreat my body, for the gods will bring their wrath down upon you.”
Achilles wrenched his spear from Hector’s body and tore the bloody armor off the corpse. The other Greeks ran forward and stabbed the naked body. Then, Achilles pierced Hector’s feet and threaded thongs through the holes. He tied the thongs to the back of his chariot and dragged Hector’s body around and around the city of Troy. As the Trojans watched from the walls of the city, they were horrified to see the head of their hero dragged behind the chariot.
Achilles and the Myrmidons returned to their camps. They tossed Hector’s body face down in the dirt next to the body of Patroclus. Together, thousands of warriors shared a funeral feast. Achilles refused to wash off the blood and dirt that covered his body until he had placed Patroclus on his funeral pyre, or mound of materials piled high for burning a body.
That night, as Achilles slept, Patroclus appeared to him in a dream. “Do not forget me, mighty Achilles,” he said. “After you have burned my body, save my ashes in a sacred urn. Make arrangements that when you die, our ashes can be mingled together in one urn.”
In the morning, Agamemnon ordered men to cut many trees and pile them into a pyre one hundred feet long and one hundred feet wide and put the body of Patroclus on top of the pyre. Achilles spread fat from slaughtered animal carcasses on the body and arranged the animal skins on top. He set two-handled jars of oil and honey beside Patroclus’ body. Achilles then slaughtered twelve Trojans, threw them on the pyre, and set it on fire.
The fire burned for eleven days. All the while, the Achaeans held races and games in honor of Patroclus, as was the custom of the Greeks. They raced chariots, wrestled, and boxed. They feasted day and night. Finally, the ashes and bones of Patroclus were placed in a golden urn, and the urn was placed under a huge mound.
But the gods were furious that although the Greeks had honored Patroclus, they had dishonored Hector. Whenever he wished, Achilles had dragged Hector’s body three times around Patroclus’ funeral pyre. Zeus summoned Thetis to Mount Olympus. “Go to your son’s camp and tell him that the gods are angry with him. We know that in his grief and fury, he still keeps the body of Hector. But it is time for Hector to have a decent burial.”
Thetis flew down to warn her son about his behavior. “Achilles, Hector was a man who loved and honored the gods. You have treated him with disrespect. Zeus commands you that it is time to give Hector the hero’s burial that he deserves.”
Achilles promised, “I will give him back at once to whomever brings a ransom for his body.”
At the same time, Zeus sent his messenger, Iris, to Priam of Troy. Iris told Priam to go without fear to Achilles and get his son’s body. Hermes, the messenger god, brought Priam safely through the Greek camp by putting the Achaeans to sleep.
When Priam entered Achilles’ tent, he begged, “Mighty Achilles, I pray by your honored father and mother to give me back the body of my own dear son.” Priam brought to Achilles many rich treasures, such as brocaded robes and bars of gold.
Grief and awe filled Achilles, for Priam reminded Achilles of his own father. Achilles called to his serving women. “Wash Hector’s body, and make sure that Priam does not see the terrible wounds on his son’s body. Then, dress Hector’s body in a finely-woven shirt and wrap it in two soft capes.”
When this was done, Achilles gently lifted Hector’s body onto a sturdy wagon. He served a fine meal to Priam. The next day, Priam brought his son’s body back to the city of Troy. For nine days, the fighting stopped while Hector’s family and the people of Troy mourned him. Then, they laid his body on a high funeral pyre and set it afire. When the body had burned away to ashes, the flames were put out with wine. Hector’s ashes were collected in a golden chest, which was wrapped in purple cloths. The chest was buried in a hollow grave and covered with huge stones. The Trojans shared a funeral feast in Hector’s honor in the house of King Priam of Troy. Thus ended the life of Hector. Next, the fate of the city of Troy would be decided.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q: With Achilles leading the Greeks, what happened in the fighting?
A: All the Trojans except Hector fled behind their city walls.
Q: Why did Hector stay outside the walls?
A: He felt that the Trojan losses were his fault. He knew that he would die at the hands of the Greeks even if he surrendered, so he chose to fight one-on-one with Achilles.
Q: What did Hector do when Achilles came near him? Why?
A: Hector fled because he could see Athena at Achilles’ side, but he stopped when he thought he saw his brother nearby.
Q: What did Hector ask Achilles to do? How did Achilles answer?
A: Hector asked Achilles to agree to give the body of the one who died in their fight back to his family. Achilles refused.
Q: What dishonorable actions did Achilles perform after defeating Hector?
A: He stripped the armor off Hector’s body, attached the body to the back of his chariot, and dragged it around Troy. He also dragged it a
round Patroclus’ funeral pyre.
Q: How did Zeus react to Achilles’ treatment of Hector’s body?
A: Zeus was furious at this abuse of the dead. He sent Thetis to warn her son to give Hector’s body back to Priam. Zeus also sent his messenger, Iris, to Priam to tell him to go without fear to Achilles to ask for his son’s body.
Q: How did Achilles respond to Priam’s request?
A: He was filled with grief and awe at Priam’s action. Achilles’ servants washed Hector’s body, covered it with a fine shirt and soft robes, and gave it to Priam.
EXPERT COMMENTARY
According to classicists Mark P. O. Morford and Robert J. Lenardon, Achilles was a complex main character:
Again, when the dying Hector foretells Achilles’ death, Achilles resolutely accepts his fate. Nor is Achilles always violent. At the funeral games for Patroclus, he presides with princely dignity and even makes peace between the hot-tempered competitors. We have also seen how he gave up his anger against Hector and treated Priam with dignity and generosity. Achilles is a splendid and complex hero, incomparably the greatest figure in the Trojan saga.3
An unusual element of the relationship between Achilles and his mother was that they actually met in person several times. According to classicist Robert Fagles:
Though Achilles and his divine mother Thetis do in fact meet face-to-face (1.422-510, 18.82-162), this is not true of most of the encounters of men and gods in the Iliad. Men meet the gods in disguise (in Book 13 Poseidon disguises himself as Calchas) or the god comes to men from behind, as Athena does to Achilles in Book 1 and Apollo to Patroclus in Book 16. In older, legendary times, however, men might entertain the gods in special circumstances; Hera, for example, reminds Apollo (at 24.74-76) that he and all the gods came to the wedding feast for the marriage of Peleus and Thetis.4
Mythology of the Iliad and the Odyssey Page 4
