Who He Is
Patroclus is the dearest companion of Achilles, son of Menoetius and raised with him in the house of Peleus. Those who know him describe him as gentle with everyone, and he is the one who serves Achilles' table, carries messages, tends the wounded with the remedies Achilles taught him, and hands Briseis over to the heralds when the chief orders it. Up to Book XI he appears beside a man who does not fight, and almost always silent. Nothing draws him out of that place except compassion, and it is that compassion that takes him out of the tent and puts him, in Achilles' armor, at the front of Troy. His death changes the wrath of the poem, which stops being against Agamemnon and becomes against Hector.
Trajectory
In Book I, it is by Patroclus's hand that Achilles hands Briseis over to Agamemnon's heralds, without resisting, after declaring them innocent. Patroclus's role is marked: he carries out Achilles' order, he does not decide it.
In Book IX, when the embassy arrives, Achilles plays the lyre and sings the deeds of men, with Patroclus seated in silence before him. Achilles tells him to prepare wine and meat for the visitors. At the end of the night, he makes the bed for Phoenix and sleeps on the other side of the tent, with Iphis, whom Achilles gave him when he took Scyros.
In Book XI, Achilles sees from the stern Nestor passing with a wounded man, and sends Patroclus to ask who it is. The narrator says that he came out of the tent like Ares, and that this was the beginning of his evil.
ὃ δὲ κλισίηθεν ἀκούσας / ἔκμολεν ἶσος Ἄρηϊ, κακοῦ δʼ ἄρα οἱ πέλεν ἀρχή.(11.603-604), and he, hearing from the tent, came out like Ares, and that was the beginning of his evil.
In Nestor's tent, Patroclus refuses to sit and says that Achilles is terrible and may blame someone who is not at fault. Nestor lists the wounded chiefs and asks him whether Achilles wants to wait until the ships burn, and recalls what Menoetius told him when he sent him from Phthia: Achilles is superior by lineage, but Patroclus is the elder and should advise him. If Achilles avoids some prophecy, let him at least send Patroclus at the head of the Myrmidons, in his fine armor, so that the Trojans will take him for Achilles.
τέκνον ἐμὸν γενεῇ μὲν ὑπέρτερός ἐστιν Ἀχιλλεύς, / πρεσβύτερος δὲ σύ ἐσσι· βίῃ δʼ ὅ γε πολλὸν ἀμείνων. / ἀλλʼ εὖ οἱ φάσθαι πυκινὸν ἔπος ἠδʼ ὑποθέσθαι / καί οἱ σημαίνειν· ὃ δὲ πείσεται εἰς ἀγαθόν περ.(11.786-789), my child, Achilles is superior by lineage, but you are the elder; he is far better in strength. But speak to him a wise word, and advise him and show him the way; he will obey you, for his own good.
καί τοι τεύχεα καλὰ δότω πόλεμον δὲ φέρεσθαι, / αἴ κέ σε τῷ εἴσκοντες ἀπόσχωνται πολέμοιο / Τρῶες, ἀναπνεύσωσι δʼ ἀρήϊοι υἷες Ἀχαιῶν / τειρόμενοι· ὀλίγη δέ τʼ ἀνάπνευσις πολέμοιο.(11.798-801), and let him give you the fine armor to carry into war, in the hope that the Trojans, taking you for him, will hold off from the fighting, and that the warlike sons of the Achaeans, worn out, may catch their breath; for the respite in war is brief.
On the way back, Patroclus finds Eurypylus wounded and lame, and pity holds him back. He cuts the arrow from his thigh, washes away the blood, and applies a bitter root that stops the pain. He says he will carry Nestor's word to Achilles, but that even so he will not abandon the one who suffers. The message is left undelivered.
ἔρχομαι ὄφρʼ Ἀχιλῆϊ δαΐφρονι μῦθον ἐνίσπω / ὃν Νέστωρ ἐπέτελλε Γερήνιος οὖρος Ἀχαιῶν· / ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ὧς περ σεῖο μεθήσω τειρομένοιο.(11.839-841), I am going to tell Achilles, of the warlike spirit, the word that Nestor of Gerene, guardian of the Achaeans, charged me with; but even so I will not leave you, who are suffering.
In Book XV, seeing the Trojans scale the wall and hearing the cries of the Danaans in flight, Patroclus groans, strikes his thighs, and tells Eurypylus that he cannot stay: he will go to Achilles, and perhaps, with the help of a god, he will stir his spirit, because a companion's persuasion is good.
σπεύσομαι εἰς Ἀχιλῆα, ἵνʼ ὀτρύνω πολεμίζειν. / τίς δʼ οἶδʼ εἴ κέν οἱ σὺν δαίμονι θυμὸν ὀρίνω / παρειπών; ἀγαθὴ δὲ παραίφασίς ἐστιν ἑταίρου.(15.402-404), I will hasten to Achilles, to urge him to fight. Who knows whether, with the help of a god, I might stir his spirit by persuading him? Good is the exhortation of a companion.
In Book XVI, Patroclus comes to Achilles weeping, and Achilles compares him to a little girl who begs her mother to be lifted up. Patroclus lists the wounded chiefs and accuses Achilles of being merciless, as if the sea and the cliffs had fathered him, and he asks for two things: to lead the Myrmidons and to wear Achilles' armor. The narrator comments that in asking this way, he is asking for his own death.
νηλεές, οὐκ ἄρα σοί γε πατὴρ ἦν ἱππότα Πηλεύς, / οὐδὲ Θέτις μήτηρ· γλαυκὴ δέ σε τίκτε θάλασσα / πέτραι τʼ ἠλίβατοι, ὅτι τοι νόος ἐστὶν ἀπηνής.(16.33-35), Pitiless one! Then Peleus, the horseman, was not your father, nor Thetis your mother; the gray sea bore you, and the sheer rocks, because your mind is hard.
δὸς δέ μοι ὤμοιιν τὰ σὰ τεύχεα θωρηχθῆναι, / αἴ κʼ ἐμὲ σοὶ ἴσκοντες ἀπόσχωνται πολέμοιο / Τρῶες, ἀναπνεύσωσι δʼ Ἀρήϊοι υἷες Ἀχαιῶν(16.40-42), give me your armor to wear on my shoulders, in the hope that the Trojans, taking me for you, will hold off from the fighting, and the warlike sons of the Achaeans will catch their breath,
ὣς φάτο λισσόμενος μέγα νήπιος· ἦ γὰρ ἔμελλεν / οἷ αὐτῷ θάνατόν τε κακὸν καὶ κῆρα λιτέσθαι.(16.46-47), so he spoke, pleading, the great fool; for he was about to beg for his own cruel death and fate.
Achilles yields and sets a limit: Patroclus must return once the ships are clear, and not go on even if Zeus grants him glory, so that he will not be less honored, and so that Apollo, who loves the Trojans, does not intervene. Patroclus puts on everything except the ash spear that only Achilles can wield, and goes out at the head of the Myrmidons. The Trojans, seeing the armor, suppose that Achilles has laid down his wrath, and each looks for a way to flee. Patroclus throws first, puts out the fire on the ship, and pursues the fugitives. He kills Sarpedon's squire and strikes Sarpedon in the heart. Zeus lets him kill his son, because Hera reminds him that the other gods also have sons in the war.
ἐκ νηῶν ἐλάσας ἰέναι πάλιν· εἰ δέ κεν αὖ τοι / δώῃ κῦδος ἀρέσθαι ἐρίγδουπος πόσις Ἥρης, / μὴ σύ γʼ ἄνευθεν ἐμεῖο λιλαίεσθαι πολεμίζειν(16.87-89), after you have driven them from the ships, come back; and if the thunderous husband of Hera grants you the glory of victory, do not desire to fight apart from me
When Zeus makes Hector flee, the narrator comments on Patroclus's error: had he kept Achilles' word, he would have escaped the evil fate, but the mind of Zeus is stronger than that of men, and it was he who then loosened his spirit. Patroclus reaches the wall of Troy and climbs to the angle three times, and three times Apollo pushes him back. On the fourth, the god tells him that fate does not want Troy to fall by his spear or by Achilles'. Patroclus draws back. He kills Cebriones with a stone and mocks him like a diver. He still charges three times, killing nine men each time.
καὶ μέγʼ ἀάσθη / νήπιος· εἰ δὲ ἔπος Πηληϊάδαο φύλαξεν / ἦ τʼ ἂν ὑπέκφυγε κῆρα κακὴν μέλανος θανάτοιο. / ἀλλʼ αἰεί τε Διὸς κρείσσων νόος ἠέ περ ἀνδρῶν· / ὅς τε καὶ ἄλκιμον ἄνδρα φοβεῖ καὶ ἀφείλετο νίκην / ῥηϊδίως, ὅτε δʼ αὐτὸς ἐποτρύνῃσι μάχεσθαι· / ὅς οἱ καὶ τότε θυμὸν ἐνὶ στήθεσσιν ἀνῆκεν.(16.685-691), and he committed a great folly, the fool: had he kept the word of the son of Peleus, he would have escaped the evil fate of black death. But the mind of Zeus is always stronger than that of men: he makes even the brave man flee and takes victory from him with ease, when he himself urges him to fight; he it was who then loosened the spirit in his breast.
τρὶς μὲν ἐπʼ ἀγκῶνος βῆ τείχεος ὑψηλοῖο / Πάτροκλος, τρὶς δʼ αὐτὸν ἀπεστυφέλιξεν Ἀπόλλων / χείρεσσʼ ἀθανάτῃσι φαεινὴν ἀσπίδα νύσσων. / ἀλλʼ ὅτε δὴ τὸ τέταρτον ἐπέσσυτο δαίμονι ἶσος, / δεινὰ δʼ ὁμοκλήσας ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα· / χάζεο διογενὲς Πατρόκλεες· οὔ νύ τοι αἶσα / σῷ ὑπὸ δουρὶ πόλιν πέρθαι Τρώων ἀγερώχων, / οὐδʼ ὑπʼ Ἀχιλλῆος, ὅς περ σέο πολλὸν ἀμείνων.(16.702-709), three times Patroclus climbed onto the angle of the high wall, and three times Apollo pushed him back, striking the shining shield with his immortal hands. But when for the fourth time he charged like a god, the god called out to him with a terrible shout and winged words: "Withdraw, Patroclus, son of Zeus! Fate does not allow the city of the proud Trojans to be sacked by your spear, nor by Achilles', who is far better than you."
At the fourth assault, Apollo, wrapped in mist, strikes his back with an open hand. Patroclus's eyes spin, the helmet falls and rolls under the hooves, the spear breaks, the shield drops to the ground, and the god loosens his breastplate. Stunned, Patroclus is wounded from behind by Euphorbus, who flees without facing him unarmed. Hector, seeing him wounded, comes near and strikes him in the lower belly.
στῆ δʼ ὄπιθεν, πλῆξεν δὲ μετάφρενον εὐρέε τʼ ὤμω / χειρὶ καταπρηνεῖ, στρεφεδίνηθεν δέ οἱ ὄσσε. / τοῦ δʼ ἀπὸ μὲν κρατὸς κυνέην βάλε Φοῖβος Ἀπόλλων·(16.791-793), he stood behind him and struck his back and broad shoulders with an open hand, and his eyes spun. And Phoebus Apollo knocked the helmet from his head;
πάρος γε μὲν οὐ θέμις ἦεν / ἱππόκομον πήληκα μιαίνεσθαι κονίῃσιν, / ἀλλʼ ἀνδρὸς θείοιο κάρη χαρίεν τε μέτωπον / ῥύετʼ Ἀχιλλῆος· τότε δὲ Ζεὺς Ἕκτορι δῶκεν / ᾗ κεφαλῇ φορέειν, σχεδόθεν δέ οἱ ἦεν ὄλεθρος.(16.796-800), before, it was not permitted for the horsehair helmet to be soiled with dust; it protected the head and graceful brow of the godlike Achilles. But then Zeus gave it to Hector to wear on his head, and ruin was near for him.
Dying, Patroclus answers Hector's taunt: it was Zeus and Apollo who defeated him, and twenty like Hector would have died at his spear. Hector strips him third, after Moira and Euphorbus. He prophesies that Hector will soon die at the hands of Achilles. The soul flies to Hades weeping its fate, leaving behind its vigor and youth. Hector answers that who knows whether it will not be Achilles who is the first to lose his life.
ἤδη νῦν Ἕκτορ μεγάλʼ εὔχεο· σοὶ γὰρ ἔδωκε / νίκην Ζεὺς Κρονίδης καὶ Ἀπόλλων, οἵ με δάμασσαν / ῥηιδίως· αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἀπʼ ὤμων τεύχεʼ ἕλοντο. / τοιοῦτοι δʼ εἴ πέρ μοι ἐείκοσιν ἀντεβόλησαν, / πάντές κʼ αὐτόθʼ ὄλοντο ἐμῷ ὑπὸ δουρὶ δαμέντες. / ἀλλά με μοῖρʼ ὀλοὴ καὶ Λητοῦς ἔκτανεν υἱός, / ἀνδρῶν δʼ Εὔφορβος· σὺ δέ με τρίτος ἐξεναρίζεις.(16.844-850), now, Hector, boast as much as you like: it was to you that Zeus, son of Cronus, and Apollo gave the victory, for they overpowered me with ease, since they themselves took the armor from my shoulders. If twenty like you had faced me, all of them would have died here, overcome by my spear. But the baneful Moira and the son of Leto killed me, and among men Euphorbus did; you are the third to strip me.
ἄλλο δέ τοι ἐρέω, σὺ δʼ ἐνὶ φρεσὶ βάλλεο σῇσιν· / οὔ θην οὐδʼ αὐτὸς δηρὸν βέῃ, ἀλλά τοι ἤδη / ἄγχι παρέστηκεν θάνατος καὶ μοῖρα κραταιὴ / χερσὶ δαμέντʼ Ἀχιλῆος ἀμύμονος Αἰακίδαο.(16.851-854), I will tell you one more thing, and keep it in your mind: you yourself will not live long; death and mighty fate already stand near you, to be overpowered by the hands of blameless Achilles, son of Aeacus.
In Book XVII, the body is the center of the struggle. Menelaus stands over it like a cow over her calf, kills Euphorbus, sends Antilochus to bring the news to Achilles, and asks the Ajaxes and Meriones to remember Patroclus's gentleness, for he was kind to everyone. Hector strips him and wants to behead him to give the body to the Trojan dogs. Zeus covers the struggle in mist, because he did not hate the son of Menoetius while he was alive, Achilles' squire, and he abhors his becoming prey for the dogs. Achilles, far away, does not yet know, and expects Patroclus back alive.
ἀμφὶ δʼ ἄρʼ αὐτῷ βαῖνʼ ὥς τις περὶ πόρτακι μήτηρ / πρωτοτόκος κινυρὴ οὐ πρὶν εἰδυῖα τόκοιο· / ὣς περὶ Πατρόκλῳ βαῖνε ξανθὸς Μενέλαος.(17.4-6), around him he walked as a mother walks around her calf, moaning, a first-time mother who had never known childbirth before; so around Patroclus walked fair-haired Menelaus.
Ἕκτωρ μὲν Πάτροκλον ἐπεὶ κλυτὰ τεύχεʼ ἀπηύρα, / ἕλκʼ ἵνʼ ἀπʼ ὤμοιιν κεφαλὴν τάμοι ὀξέϊ χαλκῷ, / τὸν δὲ νέκυν Τρῳῇσιν ἐρυσσάμενος κυσὶ δοίη.(17.125-127), Hector, after taking the famous armor from him, dragged him so as to cut off his head from the shoulders with the sharp bronze, and to give the corpse, once dragged away, to the dogs of Troy.
ἐπεὶ οὐδὲ Μενοιτιάδην ἔχθαιρε πάρος γε, / ὄφρα ζωὸς ἐὼν θεράπων ἦν Αἰακίδαο· / μίσησεν δʼ ἄρα μιν δηΐων κυσὶ κύρμα γενέσθαι / Τρῳῇσιν· τὼ καί οἱ ἀμυνέμεν ὦρσεν ἑταίρους.(17.270-273), for the son of Cronus did not hate the son of Menoetius before, while he was alive and squire of the Aeacid; and now he detested that he should become prey for the dogs of the enemy Trojans; so he urged his companions to defend him.
In Book XVIII, Antilochus brings Achilles the news of the death, the naked body, and the armor now in Hector's hands. Achilles tells his mother that he wants to die now, because he did not help his companion, and vows not to bury Patroclus before bringing back the armor and head of Hector and cutting the throats of twelve sons of Trojans. The Achaeans wash the body, anoint the wounds, and wrap it in linen, and the Myrmidons groan all night.
κεῖται Πάτροκλος, νέκυος δὲ δὴ ἀμφιμάχονται / γυμνοῦ· ἀτὰρ τά γε τεύχεʼ ἔχει κορυθαίολος Ἕκτωρ. / ὣς φάτο, τὸν δʼ ἄχεος νεφέλη ἐκάλυψε μέλαινα(18.20-22), Patroclus lies there, and around the naked corpse they fight; but the armor is held by Hector of the flashing helmet. So he spoke, and a black cloud of grief covered him.
νῦν δʼ ἐπεὶ οὖν Πάτροκλε σεῦ ὕστερος εἶμʼ ὑπὸ γαῖαν, / οὔ σε πρὶν κτεριῶ πρίν γʼ Ἕκτορος ἐνθάδʼ ἐνεῖκαι / τεύχεα καὶ κεφαλὴν μεγαθύμου σοῖο φονῆος· / δώδεκα δὲ προπάροιθε πυρῆς ἀποδειροτομήσω / Τρώων ἀγλαὰ τέκνα σέθεν κταμένοιο χολωθείς(18.333-337), But now, Patroclus, since I will go under the earth after you, I will not give you funeral rites before I bring here the armor and head of Hector, your great-hearted slayer; and before the pyre I will cut the throats of twelve splendid sons of Trojans, enraged at your death.
In Book XIX, Briseis mourns Patroclus: the man who did not let her weep when swift Achilles killed her husband and sacked the city of the divine Mynes, and who promised to make her the lawful wife of the divine Achilles, take her in the ships to Phthia, and celebrate the wedding among the Myrmidons. She mourns him because he was always gentle. Achilles refuses to eat while the body lies in the tent, and says that not even his father's death would be worse.
οὐδὲ μὲν οὐδέ μʼ ἔασκες, ὅτʼ ἄνδρʼ ἐμὸν ὠκὺς Ἀχιλλεὺς / ἔκτεινεν, πέρσεν δὲ πόλιν θείοιο Μύνητος, / κλαίειν, ἀλλά μʼ ἔφασκες Ἀχιλλῆος θείοιο / κουριδίην ἄλοχον θήσειν, ἄξειν τʼ ἐνὶ νηυσὶν / ἐς Φθίην, δαίσειν δὲ γάμον μετὰ Μυρμιδόνεσσι. / τώ σʼ ἄμοτον κλαίω τεθνηότα μείλιχον αἰεί(19.295-300), you did not let me weep when swift Achilles killed my husband and sacked the city of the divine Mynes, but you said you would make me the lawful wife of the divine Achilles, take me in the ships to Phthia, and celebrate the wedding among the Myrmidons. So I weep for you endlessly, dead, you who were always gentle.
αὐτὰρ ἐμὸν κῆρ / ἄκμηνον πόσιος καὶ ἐδητύος, ἔνδον ἐόντων, / σῇ ποθῇ· οὐ μὲν γάρ τι κακώτερον ἄλλο πάθοιμι, / οὐδʼ εἴ κεν τοῦ πατρὸς ἀποφθιμένοιο πυθοίμην, / ὅς που νῦν Φθίηφι τέρεν κατὰ δάκρυον εἴβει / χήτεϊ τοιοῦδʼ υἷος· ὃ δʼ ἀλλοδαπῷ ἐνὶ δήμῳ / εἵνεκα ῥιγεδανῆς Ἑλένης Τρωσὶν πολεμίζω(19.319-325), but my heart is starved of drink and food, though there is plenty inside, for longing for you; for I could suffer no worse harm, not even if I learned of the death of my father, who perhaps now in Phthia sheds tender tears for lack of such a son, while I, in a foreign land, fight the Trojans because of hateful Helen;
In Book XXI, Achilles uses Patroclus's death as the reason to deny pity to a suppliant: Patroclus, far better, died. In Book XXII, in the middle of the plan for the assault, Achilles breaks off: Patroclus's body lies without weeping or burial, and he will remember him as long as he lives, and even in Hades.
ἀλλὰ τί ἤ μοι ταῦτα φίλος διελέξατο θυμός; / κεῖται πὰρ νήεσσι νέκυς ἄκλαυτος ἄθαπτος / Πάτροκλος· τοῦ δʼ οὐκ ἐπιλήσομαι, ὄφρʼ ἂν ἔγωγε / ζωοῖσιν μετέω καί μοι φίλα γούνατʼ ὀρώρῃ· / εἰ δὲ θανόντων περ καταλήθοντʼ εἰν Ἀΐδαο / αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ καὶ κεῖθι φίλου μεμνήσομʼ ἑταίρου.(22.385-390), but why does my heart speak these things to me? Beside the ships lies a corpse, unwept and unburied, Patroclus. I will not forget him as long as I am among the living and my knees can move. And if the dead are forgotten in the house of Hades, even there I will remember my dear companion.
In Book XXIII, death becomes ritual. Achilles weeps in his chariot around the body and promises to drag Hector and cut the throats of twelve Trojans. Patroclus appears to him in a dream, equal to him in size, in his fine eyes, voice, and clothing, and complains that he has been forgotten. He asks for burial so that he may pass the gates of Hades, asks for his hand, and asks for a common urn for the bones of both, the golden amphora that Achilles' mother gave him. Achilles tries to embrace him, and the image sinks away like smoke, shrieking. Achilles cuts the hair that his father had promised to a river and places it in the dead man's hand. The pyre receives four horses, two dogs, and twelve Trojans, and the games that follow are in his honor.
πάντα γὰρ ἤδη τοι τελέω τὰ πάροιθεν ὑπέστην / Ἕκτορα δεῦρʼ ἐρύσας δώσειν κυσὶν ὠμὰ δάσασθαι, / δώδεκα δὲ προπάροιθε πυρῆς ἀποδειροτομήσειν / Τρώων ἀγλαὰ τέκνα σέθεν κταμένοιο χολωθείς.(23.20-23), for I now fulfill everything I promised before: dragging Hector here to give him raw to the dogs to tear apart, and cutting the throats of twelve splendid sons of Trojans before the pyre, enraged at your death.
ἦλθε δʼ ἐπὶ ψυχὴ Πατροκλῆος δειλοῖο / πάντʼ αὐτῷ μέγεθός τε καὶ ὄμματα κάλʼ ἐϊκυῖα / καὶ φωνήν, καὶ τοῖα περὶ χροῒ εἵματα ἕστο·(23.65-67), the soul of the wretched Patroclus came, in every way equal to him in size, in the fine eyes and the voice, and with the same clothes on his body.
καί μοι δὸς τὴν χεῖρʼ· ὀλοφύρομαι, οὐ γὰρ ἔτʼ αὖτις / νίσομαι ἐξ Ἀΐδαο, ἐπήν με πυρὸς λελάχητε.(23.75-76), and give me your hand; I lament, for I will not come back again from Hades once you have given me my share of the fire.
ὣς δὲ καὶ ὀστέα νῶϊν ὁμὴ σορὸς ἀμφικαλύπτοι / χρύσεος ἀμφιφορεύς, τόν τοι πόρε πότνια μήτηρ.(23.91-92), so that one golden urn, the amphora your lady mother gave you, may cover the bones of us both.
νῦν δʼ ἐπεὶ οὐ νέομαί γε φίλην ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν / Πατρόκλῳ ἥρωϊ κόμην ὀπάσαιμι φέρεσθαι.(23.150-151), now, since I will not return to my dear native land, I will give my hair to the hero Patroclus to carry.
In Book XXIV, Achilles mourns his friend through the sleepless night and drags Hector's body around his tomb. In the tent, when he weeps with Priam, he weeps for his father and sometimes for Patroclus. Lifting Hector's body, he calls on Patroclus and asks him not to be angry if he learns, in Hades, that he returned Hector to his father.
τὼ δὲ μνησαμένω ὃ μὲν Ἕκτορος ἀνδροφόνοιο / κλαῖʼ ἁδινὰ προπάροιθε ποδῶν Ἀχιλῆος ἐλυσθείς, / αὐτὰρ Ἀχιλλεὺς κλαῖεν ἑὸν πατέρʼ, ἄλλοτε δʼ αὖτε / Πάτροκλον· τῶν δὲ στοναχὴ κατὰ δώματʼ ὀρώρει.(24.509-512), and the two of them, remembering: one, for man-slaying Hector, wept without ceasing, prostrate before Achilles' feet; Achilles, in turn, wept for his father, and at other times for Patroclus; and their lament rose through the house.
Themes Embodied
Patroclus embodies Compassion and charity: it is pity for the wounded and for the Achaeans in danger that takes him out of the tent in Book XI and Book XV. He embodies Loss and mourning, because his death is the loss that diverts the wrath, and the one that demands from his friend the life and body of an enemy. He embodies Death at its most intimate, in the shade that asks for a hand, and Fate and free will in the way the text reads his error, which is at once his own choice and a spirit loosened by Zeus. Honor and reputation lie in the limit Achilles sets for him, grounded in Achilles' own honor, and War collects from him with the body disputed in Book XVII.
Patroclus is, in the books where he appears, the one who looks at the suffering of others and acts. The text shows three layers in his death: fate and Apollo, then Euphorbus, then Hector, and it is Patroclus himself who lists them. The cause of the error is also double. The narrator says that he did not keep Achilles' word and, in the same passage, that Zeus loosened his spirit. The text does not separate the two things. What gives his death the weight it has is that everything that leads him there is care: for the wounded, for the Achaeans, for Achilles. In the dream, what Patroclus demands of Achilles is remembrance, and what he asks for is the hand, the urn, and the burial.
Relationships
- Achilles: the friend whose executioner he becomes, to whom he asks for the armor, whose limit he hears, and whose wrath changes because of his death.
- Hector: the Trojan who kills him, strips him, and wants to behead him, and to whom Patroclus prophesies death.
- Nestor: the elder who recalls Menoetius's counsel and proposes Achilles' armor as a respite.
- Apollo: the god who pushes him back three times from the wall and disarms him from behind.
- Zeus: the god who loosened his spirit in his breast and who, after death, does not want the body given to the dogs.
- Menelaus: the ally who stands over the body and sends the news to Achilles.
- Ajax: the warrior who, with Menelaus, protects the retreat of the body.
- Briseis: the captive who mourns him in Book XIX and whom he had promised to make Achilles' wife.
- Euphorbus: the Trojan who wounds him from behind, after Apollo disarms him.