Death

The Theme in the Work

In the Iliad everyone knows they will die, and the poem shows what each one does with that knowledge. In Book I, Achilles tells his mother that, since he was born to live briefly, he should at least receive honor, and Thetis confirms that his life is short and that now, besides dying young, he is the most wretched of all. In Book IX, he recounts what she told him about the two destinies of death and weighs life against all that Ilion possessed: cattle and tripods can be obtained, but a man's life does not come back once it has passed the barrier of the teeth.

The death of others appears in named bodies and in families. In Book IV, the young Simoisius falls like a felled poplar, without repaying his parents for the cost of raising him, and the book closes with the dead on both sides, one beside another, in the dust. In Book V, Diomedes kills the sons of an old man who had no other heir, and Dione tells her wounded daughter that whoever fights against the immortals does not live long. In Book X, Dolon offers a ransom and asks to be bound, and Diomedes kills him when he was about to touch his chin, his head rolling on while still speaking.

Warriors measure their own death by the body that will be left behind. In Book XI, Odysseus kills Socus from behind and says that birds will drag him away without his father and mother closing his eyes, while if he himself dies, the Achaeans will give him burial. In Book XII, Sarpedon says that if fleeing the war would make them immortal, he would not fight at the front, but the Keres of death hang over both of them, countless, and what remains is to give or receive glory. In Book XIII, Eucenor sets out knowing, from the seer Polyidus, that he will die sick at home or at the hands of the Trojans, and goes to meet the second death.

The deaths of Patroclus and Hector link the prophecies. In Book XVI, Patroclus, wounded, says that fatal Moira, Apollo, and Euphorbus killed him, leaving Hector in third place, and he prophesies that Hector will soon fall at the hands of Achilles. In Book XVIII, Achilles asks to die at once, because he did not come to the aid of his companion, and accepts his mother's reckoning: his own death comes right after Hector's. In Book XIX, the horse Xanthus tells him that the day of ruin is near, and he replies that he already knows. In Book XX, when the gods enter the fight, Hades leaps from his throne in fear that Poseidon will split the earth and expose the house of the dead.

In Book XXI, Achilles tells Lycaon that Patroclus, far better than he, also died, and he includes himself in the same law. In Book XXII, Hector, with his throat pierced, warns that Paris and Apollo will destroy Achilles at the Scaean Gates, and Achilles replies that he will receive his Ker when Zeus and the other gods wish it. The poem does not narrate that death, and leaves the prophecy in the mouth of the one who hears it. In Book XXIII, the soul of Patroclus, asking for burial and for a hand, flees like smoke when Achilles tries to embrace it. In Book XXIV, Andromache mourns her husband, who died young, and foresees the fate of their son.

Death, in the poem, is no secret: whoever sees it coming describes it with precision. Sarpedon speaks of the countless Keres, Achilles of the two parts of life, Hector of the fall of Troy. The difference between the characters lies in what they do with that knowledge: Sarpedon turns it into a duty of glory, Achilles into a choice of fame, Hector into a way of dying, Dolon into an attempt at ransom, and the poem does not choose between the answers. Two dying men prophesy the death of their killers, Patroclus in Book XVI and Hector in Book XXII, and the chain of deaths comes out of the mouths of the dead. Hector answers Patroclus with doubt, asking who knows whether Achilles will not be the first to fall, and Achilles answers Hector with acceptance, he will receive his Ker when the gods wish it: the two answers give each one his tone.

Where It Appears

• Book I: Thetis confirms to Achilles that his share of life is brief and that now, besides dying young, he is the most wretched of all, and honor becomes a matter of life and death.
• Book IV: The book closes with a view of the battle in which many Trojans and Achaeans lie face down in the dust, one beside another, with no victor.
• Book V: Dione consoles the wounded Aphrodite by saying that whoever fights against the immortals does not live long, and Diomedes, warned by Apollo, withdraws before the god.
• Book VI: Hector tells Andromache that no man will send him to Hades against what is his lot, and that no one, good or bad, has escaped fate after being born.
• Book IX: Achilles says that nothing is worth as much as life, that cattle can be stolen and tripods bought, but that a man's life does not come back once it has passed the barrier of the teeth.
• Book X: Dolon offers a ransom and asks to be bound, but Diomedes kills him when he was about to touch his chin, and the head falls while still speaking.
• Book XI: Odysseus kills Socus from behind and says that birds will drag him away without his father or mother closing his eyes, while he, if he dies, will be given burial by the Achaeans.
• Book XII: Sarpedon tells Glaucus that if fleeing the war made them immortal, he would not fight at the front, but the Keres of death hang over both of them, countless.
• Book XIII: Eucenor sets out knowing that he will die sick at home or at the hands of the Trojans, and chooses to go to meet the second death, struck by Paris below the jaw.
• Book XVI: Patroclus, wounded, says that fatal Moira killed him, with Apollo and Euphorbus, and prophesies that Hector will soon die at the hands of Achilles, and the soul flies weeping to Hades.
• Book XVIII: Achilles, knowing from Thetis that he will die right after Hector, asks to die now, because he did not come to the aid of his companion, who needed him.
• Book XIX: The horse Xanthus, to whom Hera gives a voice, announces to Achilles that the day of ruin is near, and Achilles replies that he already knows he will die far from his father and mother.
• Book XX: When the gods enter the fight, Hades leaps from his throne in fear that Poseidon will split the earth and show the house of the dead to mortals and immortals.
• Book XXI: Achilles tells Lycaon that Patroclus, much better than he, also died, and that over himself too hang death and powerful fate, at dawn, at evening, or at noon.
• Book XXII: Hector, with his throat pierced, warns Achilles that Paris and Apollo will destroy him at the Scaean Gates, and Achilles replies that he will receive his Ker when Zeus wishes.
• Book XXIII: The soul of Patroclus appears to Achilles in a dream, asks for burial and for his hand, and flees like smoke when Achilles tries to embrace it.
• Book XXIV: Andromache says her husband died young and foresees that her son will be taken as a slave or thrown from a tower by an Achaean whose kinsman Hector killed.

Passages

Thetis confirms to Achilles that his life will be short.

Odysseus measures his own death against that of Socus by the fate of the body.

Sarpedon tells Glaucus that glory is what one makes of a death that no one avoids.

Patroclus, dying, tells Hector who will kill him.

Achilles asks to die at once, for not having come to the aid of his companion.

Achilles tells Lycaon that the same law holds for him too.

Hector, dying, says where Achilles will fall.

Achilles answers without disputing.

Achilles concludes, seeing his friend's image flee, that there is a soul in Hades, but without mind.