The Iliad · Chapter
Book XVI: The Sixth Battle—Death of Patroclus explained
Patroclus, moved by the Greek losses, persuades Achilles to let him lead the Myrmidons into battle wearing Achilles' armor.
What happens
Patroclus, moved by the Greek losses, persuades Achilles to let him lead the Myrmidons into battle wearing Achilles' armor. Achilles agrees but warns him not to pursue the Trojans to Troy. Patroclus drives the Trojans back, kills Sarpedon, but disobeys Achilles and attacks the walls of Troy. There, Apollo disarms him, Euphorbus wounds him, and Hector delivers the fatal blow. Hector boasts over the dying Patroclus, who prophesies Hector's own death at Achilles' hands.
Themes in this chapter
Wrath and Its Consequences
Achilles' anger at Agamemnon leads him to withhold aid, resulting in Greek losses and ultimately Patroclus' death.
Heroism and Mortality
Patroclus' heroic deeds and tragic fall highlight the fleeting nature of mortal glory and the inevitability of death.
Fate and Free Will
Patroclus ignores Achilles' warning and pursues the Trojans to Troy, fulfilling his own doomed fate.
The Role of the Gods
Apollo directly intervenes by disarming Patroclus, and Zeus' will influences the battle's outcome.
Characters to notice
- Patroclus
Weeps before Achilles, persuades him to lend his armor, leads the Myrmidons, kills Sarpedon, disobeys orders, is disarmed by Apollo, wounded by Euphorbus, and slain by Hector.
- Achilles
Pities Patroclus, relents and allows him to fight in his armor, warns him not to pursue the Trojans to Troy, watches the battle from afar.
- Hector
Leads the Trojan assault, cuts Ajax's spear, sets fire to the Greek ships, kills Patroclus, boasts over his body, and is prophesied to die by Achilles.
- Ajax
Defends the ships under heavy assault, his spear is cut by Hector, retreats as the ships are set on fire.
- Sarpedon
Killed by Patroclus during the battle.
- Euphorbus
Wounds Patroclus with a spear before Hector delivers the fatal blow.
- Apollo
Disarms Patroclus, enabling his death.
- Automedon
Charioteer of Achilles, narrowly escapes Hector's attack after Patroclus' death.
Key passages
“Why weepest thou, Patroclus, like a girl— A little girl that by her mother's side Runs, importuning to be taken up, And plucks her by the robe, and stops her way, And looks at her, and cries, until at last She rests within her arms? Thou art like her, Patroclus, with thy tears.”
Achilles compares Patroclus' tears to those of a little girl clinging to her mother, asking why he weeps.
Achilles' tender yet mocking tone reveals his deep affection for Patroclus.
“O merciless! It cannot surely be That Peleus was thy father, or the queen Thetis thy mother; the green sea instead And rugged precipices brought thee forth, For savage is thy heart.”
Patroclus rebukes Achilles for his stubbornness, saying he must have been born from the sea and rocks rather than from mortal parents.
Patroclus criticizes Achilles' implacable anger, suggesting it is inhuman.
“Not long shalt thou remain alive; thy death By violence is at hand, and thou must fall, Slain by the hand of great Aeacides.”
Patroclus prophesies that Hector will soon be killed by Achilles.
Dying Patroclus foretells Hector's fate, a key moment of foreshadowing.
