Book 16: Patroclus being a badass, but then is killed.
Patroclus Begs for achilles’ armour
While the fighting is happening on the ships, Patroclus goes to Achilles to tell him the news. As soon as he appears in front of the Myrmidon leader, Patroclus breaks down in tears. Achilles looks at him with pity and asks him why he’s crying — is it because he’s received a message from Phthia? Did Menoitios or Peleus die? He begs Patroclus to just tell him what’s caused his crying.
Patroclus informs him that the Greek army is not doing so well on the battlefield (he does highlight how Diomedes was injured by an arrow and Odysseus by a pike wound, Agamemnon and Eurypylos too have been wounded and the best healers are working to get them back in order) and explains how Achilles could be of great help to them if he chose to fight. However, Patroclus understands that he’s turned away from the Greeks and says that if Achilles is running from a prophecy that Patroclus is unaware of, then he should at least allow Patroclus to go out and fight in his place. His plan is that if he wears Achilles’ armour and leads the Myrmidons into battle, then hopefully the Trojans will believe that he is the formidable Achilles, returning to the field to send all of them to their deaths. Patroclus hopes that this will cause the Trojans to flee far enough along the Trojan plains to give the Greek soldiers a chance to regain some of the territory they have lost. Homer tells us that this plan would be Patroclus’s own death and evil destruction.
Achilles is deeply troubled by this. He tells Patroclus that there is no prophecy driving him to stay in the camps, but instead recounts the Briseis situation as the reason for him remaining where he is. He says that he doesn’t want to be angry forever, but he did say during the whole Briseis argument of book 1 that he would not go into battle unless the fighting came to his own ships. Achilles continues to say that if what Patroclus says about the battlefield is true and the Trojans really are hot on their heels, then Patroclus is more than welcome to take up his armour and pretend to be Achilles. In fact, Achilles even encourages Patroclus’ idea.
In saying this, Achilles does iron out some very important rules for Patroclus to follow. He informs his comrade that he is forbidden from attacking the walls of Troy without Achilles present, and says that if Patroclus does this, he will “diminish [his] honour”. He fears one of the gods will crush Patroclus if he attempts to take Troy on this day — namely Apollo because he really has a thing for the Trojans. Further, Achilles stresses how Patroclus is not to engage in battle with Hector under any circumstance. Patroclus agrees to the terms and goes to retrieve Achilles’ armour.
A Brief Cut Back To Big Ajax
We cut to Big Ajax who is still struggling on his end of the ship. The cheekpieces of his helmet are described as being beaten in and his left shoulder is noted as getting tired from holding up his shield. Even though the Greeks continue to attack, the Trojans could not physically move Big Ajax from where he stood on the deck.
Homer interrupts the fighting to evoke the muses, asking them to help him tell of how the fire was thrown by the Trojans onto the Greek ships. It is said that Hector stood up and hacked at Ajax’s spear, taking the top off it and sending it flying behind the Greek soldiers, causing Ajax to freeze as he knew this move was the work of Zeus. It was then that the Trojans threw fire at the ships.
From where he is standing, Achilles watches the horror unfold.
Achilles sends off Patroclus
Understanding the severity of the situation, Achilles immediately encourages Patroclus to get his armour on.
Patroclus first put the greaves on (gold greaves but the fastenings were silver), then the corslet on his chest, then across his shoulder he put the sword with nails of silver. Above it, he strapped on the great shield. Then Patroclus popped on Achilles’ helmet and picked up two spears — neither of which were Achilles’ weapons as only he could hold such heavy spears (Cheiron had brought the spears to Achilles’ father … there’s a whole back story in the text you can go read). Following this, Patroclus orders Automedon to harness the hero’s immortal horses. While Patroclus is doing this, Achilles goes to spur on the rest of the Myrmidons.
We’re reminded that Achilles brought 50 ships with him to Troy, with each boat carrying 50 Myrmidon warriors. Among them were five leaders of each battalion, but Achilles was lord over them all. The battalions now align again to run into battle with Patroclus: The first battalion led by Menesthios, the next by Eudorus, the third Peisandros, the fourth by Phoinix, and the fifth by Alkimedon. After Achilles gives these men a briefing, Patroclus takes his place before them alongside Automedon, and the pair lead the army out into battle.
After watching the men ride away, Achilles returns to his shelter and takes out a goblet to make an offering to Zeus. He begs the king of the gods to stand by the men he sent out to face the Trojans and further asks Zeus to ensure Patroclus’s safe return. Zeus hears the prayer and grants one of Achilles’ wishes (that he will stand by the Myrmidons) but denies the other (that Patroclus will return safe and sound). However, Zeus does grant Patroclus the power to beat back the Trojan army to the walls of the city.
The myrmidons return
Patroclus spurs the Myrmidons into battle by saying that they must bring honour to Achilles so that Agamemnon may finally recognise his madness. When the Trojans see Patroclus, they believe Achilles has put aside his anger and this TERRIFIES them. The Trojans scatter, attempting to look for a way out of the fight as they knew they would die if they came into the firing line of the Myrmidon leader.
Patroclus was the first man to throw his spear, hitting Pyraichmes in the right shoulder. This man had been leading some of the Trojans against the Greeks, and so the men following him ran away in fear after seeing their leader chopped down with such ease. Patroclus drove these men from the boats and put out the fire that was on the ship (unfortunately, the vessel was left half burnt). As the Trojans began to fall back, the Greeks pushed forward.
Menelaus stabs a guy in the chest as Meges stabs Amphiklos at the base of the leg. Antilochus stabs Atymnios in the flank, but a man named Maris lunges at Antilochus in retaliation; luckily, Thrasymedes (Antilochus’s brother) intervenes and slashes the guy’s arm off. Little Ajax then catches Kleoboulos by stabbing him in the neck. Peneleos even makes an appearance by stabbing Lykon under his ear. Meriones stabs Akamas in the right shoulder as he climbed into his chariot, and Idomeneus stabs Erymas in the mouth.
Patroclus screams at his army and his rage stirs him against Hector. He makes an attempt to attack the Trojan prince, but the immortal horses that pull his chariot lead him away from the potential altercation.
Homer says that Patroclus was so hungry for war that when he had cut away the first Trojan battalions, he turned to pin these men against the ships and exacted the blood price for many. First Patroclus killed Pronoos by stabbing him in the chest. He then stabs Thestor in the jaw, and then hits Erylaos with a rock in the middle of the head. He follows this by stabbing Erymas, Amphoteros and Epaltes, Echios, Pyris, Ipheus, Euippos, Polymelos, and Tlepolemos.
Seeing this, Sarpedon is NOT happy whatsoever. He calls back to the Lycians and shames them as they’re running away from the oncoming Myrmidons. He tells them that he’s going to face the Myrmidon leader so that he can figure out who this man truly is because he is certain it is not Achilles. Sarpedon springs to the ground from his chariot, and when Patroclus sees him, he too jumps down from his chariot.
Zeus sees the men come to blows and turns to Hera to express his pity — after all, he knows that it is Sarpedon’s destiny to be killed by Patroclus. The king of the gods is torn between saving his son or letting this play out as fate demands.
Hera gets sassy and says (something like) “What are you saying — you want to bring a mortal back from his destiny?? If you do such a thing then the rest of us gods will hate you for it. Think about it, if you do return Sarpedon home from this fight, ponder which of the other gods will also want to do the same with their own children down on the plains of Troy? If Sarpedon means that much to you, let this play out — but allow death and sleep to take him away back to his home so that he can be buried in a tomb with a gravestone since that is the biggest privilege to those who have perished”. Zeus doesn’t argue, but he does weep “tears of blood” as Patroclus advances on the famed son of Zeus.
Sarpedon vs Patroclus
As Patroclus gains ground on Sarpedon, he first throws his spear at Sarpedon’s henchman, Thrasymelos, and hits him in the belly. Sarpedon fires his spear at Patroclus but misses, instead hitting one of the horses on Achilles’ chariot. Automedon cuts the horse’s reins loose to save himself and the other horses from destruction.
Sarpedon fires a second spear towards Patroclus and this time it goes over Patroclus’ left shoulder. In retaliation, Patroclus throws his spear at Sarpedon and hits him right “where the beating heart is closed in the arch of the muscles”. Sarpedon falls to the ground with such power that he is compared to an oak tree or a white poplar.
As Sarpedon dies he calls out for Glaukos, telling him that it’s now his time to shine. He must go to the Lycians and tell them to continue fighting the Greeks to honour the son of Zeus’s name. When Sarpedon breathes his last breath, Patroclus comes over and pulls the spear out of his body and returns to the fighting.
More fight scenes
Coming back into battle, Glaukos notices that his old injury is flaring up (do we remember that Teucer had hit him? Well, he did) and so calls out to Apollo in the hopes that the god will heal him. Glaukos stresses that his arm is in a lot of pain and the wound won’t stop bleeding, making it hard for him to even hold his spear steady. Apollo hears him, stops the pain in the arm and then encourages Glaukos’ fighting spirit. Glaukos expresses his thanks and then goes to rouse up his men to fight in honour of Sarpedon.
Following this, Glaukos goes to find Poulydamas, Agenor, Aeneas, and Hector to tell them that Sarpedon has died. He says that Ares has struck him down through Patroclus’ spear and asks them to stand with him in fear that the Greeks will try to take Sarpedon’s armour. Hector agrees to stand alongside the Lycians and leads his Trojans against the Greeks.
Meanwhile, Patroclus speaks to the two Ajaxes who are described as burning for battle. He says that the man who first scaled their walls is dead (Sarpedon as per a few books ago), but now they should go and get his armour and kill some of his comrades, too. The men agree and move in to fight the Trojans.
The first Myrmidon to be killed is the son of Agakles, Epeigeus. Hector kills him by throwing a rock at his head, splitting his head in two inside the helmet. This death made Patroclus sad and angry, so much so that he is spurred on to seek revenge. He hits Sthenelaos, son of Ithaimenes, in the neck with a stone, breaking all the tendons.
Glaukos kills the Greek Bathykles, son of Chalkon. Meriones then cuts down Trojan Laogonos, son of Onetor, by stabbing him between the jaw and ear.
Aeneas throws his spear at Meriones, hoping to hit him, but Meriones dodges it. Aeneas is mad at this and he yells at Meriones, claiming that if he wasn’t a “dancer” (a.k.a didn’t move so effortlessly and well) then he would have hit him. Meriones yells back at Aeneas (something like) “Yeah, you may be a strong fighter, but if I even try to hit you then you won’t be able to avoid my attack! I’ll send you straight down to Hades!!!” Hearing this terrible trash talk, Patroclus appears near Meriones and screams (something along the lines of) “MERIONES! Why are you saying this crap? Now is not the time to talk — it’s the time to fight, damn it!”
Again, there’s a lot of general fighting described, with Homer noting that you would not be able to point out Sarpedon’s body on the battlefield as he has been covered in weapons and surrounded by Trojans protecting him.
Seeing this, Zeus is unable to look away from the fighting and wonders if now is the time for Patroclus’ death (as he can see that Hector is CLEARLY upset and angry), or if Patroclus should continue to push the Trojans back a little further towards the walls of the city. After much deliberation, Zeus decides it is not Patroclus’ time to die … yet.
Patroclus Pushing The Trojans Back
Zeus puts a temper (without any strength*) into Hector. The Trojan prince climbs into his chariot and flees the oncoming Greeks, encouraging everyone else to run too. All the Trojan men scatter and the Greeks go in to take Sarpedon’s armour, with Patroclus handing it off to his companions for them to carry back to the ships.
Now that the armour is removed, Zeus informs Apollo that he is allowed to go and rescue Sarpedon’s body, wash him, anoint him with ambrosia and put the correct clothing on him, then give him to the gods of Death and Sleep (who are twins). The pair will then bring him home to Lykia where Sarpedon’s brothers and countrymen will bury him. Apollo did as he was told.
Patroclus and Automedon are now seen barreling after the Trojans. First Patroclus kills Adrestos, then Autonoos and Echeklos, then Perimos and Epistor, Melanippos and Elasos, and lastly Moulios and Pylartes.
Homer notes that the Greeks may have taken the walls of Troy then and there under the leadership of Patroclus, had not Apollo come down to help the Trojans. Three times Patroclus tried to mount the tower along the walls, and three times Apollo battered him back to the ground. When Patroclus tried a fourth time to scale the walls, Apollo yells at him (something like) “IT IS NOT YOUR DESTINY TO TAKE TROY — IT’S NOT EVEN ACHILLES’ DESTINY AND HE’S WAY BETTER THAN YOU ARE. CHILL OUT, MAN.” And so, Patroclus chills out and stops trying to take the city of Troy.
While this is happening, Hector is inside the Skaian gates and wondering whether to drive back out into the fighting. As he’s thinking, Apollo comes to stand by him in the likeness of Hector’s uncle Asios (brother of Hecuba and son of Dymas). Apollo asks why Hector left the battle and encourages him to get back out there, saying that Apollo may give him the glory of killing Patroclus if he does return. Apollo-in-disguise leaves and Hector calls Kebriones to drive his chariot back out of the city.
Meanwhile, Apollo goes onto the field and inflicts confusion among the Greeks so that he can give glory to the Trojans and — mainly — to Hector. Hector lets the rest of the Greeks be and drives straight out of the gates towards Patroclus.
Patroclus is currently stalking around the battlefield, holding a spear in one hand and a rock in the other. When he sees Hector coming towards him, he throws the rock at Hector’s charioteer. The rock hits Kebriones on the forehead and collapses both brows into one another, killing him, and causing him to fall out of the chariot.
Patroclus moves over to the body, but Hector hops out of the chariot to protect his former charioteer AND BROTHER, LEST WE FORGET. Hector grabs his head, Patroclus his foot, and the other fighters come to help both sides stake their claim. Lots of fighting happens here, but eventually the Greeks overpower the Trojans for Kebriones. They strip the armour from him and send it back to the camps.
Patroclus is now riled up from the tug-of-war, and so he charges back into the group of Trojan soldiers three times. Each time he goes in, he kills nine men. On the fourth time, Apollo gets involved to prevent more unnecessary Trojan deaths.
Patroclus Dies
Apollo appears next to Patroclus, shrouded in a mist. As both god and mortal move, Patroclus is unable to see Apollo’s presence. This gives Apollo the chance to approach Patroclus from behind and hit him on the back, stunning the Greek soldier. Now that Patroclus is temporarily stationary, Apollo hits off his helmet so that it clatters onto the ground in front of him. Following this, Apollo and Zeus break off Patroclus’ corslet, exposing his skin to an attack.
As Patroclus stands in the middle of battle, he is hit in the back with a sharp spear by a man named Euphorbos. However, this man was too scared to face the terrifying Greek in combat, and so sheepishly comes over to take the spear out of Patroclus’ back before quickly leaving the scene.
Patroclus tries to cheat death and go back to his companions, but Hector will not allow it. Hector stabs him with his spear in the belly and drives the bronze clean through. To the horror of all the Greeks, Patroclus falls.
Hector says (something along the lines of) “You thought you’d take Troy today, muwahahaha! Today the vultures will eat you — Achilles can do nothing to help you now!” Hector assumes that Achilles told Patroclus to go out into battle with the goal of killing the Trojan prince, which Hector says was foolish.
As he’s dying, Patroclus says “This victory is given to you by Zeus, since the gods are the ones who took the armour off me so you could get a clean shot. Deadly destiny with Apollo has killed me, and before him Euphorbos, so you’re only the third slayer”. He then tells Hector that the Trojan will not live very long after this moment as it’s his destiny to be killed by Achilles.
Patroclus dies and as his soul is going down to Death’s house, Hector says (something like) “What is this prophecy you’re talking about? Who knows if Achilles won’t be hit by my spear before that and his life won’t be lost instead?” But hearing no reply, Hector puts his foot on Patroclus’s chest to pull the spear from his body.
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Thumbnail Image: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/254883
Terracotta neck-amphora (jar)
Attributed to the Diosphos Painter. ca. 500 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 154
Obverse, Thanatos (Death) and Hypnos (Sleep) with the body of Sarpedon
Reverse, Eos (Dawn) with the body of her son, Memnon
”The scenes on this jar show two great heroes of the Trojan War being lifted from the battlefield after their deaths. Sarpedon, a son of the god Zeus, will be carried to Lycia, his homeland in southern Asia Minor, and Memnon, to his kingdom in Ethiopia.” (Copied from the Met Museum website).