Book 24: Priam Goes To Get Hector’s Body Back
Achilles is still sad …
After the funeral games, the men go back to their ships and take their dinner.
They all sleep... well, all except Achilles. The son of Peleus continues to cry for Patroclus, tossing and turning in his bed in longing for his comrade. He cries on his back, sometimes on his side, but mostly on his face.
In his distress, Achilles goes to pace along the beach, but not even this could break his pain.
This means that as soon as sunlight hit the Earth once more, Achilles straps Hector to his chariot and drags him around Patroclus’ tomb three times. Only then did he return to the Greek camp and throw the Trojan into the dust.
Seeing this, Apollo takes pity on Hector even though he's a dead man. The god takes it upon himself to guard the prince from ugliness to ensure his body wouldn’t be torn by Achilles in the future.
Cut to the gods
As the gods watch Achilles rage, they call a meeting to convince Hermes to go and get Hector’s body back. The idea pleases all the gods … aside from Hera, Poseidon and Athena (obviously). In case you forgot, they’re on the Greeks side so any assistance to the Trojans is ALWAYS seen as a personal attack on them. This hatred runs SO DEEP, Homer tells us, all because of the judgement of Paris. I wish I was joking that the event that started the whole war a whopping ten years ago continues to enrage certain deities. Ridiculous, but alas.
Apollo reminds all the gods that today marks the twelfth day after Hector had been killed. He says (something along the lines of): “It’s very convenient that all of you seem to have forgotton just how many sacrifice Hector made in your honour. He was a great man who was always respectful of us, but now no one will go to save him — not even off of the desire to have his wife, parents, family and friends bury him. All for what!? Achilles? The guy who has no feeling of justice?? Achilles has gone too far — for a man must someday lose one who was even closer that this; a brother from the same wound or a son. He needs to move on and push forward”. And so, Apollo suggests stealing the body of Hector back to return it to his family.
Hera hears this and is RAGING at the idea. She reminds everyone of a main difference between the two men which Apollo has failed to mention: Hector is mortal, whereas Achilles is the child of a goddess. The queen highlights her connection to the family, stating how she raised Thetis and even gave her as a bride to Peleus. Due to this long history between them and the inevitable pain of Achilles, it’s only fair that they let him get it out of his system.
In response, Zeus tells Hera not to be so mad at the other gods. He says that Hector was — and still is — loved by the gods and was the best man in Troy when he lived. Zeus says that he loved Hector because the prince always made sacrifices to him and never left his altars unattended. Zeus says the idea of stealing the body from Achilles is dumb, since Thetis basically guards him day and night. However, if Iris would summon Thetis to Zeus then he’s happy to barter a deal: If Achilles should be given gifts by Priam, then this is a fair exchange for the body of Hector.
Iris springs into action with the message. She flies on down to Thetis, who is in her cave gathering among the other sea goddesses in mourning. However, the goddesses do not mourn Patroclus nor Hector; they have already begun to mourn Achilles as he is soon destined to die in Troy.
The messenger goddess squeezes in close to Thetis and is like “Get up loser, Zeus wants to talk to you” (not an exact quote*).
Confused as to what Zeus wants, Thetis removes her black veil and follows Iris to Zeus. They find him (still) surrounded by all the other gods — so basically right where we left him. Thetis goes to sit next to the king of the gods and Athena makes space for her while Hera offers her a golden goblet (Thetis, politely, accepts).
Zeus leans in to explain why Thetis has been summoned to Olympus, and explains that for 9 days the gods have argued about what to do with the body of Hector. Many have urged Hermes to go steal the body, but Zeus has been giving Achilles the space to mourn in order to honour his deal with Thetis (remember this from book 1? No? Really?? I definitely mentioned it so do remind yourself!). He now asks Thetis to bring a message to Achilles: she must tell him the gods are not pleased with him and that Zeus in particular isn’t happy with his treatment of Hector’s body. He hopes that in time, Achilles will return the body to the Trojans. To make this deal easier, he tells Thetis that he will send Iris down to Priam to instruct the king to gather a ransom for his son and bring gifts to Achilles to soften his anger.
Thetis listens, agrees and obeys.
Thetis goes to Achilles
Thetis finds Achilles as he and the men are getting their morning meal ready. He and his men are still in lamentation over the death of Patroclus.
Thetis comes to sit next to her son, stroking his head to comfort his pain. She asks him how much longer he will eat his heart out in sorrow and lamentation considering his own destruction is fast approaching. Thetis then begs Achilles to the message that she brings from Zeus, asking him to give up the body of Hector and accept gifts from Priam.
Achilles reluctantly agrees to Zeus’ demands, making it clear that if this had not come the king of the gods himself, Achilles would not be likely to oblige.
Iris goes to Priam
While Achilles and Thetis chit chat, we cut to Iris running off to Troy with a message for Priam. Zeus has told her that she must find the king and order him to bring gifts to Achilles in exchange for his son’s body. However, Priam must do this alone with only one elder herald being allowed in his company. This herald — whoever Priam chooses — will go with him to manage the mules and wagon so Priam can bring Hector back to the city. Zeus tells Iris to comfort Priam by telling the old man Hermes will lead him to Achilles’ tent, and it’s with this god’s watchful eye that Priam will be protected from Achilles’ rage.
Iris finds Priam’s in his home, the halls sounding with cries of mourning. The sons of Priam have cried so much that their clothes are soaked through. Priam himself sits among them, covered in dung (we are told that he had been rolling in it and smeared it on his face as a physical show of the suffering he feels).
The goddess goes to stand beside Priam and speaks to him in a small voice. She tells him not to be frightened because she’s a messenger of Zeus, and the great Olympian orders him to go and ransom Hector by bringing gifts to Achilles. After she has repeated everything we already know, Iris leaves.
Priam prepares to meet Achilles
Priam orders his sons to get a wagon ready and fasten a basket to it. As they do that, the king goes to the storeroom and calls out for Hecuba.
When Hecuba appears, Priam explains the whole Iris-bringing-a-message-from-Zeus thing. He asks her what she thinks he should do … and as you can expect, Hecuba thinks her husband as COMPLETELY lost the plot. Hecuba replies asking how he could possibly want to of to the Greek ships alone — especially to see his son’s murderer?? She accuses her husband as having a heart of iron because Achilles will never take pity on him nor respect his rights. Hecuba hates Achilles so much that she wishes she could set her teeth in the middle of his liver and eat it … yah. Hecuba did NOT come to play.
Despite his wife’s words, Priam says that she won’t dissuade him. He will go to meet Achilles and if it is his destiny to die a this man’s hands, then so be it. At least then Achilles can kill him while he’s holding his son.
Priam now makes moves to prepare for the journey. He opens his clothes chest and takes out twelve robes and twelve mantles, just as many blankets, many great white cloaks and the same number of tunics. He weighs and carried out ten talents of gold, two shining tripods, four cauldrons, and a really nice, shiny goblet.
As he is prepping the ransom, Priam dismisses all of the other Trojans loitering around the palace. He asks them to go home to mourn in private. When the men don’t run off immediately, the king of Troy actually goes after them with a stick, telling them to scatter. Finally, they leave.
Left with Priam are his surviving sons. He addresses the nine of them, stating that he wishes all of them had been killed by the Greek ships in place of Hector (HARSH MUCH??). But this is not all he says, because Priam came for a fight. He states that he has had man of the best men as his sons … but none of the sons left are any of the best. Three of his sons were killed by Ares (aka, by war) — Troilus, Nestor, and Hector — and he complains that the only children he is left with are disgraces considering they are just dancers, champions of the chorus and liars. I would like to point out one absolutely vital piece of information for you, kind reader: Paris is still alive. I die laughing at this every single time.
When his sons don’t respond, Priam orders them to get his wagon ready. Homer gives us a terribly long description of how the wagon is loaded up and made ready for Priam’s departure.
Hecuba re-enters the action and brings sweet wine in a golden goblet so that Priam may pour an offering. She instructs her husband to pour the libation for Zeus and pray he (Priam) will return. She also tells him that after he makes his offering to ask Zeus for a bird of omen so that he knows the god is on his side. However, if Zeus won’t send a bird omen, Hecuba says she doesn’t advise him to go to the Greek ships.
Priam tells his attendants/housekeepers to pour unstained water over his hands so that he is clean, after which he then takes the wine cup from Hecuba. He stands in prayer, telling Zeus he wants to visit Achilles but needs a bird omen before he goes. Zeus hears him and he sends down an eagle (it’s HUGE guys!!) which sweeps through the city.
Seeing this, Priam gets on his chariot with his herald and charioteer, Idaios. As the pair drive through Troy, people follow behind them in lament as if the king were going to his own death. When the chariot exits the city , the lamenters turn back to the safety of Troy.
Zeus watches the chariot leave and takes pity on Priam. He turns to Hermes and tells the trickster god to go to Priam and guide him to the Greek ships, protecting him from watchful eyes until he gets to Achilles. Hermes hears this and immediately straps his sandals on, grabs his staff and flitters down to Troy. There he took on the likeness of a young man and goes to find the king.
When Priam had driven past the tomb of Ilos, he had Idaios rest so that the horses can rehydrate themselves.
Although the sun had begun to setting on the land, Idaios could see a figure racing towards them in the shadows. He advises Priam to be careful as a stranger in the night is NEVER a good thing, and suggests that maybe the pair should run. If they happen to be caught, the best bet is for the two of them to supplicate the stranger and beg for mercy. Hearing this, all of the hairs on Priam’s body stand on end.
Hermes approaches and takes Priam’s hands, saying (something like) “Where are you going now that everyone is asleep? Do you not fear the Greeks who hate you — those enemies of yours that sleep near here? If they find you, what is your plan? You’re not young and neither is this guy so you’re no good for a fight. You have the figure of a beloved father more than a dignified warrior, so I’d fight off those who would attempt to harm you”.
Priam is … understandably quite confused by this, but assumes that a god has sent the stranger as a good omen for the journey. To solidify his good feelings about the stranger, Priam goes into flattery mode and tells a disguised Hermes how attractive he is and how lucky his parents must feel to have a son like him.
Hermes then blows his cover, asking the king if he’s abandoning his city because Hector has died.
This sends Priam into panic mode, demanding where the stranger could have heard such things. He asks how the man could know about the Trojan prince’s death, injuring that the man wasn’t as honest about his identity as the king initially thought.
Hermes identifies himself as Achilles’ henchman — he says that his father is a man named Polyktor (who is the same age as Priam, according to the absolute liar Hermes has become). He explains that Polyktor has six other sons and he and his brothers all shook lots as to who was going to come and meet Priam.
Priam still thinks this is a little fishy. He decides to challenge a Hermes-in-disguise by asking what Achilles has done to the body of his son. He specifically wants to know if Achilles has left Hector’s body by his ships or if he has left it to the dogs to be eaten.
Hermes tells the old man that the dogs have NOT eaten Hector nor have the brids, but his body does lay by the ships of Achilles. He remains looking exactly how he did in life despite his death being twelve days ago. Worms do not devour his flesh like they do other men who have fallen in battle, which is a miracle considering Achilles continues to drag Hector randomly around Patroclus’ tomb. He says that the king will see this when he goes to the camp and only then will he believe that the immortals care for Hector and love him.
Priam is THRILLED by this, saying that it’s clearly good to never forget giving gifts to the gods as Hector never did, and now the gods remember him in death. He tells Hermes to accept a cup of wine and asks him to be his guide to Achilles’ shelter. Though Hermes states he can’t accept gifts when Achille isn’t aware (because Achilles is scary), he does agree to escort Priam (though, of course, we know that he has to do this because he’s been sent to).
And so, Hermes jumps up into the chariot, picks up the reigns and breathes strength into the horses. The trio get to the fortifications and meet some sentries who are getting their dinner ready. Onto these men Hermes drifted sleep so he could open the gate and bring in Priam with his wagon of gifts, totally undetected.
When they get to Achilles’ shelter, Hermes announces his true identity and explains how Zeus sent him as a guide … but now he’s going leaving since his job is complete. He tells Priam to go alone and to clasp Achilles’ knees in supplication, mention the Greek’s parents and his son and hopefully that’ll move the son of Peleus. And with that, Hermes leaves.
Achilles & Priam meet
Priam gets off the chariot leaves Idaios to watch the horses. The king goes straight into the shelter and finds Achilles sitting with Automaton and Alkimos beside him. Homer mentions how Achilles had just finished his dinner, evident by the fact the table was still beside him when Priam approached.
However, the Trojan king comes into the tent completely unseen by the other men and catches Achilles’ knees. Priam takes old of Achilles’ “man slaughtering” hands and takes up a position of supplication.
Achilles looks down at Priam in wonder … but the pair are not alone, remember? So not only is Achilles staring in shock that Priam is in front of him, but all the other men around him are also completely dumbstruck.
Priam now speaks to Achilles, asking him to remember his own father who is of a similar age to the old king. He suggests that Peleus must know that he is still alive and is on cloud nine, hopeful he will see his son again. But he says that destiny is an evil for the Trojan king. Although he used to have the most noble sons in the city, they are all dead now (again, I would like to stress that Paris IS STILL ALIVE). He says he had fifty sons when the Greeks invaded — nineteen of them given to him by Hecuba and the others from his valour affairs, but even with all of those prospects, Ares has taken all of the best. But Achilles took the son who guarded the city and his country, and this is the man Priam comes to him for now. This son is also why the king has brought gifts for Achilles, in the hopes he takes pity on old Priam as Achilles remembers his own father. Priam says that he has gone through what no other mortal has gone through by putting his lips to the hands of the man who killed his children.
Hearing this, Achilles starts to get ALL the feelings. He thinks of his father in Priam’s position and can’t help the grief from rising within him. As tears spill over onto his cheeks, Achilles takes Priam’s hands and gently pushes him away; Priam sits at Achilles’ feet weeping for Hector, and Achilles sits weeping for his own father and for Patroclus. The sound of their mourning moves everyone else in the tent.
Once Achilles composes himself, he stands, takes Priam by the hand and set the old man on his feet. Achilles says (something like): “How could you bare to come to my ships, given I have killed so many of your sons? This I need to understand — so sit with me so we can talk out our sorrows. We mortals must live a life of unhappiness, but the gods know no sorrow.” He goes on to explain how there are two urns which stand in Zeus’ doorway: one is an urn of evil, one is an urn of blessings. If Zeus mingles them and sprinkles them onto man, one will move in evil, then again good fortune. But when Zeus only touches the urn of sorrows then Zeus makes failure of a man — one who is neither respected by the gods nor by mortals. He explains that this is what happened to his father Peleus when he was born. Peleus was lord of the Myrmidons and Zeus gave him an immortal wife. But even then, the gods piled evil and misfortune upon him. Unlike Priam, Peleus did not have many great sons, but only one. His one son can not give him any care as he grows old, since Achilles is stuck in a far off land, bringing nothing but sorrow to the Trojans. But in saying all of that, he encourages Priam not to mourn to long for his sons since his mourning will never bring them back to life.
Priam … pretty much ignores what Achilles has just said and instead asks him to accept his ransom in exchange for Hector. He states that he can no longer sit around while his son is lying within the shelter, nor can he fathom sitting on a chair while his son is on the ground.
Achilles looks at him darkly and explains that his mother has told him how Priam came to the camps. Thetis said that an immortal would guide Priam in front of Achilles because no mortal would be brave enough to face him. Therefore, Priam should count himself lucky for being in his presence, and his rudeness is not appreciated.
Priam gets nervous hearing Achilles’ serious tone and so does as he’s told. Achilles’ two attendants, Automaton and Alkimos (the two men he favoured after Patroclus’ death), bring in a chair for Priam to sit on. They unpack the king’s wagon but leave the two great cloaks and the tunic inside so that Priam could cover Hector when he took him home.
Achilles calls out to his serving maids to claim and anoint Hector’s body. The women move him out of Priam’s eyeline so that the king wouldn’t get upset or mad. This is because any more outbursts of emotion or rudeness towards Achilles’ hospitality would FOR SURE set Achilles off … and they don’t want that. So once the maids finish the cleaning job, they threw the cloak and tunic over Hector. Achilles and his comrades then lift him safely into the wagon.
Doing this, Achilles feels a pang of guilt. He stops and calls out to Patroclus, saying (something along the lines of): “Hey man, I know you’re dead in the Underworld and all, but please don’t be mad that I’m giving Hector back to Priam. I promise to give you a share of the ransom”.
Achilles goes back into the shelter and sits on the couch he had risen from. He looks to Priam and says (something like): “Your son is now returned to you, as you asked. You will see him when you take him away at dawn. For now we must eat dinner — even Niobe, the woman whose twelve kids were killed by Apollo and Artemis after she said she was more fertile than Leto, remembered to eat . Like her, we too must remember to eat, and once we are done you may take your son back to Troy”.
The son of Peleus and his myrmidons get to work preparing a sheep to feast on. They sacrifice it, skin it, cut the meat into small portions and cook them on skewers. Automaton sets out baskets along the table while Achilles places meat in each one for all to feast on.
When they were finished eating and drinking, both Priam and Achilles look at one another totally confused. Priam was struggling to understand how Achilles could be mortal and look like a man, while Achilles was attempting to contemplate Priam’s bravery.
Breaking the silence, Priam asks Achilles for a place to sleep so they can both go to bed considering Priam says he hasn’t slept since Hector was killed.
Achilles orders his servants to make up a bed on the porch for Priam. Once that’s done, Achilles tells Priam he has the best chance of getting some rest on the porch because men are always coming to him at all hours for counsel. To close the conversation, Achilles asks the king how many days he plans for Hector’s burial. This is because Achilles has every intention of allowing a father to honour his son, and so will do his part to hold back the Greek army for this duration of time.
Priam says that if Achilles is willing to accommodate the time needed for a full funeral, he would need nine days of Hector’s body in the palace for public mourning, and on the tenth day they’d move to bury him. On the eleventh day they will make a grave-barrow for him, and on the twelfth they could all resume the fighting.
Achilles replies saying he will do as Priam has asked. He will hold off attacks for all of that time to ensure the king has his final moments with his son.
The pair part ways and Priam (and Idaios) go to sleep on the porch (the second bed has also been made up, too).
Achilles sleeps inside with Briseis.
While everyone was sleeping, Hermes remained awake and alert. The trickster god spends the night formulating a plan to get Priam safely out of the Greek camp and back to Troy. When he’s conjured up a plan he’s happy with, he goes to stand above Priam’s head and wakes him. He says that Achilles has treated him well and given him his son back, but if Agamemnon were to catch him, Priams’ surviving sons would need to put together their own ransom for his old, kingly body.
This frightens Priam into action, waking up Idaios and demanding that they leave immediately. Hermes gets the chariot ready, the men hop inside and they ride away into the night.
Only when they reached the river Xanthos did Hermes leave to return to Olympus.
Hector returns to troy
As the chariot was approaching the gate to the city, only Cassandra knew of their arrival. She could see her dad and Idaios bringing Hector’s body home, and she cried out to the city for them to come see. Hearing this, all the citizens run to greet the chariot by the gates.
First among them was Andromache and Hecuba. Both women run up beside the chariot to touch Hector’s head and wail in lamentation. They would have stayed all day long had Priam not told them he wanted to get Hector back to the palace, promising the citizens that they could all continue their mourning there. So they make a path for the chariot to pass through, their growing laments filling Troys skies.
The chariot returns to the palace and the men place Hector on a bed. Singers move to sit beside him, leading the people in mourning.
Andromache holds Hector in her arms and calls out to her husband, saying (something like): “Hector, you lost your young life and left me a widow in my house. Your boy is still only a baby. He will never rule this city as you, its defender, is gone. Now I will be taken away as a slave to the Greeks. Oh Hector, you left your parents in sorrow, but I have been left in bitterness and pain — for you did not die in bed and stretch out your arms to me, nor tell me a last intimate word I could always remember”. HEART. BREAKING.
After Andromache finishes her speech, Hecuba speaks to her son, saying (something like): “Hector, you were my dearest son. While you lived you were dearest to the gods, and even in death they cared for you. There were other sons of mine Achilles captured and sold as slaves far away. But you he killed and dragged around Patroclus’ tomb over and over. Now here, in the palace, you look like someone who has been killed by Apollo and his gentle arrows”.
Helen then raises her voice to address Hector, saying (something along the lines of): “Hector, of all Paris’s brothers you were dearest to me. My husband brought me here to Troy, but I should have died before coming here. Now I have been here for 20 years since first arriving from my home. In this time I never heard anyone say harsh words about me in the palace because you would speak to them and use gentle words to restrain them. That’s why I mourn you, and I mourn my bad luck. No one else here was my friend aside from you”.
Over the sound of wailing, Priam speaks to the people gathered in mourning. He orders the men of Troy to get wood for Hector’s funeral pyre (he tells them not to fear a Greek attack as Achilles has promised him their twelve days), which they being doing immediately. They continue bringing their wagons filled with timber for nine days, and on the tenth they placed Hector’s body in the centre of the pyre to burn him.
The Trojan people gather around Hector’s pyre. Once the last flames have burned, the citizens put out the embers by tipping their wine over them. After this, the friends and brothers of Hector gather his bones and place them in a gold casket wrapped in purple robes. The casket is then placed in a grave and stones laid on top. Due to the Trojan’s fear of Greek attack, they placed watchmen to guard the grave. Then a feast was held in Hector’s honour at Priam’s palace.
The last line of the poem reads “such was their burial of Hector, breaker of horses”.
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Thumbnail Image: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/247265
Terracotta amphora (jar)
Attributed to the Nikoxenos Painter ca. 500 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 171
Obverse and reverse, the death of Priam
”Priam, king of Troy, has taken refuge at the altar of Zeus Herkeios. The Greek warrior Neoptolemos attacks with a spear from the left as Hecuba, Priam's wife, gesticulates in despair. The Nikoxenos Painter worked in both black-figure and red-figure. It is interesting that while he employed red-figure for the decoration, the type of amphora is that preferred by black-figure artists.” (Copied from the Met Museum website).