What must mean more than anything else to Achilles is not only Patroklos himself but also the actual meaning of the name Patroklees, which conveys the idea of the klea andron(the glories of heroes). For Achilles, the words klea andron represent the master myth in the actual process of being narrated in the epic of the Iliad. For Achilles, it is a myth of his own making. And it is myth in the making.
Achilles will now make the moral choice of giving up his own life for his comrade Patroklos – and for the meaning of Patroklos. The meaning of the name of Patroklos, ‘the one who has the glory [kleos] of the ancestors [pateres]’, recapitulates the epic choice of Achilles, who ultimately opts for kleos over life itself.
Achilles will now make the moral choice of giving up his own life for his comrade Patroklos – and for the meaning of Patroklos. The meaning of the name of Patroklos, ‘the one who has the glory [kleos] of the ancestors [pateres]’, recapitulates the epic choice of Achilles, who ultimately opts for kleos over life itself.
The Cambridge Companion to Greek Mythology