ari’s Reviews > The Iliad > Status Update

— Euphorbus tries to strip Patroclus of his things, win his glory in Troy, but Menelaus, who’s hovering over his body, tells him to retreat. Euphorbus doesn’t and makes him pay for also killing his brother and leaving his soon to be bride a widow, but Menelaus kills him with a stike through the throat after Euphorbus’ spear bent against his shield
— Apollo spurs Hector on when no other Trojan will approach Menelaus as he strips Euphorbus and stays over Patroclus’ body. When Hector approaches, Menelaus questions himself: “What shall I do? If i abandon these fine arms and armour and leave Patroclus, who is lying here because he fought to claim back what I lost, then any warrior who sees me do it will surely blame me. But if I should fight alone against great Hector and the Trojans, because I am ashamed to run away, then I will be outnumbered and surrounded by many warriors, out here alone. But why does my mind even ask this question? If anyone defies divine intentions and tries to fight a man a god has honoured, immediately disaster rolls towards him. No Greek should blame me if he seems me yield to Hector, who makes war with held from gods.” He decides to find Ajax to fight with him, “to fight bravely, with our minds intent on courage,” and attempt to save Patroclus’ body for Achilles.
— Hector had already stripped Patroclus of his armour, though Ajax and Menelaus stand over the body. Glaucus says Hector is a coward for backing away from fighting Menelaus and Ajax for Patroclus, and that maybe they’d have traded it for Sarpedon’s. Hector in response dons Achilles armour that Patroclus was wearing and renters the fighting
— Zeus sort of pities Hector knowing he won’t make it back home, “Poor fool! You are not thinking about death at all, but death is near you. You are putting in the deathless armour of the best of men, at whom all others tremble. (…) For now, I plan to grant you great success as compensation, because you will never go home from battle, and Andromache will never take from you the splendid arms of great Achilles, son of Peleus.”
— Hector offers reward to whoever can get Patroclus’ body from Ajax, so Ajax requests of Menelaus to call upon the greatest of the Greek warriors to aid them, “now I no longer think the two of us can get away from battle and go home. I am not so afraid for dead Patroclus, who soon will glut the dogs and birds of Troy, as for my own life and yours. I worry that we may suffer something terrible because a cloud of war veils everything—Hector, and ruin is revealed to us.” At Menelaus’ call, Oilean Ajax, Idomeneus, Meriones, and countless others come as fog from Zeus covers the battlefield
— Apollo visits Aeneas in disguise and Aeneas, aware a god had visited him, too pushes the Trojans to take Patroclus, though they do not succeed
— “But all the while, godlike Achilles still knew nothing of his death, because the battle was very far away from the swift ships, beneath the wall of Troy. and he had not expected on his heart his friend would die. He thought Patroclus would approach the gates but then come safely home again, alive. He certainly did not think he would try to sack the city on his own, without him, or even with him. Many times, his mother had talked to him in private, telling him the plans of mighty Zeus. And yet his mother had not revealed to him what had just happened, this terrible disaster—that his friend, the man he loved the most of all by far, was dead. And constantly around his corpse they pressed and killed each other with sharp spears.“ Patroclus: tried to climb the wall three times over and almost a fourth T_T
— Automedon joins the fray with Alcimedon now with Achilles’ chariot and horses, spurred on by Zeus after they’d been crying, and Hector sees this and tells Aeneas to come and attack them, thinking they are weak and can easily take the immortal horses for themselves. They call upon the two Ajax and Menelaus to protect Achilles’ horses
— Zeus sends Athena to rouse the Greeks to not let up and at Menelaus’ mention of worshiping her firstly she gives him strength. When he kills Podes, Zeus grants the Trojans the upper hand and the Greeks start to lose knowing Zeus is aiding the Trojans and decide it’s best to retreat back to their ships and tell Achilles of Patroclus’ fate, which Ajax tells Menelaus who runs to find Antilochus to be the news bearer that the body can be saved if not his armour
— Menelaus and Meriones carry Patroclus back to the camp while the two Ajax defend them from the Trojans surrounding them like wildfire