In this book Achilles completes funeral rites for Patroclus and holds games in his honour.
As the Greek forces return to the ships they begin to disperse, but Achilles insists that his Myrmidon fighters form a guard of honour with their chariots and pass by Patroclus’ body. They drive around it three times. The sands of Troy grow wetter with the tears of Thetis, Achilles’ mother. Achilles makes a speech over Patroclus’ body, confirming his promise of revenge, swearing he will allow dogs to eat Hector and he will slaughter a dozen Trojans for the funeral pyre. He flings Hector’s corpse facedown beside Patroclus.
Preparations for a feast are made. Oxen, sheep, goats and pigs are slaughtered to feed the army. Achilles is led to Agamemnon’s tent where a cauldron is heated over a fire so that Achilles might wash the blood of battle from him and eat. But Achilles refuses the offer to wash, saying he will not wash until Patroclus has been cremated and he has cut a lock of hair for him. But Achilles consents to the feast and orders that wood be gathered the following morning for Patroclus’ funeral pyre. The banquet is held and Achilles later goes outside to sleep in the open.
As he sleeps the ghost of Patroclus rises before him. Patroclus’ ghost begs for a swift funeral since he is currently prevented from entering the underworld while ever his body remains as it is. His ghost laments that he will never be able to return from Hades or sleep alone with Achilles again – lines which give credence to the claim the two men were lovers. He recalls how he came to Achilles home after accidentally killing another boy, and how he and Achilles were raised together. Anticipating Achilles’ own future death, the ghost requests that their bones be interred in a single urn together. Achilles agrees to all of the ghost’s requests. When he tries to hug the ghost, it disappears into the earth.
The next morning Meriones is tasked with organising the cutting of a vast amount of timber from the surrounding region for Patroclus’ pyre. As the wood is gathered, Achilles takes personal charge of building an immense mound. When this is done the Myrmidons again form a funeral procession with their chariots and cover Patroclus’ body with hair they cut from their heads. When they reach the pyre mound, Patroclus’ body is laid on stacked timber and Achilles, himself, cuts a lock of hair from his own head which he had been growing to be cut in honour of the river god Spercheus when he returned home. Achilles no longer has any hope he will return home, and so he dedicates the lock to Patroclus. At this point the main bulk of the army is dismissed, leaving only those close to Patroclus and the army captains in attendance. The chief mourners add to the wood for the pyre, enlarging it to a hundred feet in length and breadth. Added to this mound are slaughtered sheep, cattle, four large stallions and two dogs Patroclus once fed at his table. Achilles also kills a dozen Trojans who are then placed within the wooden structure. He makes a point of not adding Hector’s body, whom, he repeats, will be fed to dogs. Even so, Hector’s body is protected by Aphrodite and Apollo. Aphrodite wards off any dogs in the area and Apollo creates a dark cloud so the sun will not burn his flesh.
Meanwhile, the fire refuses to take hold, so Achilles prays to the winds Zephyr and Boreas to blow so that the fire might be stoked. Iris hears his prayers and takes his message to the winds. The winds respond and Patroclus’ funeral fire is fanned into a huge blaze. Achilles keeps vigil at the pyre all night, pouring wine into the ground and crying out for Patroclus’ ghost, but it does not return.
By morning the funeral pyre has diminished and Achilles finally falls to sleep, exhausted. But he is soon awakened by the sound of Agamemnon’s followers approaching. Achilles orders them to gather Patroclus’ bones and place them in a golden urn, sealed tight until his own bones can later be added. The soldiers also build a ring of stone revetments around the site of the pyre.
THE CHARIOT RACE
Achilles now proposes they hold funeral games in honour of Patroclus with a host of prizes on offer. He first proposes a chariot race with five prizes. For first place: a woman and a two-eared tripod. For second place: a pregnant mare. For third place: a new cauldron. For fourth place: two gold bars. For fifth place: a two-handed jar. Achilles claims he would win first prize if he competed in the race, but says he will refrain. Eumelus, Diomedes, Menelaus, Antilochus (Nestor’s son) and Meriones volunteer to compete. Nestor tells Antilochus that he has the slowest horses, but he believes his son has the greatest skill, and he advises him to trust in this for victory. A dead tree stump has been chosen as the turning point for the race, and Nestor advises Antilochus how to use that turn strategically to get in front.
The contestants draw lots for their starting positions and then the race begins. Eumelus surges to the lead with Diomedes following. Just as Diomedes threatens to overtake Eumelus, Apollo snatches Diomedes’ whip from his hands. Without the whip, Eumelus again pulls ahead. But Athena intervenes. She returns the whip to Diomedes and then breaks the yokes of Eumelus’ horses. Eumelus is flung from the car. Diomedes is now in first place, followed by Menelaus and Antilochus. Antilochus urges his horses on, threatening that they will be slaughtered if they fail to pick up their speed. At a narrow point in the track Antilochus swerves off the track to catch Menelaus, and then swerves into his car. Menelaus is angered at this brash behaviour and yields because the situation is dangerous. Antilochus urges his horses into second place.
Meanwhile, the spectators at the finish line wait to see the horses return. Idomeneus is the first to see something in the distance. He sees that there is a new team in the lead and he speculates that something has happened to Eumelus. He says Diomedes is in the lead. Little Ajax scoffs at this claim, and says the mares in front are Eumelus’. Angered, Idomeneus challenges Ajax to take a bet. The two men taunt each other and it looks likely they are about to fight when Achilles intervenes to stop them. A moment later, Diomedes crosses the line first. His aide swiftly claims his prize. Antilochus comes in second, closely followed by Menelaus, who would have overtaken him had the race been longer. Idomeneus’ aide, Meriones comes in fourth. Eumelus finally comes in last. Achilles, who believes Eumelus was the best of the drivers, proposes he is given second place, regardless of his defeat, in a clear act of favouritism. Antilochus objects. He refuses to give up the mare he has won and says that Eumelus should be given another prize and at another time. He says he will fight to keep his prize. Achilles relents and suggests Eumelus be given a solid bronze breastplate instead. It is fetched from Achilles’ tent and given to Eumelus immediately.
But the disputes are not over. Menelaus comes forward to say that he was cut off by Antilochus in the race: that his horsemanship was disgraced and his horses fouled. He demands to be awarded second place. If Antilochus refuses, Menelaus demands that he swear an oath to say the accusation is not true. Antilochus does not wish to do that, nor does he wish to fall from Menelaus’ favour. He concedes fault and offers Menelaus the mare. Menelaus accepts Antilochus’ magnanimous concession. But since Antilochus, his brother and father have suffered in the war for his sake, Menelaus is magnanimous in return, and allows Antilochus to keep the mare. Menelaus takes the cauldron as his prize. Meriones takes the bars of gold. The fifth unclaimed prize is given to Nestor by Achilles in reverence of his age and the fact that he can no longer compete. Nestor fondly recalls his days of glory to Achilles when there were few men who could beat him, but concedes that he is now too old. Nestor is grateful to Achilles and speaks fondly of his generosity.
THE BOXING MATCH
Achilles next sets out prizes for a boxing match: a mule for the winner and a cup for the runner-up. Epeus, a huge man and a boxing champion, stands up to participate and challenges anyone to fight him. He says he can beat anyone. Euryalus volunteers to fight him, but he is quickly knocked out. Epeus lifts him from the ground and Euryalus is carried off by his followers.
THE WRESTLING MATCH
Achilles next offers a valuable tripod for first place in a wrestling match, and a woman for the runner-up. Greater Ajax stands to participate and Odysseus stands to challenge him. Both men wrestle but neither can get the upper hand and the contest drags on so long that the watching soldiers begin to get bored. Ajax finally suggests that the winner will be the one who can hoist the other into the air. He almost manages to lift Odysseus, but Odysseus kicks him behind the knee. Ajax collapses and Odysseus pins him. Odysseus next tries to life Ajax but he cannot lift him clear and they both fall to the ground. Achilles declares a draw.
THE FOOTRACE
Achilles offers a silver bowl for first place in a footrace. It is considered the finest mixing bowl in the entire world. For the runner up he offers an ox, and for third place he offers a bar of gold. Oilean Ajax (ie Lesser Ajax) will compete, as will Odysseus and Antilochus. The race begins and Ajax takes the lead. Odysseus is hot on his heals. As the race continues Odysseus prays to Athena for help. She intervenes by tripping Ajax, sending him head-first into cow dung which fills his mouth. Odysseus takes first prize. Ajax, despite his slip, takes second place. Antilochus is so slow he comes third. Being the youngest of the three competitors he quips that the gods prefer old-timers like Odysseus. He suggests that only Achilles could have beaten Odysseus. In gratitude for the praise, Achilles awards Antilochus another half a bar of gold.
A DUAL
Achilles next offers the spear, helmet and shield stripped from the body of Sarpedon for the winner of a duel. To win, one contestant must draw blood from the other. Greater Ajax and Diomedes rise to take the challenge. Ajax manages to stab through Diomedes shield but Diomedes is saved by his breastplate. Diomedes responds by repeatedly stabbing over the top of Ajax’s shield, dangerously close to his throat. The audience calls for the fight to stop and the prizes are divided between the men, with Diomedes receiving the sword.
SHOT PUT
Achilles next offers a lump of pig iron thrown at him by King Eetion of Thebes just before Achilles killed him. The winner of the throw will be awarded the lump of metal. Polypoetes, Leonteus, Great Ajax and Epeus all compete, but it is Polypoetes who takes the prize.
ARCHERY
Achilles offers ten double-headed axes as first prize and ten single-headed axes as second prize for an archery contest. A dove is tethered to the top of a pole by a cord around its foot. The winner will be the man who can hit the dove. Teucer takes up the challenge, along with Meriones. Teucer shoots first but misses the dove. He hits the cord restraining the bird, instead, and the bird takes flight. Meriones swiftly takes up his bow and arrow and shoots the bird in flight. Meriones takes first place.
SPEAR THROWING
The last competition is to be spear throwing. Agamemnon rises to compete, as does Meriones. Achilles diplomatically declares that everyone knows Agamemnon excels everyone in the army at spear throwing, and so avoids any embarrassment with an opponent like Meriones, who just beat Teucer at archery. Achilles declares Agamemnon the winner and gives him first prize, a valuable cauldron. Meriones receives a bronze-shod spear as second prize. Agamemnon gives his prize to his herald, Talthybius.
When Achilles is invited into the tent of Agamemnon for a feast he is offered a cauldron of heated water so that he might wash away the blood of battle. But Achilles refuses this hospitality, saying, “It’s sacrilege for a single drop to touch my head / till I place Patroclus on his pyre and heap his mound.” Achilles is still Patroclus’ avenger until he does honour to him by completing his funeral rites. Only then can he adopt another role. From my reading of Book 23, this is largely what this book is about: the transformation of Achilles.
In the beginning of The Iliad Achilles is the famed warrior of the Greek forces, but he is soon recast as the wronged, perhaps petulant, man who is willing to turn the whole war against the Greeks for the sake of his honour. This situation is only resolved with the death of Patroclus, and Agamemnon’s final reconciliation with Achilles in Book 19, which gives rise to the avenging Achilles who returns to battle to seek out Hector. This penultimate book sees Achilles transform again, from avenger to a conciliatory leader and peacemaker. The first step in this transformation is the observance of the proper funeral rites for Patroclus, which allows Achilles to move on from his sorrow. The second is the holding of the funeral games, which casts Achilles in a new role as host and judge.
The funeral games act as a kind of peace-time surrogate for war. Men compete in contests which parody war, like the duel between Ajax and Diomedes, or the shot-put competition which recalls King Eetion’s desperate effort to save his own life against Achilles. But the games represent a more civilised competition in which rules and honour must be upheld. When spectators fear Ajax might be seriously injured by Diomedes in the duel, for instance, the competition is stopped. The wrestling match between Ajax and Odysseus eventually takes so long and that it’s declared a draw. And while there are disputes, honour is maintained and Achilles is given the opportunity the play a new role: the role of peacemaker.
The first instance is the result from the chariot race. Achilles unwisely offers Eumelus second place, even though he came last, in consolation for the accident that made him lose. In this first instance, Achilles may have mis-stepped with his god intentions. In essence, Achilles risks playing the role of Agamemnon from the first book of The Iliad, who unfairly takes Achilles’ prize from him, an act that begins the dispute that shapes the whole epic. When Antilochus objects, Achilles merely smiles. He offers Eumelus another reward, instead, thereby avoiding a conflict that Agamemnon failed to avoid.
But we have already seen Achilles resolve a dispute even before the race has ended. Achilles feels compelled to intervene in the mounting dispute between Idomeneus and Ajax. He tells them to stop and sit to wait for the result of the race rather than argue about it beforehand. Achilles is reinstating a code where rules and honour matter.
The matter of honour and rank is further emphasised by the dispute between Antilochus and Menelaus. Antilochus may have acted recklessly in the narrow straight of the course where he overtook Menelaus, but he might easily have argued that was the nature of the race to do so. Instead, when challenged by Menelaus, Antilochus pays respect to two things. First, he respects Menelaus’ rank, and second, he respects the seriousness of a sworn oaths:
In turn, Menelaus’ makes his own gesture of respect by allowing Antilochus to keep his prize in a recognition of the debt he owes to the men who have fought on his behalf.
Achilles’ games helps to orchestrate a change in the atmosphere and behaviour of the Greek forces. Achilles awards Netor a prize he has not won on account of his age, and Nestor’s response is one of gratitude and respect for Achilles, and pride in his own past achievements. When Ajax slips in cow dung during the footrace and comically lands face first in it, his response is mild, merely blaming Athena for his fall. Antilochus, who comes in an embarrassingly distant third, good-naturedly makes jibes about Odysseus being an old timer who could only be beaten by Achilles. Achilles’ instinct is to reward him further as a result.
Achilles has become a conciliatory figure, a fact which is important for the denouement of The Iliad. The funeral games are a means for Homer’s audience to understand that transition. Not only does he declare a draw between Ajax and Diomedes, and Ajax and Odysseus in their contests, saving the men humiliation in close competitions, but he also makes a conciliatory act to Agamemnon. Achilles’ offer to make Agamemnon the winner of the spear throwing competition without contest shows how far he has come in resolving his dispute with Agamemnon. It also shows deference to Agamemnon’s rank by avoiding Agamemnon’s potential humiliation in a contest he is likely to lose. Meriones has just beaten the famed archer, Teucer, in the archery competition. Agamemnon is unlikely to best him with a spear.
Agamemnon’s response to this generosity recalls his brother’s response to Antilochus, earlier. Agamemnon, too, is inspired to be magnanimous. Instead of keeping the cauldron he has ‘won’, he gifts it to his herald, Talthybius.
In the beginning of The Iliad Achilles’ rage transforms the Greek army and its fortunes. Now, having completed Patroclus’ funeral rites, we see he is capable of transforming himself, and this is reflected in the greater harmony achieved within the army, which initially begins with protest and rancour at the end of the chariot race.
These two painting from the eighteenth century are painted in the neoclassical style. Neoclassicism was a style modelled on the order, clarity and restraint of art from Ancient Greece, and its subject matter was often chosen from scenes of the mythology of that era.
The images may seem realistic at first glance, but neoclassicism presents us with a heightened reality. The canvas becomes a theatrical environment suitable for the artist’s classical themes and its figures seem posed, idealised and arranged in harmonious compositions. The stance of some figures is highly stylised, as we might expect from the contorted poses of fashion magazine models. A good example of how the figures in these scenes reflect the style can be seen in the very right-hand bottom corner of the second painting by Vernet. The man’s static stance and his upraised right arm is reminiscent of Apollo from the temple of Zeus, Olympia. But that is not to say the statue was the model for Vernet. It was discovered 85 years after Vernet completed his painting. However, once you become aware of the similarities in style it is hard to see the paintings as fluid compositions representing a moment of action, but rather static compositions that are highly contrived.
This beautiful painting by Jacques-Louis David is sometimes misidentified as a scene from Patroclus’ funeral games. It is clearly meant to be his funeral. Some details I discuss here are difficult to see on this page. You can open a large image of this painting in a separate tab from Wikipedia by clicking here.
The artist captures a number of clearly identifiable elements from the funeral. At the top of the steps, close to the centre of the painting, is the stacked wood, ready to be lit for the funeral pyre. The construction is not the hundred square feet described by Homer, but we see one of the twelve Trojan soldiers sacrificed for the funeral being lifted onto the structure. Achillies, with his ornately plumed helmet, stands over the body of Patroclus as he prepares it for the fire. Hector’s body still hangs from the back of Achilles’ chariot, as he was first dragged back. This detail is not quite accurate. We are told that Achilles flung his body facedown beside Patroclus when he returns from the plains of Troy. There is no further information about what happens to it after this, except that the body is later being protected by Apollo and Aphrodite.
Other details in the painting represent aspects of the funeral described by Homer. On the right of the painting sacrificial animals are being led. Goats are clearly visible in the foreground while cattle and horses are more difficult to make out in the dark background. The left side of the image represents those gathered for Patroclus’ funeral, including the chariots driven by some of Achilles’ Myrmidon forces.
Some details of this painting I discuss here are difficult to see on this page. You can open a large image of this painting in a separate tab from Wikimedia Commons by clicking here.
Gallerix.org (see here) identifies the central figure driving the pair of white horses as Achilles. This does not seem accurate since this painting clearly depicts the chariot race in which Eumelus, Diomedes, Menelaus, Antilochus and Meriones compete. Achilles makes a point of the fact that he could win but will refrain from racing. Four charioteers can be counted driving their teams while the fifth, Eumelus, is portrayed at the moment when he is thrown from his chariot, bottom left of the painting. The painting seems to represent more than one moment from the race. First, Eumelus’ fall, of course, which occurs on the outward stretch to the turning point, described as a “dead tree-stump” by Homer. At that point Diomedes is in the lead, so the lead figure heading back towards our left in the painting after the tree must be him. By the turning point Antilochus has also managed to make Menelaus yield second place, so it would be reasonable to assume that the central figure, incorrectly identified as Achilles, is in fact Antilochus, who Menelaus says drives “like a maniac”. The figure in the painting certainly looks wild with his leg upraised and his stiff control of the reigns.
Completing the scene and suggesting a heightened level of excitement around the race is the crowd of spectators who watch from the rock or from positions in the background. We know from Homer that the spectators waited at the finish line, which was the cause of a disagreement between Idomeneus and Ajax, who disagree who is winning, judging from their distant position. It is unlikely, based on Homer’s narrative, that the spectators would have been positioned as the painting depicts, but some might, and it certainly makes for a more interesting composition.