The beginning of the second half of the unit starts with "The Rousing of Achilles," which recounts the battle for Patroclus' body. I found it extremely interesting because it kind of shows how important wartime customs were to the Greeks and Trojans. Sometimes they would leave the body for the enemy to bury, but other times they would take their arms, I assume as a sort of humiliation for defeat. I also found it interesting that the greatest god of all, Zeus, had such an interest in this particular battle.
The story also shows the grace of the gods shown towards Achilles. He has no armor, so his mother says she will get Hephaestus to make some for him. Not many warriors have that sort of connection with the gods.
In "The Slaying of Hector," I found it even more interesting that Apollo willfully intervened in the battle. Achilles could easily slain Agenor (I'm not sure how to do the accent mark above the "e") had Apollo not protected him. It doesn't seem very fair for a mortal to have to contend with an immortal as powerful as Apollo. In the continuation, the gods meet to decide if Hector should be able to live or be forced to die, as fate had condemned him to do. The humanity of the gods seems rather odd, as it seems like they would have no interest in mere men.
Once Achilles slays Hector, his care for Patroclus becomes apparent. He doesn't even consider giving Hector's body back to the Trojans; he only wants his body to be destroyed completely. Even after the offer of riches, Achilles only cares for vengeance and glory.
The story ends with "The Ransoming of Hector." Although Achilles had no intention of giving Hector's body back, once he learned that Zeus wanted Priam to have his son's body, he agreed to give it back. I found it very interesting that Priam would give up so much gold and jewels just to have his son's body back to bury it. It really showed how much emphasis was put on proper burials to prepare for the afterlife in that time period.
The story also shows the grace of the gods shown towards Achilles. He has no armor, so his mother says she will get Hephaestus to make some for him. Not many warriors have that sort of connection with the gods.
In "The Slaying of Hector," I found it even more interesting that Apollo willfully intervened in the battle. Achilles could easily slain Agenor (I'm not sure how to do the accent mark above the "e") had Apollo not protected him. It doesn't seem very fair for a mortal to have to contend with an immortal as powerful as Apollo. In the continuation, the gods meet to decide if Hector should be able to live or be forced to die, as fate had condemned him to do. The humanity of the gods seems rather odd, as it seems like they would have no interest in mere men.
Once Achilles slays Hector, his care for Patroclus becomes apparent. He doesn't even consider giving Hector's body back to the Trojans; he only wants his body to be destroyed completely. Even after the offer of riches, Achilles only cares for vengeance and glory.
The story ends with "The Ransoming of Hector." Although Achilles had no intention of giving Hector's body back, once he learned that Zeus wanted Priam to have his son's body, he agreed to give it back. I found it very interesting that Priam would give up so much gold and jewels just to have his son's body back to bury it. It really showed how much emphasis was put on proper burials to prepare for the afterlife in that time period.
Priam pleads Achilles for Hector's body in this painting by Carl Probsthayn.
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