Book XIX The Champion Arms for Battle

The book begins with further description of Achilles's grief: Thetis finds her son, "lying facedown,/ embracing Patrolclus's boy, sobbing, wailing" (XIX, 4-5).

Thetis promises to keep "the carrion blowflies" from Patroclus's body, since Achilles will not yet permit burial.

Achilles tells Agamemnon to "Let bygones be bygones. Done is done" (XIX, 74).

Agamemnon once again disclaims responsibility for the quarrel between them: "But I am not to blame!/ Zeus and Fate and the Fury stalking through the night,/ they are the ones who drove that savage madness in my heart,/ that day in assembly when I seized Achilles' prize -- " (XIX, 100-103).

But he offers once again to "give that priceless ransom paid for friendship" ( XIX, 165).

Achilles answers: "produce the gifts if you like, as you see fit,/ or call them back, it's up to you. But now -- / quickly, call up the wild joy of war at once!" As in Book XVIII, Achilles will not fight with treasure as his motivation. Arete (merit symbolized by treasure), nor what other people think of him, means nothing to him now. Importantly, he speaks of the "wild joy of war."

Homer may be at pains to point out the evils of war (as we've discussed, he seems to intentionally signal the trivial nature of the beginning of the war with the starting point of the Iliad), but equally true, he also points out the joy of war. For men, war beats sitting around minding the crops at home or sailing around trading products largely made by women. For these heroes, war offers a great deal: the chance to have adventures; to win fame and glory; to grab wealth; and better yet, to be presented with wealth as an indication of honor. And let's not forget the darker side of the joy of war: rape, murder, and destruction.

Achilles refusal to feast with his fellow-Achaeans: "You talk of food?/ I have no taste for food -- what I really crave/ is slaughter and blood and the choking groans of men!" (XIX, 253-55). Feasting for the Greeks is never about being hungry or just having a good time. It is always a ritual, religious and secular, a coming-together, a bonding, a celebrating of commonly held ideals and values. Achilles's refusal to join in is significant: he is isolated, no longer embracing his culture's traditions and values.

Agamemnon's promised treasure is delivered to Achilles. Achilles "brusquely dispersed" the men who wanted to celebrate this great occasion. He is uninterested but his own men are not as the treasure rebounds to their credit: "Exultant Myrmidons took charge of the gifts" (XIX, 329).

Book XXII, The Death of Hector

In terms of action, this book is certainly the climax of the epic.

Hector is the only Trojan still outside the walls of Troy. All others have retreated into the fortified city. From the walls, Hector's father, Priam, pleads with him to come inside, but Hector answers,

"No way out. If I slip inside the gates and walls,

Polydamas will be first to heap disgrace on me --

he was the one who urged me to lead our Trojans back to Ilium just last night, the disastrous night

Achilles rose in arms like a god. But did I give way?

Not at all. And how much better it would have been!

Now my army's ruined, thanks to my own reckless pride,

I would die of shame to face the men of Troy . . .

........................................................

...So now, better by far for me

to stand up to Achilles, kill him, come home alive

or die at his hands in glory out before the walls. (118-131)

As Achilles closes in on him, Hector "fled in fear -- / and Achilles went for him . . ." (XXII, 164).

Once Hector and Achilles get down to hand-to-hand conduct, Hector tries to bargain with Achilles: lines 300-307. Achilles rejects the offer to spare the loser's body after the loser dies.

Hector's death: lines 375-418. Homer reports the death, not sparing the reader the grisly details. It's important here that even in his death throes, Hector tries to negotiate with Achilles for Hector's own funeral. Hector promises his family will proffer a huge ransom for the return of their hero's body. Once again, Achilles rejects ransom. Such a rejection is unusual just as his rejection of Agamemnon's proffered treasure was unusual. Instead, Achilles says he wishes his rage would drive him "to hack your flesh away and eat you raw --" (409).

Notice the 'gloating' and 'triumphing' over the body of Hector by all the Greeks as well as Achilles. Obviously, this was fairly typical. Remember this when we read the Odyssey.