Book Xvi: 'the Iliad' - Homer

Key Questions for Book XVI 1. Achilles does not agree to end his grudge with Agamemnon at the request of Patroclus as the great warrior views what Agamemnon has done – snatching his prize right from his grasp, the beautiful and clever princess Briseis – as an insult to his pride and honour. The fact that, according to the epic, Agamemnon did so in front of the rest of the Achaean army, only adds to Achilles’ humiliation. 2. Achilles agrees that instead of him casting away his grief and thinking of his fellow Achaeans who are being slaughtered mercilessly by the Trojans, he would lend his armour to Patroclus, who will in turn go in his place and evoke the fear that seeing Achilles has done throughout the course of the war. 3. Achilles’ instructions to Patroclus are that he is to “fight disaster off the ships, fling yourself [Patroclus] at the Trojans full force” and that once he has “whipped the enemy from the fleet” he must return to the camp for he does not wish for Patroclus to fight without him. 4. Achilles tells Patroclus to ‘limit his efforts’ and return to the camp after he has driven the Trojans from the Achaean ships, so that the two warriors may go into battle together. Achilles wishes for this as he fears that should Patroclus go alone, he will only make Achilles’ “glory that much less”. 5. Achilles’ hurries Patroclus on his way as at this moment in the book, Hector has managed to gain the upper hand in the fight against Ajax. Ajax is the second most power warrior behind Achilles in the entirety of the Achaean army and so Achilles knew that it was time for Patroclus and his Myrmidons to enter battle. Ajax flees from his defending post on the ship just in time as the Trojans flung fire at the Achaean ships, engulfing them “in quenchless fire”. Achilles knew that if the ships were burnt to a pile of ash, there would be no way for the Argives to escape should they need to, and no way to return home and tell the world of their glory.