King Menelaus saw the corpse of Patroclus lying in the dust and rushed to him: he did not want to allow the Trojans to desecrate the corpse of the hero who fought for him. Like a formidable lion, he walked around the corpse of Patroclus, covering himself with a shield and shaking a heavy spear.
The Trojan Euphorbus, who struck Patroclus in the back, wanted to take possession of the corpse. He approached Menelaus, eager to take the corpse and take revenge on the king of Sparta for killing his brother.
He hit Menelaus's shield with his spear, but could not penetrate the shield. Menelaus, with a mighty blow, thrust his spear into Euphorbus’s throat, and young Euphorbus fell to the ground. Menelaus began to remove the precious armor from him, but prompted the archer Apollo Hector to attack Menelaus. He rushed at Menelaus. Menelaus did not want to retreat from the body of Patroclus, knowing that all the Greeks would condemn him for this, but he was also afraid of being surrounded by the Trojans. Menelaus decided to call Ajax for help. He slowly retreated under the pressure of the Trojans and called on Ajax. Hector had already grabbed the corpse of Patroclus and removed Achilles’ armor from him when Ajax arrived. Hector had to leave the corpse. Seeing this, Glaucus began to reproach the son of Priam for cowardice, for being afraid of the Greek heroes. With these words, Glaucus forced Hector to join the battle again. He called back his servants, whom he ordered to take the armor of Patroclus to Troy, and donned it himself. Zeus the Thunderer saw how Hector armed himself with the weapon of Achilles, and thought: “Ill-fated one, you do not feel how close your death is. You are putting on the armor of that hero whom everyone fears. Now I will give you victory as a reward for the fact that your wife, Andromache, will never accept Achilles’ armor from your hands.” Zeus thought so, and as a sign that this would be the case, he frowned menacingly.
Hector was filled with unstoppable strength and courage. He quickly went to the army and began to inspire the heroes to fight. At this time, Menelaus called in a loud voice to the heroes to protect the body of Patroclus. Ajax, son of Oileus, came first, then Idomeneo, Merion and others. The heroes closed their shields around the body of Patroclus, but the Trojans repelled them. Again they took possession of the corpse of Patroclus. The mighty Ajax Telamonides, however, scattered the ranks of the Trojans and recaptured the corpse from them, striking the hero who was dragging the corpse by the legs. The slaughter for the corpse flared up again, and the Trojans began to waver. But Apollo inspired Aeneas to fight - he kept the troops from fleeing. The battle became even bloodier. Blood flooded the ground, corpses were piled on top of corpses. The battle burned like an all-consuming fire. Zeus poured darkness around the corpse of Patroclus. One would have thought that there was no longer either the sun or the month in the sky, there was such darkness around the corpse of Patroclus. But only around the corpse of Patroclus there was darkness, the rest of the battlefield was flooded with the rays of the sun, and there was not a single cloud in the sky. In the darkness the heroes fought for the corpse of Patroclus.
Far from the battle, the immortal horses of Achilles stood and shed bitter tears over the death of their master’s friend. In vain did the charioteer Automedon try to force them to move - they stood motionless, with their heads bowed. Their manes hung down to the ground. Zeus saw the horses and thought: “Oh, ill-fated horses! Why did we give you, immortals, to Peleus? Is it so that you would recognize the sorrows of people, since there is not a single creature in the entire universe more unhappy than man! But do not be sad, Hector will never own you. I will give you the strength to carry Automedon out of the battle. I will give the Trojans another victory, but only for this day, until the sun sets.”
Zeus breathed great strength into the horses, and they rushed across the battlefield with Automedon. Achilles' charioteer, grabbing a heavy spear, defeated the hero Aretas. He took off his armor, rejoicing that at least in this way he had avenged the death of Patroclus.
The battle raged around the body of Patroclus. The goddess Athena descended to the fighting Greek heroes in a crimson cloud and, under the guise of the hero Phoenix, encouraged them. Menelaus, responding to Phoenix (he did not recognize Athena), called on Athena for help before other gods. The goddess rejoiced and breathed invincible strength into Menelaus. Apollo inspired the Trojans. The battle became bloodier and bloodier. Zeus shook his aegis and thunder struck. Horror gripped the heroes of Hellas. Ajax Telamonides was saddened when he saw the flight of the Greeks. He prayed to Zeus and begged him to dispel the darkness, prayed that he would not destroy the Greeks, or, if such was his will, then let him destroy them, but only in the light. Zeus heard Ajax's plea. The darkness dissipated and the sun shone again. Ajax asked Menelaus to find Nestor's son, Antilochus, and send him to Achilles with the news that Patroclus had been killed and that the Trojans could take possession of his body. Menelaus fulfilled Ajax’s request, found Antilochus and told him about the death of Patroclus. Antilochus was horrified. He did not yet know that Patroclus had been killed. Shedding bitter tears, the young son of Nestor hurried to Achilles. Around the body of Patroclus the slaughter became more and more intense. Ajax advised Menelaus and Merion to pick up the body and carry it to the camp. He himself began to cover them, repelling the Trojans. But as soon as the Trojans saw that the heroes had raised the body of Patroclus, they rushed at them like angry dogs. But as soon as Ajax turned to them, the Trojans stopped, turning pale with fear. The battle flared up more and more, like a fire that destroys the city, devouring everything around. Menelaus walked slowly with the corpse of Patroclus in his arms. With difficulty, Ajax held back the onslaught of the Trojans, in front of whom Aeneas and Hector fought.
At this time, Achilles was sitting at his tent and wondering why Patroclus did not return. What worried him was that the Greeks had again fled. He was already beginning to suspect that Patroclus had died. Suddenly Nestor’s crying son approached him. He brought Achilles the news of the death of Patroclus. Inexpressible grief took possession of Achilles. With both hands he grabbed the ashes from the hearth and sprinkled them on his head. Ashes scattered across his clothes. Achilles fell to the ground and tore his hair out of grief. Young Antilochus also cried. He held Achilles' hand so that he would not commit suicide out of grief. Achilles sobbed loudly. Thetis heard his cry and sobbed loudly. All her sisters, the Nereids, hurried to her and also began to cry loudly.
- My sisters! - exclaimed the goddess Thetis, - woe is me, woe! Oh, why did I give birth to Achilles! Why did you raise him, why did you let him go under the walls of Troy? I will never see him return to the bright halls of Peleus. He must suffer throughout his short life! I can't help him! I will go now and find out what he is grieving about!
His mother Thetis and her sisters quickly appeared before the sobbing Achilles. Weeping, she hugged the head of her beloved son and asked him:
-Why are you crying so loudly? Don't hide it, tell me everything. After all, Zeus fulfilled your request and drove the Greek troops right to the ships. They only want one thing - for you to help them.
“I know this, dear mother,” answered Achilles, “but what joy is this!” I lost Patroclus. I loved him more than anyone and valued him as my own life. Hector killed him, and he stole the armor that the gods gave to Peleus. I don’t want to live among people if I cannot defeat Hector with my spear, if he does not pay me with his life for the death of Patroclus.
“But you too must die after Hector!” - Thetis exclaimed.
- Oh, let me die now if I couldn’t save my friend! He probably called for me before he died. Oh, let enmity perish, it plunges even the wise into fury. I will forget my anger against Agamemnon and will go out into battle again to kill Hector. I'm not afraid of death! No one escapes death, and the great Hercules did not escape it, although Zeus the Thunderer, his father, loved him. I am ready to die where fate has promised me, but first I will achieve great glory. No, don't hold me back, mother! There's nothing you can do to stop me!
This is how Achilles answered his mother. The goddess Thetis asked her son only one thing: that he should not enter into battle until she brought him new armor from the god Hephaestus.
The beautiful Nereids plunged into the sea. Thetis asked them to tell Father Nereus what happened under the walls of Troy. She herself ascended to high Olympus to the god Hephaestus.
Meanwhile, the Greek heroes had difficulty holding back the onslaught of the Trojans. Hector, chasing the Greeks like a furious flame, tried three times already to snatch the corpse from the hands of Menelaus. The Ajax repelled him three times. And Hector would have taken possession of the corpse of Patroclus if the messenger of the gods, Iris, sent by the goddess Hera, had not appeared to Achilles. She encouraged Achilles to go and defend his friend’s body. But Achilles could not join the battle, he did not have armor. Then Iris ordered Achilles to stand unarmed on the rampart surrounding the Greek camp and frighten the advancing Trojans with his appearance.
I went to the Achilles rampart. Pallas Athena placed an aegis on his shoulders, surrounded his head with a golden cloud and a wondrous radiance, the shine from Achilles’ head rose to the very sky. Achilles stood on the rampart and shouted menacingly, and Pallas Athena also uttered a menacing scream with him. Horror seized the Trojans. Their horses were frightened by the scream and rushed back. The charioteers were horrified when they saw the fire around Achilles' head. Three times Achilles cried out menacingly, and three times the entire army of the Trojans fell into terrible confusion. Amid this turmoil, twelve Trojan heroes died. Some of them ran into spears, others were trampled by horses. The Greeks carried out the body of Patroclus, placed him on a stretcher and, with loud crying, carried him to the tent of Achilles. The son of Peleus followed them. He sobbed loudly, looking at his friend, whom he himself had sent into a bloody battle.
Hera commanded the sun god Helios to descend into the waters of the Ocean ahead of time. Night has fallen. The battle ended, the Greek camp fell into sleep. The Trojans gathered for a council in the field. They conferred while standing. Not one of them dared to sit down - they were afraid of Achilles' attack. Polydamant gave the following advice to the Trojans: return to Troy and not wait here in the morning when Achilles will attack them. He will kill many heroes if he attacks the Trojans in an open field. If everyone defends themselves by standing on the walls, then it will be in vain for Achilles to ride around Troy on his fast horses - he will not be able to take it. But Hector rejected Polydamant’s advice; he ordered the Trojans to remain in the field, placing a guard in front of the camp. Hector still hoped to attack the Greek ships again and drive them out of Troas. Hector announced that if Achilles decides to participate in the battle again, he will no longer shy away from fighting him. Then one of them will return home with victorious glory - he or Achilles. Pallas Athena darkened the minds of the Trojans, and they remained in the field, camping.
And in the camp of the Greeks, Achilles mourned the death of Patroclus, placing his hands on the chest of the murdered man. He moaned loudly and heavily, like a lion whose cubs were stolen by a hunter. A lion returned from hunting, did not find any cubs in the den, and with a loud roar he walks through the forest and looks for traces of the child abductor.
- Gods, gods! - Achilles exclaimed, - why did I promise Patroclus’s father that I would return to my homeland with Patroclus? No, we are both destined to stain the Trojan soil with our blood. Neither my father, Peleus, nor my beloved mother will meet me returning from the campaign. Let me die, dear Patroclus, but not before I take revenge on Hector and give you a magnificent funeral.
Achilles ordered his friends to wash the bloody body of Patroclus and anoint it with incense. Achilles' friends performed this. They laid the body of Patroclus on a richly decorated bed and covered it with thin linen, and on top with a luxurious blanket. The Myrmidons mourned Patroclus all night, and the Trojan and Dardanian women, captured by Achilles and Patroclus, cried with them.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru