The Greeks returned to their ships. Achilles did not order his Myrmidons to go to their tents. He ordered them to ride around the body of Patroclus three times in a chariot. The brave Myrmidons rode with loud cries. Achilles also cried loudly. He laid his hands on the chest of his murdered friend, exclaiming:
- Rejoice, courageous Patroclus! I did what I promised you! I brought Hector’s corpse here to your deathbed and will give it to the dogs to be torn to pieces. I will kill twelve Trojan youths at the funeral pyre, avenging your death.
Achilles threw Hector's corpse at the bed on which the murdered Patroclus lay, without covering it with anything. The son of Peleus arranged a rich feast for his Myrmidons. He himself was convinced by the leaders of the Greeks to go to Agamemnon. There they asked him for a long time, having washed himself, to take part in the feast. Achilles refused. He asked only Agamemnon to order the Greeks to build a funeral pyre.
The Greek heroes had a feast, and after the feast everyone went to their tents and went to bed; only Achilles remained awake. Groaning heavily, he lay on the shore of the ever-noisy sea. Finally, he too fell into a deep sleep. In a dream, the shadow of Patroclus appeared to him and begged him to quickly perform funeral rites over his body, so that his soul could rest in the kingdom of Hades. Patroclus commanded that his bones be buried in the same grave in which Achilles would be buried. In one urn, given by the goddess Thetis, the ashes of Achilles and Patroclus were to be placed. In a dream, Achilles stretched out his hands to the shadow of Patroclus, but with a sad groan the shadow disappeared. Achilles woke up and again loudly began to mourn his friend. All the Myrmidons wept with him. The goddess Eos-dawn, the harbinger of the rise of the god Helios the Sun, found them crying.
Early in the morning, Agamemnon sent the Greeks to the slope of high Ida for firewood for the funeral pyre. The Greeks carried out the king’s orders and built a high fire on the seashore. In a solemn procession, the Myrmidons carried out the corpse of Patroclus, covering it with their cut hair, and laid it on the fire. Achilles also cut off his hair, which was dedicated to the river god Spercheus[1], if the hero was destined to return to his homeland; now he put them into the hands of Patroclus. Then, at the request of Achilles, Agamemnon released all the soldiers to the ships, but only the Greek leaders remained at the fire. Many sheep and oxen were slaughtered in honor of Patroclus, and his entire body was covered with their fat; They also placed vessels with honey and oil around the bed with the body. They killed four horses and two dogs. The corpses of twelve Trojan youths, whom Achilles had killed with his own hands, were also placed on the fire. Hector's corpse lay by the fire. The goddess Aphrodite guarded him, anointing him with fragrant oil, and the god Apollo spread a cloud over him so that the scorching rays of the sun would not dry out Hector’s corpse.
When everything was ready for the funeral, Achilles set the fire on fire, but it did not catch fire. Achilles prayed to the wind gods Boreas and Zephyr: he begged them to fan the flames. The messenger of the gods, Iris, quickly rushed to the palace of Zephyr, where all the gods of the wind were feasting, and called on them to help the son of Peleus. With a menacing noise, Boreas and Zephyr rushed over the sea, swirling clouds. High waves moved across the sea under their breath. They quickly flew to Troy and fanned the fire. All night the flames rose high on the fire. Achilles, scooping wine with a double-bottomed goblet, poured out a libation, calling on the soul of Patroclus.
By morning the huge fire burned out and began to go out. Exhausted Achilles lay down on the ground near the dying fire and fell into an irresistible sleep. He was awakened by the voices of the Greek leaders. At the request of Achilles, the leaders extinguished the smoldering coals of the fire with wine, collected the bones of Patroclus and put them in a golden urn. Then a log house was built, an urn was placed in it, and a high burial mound was built above the log house.
After the funeral, Achilles organized magnificent funeral games in honor of the deceased. They began with a chariot race, in which the hero Eumelus, the son of Admetus, the hero Diomedes, King Menelaus, the son of Nestor Antilochus and the hero Merion took part. Diomedes was the first to drive his horses to the goal; the goddess Athena helped him. Nestor's son Antilochus was a little behind him. Behind him was Menelaus, whose son Nestor snatched the second award from him by cunning. The last one was Merion. The hero Eumelus, the most famous charioteer, suffered misfortune. The goddess Athena, not wanting his victory, broke the pole of his chariot. Eumelus fell to the ground and was badly broken. Achilles gave rich gifts to all participants in the chariot ride. He also presented a gift to the elder Nestor: he could no longer take part in the competitions of heroes: old age had made his limbs weak, and once upon a time he, too, won victories over mighty heroes in games. Then the mighty hero Epeus and the hero Euryalus competed in a fist fight. Epeus won, throwing Euryalus to the ground with a blow from his fist. Ajax Telamonides and King Odysseus competed in wrestling. They fought for a long time. Neither one nor the other of them could prevail. They received an equal reward. Ajax, the son of Oileus, Odysseus and the son of Nestor Antilochus competed in a fast race. Ajax ran ahead, like a light wind, followed by Odysseus. Odysseus prayed to Athena and asked her to give him victory. Athena heard the hero. Ajax slipped and fell. Odysseus was the first to reach the goal and received the first reward. In battle, Diomedes and Ajax Telamonides competed in weapons. The heroes collided, but the Greeks were afraid that they would kill each other to death. The heroes stopped the fight, and both received an equal reward. The hero Polypetus won the heavy discus throw. For an archery competition, a dove was tied to a high pole; the shooter had to pierce her with an arrow. The hero Teucer came out. Straining his bow, Teucer shot an arrow, but it only cut the thin string with which the dove was tied. The dove soared to the sky, but the hero Merion pierced her with his arrow. He received an award for archery. The reward for throwing the spear was given to King Agamemnon; no one could surpass his skill in throwing a spear.
The games are over. The heroes dispersed, and soon the entire camp fell into deep sleep. Only Achilles did not sleep. He, inconsolable, mourned his friend. Rising from his bed, he wandered for a long time along the seashore. Finally, when the dawn flared up in the sky, he harnessed the horses to a chariot and, tying Hector’s corpse to it, drove around the burial mound three times, dragging the corpse of the unfortunate son of Priam along the ground. Then he again abandoned the corpse and went into the tent.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru