From Restraint to Ruin: Patroclus & Hector

I recently picked up a new (to me) copy of the Iliad, translated by Peter Green. It routinely tops the list of Iliad translations out there, so for my yearly full re-read of the Iliad and the Odyssey I thought I’d give Peter Green a go. I’m thoroughly enjoying it thus far.

One day I’d like to summarize all the Iliad translations I’ve read, but today is not that day. No, today is about some events from book 16. This book, which comprises of the setting forth from idleness of Patroclus and the Myrmidons, the death of Sarpedon, and the death of Patroclus shortly after, contain some interesting digressions by the characters. Quoting now from Peter Green’s translation of the Iliad:

“At this Aineias was angered, and spoke to him, saying:

‘Soon enough, Meriones, dancer though you are,

my spear would have stopped you for ever, had I but hit you.’

Meriones, famed spearman, made him this answer:

‘Aineias, it’s hard for you, however strong you may be,

to quench the strength of every man who confronts you

in his own defense: you too were born a mortal!

Should I aim and hit you squarely with my sharp bronze,

soon enough—strong though you are, with trust in your hands—

you’d give glory to me, and your soul to horse-proud Hades.’

So he spoke; but Menoitios’s valiant son rebuked him:

‘Meriones, you’re a good man, why carry on like this?

Look, friend, insulting words are not what will make the Trojans

back off from the corpse: that would take killing most of us.

War’s outcome rests in our hands, talk’s place is the council.

No point in endless words—what we need is to fight.”

Il. 16.616-631

This is a pretty common scene in the Iliad; one hero will make a boast, another hero will counter it. But what doesn’t always occur is Patroclus’ rebuke to Meriones afterwards. Patroclus reminds him of the appropriateness of speech, it is reserved for councils, where more honor can be won than battle. According to the poet in Iliad 1.489-492 with respect to Achilles, quote:

“Never did he show up now in assembly, where men attain renown,

never went to the fighting, but let his dear heart waste away,

withdrawn there, though he longed for the war cry and for combat.”

Il. 1.489-492

And also book 9, where Phoinix reminds Achilles why he was sent with him to Troy, quote:

“He had me go with you, did the old horseman Peleus,

the day that he sent you from Phthie to Agamemnon,

just a child, with no knowledge yet of warfare’s common business,

or of the assemblies where men achieve distinction.

That was why he sent me, to teach you all these matters,

to be both a speaker of words and a man of action.”

Il. 9.438-443

Notice how both times it is the assembly, the ἀγορά, that is affixed with the description relating it to renown or distinction. There is glory to be won in the assembly that is outside the domain of battle. The ideal Homeric warrior is both a speaker of words and a man of action, but should not be so at the same time. Patroclus reminds Meriones that in battle words are out of place, the only thing that matters is action.

This is all well and fine and perhaps Meriones and the reader have learned some sort of lesson here, until around 100 lines later when Patroclus domes Hectors charioteer Kebriones with a rock, and lets loose this colorful boast, quote:

“Then mockingly you addressed him, horseman Patroklos:

‘Oh ho, such a nimble fellow, such an effortless tumbler!

I’m sure if he were out there on the fish-breeding deep

this fellow would catch enough sea squirts to feed a multitude,

diving in from his ship, even when it’s bad weather,

so lightly he somersaults now from his chariot on the plan!

It would seem that even the Trojans have their share of acrobats.’”

Il. 16.744-750

What a haughty and oddly specific boast! Between his comment to Meriones and now, Patroclus has captured the armor of Sarpedon, pushed the Trojans back to the gate of their city, scaled the walls of Troy 3 times while Apollo smote him back, nearly incurring divine wrath (μήνις) in the process, and now when Hector confronts him again he makes a handy kill. Patroclus is on the summit of his aristeia, and directly after this will kill 3 times 9 men in the fighting, reaching the peak. No warrior in the poem thus far has accomplished anything like this.

But Patroclus death cannot come about if he is the wise and sensical warrior that corrects Meriones on the finer points of how to act. Something between his advice giving and the vaunting over Kebriones has occurred, causing him to forget what he just said. This is rather hypocritical of Patroclus, so what has happened here?

One good explanation comes from Simone Weil’s concept of Force, outlined in her famous essay ‘L'Iliade ou le poème de la force’ (The Iliad, or the poem of force). The thesis of the essay is that the main driver of the Iliad is not the characters or the Gods, but Force, which is defined as that which turns anyone subjected to it into a thing.

The true hero, the true subject, the centre of the Iliad, is force. Force employed by man, force that enslaves man, force before which man's flesh shrinks away. In this work, at all times, the human spirit is shown as modified by its relations with force, as swept away, blinded, by the very force it imagined it could handle, as deformed by the weight of the force it submits to.

The Iliad, or the Poem of Force. Simone Weil, 1939.

Notice how Force is employed by man, and he is swept away by it. Throughout the poem we see the heroes being routed by and then routing their enemies. Heroes boast over a slain foe and then are slain. This is them wielding and being wielded by force, until it kills them. Hence Patroclus in one moment can caution Meriones, and in the next can assault the walls of Troy and vaunt over a kill, forgetting what Achilles has said to him and what he has said to Meriones. He is in the height of Force, but he doesn’t control it, he’s merely the current one wielding it. Patroclus is corrupted by Force, and it temporarily obscures the wisdom that he displayed earlier. When Force changes, Apollo reduces him to a naked object, dazed, and promptly slain.

The concept of Force in the Iliad is a brilliant insight that will change how you see the poem. Go check out Weil’s essay. This is a command.

So the concept of Force is one way to rationalize Patroclus actions here, but obviously the poem was created well before Simone Weil. What can we glean about Patroclus actions in relation to just the Iliad? Is it internally explainable to the story? Patroclus as we know is a proxy for Achilles. He dons his armor and leads the Myrmidons, and when he dies, Achilles dies as well, both figuratively and literally. I say figuratively because the description of Achilles upon learning of Patroclus death is to stretch out in the dirt like a corpse, even almost killing himself on the spot. I say literally because Achilles knows that if he returns to the fighting (which he does) he will die very soon. Thus upon Patroclus’ death Achilles’ fate is sealed; he will die at Troy.

But of course we know that Achilles does not die in the Iliad: Patroclus fulfills this role. So that’s cool, Patroclus mirrors Achilles death outside the story, but he also mirrors someone else’s journey and death within the story: Hector.

Patroclus journey from the Achaean camp to the gates of Troy is also his journey from wise restraint (giving advice to Meriones) to hubris (assaulting the walls of Troy and contending with a God, also forgetting Achilles command not to attack the city). Hector goes through the same transition, albeit more slowly and fully fleshed out, with the added dimension of his city and family being under siege. Hector starts out listening to the advice of Poulydamas, the Trojan seer, heeding his warnings in battle. But as the Gods begin to favor him more and more, speaking directly to him, he listens less and less to the advice of his peers, caught up with the manic desire to gain glory (κλέος) for himself.

The similarities between Hector and Patroclus go even further; both wear Achilles' armor, both prophesy the doom of their slayer as they die, both ignore the sound advice of the one they love most to their own demise, and, crucially, both are caught up in the frenzy of attaining glory which leads to their doom.

Patroclus’ story is a compressed version of both Achilles and Hector.

While studying the Iliad, I noticed this concept early on and was happy to find it confirmed elsewhere—the idea that Patroclus, Hector, and Achilles are each both the slayer and the slain of one another. I don’t have the time (or the blood-caffeine content) to explore it now, but I think it explains so much of the artistry and tragedy of the Iliad, so keep it in mind as you read.

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In other news this humble Substack is nearing 100 subscribers! I am truly thankful for every one of you, for the chance to prove to myself that I can do this, and for an audience of like-minded philhomer’s to share this epic poem with. I’ll try to prepare something special for 100 subs in addition to finishing the podcast episode on Iliad 11.

Until then,

ἐρρῶσθαι ακουστοί φῐ́λοι.