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Iliad Book 18 Summary and Analysis

The document provides a summary of Book 18 of The Iliad. It summarizes that Achilles is distraught over the death of Patroklos and vows to kill Hector for revenge. His mother Thetis promises to get him new armor from Hephaestus. That night, the Greeks mourn Patroklos while the Trojans decide to continue fighting despite the warnings of Polydamas about Achilles. Thetis returns with the new armor for Achilles.

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170 views2 pages

Iliad Book 18 Summary and Analysis

The document provides a summary of Book 18 of The Iliad. It summarizes that Achilles is distraught over the death of Patroklos and vows to kill Hector for revenge. His mother Thetis promises to get him new armor from Hephaestus. That night, the Greeks mourn Patroklos while the Trojans decide to continue fighting despite the warnings of Polydamas about Achilles. Thetis returns with the new armor for Achilles.

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debroy8282
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Book 18 Summary and Analysis


Summary
Antilochos brings the news of Patroklos’ death to Achilleus, who is distraught with grief.
He pours dust and ashes over his head and sprawls on the ground tearing at his hair. As
everyone in the hut weeps for Patroklos, Achilleus utters a terrible cry of mourning.
Thetis hears his cry and goes to comfort him. Achilleus tells his mother that Hektor must
pay with his life for the death of Patroklos. His mother tells him that his own death is
fated to follow directly after Hektor’s, but Achilleus will not be dissuaded. However,
Achilleus no longer has his armor and cannot go into battle unarmed. Thetis agrees to
have a new set of armor made by Hephaistos in Olympus, and instructs Achilleus to do
nothing until she returns in the morning.

Back on the battlefield, the Trojans are pushing the Achaians back to their ships, and
they catch up to the body of Patroklos. Again, the two armies fight fiercely over the body.
Hera sends Iris down from Olympus to rouse Achilleus to defend Patroklos. She instructs
him to go out to the ditch and show himself to the Trojans to hold off their fighting.
Athene wraps Achilleus in the aegis, and he is surrounded by a blazing light. As he stands
at the ditch, he utters three fierce shouts that carry loud and clear to the Trojans, striking
them with terror. As the Trojans are thrown into confusion, the Achaians are able to drag
Patroklos out of the fighting.

As evening falls and the fighting ceases, the Trojans hold a strategy council. Poulydamas
again warns Hektor to retreat, fearing the wrath of Achilleus. Better to be within the city
walls where it will be easier to defend the city. Yet again, Hektor rejects his advice. The
Trojans approve Hektor’s plan to keep fighting.

The Achaians spend the night mourning Patroklos. Achilleus swears that Patroklos will
not be buried until the armor and head of Hektor have been captured and the throats of
12 Trojan children have been cut in revenge. The body is washed and anointed and laid
on a bier.

Thetis reaches Olympus and convinces the lame god Hephaistos to craft beautiful armor
for her son. He produces a shield depicting many beautiful scenes of both war and peace,
a corselet, a heavy helmet, and greaves of tin. When the armor is finished, Thetis carries
it to her son.
Discussion and Analysis
The full implication of Achilleus’ plan to revenge the death of Patroklos is spelled out by
Thetis. If he chooses to kill Hektor, it is fated that his death will soon follow. Achilleus is
thus given a choice. If he chooses not to kill Hektor, he may live to return to his home. If
he chooses to make Hektor pay for Patroklos’ death with his own, he will not leave the
battlefields of Troy alive. Achilleus’ love for Patroklos, and his sense of responsibility for
his death, are so great that he cannot walk away without revenge. In killing Hektor,
Achilleus also hopes to break the strength of the Trojans by taking out their leader, and
to reduce his own feelings of guilt.

Achilleus’ reactions to the news of Patroklos’ death are an interesting picture of the
customs of the culture. He tears out clumps of his hair and covers his head with dust,
writhing on the ground and moaning loudly. Achilleus is not the only one moaning. All of
the women in the household, as well as many others, join in the wailing. Each of these
actions serves as an outlet for the enormous emotional response to the death of a close
friend. Many men have died on the battlefield before Patroklos, but none has stirred
such a reaction among the survivors. This is due partly to Patroklos’ status as a great
warrior, but the excessive grief stems mostly from the reaction of Achilleus. Achilleus is
at the center of all the mourning and funeral rituals. Again, he is driven by his great love
for Patroklos, but also by his guilt.

Fearing the extreme reaction of Achilleus to the death of Patroklos, Poulydamas again
advises Hektor to fall back. As Poulydamas speaks with the voice of reason. Hektor,
however, refuses to listen to reason. All along he has shown a strong belief in fate. If it is
fated for him or any other Trojan to die, they will die. Armed with this tenet, as well as
with his deep sense of responsibility, he charges ahead.

The transfiguration of Achilleus is another example of the fire imagery prevalent in the
epic. Flames of fire appear to shoot from the warrior’s head, symbolizing the destruction
and burning of a great city. The image foreshadows the fall of Troy.

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