to go to Troy. When he asks Patroclus to come with him, Patroclus agrees. The next day, Patroclus climbs a sharp peak and calls to Thetis. Appearing, she reveals that Achilles will not die until he has killed Hector, Troy’s greatest warrior. She orders Patroclus to take responsibility for protecting Achilles from his own tendency to trust too far and not to disgrace Achilles. Patroclus tells Achilles that he must not kill Hector. Agreeing, Achilles reflects that he has nothing against Hector.

Before they leave for Troy, Achilles tells Lycomedes that Thetis will wean her grandson, taking him away from the court—a great blow to Lycomedes. On the ship, Odysseus and Diomedes tell stories, which fascinate Achilles. When they camp for the night, Odysseus comments that he has one tent for Patroclus and Achilles, since he has heard that is what they prefer. Feeling shame is not necessary, he tells them, since what they do is common enough. He adds, however, that such conduct is more fitting for boys than men. Patroclus denies that there is anything sexual between him and Achilles. Replying that it is still their reputation, whether true or not, he advises them to leave it behind them if they are concerned about how it looks. Patroclus tries to persuade Achilles that they should hide their relationship, but Achilles refuses.

The next day, Achilles is coldly formal with Odysseus but asks him about the warriors they will fight against. Odysseus lists and describes them. When Achilles asks to hear about Agamemnon, Odysseus explains that Agamemnon’s (and Menelaus’s) ancestor Tantalus drew a curse on their house by trying to trick the gods, offering them his son to eat. Only with Agamemnon and Menelaus, Tantalus’s great-grandsons, has the family luck begun to change. Agamemnon is known as a good and powerful king and has therefore been chosen general over the Greek armies. Though each ruler brings his own army, one must rule over all. Achilles resists this idea, saying that he has come of his own free will and “will take Agamemnon’s counsel, but not his orders.” Understanding him incorrectly, Odysseus reassures him that he will be honored in the army. What Achilles meant was that he was a prince and a free man, not to be commanded by anyone.

Patroclus warns him that the others cannot be trusted, but Achilles is not sure. He changes the subject and distracts Patroclus by praising his body and touching him. Waking up beside Achilles in the night, Patroclus is tormented by the sense of what he will lose when Achilles dies and the fear that his death may not be far away.

Analysis

In these chapters, the hand of fate reaches out to grasp Achilles—and, therefore, Patroclus. In spite of all his mother’s efforts, Achilles cannot avoid the war. Odysseus and Diomedes use his own nature as a mighty warrior to trick him into revealing himself. Using the prophecy to tempt Achilles’s ego, they persuade him into the war against his own inclinations. Achilles simply “could not bear” the idea of being forgotten.

Achilles’s desire for fame is similar to the “tragic flaw” of Greek tragedy, even though the height of Greek drama came centuries after the Iliad’s composition. His ego makes it impossible for him not to go and fight, even though no one is forcing him. The prophecy is not that he will go to Troy and find great fame, but that if he does not go to Troy, he will be forgotten. Both possibilities are still open. This divine pronouncement is enough to send Achilles to Troy, however: because of his own nature, “miraculous and radiant,” he cannot resist the call of fame or accept the shame of obscurity.

This section also puts in place several elements that will become important later, which a reader familiar with this story would notice. Achilles’s resentment of Agamemnon, the social judgment that Patroclus and Achilles might incur in a military context, and Odysseus’s skill at trickery are all familiar to those who have read The Iliad. Bringing these elements of the story to the fore is also vital for those who have not, for they must be aware of such key factors as the plot unfolds.

In addition, this section makes the author more present to the reader. When Diomedes says that by fighting in Troy, the Greek heroes “will be remembered in legend and song for generations,” this almost unbelievable moment is a wink to the person reading about them thousands of years later.