This quote is taken from the end of Book 16, where Patroclus tells his final words to Hector after Hector killed him with his spear. Hector kills Patroclus easily after Patroclus is wounded by Apollo. In his final speech, Patroclus claims that Hector would not be able to kill him without Apollo’s help.
The most significant part of the quote is where Patroclus foretells Hector’s death, at the hands of Achilles.Analysis:In the quote, Patroclus begins his words by praising Hector, and Hector’s victory over him. Yet, Patroclus humiliates Hector by granting his success to Zeus and Apollo in the following sentences of his speech. Patroclus claims that the Gods have changed his own fate since they standed by Hector instead of him.Gods do not only change Patroclus’ fate, but also change Hector’s and Achilles’. Achilles learns about his fate in the first book, and it influences Achilles’ decision of refusing to fight with the Achaeans.
He prefers to live a long life instead of living a short, glorious life. After Patroclus is killed, Achilles reviews his decision and decides to take his beloved friend’s revenge.On the other hand, Hector does not change his decision of fighting in the war after he learns about his fate. Patroclus tells him that he is going to be killed by Achilles, but Hector still chooses to fight against the Achaeans knowing he’ll die at the end.If the Gods hadn’t helped Hector, Achilles would not change his decision about joining the battle; Hector wouldn’t be killed by Achilles and Patroclus might still be alive.
This situation leads to a conflict in the book: fate vs. will of gods.Reflection:I believe that the quote I’ve chosen is the most important and the significant part of Book 16. In the previous books, we have witnessed that Gods have changed other’s fate; but Patroclus’s death is the climax of the whole story.Achilles is the strongest and the most powerful warrior in the book, and his decisions eventually affect the outcome of the whole story. After he has refused to fight for Agamemnon, the Trojans were more likely to win the battle.
After Patroclus’ death, Achilles insists that he should take the revenge Patroclus, and joins the battle again. The change of Achilles’ fate triggers the fate of all Achaeans and Trojans, since the winner of the battle changes at the end of the book.In the story, Gods participate in mortal affairs, which create the conflict of fate vs. will of Gods. From the beginning of the story, Gods affect the state of the war: Apollo sends the plague to the Achaean army, Athena prevents Achilles from killing Agamemnon, Apollo wounds Patroclus, etc. So, the decisions of the Gods directly affect the story’s events, and prevent the characters from living their own fate.
Another point that is significant about the conflict of fate vs. will of Gods is that the conflict creates a sense of drama and irony. The changes of the character’s fates result in inner struggles; and the inner struggles of the characters create a sense of drama. At the beginning of the story Achilles asks Zeus to punish the Achaean army for Briseis’s restitution. However later in the story, in Book 16, Hector killes Achilles’ companion with Zeus’ help. His request from Zeus for easing his anger later on causes a bigger pain and anger.
Homer uses the conflict of fate against the will of the Gods in order to create a drama, by divulging the inner struggles of the main characters. So, the drama in the scenario arises from how the events in the story affect the character’s decisions, mostly Achilles’.
