Disclaimer: I am not an ancient Greek scholar. For the full disclaimer, read here.
“A! poor wretch, you arm in the armour of a hero, before whom many another trembles, and you reck nothing of the doom that is already close upon you. You have killed his comrade so brave and strong, but it was not well that you should strip the armour from his head and shoulders.”
Iliad, Book 17; Samuel Butler translation
Book 17 Summary
Hector wants to bring the body of Patroclus back to Troy in order to put his head on the walls of Troy and throw his body to the dogs. Menelaus wants to bring the body back in order to give Patroclus a proper burial. Many Trojans and Achaeans die fighting over the body of Patroclus. Telamonian Ajax with his giant shield is able to defend the body for a while, but after Hector dons the armor of Achilles, which he stripped from Patroclus’ body, the Trojans slowly begin to overpower the Achaeans.
Meanwhile, Menelaus sends Antilochus to Achilles to give him the bad news that Patroclus is dead.
The book ends with Menelaus and Meriones grabbing the body of Patroclus and carrying it toward their ships while the two Ajax’ guard them from the Trojan onslaught.
For a list of the major characters, with Greek and Latin names, go here.
Well, This Is Awkward…
Not a whole lot happens in Book 17. Most of the subjects I could talk about I have talked about at length the past few entries. I don’t want to write a long section on something when I wrote a long section on it last week or the week before.
Instead, I’ll just hit some interesting points:
[Hector]: “Jove at one time makes even a strong man draw back and snatches victory from his grasp, while at another he will set him on to fight.”
[Menelaus] “When a man fights in despite of heaven with one whom a god befriends, he will soon rue it.”
This is something I have touched on before, but based on the worldview Homer presents in the Iliad, the gods have the power to defy the natural and normal. They can make a strong person useless and a weak person useful. They can render the efforts of mortals null and void and even reverse the efforts they’ve already made. And these gods do this a lot in the Iliad. They are not beings that appear to handle their powers responsibly.
Hector wants to claim the body of Patroclus so he can cut off his head and display it on the walls of Troy while feeding the body to the dogs. Keep this mind as you continue through the story.
Zeus, Apollo, and Athena intervene in the fighting over Patroclus’ body which keeps the fighting continuing longer and longer. Putting darkness over the battlefield, causing one army to panic, renewing the courage of another army... I still won’t reveal what I believe is the full magnitude of this intervention until Book 20 (if you haven’t guessed it already).
Apollo confirms what we’ve all been thinking when he directs Hector back into the fighting:
“Hector, who of the Achaeans will fear you henceforward now that you have quailed before Menelaus who has ever been rated poorly as a soldier?”
Iliad, Book 17; Samuel Butler translation
Yeah, Menelaus is not a great fighter. As we’ve seen so far: he probably would have died if he confronted Aeneas (Book 5), Menelaus was held back from dueling Hector (Book 7), Agamemnon did not think he was a good fit for espionage (Book 10), and even here in Book 17 Menelaus is scared of Hector but afraid to dishonor himself by fleeing.
The thing is though, Menelaus has actually been doing pretty well, as I mentioned in Book 13. I stated my theory as to why: Agamemnon is not around. Agamemnon is back at camp being treated for his wounds. This has left Menelaus in charge and he’s actually holding out pretty well. He stood resolute guarding the body of Patroclus, got both Ajax’ and Meriones to rally close to him to help defend the body, and found Antilochus, one of their fastest runners, so he could deliver the bad news about Patroclus to Achilles. Lastly, he stepped up to the task (with Meriones) of pulling Patroclus’ body back toward the ships.
Menelaus, left alone, thrives. He appears to get the confidence and competence he needs to lead and fight well when people aren’t being overprotective of him.
That’s all for Book 17 of the Iliad.
May your days be filled with grace.
-Andronikos
The booklist I am going through can be found here.
If you want to learn a little more about the Iliad, I have a page devoted to it.
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Thumbnail: The Greeks and the Trojans Fighting Over the Body of Patroclus by Antoine Wiertz. Created 1836-1844. Public domain.