To understand the lament of Thetis towards her son Achilles, we must first understand the relationship and connection between Achilles and Patroklos. In book 18 of the Iliad we can observe that Achilles begins to lament his fallen friend, Patroklos. It is easy to understand that Achilles feels responsible for the death of Patroklos because Achilles did not want to fight anymore battles as he was still angry at Agamemnon from the time he challenged his honor back in book 1 when Agamemnon took Briseis away from him. Instead of joining the battle Achilles allowed Patroklos use his armor to impersonate him during battle. Apart from choosing not to join Patroklos in battle letting Patroklos impersonate him was one of the driving factors that caused
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After knowing how closely tied Achilles and Patroklos are it is understandable for Thetis to lament her son Achilles since the death of Patroklos meant the death of her son. As Achilles tells his mom that he is going to pursue and kill Hektor for killing Patroklos, Thetis tells him, “Then, my son, is your end near at hand—for your own death awaits you full soon after that of Hector” (Iliad 18: 95-96). She is lamenting Achilles because the death of a son is hard to bare for a mother especially for a god/goddess as they are immortal and will have to grief their child for all eternity. Thetis knows that Achilleas and Patroklos had a relationship ran deep and one couldn’t be without the other. This connection is what makes Thetis laments her son as she knows that Achilles feels like it is his duty to kill Hektor since Achilles blames himself for what has happened to Patroklos and feels that he has not brought “saving neither to Patroclus nor to my other comrades of whom so many have been slain by mighty Hektor” (Iliad 18: 102-103). For this reason, Achilles is furious at himself for not being with Patroklos when Patroklos needed him most and furious at Hektor for killing many of his fellow comrades especially Patroklos as he was one of Achilles closest friends. This fuel of anger and motivation the was engulfing Achilles to want to avenge his fallen comrades is the reason that feels the need to …show more content…
At this point Achilles and Priam are lamenting for their lost ones showing that they have both lost people that are deer to them and can respect each other even though they are fighting for different sides of the war. This respect and pity towards Priam pushes Achilles to agree to give back Hektor to his father. This shows that even though they are not fighting for same side they can still respect each other and not have to resolve issues with battle. After Priam manages to convince Achilles to give up Hektor’s corpse Hektor is laid to rest with proper burial. It is also good to note that it was believed if someone did not have a proper burial he/she would not be truly laid to rest, so the person wouldn’t be truly free from the world. It was also thought that if ceremonies were performed around the burials of heroes they would present powers to those performing the ceremony. These two ideas of treating a heroes’ corps were the primary reason the Trojans wanted Hektor’s body back. Achilles knew these things, so it shows hospitality when he approves of Priam’s request. The burial of Hektor is a parallel to the burial of Patroklos as they both died in a similar way and they were both being lamented. During the
After knowing how closely tied Achilles and Patroklos are it is understandable for Thetis to lament her son Achilles since the death of Patroklos meant the death of her son. As Achilles tells his mom that he is going to pursue and kill Hektor for killing Patroklos, Thetis tells him, “Then, my son, is your end near at hand—for your own death awaits you full soon after that of Hector” (Iliad 18: 95-96). She is lamenting Achilles because the death of a son is hard to bare for a mother especially for a god/goddess as they are immortal and will have to grief their child for all eternity. Thetis knows that Achilleas and Patroklos had a relationship ran deep and one couldn’t be without the other. This connection is what makes Thetis laments her son as she knows that Achilles feels like it is his duty to kill Hektor since Achilles blames himself for what has happened to Patroklos and feels that he has not brought “saving neither to Patroclus nor to my other comrades of whom so many have been slain by mighty Hektor” (Iliad 18: 102-103). For this reason, Achilles is furious at himself for not being with Patroklos when Patroklos needed him most and furious at Hektor for killing many of his fellow comrades especially Patroklos as he was one of Achilles closest friends. This fuel of anger and motivation the was engulfing Achilles to want to avenge his fallen comrades is the reason that feels the need to …show more content…
At this point Achilles and Priam are lamenting for their lost ones showing that they have both lost people that are deer to them and can respect each other even though they are fighting for different sides of the war. This respect and pity towards Priam pushes Achilles to agree to give back Hektor to his father. This shows that even though they are not fighting for same side they can still respect each other and not have to resolve issues with battle. After Priam manages to convince Achilles to give up Hektor’s corpse Hektor is laid to rest with proper burial. It is also good to note that it was believed if someone did not have a proper burial he/she would not be truly laid to rest, so the person wouldn’t be truly free from the world. It was also thought that if ceremonies were performed around the burials of heroes they would present powers to those performing the ceremony. These two ideas of treating a heroes’ corps were the primary reason the Trojans wanted Hektor’s body back. Achilles knew these things, so it shows hospitality when he approves of Priam’s request. The burial of Hektor is a parallel to the burial of Patroklos as they both died in a similar way and they were both being lamented. During the