At the end of Book XI of the Iliad, the Trojans have the upper hand. They have wounded a number of Achaeans, as one of them, Eurypylus, tells Patroclus (lines 822–6):
No longer, illustrious Patroklos, can the Achaians
defend themselves, but they will be piled back into their black ships.
For all of these who were before the bravest in battle
are lying up among the ships with arrow or spear wounds
under the hands of the Trojans whose strength is forever on the uprise.
Nestor has just suggested to Patroclus that he fight in the armor of Achilles. The idea is a key element of the arc of the epic, but will not be realized till Book XVI, when Patroclus proposes it to Achilles without mentioning its provenance.
Perhaps I never thought about whether the idea was original to Patroclus. When I wrote about Book XI in 2018, I did not point out Nestor’s introduction of the idea there.
ἠὼς δ᾽ ἐκ λεχέων παρ᾽ ἀγαυοῦ Τιθωνοῖο
ὄρνυθ᾽, ἵν᾽ ἀθανάτοισι φόως φέροι ἠδὲ βροτοῖσι
“Now Dawn rose from her couch from beside lordly Tithonus
to bring light to immortals and to mortal men” (Iliad XI.1–2)
Cloudy winter sunrise over Θεραπειά, Sarıyer, Istanbul
Saturday, February 4, 2023
