PATROCLUS IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY
Patroclus was a famous hero amongst the Achaean forces who besieged Troy, and during the Trojan War, Patroclus was a close friend of Achilles.
The Family of Patroclus
Patroclus was the son of Menoetius in Greek mythology; with Menoetius being the son of King Actor of Opus.
Various names are given in ancient texts for the mother of Patroclus, including Philomela, Sthenele (daughter of Acastus), Periopis (daughter of Pheres) and Polymele (daughter of Peleus). The mother of Patroclus also potentially gave birth to a daughter, a sister of Patroclus, called Myrto.
Patroclus and Achilles are famed for being friends, but there was also a blood tie between them because they shared a great grandmother in the form of Aegina.
Aegina would give birth to Aeacus by Zeus, who was father to Peleus and Telamon, and thus Aegina was great-grandmother to Achilles, as well as Ajax the Great and Teucer.
Subsequently Aegina would marry Actor, becoming mother to Menoetius, and thus grandmother of Patroclus.
There was thus an age difference between Patrolcus and Achilles, with Patroclus being said to be slightly older.
Various names are given in ancient texts for the mother of Patroclus, including Philomela, Sthenele (daughter of Acastus), Periopis (daughter of Pheres) and Polymele (daughter of Peleus). The mother of Patroclus also potentially gave birth to a daughter, a sister of Patroclus, called Myrto.
Patroclus and Achilles are famed for being friends, but there was also a blood tie between them because they shared a great grandmother in the form of Aegina.
Aegina would give birth to Aeacus by Zeus, who was father to Peleus and Telamon, and thus Aegina was great-grandmother to Achilles, as well as Ajax the Great and Teucer.
Subsequently Aegina would marry Actor, becoming mother to Menoetius, and thus grandmother of Patroclus.
There was thus an age difference between Patrolcus and Achilles, with Patroclus being said to be slightly older.
Patroclus And Achilles
Patroclus was said to have grown up in Opus, the city of his grandfather, but Menoetius and Patroclus would be forced to flee from their home, when Patroclus killed a child named Clysonymus during a game of dice.
Menoetius and Patroclus would make their way to Phthia, where they were made welcome by Peleus, who had once been an Argonaut alongside Menoetius. Menoetius would tell his son Patroclus to be a wise counsel to the younger Achilles, but it is commonly said that both Patroclus and Achilles would be thereafter by the wise centaur Chiron, who had previously trained the likes of Jason and Asclepius. At the same time it is said that Patroclus would learn the healing arts from Achilles, who was taught them by Chiron, although it is not clear why, if Patroclus and Achilles were trained by the centaur at the same time, Chiron did not teach Patroclus himself. Patroclus A Suitor of HelenThe name of Patroclus commonly appears in lists for the Suitors of Helen, Patroclus appearing in both Fabulae and the Bibliotheca, although not in the fragments of Hesiod’s Catalogue of Women.
Patroclus would thus have made his way to Sparta, when King Tyndareus announced that the beautiful Helen, daughter of Leda, was to be married, and that eligible suitors might present themselves for consideration. |
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On his way to the court of Tyndareus, it was said that Patroclus killed a man called Las, the man who founded the settlement of Las in Laconia. No details are given though of what caused the argument between the two men.
More bloodshed might have occurred in Sparta, for Tyndareus was worried about arguments developing between suitors when the new husband of Helen was chosen. Though, Odysseus’ invention of the Oath of Tyndareus ultimately prevented this.
Patroclus of course was not chosen to be the husband of Helen, for Menelaus was chosen as husband, and new king of Sparta; but by this time, Patroclus had taken the Oath of Tyndareus, a promise to protect the husband of Helen in the future.
This was probably a period of separation between Achilles and Patroclus, for Achilles was not commonly named a Suitor of Helen, and in the lead up to the Trojan War, Thetis hid Achilles away in the court of Lycomedes.
More bloodshed might have occurred in Sparta, for Tyndareus was worried about arguments developing between suitors when the new husband of Helen was chosen. Though, Odysseus’ invention of the Oath of Tyndareus ultimately prevented this.
Patroclus of course was not chosen to be the husband of Helen, for Menelaus was chosen as husband, and new king of Sparta; but by this time, Patroclus had taken the Oath of Tyndareus, a promise to protect the husband of Helen in the future.
This was probably a period of separation between Achilles and Patroclus, for Achilles was not commonly named a Suitor of Helen, and in the lead up to the Trojan War, Thetis hid Achilles away in the court of Lycomedes.
Patroclus at Aulis
Having taken the Oath of Tyndareus, Patroclus was duty bound to gather forces when Agamemnon called upon a gathering a fleet at Aulis. Now Homer, does not mentioned Patroclus specifically, so it would be assumed that Patroclus, and any troops gathered, were numbered amongst the 50 ships of Achilles.
Hyginus, in Fabuale, specifically mentioned 10 ships from Phthia being under Patroclus. |
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Patroclus at Troy
The journey to Troy was a difficult one, and at one point the Achaeans landed in Mysia, a land ruled by Telephus, the expeditionary force of the Achaeans would have been overwhelmed by the Mysians, but for the efforts of Patroclus and Achilles, who defended their comrades in the retreat to their ships.
Eventually though, the Achaeans, Patroclus included, would arrive at Troy. Patroclus though does come to the fore, according to the Iliad, until the war had been going on for a number of years.
By this time, disagreement had arisen between Agamemnon and Achilles over the war prize Briseis, and as a result Achilles and the Myrmidons were refusing to fight, and Patroclus, likewise stayed in his tent.
Eventually though, the Achaeans, Patroclus included, would arrive at Troy. Patroclus though does come to the fore, according to the Iliad, until the war had been going on for a number of years.
By this time, disagreement had arisen between Agamemnon and Achilles over the war prize Briseis, and as a result Achilles and the Myrmidons were refusing to fight, and Patroclus, likewise stayed in his tent.
Patroclus and the Armour of Achilles
The absence of Achilles and his men gave the Trojans great heart, and also a great advantage on the battlefield, so much so, that the beached Achaean ships were threatened. The respected Nestor came to Patroclus to plead for help; Patroclus listened to the words of Nestor, and relayed the news of the war to Achilles. Patrolcus also saw with his own eyes the damage that was being inflicted, for Patroclus would care for the wound of Eurypylus, inflicted in recent fighting.
Still Achilles refused to fight, but Patroclus convinced his friend to allow him to wear Achilles’ armour, and to lead the Myrmidons in the defence of the ships. Achilles recognised that the destruction of the fleet would be disastrous, and so Achilles agreed that Patroclus could defend the ships, but when the defence was successful he must return to his tent.
The Myrmidons thus entered the fight once again, with Patroclus, clad in Achilles’ armour riding a chariot, driven by Automedon, at the fore.
Still Achilles refused to fight, but Patroclus convinced his friend to allow him to wear Achilles’ armour, and to lead the Myrmidons in the defence of the ships. Achilles recognised that the destruction of the fleet would be disastrous, and so Achilles agreed that Patroclus could defend the ships, but when the defence was successful he must return to his tent.
The Myrmidons thus entered the fight once again, with Patroclus, clad in Achilles’ armour riding a chariot, driven by Automedon, at the fore.
The Death of Patroclus
The fighting around the ships was fierce, but the resolve of the attacking Trojans waned, when the perceived that Achilles had returned to the fight, not of course realising that it was Patrolcus.
When it became apparent that the Achaean ships would not burn that day, the Trojan army retreated once again to Troy. Now at this point Patroclus forgot the words of Achilles, and set off in pursuit of the Trojans. Patrolcus would take the fight to the very gates of Troy, and in a brief amount of time accounted for 25 Trojan defenders, including the likes of Sarpedon, Melanippus and Elasus; these defenders falling beneath the spear of Patroclus, or else through rocks used by Patroclus as weapons. It was at this point though, that Apollo intervened to assist the Trojans, and this intervention allowed for Euphorbus to wound Patrolcus with a spear to the back, and then for Hector to inflicting a killing wound with a spear to the stomach. The fall of Patroclus was observed by the other Achaean heroes on the battlefield, and Menelaus and Ajax the Great fought their way to the body of their comrade. By the time they got there, the armour of Achilles had been stripped by Hector, but Menelaus and Ajax fought hard to ensure that the body of Patroclus could not be violated. |
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Other Achaean heroes then arrived, and Menelaus and Meriones would carry the body of Patrolcus back to the Achaean camp, whilst Ajax the Great and Ajax the Lesser defended the retreat.
The body was taken back to Achilles, and there Achilles mourned for his dead friend.
The body was taken back to Achilles, and there Achilles mourned for his dead friend.
The Funeral of Patroclus
Achilles would refuse to allow the body of Patroclus to be buried, and Thetis, the mother of Achilles, anointed the body with ambrosia to prevent it from decomposing. Eventually the ghost of Patroclus came to Achilles, to ask for proper funeral rites so that he might continue his journey in the Underworld.
The pyre constructed for Patrolcus was 100 feet by 100 feet, but it refused to light until Boreas and Zephyrus were called upon to aid the lighting.
Patroclus would be cremated, and Achilles arranged for funeral games to be held in his honour, where Diomedes was victorious against the likes of Meriones and Antilochus in the chariot racing, and Teucer was victorious in the archery contest.
The pyre constructed for Patrolcus was 100 feet by 100 feet, but it refused to light until Boreas and Zephyrus were called upon to aid the lighting.
Patroclus would be cremated, and Achilles arranged for funeral games to be held in his honour, where Diomedes was victorious against the likes of Meriones and Antilochus in the chariot racing, and Teucer was victorious in the archery contest.
Achilles Returns to the Fight
The death of Patroclus saw Achilles rejoin the war, but after the death of Hector and Memnon, Achilles himself was killed; and the ashes of Achilles were mixed with those of Patroclus in the same golden urn.
Achilles and Patroclus would be reunited in the afterlife, for both would reside for eternity on the White Island, paradise for the Ancient Greeks, where many of the heroes of the Trojan War would be found.
Achilles and Patroclus would be reunited in the afterlife, for both would reside for eternity on the White Island, paradise for the Ancient Greeks, where many of the heroes of the Trojan War would be found.
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