Book 17, Honoring Patroklos

In book 17, I was surprise to find out that Patroklos truly died. I was even surprised that it was sort of another reason why the war started again. It surprised me because in a way it showed that the men (Achaeans) really do have emotions. Homer made it clear that the reason the war continued was because the men were trying to protect the body of Patroklos and his honor. Homer was really emphasizing the importance of the fellow warriors body. I found it a little horrible that Hector would even think to take the head off of Patroklos body and feed the body it to the dogs. Homer writes, “But Hektor, when he had stripped from Patroklos the glorious armor, dragged at him, meaning to cut his head from this shoulders with the sharp bronze, to haul off the body and give it to the dogs of Troy…” (line125-127). I was happy this was not the case. It made sense why the Achaeans would want to protect his body. It was like in previous books that explained that the body needed to be honored and sent to hell or Hades.