Achilles, before this moment, could have been considered sympathetic in many of his battles. Although he brutally killed many a Trojan, he was usually willing to take people for ransom. Although his rage at Agamemnon has faded, with the death of Patroclus, any mercy or compassion Achilles once had is now gone, destroyed by grief and rage.
His denial of Lykaon's pleas for mercy can be considered one of the Iliad's most frightening passages. Achilles has become cold, inhuman. As many other Trojans before him have hoped, Lykaon hopes that his family's lineage will be able to save him, but Achilles is so far past the breaking point that life can no longer be spared. In the translation, Lykaon speaks of Patroclus to Achilles, describing him as "your