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Examples Of Grief In The Iliad

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Grief overrides the rules of war. Usually in The Iliad intense grief leads to rage, fury, and the desire for battle and bloodshed. In Book 16, Patroclus, armed with the armor of Achilles, walks into battle. In the midst of the mêlée he ends up killing Sarpedon, Zeus’s grandson. The Trojans, stuck with immense grief for their fallen comrade, attack the Argives at full force. The Trojans were so immersed in avenging Sarpedon’s death that they completely disregarded his corpse. “Not even a hawk-eyes scout could still make out Sarpedon, / the man’s magnificent body covered over head to toe, /buried under a mass of weapons, blood, and dust. / But they still kept swarming round the corpse / like flies…” (16.742-46). Because of vast grief for their dead friend, the Trojans completely forgot about his body, hence supporting that grief overpowers the rules of war. …show more content…

But Achilles kept on grieving for his friend, / the memory burning on… / and all-subduing sleep could not take him, / not now, he turned and twisted, side to side, he longed for Patroclus’ manhood, his gallant heart- / what rough campaigns they’d fought to an end together, / what hardships they had suffered, cleaving their way / through wars of men and pounding waves at sea. (24.4-11).
Despite Patroclus being dead for eight books, Achilles is still grieving for him. Memory after memory of their good times and triumphs flooded his vision and he becomes blinded with rage. This wrath overtook him and he made a rash decision. He took the corpse of Hector and attached it to his car, then proceeded to drag his lifeless body around Patroclus’ tomb three times before leaving his body sprawled in the dust, left to rot. Achilles’ rage was so powerful that it overpowers the rule of war to never break the laws of

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