Books 18 and 19 represent a TURNING POINT in the Iliad's exploration of heroism, mortality, and human values. The themes here are darker and more complex than earlier in the epic. Achilles isn't just returning to battle—he's fundamentally transformed by grief into something both more and less than human.
These books ask profound questions: What happens when the heroic code fails? Can honour be restored once destroyed? Is revenge the same as justice? What's the relationship between human suffering and divine power? And ultimately: what does it mean to be mortal?
Core Themes We'll Explore
Grief and its physical, psychological effects; revenge as motivation versus glory; divine intervention through craftsmanship; the failure of reconciliation; mortality and acceptance of death; the dehumanisation of the hero; mother-son relationships and powerlessness.
Why These Themes Matter
Books 18-19 show us the CONSEQUENCES of the decisions made in Books 1 and 9. Agamemnon's insult led to Achilles' withdrawal. Achilles' refusal to fight led to Patroclus' death. Now we see the terrible price: Achilles consumed by grief, choosing death for revenge, becoming a killing machine rather than a hero.
Homer doesn't tell us what to think. He shows us Achilles' overwhelming grief, his justified rage, his inhuman transformation—and asks us to grapple with whether this is tragic, noble, horrifying, or all three.
Grief as Physical Destruction
Achilles' response to Patroclus' death is the most intense portrayal of grief in all of Greek literature. Homer doesn't just tell us Achilles is sad—he shows us grief as a PHYSICAL FORCE that destroys the body.
At this, a black cloud of grief enfolded Achilles. He picked up the dark dust in both hands and poured it on his head, defiling his handsome face. Black ash settled on his scented tunic. And he himself, gigantic in his vastness, lay sprawled in the dust, tearing at his hair with his own hands and defiling it.
— Book 18, Rieu translation
The Vocabulary of Grief
"black cloud" = grief as darkness that envelops and suffocates
"defiling" = deliberate destruction of beauty and identity
"gigantic in his vastness" = even prostrate, he's superhuman
"tearing at his hair" = violence directed at the self
"sprawled in the dust" = collapse, inability to stand
This isn't metaphorical. Achilles literally tears his hair, covers himself in ash, collapses. The women around him collapse too—"the strength went from their limbs." Grief is contagious, physical, devastating.
Grief as Social Ritual
Homer also shows us that grief isn't just personal—it's COMMUNAL. The captive women, Thetis and the sea-nymphs, eventually the entire Greek army—everyone participates in mourning Patroclus.
The women that Achilles and Patroclus had taken captive screamed aloud in their anguish and ran out to surround the excellent Achilles, beating their breasts with their hands, and the strength went from their limbs.
— Book 18, Rieu translation
These are ENSLAVED women grieving their captor's friend. Yet their grief is genuine. This tells us something profound about Patroclus—he must have treated them with kindness. Briseis later confirms this explicitly.
💡 Briseis' Lament
When Briseis finally speaks in Book 19, she grieves for Patroclus who promised to make her Achilles' wife, not just a concubine. "You were always kind," she says. For a woman who lost everything to war, Patroclus represented humanity. The other women join her—"in pretence for Patroclus, but in fact each for her own sorrows."
Grief and Guilt
What makes Achilles' grief unbearable is GUILT. He didn't just lose Patroclus—he SENT him to die wearing his own armour, and then failed to save him.
'I, who did not help him when he was killed—and I was far away: I stayed by the ships, a useless burden on the earth.'
— Achilles, Book 18
What Achilles Blames Himself For
Sending Patroclus into battle
Not fighting alongside him
Withdrawing from war in anger
Valuing his honour over his friend's life
Being "a useless burden on the earth"
The Tragic Irony
Achilles withdrew to punish Agamemnon
The Greeks suffered, as planned
But Patroclus died as collateral damage
Achilles' pride killed his beloved friend
Revenge on Agamemnon achieved nothing
This is why Achilles says the quarrel was "soul-destroying" and wishes he and Agamemnon had both died rather than cause this. He got his revenge on Agamemnon—the Greeks were humiliated—but the price was Patroclus' life.
Mortality and the Choice of Death
Books 18-19 are obsessed with DEATH. Achilles chooses it, Thetis prophesies it, Xanthus the horse warns of it. Everyone knows Achilles will die soon, and this knowledge pervades everything.
'Then let me die at once, since it seems I was not to save my companion from death. He has fallen far from his own land and lacked me to defend him from disaster.'
— Achilles, Book 18
Achilles' Two Destinies
Book 9: Thetis told him he could choose long life without glory OR death at Troy with eternal kleos
Book 9: He explicitly chose LIFE—planned to sail home
Book 18: He now chooses DEATH—but not for glory, for revenge
The heroic code is irrelevant; this is personal
'You are doomed to an early death, my child, from what you say. Your own end is fixed to follow immediately after Hector's.'
— Thetis, Book 18
Thetis knows. She's known since Book 1. But she can't stop him. Even a goddess mother is powerless against fate. All she can do is delay the inevitable by one day, by bringing him divine armour.
The Tragic Inevitability
Homer makes us watch a man choosing his own death with full knowledge. Achilles isn't deceived, isn't ignorant. He KNOWS killing Hector means his own death follows immediately. He chooses it anyway. This is what makes Books 18-19 feel like a funeral—because they are.
The Shift from Kleos to Vengeance
In Book 9, Achilles questioned whether KLEOS (glory/fame) was worth dying for. He saw through the heroic code and chose life over glory. But in Book 18, he chooses death—NOT for kleos, but for REVENGE. This is a fundamental shift.
Traditional Heroic Motivation
Fight for timē (honour)
Win kleos (eternal glory)
Earn social recognition
Fulfil role as warrior
Serve community/king
Achilles' Motivation in Book 18
Kill Hector personally
Avenge Patroclus' death
Satisfy his rage
Accept death as consequence
Reject all other considerations
'I have no desire to live, to remain among men, unless I can kill Hector first with my spear and make him pay for slaughtering Patroclus.'
— Achilles, Book 18
Notice: he doesn't say "to win glory" or "to restore my honour." He says "kill Hector" and "make him pay." This is PERSONAL. The heroic code is irrelevant.
Revenge as Consuming Force
Achilles' desire for revenge is all-consuming. It replaces food, sleep, social bonds—everything. He becomes INHUMAN in his single-minded focus on killing.
'I have no thought for food; what I crave is slaughter and blood and the groans of suffering men.'
— Achilles, Book 19
The Language of Bloodlust
"no thought for food" = rejection of civilised humanity
"what I crave" = desire language, but for violence
"slaughter and blood" = not honourable combat, but butchery
"groans of suffering men" = wants to hear his victims in pain
💡 Food and Civilisation
In the ancient world, EATING together is what makes you human and part of society. Achilles' refusal to eat (even as the army feasts before battle) symbolically removes him from humanity. He's becoming a pure instrument of death. Athene has to secretly feed him divine food—he can't sustain himself on mortal nourishment anymore.
Is Revenge Justice?
Homer doesn't directly answer whether Achilles' revenge is justified. He shows us BOTH sides: Achilles' grief is genuine and overwhelming, his desire to kill Hector is understandable—but his transformation into something inhuman is disturbing.
Arguments FOR Achilles
Hector killed his closest friend
Hector stripped Patroclus' body
Grief this intense demands response
Vengeance is normal in heroic culture
He's accepting death as consequence
Arguments AGAINST Achilles
Becoming inhuman in pursuit of revenge
Rejecting food = rejecting civilisation
Causing pain to others (Thetis, Greeks)
Choosing death = abandoning responsibilities
Later: will mutilate Hector's corpse
The Iliad presents Achilles' revenge as both INEVITABLE (given his grief and the culture) and TRAGIC (because of what he becomes). It's not simple. Homer shows us the human cost of revenge on both the avenger and the avenged.
Divine Intervention Through Craft
Unlike most divine intervention in the Iliad (where gods directly fight or manipulate), Book 18 shows us gods intervening through CRAFTSMANSHIP. Thetis can't save her son from death, but she can give him the finest armour ever made.
She found Hephaestus busily turning from bellows to bellows, sweating as he laboured. He was making twenty tripods to stand round the sides of his well-built hall. He had put golden wheels under the base of each so that they could run by themselves to a meeting of the gods and then return to his house again—a wonder to see.
— Hephaestus' workshop, Book 18
Hephaestus is creating AUTOMATED tripods—ancient robots. His workshop is a place of impossible marvels, where craft borders on magic. This sets the stage for the Shield.
The Shield as Microcosm
Hephaestus doesn't just make a shield—he creates an entire WORLD in miniature. Five concentric circles depicting earth, sea, sky, cities at peace and war, agriculture, herding, dancing. It's the most famous ekphrasis (detailed description of artwork) in ancient literature.
What's Depicted on the Shield
The cosmos: earth, sky, sea, sun, moon, stars
A city at PEACE: weddings, lawcourts, justice, music
A city at WAR: siege, ambush, killing
Ploughing and harvesting: peaceful agriculture
Vineyards and grape-picking: seasonal work
Cattle herding: a lion attacks the herd
Dancing: young people celebrating life
Ocean: the great river encircling everything
Why the Shield Matters
Achilles is preparing to return to WAR—to killing, death, destruction. And Homer shows us, via the Shield, everything that war DESTROYS: weddings, farming, dancing, justice, community, joy, peace. The Shield is a reminder of what civilisation could be. Achilles will carry this vision of peace whilst he kills.
Divine Power and Mortal Limitations
The Shield also represents the relationship between divine POWER and mortal LIMITATION. Hephaestus can create a perfect world in metal—but he can't create that world in reality. Thetis can commission divine armour—but she can't save her son from death.
She in her turn gave a cry, and all the goddesses gathered round, all the daughters of Nereus in the depths of the sea... They all beat their breasts and Thetis led them in their lament: 'Listen, sister Nereids, so that you may hear and know all the sorrows in my heart. I am wretched; I had a son, the best of men... And now I shall never welcome him back to his home.'
— Thetis' lament, Book 18
Thetis is a GODDESS. She has access to Hephaestus, to Olympus, to divine knowledge. And she's completely POWERLESS to save her son. She can only delay his death by one day.
💡 The Powerless Mother
One of the Iliad's most moving themes is maternal powerlessness. Thetis can't save Achilles. Hecuba can't save Hector. Mothers watch their sons die in war and can do NOTHING. Even divine mothers can't protect their children from fate.
The Hollow Ritual
Book 19 should be about restoration: the quarrel resolved, honour restored, the hero returning in triumph. Instead, Homer shows us a HOLLOW ritual where social forms are observed but nothing is actually fixed.
What's Supposed to Happen
Public acknowledgement of wrong
Genuine apology and remorse
Compensation offered and accepted
Honour restored to injured party
Relationship repaired
Community reunited
What Actually Happens
Agamemnon blames divine delusion
No genuine apology or responsibility
Gifts offered; Achilles doesn't care
Honour irrelevant to Achilles now
No emotional reconciliation
Greeks united only by necessity
'Most glorious son of Atreus, Agamemnon king of men, the gifts are yours to give if you wish, as is right, or to keep for yourself. But now let us think of battle at once.'
— Achilles' dismissal, Book 19
"The gifts are yours...or to keep for yourself"—Achilles genuinely doesn't care. The compensation that should restore his honour is meaningless to him now.
Agamemnon's Ate Defence
Agamemnon's speech in Book 19 is a masterclass in DEFLECTION. He admits he was wrong—but claims divine delusion (ate) made him do it, so it's not really his fault.
'The Greeks have often brought this up against me and blamed me. But I am not to blame. The blame lies with Zeus and Fate and the Fury who walks in the mist. They put savage Delusion in my heart on that day in the assembly when I robbed Achilles of his prize.'
— Agamemnon, Book 19
The Ate Defence Examined
Ate = divine delusion that makes you act madly
It's a real concept in Greek thought
BUT: is Agamemnon using it as an excuse?
He admits the ACTION but denies RESPONSIBILITY
He never says "I'm sorry" or "I was wrong"
He says "a god made me do it, but I'll pay you"
💡 Is This an Apology?
Does Agamemnon's speech constitute a genuine apology? He acknowledges what he did, offers massive compensation, and admits he "lost his wits." But he attributes his actions to Zeus, not to his own character. It's like saying "I hit you, but a demon made me do it, so it's not really my fault—but here's some money anyway." Would YOU accept that?
Why Reconciliation Fails
The reconciliation fails because Achilles has CHANGED. In Book 1, he cared about honour. In Book 9, he rejected honour as hollow. In Book 19, he's beyond caring about ANY of the traditional values. Only revenge matters.
Book 1: Achilles' Values
Timē (honour) matters deeply
Public recognition essential
Insult must be avenged
Withdraws to force apology
Book 19: Achilles' Values
Honour irrelevant
Gifts meaningless
Only Hector's death matters
Returns to kill, not to be honoured
The system REQUIRES that compensation restores honour. But what if the injured party no longer values honour? The entire social mechanism breaks down. Achilles has moved outside the heroic code entirely.
The Larger Point
Homer is showing us that some wounds CAN'T be healed by following social forms. Patroclus is dead. No amount of tripods or horses or apologies will bring him back. The reconciliation is hollow because the original injury—Patroclus' death—is irreparable.
Key Points for Revision
Grief as physical force: Achilles' response to Patroclus' death is violent, public, all-consuming—grief destroys the body
Guilt amplifies grief: Achilles blames himself for sending Patroclus into battle and failing to save him
Mortality accepted: Achilles chooses death with full knowledge—not for glory but for revenge
Revenge replaces kleos: Traditional heroic motivation (glory/honour) replaced by personal vengeance
Dehumanisation: Refusal to eat, craving blood, becoming pure death—Achilles moves outside humanity
Divine craftsmanship: The Shield represents the perfect world that war destroys; Hephaestus' craft vs mortal limitation
Powerless divine mother: Thetis can provide armour but can't save her son from fate
Failed reconciliation: Social forms observed (assembly, gifts, oath) but no genuine forgiveness or restoration
The ate defence: Agamemnon blames divine delusion rather than taking moral responsibility
Irreparable damage: Some wounds (Patroclus' death) can't be fixed by compensation or ritual
Essay Ideas
Thematic Essays
How does Homer present grief in Books 18-19?
Revenge vs glory: has Achilles abandoned the heroic code?