Books 18 and 19 give us the most INTENSE character study in the entire Iliad. We watch Achilles transform from angry hero to grieving friend to inhuman force of death. We see Thetis' tragic powerlessness despite her divine nature. We witness Agamemnon's attempt to shift blame whilst technically acknowledging fault.
These books also reveal characters through ABSENCE—Patroclus is dead, but we learn more about him through how others mourn him. Briseis finally speaks, and her voice changes our understanding of the entire quarrel. Even Achilles' horse Xanthus gets a voice to warn his master of approaching death.
Focus of This Lesson
We'll examine Achilles' transformation in detail, explore Thetis' tragic position as powerless divine mother, analyse Agamemnon's character and his attempted apology, and look at the supporting characters (Briseis, Patroclus through others' memories, Hephaestus, and Xanthus the speaking horse).
Achilles: The Three Stages
To understand Achilles in Books 18-19, we need to see how he's CHANGED. He goes through three distinct phases across the epic, and Books 18-19 show us the final, most terrifying transformation.
Book 1: Angry Hero
• Cares deeply about honour
• Responds to insult with rage
• Withdraws to punish Agamemnon
• Still within heroic code
• Plans eventual return
Book 9: Questioning Hero
• Questions whether honour matters
• Rejects compensation
• Chooses life over glory
• Challenges heroic code itself
• Plans to sail home
Books 18-19: Death Machine
• Honour completely irrelevant
• Accepts gifts without caring
• Chooses death for revenge
• Beyond any code, human or heroic
• Will kill until killed
The Grieving Achilles (Book 18)
When Achilles hears Patroclus is dead, he BREAKS. Not metaphorically—literally. His grief is so physical, so overwhelming, that it destroys his body and nearly kills him.
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
The Language of Destruction
"defiling his handsome face" = deliberate destruction of his beauty/identity
"gigantic in his vastness" = even collapsed he's superhuman
"tearing at his hair" = violence directed at himself
"sprawled in the dust" = complete physical collapse
Antilochus has to hold Achilles' hands—not to comfort him, but to stop him from KILLING HIMSELF. Achilles' scream is so loud it reaches his mother under the sea.
💡 Why This Grief Is So Intense
It's not just that Patroclus died. It's that Achilles SENT him to die, wearing his own armour, with promises it would be safe. It's GUILT as much as grief. "I did not help him when he was killed...I stayed by the ships, a useless burden on the earth." Achilles blames himself entirely.
The Transformed Achilles (Books 18-19)
After the initial grief, Achilles becomes something NEW—and terrifying. He's no longer angry (anger is hot, emotional). He's COLD, focused, inhuman. He becomes pure death.
Human Achilles (Before)
Eats and drinks with companions
Sings songs, plays the lyre
Cares about social standing
Engages in debate and argument
Has relationships, friendships
Transformed Achilles (After)
Refuses food—craves only blood
No song, no joy, only killing
Social standing meaningless
Dismisses all attempts at conversation
Only relationship: with death
'I have no thought for food; what I crave is slaughter and blood and the groans of suffering men.'
— Achilles, Book 19
This is SHOCKING language. He doesn't want victory or glory—he wants BLOOD and GROANS. He wants to hear his enemies suffering. This isn't a hero anymore. This is something darker.
Achilles and the Divine Armour
When Achilles puts on Hephaestus' armour, the transformation from human to superhuman becomes LITERAL. The armour doesn't just protect him—it changes his nature.
He tested himself in his armour to see if it fitted him and his splendid limbs moved freely in it. It proved to be like wings for him and lifted the shepherd of the people up.
— Book 19
"Like wings"—he doesn't walk anymore, he FLIES. The divine armour makes him more than mortal. But at what cost? He's losing his humanity in exchange for power.
The Paradox of Achilles
Achilles becomes LESS human precisely when he becomes MOST powerful. He gains divine armour but loses human appetites. He becomes invincible but mortal. He achieves his greatest aristeia (excellence in battle) but dies doing it. Homer shows us that ultimate power requires ultimate sacrifice—of humanity itself.
Achilles and Knowledge of Death
What makes Achilles truly unique in Books 18-19 is that he KNOWS he's going to die and chooses it anyway. His horse warns him. His mother warns him. He already knew from Book 1. And he doesn't care.
'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. But now, since I am not going back home to my own native land, since I brought no help to Patroclus nor to my many other companions who have been killed by glorious Hector, but sit here by the ships, a useless burden on the earth—let me die at once.'
— Achilles, Book 18
Achilles of the swift feet replied in great anger: 'Xanthus, why do you prophesy my death? You have no need to. I know well enough myself that it is my fate to die here, far from my dear father and my mother. But for all that I will not stop till I have driven the Trojans to exhaustion in battle.'
— Achilles to his horse, Book 19
"I know well enough myself"—Achilles has ALWAYS known. The choice was made in Book 1 when he stayed at Troy. Book 9 was a moment when he almost chose differently. But Patroclus' death sealed his fate. Now he embraces it.
💡 Is This Heroic or Suicidal?
Is Achilles brave for accepting death to avenge his friend? Or is he essentially committing suicide out of guilt and grief? Homer doesn't answer. He shows us a man choosing death with full knowledge—partly from love (for Patroclus), partly from guilt (for sending him), partly from rage (at Hector). It's complex, human, and tragic.
Thetis: The Powerless Goddess
Thetis is one of the most tragic figures in the Iliad. She's a GODDESS—immortal, beautiful, with access to Olympus and the ability to commission divine armour. And she's completely POWERLESS to save her son from death.
Achilles gave a great cry of anguish and his gracious mother heard him, where she sat in the depths of the sea at the side of her old father. She in her turn gave a cry, and all the goddesses gathered round, all the daughters of Nereus in the depths of the sea.
— Book 18
She HEARS her son's scream from the bottom of the sea. That's how loud his grief is—it penetrates water, rock, distance. She immediately rises to comfort him, surrounded by her sister nymphs.
Thetis' Lament
Before Thetis even reaches Achilles, she's already mourning him—because she KNOWS what his grief means. If Patroclus is dead, Achilles will seek revenge. And if he seeks revenge, he dies.
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. He shot up like a young sapling, and I brought him up like a tree on a rich orchard plot, and I sent him off in the beaked ships to fight the Trojans at Troy. And now I shall never welcome him back to his home, to the house of Peleus.'
— Thetis' lament, Book 18
The Tree Simile
"like a young sapling" = nurtured from infancy
"I brought him up like a tree" = careful cultivation, protection
"on a rich orchard plot" = given the best possible start
"I sent him off" = she's complicit in sending him to war
"I shall never welcome him back" = prophetic knowledge of his death
The tree simile is HEARTBREAKING. She raised him carefully, gave him every advantage, and now he'll be cut down in his prime. And she knew this would happen—has known since Book 1.
What Thetis Can and Cannot Do
Books 18-19 show us the LIMITS of divine power. Thetis has significant abilities, but the one thing she wants—to save her son—she cannot achieve.
What Thetis CAN Do
Hear him from the sea depths
Appear to him instantly
Go to Olympus and Hephaestus
Commission divine armour
Give him one extra day of life
Comfort him in grief
What Thetis CANNOT Do
Change his fate/destiny
Bring Patroclus back to life
Stop him seeking revenge
Make him choose life over death
Save him from Hector or later death
Remove his grief or guilt
Then Thetis, shedding tears, said to him: '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
She can't soften this. She can't lie to him. All she can do is state the truth: if you kill Hector, you die immediately after. And she can't stop him.
The Mother-Son Relationship
Thetis and Achilles have one of the most emotionally honest relationships in the Iliad. There's no pretence between them—she knows him completely, he trusts her absolutely.
She found him groaning bitterly, and with a shrill cry she took his head in her hands and spoke in lamentation to him: 'My child, why are you weeping? What sorrow has come to your heart? Tell me; do not hide it.'
— Thetis to Achilles, Book 18
"My child"—he's the greatest warrior alive, and she still sees him as her child. "Do not hide it"—she knows he might try to protect her from his pain.
Thetis' Tragedy
Thetis knows EVERYTHING—she knew from his birth that he would either live long without glory or die young with fame. She's watched him make every choice that led to this moment. She can see the future, commission divine armour, speak with gods—and she can't save him. She's the ultimate expression of parental powerlessness in the face of a child's choices.
Agamemnon: The Non-Apology
Agamemnon gets one major speech in Book 19—his chance to apologise and restore the relationship with Achilles. And he BLOWS it. Not because he doesn't acknowledge what he did, but because he won't take RESPONSIBILITY for it.
'Now I want to explain things to the son of Peleus—and the rest of you listen and mark my words carefully. 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
Agamemnon's Defence Strategy
"The Greeks have often brought this up" = yes, I know people blame me
"But I am not to blame" = immediately deflects responsibility
"Zeus and Fate and the Fury" = triple divine excuse
"put savage Delusion in my heart" = ate (divine madness) made me do it
"when I robbed Achilles" = at least admits the action
This is technically an acknowledgement—he admits he took Briseis. But he's claiming divine interference made him do it, so it's not his FAULT.
The Ate (Delusion) Defence
Agamemnon spends most of his speech telling a story about how even ZEUS was once tricked by Ate (divine delusion). His point: if the king of the gods can be deluded, how can a mere mortal like Agamemnon be blamed?
💡 Is Ate a Valid Defence?
Ate is a REAL concept in Greek thought—the moment when a god clouds your judgement and you act with ruinous folly. It explains why smart people sometimes do catastrophically stupid things. BUT: is Agamemnon using it cynically as an excuse? Does divine delusion remove moral responsibility? Or is he right that he wasn't fully in control of his actions?
'But what could I do? A god always prevails. Delusion, the accursed eldest daughter of Zeus, who deludes all—her feet are delicate; she never touches the ground, but walks over men's heads doing them harm, and she brings down now one, now another.'
— Agamemnon on Ate, Book 19
The imagery is striking—Ate walks over men's heads with delicate feet, making them mad without them realising. It's a compelling picture of how people can be manipulated into terrible decisions.
What's Missing: "I'm Sorry"
Here's what Agamemnon NEVER says in his entire speech: "I'm sorry. I was wrong. I apologise." He acknowledges the action, blames divine intervention, and offers compensation. But there's no moral taking of responsibility.
What He Does Say
"I am not to blame"
"Zeus took away my senses"
"I lost my wits"
"A god always prevails"
"I am willing to make amends"
"I will pay limitless compensation"
What He Doesn't Say
"I'm sorry"
"I was wrong"
"I take responsibility"
"I apologise"
"I should have listened to you"
"I regret my actions"
Why This Matters
Agamemnon's speech is a PERFECT example of acknowledging fault without accepting blame. He's saying "yes, I did it, but it wasn't really ME, it was divine interference, so you can't hold me morally responsible—but I'll pay you anyway because that's what honour requires." It's the bare minimum of accountability.
Agamemnon's Character
What does Book 19 tell us about Agamemnon as a person? He's proud, defensive, politically savvy, and fundamentally unable to genuinely apologise.
Pride: Even when wrong, he can't fully humble himself or admit personal failing
Defensiveness: Opens his speech by telling people not to interrupt—he expects hostility
Political awareness: He KNOWS he needs Achilles back, so he offers compensation
Theological sophistication: Uses ate as a complex philosophical defence, not a crude excuse
Emotional distance: No expression of personal regret or acknowledgement of Achilles' pain
Transactional thinking: Treats honour as something that can be bought and sold with gifts
Agamemnon isn't EVIL. He's just deeply flawed. He's a king who values authority more than relationships, who understands duty but not empathy, who can acknowledge mistakes but not genuinely apologise.
Briseis: Finally Speaking
Briseis has been the OBJECT fought over since Book 1—the prize seized, the insult that started the quarrel. In Book 19, she finally gets a VOICE. And what she speaks about isn't herself or Achilles—it's PATROCLUS.
When Briseis, who was like golden Aphrodite, saw Patroclus mangled by the sharp bronze, she flung herself on him with a shrill cry and with her own hands tore at her breast and her soft neck and her lovely face. Then the woman, lovely as a goddess, spoke through her tears: 'Patroclus, dearest to my unhappy heart, I left you alive when I went from this hut, and now I come back to find you dead, leader of the people.'
— Briseis, Book 19
💡 Why Patroclus Mattered to Briseis
Briseis had lost EVERYTHING to Achilles—her husband, her three brothers, her city, her freedom. She was enslaved, passed between warriors as a prize. And Patroclus was KIND to her. He promised she would be Achilles' WIFE, not just a concubine. He gave her hope. For a woman with nothing, that kindness meant everything.
'But you would not even let me weep when swift-footed godlike Achilles killed my husband and sacked the city of godlike Mynes. You said you would make me the lawful wife of godlike Achilles and would take me in the ships to Phthia and prepare a wedding-feast among the Myrmidons. So I weep for you unceasingly in your death; you were always kind.'
— Briseis, Book 19
"You were always kind"—that's Patroclus' epitaph from a woman who had every reason to hate all Greeks. It tells us more about his character than any aristeia could.
Patroclus: Remembered Through Others
Patroclus is DEAD throughout Books 18-19, but he's more present than many living characters. We learn who he was through how others mourn him.
What We Learn About Patroclus
Achilles valued him "as much as my own life"—his other self
Briseis calls him "always kind"—he treated captives with gentleness
The women weep genuinely—he must have protected them
Achilles blames himself for his death—Patroclus was under his care
His death motivates Achilles to choose death—that's how much he mattered
Patroclus represents HUMANITY in the Iliad—kindness, gentleness, compassion. His death removes that humanity from the story. After Book 16, the Iliad becomes darker, more brutal. That's not coincidence—it's what happens when the kind man dies.
Hephaestus: The Divine Craftsman
Hephaestus appears in Book 18 as the maker of Achilles' armour. He's one of the few gods in the Iliad who's genuinely LIKEABLE—he works, he creates, he repays debts of kindness.
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.
— Book 18
Hephaestus is WORKING when Thetis arrives—sweating, busy, creating. Unlike the other Olympians who spend their time in politics and feuds, Hephaestus MAKES things. He's a craftsman god, and Homer treats him with respect.
💡 Why Hephaestus Helps
Hephaestus helps Thetis because she and her sister Eurynome rescued him when Hera threw him from Olympus. He was lame, rejected, cast out—and these sea-nymphs saved him and hid him for nine years. He owes them everything. His relationship with Thetis is based on genuine gratitude and affection, not politics.
Xanthus: The Speaking Horse
One of the STRANGEST moments in the entire Iliad: Achilles' immortal horse SPEAKS to warn him of his approaching death. It's bizarre, supernatural, and deeply moving.
Then from under the yoke the horse Xanthus of the flashing feet spoke up. Hera of the white arms had given him the power of speech. He bowed his head until his mane, flowing down from the yoke-pad, touched the ground by the wheel, and he addressed Achilles: 'Yes, this time we shall still save you, mighty Achilles. But your day of doom is close at hand. We are not to blame, but a great god and powerful Fate.'
— Book 19
Why does Homer include this? It's UNNATURAL for a horse to speak—the Furies immediately stop Xanthus from continuing. But it emphasises that EVERYONE and EVERYTHING around Achilles knows he's going to die. Even his horses know. And he still chooses it.
Key Points for Revision
Achilles' transformation: From angry hero (Book 1) to questioning hero (Book 9) to death machine (Books 18-19)
Grief as destruction: Achilles' grief is physical, overwhelming, includes guilt for sending Patroclus to die
Dehumanisation: Refuses food, craves blood, becomes inhuman in pursuit of revenge
Acceptance of death: Knows he'll die, chooses it anyway—is this heroic or suicidal?
Thetis' powerlessness: Divine mother who can do everything except save her son from fate
Mother-son relationship: Honest, loving, tragic—she knows everything and can stop nothing
Agamemnon's non-apology: Acknowledges action but blames ate (divine delusion), never says "I'm sorry"
Briseis speaks: Her first words in the epic are grief for kind Patroclus, not about herself
Patroclus remembered: Defined by his kindness—what we lose when he dies
Xanthus' prophecy: Even the horse knows Achilles will die—supernatural emphasis on inevitability
Essay Ideas
Character Essays
How does Achilles change across Books 1, 9, and 18-19?
Is Achilles' transformation tragic or monstrous?
Thetis as tragic mother figure
Is Agamemnon's apology genuine?
The significance of Briseis finally speaking
Patroclus: how Homer creates character through absence
Relationship Essays
Thetis and Achilles: divine power vs mortal limitation