Ancient Wisdom Atlas

Motif

battle over the body of a slain companion

battle_over_the_body_of_a_slain_companion

A motif of the Heroic Funeral Rites and Memorialization family. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.

1 occurrences

1 traditions


greek

  • The Iliad THE SIXTH BATTLE, THE ACTS AND DEATH OF PATROCLUS / BOOK XVII. / ARGUMENT. / THE SEVENTH BATTLE, FOR THE BODY OF PATROCLUS.THE ACTS OF MENELAUS.; lines 16587-16719 confidence: high

    The Spartan king asks Ajax to defend Patroclus' remains and restore the body to Achilles; the body is naked and despoiled. Hector has seized the dead and the armor, but withdraws when Ajax raises his shield, while the armor is borne toward Troy as a trophy.

    Patroclus' corpse is the focus of defense, attempted seizure, restoration to Achilles, and proposed capture by the enemy.

    read in the book