Motif
Contest over a dead hero's arms
contest_over_a_dead_hero_s_arms
A motif of the Divine Warrior and Sacred Combat family, within the sub-family Arms, Spoils, and Trophies. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.
2 occurrences
2 traditions
greek
-
Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica ENDNOTES / PREPARERS NOTE / PREFACE / INTRODUCTION; lines 816-912 confidence: high
The Aethiopis is summarized as including Penthesilea's aid to the Trojans and death, Memnon's arrival and fall, Achilles' death by Paris' arrow, and the dispute of Odysseus and Aias over Achilles' arms.
The Aethiopis and Little Iliad summaries describe the dispute over Achilles' arms and their award to Odysseus, followed by Aias' madness.
read in the book →
roman
-
The Metamorphoses of Ovid, Books VIII-XV EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / EXPLANATION. / BOOK THE THIRTEENTH.; lines 8540-8622 confidence: high
Ajax proposes action instead of words: throw the arms of Achilles among the enemy, order them to be fetched, and adorn whoever brings them back with them.
The central dispute concerns who should receive the arms of Achilles after Achilles has been denied to the Greeks by the Fates.
read in the book →