Exam (elaborations)
‘Patroclus is not very important to the Iliad.’ To what extent do you agree with this statement? [20]
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A* essay on Patroclus's importance to the iliad for A level OCR classical civilisation
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‘Patroclus is not very important to the Iliad.’ To what extent do you agree with this statement? You may usethis passage as a starting point. [20]
Patroclus undoubtedly has a large role of importance to the Iliad in the sense that his death is the pivotal
action of the epic, it is what causes Achilles to return to the fighting, overcoming his anger, and eventually
meeting his own fate in attempt to avenge Patroclus. However, one can look at Patroclus’ role in two ways.
The first being: he is of little importance since Homer spends minimal time narrating him specifically until book
16, and even then, his only purpose is ‘to die’ and bring Achilles back into the battle. Despite this view, I
believe his role is very important since his death is ultimately the trigger for the climax of the poem. Not to
mention Patroclus’s death is seen to cause great grief among many of the Greeks and there is a prolonged
battle for his body between the two sides. He also essentially provokes many more deaths including the most
prominent ones of the great heroes Hector and eventually Achilles. Therefore, his role cannot be of little
importance as this statement suggests.
Homer doesn’t dedicate narration to Patroclus until book 9, and even here, the limelight does not directly
focus on Patroclus’ character, but rather on his significance to Achilles, he is somewhat a ‘background
character.’ Patroclus is almost glossed over by Homer in book 9, when described as being instructed to ‘lay a
thick bed’ for Phoinix and then sleeping in the opposite side of the tent to Achilles with the woman he gave to
him. Therefore, here with his brief mention, he is rather insignificant which sets the scene for the
interpretation of Patroclus not being ‘very important to the Iliad’. Perhaps Patroclus’ only purpose is to spur
Achilles to return to the war, which dissolves any importance he may have had, since the poem progresses to
give the audience a deeper insight into Achilles’ character and thus present the climax of the trojan war,
interpreted to be of far greater importance. For example, in the passage, both sides are presented to be
fighting relentlessly over Patroclus’s body, yes, this reflects importance, but it could be argued that it’s this
merciless fighting that expels his real significance to the Iliad. Here Patroclus is no longer represented as an
individual, he is simply a prize to be won. The Greeks and Trojans speech confirm this: the Greeks said “it can
be no glory for us to return…if we abandon this body for the horse-taming Trojans to drag back to their city
and win the glory.” And the trojans represent a similar view saying “even if it is fated for all of us together to
be brought down here beside this man, let us have no-one giving back from the fighting.” Here, it is evident
that the potential honour and glory from this task are the prominent concerns of both sides, they don’t
necessarily care for Patroclus as an individual but instead the consequences of losing his body. His loss of
individuality could also be seen within the epic simile comparing him to the skin of a ‘great bull people stretch’,
here it does seem he has been reduced to the skin of a bull and is no longer ‘a person.’
However, it could be argued that surely, if both sides went to such great efforts to retrieve Patroclus’ body, as
stated in the passage “over the body the two sides kept up relentless pressure’’, he has to be of utmost
importance or else both sides wouldn’t waste precious battle time and risk lives on this action. The passage is
just a small insight into the prolonged struggle over Patroclus’s corpse during book 17. This struggle is further
seen when the two sides are described fighting ‘on like fire over the dead son of Menoitios’ and how ‘the
misery of battle was strained fierce and hard over Patroclus.’ Homer also uses extended similes to great effect,
comparing both side trying to retrieve Patroclus to men stretching a bull’s skin, which further reiterate the
sheer conflict over his corpse, as homer says the ‘struggle that arose over him grew fierce’. The utter extent of
this struggle conveys his importance to the Iliad, because this prolonged fight over his body also culminates in
the aftermath of his death. Not to mention, looking at the Iliad as a whole, his death is a significant turning
point in the poem as mentioned above, it is this event that provokes protagonist Achilles to return to the
fighting to avenge his death, this is seen when Achilles says his last words before he fully kills Hector ‘you fool –
behind him there was I left to avenge him’.
Patroclus is very important to the Iliad as an epic because Homer effectively uses him to progress the plot and
also to introduce characters deeper emotional sides to the audience, which are revealed by his death.
Patroclus is essential to the plot because his dying words in book 16 predict Hectors own death at the hands of
Achilles, this foreshadowing provide the audience with knowledge of what is to come. The emotional
responses to his dying are seen in book 17, here the narrative exploits its dramatic battle narration by
purposefully building in diverse responses to his death, which continue to escalate in emotional significance
and plot consequence. This importance of Patroclus, and even more so his death, is emphasised since the Iliad
uses this dramatic battle narration to build to further major plot points while looking backwards at his death
and forwards to its consequences. If Patroclus wasn’t of importance, would Homer waste all this narrative on
the Greeks’ individual emotional responses to his death? Homer also creates pathos in his narration. For
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