Chapter 43 43

Achilles returned to the ship with the body of his enemy, and he prostrated himself face down on the ground beside the body of Patroclus.The Dane'a took off his battle armor and sat down for the funeral.They slaughtered pigs, sheep, and bulls.Achilles ordered a feast to reward the soldiers.His friends dragged him away from the bed where Patroclus was lying, and they came to King Agamemnon's tent.They built a fire, set up a cauldron to boil water, and tried to persuade him to take a bath to wash away the dust and blood from his body.But he stubbornly refused, and swore solemnly: "Zeus, as long as Patroclus has not been cremated, as long as I have not shaved his head and built his tomb, I cannot bathe in water. If it is according to my intention, We will hold the funeral now. King Agamemnon, please order to cut down the trees tomorrow and make preparations for the funeral of my friend." The princes respected his opinion, and they sat down to drink and eat happily. Then go back to your room to rest.The son of Peleus lay on the washed beach, surrounded by the Myrmidonians.

Achilles fell asleep at last, and dreamed that poor Patroclus approached him and said to him, "Achilles, are you asleep? Have you forgotten me? Build me a grave, I want to enter the gates of Hades through the gates of Hades! There are two ghosts guarding me and threatening to keep me from approaching. Because I have not yet been cremated, my soul is restless. But, you know, My friend, the goddess of fate predestined that you will die outside the city of Troy. When you build a tomb for me, you must also leave room for yourself, so that we live together in the palace when we are alive, and our bones are buried in the same tomb after death." "I swear, I'll do what you ask, brother!" said Achilles, reaching out to the man's shadow, but it vanished like smoke.

At dawn the next day, Agamemnon ordered the soldiers to lead the animals to cut wood.They cut down the tallest trees on Mount Aida, split them into firewood, and let the animals carry them back to the warship camp.Achilles ordered all the Myrmidonians to put on their armor and put on their chariots.Soon the funeral procession moved forward: princes, warriors, and charioteers in front, followed by thousands of soldiers on foot.Patroclus' friends and companions carried his body, covered with hair they had cut from his head. The funeral procession came to the grave that Achilles had chosen for his friend, and they laid the coffin on a pile of firewood.The son of Peleus stepped back, cut off a lock of his own brown hair, looked out at the vast sea, and said:

"O Speltius, my native land, my father vowed that, on my triumphant return, I should cut off my hair in honor of you, and that at the source of your sacred grove and altar, give You sacrificed fifty sheep. What a pity that his wish has failed! O God of the river, you did not accept his prayer! You will not let me return to my country. Now, please don't be offended, I have to sacrifice my hair to Patroclus Let him take it to Hades, Lord of the Underworld!" And saying, he put a lock of hair in his friend's hand, and approaching Agamemnon, said to him: "Let us all feast, feast! Bi, mourn and bury my friend!"

Agamemnon ordered the warriors to return to their ships, and only the princes stayed behind.They piled the felled firewood into a large firewood pile a hundred feet square, and put the corpse on top.Then they stripped some sheep and bulls before the woodpile and placed them around the firewood.They also placed pots of honey and ointment beside the coffin, and brought four live horses, and sacrificed two of Patroclus' nine dogs.They killed twelve more Trojan youths with their swords.Thus Achilles brutally avenged his friend's death. The wood was lit, and Achilles cried out to the dead: "May you be blessed to enter Hades, Patroclus!

All the vows I made to you have come true.All twelve captives were sacrificed to you and cremated with you.Only Hector's body was not burned, and his body will be fed to the dogs! "Achilles said fiercely, but the gods did not allow his wish to come true. Aphrodite guarded Hector's body day and night, keeping a group of hungry dogs from approaching. She also used rose balm and The balm of life was anointed on the body, so that all the wounds that had protruded from him disappeared, and Apollo sent a thick mist over the place where Hector's body lay, so that the sun would not dry it.

Now the pyre for Patroclus's funeral was lit, but not blazing.Achilles turned and prayed to the wind god, and promised to sacrifice to Boreas, the god of the north wind, and Cephilos, the god of the west wind, and poured wine on the ground with a golden cup, and asked the wind god to blow the wood pile into a fire.Aerys brought the news to the wind god.They roared from the sea, straight to the woodpile.All night they fanned a blazing fire around the pyre.Achilles kept pouring wine on the ground to pay homage to the dead of his friends.It wasn't until early in the morning that the wind stopped and the fire went out, and the pyre was burned to ashes.The skeleton of Patroclus lay among the ashes, surrounded by human and animal bones.At the behest of the son of Peleus, the heroes extinguished the embers still flickering with wine.With tears in their eyes, they picked up the bones of their friends, put them in a golden urn, and sent them to Achilles' camp.Then they built a great tomb for the dead Patroclus with stones and earth.

After all this was over, the Greeks held a grand funeral game.Achilles ordered the Argives to gather and sit in a big circle.Then he set out a cooking pot, a three-legged altar, cattle, sheep, and women and precious metal gifts as prizes.Achilles did not participate in the chariot race that was held at the beginning because he mourned for the dead driver.A boxing match, a foot race and a discus throw match followed.The heroes went through various competitions and took away the prizes they got.Thus ended the funeral match.