Patroclus dies in battle, and the Trojans took his body. Achilles then goes and takes Patroclus's body back. Achilles is successful in retrieving the body, and he brings it back to the army. What is very interesting is that in the middle of a war, all the Argives take the time to grieve over the loss of their friend. Achilles especially took a lot of time to grieve over Patroclus.
Grieving is a very important part of the healing process when someone has died or any kind of loss. In today's fast-paced society, most people do not find the time to properly grieve. Most of the time people will just ignore the pain and let it build up inside until they have an emotional explosion.
Achilles grieves and he is able to go back to battle. Honestly this event is probably what motivates Achilles to fight the way he does later in the book.
I commented on Haley Riddle's and Clabo's post
Hi Braylan! I like the connections you made here. I agree with you that grieving was something ancients knew how to do. Before they could grieve, however, they had to have bonds. The relationships these men had were very deep. They had fought together for so long; putting their lives in each other's hands day after day. When a comrade died, the immediate reaction was deep grieving. I think this kind of relationship is something we don't often see in today's world. Yes, life is so fast paced, there seems to be no time for anything. We have no time to form such deep relationships. We don't get to know people on the level these men did. Maybe there is a lesson we can learn from the Argives. Take the time, no matter the circumstances, to get to know someone better. Get to them on that deep level of companionship from which grief can spring.
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