The Iliad: Menelaus and Patroclus 

The Iliad is an epic about the final year of the Trojan war, a ten-year conflict between the Greeks, or Achaeans, and the Trojans. Taking place in what is now present day Turkey and the Aegean Sea, this epic captures not only the essence of battle in ancient Greece but the feelings and emotions at the time as well. Homer instills feelings of dedication, kinship, and strength within these warriors which are personified in this statue of Menelaus and Patroclus. Originally created in Pergamon, a city in ancient Greece, (which is now part of Turkey) close to the Aegean Sea, at 300 BC, this statue depicts an infamous scene in the Iliad. "Menelaus, upon death of Patroclus, defends his body from the enemy: Euphorbus, who attempts it, is slain. Hector advancing, Menelaus retires" (Homer Book 17). In this quotation it is seen that Menelaus, King of Sparta, had just walked onto the battle field in order to rescue a fallen man, Patroclus, best friend of Achilles. Restored by a Medici artist, the bodies of Menelaus and Patroclus reveal the characteristics presented by Homer. The strength of these warriors is easily visible as not only are their abdomen and biceps incredibly defined but their mental strength is displayed as well as Menelaus had the ability to walk onto the battlefield and pick up his fallen friend. This act also reveals the kinship between these two characters and is displayed in the way Patroclus is held within Menelaus’s arms. Instead of slung over his shoulder or dragged on the ground, Patroclus is gracefully draped over Menelaus’s leg and secured by his arms, a notion of empathy and display of affection. The dedication instilled within Patroclus ultimately caused him to fall to Hector and into Menelaus’s arms. The Iliad encompasses all of ancient Greek war from the battle fields to the participants as "[Homer's] magnificent figures in armor, set against a background of war and destruction, teach us subtle lessons about ourselves" (Walter 259). This statue, though the end of one warrior’s life, explains how Homer’s epic was truly more than just battle. 





Works Cited

Donlan, Walter. "CHARACTER STRUCTURE IN HOMER'S ILIAD." The Journal of General Education 21.4 (1970): 259-
69. Web.

Homer, . "Book 17: The Seventh Battle, For the Body of Patroclus—The Acts of Menelaus." The Iliad. Lit2Go Edition. 1899. Web.