Iliad: Menelaus and Patroclus
1 2016-10-10T10:38:53-07:00 Kara Maloney c213f3fc5d7a7e545e490883295a1812f290a471 11878 2 This is a restoration of the original statue created in Pergamon in 300 BCE. It depicts the infamous death of Patroclus during the Trojan War as Menelaus carries the fallen warrior away from the battle. plain 2016-10-10T11:02:31-07:00 Julienne Halperin 36bd849e67fcad6aaf15f304fb176d23c03a1d3cThis page is referenced by:
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Iliad: Menelaus and Patroclus (Pergamon, Greece)
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Sara Dashow's page on Menelaus on Patroclus (Pergamon, Greece)
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The Iliad
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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.
