[11,100] ὁ δὲ Ἀγαμέμνων ἄντικρυς ἔφη καὶ τὸν Ἀχιλλέα φοβεῖσθαι καὶ μὴ βούλεσθαι συμβαλεῖν ἐκείνῳ; τοιγαροῦν οὕτω βουλευσάμενον αὐτὸν λέγει τοῦ τε ἑταίρου στερηθῆναι καὶ πολλῶν ἑτέρων, ὀλίγου δὲ καὶ τῶν ἵππων καὶ ἄοπλον γενέσθαι. Ἃ οὐδέ– ποτ´ ἂν ἐποίησεν Ἀχιλλεὺς μὴ ἀπόπληκτος ὤν· εἰ δὲ μή, πάντως ἂν αὐτὸν ἐκώλυσε Φοῖνιξ. ἀλλ´ οὐ γὰρ ἐβούλετο, φησί, ταχέως ἀπαλλάξαι τοῦ κινδύνου τοὺς Ἀχαιούς, ἕως ἂν λάβῃ τὰ δῶρα, καὶ ἅμα οὐδέπω τῆς ὀργῆς ἐπέπαυτο. (101) καὶ τί ἦν ἐμποδὼν αὐτὸν προελθόντα ἐφ´ ὅσον ἐβούλετο πάλιν μηνίειν; ξυνεὶς δὲ τῆς τοιαύτης ἀλογίας αἰνίττεται διὰ πρόρρησίν τινα μένειν αὐτόν, ὡς, εἰ ἐξῄει, πάντως ἀποθανούμενον, ἄντικρυς αὐτοῦ κατηγορῶν δειλίαν· καίτοι ἐξῆν αὐτῷ διὰ ταύτην τὴν πρόρρησιν ἀποπλεῦσαι διενεχθέντα πρὸς τὸν Ἀγαμέμνονα. οὐ μέντοι ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ τοῦ Πατρόκλου ἐτύγχανεν ἀκηκοὼς τῆς μητρός, ὅν φησιν ἐν ἴσῳ τῇ ἑαυτοῦ κεφαλῇ τιμᾶν καὶ μηδὲ αὐτὸς ἔτι βούλεσθαι ζῆν ἐκείνου ἀποθανόντος. (102) {ὡς δὲ ἑώρα αὐτὸν οὐ δυνάμενον βαστάσαι τὸ δόρυ τὰ ἄλλα ἐδίδου δῆλον ὅτι προσεοικότα τῷ δόρατι, καὶ οὐκ ἐφοβεῖτο μὴ οὐ δύνηται φέρειν αὐτά· ὥσπερ οὖν καί φησι συμβῆναι περὶ τὴν μάχην.} ἀλλὰ γὰρ εἴ τις ἅπαντα ἐλέγχοι, πολὺ ἂν ἔργον εἴη. τὸ γὰρ ψεῦδος ἐξ αὑτοῦ φανερόν ἐστι τοῖς προσέχουσιν· ὥστε οὐδενὶ ἄδηλον καὶ τῶν ὀλίγον νοῦν ἐχόντων ὅτι σχεδὸν ὑπόβλητός ἐστιν ὁ Πάτροκλος καὶ τοῦτον ἀντήλλαξεν Ὅμηρος τοῦ Ἀχιλλέως, βουλόμενος τὸ κατ´ ἐκεῖνον κρύψαι. (103) ὑφορώμενος δὲ μή τις ἄρα καὶ τοῦ Πατρόκλου ζητῇ τάφον· ὥσπερ οἶμαι καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἀριστέων τῶν ἀποθανόντων ἐν Τροίᾳ φανεροί εἰσιν οἱ τάφοι· διὰ τοῦτο προκαταλαμβάνων οὐκ ἔφη τάφον αὐτοῦ γενέσθαι καθ´ αὑτόν, ἀλλὰ μετὰ τοῦ Ἀχιλλέως τεθῆναι. {καὶ Νέστωρ μὲν οὐκ ἠξίωσε μετ´ Ἀντιλόχου ταφῆναι δι´ αὐτὸν ἀποθανόντος, οἴκαδε τὰ ὀστᾶ κομίσας· τὰ δὲ τοῦ Ἀχιλλέως ὀστᾶ ἀνεμίχθη τοῖς τοῦ Πατρόκλου;} μάλιστα μὲν οὖν ἐβούλετο Ὅμηρος ἀφανίσαι τὴν τοῦ Ἀχιλλέως τελευτὴν ὡς οὐκ ἀποθανόντος ἐν Ἰλίῳ. (104) τοῦτο δὲ ἐπεὶ ἀδύνατον ἑώρα, τῆς φήμης ἐπικρατούσης καὶ τοῦ τάφου δεικνυμένου, τό γε ὑφ´ Ἕκτορος αὐτὸν ἀποθανεῖν ἀφείλετο καὶ τοὐναντίον ἐκεῖνον ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἀχιλλέως ἀναιρεθῆναί φησιν, {ὃς τοσοῦτον ὑπερεῖχε τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἁπάντων} καὶ προσέτι αἰκισθῆναι τὸν νεκρὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ συρῆναι μέχρι τῶν τειχῶν. πάλιν δὲ εἰδὼς τάφον ὄντα τοῦ Ἕκτορος καὶ τιμώμενον αὐτὸν ὑπὸ τῶν πολιτῶν, ἀποδοθῆναι αὐτὸν λέγει κελεύσαντος τοῦ Διὸς λύτρων δοθέντων,

[11,100] and whom Agamemnon declared frankly even Achilles so feared that he shrank from encountering him ? Consequently, after making this plan, he lost, as Homer admits, both his comrade and many other men, while he almost lost his horses too, and did lose his arms. Now Achilles would never have done such things unless he was out of his senses, and if this had been the case, Phoenix would certainly have restrained him. " But, says Homer, Achilles did not wish to free the Achaeans from their peril speedily, not until he should receive his gifts. Besides, he had not yet given over his anger. But what was there to prevent his coming forth and then nursing his wrath as long as he wished? Homer is aware of this inconsistency and hints that he tarried in his tent on account of a certain prophecy that declared he would surely die if he went out, thus laying the charge of cowardice squarely at his door. And yet on the strength of this prophecy he might have withdrawn from the expedition after his quarrel with Agamemnon. But what is more to the point, it happens that he had heard the warning which his mother gave with reference to Patroclus, whom he declares he loves as his own soul and after whose death he would wish to live no longer. Yet when he saw him unable to lift the spear, he gave him the other things that moere evidently proportionate in weight to the spear and did not fear that he would be unable to carry them. And this is just what Homer says did happen in the battle. " But it would be a long task to show up every misstatement. To any careful observer the false-hoods are self-evident, so much so that anyone with half a mind can see that Patroclus is little more than a counterfeit that Homer has substituted for Achilles in his eagerness to conceal the truth concerning that hero. (103) "Then Homer had a misgiving that there might actually be some search for the tomb of Patroclus also — it would naturally be, I suppose, clearly marked just as are the tombs of the other chieftains also who were slain at Troy— so, safeguarding himself against this, he says that Patroclus had no separate tomb but was buried with Achilles." Again, Nestor, who brought back the bones of Antilochus with him from Troy, did not ask to be buried with him, although Antilochus died for him, but the ashes of Achilles were mingled with those of Patroclus. (104) " Now it was Homer's especial aim to throw a veil over the death of Achilles and create the impression that he did not die at Troy; but seeing the impossibility of this, since the tradition prevailed and his tomb was being pointed out, Homer, suppressing the account of his death by Hector's hand, makes the contrary statement that the latter, who was so far superior to all other men, was slain by Achilles, adding that his corpse was dishonoured and dragged as far as the walls. Knowing, too, that there was a tomb of Hector where he was honoured by the citizens, Homer goes on to say that his body was returned by command of Zeus upon payment of a ransom,