The Iliad,Book 21 pg 530-line 350-354
Comments(2) pg 530,line 350
“Oh dear brother,rise! Both of us rush together to halt this mortal’s onslaught! At any moment he’ll storm King Priam’s mighty stronghold down-the Trojans can’t stand up to the man in battle.”
Achilles was enraged that the Trojans kills Patroclus, so he had no intention of sparing any of them. He killed them and threw many corpses into the river. This angered the river god, so he protests to Achilles to stop throwing the corpses into the water.
This passage stood out because it seemed like the river god was favoring the Trojans and trying to save them from the hands of Achilles, who was being merciless.The river drags Achilles all the way downstream and nearly kills him, until the gods intervened. When the gods intervened so did elements such as water,wind, and fire.
Your post made me think of the most interesting part of this book. It is when gods intervene the war of human and helped or harmed either side in certain way. Many times, I feel like the story is being twisted by the gods’ decision of doing something to help either side. Isn’t this a war of mortal?
Your post reminds me of the Gods intervening, like a chess game. The Gods control the pieces, they decide the fate of this war. In addition, Thetis, Achilles’ mother, had predicted that Achilles will die after he kills Hector. I wonder what would happen if you break that “fate” or “prophecy.”