Patroclus is Achilles's friend. Achilles holds him in very high esteem; Edith Hamilton notes that Patroclus "of all men on earth was dearest to [Achilles]."
To settle a debt, Agamemnon takes from Achilles his prize, the maiden Briseis. Feeling wronged by his fellow countrymen, Achilles refuses to fight with them. Full of horror as the Trojans began to set Greek ships on fire, Patroclus pleads with Achilles:
"You can keep your wrath while your countrymen go down in ruin. I cannot. Give me your armor. If they think I am you, the Trojans may pause and the worn-out Greeks have a breathing space. You and I are fresh. We might yet drive back the enemy. But if you will sit nursing your anger, at least let me have your armor."
Achilles agrees, but that evening old Nestor's son runs toward him, tears streaming down his face. Hector killed Patroclus and took his armor.
Stricken by grief, Achilles now agrees to fight against the Trojans: not for his countrymen, but for Patroclus. When prompted to eat, he says scornfully, "Down my throat shall go neither bite nor sup until my dear comrade is avenged."
Achilles is killed when an arrow strikes at his heel, his only vulnerability. According to Hamilton:
It is said that after [Achilles] had been burned on the funeral pyre his bones were placed in the same urn that held those of his friend Patroclus.
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