At earliest dawn a long train of mules was seen ascending the lower
slopes of Ida, attended by a numerous company of men, all carrying axes
and ropes of withes. The whole troop was under the command of
Meriones, the squire of Idomeneus, on whom the task had been laid of
providing fuel for the funeral pyre of Patroclus. A large grove of
pines was felled, the trunks were divided into logs, and these were
bound into bundles and laid on the backs of the mules. Then down the
slope they were driven at a quick trot, the men running beside them;
and when they reached the camp the mules were unloaded and the logs
piled up in an open space pointed out by Achilles. A thousand willing
hands aided in the work, and soon a huge stack of pinewood towered in
the midst of the ships and tents.
When the pyre was raised, Achilles gave the order to the Myrmidons to
gird on their armour and harness the steeds to their cars. The whole
army stood waiting, drawn up in silence on either side of the way by
which the funeral train was to pass; and presently the procession was
seen approaching. First came the chariots, each carrying two men--the
driver, and the man-at-arms; behind these followed a numerous troop of
infantry, marching slowly in dense array; and in the space between the
corpse was borne, covered with locks of hair which the Myrmidons had
cut off as a last tribute to the dead.
Achilles walked behind the bier, supporting the head of Patroclus in
his hands, and moving heavily, as one that mourns for a brother; and so
they passed on, through the long lane of mailed warriors, until they
came to the place where the pyre was built.
Then Achilles took a sharp knife, and cut off from his forehead a long
lock of hair, and, placing the lock in the dead man's hand, turned
round and gazed wistfully across the dark gulf of waters which divided
him from his home. "Alas for the hopes of men!" he said, in a voice of
distress. "My father Peleus designed this lock for another purpose, as
an offering to thee, Spercheus, my native stream, if ever I returned
safe from the war. But now thine altar, which stands in thy grove near
thy sacred source, shall never smoke for me again. A foreign grave
awaits me, far from my home and kindred, and Peleus is absolved from
his vow. Therefore to thee, Patroclus, I dedicate this lock."
The Greeks now dispersed to their quarters leaving those who were
nearest to the dead, by birth or by station, to perform the last rites.
The chief mourners approached the bier, and lifting it with the corpse
placed it on the top of the pyre. Many sheep and oxen were slaughtered
and flayed, and the body of Patroclus was wrapped from head to foot in
the fat taken from the carcasses. Then the carcasses of the victims
were heaped up round the bier, with jars of honey and olive-oil. Four
horses were next slaughtered, and two favourite hounds of Patroclus,
and their bodies added to the rest. Last of all the twelve Trojan
captives whom he had taken in battle the day before were led in chains
to the spot, butchered by Achilles with his own hands, and flung upon
the pyre.
"It is done!" cried Achilles, when this last savage tribute was paid to
his friend, "I have accomplished my vow, and the fire may now do its
work--but for thee, Hector, no fire shall be lighted, but dogs shall
devour thee."
That cruel threat at least was not to be fulfilled. Unseen hands were
busy about the fallen Trojan hero, guarding him day and night from the
prowling dogs of the camp. Aphrodite embalmed his body with a heavenly
essence, which closed all his wounds, and kept his flesh pure and
unharmed; and Apollo covered all the place where he lay with a dark
cloud, to shield him from the scorching rays of the sun.
Meanwhile torches had been brought to kindle the pyre. But the huge
mass smouldered sullenly, and the victims remained unconsumed. Then
Achilles took a golden bowl, and pouring a libation to Boreas and
Zephyrus, the twin gods of the winds, prayed them to lend their blasts
and blow the fire to a blaze. Iris heard his prayer, and went swiftly
to call the winds to his aid. She found them seated at table with all
their brethren in the house of Zephyrus; and thus spake Iris to that
boisterous company: "Why sit ye here feasting and making merry, when
there is work for you to do? Hear ye not the prayers of Achilles, who
needs your help, that the pyre of Patroclus may burn freely, and
consume him to ashes, with all that lies about him."
Prompt at the summons, the winds arose, with clamour and uproarious
din, and rushed down the mountainside, chasing the clouds before them.
Over the complaining sea they swept, and flew whistling onward till
they reached the shores of Troy. There they fell upon the smouldering
pyre, and the flames leaped and bellowed in response to the roaring
blast. So all night long they lashed the fire to fury, and all night
long Achilles paced to and fro before the pyre, pouring libations from
a golden bowl on the ground, and calling aloud to the ghost of his
ill-starred friend. As mourns a father when he burns the bones of his
son, a young bridegroom cut off by death on his wedding-day, so mourned
Achilles as the fire devoured his comrade's body--so pitiful were his
cries, so faltering his gait.
Towards dawn the fire began to die out, and nothing was left but a vast
heap of glowing ashes. Then the winds went back to their home, and
earth and ocean sank to rest, beneath the gentle light of the morning
star. Soothed by the calm influence of the hour, Achilles fell into a
fitful slumber, but was soon aroused by the sound of footsteps and the
murmur of voices. Starting up, he saw a goodly company of nobles
approaching, with Agamemnon at their head; and with their assistance
the ritual ceremonies due to the dead were completed. First, they
poured wine on the glowing mass of embers, till the last spark was
extinguished; then they collected the ashes of Patroclus, which lay by
themselves, surrounded by the charred remains of beasts and men. A
costly urn of gold received the few handfuls of dust which were all
that remained of him whom they had so cherished and honoured; and the
urn was buried in a low mound of earth, which was one day to be raised
to a commanding height, as a monument to the great Achilles.