BOOK17-18

A brawl erupts over Patroclus's skull. The Trojan who first speared him,
Euphorbus, attempts to rob him of his armor, but Menelaus kills him. Hector returns
to the fray, pledging a half-share of the war's spoils to any Trojan who can take
Patrocles' body away. Zeus infuses his squad with new strength, and the Trojans are
forced to escape the city walls. Thetis comes from the ocean with her water-nymph
sisters to figure out what is troubling her son. Achilles tells her about the disaster and
vows to avenge himself on Hector, despite the fact that he knows that if he chooses to
be a warrior, he will die young. Since Hector is now wearing Achilles' armor, she will
have the divine metalsmith Hephaestus make him a new pair if Achilles will wait a
day to exact his vengeance. Trojans will be so terrified by this sight that they will flee
the battle for Patroclus' body. Achilles, followed by Athena, emerges from his tent
and lets out a massive scream that drives the Trojans away. Thetis goes to Hephaestus'
mansion and pleads with him to make a new suit of armor for Achilles. Each army
holds a meeting that night to discuss its next move.
Trojans will be so terrified by this sight that they will flee the battle for
Patroclus' body. Achilles, followed by Athena, emerges from his tent and lets out a
massive scream. Thetis goes to Hephaestus' mansion and pleads with him to make a
new suit of armor for Achilles. Agamemnon gives Achilles the presents he promised
him if Achilles had returned to war. Achilles declares that he will go to war right
away. But fighting for his friend seals his fate, and he acknowledges he already knows
what awaits him. The battle begins in the Trojan camp at the Battle of the Five
Armies, with the Trojans continuing their attack on the Achaean camp. The final
battle takes place in the final battle between Achilles and the Trojan king, Hector. The
Trojan queen, Briseis, is killed by Achilles' horse Charger. Zeus calls the gods to
Mount Olympus as the Achaeans and Trojans train for war. Apollo, however, urges
Aeneas to defy Achilles before resigning himself to a passive position. Poseidon, in a
flash of sympathy for the Trojan, whisks Aenea backwards just as Achilles is about to
stab him fatally.
Achilles defeats the Trojans and breaks their ranks, chasing half of them down
the river Xanthus. He tosses so many bodies into the water that it becomes clogged.
The river appeals to Apollo for assistance, but Achilles responds by attacking the
water. Achilles is dragged downstream to a floodplain by the river, which has gained
the upper hand. The gods interfere, and Ares, Aphrodite, Poseidon and Poseidon are
defeated by Athena and Apollo, but Poseidon declines to fight for mortals. The Trojan
prince Agenor challenges Achilles to a single battle. Hector is the only remaining
Trojan outside of Troy. He challenges Achilles as he returns from pursuing Apollo.
Zeus contemplates rescuing Hector, but Athena convinces him that the mortal's time
has passed. Zeus weighs Hector's and Achilles' fates on a golden scale, and Hector's
destiny falls to the ground. Hector asks Achilles to return his body to the Trojans for
burial, but Achilles chooses to let the Trojan hero be mauled by dogs and scavenger
birds. Meanwhile, King Priam and Queen Hecuba, who live on the city's walls, watch
their son's body be destroyed and weep.
Achilles and the Myrmidons continue to lament Patroclus at the Achaean camp. In a
dream, his deceased friend appears to Achilles, pleading for him to perform his
funeral as soon as possible. After an elaborate ritual, Achilles prays for wind support
and lights his friend's funeral pyre the next day. The day after the funeral, Achilles
hosts a series of tournaments in his honor. Diomedes wins the games, and Achilles
proposes to take the prize from the second-place finisher to send to the last-placed
finisher, whom Athena had stripped of victory. Priam begs Achilles for Hector's body
with tears in his eyes. He tells Achilles to recall his own father, Peleus, and their
affection. Achilles laments the death of his father and Patroclus. He offers to return
the body and accepts the ransom. The Trojans prepare Hector's funeral pyre for nine
days because Achilles has granted them a reprieve from battle. On the tenth day, the
Trojan light Hector's pyre and the people of Troy cry out of sorrow. The battle of
Troy is finally won by Achilles' men. The Trojan War ends in a stalemate with the
defeat of the Trojans and the fall of the Trojan king. The Battle of the Cretan
Cauldron is the only battle of the war.