![]() ![]() It is Achilles who calls him a “little girl” ( kourē nēpiē, 16.7–8) when he sees him lamenting the Achaeans’ misfortunes. Without going so far as to claim that Patroclus occupies the place of a woman with Achilles, there are certain peculiar aspects of his character worth pointing out. Is this a poetic way to emphasize Menelaus’ concern and the fragility of Patroclus? Or is it simply a way to say that Patroclus has just been cut down at the height of his youth? Patroclus is the only warrior who drifts a little from the purely warlike model of masculinity, without, however, transgressing its limits Patroclus’ gentleness is mentioned both by a woman (Briseïs, Iliad 19.300) and his companions in battle (Menelaus, 17.671–672). In this comparison, the poet clearly develops the theme of maternity: Menelaus is a mother, Patroclus a new-born calf. When Aphrodite is, in turn, injured in the arm by Diomedes, she can no longer carry her son she opens her arms and drops him (5.343).Īs a cow stands lowing over her first calf, even so did yellow-haired Menelaus bestride Patroclus. Aeneas is transformed back into a young child, incorporated within his mother’s body, hidden and cradled in her arms. This depth is like the symbolic security of a child near a mother’s womb. Additionally, the fold ( ptugma, Iliad 5.315) in the garment where she hides Aeneas reinforces the idea of the depth in which she enfolds her son. ![]() The arms of a mother are like a city wall: Aphrodite literally puts herself between Aeneas and the Greeks. To protect him, she performs a series of maternal actions: taking him into her arms, holding him against her bosom and navel. ![]() She protected him by covering him with a fold of her own fair garment, lest some Danaan should drive a spear into his breast and kill him.įirst, note Aphrodite’s attentiveness as she watches over her son. And now Aeneas, king of men, would have perished then and there, had not his mother, Zeus’ daughter Aphrodite, who had conceived him by Anchises when he was herding cattle, been quick to mark, and thrown her two white arms about the body of her dear son. ![]()
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