What Is Achilles Mourning For Achilles's Death

Achilles’ mourning for Patroclus foreshadows his own funeral.1 As he laments his friend’s death, Thetis grieves with him holding his head in her lap - similar to a gesture of mourning - while he lies prostate on the ground, covered in dirt, like a corpse. Although Achilles' death does not occur in the Iliad, Homer builds the death of Achilles gradually throughout the poem, becoming more and more explicit by the end. The poet has crafted this scene, which allows the audience to mourn for Patroclus while also mourning for Achilles as well. Through hyperbolic gestures – such as the mother cradling her son's head in her arms – and inflating Thetis' grief to seem as if Achilles has died, the audience is able to participate in the funeral that does