Doom and Sorrow: Achilleus’ Physical Expression of Mourning in the Iliad’
"‘…And a black cloud of grief enfolded Achilles and with both hands he took the dark dust and poured it over his head and defiled his fair face, and on his fragrant tunic the black ashes fells. And he himself in the dust lay outstretched, mighty in his mightiness, and with his own hands he tore and marred his hair.’ (Hom. Il. 18.23-27)
Achilleus’ first reaction to Patroklos’ death – his first act of grief – is the physical defilement of his own body. By physically polluting himself in this way he is expressing a closeness to the world of the dead that his friend now inhabits. This physical defilement will only be enhanced by his refusal to wash after the following day’s battle. Marred with dirt and blood and tears he will, finally, officiate over Patroklos’ funerary ritual, taking on the role traditionally filled by the deceased’s closest female relatives.
But Patroklos’ death is coloured by a more sinister threat, as it sets in motion the gods’ designs for the death of Achilleus himself. This paper, therefore, aims to explore Achilleus’ physical and self-inflicted pollution in relationship to his own impending death. This includes the use of self-polluting, both physically and emotionally, as the first stage in the liminal rite-of-passage-like transition that the hero’s death will inevitably end.
Achilleus’ first reaction to Patroklos’ death – his first act of grief – is the physical defilement of his own body. By physically polluting himself in this way he is expressing a closeness to the world of the dead that his friend now inhabits. This physical defilement will only be enhanced by his refusal to wash after the following day’s battle. Marred with dirt and blood and tears he will, finally, officiate over Patroklos’ funerary ritual, taking on the role traditionally filled by the deceased’s closest female relatives.
But Patroklos’ death is coloured by a more sinister threat, as it sets in motion the gods’ designs for the death of Achilleus himself. This paper, therefore, aims to explore Achilleus’ physical and self-inflicted pollution in relationship to his own impending death. This includes the use of self-polluting, both physically and emotionally, as the first stage in the liminal rite-of-passage-like transition that the hero’s death will inevitably end.