Summary

In Chapter 31, Barker writes from the third-person omniscient narrative perspective as Thetis reminds Achilles that if he kills Hector, his own death will follow soon after. When Achilles insists that he cares not whether he lives or dies, Thetis departs, promising to deliver new armor for Achilles the following morning. Achilles spends the next few hours feeling numb and useless. As he observes Greek warriors fighting to defend Patroclus’ body from the Trojans, Achilles unleashes a war cry that garners the attention of everyone in the Greek camp and on the Trojan battlefield. Some Greeks imagine they see flames thirty feet high shooting from Achilles’ head and the goddess Athena adorning Achilles with her glittering aegis. That evening, Achilles helps wash Patroclus’ body and lies next to it all night. At sunrise, Thetis arrives with ornate armor as promised. When she sobs while embracing...