Summary

In Chapter 16, when Briseis returned home she found groups of men "huddled together in the yard” listening at Pyrrhus’s door (115). Briseis worried something terrible was happening. Inside her hut, she found Alcimus and Automedon. Then Pyrrhus barged in. Someone had buried Priam's body, and Pyrrhus was furious. The men guessed at who could have done it. Briseis thought of Amina, desperate to protect her. In the morning, Briseis and Amina set off for "the ruined towers" of Troy (121). They would gather herbs from the abandoned garden. While in the garden, Briseis felt sudden dizziness. Amina helped her. When Briseis saw "an unknown man's teeth marks in a slab of . . . cheese," she wept (125). Amina comforted her. Briseis asked her about Priam. Amina confessed to burying him, showing no remorse. The afternoon together made Briseis feel that they "were . . . nearly friends" (128).

In Chapter 17, Briseis...