Iliad Book 23

This is a translation of the twenty-third book of Homer’s Iliad, continuing the sequence of books already available.


The book features the cremation of Patroklos’s body and the subsequent funeral games. The contemporary culture required the body to be accorded the proper rites. Otherwise it was believed that the departed soul could not enter its proper domain and early in the book the ghost of Patroklos appears to the sleeping Akhilleus in order to remind him of this. 


A proper funeral ceremony is consequently observed, not without aspects that would be considered as war-crimes in current parlance, as Akhilleus slaughters captive Trojans to be burnt on the same pyre with Patroklos. After the cremation and marking out of a suitable burial mound funeral games are organised. This involves several competitions including chariot racing and foot racing for which Akhilleus offers various prizes ranging from women skilled in hand-craft to tripods and live-stock.