The root of all...

I really want to change the part of book 16, the part where Patroclus was killed by Apollo and Hector. First of all, that was unfair because Apollo snuck up on Patroclus and backstabbed him, giving Hector a chance to finish him off.

Patroclus killed by Hector

This triggered Achilles' rage and went on a rampage and killed many Trojans, including Hector. Hector's death caused many Trojans to flee and mourn. Well, who could blame Achilles. Who wouldn't be angry when your relative was killed? 

I'd like the story to be that Patroclus never went to battle the Trojans. Because with Patroclus, never partaking in the war would have never killed Sarpedon. Sarpedon was Zeus' mortal son. And with Sarpedon surviving Zeus would have never ordered Apollo to kill Patroclus which will lead to Achilles killing Hector. 

Hector, Troy's best captain

Now with Hector alive and well then the Trojans' moral would go up and they would have driven Menelaus and his men to the sea. Achilles, mourning for the loss of Briseis to Menelaus would have left Troy and never come back. Then Troy would be safe and would have peace. 

Priam, the king of Troy

You can see here in the story that everything is linked in a chain. One event leading to another, cause and effect, one death led to another. Mourning for the dead and a king ransoming his prince. It can be so grim like this. All the vengeance and stuff. I never really liked endings like this, many people killed because of one man's fault.

The Brave Little Soldier

During the course of the story, there was much interference by the Gods when Zeus was not looking. I think the God's (particularly Hera and Poseidon) were a little bit childish, because like a child they played with the Trojans and the Achaeans like toy soldiers when Zeus was not looking. In the part of the book where Zeus found out about their mischief with the war, he became angry and he sent Apollo to intervene to even up the battle. The battle raged, and the Trojans were advancing to the ships of the Achaean. Patroclus, Achilles' blood-relative began encouraging Achilles to take up his armor and join the battle but Achilles didn't want to so Patroclus took up Achilles' armor and he joined in the onslaught. 

Trojans were really afraid when they saw "Achilles" (Patroclus) joining and they started to lose their confidence and some retreated. This gave the Achaeans hope and they started to fight back with more determination. Patroclus began to kill many Trojans and this empowered the Achaeans. Patroclus led the attack and went as far as the gates of Troy. Patroclus even killed Zeus' mortal son, Sarpedon which angered Zeus and Zeus decided to kill Patroclus which led to the face off between Hector and Patroclus. Apollo secretly went behind Patroclus and wounded him as approved by Zeus. Then Hector attacked and killed Patroclus. Before Patroclus dies he was taunted by Hector but Patroclus foretells Hector's fall.

Like a brave little soldier, Patroclus risked his life to defend their ships and to fight the Trojans who were quickly advancing to their ships. He is really a noble soldier who killed many before he died and his reason for dying. His comrades were all with him (except for Achilles who was not fighting) and even killed Zeus' son Sarpedon. A true warrior and also a match for Hector (too bad they didn't fight long because of Apollo's interference)Patroclus died an honorable and noble death, each warrior wants a death like that. Even at a brink of death, he never shows weakness and even threatens Hector. It takes a lot to fight like that. What a brave little soldier...

The Fall of Man's Pride

The war of Troy brought about many deaths and sufferings, but can it kill a man's character? I think not. Even though men have their pride, King Agamemnon one of the proudest man I have ever read about in this book admitted his mistake and setting aside his pride, sent out an embassy to persuade Achilles to go with him to fight in the war against Troy. He offered him all that he took for him in return of him fighting again to help his people.

In this scenario King Agamemnon gave up his wrong attitude to help his people for the cause of war. He would rather have Achilles fight for him than let his people die and be defeated. He was doing it for the betterment of his kingdom and his army. Another example of why it does not destroy a man's character is the fight between Ajax and Hector. They were both sworn enemies who will fight to the end just to end this war. Night came and both agreed to stop fighting just this time instead of dueling until someone dies to honor nighttime. You can see here that there were no grudges or disputes between them after their duel because they were both noble and honorable men who have a sense of justness and chivalry.

So it really builds up a man's character rather than destroy it, because through difficult times where one must decide for his people's fate you can see his true side and when he chooses the right path, it builds up his character and makes him a better individual and instead of killing each other, he honors his rival and respects each others decision. I say, a war can really build up one's character,