Chapter Thirty-Two

Summary

• Chapter thirty-two starts in the middle of the night when Priam, the king of Troy, arrives at their tent, asking for his son.
• Priam kneels at Achilles' feet, pleading him to listen to a father's prayer. Despite his all but a handful of fifty sons being lost, Achilles agrees to hear him out.
• Priam apologizes for his mean appearance and thanks Achilles for his hospitality. He appeals to Achilles' nobility, begging him to return his son's body for burial, so his soul does not remain lost.
• Achilles, moved by Priam's courage, agrees and tells him that he does not want him to be in danger when traveling home. He promises to prepare his son's body for him.
• The next day, Achilles carries Patroclus to the pyre, collecting his ashes himself although the task is typically a woman's duty.
• He requests the Greeks to mingle his and Patroclus' ashes and bury them together after his death.
• After the death of Hector and Sarpedon, other heroes emerge to replace them. These include Memnon, an Ethiopian king, horsewomen led by Penthesilea, and Troilus, the youngest son of Priam.
• Despite their respective strengths, all heroes cannot stand against Achilles and meet their tragic end.
• Anxious and rushed, Paris selects an arrow, aiming at Achilles under the guidance of Apollo, who assures him that despite being invulnerable, Achilles is still a man and would die.
• The final scene ends tragically as Paris successfully targets Achilles' back, consequently killing him.