Chapter Twenty-Three

Summary

• The chapter starts with Achilles leaving the camp at dawn to see his mother, who is a goddess and a sea-nymph.
• The narrator, Patroclus, waits for Achilles to return and spends time with Briseis, a woman who accompany him to the woods and brings comfort to him.
• Achilles explains that his mother is worried about him because the gods are taking sides in the war and she fears they have promised him fame without guaranteeing his safety.
• Achilles mother is afraid someone else will kill Hector (Prince of Troy and Achilles' eventual killer in some accounts of the myth) before he does. The possibility that another person could kill Hector represents a threat to Achilles' destiny and fame.
• Following these conversations, Patroclus starts spending time in a physicians' tent where he learned the art of healing from a centaur named Chiron.
• Over time, Patroclus becomes a skilled healer under the guidance of Machaon, the head physician. He is taught how to extract arrows from a wound, to apply antiseptic salves and bandages.
• Patroclus describes how the Greek camp formed a family around the fire during dinner time, with Briseis and a young man named Automedon becoming central figures alongside him, Achilles and an old man named Phoenix. They would share food and stories and felt like adults despite their youth.
• A conversation one night reveals that Achilles also lead a raid on Cilicia, where Hector's wife Andromache is from. Achilles killed her father, Eetion and all her brothers, but left one of her brothers alive so their family line could live on.
• Patroclus, although disturbed by this revelation, is somewhat relieved that Achilles showed some mercy, and the chapter ends with Achilles acknowledging that Hector now has a personal reason to be his enemy.