Menelaus, the heroic military commander, guards his comrade with lion-like courage while fending off his flood of anguish.
War is a whale with its mouth agape, engulfing the weak and the foolish at the instance of a misstep.
The all-too-young Patroclus, lifeless and limp, advanced too far into Trojan territory during his creative plot to impersonate the infamous Achilles.
After all, the armor of Achilles was idle. Achilles refused to join the battle after his infighting with Menelaus.
In this one harrowing scene, we are presented with a complex amalgam of character traits: the stubborn pride of Achilles, the foolish arrogance of Patroclus, the stern resolve of Menelaus.
Menelaus's courage amidst the heartache demonstrates that tragedy's silver lining is that it provokes us to perform our best.
And the fatal flaws of Achilles and Patroclus prompt us to battle our own vices with greater fervor than the fervor with which we battle our enemies.
