Patroclus (Patrocles) (glory of the father) In Greek mythology, friend and cousin of Achilles; son of Menoetius and Periopis or Sthenele. Patroclus was killed by the Trojan hero Hector, who in turn was killed by Achilles in revenge. Twelve Trojan nobles were sacrificed on Patroclus’s funeral pyre. In post Homeric literature, it was taken for granted that Patroclus and Achilles were lovers, though there is no trace of that relationship in the Iliad. In later Greek mythology, it was said that his ashes were mixed with those of Achilles. Both were worshipped on the White Island as semideities. The funeral games of Patroclus form book 23 of Homer’s Iliad. Patroclus also appears in Ovid’s Metamorpheses (book 13) and Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida.
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Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, Third Edition – Written by Anthony S. Mercatante & James R. Dow– Copyright © 2009 by Anthony S. Mercatante