Patroclus

In Greek mythology, Patroclus (generally pronounced ; ) was a hero of the Trojan War and an important character in Homer's Iliad. He is widely known for being the childhood friend and close wartime companion of the hero Achilles. When the tide of the war turned against the Achaeans, Patroclus, disguised as Achilles and defying his orders to retreat in time, led the Myrmidons in battle against the Trojans and was eventually killed by the Trojan prince, Hector. Enraged by Patroclus' death, Achilles ended his refusal to fight, resulting in significant Greek victories. Name The Latinized name Patroclus derives from the Ancient Greek Pátroklos meaning "glory of his father", from (patḗr, "father" stem pátr–) and (kléos, "glory"). A variation of the name with the same components in different order is Kleópatros, while the feminine form of the name is Cleopatra. There are at least three pronunciations of the name 'Patroclus' in English. Because the penultimate syllable is light in Latin prose (pă′.trŏ.clŭs), the antepenult was stressed in Latin and would normally be stressed in English as well, for (analogous to 'Sophocles'). However, this pronunciation is seldom encountered: for metrical convenience, Alexander Pope had made the 'o' long, and thus stressed, in his translation of Homer, following a convention of Greek and Latin verse, and that pronunciation – of Latin pa.trō′.clus – has stuck, for English . Moreover, because in prose a penultimate Greco-Latin short o (omicron) would only be stressed in a closed syllable, the penult has sometimes been misanalysed as being closed (*pă.trŏc′.lŭs), which would change the English o to a short vowel: . Description and family In the account of Dares the Phrygian, Patroclus was illustrated as "… handsome and powerfully built. His eyes were gray. He was modest, dependable, wise, a man richly endowed."