Behind Infinity

I’m working on a paper right now which draws from Virgil’s Aeneid and Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey as sources. Of course, there are certain sections which I’m focusing on, and so end up reading them over and over again. I can never read this passage from the Iliad without a shudder and some sort of exclamation to the effect of, “Ick.” “Ugh.” “Yuck.” etc.

“The end came as he spoke, and death settled
on his nostrils and eyes. Patroclus put his hell
On Sarpedon’s chest and pulled out his spear.
The lungs came out with it, and Sarpedon’s life.”

I much prefer to read about the death of Pedasus, Patroclus’ horse:

“Sarpedon countered and missed. His bright spear
sliced instead through the right shoulder
of Pedasus, who gave one pained, rasping whinny,
Then fell into the dust. His spirit fluttered off.”

It’s so much more…ungruesome.

I wish I could do a paper comparing and contrasting different characters’ deaths as depicted in the Aeneid and the Iliad. That would be interesting.