Tags
Achilles, Anger of Achilles, Aphrodite, Apollo, Cypris, Death of Hector, Greek Mythology, Hector, Hector's body, Homer, Ilion, poem, poetry, Priam, sonnet, Spenserian sonnet, The Iliad, Trojan War, Troy
Achilles’ anger was unquenched, and so,
Three times each day he dragged him through the dirt.
Yet he remained untarnished head to toe –
No bloodied flesh, no broken bones, no hurt
Showed on unblemished skin. Still and inert,
As if asleep, and no decay was seen.
It seemed by unseen armour he was girt,
For Cypris and Apollo kept him clean.
His wounds they’d closed, since, bloody and obscene,
His body had been taken from the field.
He’d fallen to the bronze so bright and keen,
Yet now the cuts that killed him were all healed.
Achilles longed to tear him limb from limb,
Whilst grieving Priam dreamed of burning him.
{Pic – The Triumph of Achilles by Franz von Matsch. {from Wikipedia}}
dnobrienpoetry 
Splendid! Reminded me of this masterpiece: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/shield-achilles
Thanks Tom, and thanks for the link. By the way, have you heard any news from Dr. Salemi over at Trinacria? Sent a submission months ago but haven’t heard back –
maybe I just missed out this time.
Haven’t heard. Last time I checked, he was facing a difficult professional life due to the idiots of academe. He always catches up, though.
Recent post from the fearless Joe Salemi: http://pennreview.com/2018/04/rr-traditionalism-some-serious-doubts/
The Greeks invented gods with all the foibles of men.
True – that was a pretty dysfunctional family up on Mount Olympus, but then, they lived forever so it didn’t matter.
The Sumerian gods were the first manlike gods — and closely corresponded to those of the Greeks. Anthropomorphism was actually an advance in the history of natural religion, since earlier cultures worshipped animals. Of course, revelation changes everything.