When the Achaian troops are once more ready to fight, Achilles puts on his splendid new armor, and then, mounting his chariot, he prepares to lead the army. But first, he reproaches his horses for allowing Patroklos to be killed. One of the horses answers, saying that Patroklos' death was not their fault, but that it was caused by Apollo and Destiny. The horse then prophesies the eventual death of Achilles on the battlefield. Achilles answers that he already knows about his doom, but that nothing will prevent him from avenging Patroklos. With this, Achilles shouts his mighty war cry and gallops into battle.
Throughout the Iliad, Achilles has been a creature of extremes — a man of absolute feelings and absolute reactions. Now that he is finally reconciled with Agamemnon, his passion to avenge Patroklos becomes as intense and impatient as was his former, selfish desire for the satisfaction of his honor. No longer concerned with such human "trivialities" as eating or resting, Achilles is transformed into a kind of cosmic figure, an archetypal hero sweeping through all opposition, divine and human, to achieve his ends.
