This episode is the second turning point in the tragic story of Achilles. He has made a fatal decision, and the deaths of Sarpedon, Patroklos, Hektor, Achilles himself, and the fall of Troy all inevitably follow. The deaths of Sarpedon and Patroklos in this book introduce an elegiac tone into the last part of the Iliad, as the characters that the reader sees as sympathetic are killed. Until now, Achilles has been torn by a conflict between the noble elements of his soul, which urge him to help his Achaian friends, and his obsessive sense of honor, which demands the full humiliation of Agamemnon and a complete recognition of Achilles' own worth by the other Achaian warriors.
Achilles sees the disguise scheme suggested by Patroklos as the perfect solution to his dilemma: It would allow him to save his own ships and thus fulfill his moral obligation to the Achaians. Yet at the same time, he can protect his prestige because he himself would not have to intervene. This equivocating solution is the cause of all the tragic events to come. Achilles tries to rationalize his consent to the plan by claiming that he had sworn not to participate in the fighting unless his own ships were threatened; but in fact, he never really said this. What has happened is that Achilles is beginning to lose his ability to think clearly and weigh all the factors in this situation.
