Beginning in Book XXII and extending to Book XXIV, Achilles again moves from understandable anger, this time over the death of Patroklos, to uncontrollable and all-consuming rage in his treatment of the body of Hektor. These last three books follow the same structural pattern in Achilles' rage that the first twenty books did. Achilles anger at Agamemnon is replaced with anger at Hektor. Likewise, just as Achilles reached a reconciliation with Agamemnon, so will he reconcile with Hektor's father, Priam.
Achilles had begun the desecration of Hektor's corpse at the end of Book XXII, and he continues it, both explicitly and implicitly, in Book XXIII. Achilles' rage cannot be abated, and the reader can no longer feel sympathy for the Achaian warrior. Homer created a largely sympathetic and understandable character in Hektor. Hektor may have gloried over the dead Patroklos, but he did not mutilate the body; so now, Achilles' actions go beyond the bounds of acceptability. Just as Achilles' anger toward Agamemnon turned into petulance, his anger at those who killed Patroklos turns into irrational fury.
Achilles anger is interrupted and tempered by two events in Book XXIII: the dream appearance of Patroklos and the funeral games. In both cases, the reader is allowed to see a more humane aspect of Achilles.
