Museum Card: The Armor of Achilles
Date: 12th / 13th Century BCE, Trojan War
Description: This set of armor belongs to Achilles, a great warrior of the Achaean army, who helped lead his men against the Trojan Army. Made from Bronze this armor set was crafted by Hephaestus, the god of fire, and was made to be impenetrable to attacks. During the Trojan War, Achilles decides not to rejoin the battle. In turn, Patroclus asks Achilles if he can wear Achilles armor instead. Achilles agrees to let Patroclus wear his armor if he just promises to fight long enough to just save their ships. After Patroclus straps on Achilles armor and enters the battle, the Trojans think Achilles is fighting them. This causes the Trojans to retreat from the Achaean ships and Patroclus and his men regain control of their ships. Despite being told to only take back control of the ships, Patroclus pushed forward killing more Trojans and ultimately leading to his death. His death resulted from Apollo, a god who favored the Trojans, knocking off Patroclus armor which helped Hector kill him. While there is controversy over whether or not wearing the armor cursed Patroclus, I believe that Patroclus cured himself by not listening to Achilles instruction about just taking back control of their ships. Instead Patroclus pushed on, killing more Trojans and causing the Gods to be against him.
For this response I chose the museum card. I included factual information based on the epic poem and summarized events that happened that led to the death of Patroclus.