The Iliad Patroklos Quotes

Patroklos > Hektor

Quote 1

(Patroklos:)
Now is your time for big words, Hektor. Yours is the victory
given by Kronos' son, Zeus, and Apollo, who have subdued me
easily, since they themselves stripped the arms from my shoulders.
Even though twenty such as you had come in against me,
they would all have been broken beneath my spear, and have perished.
No, deadly destiny, with the son of Leto, has killed me,
and of men it was Euphorbos; you are only my third slayer. (16.844-850)

If you've read Book 16, you'll know that what Patroklos says is technically true: Hektor was only the third person to strike him (though he was the only one to deliver a fatal blow). All the same, it definitely sounds like Patroklos is trying to knock Hektor's ego down a few notches, basically telling him he talks the talk, but doesn't walk the walk.