similes

Menelaus → mother cow

• Standing protectively over Patroclus’ body

Euphorbus → olive sapling

• Young tree uprooted suddenly

Ajax → lioness

• Fierce, protective, immovable

Battle over the body → tug-of-war

• Two teams straining equally on a rope

Horses of Achilles → grieving humans

• Weeping, bowed heads, mourning a fallen master

Warriors → oxen being slaughtered

• Brutal, unstoppable killing

Zeus’ sign → rainbow

• Ominous divine warning

Menelaus retreating → lion withdrawing

• Forced back by hunters, reluctant but strategic

Ajaxes → mules hauling timber

• Endurance, strain, coordinated effort