452 THE GREEK SAGAS: GREEK LOCAL LEGENDS
Patroclus was a great warrior. When very young, he had killed a rival in
anger over a dice game. Peleus took him in and brought him up to be the com-
panion of Achilles. Achilles and Patroclus become devoted friends and perhaps
lovers, and their relationship provides a major theme for the Iliad.^14THE GATHERING OF THE
EXPEDITION AT AULISMenelaiis and Agamemnon sent heralds throughout Greece and the islands to
summon the Greek leaders and contingents to the war; the expedition gathered
at Aulis (on the coast of Boeotia, opposite Euboea) numbering nearly twelve
hundred ships with their crews and fighting men.^15The Anger of Achilles, by J-L. David (1748-1825): oil on canvas, 1819, 41V 2 X 57V 4 in. Iphi-
genia has been brought to Aulis on the pretext that she is to be the bride of Achilles. David
shows the moment when Agamemnon has revealed his true intention to Achilles, who
draws his sword in anger to strike Agamemnon. The anger of the men contrasts with the
sadness of Iphigenia, who has learned that she will be sacrificed, and of Clytemnestra,
who gazes at Achilles as she puts her hand on her daughter's shoulder. The subject is
based on Euripides' tragedy, Iphigenia at Aulis. (Fort Worth, Kimbell Art Museum.)