I. Name
The name of Patroklos, the close companion of Achilles in the Trojan War, is given to the father of Nikanor, the high-ranking Greek commander of a force of 20,000 men with instructions to put down the revolt of Judas Maccabaeus (2 Macc. 8.12).
II. Identity
From the perspective of Trojan War mythology, Patroklos would appear to be a figure developed by Homer in his Iliad to anticipate the death of Achilles’ close friend Antilochos and Achilles’ own death—a later part of the story of Troy …