Euphorbus- Greek HeroHero"Son of Panthous"

The Wounding of Patroclus

Son of Panthous and brother of Polydamas, Hector's chief advisor, Euphorbus came to Troy young and already dangerous — Homer gives him twenty kills from his chariot in his first engagement.

His moment came in the fighting over the Greek ships. Patroclus, wearing Achilles's armor, had driven the Trojans back and slain the Lycian king Sarpedon. As he pressed his attack toward Troy's walls, Apollo struck him from behind — knocking the helmet from his head, shattering his spear, and loosening his breastplate. In that instant of divine disarmament, Euphorbus drove his spear into Patroclus's back between the shoulders. He pulled the weapon free and fell back into the ranks, leaving the kill to Hector. With his dying breath, Patroclus named the chain of his destruction: first a god, then Euphorbus, and only third the man who claimed the glory.

Death at the Hands of Menelaus

When the fighting turned to Patroclus's body, Euphorbus came forward to strip the corpse, claiming the right of first blood. Menelaus stood over it and would not move. They clashed, and Menelaus's spear caught Euphorbus through the throat. Homer compares the fallen Trojan to a young olive tree in a sheltered garden, torn up by a sudden storm. Menelaus dedicated the dead man's shield at the temple of Hera near Argos, where it hung for centuries.

The Shield and the Philosopher

Pythagoras claimed that his soul had once inhabited the body of Euphorbus. He visited the temple of Hera at Argos, identified the shield among the votive offerings, took it down, and wept as he recalled his former life. Diogenes Laertius records the full chain: from Euphorbus the soul had passed to Hermotimus of Clazomenae, then to Pyrrhus, a fisherman of Delos, before reaching Pythagoras. Ovid gives Pythagoras a speech in which he recounts the wound Menelaus dealt him and describes the shield he recognized on the temple wall.