Grief for his dead companion seized Patroclus now,
he tore through frontline fighters swift as a hawk
diving to scatter crows and fear-struck starlings –
straight at the Lycians, Patroclus O my rider,
straight at the pressing Trojan ranks you swooped,
enraged at your comrade’s death!
– Homer
The Iliad, Book 16, lines 679-684. In a bid to avenge his dead companion Epeigeus, an enraged Patroclus tears through the Lycians and Trojan ranks. Homer in one of his many epic similes compares Patroclus to a hawk diving through crows and frightened starlings.