Book 24 is the final book in the Iliad. For the next several days, Achilles drags Hector's corpse around Patroclus'tomb. Apollo protects the body from decay and damage. Hera, Athena, and Poseidon won't let the other gods... steal the body and return it to Hector's family.
Zeus decrees a compromise. Achilles will give up Hector's body for a ransom. Priam will bring in person and alone.
Priam gathers the treasures and prays for a sign of approval. Zeus sends a huge... huge eagle in confirmation.
Zeus sends the god Hermes, disguised as Achilles'aid, to hide him and guide him safely. Arriving at Achilles'lodge, Priam kneels before him and kisses his hands. Priam's appeal touches Achilles'heart and they weep together. Achilles agrees to give up Hector's body.
After ordering Hector's body prepared, Achilles provides hospitality and pledges to hold off attacking until Hector is buried. Fearing Priam might be captured, Hermes wakes him before he can be found. dawn and guides him out of the Achaean camp with Hector's body. Priam's daughter Cassandra sees him approach and the entire city gathers at the gates to receive their favorite son.
Andromache, Hecuba, and Helen sing songs of mourning. After nine days of mourning the body is burned and his bones are interred in a golden box. In the final book, abusing the corpse of noble Hector offends the gods and brings Achilles no honor.
When Achilles weeps with with Priam, he's mostly crying for his own losses. He also empathizes with Priam's pain and recognizes that his own father will feel the same grief after Achilles'fated death. Offering to hold the Achaeans back from attacking until Hector is buried seems inspired entirely by his own compassion with no prompting of the gods.
He is finally putting aside his godlike rage and finding his humanity. This gentler Achilles does not stick around for long. He warns Priam not to insult his honor with suggestions that he sail home without glory. And he avoids rousing Priam's anger, fearing it will ignite his own rage again and he will kill Priam in defiance of Zeus's decree.
The eagle of Zeus appears as a sign of the gods approval of Priam's trip to the Achaean camp. As an animal with excellent vision, it also symbolizes that the gods will help the king navigate successfully through the darkness. The god Hermes, who acts as Priam's guide, is likewise associated with clear sight.
The choice to end the story with this emotional resolution rather than with a dramatic battle focuses on the emotional journeys of the characters. The burial of Hector parallels the burial of Patroclus, and the mourning is not only for Hector, but for all those who died. The story of the Trojan War continues in many other adventures, including Homer's The Odyssey, and the story of Achilles'rage is done.