Which Greek warrior killed the Lycian prince Sarpedon?

Patroclus killed the Lycian prince Sarpedon in Homer’s Iliad. Sarpedon was not merely a Trojan soldier: he was a son of Zeus and the leading Lycian ally of Troy, making his death one of the epic’s most important episodes.

When the Trojans threaten the Greek ships, Patroclus persuades Achilles to let him enter battle wearing Achilles’ armor. The disguise rallies the Achaeans and frightens the Trojans. Patroclus then drives the enemy back and confronts Sarpedon. Their combat ends with Patroclus killing him, despite Zeus’ anguish over his mortal son.

The scene also shows that responsibility for a Homeric death can be layered. After Sarpedon falls, Zeus sends Apollo to protect the body, and the god helps remove it from the battlefield. Later, Patroclus himself is weakened by Apollo, struck by Euphorbus, and finally killed by Hector. Readers sometimes confuse Sarpedon’s killer with Achilles because Zeus is Sarpedon’s father and Achilles later dominates the poem, but the Iliad clearly credits Patroclus with the fatal blow.