1. The main point of this is to find a counter-example, even an extreme one, to Hippias’ idea: it is obviously not fine for men to be buried after the gods, because it is not fine for gods to be buried at all! But in the case of Achilles there seems also to be a reference to his choice between a distinguished short life and an undistinguished long one (see Homer, Iliad XI, 410–16): it would not have been fine for him to choose the latter alternative, even if that would have given him the opportunity of being buried after his parents. No such choice faced Aeacus but, like Achilles (whose mother was the sea-nymph Thetis), he is brought in as an example of a hero with divine parentage: his father was Zeus.

2. Literally, ‘Go to blessedness!’ In Greek, as in English, it seems that ‘blessed’ can be used euphemistically.

3. ‘Hercules’ in Latin, the son of Zeus.

4. Tantalus, Dardanus and Zethus were also famous sons of Zeus; but Pelops was as fully mortal as any legendary hero could be: he was Tantalus’ son.