The word penthos is used here to indicate the ‘grief’ of Achilles. Both words akhos ‘grief’ and penthos ‘grief’ refer to the emotion felt by Achilles over the damage done to his tīmē by Agamemnon when the over-king insults him. In general, penthos ‘grief’ is a synonym of akhos ‘grief’ in Homeric diction. On Homeric diction, see the inventory of Words and Ideas.