Euphorbus

In the Homeric tradition Euphorbus appears as a young Trojan warrior, son of Panthous (and Phrontis in Homer), who fights on the plain of Troy during the events of the Iliad. In the combat sequence surrounding Patroclus’ death (Iliad Books 16–17 as reported by classical commentators), the god Apollo strikes Patroclus first, Euphorbus wounds him second, and Hector deals the fatal blow; Euphorbus is afterward killed by Menelaus during the struggle over Patroclus' body and armor. From the 4th century BCE onward, later authors and anecdotal traditions incorporated Euphorbus into chains of transmigration narratives: he is reported in multiple versions to have been reborn and to have been identified by recognition of a shield dedicated in a temple (accounts differ about whether that dedication was at Argos or Didyma), and some sources report that Pythagoras was claimed to have asserted a previous life as Euphorbus.

Homeric and later descriptions present Euphorbus as a fair, handsome youth notable for his curly hair adorned with precious bindings. Homeric phrasing (as preserved in translations and summaries of Iliad Book 17) compares his hair to that of the Charites and notes it being bound with gold and silver; John Tzetzes is quoted describing him as 'handsome' with 'the loveliest locks among the curly‑haired', braided with gold and other ornaments. The cumulative picture in the sources is of an attractive, richly accoutred Trojan youth.

In primary epic material Euphorbus possesses no supernatural powers: he is a mortal combatant whose chief recorded action is wounding Patroclus prior to Patroclus’ death and then being slain by Menelaus in the contest over the fallen hero's armour. In later classical anecdote Euphorbus functions as a named past life within transmigration stories (a narrative identity rather than an active supernatural ability); these accounts report recognition of his former shield in a temple as evidence of continuity of identity across lives.