[a][13], According to the Iliad, when the tide of the Trojan War had turned against the Greeks and the Trojans were threatening their ships, Patroclus convinced Achilles to let him lead the Myrmidons into combat. On Quora, I recently came across a popular answer to the question “What important parts of Greek myths do filmmakers always seem to get wrong?”. They are often shown as lovers in cultures that are more sexually liberal (especially as it pertains to same-sex love) and as close friends in cultures that are more sexually conservative. [18] According to Ledbetter (1993),[19] there is a train of thought that Patroclus could have been a representation of the compassionate side of Achilles, who was known for his rage, mentioned in the first line of Homer's Iliad. There are at least three pronunciations of the name 'Patroclus' in English. It is clear that Achilles and Patroclus had an incredibly deep, intimate bond. So it depends on how you approach finding “truth” in mythology. [a][c] This reinforces Dowden's explanation of the relationship between an eromenos, a youth in transition, and an erastes, an older male who had recently made the same transition. Some believe there are clues within the text that he hoped readers and listeners would pick up on, but that is a pretty big stretch for me. No gods and no gay men. Seine Mutter Thetis machte ihn bis auf die Ferse unverwundbar ("Achillessehne"). The relationship between Achilles and Patroclus is a key element of the stories associated with the Trojan War.Its exact nature has been a subject of dispute in both the Classical period and modern times. Simply put, it says they are incredibly close companions. However, the Classical Greek writers couldn’t even agree on who was the older partner (erastes) and who was the younger partner (eromenos). Nach Achills Rückzug vom Kampf erbat sich Patroklos dessen Rüstung. So what does the Iliad say? 470: In dem achaiischen Heer, nach dem tadellosen Achilleus. When it comes to Achilles and Patroclus, the obvious place to start is Homer’s epic poem the Iliad. During this time, Peleus made Patroclus one of Achilles' "henchmen". Or just platonic friends? He was the son of Menoetius, the son of Actor, King of Opus and, through his grandmother Aegina, Achilles’ first cousin once removed. In the play Achilles, who has become lazy, is besotted with Patroclus. This is how they are portrayed, for instance, in Madeline Miller’s novel The Song of Achilles (published in 2012) and in the BBC television series Troy: Fall of a City(released in 2018).Many people have wondered how faithful these portrayals are to the ancient sources. Many Greco-Roman authors read their relationship as a romantic one—it was a common and accepted interpretation in the ancient world. There is certainly an argument that myths evolve over time and Homer’s version is just one (albeit important) link in that ongoing chain. Never bury my bones apart from yours, Achilles, let them lie together…So now let a single urn, the gold two-handed urn your noble mother gave you, hold our bones - together.” Book 23. Ok, so why do so many people seem to disagree with Homer, or subscribe to an interpretation that goes beyond what he wrote? Here are some of his words: “My dear comrade’s dead - Patroclus - the man I loved beyond all other comrades, loved as my own life - I’ve lost him.” Book 18. Ledbetter believes this puts Patroclus into a subordinate role to that of Achilles. This projection has been a common thread running through portrayals of Achilles and Patroclus ever since ancient times. [10] Menoetius was the son of Actor,[11] king of Opus in Locris by Aegina, daughter of Asopus. Achilles then told Patroclus to return after beating the Trojans back from their ships. Nevertheless, their relationship is said to have inspired Alexander the Great in his own close relationship with his life-long companion Hephaestion. So, here, I’m going to bring us back to the original sources and offer something of a rebuttal to this popular interpretation. In twenty-first-century adaptations of the story of the Trojan War, Achilles and Patroklos are often portrayed as gay lovers. Gregory Nagy, who may well be the world’s leading authority on the Iliad and the meaning behind the text, writes that, “For Achilles ... in his own ascending scale of affection as dramatized by the entire composition of the Iliad, the highest place must belong to Patroklos.” Again, nothing necessarily sexual. Aeschylus and Phaedrus, for example, state there was a clear relationship between them, and they both refer to Achilles as the eromenos of the relationship. … Sein Vater war Peleus. [4] At least not to me. Here is one short excerpt from their younger days, before the Trojan War began: "I was trembling, afraid to put him to flight. Der reagierte darauf mit Kampf und Tötungsstreik und auch sein bester Freund der Patroklos wird nicht mehr kämpfen. did portray Achilles and Patroclus as lovers. And as for the way Achilles grieves, it certainly underscores their intimacy, but doesn’t necessarily imply a sexual intimacy. Later, Achilles holds an elaborate and emotional funeral ritual for Patroclus and even places a lock of his own hair in Patroclus’ hands (Book 23). If by “Were Achilles and Patroclus lovers?”, one is asking about the meaning behind the oldest and most comprehensive source we have, the answer for me is probably not. It’s also worth noting that some folks with much better credentials than me appear to disagree with some of my conclusions. Were Achilles and Patroclus lovers? [23][27], Achilles was younger than Patroclus. Hooker reminds us that it is Patroclus who pushes the Trojans back, which Hooker claims makes Patroclus a hero, as well as foreshadowing what Achilles is to do. Ledbetter connects the way that Achilles and his mother Thetis communicate to the communication between Achilles and Patroclus. It reveals the futility of mortals endeavoring to go against the gods, and the price of reckless behavior. Many of history’s greatest thinkers, writers, and artists thought of Achilles and Patroclus as romantically involved. To defend the other side for a moment, we simply don’t know for sure what Homer wished us to believe about Achilles and Patroclus. Patroclus death was one of the most poignant and powerful scenes in the Iliad. Sie wollte ihn auch unsterblich machen, indem sie ihn in ein himmlisches Feuer hielt und die Leibesstellen verzehrte, die sterblich waren und die sie dann mit Amrosia wieder heilte. Robin Lane Fox, another one of the most influential and knowledgeable historians of ancient Greece, sums it up by saying, “There is certainly no evidence in the text of the Iliad that Achilles and Patroclus were lovers” (The Tribal Imagination: Civilization and the Savage Mind, pg. Patroclus drove the Trojans all the way back to the walls of Troy, and was only prevented from storming the city by the intervention of Apollo. [8] Homer also references Menoetius as the individual who gave Patroclus to Peleus. Nachdem er Sarpedon getötet hatte, ermutigte Apollon Hektor wieder zum Kampf und griff in diesen selbst ein. The idea that Patroclus and Achilles were lovers is quite old. In Greek mythology, as recorded in Homer's Iliad, Patroclus (pronunciation variable but generally / p ə ˈ t r oʊ k l ə s /; Ancient Greek: Πάτροκλος Pátroklos "glory of the father") was a close wartime companion of Achilles.He was the son of Menoetius, the son of Actor, King of Opus and, through his grandmother Aegina, Achilles’ first cousin once removed.