According to Plato, a bottom: …he bravely chose to go and rescue his lover Patroclus, avenged him, and sought death not merely in his behalf but in haste to be joined with him whom death had taken.
In it, Achilles and Patroclus do have a sexual relationship. Here is one short excerpt from their younger days, before the Trojan War began: "I was trembling, afraid to put him to flight.
Instead, any romantic attachments are implied rather than stated as fact. Centuries later, various Greek texts presented Achilles and Patroclus as pederastic lovers (a common practice in Greek society where an older male and younger male form a sexual relationship).
Did Achilles have a male lover? As a boy, Achilles develops a close relationship with another boy named Patroclus, who joins Achilles' household as an exile, having accidentally killed another child. They become friends and possibly lovers.
Patroclus remembers how Achilles describes him and Patroclus sleeping together and how Achilles says he was thinking of him. Deidameia strips and asks Patroclus if she thinks he is beautiful.
The raw depiction of love and passion, coupled with natural but complex character development, makes for a gripping read. Many would classify this novel as typical LGBTQ+ literature because after all, the two main characters are in a same-sex relationship.
Origin. Patroclus was the son of Menoetius, and the cousin of Achilles, his friend and his "first soulmate".
Thetis had taken her son Achilles to the island of Scyros to prevent him from accompanying the Greek army to Troy. Disguised as a woman, Achilles lived on Scyros among the daughters of King Lycomedes until the Greeks discovered his whereabouts and sent Odysseus and Diomedes to the island to fetch him.
Family. Patroclus was the son of Menoetius by either Philomela or Polymele, Sthenele, Periopis, or lastly Damocrateia. His only sibling was Myrto, mother of Eucleia by Heracles.
When Odysseus, Ajax, and Phoenix visit Achilles to negotiate her return in book 9, Achilles refers to Briseis as his wife or his bride. He professes to have loved her as much as any man loves his wife, at one point using Menelaus and Helen to complain about the injustice of his "wife" being taken from him.
Heartbroken and jealous of Achilles's love for Patroclus, Deidameia summons Patroclus to have sex with her, which he does; he notes that she seemed to want something more from him, which he was unable to provide.
Achilles responds by saying that Patroclus is his husband.
Even though she was a war prize, Achilles and Briseis fell in love with each other, and Achilles may have gone to Troy intending to spend much time in his tent with her, as was portrayed in the movie.
With Lycomedes' daughter Deidamia, whom in the account of Statius he raped, Achilles there fathered two sons, Neoptolemus (also called Pyrrhus, after his father's possible alias) and Oneiros.
Had he not fallen upon the retreating Trojans, killing them wantonly, he might not have fallen afoul of Zeus's wrath. His own arrogance and desire for glory proved his downfall. Finally, if Achilles had joined the battle from the beginning, Patroclus might not have died.
Definition. Patroclus is a figure from Greek mythology who fought in the Trojan War and was most famous for his close friendship with the Greek hero, Achilles. He followed Achilles to Troy and would ultimately die because of him and his actions.
He was a major character in the Iliad by Homer where he fought in the Trojan War against the city of Troy. Achilles' father was Peleus, king of the Myrmidons, and his mother was Thetis, a sea nymph.
We know Achilles wasn't much of a family man. He spent much of his life out in the battlefields, and he never married or settled in any one place. Some stories even suggest he might have been gay. However, we do know that Achilles had one son, a boy named Pyrrhus Neoptolemus.
The idea that Patroclus and Achilles were lovers is quite old. Many Greco-Roman authors read their relationship as a romantic one—it was a common and accepted interpretation in the ancient world. We even have a fragment from a lost tragedy of Aeschylus, where Achilles speaks of his and Patroclus' “frequent kisses.”
I'd say yes, it will be fine, as long as you are fine with themes and intense love (not so much sex, but true, heartfelt love and all the joys and pains that come with it). Also, you have to be aware that the main storyline is a male/male romance.
Okay, so full disclosure, this novel doesn't have substantive LGBT+ content (although there is a decidedly queer accent to its conclusion) but it is so exceptionally incredible and we love it so fiercely, we just have to share it with you. Think a feminist retelling of.
There are some scenes which seem a bit odd and don't really sit comfortably with the rest of the narrative - the river-god-fighting, and a very odd scene in which Patroclus has sex with Achilles' wife, thereby cheating on his boyfriend by committing adultery with his boyfriend's wife, which seems Not Okay to me - but ...
Patroclus's Last Words
Fate and the son of Leto have overpowered me, and among mortal men Euphorbus; you are yourself third only in the killing of me.
noun. Pa·tro·clus pə-ˈtrō-kləs -ˈträ- : a Greek hero and friend of Achilles slain by Hector at Troy.
Patroclus and Thetis' Son
Once Thetis gave into marrying Patroclus, she became determined to have a child with him. But first, she had to make sure her son Achilles was safe. So the next time Thetis took him on an outing near water, she held onto his heel so he wouldn't be swept away by the waves.