History Literature / SongofAchilles

Incorrect namespace. You probably want ''Literature/TheSongOfAchilles.''

[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/song_4334.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:250:''I could recognize him by touch alone, by smell; I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world.']]

->'I know. They never let you be famous ''and'' happy.' He lifted an eyebrow. 'I'll tell you a secret.'

->'Tell me.' I loved it when he was like this.

->'I'm going to be the first.' He took my palm and held it to his. 'Swear it.'

->'Why me?'

->'[[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming Because you're the reason]]. Swear it.'
-->-- ''Page ninety-eight, Song of Achilles''

''The Song of Achilles'' is a 2012 novel by Madeline Miller, detailing the life of the Greek legendary hero Achilles from the eyes of his faithful best friend and confidante, Patroclus. The book spans from when Achilles was a child to [[ForegoneConclusion his final role]] in UsefulNotes/TheTrojanWar, and thus is a retelling of The Illiad as well. At heart, ''The Song of Achilles'' is a love story, a recording of the fierce devotion and passion between the two men, an exploration of the depths of the human heart and a vivid interpretation of classical Greek heroes, brought to life by a compelling plot and beautiful language.

The novel won the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction, and is Miller's first published work.

----
!!Tropes used within this work include:
* AbusiveParents: Patroclus's mother is mentally disabled, and [[JerkAss his father]] constantly criticizes him and effectively disowns and exiles him in the end.
* AchillesHeel: Interestingly enough, averted. [[spoiler: Achilles gets shot in the heart just like a normal soldier.]] WordOfGod states that she's always found the heel thing rather unrealistic, so she didn't include it in the novel, which is consistent when Homer's original version since the heel bit was added several centuries after him. Metaphorically, it was Achilles's pride that ultimately [[spoiler: killed him and Patroclus both]].
* AchillesInHisTent: Duh.
* AdaptationalConsent: In the original myth Peleus and Thetis married after he managed to restrain her and she consented to marrying him as a BestHerToBedHer challenge, while in this story he instead raped her and conceived Achilles. As a result the two have a considerably worse relationship.
* AgeLift: In ancient Greek versions Patroclus is noticeably older than Achilles (his grandmother Aegina is Achilles' great-grandmother), here they are the same age.
* AintTooProudToBeg: Priam in stark contrast to every Greek leader especially Achilles, making his moment of awesome even more powerful.
* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Achilles's dashing good looks causes him to break a few hearts. Briseis is also quite fond of Patroclus.
* AmazonBrigade: The horsewomen of Anatolia.
* AmbiguousDisorder: It's heavily implied that Patroclus' mother has some form of mental retardation, though the specifics are (understandably for the time period) never spelled out.
* AmbiguouslyBi: Though Patroclus loves Achilles unconditionally, his attachment to Briseis seems a little more than platonic. (For instance, he fantasizes about having a child with her.) He also has sex with a woman at one point, and, while he is not romantically attracted to her, he does admit that he finds her body arousing.
* ArcWords: [[spoiler: "What has Hector ever done to me?"]]
* AscendedExtra: Patroclus, who was not one of the truly major characters in the Illiad, is the narrator of the book and a central character.
* AttackAttackAttack: This lets Patroclus down ''badly''.
* AttractiveBentGender: While disguised on Scyros, Achilles as "Pyrrha" is apparently not only a convincing woman but also a very attractive one. Probably that divine blood at work.
* BadassGay: Achilles is completely uninterested in girls, and Patroclus only vaguely.
* BadassNormal: Patroclus, again. He even points out that, unlike most other suitors for Helen, he wasn't the son or grandson of a god.[[note]] According e. g. to Pindarus, Patroclus was the grandson of the nymph Aegina, but nymphs are not goddesses and are merely long-lived, not immortal.[[/note]]
* BittersweetEnding: Yes, [[spoiler: everybody you love ends up dying, but Patroclus and Achilles finally manage to find each other in the underworld and reunite once again.]]
* BloodKnight: Achilles
* BigDamnHeroes: Invoked by Patroclus when he comes storming in with Achilles's armour on to rouse the Greek soldiers to fight and scare off the Trojans. It worked for a beautiful amount of time, and then, because of Apollo, it got worse.
* BrownNote: The effect of seeing Thetis, and presumably any other god, in the flesh is a more mild version of this on mortals, and Thetis is described as being difficult to look at directly and causing severe discomfort in anyone around her. While training with Chiron Patroclus eventually learns to recognize when she's coming because everything, including the animals, go silent prior to her appearing.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Patroclus and Achilles grew up together, and have been best friends since they were nine.
* CurbStompBattle: Achilles versus anything that isn't a god, more or less.
* DeadpanSnarker: Odysseus will occasionally get a few good jabs in.
* DeadPersonConversation:[[spoiler: Thetis to Patroclus]]
* DeathSeeker: After Patroclus dies, Achilles doesn't even bother trying in battle anymore; he goes fighting without armour, trying desperately to get killed.
* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: Achilles versus Scamander.
* {{Determinator}}: Patroclus is usually quite mild-mannered, but fuck with anyone he loves, and he will come down on you with the force of the Greek army.
** He purposely defies Thetis multiple times for Achilles's sake
*** In a more tragic twist, Patroclus also ends up [[spoiler: betraying Achilles to Agamemnon]] in order to save Briseis.
* DotingParent: Odysseus does not stop talking about his wife and son.
* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Completely averted. [[spoiler:Thetis blackmails Achilles into lying with Deidameia was portrayed as a complete violation of his body to the point that Achilles detests both Deidameia and Thetis while keep insisting on aborting their child together until Patroclus intervenes]].
* DivineParentage: Achilles's mother is Thetis, a sea nymph (an actual sea-goddess according to Greek mythology).
* DramaticIrony: Half the foreshadowing especially since Achilles' and Patroclus' fate is ItWasHisSled territory. For anyone who's read Literature/TheIliad, even more so.
** Odysseus gets a huge amount of it as well. His DotingParent HappilyMarried family man traits only highlight his eventual 10 year journey.
** The fate of most of the Greeks. The atrocities committed during the sack of Troy will anger the gods and most of the Greeks will lose divine favor and meet ignominious ends at sea. Thus the emphasis on glory, riches and victory rings a bit hollow.
* DrivenToSuicide: Patroclus makes it clear in his narration several times that he had no intention of outliving Achilles for long, not realizing that this wouldn't be necessary.
* DueToTheDead: Since the book is set in ancient Greece, correct funeral rites are of utmost importance. It becomes an important plot point later when [[spoiler: Patroclus is unable to join Achilles in the underworld because he has not been buried properly]].
* DyingMomentOfAwesome
* ElCidPloy: But of course
* FiveManBand: The main generals of the war could be seen as this:
** TheHero: Agamemnon, by default even though he's pretty much a JerkAss
** TheLancer: Menelaus, Agamemnon's brother
** TheSmartGuy: [[GuileHero Odysseus]], of course
** TheBigGuy: Ajax
** TheChick: Menelaus could be seen as this, since he acts as a foil to his arrogant, more aggressive brother Agamemnon.
** TheSixthRanger: Achilles and Patroclus, who generally stay out of their ways but occasionally gets tangled into their drama.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: An InUniverse example. The first time Patroclus meets an adult Odysseus, he tricks Achilles into revealing himself, blackmails him into going to war (and his death) and reveals he knew the entire time who they were. This colors Patroclus' feelings of and ability to trust him which heavily prevents Odysseus from playing OnlySaneMan to Achilles.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Those who reread the novel stumble upon quite a number of 'oh, fuck' moments, most notably when Chiron is telling Achilles and Patroclus the story of Heracles, who killed his wife and children due to his madness caused by the gods. Achilles protests that the punishment was more unfair to Heracles' wife than to him, and Chiron says that the gods are not known for being fair, and 'perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, [[DyingAlone to be left on earth when another is gone.]]'
* HeroicBSOD[=/=]DespairEventHorizon: What Achilles goes into after Patroclus's death, and what pushes him into becoming a full-fledged DeathSeeker.
* HotBlooded: Achilles has the potential (he often reacts defensively and aggressively when threatened).
* {{Hypocrite}}: A subtle one with Odysseus. He blackmails and goads Achilles into joining the war with a choice of glory or an ignominious death. However, it's hinted that he tried to avoid the war himself when Patroclus notices his farmer's calluses. (In myth Odysseus pretended to be mad and sow salt until Palamedes revealed him)
* IncompatibleOrientation: When Patroclus first brings Briseis back to the tent he shares with Achilles she's clearly dreading what they'll do to her, and with the language barrier making it difficult to convey that they won't harm her Patroclus simply grabs Achilles and kisses him on the mouth to get the point across.
** Later on, [[spoiler: Briseis ends up falling for Patroclus even knowing that he only loves Achilles]]
* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: When Patroclus arrives at Agamemnon's tent after he takes Briseis he walks in just as he's about to force himself on her.
* InstantExpert: Achilles at fighting, more or less. Averted for Patroclus on his rampage, who simply copied what he remembered Achilles doing.
* IronicName: Patroclus notes this at one point for himself since his name translates as "glory of the father" when his father wants nothing to do with him and is ashamed of him.
* ItsPersonal: Achilles ultimately kills Hector because he [[spoiler: killed Patroclus]].
* {{Jerkass}}: Agamemnon. Of course anyone who knows his later fate (mainly killed by his own wife as revenge for what he did to their daughter) knows that he doesn't remain a KarmaHoudini for long.
* LoverAndBeloved: Interestingly enough, for a gay romance novel set in Ancient Greece, averted. Achilles and Patroclus are pretty clearly equals in their relationship, and it is this which makes their relationship so unusual - it is explicitly spelled-out that this give-and-take is unconventional, where the Seme/Uke type dynamic that was more common in the period would have raised very few eyebrows.
* LivingEmotionalCrutch: Achilles and Patroclus for each other, holy ''shit''. Patroclus is more subtle than Achilles, only hinted that he doesn't plan to live after Achilles is killed while Achilles went down right murderous and suicidal after Patroclus is killed.
* MamaBear: Thetis wavers between this. On one hand, she's fiercely protective of her son. On the other, it's hard to tell whether she's protective because she truly cares for him or she just wants his fame. It is shown in the end, though, that she regrets at least some of her actions and wishes that Achilles had lived.
* MamasBoy: But then again, if your mother was a divine sea nymph who planned to make you into a god, you'd probably go along with her plans, too.
* TheMedic: Patroclus is quite a gifted healer. The first time he's on the field he carefully cuts out an arrow shaft out of a soldier's shoulder without any risk of infection.
* MyBelovedSmother: Thetis, once again. Though to be honest if ''your'' mother was a sea goddess you probably wouldn't have the nerve to refuse her.
* MurderByMistake: How Patroclus ends up in Phthia.
* NiceGuy: King Peleus, by all accounts. Also, arguably, Patroclus and Menelaus.
* NoSell: Thetis whose mere presence is a BrownNote, attacks Odysseus only for him to be completely unaffected. He's favored and protected by Athena who trumps her in power.
* NotQuiteTheRightThing: Patroclus interferes in Achilles' plan to let Agamemnon rape Briseis so that Achilles would have just cause to kill him. This starts a chain of events that would lead to [[spoiler:Patroclus', Achilles' and Briseis' deaths]].
* OneHitKill: Lots.
** Interestingly both used with [[spoiler: Sarpedon, who dies to a single javelin throw when he falls backwards off his chariot]] and subverted in the same event, since [[spoiler: Patroclus must kill Sarpedon as Achilles would have]].
* OnlySaneMan: Odysseus (mostly unsuccessfully) tries to play peacemaker between the Greek leaders.
* PhysicalGod: When Achilles fights, he's ''untouchable''.
** Not to mention all the actual 'real' Physical Gods floating around, although Thetis is the only one we see much of.
* ProphecyTwist: Implied. It's prophesied that Achilles will only die after he kills Hector. So Achilles spends 10 years avoiding any confrontation and his AchillesInHisTent is partly to keep out of the battle. However while the prophecy is strictly true, it's [[spoiler: Patroclus' death that causes him to be a DeathSeeker]]. Hector dying is merely another consequence.
* PurpleProse: And ''how''. Pick a love scene and count the times some variant of the word "trembled" is used.
* RageAgainstTheHeavens: In his quest for Hector, Achilles is so enraged that even an ancient river god with a staff the size of a tree trunk doesn't stop him. In turn, his reaction to when his mother tells him that he's pissed off Apollo was basically 'let them come at me, I don't have anything to live for'.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Zig-zagged. The first rape we hear of is committed against Thetis in the BackStory by, of all people [[NiceGuy King Peleus]]. Later, however, this view seems more prevalent. Arguably justified by DeliberateValuesDissonance.
* TheResenter: Patroclus starts out this way towards Achilles, but he soon gets over it.
* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: Patroclus dislikes fighting and violence; he is often empathetic to other people's needs and is known for his kindness. Achilles is the physically more able of the two and a model warrior.
* ShownTheirWork: And how! Madeline Miller was a Latin and Greek teacher, and it shows; the whole book is full of references to the more obscure parts of the Literature/TheTrojanCycle. Examples include the entire Scyros episode, Protesilaus dying first, and most of the action after Hector dies, amongst a ''lot'' of others. It's also got loads of references to BlinkAndYouMissIt moments such as Patroclus [[spoiler: being stabbed in the back before Hector kills him]].
* SingleTargetSexuality: While Patroclus displays a very passing interest in women, Achilles is never shown as anything but completely and utterly Patroclus-sexual.
* SkilledButNaive: Achilles is the greatest warrior of his generation and generations past, but his innocence and lack of cunning often makes him easily manipulable.
* TalkingToTheDead: [[spoiler: When Achilles has a nightmare and he fruitlessly attempts to wake up Patroclus.]]
* TeamDad: Patroclus, to all the girls he's rescued in the war. And Briseis is TeamMom. [[spoiler: That's partly why she ends up falling for him]]
* TemptingFate: "What has Hector ever done to me?" Achilles asks.
* TogetherInDeath: Eventually. After he burns Patroclus's body, Achilles orders the soldiers to mix his and Patroclus's ashes together once he's died [[spoiler: but even after Achilles died Patroclus' spirit remained on earth unable to move on - because Pyrrhus and Thetis wouldn't engrave Patroclus' name on the tomb. Thetis finally, after a very long talk with Patroclus' spirit did release him which lead to one of the most beautiful passages of the book.]]
* TriangRelations: Twice, both type 4. The first occurs with Deidameia's [[spoiler: marriage and subsequent pregnancy]] to Achilles, while the second occurs with Briseis and Patroclus.
* TheSoCalledCoward: Patroclus.
* VitriolicBestBuds: Odysseus and Diomedes bicker non-stop.
* TheWomenAreSafeWithUs: Achilles' and Patroclus' camp becomes this during the war, with Achilles specifically claiming war captives (at Patroclus' prompting) to spare them from being abused by the other Greeks. Though most of the women eventually do go on to marry Greek soldiers it's under considerably less duress than if they had been claimed by others.
* WorldsMostBeautifulWoman: Helen of Troy, as per myth. Patroclus meets her as a boy, and is even then awed at how beautiful she is.
* YouCantFightFate: All prophecies are set in stone.
** EitherOrProphecy: If they're not set in stone. For example, Achilles can either be famous but die at Troy, or live an obscure but long life.

** TheChick: Menelaus could be seen as this, since he acts as a foil to his arrogant, more aggressive brother Agamemnon

* LivingEmotionalCrutch: Achilles and Patroclus for each other, holy ''shit''.

* NoSell: Thetis whose mere presence is a BrownNote, tries to kill Odysseus only for her power to completely bounce off him. He's favored and protected by Athena whose power trumps Thetis'.

* AscendedExtra: Patroclus, who was not one of the truly major characters in the Illiad, is the narrator of the book and a central character.

* ShownTheirWork: And how! The whole book is full of references to the more obscure parts of the Literature/TheTrojanCycle. Examples include the entire Scyros episode, Protesilaus dying first, and most of the action after Hector dies, amongst a ''lot'' of others. It's also got loads of references to BlinkAndYouMissIt moments such as Patroclus [[spoiler: being stabbed in the back before Hector kills him]].
* SingleTargetSexuality: It seems that both Achilles and Patroclus are not so much as [[BadassGay gay]] as they are just completely enamored with each other.

* TogetherInDeath: Eventually. After he burns Patroclus's body, Achilles orders the soldiers to mix his and Patroclus's ashes together once he's died [[spoiler: but even after Achilles died Patroclus' spirit remained on earth unable to move on - because Pyrrhus and Thetis wouldn't engrave Patroclus' name on the tomb. Thetis finally, after a very long talk with Patrocls' spirit did release him which lead to one of the most beautiful passages of the book.]]

* ArcWords: [[spoiler: "Hector has done nothing to me."]]

'''The Song of Achilles''' is a 2012 novel by Madeline Miller, detailing the life of the Greek legendary hero Achilles from the eyes of his faithful best friend and confidante, Patroclus. The book spans from when Achilles was a child to [[ForegoneConclusion his final role]] in UsefulNotes/TheTrojanWar, and thus is a retelling of The Illiad as well. At heart, ''The Song of Achilles'' is a love story, a recording of the fierce devotion and passion between the two men, an exploration of the depths of the human heart and a vivid interpretation of classical Greek heroes, brought to life by a compelling plot and beautiful language.

* {{Badass}}: Achilles. Patroclus counts as a BadassPacifist.
** BadassGay: Achilles is completely uninterested in girls, and Patroclus only vaguely.
** BadassNormal: Patroclus, again. He even points out that, unlike most other suitors for Helen, he wasn't the son or grandson of a god.[[note]] According e. g. to Pindarus, Patroclus was the grandson of the nymph Aegina, but nymphs are not goddesses and are merely long-lived, not immortal.[[/note]]