History YMMV / TheSongOfAchilles

** There is a smaller intersection of fans with the band Gang Of Youths, due to some fans considering the song "Achilles Come Down" (a 2017 song from the album "Go Farther in Lightness") to be something of an unofficial theme for the book.

* HarsherInHindsight:
** The fond way Odysseus talks about his wife. Miller's next book, ''Literature/{{Circe}}'', reveals that by the time Odysseus finally returned to Ithaca, he was so damaged by the long war and the dangerous journey home that he found it impossible to live peacefully, and terrorized his family.

** How dismissive of Patroclus was Achilles really before they became friends? Patroclus from the start said that he "knew dismissal when I saw it". But Patroclus was ignored and neglected for all his life before being banished, and Achilles sitting at Patroclus's table and reaching out to him seems to indicate that he really did care about him. Patroclus also said Achilles "never, not even once" looked at him with the same indifference he did Deidameia, hinting that the seed of his interest was planted from the very beginning, before any of them realized.

** There's Thetis's relationship with Achilles and her motivations for making him a god. It's somewhat unclear whether her protective instincts are because she truly cares about her son, or whether she only in it for the fame she can give him. On one hand, even without seeing her and Achilles's meetings it's clear that she's manipulative and toxic with him. On the other though, there wouldn't be much reason to make him immortal if she only wanted fame. Considering how big of a war Troy is, she could've easily whisked him off as soon as she could as Patroclus thought.

** How dismissive of Patroclus was Achilles really before they became friends? Patroclus from the start said that he "knew dismissal when I saw it". But Patroclus was ignored and neglected for all his life before being banished, and Achilles sitting at Patroclus's table and reaching out to him seems to indicate that he really did care about him.

* Harsher inHindsight:
** The way Odysseus talks about his wife becomes this after reading Miller's next book, Circe. Odysseus comes home but is so damaged by the long war and dangerous journey home that he finds it impossible to live peacefully, and terrorizes his family.

* Harsher in Hindsight:
** The way Odysseus misses his wife and clearly badly wants to be home with her becomes this when you read Miller's next book, Circe. Odysseus comes home but is so damaged by the long war and dangerous journey home that he finds it impossible to live peacefully, and terrorizes his family.

* HarsherinHindsight:

-->'''A comment under a Youtube gameplay of their reunion:''' *cries in ''The Song of Achilles''* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdpqjx98bB8]]
-->'''A tweet from a ''Hades'' player:''' bought song of achilles at a local bookstore and the owner told me all the copies they received this week have sold out now. tbh i think it's the power of hades right now. [[https://twitter.com/pushclouds/status/1317175016430108677]]

** Achilles can be prideful, cruel and callous of other people but he is only that way because he has been manipulated by everyone whose name isn't Patroclus for his entire life while living with a prophecy dangling over his head and ended the book a severe case of DeathSeeker because the man he loves died and unwittingly fulfill the prophecy.
** Thetis is vindictive and spiteful towards Patroclus while manipulative and obsessed with making Achilles immortal but genuinely loves her son and wants what best for him while standing helplessly when Achilles chose to die young for glory and became a DeathSeeker. Not to mention [[spoiler:her grandson Pyrrhus is killed, although that is because of her parenting method]].

* SignatureLine:
** “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.”
** “He is half of my soul, as the poets say.”

** Lycomedes got repaid for his kindness by watching his daughter suffer and not being able to do anything about it because he's being threatened by a goddess.
** JerkassWoobie: Achilles and Thetis. The former can be prideful, cruel and callous of other people but he is only that way because he has been manipulated by everyone whose name isn't Patroclus for his entire life while living with a prophecy dangling over his head and ended the book a severe case of DeathSeeker because the man he loves died and unwittingly fulfill the prophecy. The latter is vindictive and spiteful towards Patroclus while manipulative and obsess with making Achilles immortal but genuinely loves her son and wants what best for him while standing helplessly when Achilles chose to die young for glory and became a DeathSeeker. Not to mention [[spoiler:her grandson Pyrrhus is killed, although that is because of her parenting method]].
*** Deidameia also qualifies; she's spiteful to Patroclus, but did genuinely fall for Achilles. In [[NoWomansLand Ancient Greek society]] she is left deflowered, dishonoured, unmarried, pregnant with the child of a man she loved but who had no feelings whatsoever for her. Then she finds out that the child will be taken from her by Thetis, and if she ever found out at all what became of him afterwards, she would know he grows up to be such a monster that he deserves the UndignifiedDeath he gets while still young.

** With the 2020 {{Roguelike}} ActionRPG game ''VideoGame/{{Hades}}'', which includes Achilles and Patroclus as inhabitants of the underworld -- and are portrayed in an explicitly romantic manner. You'll see plenty of Patrochilles fan-content for the game containing captions or comments relating to the book, with people recommending the book to anyone wanting more Patrochilles content (Greg Kasavin, the director and writer of ''Hades'', has even listed the book as one of his recommendations for modern literature on Greek mythology). Since the book came out in 2011, fans of the book have welcomed this sudden influx of Patrochilles fan-content thanks to the game, and are appreciative of the inclusion of their romance. On top of all that, one thing the player can do in the game is reunite Achilles and Patroclus in Elysium, and the finale of the book involves them doing exactly that. Because the characters in the game have long passed away, the book is often treated as "additional backstory" for Achilles and Patroclus, especially since neither story contradicts each other by very much.

* MemeticMutation: At least in the meager fandom. The "I could recognize him by touch alone" monologue is posted on just about every aesthetic post, every blog, just about anything related to The Song of Achilles. It's even added as a quote below the book cover on the main page, on Wiki/ThisVeryWiki.

* FriendlyFandoms: With the 2020 {{Roguelike}} ActionRPG game ''VideoGame/{{Hades}}'', which includes Achilles and Patroclus as inhabitants of the underworld -- and are portrayed in an explicitly romantic manner. You'll see plenty of Patrochilles fan-content for the game containing captions or comments relating to the book, with people recommending the book to anyone wanting more Patrochilles content (Greg Kasavin, the director and writer of ''Hades'', has even listed the book as one of his recommendations for modern literature on Greek mythology). Since the book came out in 2011, fans of the book have welcomed this sudden influx of Patrochilles fan-content thanks to the game, and are appreciative of the inclusion of their romance. On top of all that, one thing the player can do in the game is reunite Achilles and Patroclus in Elysium, and the finale of the book involves them doing exactly that. Because the characters in the game have long passed away, the book is often treated as "additional backstory" for Achilles and Patroclus, especially since neither story contradicts each other by very much.

** Patroclus' character design in the game is also dark-skinned and dark-haired, which works well with the above Fanon of the book.

** Exactly how must of a {{Jerkass}} Deidameia is isn't entirely clear. Given that the book is from Patroclus' perspective, and Achilles is less than forthcoming about the situation, we never learn the details of her sexual encounter with Achilles, including whether or not she was aware that he didn't want it to happen.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Though the novel is well received, the most common criticism that some ''Iliad'' fanboys have is the fact that the novel contrasts Patroclus's gentle side [[BroodingBoyGentleGirl with Achilles's descent into a callous warrior]], which was only implied in the epic. This, and the fact Achilles and Patroclus are explicitly lovers also garners "criticism" of their gay relationship and emotional vulnerability. They think their Greek idols were turned into "sissies".

* FriendlyFandoms: With the 2020 {{Roguelike}} ActionRPG game ''VideoGame/{{Hades}}'', which includes Achilles and Patroclus as inhabitants of the underworld -- and are portrayed in an explicitly romantic manner. You'll see plenty of Patrochilles fan-content for the game containing captions or comments relating to the book, with people recommending the book to anyone wanting more Patrochilles content. It's also noted that the book came out in 2011, so fans of the book have welcomed this sudden influx of Patrochilles fan-content thanks to the game, and are appreciative of the inclusion of their romance. On top of all that, one thing the player can do in the game is reunite Achilles and Patroclus in Elysium, and the finale of the book involves them doing exactly that. Because the characters in the game have long passed away it can even be said that the book is treated as "additional backstory" for Achilles and Patroclus, especially since neither stories contradict each other by very much.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Though the novel is well received, the most common criticism that some ''Iliad'' fans have is the fact that the novel focuses heavily on Patroclus's gentle side, which was only implied in the epic. The interpretation of his relationship with Achilles being romantic instead of the usual HeterosexualLifePartners interpretation, as well as the aforementioned focus on Patroclus' gentleness [[BroodingBoyGentleGirl contrasting with Achilles' transformation into a callous warrior]], also garners accusations of the former being feminized. There are people who prefer the change, as they see it giving Patroclus depth without being hyper masculine like other Greek heroes.

** Patroclus has a father who made clear that he is a disappointment, a mentally ill mother, a goddess who hates his guts for being mortal and watches the man he loves becoming hardened with war and bloodshed. Even in death, he didn't even get to reunite with Achilles because of Pyrrhus [[spoiler:until Thetis has a change of heart]].

*** Deidameia also qualifies; she's spiteful to Patroclus, but did genuinely fall for Achilles. She is left deflowered, dishonoured, unmarried, pregnant with the child of a man she loved but who had no feelings whatsoever for her, and then she finds out that the child will be taken from her by Thetis, and if she ever found out at all what became of him afterwards, she would know he grows up to be such a monster that he deserves the UndignifiedDeath he gets while still young.

* NightmareFuel: Achilles coming back after his first raid. Little more than a dozen pages ago he was wracked with survivor's guilt, from just witnessing a death. But then, he was so ''calm'' over the fact that he ''killed twelve people''. Patroclus himself is quite bothered over this, so Achilles has to make flimsy excuses for murder: "They were armed, I would not kill an unarmed man"... [[AntiHero which isn't exactly what what you'd like to see in your]] [[IdealHero usual hero.]]`

* Exactly how must of a {{Jerkass}} Deidameia is isn't entirely clear. Given that the book is from Patroclus' perspective, and Achilles is less than forthcoming about the situation, we never learn the details of her sexual encounter with Achilles, including whether or not she was aware that he didn't want it to happen.