“The Song of Achilles”, Madeline Miller
Published September 20, 2011
Achilles, "the best of all the Greeks," son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful, irresistible to all who meet him. Patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence. Brought together by chance, they forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods' wrath.
They are trained by the centaur Chiron in the arts of war and medicine, but when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, all the heroes of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the cruel Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice.
“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.”
Madeline Miller has this magical skill of writing such lush, lyrical prose that breathes life into the old Greek myth of Achilles and Patroclus. The emotional depth and slow burn connection between these two boys, building over time with a quiet intensity as they navigated life as soldiers-in-training. There are love stories, and then there’s this—a timeless (and tragic) soul-deep companionship.
Naturally, I was weeping by the end. Their tragedy isn’t a surprise, but with how I was seemingly blindsided by the conclusion of Eurydice and Orpheus’ story in Hadestown during the three times I watched the Broadway show, this book managed to catch me off guard, too. And it wasn’t because of Patroclus’ fate. It was in the way Achilles handled the heartbreak and loss, and how he persevered over this devastating event. For a story about gods and goddesses and heroes, Achilles’s grief was very human.
This book lingered in my chest long after I finished it, and although it’s been years since my last read, I still think about it.
Content Warnings
Note: This is not an exhaustive list of content and trigger warnings.
death • rape • war • grief
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