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A review by canisand
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
5.0
Love and grief both persist throughout the story; neither beats the other.
Achilles loved Patroclus, and he grieved for the hero he could become if he was not pinned down by love. He wanted eternal glory, he wanted fame and honour, more than any other man had been given before him. He wanted to be praised and sung about, he wanted verses written about his heroics instead of the topics of usual poetry: love. His need for fame overcame his need for Patroclus, and he only rid himself of his arrogance once it was too late.
Patroclus loved Achilles, and he grieved for the hero he knew Achilles needed to be. He never wanted Achilles to go too far, to lose himself in the spoils of war. His love for Achilles stopped him from saying anything until Achilles had made the mistake that would end the war.
Eternal glory was not worth the price that Achilles paid, for he lost Patroclus, “whom he loved as his own life.” He should have seen the fates intertwining themselves, as the reader could see all throughout the story. The reader’s perspective is clear, we are not blinded by love or arrogance. We can see from the very beginning (story of Meleager) that Achilles would go too far, and we could see soon after that Patroclus would be his ultimate sacrifice. Achilles saw the change in Patroclus (after Patroclus asked something of him like never before) and he kept his stance anyway — not using his true power to save the Greeks. He was lost in what he thought was dishonour and he missed the real chance to secure his glory. He was blinded by his own arrogance, his own lust for eternal glory and perhaps immortality. He took everything, destroying Trojans and Greeks alike without seeing any consequence that would reach him: because he always saw himself as beyond them. His arrogance only brightened after Patroclus was dead, for he was not only testing his own fate, but Patroclus’ and every single soldier’s. Patroclus’ soul could not move on without a burial and Achilles prevented it in his own grief, keeping Patroclus’ corpse to himself. He was no longer preventing his own soul from peace, but Patroclus’ as well.
Odysseus said that he “had never met a god who enjoyed their divinity less,” which truly shows how distraught Achilles was after he came to realise himself again. None of the gods ever wished for a longer span of time; none of them wanted their immortality to last, but according to one of the cleverest men in Greece, Achilles was the divine being that despised his immortality the most. Here is an excerpt from page 54/5: “Her desire was ambitious. It was a difficult thing, to make even a half-god immortal. True, it had happened before, to Heracles and Orpheus and Orion. They sat in the sky now, presiding as constellations, feasting with the gods on ambrosia. But these men had been the sons of Zeus, their sinews strong with the purest ichor that flowed. Thetis was a lesser of the lesser gods, a sea-nymph only. In our stories these divinities had to work by wheedling and flattery, by favours won from stronger gods. They could not do much themselves. Except live, forever.”
Achilles loved Patroclus, and he grieved for the hero he could become if he was not pinned down by love. He wanted eternal glory, he wanted fame and honour, more than any other man had been given before him. He wanted to be praised and sung about, he wanted verses written about his heroics instead of the topics of usual poetry: love. His need for fame overcame his need for Patroclus, and he only rid himself of his arrogance once it was too late.
Patroclus loved Achilles, and he grieved for the hero he knew Achilles needed to be. He never wanted Achilles to go too far, to lose himself in the spoils of war. His love for Achilles stopped him from saying anything until Achilles had made the mistake that would end the war.
Eternal glory was not worth the price that Achilles paid, for he lost Patroclus, “whom he loved as his own life.” He should have seen the fates intertwining themselves, as the reader could see all throughout the story. The reader’s perspective is clear, we are not blinded by love or arrogance. We can see from the very beginning (story of Meleager) that Achilles would go too far, and we could see soon after that Patroclus would be his ultimate sacrifice. Achilles saw the change in Patroclus (after Patroclus asked something of him like never before) and he kept his stance anyway — not using his true power to save the Greeks. He was lost in what he thought was dishonour and he missed the real chance to secure his glory. He was blinded by his own arrogance, his own lust for eternal glory and perhaps immortality. He took everything, destroying Trojans and Greeks alike without seeing any consequence that would reach him: because he always saw himself as beyond them. His arrogance only brightened after Patroclus was dead, for he was not only testing his own fate, but Patroclus’ and every single soldier’s. Patroclus’ soul could not move on without a burial and Achilles prevented it in his own grief, keeping Patroclus’ corpse to himself. He was no longer preventing his own soul from peace, but Patroclus’ as well.
Odysseus said that he “had never met a god who enjoyed their divinity less,” which truly shows how distraught Achilles was after he came to realise himself again. None of the gods ever wished for a longer span of time; none of them wanted their immortality to last, but according to one of the cleverest men in Greece, Achilles was the divine being that despised his immortality the most. Here is an excerpt from page 54/5: “Her desire was ambitious. It was a difficult thing, to make even a half-god immortal. True, it had happened before, to Heracles and Orpheus and Orion. They sat in the sky now, presiding as constellations, feasting with the gods on ambrosia. But these men had been the sons of Zeus, their sinews strong with the purest ichor that flowed. Thetis was a lesser of the lesser gods, a sea-nymph only. In our stories these divinities had to work by wheedling and flattery, by favours won from stronger gods. They could not do much themselves. Except live, forever.”