Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Song of Achilles, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Honor, Pride, and Legacy
Fate, Belief, and Control
Gender, Power, and Agency
Love, Violence, and Redemption
Selfhood and Responsibility
Summary
Analysis
When Patroclus and Achilles arrive in Phthia, Peleus and Thetis are waiting for them. Still unnaturally pale, Thetis stands apart from Peleus and his guards who all lower their eyes, fearful of her. She welcomes Achilles home first—normally, this would be a father’s role, but Thetis is a goddess, so Peleus can only look on, annoyed. Thetis accompanies the group back to the palace, frightening the servants as she moves silently across the floors.
As a goddess, Thetis asserts a certain degree of power and authority over mortals. In some ways, Thetis’s power in conjunction with her notable inhuman uniqueness only serves to highlight how little power most women in this society ever hold. Thetis gets to greet her son first only because she is a goddess. Peleus’s annoyance indicates how much he dislikes his own power being disrupted by a woman, goddess or not.
Themes
In the dining hall, there are only three place settings on the raised dais: they’re for Achilles, Thetis, and Peleus. Achilles insists that another setting be added for Patroclus, annoying Thetis. Quietly, Achilles jokes to Patroclus that since Thetis already hates Patroclus, so it can’t do any harm. Achilles comments also that he hasn’t seen his parents in the same room since he was a child. Remembering Chiron’s comment, Patroclus thinks that the reason Achille’s parents are together now must be because of news of war. Achilles doesn’t understand why that would mean anything to him—war is common in Mycenae.
Achilles is so self-assured that he continues to play with fate, and think little of pitting Thetis against Patroclus. That Thetis and Peleus haven’t been in the same room for so long indicates again that their relationship was not consensual, and suggests that Thetis has come now only because she understands the importance of this moment relative to the primary person she does care about: Achilles. Achilles belief that any announcement of war has nothing to do with him again illustrates his sense that he can control his own fate.
Themes
Peleus finally announces the news to everyone in the hall: Menelaus’s wife, Queen Helen, was abducted from Sparta, something previously thought to be impossible—Menelaus had built layered rock around her palace and specifically trained his soldiers to defend it. Apparently, the Trojan prince Paris stole Helen from her room while she was asleep. Menelaus’s brother Agamemnon now asks for an army of Greeks to go to fight Troy—and states that Troy is wealthy and will be seized quickly. Patroclus thinks this is a good way to frame the announcement, since men have always killed for money and reputation.
Menelaus apparently treated Helen like property, “protecting” her by essentially locking her in a vault. Patroclus’s thought that it was surprising that Helen could be abducted, along with the facts of how Menelaus treated her, foreshadows that perhaps she wasn’t simply abducted. The way that Agamemnon’s call to war conflates punishing Troy for taking Helen with the promise of winning wealth and fame by crushing Troy further makes clear that women were just another kind of property, and at the way that Greek honor, wealth, and violence are so closely connected.
Themes
The Phthian army doesn’t have a leader yet, and Peleus won’t lead it himself. Patroclus panics, noticing Peleus’s gaze on Achilles and Thetis’s “distant” eyes. He realizes that Thetis knew this war was imminent and wants Achilles to go to Troy. He also realizes the full weight of Chiron’s warning—this war is what people think Achilles is born for, since they believe his talent is for murder alone. His bloody fate will be their triumph.
It's now clear why Achilles was brought back to Phthia: Peleus wants him to lead the Phthian army in the war. Patroclus’s panic indicates his recognition that Achilles fate is already in motion, when just a little while earlier he and Achilles had thought that they might be able to control their fate. Patroclus also realizes that Achilles fate is determined not just by gods, but by the expectations and desires of other people, which will push Achilles to do what they want for their own benefit.
Themes
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Peleus continues his announcement: Helen’s suitors once vowed to defend her, and Agamemnon and Menelaus now command them to fulfill their duty. Peleus reads the list of names, and Patroclus recognizes many, remembering his own presence among them years ago. The names include Odysseus, Ajax, and Menoitiades, which is Patroclus’s family name—one no one remembers, because Patroclus’s father hasn’t made much of himself. Achilles recognizes it, but he tells Patroclus not to say anything, since Patroclus hasn’t kept his family name. Patroclus nods, but he remains panicked; he’d almost thought the oath was a dream.
The oath turns out to be a “fate” somewhat similar to Achilles’s own god-given destiny. The men who swore the oath, thinking it would never come to pass, are now caught up in its snare, unable to escape. Achilles suggestion that Patroclus remain silent is another indication that, while Achilles won’t lie, he doesn’t mind bending the truth in other ways. His honesty is somewhat situational. In addition, it is another example of Achilles thinking that he can control events.
Themes
After dinner, Peleus asks to speak to Achilles alone. Patroclus joins them. Peleus says that he thinks Achilles could lead the army, since he’s spent much longer on Pelion than any hero, including Peleus himself. Achilles thinks the war sounds baseless, but Peleus disagrees. Menelaus is upset about Helen, but the message came from Agamemnon. Agamemnon has watched Troy become wealthy and wants to strike now. Because of this, there is honor to gain. Achilles dismisses this idea, saying that other wars will come later.
While Helen’s seeming abduction is part of the reason for this declaration of war, it is also a pretext for a war that Agamemnon wants to wage for power, glory, and wealth. “Love” is being used as a pretext for violence. Note how Peleus believes that because a war against Troy might lead to wealth it will lead to honor—rather than honor being connected to some ideal, for this Greek society it is a product of money. Achilles, for his part, seems to be waiting for an actually more noble war—which implies that he thinks that such an actually noble war could occur is possible. It’s not clear that he’s right.
Themes
Peleus notes that Patroclus has been summoned by oath, but Achilles argues that, in his exile, Patroclus is no longer bound. Quietly, Patroclus says that he doesn’t want to go, and Peleus agrees not to say anything. However, he warns Achilles that kings sent on Agamemnon’s behalf are coming to convince him and that he should listen to their pitch. Achilles agrees, though he doesn’t think they’ll succeed. Later, as Achilles and Patroclus lie in bed, Achilles says that if Patroclus has to go to Troy, he’ll go with him.
Achilles continues to try to control his own life, and at the same to take Chiron’s advice about choosing which war he’ll be willing to fight. His love for Patroclus is behind his effort to convince his father not to reveal that Patroclus is subject to the oath. At the same time, Achilles love for Patroclus means that Achilles will go to war if Patroclus has to.
Themes
