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
In the private room, Achilles is annoyed by Odysseus’s trickery. Odysseus responds that it wasn’t mere jesting, though: he and Diomedes want him to come to Troy. If he doesn’t, Diomedes threatens they’ll tell everyone about Achilles’s disguise. Wearing a dress by necessity is one thing, he says, but it’s another for everyone to know about it. Odysseus dismisses Diomedes’s threat—saying, it won’t come to that. He then continues, saying that this war will be the most important war in Greek history, even though all Achilles sees is a “cuckolded husband.” Diomedes insists that there’s nothing more honorable than fighting for Greece’s most beautiful woman against the strongest Eastern city. Patroclus interjects, reminding Odysseus that he said the war would be quick. Odysseus shrugs, admitting he lied.
Achilles annoyance at being tricked again highlights his assumption that because he doesn’t lie, other people won’t, either. Throughout this conversation, Diomedes spouts typical Greek idea about honor, threatening Achilles’s reputation over having worn a dress and then focusing on the honor of defending a beautiful woman. But Odysseus is different. He dismisses Diomedes threats, and seems to recognize that though the cause of this war may be slight—a “cuckolded husband”—it’s political impact will be immense. Yet the ease with which Odysseus admits that he lied about the war being easy indicates that he’s not a man to be trusted. He’ll say anything to control events and get what he wants.
Themes
Odysseus tells Achilles that the gods shared a prophecy with him. Suddenly fearful, Patroclus realizes that he should’ve seen this coming, as the wily Odysseus would never rely on blackmail alone. Odysseus tells Achilles that if he doesn’t come to Troy, his strength will diminish, and he’ll end up like the old Lycomedes, whose kingdom will obviously be taken soon. That kind of dishonor—being forgotten—is the worst fate for a Greek. If Achilles does go to Troy, he’ll be famous, even legendary. But Odysseus can’t finish his pitch, because Thetis suddenly breaks down the door, furious and terrifying.
Now it’s clear that Odysseus never planned to use the same weak arguments or attempts to shame Achilles’s honor to persuade Achilles to go to war. Instead, Odysseus puts himself in the role of trying to protect Achilles’s legacy, making himself seem like friend while also implicitly forcing Achilles to face the fact that his “destiny” isn’t as set in stone as he always believed. He can’t just choose when to fight.
Themes
Thetis tries to hit Odysseus, fists clenched, but finds she can’t. Odysseus, almost apologetic, tells her he’s a favorite with the goddess Athena who values cleverness, and that Athena approves of his presence in Scyros. Thetis says, tersely, that Athena doesn’t have a child to lose. She reveals that Odysseus has only told part of the prophecy; if Achilles goes to Troy, he will be famous, but he’ll also die there. A fearful Achilles asks what he should do. Thetis, betraying a slight tremor, says he shouldn’t ask her to choose.
Odysseus has his own connection to the gods, which make Thetis powerless against him. Odysseus never got the chance to finish what he was saying, so it’s possible he was going to tell Achilles the full prophecy. But given his willingness to lie it seems more likely that he was going to keep Achilles in the dark about his prophesized death in order to manipulate Achilles into doing what he wants. This scene proves how much Thetis loves her son; in trying to hide him on Scyros she was choosing to keep him alive above helping him to achieve greatness. Achilles, meanwhile, finds himself having to weigh that old conundrum: whether it’s better to burn out, or to fade away.
Themes
Achilles and Patroclus leave the room in a daze. A thousand times, Patroclus almost begs Achilles not to go to the war, but he doesn’t. Finally, Achilles says that he couldn’t bear it; Patroclus knows Achilles is talking about the dishonorable future, not about his death. After all, who is he without his strength and fame? Patroclus says that he wouldn’t care if Achilles amounted to nothing, but it isn’t enough. Achilles says he’ll go to Troy, and he asks if Patroclus will come with him. Maybe in another life, Patroclus could’ve refused and made him die alone. Not this one, though. He says yes, internally devastated. Achilles is relieved.
Patroclus and Achilles in this scene are forced to balance questions of selfhood, love, responsibility, and honor. Out of love, Patroclus wants Achilles to live and not fight. Yet Patroclus knows that, if Achilles refused to go to war, the powerful, impervious Achilles he loves would cease to be. Achilles, meanwhile, knows that in going to war he bears responsibility for bringing Patroclus with him. But his love for Patroclus makes him unable to leave Patroclus behind. In the end, Achilles, like all the other Greek men, has his selfhood tied up in his honor, which means he can’t escape war or violence even if it will cost his life.
Themes
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At dawn, Achilles goes to tell Thetis what he’s decided. Left alone in their room, Patroclus imagines that their bed is a tomb, and he knows that this is what life will be like without Achilles. He leaves the palace, trying not to think at all, and climbs up the dangerous rocks that hang over the sea, which cut his hands and feet. The pain is a welcome distraction. Suddenly inspired, he screams Thetis’s name. He looks up and sees her. She tells him to get down, as Patroclus’s death won’t save Achilles.
The image of their bed as a tomb captures the way that the novel intertwines love and violence. What’s interesting, is that the bed will be a tomb either way: if Achilles stays to preserve their love for longer, he will cease to be himself. If they go to war, Achilles will, eventually, physically die. After realizing this, Patroclus’s impulse is to hurt himself, as if he can somehow escape this predicament through his own pain or death. That Thetis actively seeks to stop Patroclus from harming himself attests to her devotion to Achilles—she doesn’t like Patroclus, but she knows Achilles does.
Themes
Patroclus asks how much longer Achilles has. Thetis laughs cruelly, asking if he’ll try to stop Achilles’s death. Patroclus says he will, if he can. He kneels, and she stops laughing, maybe because of the submission. She says that Hector’s death will come before Achilles, but that’s all she knows. He thanks her, which irritates her; she came to speak with him for a different reason. Achilles thinks glory will be easy, but he’s naive. The gods have promised fame, but haven’t said how much, and the commanders won’t just hand him power. She’ll do what she can to help, and Patroclus must not “disgrace him.” Patroclus asks if Hector is a skilled soldier, and she says there’s no one better, except for Achilles.
Now that Achilles has made his choice, Thetis has made hers: she wants to ensure that Achilles will achieve as much honor and glory as possible, and she wants to ensure that Achilles has much control over the level of fame he achieves as possible. She knows that to gain true power Achilles will need more than battle skill; he’ll need political skill—like Odysseus—to carve out power from the other kings. Her warning that Patroclus shouldn’t “disgrace” Achilles is a reference to their relationship, and to the fact that honor in this society has nothing to do with love or kindness and everything to do with glory, warfare, and masculinity. Hector, it’s helpful to know, is a Trojan prince.
Themes
After Thetis is gone, Achilles finds Patroclus on the rocks. While Achilles cleans Patroclus’s wounds, Patroclus explains his conversation with Thetis, and develops a plan to keep Achilles alive: Achilles shouldn’t kill Hector, since as Thetis describes Hector’s skill only Achilles can, and Hector has to die before Achilles will. Achilles asks if Patroclus is trying to “steal time” from the Fates. Patroclus says that he is, which amuses Achilles; he loves defying rules. He agrees—after all, he says, what has Hector done to him?
Achilles in this scene is a healer; but he will soon head to war. Meanwhile, Patroclus has developed an almost lawyerly plan, built on logic, to try to hold off Fate. Achilles, secure in his own greatness, enjoys this sort of defiance. But this whole scene has an air of overconfidence and foreshadowing, in which the things the boys are saying are going to play out, fatefully, in a way that will turn their expectations on their heads.
Themes
Achilles and Patroclus leave Scyros that afternoon, planning to sail to Phthia with Odysseus and Diomedes. Lycomedes comes to say goodbye. There’s only one thing left to do, though Achilles is reluctant to do it. He tells Lycomedes that when his child is born, it will be a boy. He then says that Thetis will come to claim the child after Deidameia weans him. Lycomedes closes his eyes, and Patroclus knows that he’s thinking about everything his daughter has already lost. He tells Achilles that he wishes he’d never come.
Sure enough, Thetis had a plan for Achilles’s son after all: to care for it herself. Achilles likely knew about it the whole time, which explains why he hesitated when Lycomedes asked that Deidameia’s child bear Achilles’s name. This is one final humiliation for Deidameia, who has now lost pretty much everything, including a child she was manipulated into having. Lycomedes’s passivity and weakness has caused Deidameia pain and dishonor, since he wasn’t around to prevent her marriage to Achilles. Paradoxically, Deidameia would have ended up with more power if her father had taken some of that power away from her early on, because she wouldn’t have been vulnerable to Thetis’s manipulation.
Themes
After boarding Odysseus’s ship, Patroclus notices its prow piece, sculpted like a woman. Odysseus says that it’s a tribute to his wife, Penelope. Patroclus thinks that theirs must be a marriage built on love, something enormously rare. It almost makes Patroclus like Odysseus, but he still can’t trust him. Diomedes scorns the prow piece, and Achilles is amused by the Odysseus and Diomedes rough dynamic. Earlier, Patroclus thought Diomedes was Odysseus’s sidekick; now he sees that their sparring is a game between equals, and he remembers that Diomedes is a favorite of Athena’s, too. The two men share war stories with Achilles, who seems to have forgotten the trick they played on him. Once again, Patroclus thinks that Achilles is too trusting.
Readers familiar with The Odyssey will know that Odysseys and Penelope do love each other. So far in the novel, there hasn’t been another example of a happily-married couple. Patroclus can now see that the dynamic between Odysseus and Diomedes is a game between two highly intelligent men, which makes them extra dangerous—they’re both obviously expert manipulators, and they’ve already made Achilles trust them again. Power, as portrayed in the novel, is not just about physical strength.
Themes
The ship docks and they make camp. Odysseus hopes that one tent is enough, since he’s heard that Achilles and Patroclus share rooms and beds. He tells them there’s no need for shame, as this is common among boys—although they’re no longer boys. Patroclus says that it’s not true, but Odysseus says it doesn’t matter: “truth” is whatever people believe, and they believe that Patroclus and Achilles are sleeping together. If that concerns them, they should leave that behavior behind before the war begins. Achilles angrily tells Odysseus that it’s none of his business, and Odysseus apologizes and leaves.
This passage confirms that same-sex relationships between adult men aren’t necessarily accepted in Greece, which means that Patroclus could negatively impact Achilles’s reputation. Odysseus’s motivation for bringing this up is ambiguous. He might be trying to rattle Achilles, he might just be cruel, or he might be giving Achilles and Patroclus a warning. His comment about the relative nature of “truth” demonstrates his crafty worldview and understanding of how to manipulate the world for one’s own benefit.
Themes
Inside the tent, Achilles and Patroclus are quiet. Thetis had told Patroclus not to disgrace Achilles; this is partly what she was talking about. Patroclus says that maybe Odysseus is right—he could sleep outside. Achilles refuses. The Phthians won’t care, and everyone else can spread whatever rumors they want. At the end of the day, he’ll still be Aristos Achaion, the “best of the Greeks.” Patroclus says their relationship could hurt Achilles’s honor, but Achilles doesn’t care. He’s given the Greeks enough, and won’t give his relationship up for their benefit.
Achilles chose to go to war and certain death to preserve his honor. But he refuses to hide his relationship with Patroclus to ensure he won’t be disgraced. He seems to see the hiding from war as something that is meaningful and related to the gods and fate, while the judgment rendered by other men to be unimportant, more a matter of reputation than actual honor. Unlike Odysseus, Achilles is unwilling to play politics.
Themes
The next day, Achilles greets Odysseus coldly, though Odysseus doesn’t comment on the change in attitude. When Achilles asks who the players in the war will be, Odysseus explains that Menelaus will be there. He’s well-liked, and many kings have come just for him, not bound by an oath. Those kings include people like Ajax and the very old Nestor. On the Trojan side, there’s King Priam, who supposedly has fifty sons and daughters and is pious. His sons include the beautiful Paris, beloved by the goddess Aphrodite.
That Odysseus’s comment about Achilles’s relationship with Patroclus is the thing that makes Achilles stop trusting him—as opposed to the blackmail or trickery on Scyros—demonstrates just how important Patroclus is to Achilles. This passage lays out the major characters who will play a role in the war.
Themes
Achilles asks about Hector, and Odysseus says that he’s Priam’s eldest son, a favorite of Apollo. He then adds that Achilles will meet him first, so he’ll then be able to tell Odysseus more about him. Achilles asks why he’ll meet Hector first, and Odysseus admits that he’s not a skilled soldier, so he’ll never fight Hector face-to-face. Achilles, on the other hand, will gain the most glory if he kills him. This proclamation chills Patroclus. Achilles, for his part, coldly responds that even if that’s the case, Hector has done nothing to him. Odysseus laughs, and remarks that if every soldier only killed people who had offended them, there would be no wars. In such a world, Odysseus himself might be Aristos Achaion.
The fact that killing Hector will bring Achilles the most honor again highlights the tension Achilles faces in this war: between gaining the most glory and facing his own death, since he is doomed to die after Hector does. Meanwhile, Achilles idea of war is noble but simplistic—that the fighting is based on righting wrongs. Odysseus knows better: that war is a means to an end, and that right and wrong, or even what soldiers think, matters little. It also makes clear that Achilles is going to do a lot of violence to a lot of people with whom he has no personal quarrel.
Themes
Achilles asks about Agamemnon, and Odysseus says that Agamemnon’s grandfather, Tantalus, was Zeus’s son. They’ve heard the story: Tantalus was thrown to a pit in the underworld, plagued by hunger and thirst with food and drink out of reach. When he was alive, Tantalus was greedy and proud; he wanted to prove that he could outsmart the gods. He killed his son and carved up the body, inviting Zeus to a feast. When he arrived, Zeus realized Tantalus’s crime and sent him to the underworld. He then brought the son back to life, who became a solid king, though some say their line was forever cursed. Now, however, the family fortune is changing, thanks to Agamemnon’s skill in battle and firm leadership.
The moral of the Tantalus story seems to be that humans can’t outsmart the gods and that pride is a dangerous fault to have. Both of these lessons are relevant to Achilles and Patroclus, who seem to think that together they can find a way around Achilles’s fate. This passage also introduces Agamemnon, who is depicted as a powerful military and political leader, but from a line of kings known for their arrogance.
Themes
Achilles is tense at the mention of Agamemnon’s leadership, noting that all the kings are generals. Odysseus argues that if left to their own devices, the kings would kill each other; someone has to use each general to his best abilities. Achilles says that he’ll fight for himself, taking Agamemnon’s counsel but not following his orders. Odysseus is amused, and he assures Achilles that Agamemnon will honor him. That’s not what Achilles meant, but it’s close enough.
Achilles sees himself—and all other kings—as individuals, subject only to themselves. He thinks of the kings as a group of free agents who have willingly joined together as a team of equals to fight. The more worldly Odysseus again makes clear that, in fact, for an army to work there must be politics, and someone must lead in order to ensure that the army functions seamlessly. This is exactly what Chiron was warning Achilles about: men will want to use Achilles, and Achilles should think about what that means. Achilles is acting as though he still has agency, which is both true and false, given his inevitable destiny. His humanity and desire to be his own person just makes that destiny more complicated.
Themes
That night in their tent, Patroclus and Achilles talk about the men they’ve met and will meet; they don’t like or trust them. Outside, a storm begins. Achilles traces Patroclus’s body. Later, Patroclus can hear the storm and smell Achilles. He thinks that this is what he’ll miss most and that he’d rather die than miss a second. He wonders, too, how much longer they have.
Achilles has learned to distrust people—a loss of innocence but an increase in wisdom. Once again, Patroclus notices Achilles’s physicality, but this time, he introduces violence to his love for Achilles by saying he’d rather die than miss the time he has left with Achilles. There’s no such thing as uncomplicated love anymore, because they’re on borrowed time and because Achilles’s fate is inevitable and bloody. Patroclus used to ignore Achilles’s capacity for violence, but now he seems to recognize that love and violence in this society can’t be separated.
Themes
