Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. Achilles fundamentally misunderstands honor, confusing it for pride, but Patroclus’s love saves him from inhumanity.The Song of Achilles Madeline Miller € 14.99 This item arrived at both our stores within the past 8 weeks If ordered before 12:00h, this title will be in our store within 24 hours. His son, Pyrrhus, is raised by Thetis away from humans, and he’s monstrous in comparison to his father-largely because he’s unable to love. Despite Achilles’s cruelties, his love for Patroclus is his one redeeming quality. Achilles was always prophesized to die after Hector, and indeed, he’s shot by Paris soon after he takes his revenge.

His pride leads to the deaths of thousands, including (indirectly) Patroclus, who wears Achilles’s armor into battle to save his reputation and is killed by the Trojan prince Hector. Patroclus foils this plan, but Achilles remains set on revenge, refusing to fight for the Greeks unless Agamemnon apologizes. He also proves himself stubborn and occasionally cruel: after the Greek commander, Agamemnon, insults him, Achilles allows Agamemnon to assault Briseis, believing he’d then have a reason to kill him. In Troy, he transforms into a cold-blooded warrior who’s highly skilled with spears. Achilles chooses to fight anyway, demonstrating that he values his honor and legacy above life itself. He can fight in Troy and become famous or stay in Greece and be forgotten-however, if he goes to Troy, he’s certain to die there. Eventually, Achilles learns his mother’s reasoning for sending him away: the gods have prophesized two possible futures for him. Thetis initially tries to keep Achilles and Patroclus apart and keep her son away from the fighting, sending him to Scyros and forcing him to have a baby with Deidameia in hopes of making her son a god.

Achilles and Patroclus, a foster child in Achilles’s kingdom, fall in love as teenagers, eventually training together on Mount Pelion before the Trojan War begins.

As a teenager, when Achilles meets and falls in love with Patroclus, he’s honest, kind, and has great skill with a lyre. His battle skills are in his blood: his mother, the goddess Thetis, was raped by his father, Peleus, making Achilles half human and half god. According to prophecy, he is prophesized to attain fame during the Trojan War. Achilles is the prince of Phthia, Patroclus’s lover, and the best fighter in Greece.

Achilles the song of achilles