Were Achilles and Patroclus lovers? The ancient original source answers and debunks it.

Cover Photo: Achilles tending Patroclus wounded by an arrow, Attic red-figure kylix, c. 500 BC (Altes Museum, Berlin)

Text from Pavloskanenas.

Homer, in his epics, mentions many romantic moments. For example, Paris (also called Alexander) sleeps with Helen, Ares with Aphrodite, Zeus with Hera, and Odysseus with Circe, Calypso, and Penelope. The Iliad begins with the words “Mῆνιν ἄειδε, θεά, Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος”, which means “Sing, O goddess, the wrath of Achilles, son of Peleus.”

We understand from Homer’s very first line that the Iliad is an epic dedicated to Achilles’ “wrath” (mῆνις), which stems from the fact that Agamemnon took a woman, Briseis, away from him.

However, a topic of discussion often arises, particularly among historically inaccurate who claim that Achilles and Patroclus were lovers. This view is unscientific, baseless, and ahistorical. Let’s examine our sources together to see what is actually true.

Let’s start with who Patroclus was.

Patroclus was born in Opus in Locris, and his father was Menoetius. On his mother’s side, he was Thessalian, belonging to the family of Admetus, Acastus, or Peleus. When he was a child, he quarreled with a friend during play and accidentally struck him fatally. After this, his father sent him to Peleus in Phthia. Peleus kept him close to Achilles and raised him together with Achilles as if they were truly brothers. Achilles loved him like his own self, like a brother for whom he would give his life.

With Achilles, Patroclus learned not only the arts of war but also many secrets of nature that the wise Centaur Chiron (Kentauros) had taught Achilles. Patroclus learned how to remove arrows from wounded bodies, clean wounds, and apply the appropriate herbs to stop bleeding or ease pain. This skill would later help Patroclus save many lives during the Trojan War.

When Achilles was angry at Agamemnon and kept his forces out of battle, Patroclus, seeing the Trojans winning, asked Achilles for permission to lead the Thessalian army alongside the other Greeks who were fighting. Achilles agreed, and with his consent, Patroclus led the Myrmidons into battle, even wearing Achilles’ impenetrable armor. He fought his way through the Achaean naval station and the walls of Troy, killing Paeonian leaders and Sarpedon, the Lycian king, before reaching the gates of Troy. No one could stop him.

It is a mistake to depict him as a “weak child”. Certainly, he was less powerful than Achilles, his teacher and brother, but he was smart, brave, and strong. It took Apollo himself to intervene, striking him from behind and disarming him, allowing Hector to take his life. A fierce battle ensued around Patroclus’ body, with Ajax and Menelaus fighting fiercely to retrieve his body and bring it to Achilles.

Achilles’ lament for his friend Patroclus is described by Homer in an unparalleled way. Patroclus’ body was burned in a great fire, and his ashes were placed in a vessel given to Achilles, who kept it in his tent. Achilles even requested that, when he died, his ashes be mixed with Patroclus’ and that they be buried together side by side for eternity. The funeral games (ἆθλα ἐπὶ Πατρόκλῳ) ended with great prizes awarded, and at the end, Achilles declared Agamemnon the victor in the spear contest.

This is a summary of Patroclus’ story. Now, let’s focus more specifically on the sources.

Achilles had a son with Deidamia, named Neoptolemus, who was later called Pyrrhus when he became the king of the Molossians in Epirus. More on Neoptolemus will be discussed in a future post.

In the Iliad, Book 9, lines 660-670, we read:

“And deep inside the tent slept Peleus’ son, with him a woman taken from Lesbos, the daughter of Phorbas, the beautiful Diomede. And elsewhere slept Patroclus, with him the fair-girdled Iphis, given to him by Achilles from Scyros.”

Achilles sleeps with Diomede, the daughter of Phorbas, while Patroclus sleeps with Iphis, a woman given to him by Achilles from Scyros.

In Iliad Book 24, line 676, we read:

“And deep within his tent, the son of Peleus slept, with the daughter of Briseus by his side.”

In Iliad Book 19, lines 295-300, Briseis laments over Patroclus’ body, saying:

“You alone wouldn’t let me weep; you told me that you would make me the bride of Achilles, that you would take me to Phthia, where the Myrmidons dwell, so great is your kindness to me, and now I weep bitterly over you.”

Nowhere else does Homer mention other romantic relationships. In order to have accuracy, we must stick to the original sources and not to make assumptions according to everyone’s subjective perception

The friendship between Achilles and Patroclus was especially strong for another reason: Patroclus’ father, Menoetius, was the brother of Peleus, Achilles’ father, meaning they were first cousins. These two brothers also participated together in the Argonautic expedition.

In Iliad Book 19, lines 315-330, Achilles laments:

“Once, poor friend, you would quickly prepare my meal when the Achaeans were eager to wage war on the many-crying Trojans. But now you lie dead, and your loss leaves me unable to eat or drink. No greater misfortune could have come to me, not even hearing of the death of my father in Phthia or my son, Neoptolemus, raised in Scyros. My only hope was to die far from horse-rearing Argos and for you to return to Phthia, to bring my son from Scyros and show him my household and my high-roofed palace.”

Clearly, Achilles intended Patroclus to be the guardian of his son.

Friendship in Ancient Greece was a sacred institution protected by Philio (Φίλιο, friendly) Zeus. These two heroes were comrades, fellow soldiers, close friends, and relatives.

Any later work that suggests a sexual relationship between these two heroes is a product of mythmaking.

Sources:

Homer’s Iliad:

Book Λ (11), lines 758-848
Book Π (16), lines 1-867
Book Ρ (17), lines 1-139
Book Σ (18), lines 1-137
Book Τ (19)
Book Ψ (23), lines 1-897

Apollodorus, 3.176