Summary
The Song of Achilles opens with a description of the narrator's father, King Menoitius, from the first-person perspective of Patroclus, the novel’s protagonist. Patroclus was born a disappointment to his father—small, weak, not a fighter or a singer, but healthy. When Patroclus is five years old, his father hosts games for all Greeks, and Patroclus catches sight of Achilles, prince of Phthia, for the first time: younger and shorter than the other boys, with hair like honey, his face as serious as a man’s, Achilles easily beats the older boys in a footrace. Menoitius observes to him that that is what a son should be. The only other memory Patroclus has of his childhood is one he feels he might have imagined: Throwing stones on the Aegean Sea for his mother, observing the scar on her temple from where her father attacked her as a child, leaving her “simple.”
Four years later, Patroclus is summoned to his father. King Tyndareus’s daughter is ready for marriage—Helen, the daughter of Leda’s rumored union with Zeus, the king of the gods, disguised as a swan. Menoitius informs Patroclus that he will present himself as a suitor. Patroclus finds this news and the journey to Tyndareus’s citadel incomprehensible. A huge collection of kings and sons of kings introduce themselves one by one—those present include Philoctetes, Menelaus, Ajax, and Odysseus (observing, not as a suitor). To prevent war among the Greeks, Odysseus recommends that Helen chooses her own husband. All men present—including Patroclus and Odysseus—take an oath to uphold Helen’s choice, as well as defend her husband against all who would take Helen from him. Helen chooses Menelaus; Patroclus’s father will never mention this trip to Patroclus again, and the memories become twisted, like a strange dream.
A local nobleman’s son, Clysonymus, tries to take a pair of dice from Patroclus. Patroclus shoves Clysonymus a bit too hard, and Clysonymus hits a rock and dies. His family demands Patroclus’s immediate exile or death, so King Menoitius pays Patroclus’s weight in gold (much cheaper than a funeral) for Patroclus to be raised in another man’s kingdom. This is how Patroclus, age 10, comes to Phthia with no parents, no family name, and no inheritance. His mother’s lyre is included in the treasures sent to pay for his keep.
Every Greek knows the story of King Peleus and Thetis: Peleus is a favorite of the gods, and they grant him a sea-nymph for a wife; however, like all gods’ gifts, there is a catch—Thetis is unwilling. Peleus, with the gods’ blessing, rapes her. Thetis gives birth to their demigod son, Achilles, and returns to the sea.
Peleus is gone, so when Patroclus arrives in Phthia, he officially meets Achilles—he has aged well, prettier than a girl, an expert on the lyre—and is given a pallet among Peleus’ many other foster children. Patroclus has nightmares about the boy he killed, and he does not form a bond with any of the boys.
Over his first month in Phthia, Patroclus’s only moments of joy are during mealtimes, when he can observe Achilles with both awe and envy. After four weeks, Patroclus finds that his regular seat in the dining hall is occupied by Achilles; angry, he sits at the table regardless, and Achilles juggles some figs, tossing one to Patroclus and eating one himself. Patroclus enjoys the fig’s sweet flavor.
Peleus returns, and the other boys learn why Patroclus was exiled, whispering about him in public now. Patroclus becomes even more introverted, avoiding morning drills. Achilles hunts him down and offers to help Patroclus avoid punishment; Patroclus ends up attending lyre lessons with Achilles. Achilles plays on Patroclus’s mother’s lyre, not knowing Patroclus’s connection to it. Patroclus is moved by how well Achilles plays.
Achilles tells Peleus he wants Patroclus to be his therapon, a brother-in-arms sworn to a prince by blood oaths and love, explaining that he finds Patroclus “surprising.” Before he was born, Achilles was prophesied to be the best warrior of his generation; for this reason, he always trains alone, but he asks Patroclus to move his things into his room and sleep with him. Though Patroclus still has nightmares of Clysonymus, they are more manageable. Patroclus slowly acclimates to his new position as Achilles’ friend, juggling with him, sharing secrets (including his mother’s lyre), and even watching him train—alone, impossibly fast, and breathtaking. When Patroclus demands that Achilles fight him, Achilles refuses, and Patroclus tackles him. Achilles easily bests him, and Patroclus feels his envy and anger drain away: There truly is no one like Achilles.
Analysis
The opening chapters of The Song of Achilles provide an important setup for both the narrative and the romantic elements of the story to come. Patroclus depicts himself as an average boy—not attractive, not strong, not quick; perhaps even a little slow, like his mother—with Achilles as a foil to that. As he gets to know Achilles, though, the narration reveals Achilles’ simplicity. He tells the truth and doesn’t understand when others don’t. He has no guile in him. Patroclus struggles with his jealousy of Achilles, until he begins to understand that Achilles is simply unlike everyone else. No use comparing yourself to someone incomparable. Other men, particularly Agamemnon, struggle with this later; perhaps this lack of pride is one way that Patroclus is “the best of the Myrmidons.”
Another element introduced here that becomes pivotally important later is the prophecy surrounding Achilles (at the moment, we know only one: Achilles will be the greatest fighter of his generation). The weight of living with this prophecy has a huge impact on Achilles’ behavior. He remains distant from the other boys as he cultivates their admiration, which predicts how he will interact with the Greeks as leader of the Myrmidons. He chooses Patroclus as his therapon because he is “surprising”—he doesn’t need an especially strong or clever brother-in-arms; Achilles is enough on his own, and his therapon can be chosen in part for entertainment value. He trains alone, without even an instructor. As we learn other prophecies later (especially the one about his death coming after Hector’s), we understand that Achilles has lived his entire life with prophecies—the weight that Patroclus finds so hard to bear is something Achilles has been living with since before he was born.
While the boys are different, the way they are raised has certain parallels, particularly in their parents. King Menoitius didn’t know that his wife was “simple” and is disappointed in how Patroclus doesn’t take after him more. Thetis resents being raped by Peleus, and she is disappointed in Achilles’ mortal nature. In some ways, Patroclus being exiled and disowned at the beginning of the story is a small echo of Achilles’ final fallout with Thetis: Someone tries to take something from Patroclus (dice), and his behavior afterward destroys his relationship with his father; Hector takes something from Achilles (Patroclus), and his behavior afterward destroys his relationship with Thetis. While Thetis eventually overcomes her disappointment in her son’s mortality, he is still “exiled” to the underworld, where she can never see him again.
One of the most pivotal narrative points in these opening chapters is the gathering of Helen’s suitors. When Odysseus recommends the oath that binds all suitors (and himself) to protect Helen’s marriage bond, he doesn’t realize he is setting a 10-year war into motion. This oath binds Patroclus to the war, and it allows us to ask how much fate is at work here. Even without being exiled to Phthia, Patroclus would have sailed to Troy—would he have become the best of the Myrmidons another way? Even if things had gone differently, Patroclus and Achilles would have met at Troy; do their choices before then matter, if the prophecies and oaths that guide their behavior are put into motion so early?
It is worth noting that even from the beginning, Patroclus narrates the events of his life from a clear position of age and reminiscence. He is aware that he might have invented a memory of his mother, pointing out the things that make it false. He states that he “does not remember” certain moments. He has an advanced awareness of what will happen after the war. It’s likely that any reader who picks up the book would know that Achilles will die by the end, and possibly Patroclus as well. This narrative mode—not omniscient, but retrospective and more knowledgeable—uses the reader’s foreknowledge to create some mystery: From what point in time does Patroclus talk to us? And if he is dead, as we expect, how is he able to talk to us?
