Patroclus's mother's lyre (Symbol)
In The Song of Achilles, Patroclus's exile to Phthia is paid for by his weight in gold, including a lyre that once belonged to his mother. This payment is given to Peleus and Achilles, and Achilles takes the lyre, not knowing its connection to Patroclus. As the boys grow closer, Patroclus begins to love the way Achilles plays the lyre, even carving a wooden statue of Achilles playing it. When Achilles learns that Patroclus cares so deeply for the lyre that he almost didn't follow him to Mount Pelion, Achilles is pleased: "Now I know how to make you follow me everywhere," he says. The lyre is a symbol for the home the young men create together, and it highlights the parts of Achilles that Patroclus loves, including his musicianship and sweetness. After word of the war reaches them, the men don't see the lyre again.
Figs (Symbol)
Figs are a symbol of the youthful love and ripeness of Achilles and Patroclus discovering each other. The boys juggle, eat, pick, and tend figs as they become first friends, and then lovers. On Achilles' birthday, the first time the boys have sex, Patroclus gives Achilles a bowl of figs for breakfast. These boyish indulgences are symbolic of the sexual love that develops between the young men, ripening into a love that transcends death.
Meleager and Cleopatra (Allegory)
Meleager was a beloved king who, when slighted, stopped protecting his people. When his wife, Cleopatra, begged him to return to war, he agreed, but he was too late. Instead of being grateful for victory, his people hated him for letting so many die, and they gave him no gifts or honor.
At two points in the novel, characters tell the story of Meleager and Cleopatra. When the boys are young, Peleus emphasizes whether Meleager was a good king, and he neglects to finish the story. When Achilles will not fight to save the Greeks even though the Trojans are at their gate, Phoinix uses the story as an allegory for Achilles' pride destroying his legacy. Patroclus interprets Phoinix's Cleopatra-heavy retelling as a message for him, asking Patroclus to personally beg Achilles to fight.
Dressing for battle (Motif)
The Iliad features lush descriptions of armor, weapons, and ships. The Song of Achilles is much sparser in its description of objects, but it does use donning armor as a motif, representative of intimacy. Before Achilles' first raid, he asks Patroclus to help him put the rest of his armor on, finishing with his helmet. Patroclus's first battle is prefaced by Achilles helping him put on his armor. And finally, before Patroclus's final battle, Achilles dresses him in his own armor, fitting his distinctive helmet over Patroclus's head.
After Patroclus dies, Thetis brings Achilles new armor (described for many lines in the Iliad, but summarized in one sentence here). Without Patroclus, he has to dress alone.
Tomb (Symbol)
When narrating his life, Patroclus describes rooms and spaces as being tomblike without Achilles. After his death, he is stuck as a spirit in a literal tomb until he is properly honored, after which he can be reunited with his love. Just as the tomb is large, gray, and cold, so is Patroclus's life without Achilles.
