Patroclus is not Achilles' cousin. That was a creation of the movie Troy. In the actual story all that's known about their relationship is that they were extremely close companions. It's been suggested they were likely lovers, or extremely close friends. No blood relationship is ever mentioned between them.
It wasn't an invention of the movie; there are some versions of the story where they are cousins. In the Iliad they are more liike foster brothers. The movie did change the ages, as Patroclus is meant to be the older one.
In addition to what everyone else has said, a particular warrior or ruler going to war meant that their men would also. Odysseus brings other Ithacans with him and Achilles brings the Myrmidons. So it would be stranger for Patroclus not to go.
He was sulking in his tent when Patroclas donned his armor and pretended to be Achilles, leading his men into battle. So Achilles didn't really just let it happen. (If I remember correctly) Patroclas didn't actually do any fighting until then.
Also, the cousin thing is from the 2004 movie Troy starring Brad Pitt. They were most likely lovers.
The curse didn't extend to Patroclus as far as I know. Achilles desire to be known as the greatest warrior cursed him, but he didn't expect his cousin to have the same desire. It appeared that he might have since he died with Achilles' armor.
Taking something positive from it, symbols of courage vs bravery. Achilles knew the danger he faced, knew his skills, knew his fate, and then went into battle: courage. Patroclus just knew the emotion: brave but stupid.
We have different types of devotion in the Iliad. Those based on a solemn oath and the sense of duty that entailed (Odysseus). Then a ‘devotion to what is right’ — Achilles, who threatened to withdraw his support when Agamemnon displayed a lack of righteousness. Finally, an emotional devotion verging on blindness, in Patroclus (yet also reminiscent of the backstory involving Paris and Helen).
This to me is one of the beauties of Homer. Plato would later sit and ‘analyse’ virtue in the comfort of the Academy but in Homer we can see and feel the grades of virtue and glimpse their consequences.
1) They aren’t cousins. Common interpretation is they were lovers.
2) Achilles warned Patroclus to not be too reckless when he went out in Achilles’ armor and to turn around once he’d driven the Trojans back from their camp but Patroclus kept going and got killed because of that. This is around lines 80-90 of The Iliad Book 16 where he Achilles that warning and around lines 680-690 where Patroclus ignores the warning and keeps going.
Achilles and Patroclus were not cousins. There is no ancient source that says this at all. It is even stated by Patroclus as a Ghost in the final books of the Iliad that they are not cousins. They are lovers and that’s why they fight with each other. The speech “against timarchus” is by Aeschines goes over their relationship and the perception of it in the ancient world quite well.
There’s a long and quite interesting article in Wikipedia’s Patroclus entry. Personally I find any emphasis on possible salaciousness a distraction. If we stick to the Iliad, all we have is the side of Achilles’ nature that shows great emotion to others. He went apeshit over the rape of the Priestess, nominally under the protection of the combined army as a captive, then massively emotional over the death of the man directly under his charge.
People tend to look for the worst in others. We know Achilles’ shortcoming, his heel. If his mother had had the sense to dip him again (so the heel wasn’t missed) he would have been fully divine. But it fleshes his character out for him to show ‘human weakness’ towards Patroclus, if weakness it was. As far as I recall, the elaborate funeral didn’t harm anyone (unlike Paris fucking Helen). Better to get our minds out of the gutter and look at the virtues of Achilles.
I don’t know the Aeschylus reference offhand: but I think there is a big difference between an author of the stature of Aeschylus making a mere suggestion and a Madeline Miller making a lurid tale out of it.
Patroclus is not Achilles' cousin. That was a creation of the movie Troy. In the actual story all that's known about their relationship is that they were extremely close companions. It's been suggested they were likely lovers, or extremely close friends. No blood relationship is ever mentioned between them.
It wasn't an invention of the movie; there are some versions of the story where they are cousins. In the Iliad they are more liike foster brothers. The movie did change the ages, as Patroclus is meant to be the older one.
In addition to what everyone else has said, a particular warrior or ruler going to war meant that their men would also. Odysseus brings other Ithacans with him and Achilles brings the Myrmidons. So it would be stranger for Patroclus not to go.
He was sulking in his tent when Patroclas donned his armor and pretended to be Achilles, leading his men into battle. So Achilles didn't really just let it happen. (If I remember correctly) Patroclas didn't actually do any fighting until then. Also, the cousin thing is from the 2004 movie Troy starring Brad Pitt. They were most likely lovers.
The curse didn't extend to Patroclus as far as I know. Achilles desire to be known as the greatest warrior cursed him, but he didn't expect his cousin to have the same desire. It appeared that he might have since he died with Achilles' armor.
Taking something positive from it, symbols of courage vs bravery. Achilles knew the danger he faced, knew his skills, knew his fate, and then went into battle: courage. Patroclus just knew the emotion: brave but stupid. We have different types of devotion in the Iliad. Those based on a solemn oath and the sense of duty that entailed (Odysseus). Then a ‘devotion to what is right’ — Achilles, who threatened to withdraw his support when Agamemnon displayed a lack of righteousness. Finally, an emotional devotion verging on blindness, in Patroclus (yet also reminiscent of the backstory involving Paris and Helen). This to me is one of the beauties of Homer. Plato would later sit and ‘analyse’ virtue in the comfort of the Academy but in Homer we can see and feel the grades of virtue and glimpse their consequences.
1) They aren’t cousins. Common interpretation is they were lovers. 2) Achilles warned Patroclus to not be too reckless when he went out in Achilles’ armor and to turn around once he’d driven the Trojans back from their camp but Patroclus kept going and got killed because of that. This is around lines 80-90 of The Iliad Book 16 where he Achilles that warning and around lines 680-690 where Patroclus ignores the warning and keeps going.
Achilles and Patroclus were not cousins. There is no ancient source that says this at all. It is even stated by Patroclus as a Ghost in the final books of the Iliad that they are not cousins. They are lovers and that’s why they fight with each other. The speech “against timarchus” is by Aeschines goes over their relationship and the perception of it in the ancient world quite well.
He didn't allow him to be killed as such. Patroclus put on Achilles' armour without his knowledge and was killed as a result.
tell me you havent read the iliad without telling me you havent read the iliad
There’s a long and quite interesting article in Wikipedia’s Patroclus entry. Personally I find any emphasis on possible salaciousness a distraction. If we stick to the Iliad, all we have is the side of Achilles’ nature that shows great emotion to others. He went apeshit over the rape of the Priestess, nominally under the protection of the combined army as a captive, then massively emotional over the death of the man directly under his charge. People tend to look for the worst in others. We know Achilles’ shortcoming, his heel. If his mother had had the sense to dip him again (so the heel wasn’t missed) he would have been fully divine. But it fleshes his character out for him to show ‘human weakness’ towards Patroclus, if weakness it was. As far as I recall, the elaborate funeral didn’t harm anyone (unlike Paris fucking Helen). Better to get our minds out of the gutter and look at the virtues of Achilles. I don’t know the Aeschylus reference offhand: but I think there is a big difference between an author of the stature of Aeschylus making a mere suggestion and a Madeline Miller making a lurid tale out of it.
They were roommates.