A few things I would like to say about The Song of Achilles.
"I couldn't make him a God" This is what Thetis says to Patroclus at Achilles' grave monument. And it's true. It was her biggest ambition about her son. This was her goal ever since his birth, for him to become the greatest warrior of not only his generation but the greatest warrior in the history of Greece. After his death, the other gods never granted her wish and so, like every other mortal, like any other man who died on the grounds of Troy, he descended to the Underworld, where he would spend eternity - not having anything that differents him from the other dead. However, what gets me is that he become something so much more, someone with so much more depth than just another God that would probably be forgotten through the mist of time. He became immortal in the memories of people because his actions will be told all throughout time and space. He becomes known, not only for his strength and skills in the field of battle, for his beauty and grace, but for his courage and determination. He was flawed, but that was a result of his human side, which was so important since that was the difference between him and his son, who was raised by a goddess and had all his humanity stripped from him leaving him cruel and bitter.
Most importantly Achilles will be remembered because of his love. The love he had for the one person that kept him grounded - Patroclus - the man he loved with all his heart, the heart that broke into a thousand pieces when his lover died. But they were more than lovers weren't they? They were soulmates. Achilles' love for Patroclus was so strong that after his death he was fighting so fiercely that even the Gods feared that the war will end before its destined time. Do you hear that? Fate was something set in stone, unavoidable and couldn't be changed even by the Gods themselves, but the love Achilles had for Patroclus was so fucking strong that it could change Fate itself.
Maybe Achilles did not join the Gods, but he was something immortality couldn't give him - he was loved and he will be remembered and celebrated for it.
Now let's talk about Patroclus. The boy who received Achilles' love and reciprocated tenfold. "I am made of memories" he says to Thetis. He was with Achilles most of his life, he was full of him. He was the one that made sure that the youthful spark never disappeared from his meadow green eyes. He saw him at his most vulnerable, Achilles spilled the deepest part of his heart to Patroclus until both of their hearts were merged into one. Patroclus is made of Achilles' laugh in the morning, of his reassuring touches, of the light green in his eyes and the gold that seemed to come alive when the sun hit just the right way.
Although the most important part is the depth of their love for each other. When Patroclus is sharing his memories with Thetis - Thetis the goddess who despises mortals more than anything and especially the man in front of her, the sheer power of their love story softens something in her cold cold heart. She begins to realise how her son was something much more than a great warrior worth of receiving the greatest of honours. She begins to understand that even though she couldn't turn him into a God, the man in front of her gave him something so much higher.
And lastly, Thetis is so taken back by the ties that binds these two men together that finally she writes one simple word, powerful to make everything right again.
A C H I L L E S AND P A T R O C L U S
Because it does not matter if their ashes are together, in the physical world they were always this close. Thetis wants them to reunite because even though she is a Goddess and even more she can't see him herself, she is also a Mother and she wants her son to be happy and she knows that her Achilles will wait forever at the shore for Harontas to bring Patroclus and Patroclus will wait forever next to his love's monument - so close yet so far away from him. She knows that nothing will make him happier than to be with his soul mate for eternity.
Thank you for the opportunity to voice my thoughts xx
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