The Song of Achilles, The Iliad and the problem with complex myth retellings

Madeleine Miller’s debut novel The Song of Achilles is a retelling of Homer’s Iliad, one of the oldest stories in human history.

Its claim to fame is focusing on a romantic relationship between Achilles and Patroclus, a close relationship that has been discussed and debated by historians for centuries.

In Homer’s Iliad, the main conflict that leads to Achilles’ death is a dispute over a female sex slave that Achilles wins as a spoil of war.

It’s quite different in The Song of Achilles where the character of Achilles wants her because he wants to protect her from the other men.

It’s clear why Miller would want to rewrite this conflict. It’s unpleasant for someone reading a novel hoping to see a historical gay romance, and looking for representation within it, to suddenly see the protagonist fighting about a sex slave. Is this the right decision?

As a writer, Miller is forced to work around the topic of slaves somehow.

Indeed, the “sulk” Achilles goes into is what eventually leads to Patroclus’ death.

I spoke to Judith Fletcher, a professor in the Ancient Studies department about the changes the book makes to modernize its story.

[The Iliad] was the product of many generations of storytelling that Homer put together, but it’s obviously for a population who are quite comfortable with the notion of slavery.

Judith Fletcher

The depiction of slavery in the Iliad and indeed its reality in the classical world is uncomfortable to read about. It’s also a fact.

In The Song of Achilles, it’s a blip that you move on from, because many are here for the romance.

It’s hard not to see the history peeking out between the lines. Miller is lauded as a feminist historian, but the men in the story are still prioritized and the women fitted into tropes so dated you’d be surprised they weren’t from Homer himself.

Achilles and Patroclus are gay in the modern sense in Miller’s telling, as they both express that they are not attracted to women.

Achilles’ wife in The Song of Achilles coerces him into sex despite this.

A female character getting in between a gay relationship is a painfully familiar misogynistic trope in many modern queer works. Additionally, the concept of a sexual identity, or sexuality, is a new invention and something that did not exist in the classical world.

“I think [Miller] can only…she’s writing for an audience. Let’s put it that way,” Dr. Fletcher commented.

“She’s writing for an audience who – that’s how they understand the construction of the relationship.”

For writers, managing and fulfilling audience expectations is essential to getting your work published and achieving success. However, the Iliad is a story that reflects the culture it was written in.

It’s important to understand history and not to romanticize it or sanitize it, or in some instances you may end up alienating your readers further.