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Chapter 1
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Song of Achilles, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Honor, Pride, and Legacy
Fate, Belief, and Control
Gender, Power, and Agency
Love, Violence, and Redemption
Selfhood and Responsibility
Summary
Analysis
One day, Patroclus’s father summons him to tell him that King Tyndareus’s daughter will soon marry. Tyndareus is the king of Sparta, and his daughter is known to be the most beautiful woman in Greece, supposedly the product of Zeus raping her mother. While Patroclus’s father wants Patroclus to present himself as a suitor for the daughter, Patroclus is only nine and he’s uncomfortable with the idea. When Patroclus and his father arrive at Tyndareus’s citadel, many people are already there, and no one welcomes Patroclus ceremoniously, as his father expects. A soldier takes pity on Patroclus, who is visibly bored, and hands him a pair of dice to play with.
Women are not only subordinate to men in this society, but also to gods, who can apparently sexually assault them. In Greek mythology, Zeus is the ruler of the gods and is essentially all-powerful; this girl’s mother wouldn’t have stood a chance against him. In addition, the sexual assault seems to be okay with everyone else, as the story is clearly widely-known. Once again it is made obvious that marriages are not based on love at all if a nine-year-old can be sent to woo a young woman. And once again, Patroclus’s father proves that he’s only concerned about how others perceive him. The soldier’s small kindness to Patroclus is the first glimpse of goodwill in the novel, and as a result, the dice seem like significant objects.
Themes
During their visit, Patroclus’s father dresses him in royal garb and orders him not to disgrace the family; they head into Tyndareus’s great hall, gifts in hand. Inside, hundreds of kings introduce themselves one by one to Tyndareus, showing off their riches and bragging about their heroics. A king named Menelaus presents himself, alongside his hulking brother, Agamemnon. Patroclus wishes he were older, though he thinks Peleus’s young son would make a fine impression. Mind wandering, he suddenly notices Tyndareus’s three daughters sitting quietly by his side, all veiled.
It's not clear what Patroclus could do that would disgrace his family—again, his father’s comment seems to have more to do with his own pride and anger than with anything Patroclus has done. However, this passage does provide some idea of why Patroclus’s father values appearances so much. Based on what the kings show about themselves, it’s evident that Greek society cares about heroism, strength, and wealth. Traits like kindness and intelligence are never mentioned as being admirable. That Patroclus wishes he was like these other men shows that he has internalized these values. It’s also notable that while this whole affair is about marrying one of the daughters, the women are pushed off to the side and veiled. Tyndareus controls the women, and access to their beauty, as a way of asserting control over the men. Women in this society are like a kind of currency, to be used but given no agency of their own.
Themes
Patroclus kneels as his father presents him. Tyndareus wonders why such a young boy is there, but Patroclus’s father says he’s “man enough for both of them.” Patroclus notices that Tyndareus and the other kings are mocking them. Oblivious, his father presses on, saying that Tyndareus’s daughter, Helen, would essentially be queen of his kingdom, since Patroclus’s mother isn’t fit to rule. An onlooker with a scar on his calf interjects, claiming to be an observer to proceedings, rather than a participant. He asks to hear from Patroclus directly, so Patroclus quietly introduces himself as the son of Menoitius. He’s ashamed: he knows what these men think of him and his father.
That the other kings mock Patroclus’s father suggests that while his father understands the masculine traits that are valued, he himself lacks them—he seems to be trying too hard, In contrast, Patroclus demonstrates that he’s very intuitive. And while his father can’t recognize that strength, there is a hint that the man with the scar on his calf may recognize that Patroclus has some wits about him. That Tyndareus’s daughter’s name is only revealed now once again implies how this whole courtship ceremony isn’t about her, but rather about the honor and pride that she, as the most beautiful woman in the world, will bring to the man who wins her.
Themes
Other men present themselves, including the giant-like Ajax. The man with the scar on his calf goes last; Tyndareus identifies him as Odysseus, and he asks what Odysseus thinks of the proceedings as an onlooker. Odysseus wonders how Tyndareus will prevent the men from killing each other over the eligible princess, Helen, or declaring war if they can’t marry her. Apparently, he and Tyndareus have already discussed this in private, which angers the men. However, he offers a solution, for which he’ll be given an unnamed prize: Helen should choose her suitor, and before she does, everyone should vow to defend that man if someone tries to steal her.
The man with the scar on his calf is revealed to be the wise and wily Odysseus, so his ability to recognize Patroclus’s intelligence now comes as no surprise. Meanwhile, the predicament described by Odysseus again illustrates the toxic relationship between gender, power, honor, and violence in this society. Helen, because of her beauty, is seen by the men as a prize that will give her “winner” honor, but those who lose can only regain their honor (which they would lose by not winning her) by proving themselves in combat. Odysseus, however, figures out a way to use these social dynamics to cement bonds between the kings, rather than create war (though he also has his own secret agenda, which will be revealed). Helen, meanwhile, is just an object to all these men.
Themes
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Tyndareus and Helen agree, and the men sacrifice a white goat to seal the oath. Then, Tyndareus orders Odysseus to be the first to vow to protect Helen’s suitor. This annoys Odysseus, and Patroclus assumes this is because Odysseus had hoped he wouldn’t have to take the vow at all. While Odysseus reminds Helen that he isn’t really a suitor, he completes the ritual. All the men follow, including Patroclus. Helen selects a joyful Menelaus, and Odysseus reveals what the prize for his suggestion was: he’s now engaged to Helen’s sister. Patroclus and his father leave, never discussing the trip again. The oath feels like fiction to Patroclus, or like a dream.
Odysseus’s plan suddenly gives Helen agency, and she selects her husband. However, this granted agency is ironic, since it was all a part of a scheme by Odysseus to marry her sister. Odysseys offered Helen agency solely to ensure he has the right to marry Helen’s sister, no matter what the sister might think. Odysseus is clearly wily, always manipulating others while seeking to avoid any entanglements that might catch him (though in this case he fails to escape the vow). That Patroclus thinks of the vow as being a “fiction” allows Madeline Miller to create a moment of dramatic irony—the whole novel is based on Greek mythology of the Trojan War that most readers will already know—so the reader knows that in fact this vow will get invoked and affect the entire Greek world. The whole novel, then, is suffused with a sense of fate: these characters don’t know it, but the path of their future is set.
Themes
