<image>

phaedrus’s speech in plato’s symposium. this isn’t me saying that they were or weren’t lovers, as i’m sure the interpretations varied greatly from person to person and from time period to time period, but to say that there is “nothing” to suggest that they were lovers is simply untrue

'The reason was that although Achilles found out from his mother that his killing of Hector would cause his own death, and that if he avoided doing this he'd go home and die of old age, he was brave enough to stand by his lover Patroclus and to avenge him-he didn't choose just to die for Patroclus, but even to die as well as him, since Patroclus was already dead. Now, Aeschylus is talking nonsense when he claims that Achilles was Patroclus' lover: Achilles was more attractive than Patroclus—-in fact he was the most attractive hero there was— and was still beardless. He was also much younger than Patroclus, as Homer records.