119 pages • 3 hours read
Madeline MillerThe Song of Achilles
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2011A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapters 4-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 4 Summary
Patroclus’s only solace is during meals, which also happens to be when Achilles mixes with the foster boys. His beauty and lack of self-consciousness provoke envy in Patroclus. One evening, Achilles sits closer to Patroclus than usual. They make eye contact, and the anger Patroclus feels is “the only moment in my day that I felt anything at all” (26). Four weeks into Patroclus’s exile, Achilles sits at his table. Grabbing figs from a bowl, Achilles begins to juggle them, then throws one to Patroclus, saying, “Catch” (27). Watching Achilles eat the fig, Patroclus bites into his own. Achilles leaves the table without looking back.
The following day, Peleus returns to the palace and calls Patroclus to the throne room. Patroclus introduces himself by his first name only, a reminder of his dependence on Peleus’s kindness. Peleus reminds Patroclus that his exile resulted from his act of murder but tells him that he can still become “a good man” (28). After Patroclus’s audience with Peleus, the other foster boys learn why he was exiled. They regard him with fascination but keep their distance, fearful of catching his bad luck and attracting the attention of the Erinyes. Patroclus isolates himself to avoid their stares.
After Patroclus misses morning training sessions, Achilles seeks him out. He tells Patroclus that Peleus is considering punishing him and encourages him to prepare an acceptable excuse. Patroclus suggests that Achilles, as prince, can claim Patroclus was with him. To avoid lying, which Achilles does not like to do, he invites Patroclus to his lyre lesson, after which they will go see Peleus.
Before the lesson, Achilles presents two lyres, one for Patroclus and one for himself. The lyre Achilles holds is the one Patroclus brought from Phthia as a gift. It had once belonged to his mother and is sparks memories of her, but he does not reveal this to Achilles. The lyre instructor arrives and attempts to take the lyre from Patroclus. Achilles prevents him, insisting that Patroclus can play any lyre he chooses. Though angry, the instructor does not contradict Achilles. The beauty of Achilles’s music captivates Patroclus. When Achilles finishes playing, Patroclus’s “chest felt strangely hollowed” (33).
Chapter 5 Summary
Achilles brings Patroclus to Peleus and asks his father’s pardon. He apologizes for having kept Patroclus from his training and failing to notify his father that he wished for Patroclus as a “[t]herapon,” a “brother-in-arms sworn to a prince by blood oaths and love” (35). Peleus notes that he has been urging Achilles to select such a companion for years, and he has resisted. He asks why Achilles has chosen Patroclus. Achilles replies, “He is surprising” (35). Peleus reminds Achilles that, as an exile, Patroclus will confer no additional honor on Achilles, and he replies that he does not need Patroclus to do this. Peleus notes that the other boys will be jealous and asks how Achilles will explain his choice. Achilles replies that he will not explain himself since “[i]t is not for them to say what I will do” (35). Peleus sentences them both to apologize to the training master and dismisses them.
After their audience with Peleus, Achilles tells Patroclus that he will see him at dinner. He has a drill session, which no one is permitted to observe. Achilles explains that this order comes from his mother. It is the result of the goddess of childbirth Eileithyia’s prophecy that Achilles “will be the best warrior of my generation” (36). At dinner, in front of the other foster boys, Achilles announces to Patroclus that he will now sleep in Achilles’s room, shocking the other boys who do not understand why Achilles has bestowed this honor on the least likely recipient, a “small and ungrateful and probably cursed” (37) boy.
Achilles’s bedroom is close to the sea. A pallet has been laid out for Patroclus. Achilles asks him if he would like to help Achilles juggle. Patroclus agrees, and they toss the balls back and forth. Eventually, Achilles tires, and they go to sleep. Patroclus notes that in sleep Achilles looks “beautiful but cold as moonlight” (39). He longs for Achilles to wake and return to life. The following day, Patroclus returns to the dormitory to find his bed stripped and his possessions removed. From now on, he will sleep in Achilles’s room. Gradually, Patroclus begins to trust Achilles’s honesty and stops “expecting to be sent away” (40). The boys begin confiding in each other at night before falling asleep.
One day, Achilles invites Patroclus to his training drills. Achilles drills alone, even without an instructor. Patroclus marvels at his speed—his unique divine gift—and realizes that he is seeing “more of the gods” (43) than he has ever seen. He realizes why no one is permitted to watch him train; his excellence would strip other fighters of their sense of worth. Patroclus demands that Achilles fight him. When Achilles refuses, Patroclus hurls himself against him, feeling angry and envious. He tells Achilles that no one else is like him, and Achilles asks, “So?” (45). His response disarms Patroclus, and he ceases to feel jealous. Achilles smiles, his face “like the sun” (45).
Chapter 6 Summary
Patroclus and Achilles spend their days climbing trees, racing, playing games, and exchanging stories. Through their friendship, free of the dread he felt under his father’s dissatisfied gaze, Patroclus begins to feel alive for the first time in his life. He does not mind that he always loses to Achilles, “[f]or who can be ashamed to lose to such beauty? It was enough to watch him win” (47).
More than a year later, Patroclus admits to Achilles that he was exiled for murdering another boy. Achilles asks him why he did not explain that he had been acting in self-defense. Patroclus does not know and realizes that he was exiled not for the murder but for his “lack of cunning” (48). Recalling his father’s disgust, he understands that his father did not believe Patroclus worthy of being king. Patroclus asks Achilles what he would have done. Achilles replies that he does not know because no one “has ever tried to take something from me” (48). He suspects he “would be angry” (48).
Patroclus is permitted to remain at Achilles’s side at state dinners. Peleus calls him “[s]kops,” meaning owl, for his big eyes and silent, watchful demeanor. At the end of the night, Peleus tells the boys stories from his youth fighting alongside Heracles. Seeing how easy Peleus is easy with compliments, Patroclus understands why his treasury is full of gifts and his kingdom enjoys many alliances. Unlike most “bragging, ranting heroes” (49), Peleus is modest.
Patroclus is not permitted to accompany Achilles on his visits to his mother, which take place at night. When Achilles returns, he smells of salt. He tells Patroclus that his mother wishes him to visit her undersea caves, and Patroclus worries, nothing that gods and mortals “never mixed happily in our stories” (49). Returning after an especially long visit, Achilles tells Patroclus that his mother wants to meet him. Patroclus understands that this is not a request. He meets Thetis alone and senses her dislike. She tells him that Achilles “will be a god” and asks Patroclus if he understands (51). He replies yes. She notes that he “will be dead soon enough” (51). Patroclus realizes that Thetis deems him too insignificant to bother killing.
Later, Achilles apologizes to Patroclus for his mother. Patroclus asks if Achilles wants to be a god, and he replies, “Not yet” (53). Patroclus is relieved that he will not lose Achilles yet. Achilles remarks that he would like to be a hero, if there is a war. His mother believes he is “better even than Heracles was” (54). Achilles asks if Patroclus would like to be a god, and he laughs at the unlikelihood of this. Achilles joins in, and the boys go off in search of figs.
Chapters 4-6 Analysis
These chapters focus on the growing relationship between Achilles and Patroclus and its impact on Patroclus’s self-identity. Patroclus’s audience with Peleus underscores his orphaned status. His neglecting to identify himself by his patronymic indicates his loss of identity. He no longer has a family and the protection it confers. Despite this, Achilles is drawn to Patroclus. His ability to choose Patroclus as his companion reflects his privileged status. He does not need to create alliances that benefit him. He chooses Patroclus because he can and because he wants to, not because he needs anything from him.
Patroclus initially envies Achilles for this, as well as for his exceptional skill and the respect it brings from his peers and father. That changes as Patroclus becomes the recipient of Achilles’s affection. Already marked as the best warrior of his generation, Achilles does not expect Patroclus—or anyone else—to be comparable to him. His gift is his exceptionalism. In a sense, this causes him to consider himself untouchable, which frees him to like people based on their personal qualities rather than to strategize about what they can do for him.
Later in the novel, Achilles’s belief in his invulnerability will lead to crisis, but as the beneficiary of Achilles’s magnanimity, Patroclus finally begins to feel at peace with himself. Achilles does not expect or want anything from him. He accepts and likes him as he is. This revelatory experience frees Patroclus from his jealousy and desire to compete against Achilles. It also frees Patroclus to appreciate Achilles’s exceptional abilities, and he experiences pleasure simply by witnessing beauty and greatness.
Meanwhile, Peleus seems to defer to his son. He reminds him of the implications of choosing Patroclus as his companion but expresses no personal opinion or censure. Thetis, however, makes her displeasure known, to both Achilles and Patroclus. She sees Patroclus as an unsuitable companion for the son she believes is destined for immortality. Throughout the novel, Thetis voices her desire for Achilles to become a god. This seems to be a reference to a version of ancient Greek myths in which gods may confer immortality on exceptional heroes, Heracles being a notable example. Thetis campaigns for Achilles to become a god and wants him to want to become a god. Her desire provokes her dislike of Patroclus because he keeps Achilles tethered to the human world. At the end of the novel, Achilles prefers death alongside Patroclus, rather than immortality without him.
Peleus’s deferential treatment of his son can be understood from a prophecy in the mythological pantheon that is not explicitly addressed in Miller’s text. Chapter 3 mentions that Thetis was forced to marry a mortal. According to (non-Homeric) ancient Greek versions of the myth, both Zeus and Poseidon were interested in marrying Thetis, but she was prophesied to give birth to a child who would be greater than his father. Fearing this outcome, the gods compelled her marriage to Peleus, a man suited to accepting an exceptional son who would surpass his father in excellence.
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