The Song of Achilles

Through the events that play out, The Song of Achilles tacitly asks the question, what does it mean to be a hero? As portrayed in ancient epic poetry, heroes strive to excel on the battlefield. They are proud and strong, can persuade through speech, and enjoy competing against each other to achieve dominance. Though they are mortal, they hope for their glorious acts to be immortalized in legend, as are those of the heroes whose stories are told around campfires.

The Song of Achilles shows how this quest for glory and immortality can be dehumanizing. The gods and goddesses of ancient Greek myth did not provide moral standards. Their only distinguishing feature from humans was their immortality. This authorizes them to see humans as insignificant and replaceable. Thetis does not bother killing Patroclus because he “will be dead soon enough” (51). When Achilles displeases her by losing interest in immortality, she replaces him with Pyrrhus, the heir whose birth she engineered through manipulation. 

As the son of a goddess and the subject of a promising prophesy, Achilles seems destined for glory. His fighting skills are so exceptional that no one is permitted to watch him train.