Episode 7: Were Achilles and Patrokles Gay?
The Caffeine Stream · C. B. Robertson
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Show Notes
[EDIT: I have been corrected, and indeed, a character in Plato's "Symposium" does assert that Achilles and Patrokles are lovers. Given Plato's tendency to put multiple contradicting arguments in the mouths of different characters, and to explore ideas without holding them, this view should not be taken as Plato's position, and the linguistic argument made here still stands.]
Today we go over a new theory in the world of the classics and evaluate its merits: were Achilles and Patrokles -- the great warriors in Homer's Iliad -- really gay lovers?
We discuss
- The origins of this theory
- The textual cues and analysis from Gregory Nagy about the relationship between the two, including:
- The importance of Patrokles' name
- The importance of Patrokles' role as "therapon"
- How Thersites relates to this whole conversation
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