Achilles and Patroclus - A tale of two [insert relationship here] Homer's Iliad, an epic poem from Ancient Greece, tells the story of part of the legendary Trojan war and is considered the earliest literary work in the 'western world'. It has had a huge influence on western culture and is kind of a source of historical pride - that western civilisation is so advanced because this long and complex text was created so long ago. It has been theorised that it is because some scholars, consciously or not, want the Iliad to be understood as so old to prove the West's highly developed nature and so manipulate evidence to suggest that other great texts are younger. For example, the Indian epic poem the Mahabharata is argued to be created after the Iliad although the facts don't seem to suggest this (according to one of my uni tutors). However, there are points of controversy within discussion on the Iliad itself, notably the recent argument over whether two of the male characters in it have a romantic relationship.
In the last ten years or so, people have interpreted the close bond between the warriors Achilles and Patroclus to be romantic (Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles is the famous text in favour of this view). The theory is that the text originally supported homosexual relationships, but as it began to be read in societies which condemned these types of bonds Achilles and Patroclus got reinterpreted as just very close friends or kinsmen. Of course, on the other side of the argument, people said that modern audiences are imposing this value of supporting LGBTQ+ relationships to a text which was never intended to be used as such. What interests me is why it is important to use what I'm calling valued narratives to affirm our worldview. On either side the argument people are looking to the Iliad to affirm their beliefs on gay relationships. Why is it that an ancient text is valued in this way? I think that we look to these valued narratives, whether they be stories or histories, to support and maybe shape our worldviews, as we see them as foundational to our societies. This post will be about exploring this whole idea and trying to explain it a bit more coherently. Just to conclude Achilles and Patroclus' relationship, I have no authority to say whether their relationship was homosexual or not, but if you want to learn more I'd encourage you to listen to this podcast by a brilliant and funny historian who talks about this controversy and the wider Iliad - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000d7p2.
Precedent in Cultural Narratives
When I say valued narratives, I am talking about longstanding, often very old stories (written down or not) which a society or societies identify with. This may be because it is a foundational religious or cultural text, a interpretation of a key historical event or simply a very popular narrative closely associated with one group. (Some examples from the context of British society could include the Bible, the Arthurian legends, Celtic legends, Robin Hood stories, Classical stories and telling of historical events/figures like the War of the Roses, the Crusades, Queen Victoria, Guy Fawkes and Boucedia)
I believe that as people closely identify with these stories as they are (apparently) faithful retellings of how a group was created or seen as key cultural achievements. If you are trying to make a point within your own cultural setting then surely you want to use a universally accepted key text to prove this. For example, if you want to argue that feminism is at the heart of the idea of western society then you are going to use examples such as Athena and the Amazons as examples of girl power, sticking to looking at the Classical world. DC's Wonder Woman is arguably an example of this as Diana, an Amazonian warrior, is portrayed as a feminist icon.
Jodhaa Akbar (2008), a beautifully made film set in Mughal India, focuses on the arranged marriage between a Muslim Mughal emperor known to history as Emperor Akbar and a Hindu Princess called Jodhaa. The 16-century events it is claiming to portray are not well-known and the film is certainly not historically accurate by a long shot. But the film, explicitly through the use of a narrator talking to the audience, supports religious freedoms and coexistence in modern India through the historical precedent of the actions and beliefs of Akbar and Jodhaa. More popularly, religious coexistence and pluralism in an Indian context is often supported in the modern age by looking back at the precedent of historical figures like Emperor Akbar (AD 1542 - 1605) and Emperor Aśoka (c.304-232 BC) as bastions of religious pluralism and even secularism. For more on this see Idea of Justice by Amartya Sen (2009) and related dialogues. Stories like the film Jodhaa Akbar add to this sense of valued narratives affirming and shaping modern beliefs.
To use a more popular example, the founding of America has been highly mythologised and retold to affirm, apparent, American ideals such as capitalism and freedom of religion. The much acclaimed Hamilton musical (2015-) is a good example of how ideas such as democracy and intellectual advancement are celebrated and their prominence in modern America is defended by them being present in this history.
Notably, the musical had a cast of mainly non-white individuals and celebrates the role of immigrants in the founding of America. This is an attempt to almost justify modern liberal thinking, pro-immigration and supporting diverse cultures, by placing these values within a foundational historical story. Portraying Alexander Hamilton himself by Lin Manuel Miranda an actor of Puerto Rican heritage, and focusing within the narrative on his immigrant status, cements this notion that valued narratives are used to support modern worldviews. Should we look to the past to support our views now? In a nutshell, no So, I think that I can pretty confidently say that we do look to narratives which are important to us to justify or affirm our own opinion. Just as when justifying an moral action we might turn to our countries' laws or when choosing an outfit we'd look at current fashion trends. Narratives have this power, but should they? I don't think so. It's very tempting to use these important stories to justify our actions within the culture that they are celebrated in but we should be independent from them. I believe that we shouldn't seek validation from the past and instead be free to focus on what could be, not what was. Let's look at Hamilton. It's a great musical and, as a history buff, I am really happy about how it respectfully engages with history, acknowledges the limitations of our own historical knowledge and invites people to do their own learning and research. However, despite having a majority non-white cast, most of the historical characters being represented were white. Dr Lyra Monteiro made a great point that this is arguably unhelpful and instead of rooting our beliefs in the past we should be free to look forward and not seek affirmation from these culturally valued narratives. In the case of Hamilton, the races and beliefs of historical Americans shouldn't matter about whether we want to support immigration and having a diverse society now. You can find Monteiro's arguments here www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00023vy or in her article (Race-Conscious Casting and the Erasure of the Black Past in Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton). I suppose the question comes down to whether we give these valued narratives, whatever they are, authority to justify or support how we live. And it is our choice, just because our culture or society values or doesn't value something we still make up our own minds. Before automatically giving something value we really do need to think about it.
So going back to Achilles and Patroclus, we the readers need to decide whether the Iliad should have this influence on today's moral beliefs. Form my point of view, textual analysis and interpretation is important but people today shouldn't need the relationship between the two characters to justify their own beliefs about relationships. We need to be more critical than that and instead of trying to use popular stories to defend us, we can forge ahead and create new stories. Join me in part 2 for a more religious perspective when I try apply this theory of the dangers of using valued narratives to the Bible and why I actively want a really old valued narrative to have authority in my life (because of course things are always complex!). Hope that you enjoyed these thoughts/could get through my ramblings, Hope
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