Achilles and Patroclus
The exact nature of Achilles' relationship with Patroclus has been a subject of dispute in both the classical period and modern times. In the Iliad, it appears to be the model of a deep and loyal friendship, but commentators from classical antiquity to the present have often interpreted the relationship through the lens of their own cultures. In 5th-century BC Athens, the intense bond was often viewed in light of the Greek custom of paiderasteia. In Plato's Symposium, the participants in a dialogue about love debate assume that Achilles and Patroclus were a couple; Phaedrus argues that Achilles was the younger and more beautiful one so he was the beloved and Patroclus was the lover. But ancient Greek had no words to distinguish "heterosexual" and "homosexual," and it was assumed that a man could both desire handsome young men and have sex with women. Although epic decorum excluded explicit sexuality, the Iliad indicates that Achilles had sexual relations with women, with no direct evidence of sexual behaviors with Patroclus. In the 2004 film Troy, Achilles and Patroclus were cousins. In Madeline Miller's 2011 novel The Song of Achilles (a homage to The Iliad), Achilles and Patroclus' young friendship blossoms into passionate love, and they remain the closest friends and lovers throughout the long war at Troy.
Read more about this topic: Achilles