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Achilles and Patroclus
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<p>The relationship between Achilles and Patroclus is a key element of the stories associated with the <a href="/facts/Trojan_War/pBG5VawT">Trojan War</a>. In the <i><a href="/facts/Iliad/HceJKUGB">Iliad</a>,</i> <a href="/facts/Homer/Xw8Ur53U">Homer</a> describes a deep, meaningful relationship between <a href="/facts/Achilles/op3emMbv">Achilles</a> and <a href="/facts/Patroclus/fbbtc4c9">Patroclus</a>, where Achilles is tender toward Patroclus, but callous and arrogant toward others. Its exact nature—whether homosexual, a non-sexual deep friendship, or something else entirely—has been a subject of dispute in both the <a href="/facts/Classical_Greece/WoUfexFx">Classical period</a> and modern times. </p><p>Homer, in the original epic, never explicitly casts the two as lovers, but they were frequently interpreted and depicted as lovers in the later archaic and classical periods of <a href="/facts/Ancient_Greek_literature/mAqmUXeF">Greek literature</a>, particularly in the works of <a href="/facts/Aeschylus/nRDPzqG6">Aeschylus</a>, <a href="/facts/Aeschines/RSB3LIgr">Aeschines</a> and <a href="/facts/Plato/sPedMo74">Plato</a>. <a href="/facts/Xenophon/d3uAqxEu">Xenophon</a>'s <i><a href="/facts/Symposium_(Xenophon)/mfJW12N7">Symposium</a></i> established a key counterargument, asserting the relationship was not sexual, but instead a platonic perfect friendship. Ancient writers referenced both sides, and additionally debated whether and how the relationship fit into the ancient institution of <a href="/facts/Pederasty_in_ancient_Greece/9rGsj3Rv">pederasty</a>. <a href="/facts/Middle_Ages/RqzEKB9v">Medieval</a> scholars largely characterized the relationship as a platonic friendship, sometimes even suppressing Achilles' certain aspects that may or may not be interpreted as homoerotic. Since the 1800s, contemporary critics have returned to the debate of the <i>Iliad's</i> portrayal of the relationship. Some classicists and <a href="/facts/Queer_studies/DHpJ6YVx">queer studies</a> scholars argue that it was homosexual, homoerotic, or <a href="/facts/Latent_homosexuality/kuFejuke">latently homosexual</a>, with the <i>Iliad</i> describing these elements implicitly. Some historians and classicists disagree, stating that there is no textual evidence for a sexual relationship, and that repressed homosexuality here is <a href="/facts/Falsifiability/IlxN7cYB">unfalsifiable</a>. </p>