The tale of Achilles and Patroclus is possibly the oldest, and most enduring, love story between two men that the world has ever known. Featured in the poet Homer’s The Iliad, the story goes that Achilles, the greatest hero on the Achean (Greek) side of the Trojan War, is angered by King Agamemnon claiming his slave and soon-to-be bride Briseis, for himself. As a result of this insult, Achilles refused to fight in the war, and soon, Ilios (alternative name for Troy) gained the upper hand. Patroclus, Achilles' dearest friend, felt that there was pressure for Achilles to rejoin the fight and to help, he chose to take up his friend's legendary armour and weapons, stepped out onto the field, and was cut down by Hector, one of Troy’s greatest of warriors.
Achilles was so angered by the death of his friend that he rejoined the war and killed Hector. Achilles demonstrated his grief for Patroclus in a thousand ways, including fighting a river god. The epic is a beautiful display of the power of love, hate, war, honour, pride, tragedy, sacrifice, death, grief, and above all, forgiveness. What this story seems to indicate is that as early as 725BC (estimated), homosexual relationships were a common occurrence across Ancient Greece. We cannot concretely say whether the nature of the relationship between the two men was sexual. Within The Iliad, sex or even romance is never explicitly alluded to. It is only ever indicated that the bond between the two men was deeply emotional Achilles and Patroclus are undoubtedly an example of how Greece and much of the Ancient Mediterranean accepted the idea of same-sex love. It was almost impossible not to.
Bearing in mind that the Iliad is considered one of the most important Ancient Greek texts (some say it is the closest thing the Greeks had to the Bible), how widespread was this acceptance in Greece? Well, like most things in Ancient Greece, it very much depends on who you ask, but mostly on where you ask this question.
