As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Affiliate disclosure.
Historical person
Patroclus was the closest companion of Achilles and one of the central Greek figures in the Trojan War tradition. Although less formidable than Achilles, he is portrayed as compassionate, loyal and courageous, providing a gentler contrast to his friend’s pride and destructive anger.
When Achilles withdraws from the fighting after his quarrel with Agamemnon, Patroclus remains beside him but becomes increasingly distressed by the suffering of the Greeks and the burning of their ships. Patroclus died in Troy.
In Susan C Wilson’s Helen’s Judgement, the new life she imagines rapidly becomes another confinement as Trojans and Achaeans make her the explanation for a war created by royal ambition. Helen’s account alternates with that of Achilles, whose pursuit of glory binds him to the Greek expedition and to Patroclus even when conflict with Agamemnon removes him from battle. In Caroline Alexander’s The Iliad, the poem opens with a quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon that drives Achilles from the fighting and leaves the Greek army exposed to a renewed Trojan attack. Hector leads the defence of Troy, the gods repeatedly intervene in human affairs, and the death of Patroclus draws Achilles back into battle with devastating consequences. Patroclus is treated fictionally in Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles, Homer’s The Odyssey, David Gemmel’s Troy: Fall of Kings, and David Gemmel’s Troy: Shield of Thunder.
Periods
Series
The Troy Trilogy is an epic retelling of the Trojan story that combines heroic fantasy, myth and large-scale adventure. Gemmell replaces distant legend with a crowded world of seafarers, traders, kings, raiders and rival families, while retaining the prophecies, passions and larger-than-life figures associated with Troy. Across Lord…
All books in this series
Penguin Classics: Ancient World brings together foundational works of literature, history, philosophy, drama and poetry from the earliest civilisations through classical Greece and Rome. The wider Penguin Classics series began in 1946 with E. V. Rieu’s translation of Homer’s Odyssey, reflecting its original aim of making important texts…
All books in this series
The House of Atreus trilogy retells the dynastic violence surrounding Mycenae and the Trojan War through women traditionally judged by male-authored myth. Clytemnestra’s Bind begins with Agamemnon’s seizure of Clytemnestra and follows her attempt to protect her children inside a royal household shaped by inherited bloodshed. Helen’s Judgement…
All books in this series
Standalone books
Non Fiction
Biographies, histories and other non-fiction are listed separately from the historical novels above.
