The speeches of Aeschines

The relationship between Achilles and Patroclus is a key element of the stories associated with the Trojan War. In the Iliad, Homer describes a deep, meaningful relationship between Achilles and Patroclus, 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 Classical period and the modern era. Homer, in the original epic, never explicitly casts the two as lovers, but they were frequently interpreted and depicted as lovers in the classical period of Greek literature, particularly in the works of Aeschylus, Aeschines and Plato. Other writers at the time, such as Xenophon in his Symposium, say that their relationship was not sexual, but instead an intense friendship.