your almost forgiven..no wait...wait..no your not. :) that was so sad but a rly good read. keep writing.

I loved that you wrote about Achilles and Patroclus because history is often ignored in modern fiction and Ancient Greece is win, but there were some anachronisms that are fairly easy to avoid. I'm admittedly obsessive about accuracy and I understand that most people wouldn't take issue with it, either because they don't share my perspective on the importance of research or because they're unfamiliar with the ancient world, but the disparity jarred me. Achilles' attitude towards his student is more reflective of our culture than his own. In Ancient Greece, war was intrinsic to economic growth and injured pride was enough to launch a thousand ships, not only among humans, but among the gods as well. Achilles seemed more like an immature boy than a battle-hardened man--to him, every chastisement would help Patroclus to improve and thus help him survive in battle.

I like the development of their relationship as they grew older and more accustomed to one another. I thought Achilles' attraction could've been expressed more subtly, but overall it was nicely-done. However, in the ancient world, there was no concept of homosexuality and pederasty, a bond between an adult man and his adolescent (male) student, was expected, especially if the student were beautiful. Pederasty existed to educate young men as well as to foster loyalty between soldiers. Pederasty was considered a rite of passage and men were expected to engage in a pederastic relationship with a youth, though philosophers debated its ideal expression (sexual or chaste) and they were forbidden to have sex in Sparta -- touching was a-okay.

In short, pederasty was an institution and it came with various social expectations. It was more complicated than homosexuality and it had none of the fluidity we'd associate with sexuality in contemporary society. I think that dimension could've been used to greater advantage and it would've been more accurate to have Odysseus refer to that.

The end was obviously expected, but I thought it was flat -- it lacked the emotion I would've expected (anger, sadness, resentment, regret) from a man whose beloved had been murdered, though I really liked the line "Achilles loved killing Hector".

...I'm sorry the better part of my review was about pederasty in Ancient Greece (I checked Wikipedia to corroborate my prior knowledge and I spilled all the details into the comment box). I also tend to ramble and, as I mentioned, I'm very particular about historical details like that. I really enjoyed the premise and, though there were a few errors, it was pretty good. I hope I haven't offended you -- my criticism is meant to be constructive -- and I hope you have a nice weekend.

Aww...I like this story. Even though I already knew what would happen to Patroclus, I was kinda hoping that it wouldn't get that far. I liked the way your portrayed both characters, but Achilles especially, since you made him more introverted, and that the only person to make him really talk was Patroclus. haha, adorable. Anyways, to answer your question, this kinda-sorta-shoulda be at but not to sure 'bout that considering these are probably your own visions of the historical characters, and not from the movie.