Achilles and
Patroclus, Together Before the War
|
Name: Statius Date: 45 – 96 CE Region: Naples [modern Italy] Citation: Achilleid
1.171 – 177 |
As soon as his mother Thetis appeared in the
doorway, Achilles tossed aside what he was doing and threw his arms around her
excitedly, revealing to her with his embrace that he already matched her in
height.
Soon afterwards, Patroclus followed suit. Already
they were joined in deep love for each other. Patroclus strove to rival his
love in whatever he did, and he nearly could. They were equal in training,
equal in habits, but Patroclus remained nowhere near as strong as
Achilles. Despite this, he would join Achilles on his quest to Troy, and
together both would meet their doom.
Achilles and
Patroclus, Together Before the War
...ut fido genetrix in
limine visa est,
abicit exceptamque avidis circumligat ulnis,
iam gravis amplexu iamque aequus vertice matri.
Insequitur magno iam tunc conexus amore
Patroclus tantisque extenditur aemulus actis,
par studiis aevique modis, sed robore longe,
et tamen aequali visurus Pergama fato.
Statius [Publius Papinius Statius; 45 – 96 CE, modern Italy] was one of the most
influential epic poets of the so-called “Silver Age” [the generations of
authors who lived after the reign of Augustus and before the reign of the “Five
Good Emperors”]. Statius spent most of his life in Naples, Italy. His most
famous work, the Thebaid, is an epic poem that describes the civil war
between the descendants of Oedipus. He also wrote the Achilleid, a short
epic on the boyhood of Achilles.
