Really?
Achilles was a very young man.
He was a draft dodger. His mom helped him hide from the draft in a haram, dressed as a woman. Ulysses suspected where he was hiding, and went to the harem dressed as a merchant. He opened his sack of wares, showing beautiful jewelry and a few swords. All the ladies were drawn to the jewels, but one "lady" started examining the swords, and Ulysses knew he had his man.
The reason Achilles would have been allowed in the harem and not caught as a man is obvious. He wasn't attracted to the ladies. He had a boyfriend.
One of the subplots in the Iliad is that Achilles revenged his boyfriend's death.
If this is really "anti bush", do you want to bet it will not be a hit?
http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=17511
the good news is that the fansites hate it.
The bad news is that they love the disaster film on global warming...
I recently finished reading the Illiad, and I am going through it again, on audio, in a different translation.
Contrary to contemporary opinion, there is no sexual undertone to the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus. This is a de-constructionist myth.
Patroclus was taken in by Achilles father, after Patroclus killed another boy in anger. If anything, the relationship of Achilles to Patroclus is as towards an adopted brother.
The original source of Achilles legendary rage towards Agammemnon is that Agamemmenon takes from him Breisis, a girl Achilles has been given as booty from a previous battle.
For another opinion on the matter, check out Smiling Through the Cultural Catastrophe by conservative classics professor Jeffrey Peter Hart.
Regarding Achilles, Hart says: "His love for Patroclus (and there is no indication that they are sexual lovers) is as intense as his contempt for Agammemnon, or his savage determination to destroy Hector."
Achilles truely loves Patroclus, his faithful squire and friend--but there is no reason to conclude either of them are gay.
Unfortunately, due to the contemporary obsession with homosexuality, many male friendships in literature (Achilles and Patroclus in the Iliad, David and Jonathan in the Bible, Frodo and Sam in "The Lord of the Rings") get misinterpreted sexually, losing much of their power and depth.
Ack, you're right. I loved the stories Iliad & Odessey as a kid & of course never considered of these stories from this perspective. Achilles going after Hector for slaying Petrocles(?) was understandable, but the harem thing was almost too much, even for this 10 years old.
Another childhood hero busted. Who's next - Tom & Huck?