Quote Originally Posted by Don Corleone
That's what's ruining Western civilization!!! Gay llamas in Troy!!! By the way, not to open another can of worms, but I've read the Illiad several times, and honestly, I never got that Achilles and Patroclus were gay. That they were rather chummy, sure. That Achilles was a whiny git when he didn't get his way? Absolutely. That whole scene of him wrapping his arms around Thetis' legs (his mother) and crying because Briseis got taken away from him, I remember well. Did they actually mention the two of them being intimate in the book, or are we using the filter of "close male friends, ancient Greece, must be gay..."?
It has to do with the Greek words used. In English if I say "I love you" the meaning of that will be largely contextual, are you my brother, close friend, father, spouse, lover? Classical Greek was much more specific. It would use different words to show different contextual meanings. There were several versions of the word "love" each having a different meaning. The argument is that the verb forms in the Classical Greek show that Achilles "loved" Patrocolus as more than just a friend.