The Song of Achilles

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-6

Reading Check

1. Why did Patroclus’s father, Menoitius, marry his mother? What did he discover about her on their wedding day?

2. Why did Tyndareus believe that Menoitius’s wife died?

3. Which country is Patroclus exiled to?

4. What does Patroclus learn about King Peleus in Chapter 3 that makes him a charitable man?

5. What is the prophecy about Achilles?

6. What comment does Thetis make about Patroclus’s mortality?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Describe Patroclus’s only memory of his mother. Why does he doubt its authenticity?

2. Summarize Odysseus’s radical suggestion at Tyndareus’s palace. What is the outcome of this suggestion? Which suitor does Helen choose?

3. Recount the moment in Chapter 3 that changes the trajectory of Patroclus’s life.

4. Why does Achilles approach Patroclus in Chapter 4? What plan do they concoct together?

5. In Chapter 5, Patroclus uses many similes to describe Achilles during his military drills. List as many similes as you can identify.

6. How does the relationship between Patroclus and Achilles change from Chapter 3 to Chapter 6?

Paired Resource

“Phthia”

• Information regarding Achilles’s homeland
• Compared with the depiction in the novel, what have archaeologists discovered about Phthia?

“Thetis”

• An overview of the nereid Thetis in Greek mythology
• Compare and contrast the depictions of Thetis between the above resource and this novel.

Chapters 7-15

Reading Check

1. How is Chiron different from other people that Patroclus has met?

2. Who comprises the “trinity” of Patroclus’s fears?

3. Why does King Peleus summon Achilles and Patroclus?

4. Why is Deidameia sent away?

5. How does Patroclus identify Odysseus in Chapter 14?

6. Why is Hector important for Achilles’s prophecy?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

Describe the circumstances surrounding Achilles leaving Phthia.

1. Compare and contrast how Chiron evaluates Achilles and Patroclus’s fighting abilities.

2. Summarize the years that Achilles and Patroclus spent together on Mount Pelion. What do the two boys learn about their relationship?

3. Which important past event does Patroclus remember in Chapter 11? Describe how this links him to the impending war.

4. Where does Thetis bring Achilles? Describe where Patroclus finds him and what surprising news he learns there.

5. Why do Odysseus and Diomedes visit Achilles and Patroclus? Describe what further information Achilles learns about his prophecy from both Odysseus and Thetis.

Paired Resource

“Chiron”

• Information regarding Chiron in Greek mythology
• Compare and contrast the information in this resource with Miller’s depiction of Chiron.

The Odyssey

• SuperSummary’s Study Guide for Homer’s second epic poem
• In which way does Athena support Odysseus in Miller’s novel and Homer’s epic poem?

Chapters 16-24

Reading Check

1.What phrase does Peleus call his son upon return to Phthia?

2. Why does Iphigenia come to Aulis?

3. Who would be the leader of the Greeks if it was not Achilles?

4. According to Briseis, how are the gods reacting to the war?

5. What knowledge does Patroclus learn from Chiron that he can apply during his time in Troy?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What weather changes as the armies prepare to sail from Aulis? Describe what brings upon this change and what they must do to continue their voyage.

2. Describe the Greek strategy for their initial attack on Troy. How do the armies inside Troy’s citadel respond?

3. Who is Briseis? Summarize her companionship with Patroclus.

4. How has Achilles offended Hector?

5. Describe the mutiny the Greek soldiers try to start four years into the Trojan War. How does the situation end?

Paired Resource

“The Erasure of LGBT History”

• An article on Academus Education on LGBT representation in various depictions of Greek mythology, including Miller’s novel
• How does Miller erase any ambiguity in her version of Achilles and Patroclus’s love story?

Summary of The Iliad

• Video summary and analysis of Homer’s first epic poem
• Connects to the themes of The Immutability of Fate and The Condition of Women
• How does Patroclus’s role compare in The Iliad to Miller’s novel?

Chapters 25-33

Reading Check

1. What does Achilles decide after he disagrees with Agamemnon?

2. Why is Patroclus enraged with Achilles in Chapter 26?

3. Who does Patroclus kill in Chapter 30?

4. What is Patroclus’s last thought?

5. Who is the next Aristos Achaion?

6. What generous act does Thetis do in the last chapter?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Summarize the events surrounding Chryses and Chryseis. How does this situation affect the Greek armies?

2. What is Thetis’s idea to support her son in Chapter 27?

3. What plan does Patroclus concoct in Chapter 30? How does Achilles respond?

4. Summarize the events surrounding Achilles’s battle with Hector.

5. What request does Pyrrhus deny? What are the implications of this denial?

Recommended Next Reads 

Circe by Madeline Miller

• This 2018 novel centers on various Greek myths from the perspective of the female protagonist Circe.
• Circe on SuperSummary

Antigone by Sophocles

• This Ancient Greek tragedy touches on the themes of The Immutability of Fate, What It Means to Be a Hero, and The Condition of Women, within the scope of the importance of burial rites in the ancient Greek tradition.
• Antigone on SuperSummary