A brief note as introduction: “translation” and “adaptation” are markedly different forms and as such are not interchangeable in discussion. “Translation” refers to a work being preserved in a target language by as many of the linguistic markers of the source language as possible, while “adaptation” implies a more creative approach “that makes the text culturally appropriate, accurate, and understandable” (“Translation”). By that standard then, The Song of Achilles is an adaptation of Homer’s The Iliad, as opposed to a direct translation; also evident by the handful of creative liberties Miller takes through the course of the novel that are technically unfaithful to the source work.
By and large, The Song of Achilles seems to have been a well-received adaptation of the original epic. A detail of the new version of the story that’s revisited by many is the obvious form shift from lyrical to prose, and because of the narrative demand, a point of view from first-person. This change “allows for a more intimate window into [Patroclus’] relationship with Achilles […] and second, it gives a queer person a voice in history” (Veldhuizen). There is an inner dialogue in The Song of Achilles, where the Iliad has none. Not only does Patroclus as the narrator ensure that his own tenderness is illustrated, but that Achilles too is explored as “less of a hero and more as an isolated misfit,” taking the classically, horrifically skilled hero and giving us someone more humanized and even sympathetic (Minkowich). This new depth of character between both men is only reinforced by the first act of the book, wholly crafted by Miller given it exists outside the period covered in the epic. That willingness to dip outside the bounds of the Iliad makes not only the opportunity for impressive detail and scene, but allows Miller to utilize her long-accumulated expertise in the “classics”,
tak[ing] the strange myths that accrete around Achilles—the education by Chiron on Mount Pelion, the concealment on Scyros in women’s clothing—and imagines us into them so richly that the boundaries between human and mythical blur. (Conybeare)
It would be neglectful to leave Miller’s prose unmentioned when discussing the success of her debut. While it maintains some criticism for overly flowery language, there is an even wider lauding the “prose [that] is more poetic than almost any translation of Homer” (Haynes). The text is, additionally, a more accessible version of the myth, where “the writing makes this book very easy to understand even when you don’t know about Greek Mythology or are not familiar with the Iliad,” making for an overall accessible version of the story where the strict translations may be off-putting in their overbearing demand on comprehension (ananya).
So then among classicists (for the most part) and general audiences alike, it can be said with confidence that The Song of Achilles’ place as an adaptation of the original story has been well-received.
Works Cited
ananya. Comment on “The Song of Achilles.” Goodreads, 15 Oct. 2021. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4286126833.
Conybeare, Catherine. “The Song of Achilles: Review.” Bryn Mawr Classical Review, Bryn Mawr College, 2012, https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2012/2012.02.38/.
Haynes, Natalie. “The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller – review.” The Guardian, 29 Sept. 2011. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/sep/29/song-of-achilles-miller-review.
Minkwich, Hamutal. “The Song of Achilles.” University College London, 2022, https://www.ucl.ac.uk/classics/outreach/public-engagement/song-achilles.
“Translation and Adaptation—Key Differences.” Acculing, 2021, https://www.acculing.com/difference-between-translation-and-adaptation/#:~:text=While%20translation%20is%20simply%20about,culturally%20appropriate%2C%20accurate%20and%20understandable.
Veldhuizen, Alexa. “Mēnin Love: The Song of Achilles and the Importance of Queer Representation in Classical Reception.” Academia, https://www.academia.edu/51011063/M%C4%93nin_Love_The_Song_of_Achilles_and_the_Importance_of_Queer_Representation_in_Classical_Reception.