Anne Carson’s novel in verse, Autobiography of Red, retells a Greek myth about a young red monster with wings named Geryon, whose story is known because it ended with famed hero Herakles (or Hercules in Roman) killing him and his dog. It does so in verse, much like the original myth, but it puts Geryon’s narrative in modern times, in America (not said directly but widely assumed), Argentina, and Peru. Reading about Herakles (whom I strongly dislike) reminded me of another Greek hero whom I have incredibly mixed feelings towards—Achilles, star of the Trojan War. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller is one of my all-time favorite books for many reasons, but especially because it portrays Achilles not as a perfect hero, but as a complex individual who could be violent and selfish as much as he was beloved and admired by those around him. While Herakles in Autobiography of Red is considerably more unlikeable, his depiction in other forms of media (such as the Disney movie Hercules) portray better sides of him. I thought it would be interesting to compare the portrayal of the two in recent retellings, as they are two of the most famous Greek heroes still talked about today.
In both novels, Herakles and Achilles are depicted through the eyes of the men (or boys, as Geryon is fourteen) who love them. Even so, we understand that they are not perfect, as lovers or as men. Achilles is horribly selfish. He was born nearly invulnerable, and from a young age was told through prophecies that he would be the greatest warrior of his age. When the Trojan War began, it was told that the Greeks would never win the war without him. This also builds his arrogance. The selfishness comes in The Song of Achilles (I can’t speak too much to the original myth) when he is told he can either live out his days in peaceful anonymity (and have a full life with his lover Patroclus) but his name will be lost to history, or he will receive abundant glory and honor but die young (at Troy). Prioritizing glory more than the wishes of his mother, Thetis, and Patroclus, who do not want to see him dead, he chooses to fight in Troy even though it will cost him his future. This decision snowballs and throughout the years at Troy, his actions indirectly and sometimes directly condemn many people to die, including Patroclus. He is also a vicious and brutal warrior, similar to Herakles in his own myths.
Where they differ, however, is that Achilles is not a cruel lover in the same way that Herakles is. He hurts Patroclus, inevitably, but he does understand him unlike anyone else, and truly loves him. In fact, he vows to be the first-ever hero who is happy and tells Patroclus it’ll be because of him. On the other end of the spectrum, Herakles kills Geryon in the original myth and mostly uses him for sex in Autobiography in Red. There’s never any understanding that Herakles has genuine feelings for Geryon aside from lust. Geryon seems to understand this too, saying, “Yellow! Yellow! Even in dreams he doesn’t know me at all!” (Carson 74). This is in response to Herakles recounting a dream with Geryon in it, where there was a lot of yellow, and Geryon only ever associates himself with the color red. Herakles also admits himself, “I guess I’m someone who will never be satisfied” (Carson 44). He is not with Geryon because he loves him—their relationship is merely physical, a placeholder until someone new comes along. We see this confirmed near the end of the novel when Herakles cheats on his new lover, Ancash, by having sex with Geryon.
Herakles and Achilles both have incredible capacities to be violent, volatile, and cruel, but in retellings of their stories, Achilles is the one with at least some sense of compassion. He is shown as being able to care about people other than himself (mainly Patroclus and the people of his native island), but Herakles is never given any redeeming qualities in Carson’s novel. This may be, in part, because the popular retellings often depict Herakles (as Hercules) as a glittering, chivalrous, and incredibly masculine hero. Anne Carson pushes back on this narrative and portrays a more realistic characterization of a horny teenage boy/young man.
I love Song of Achilles too and I’m glad you brought up the point about how both that novel and Autobiography of Red are essentially love stories told from the unreliable narrator of a young boy. I think in both Patroclus’ and Geryon’s love-sick naivety, a lot of red flags are ignored. Like you mentioned, obviously Achilles is a better lover than Herakles as Herakles is somewhat abusive towards Geryon. Achilles is formidable, but he is much more humanized. Your post made me wonder what was going on with Herakles beyond the surface and what we know from Geryon’s narration. Maybe Anne Carson’s vision was to stay true to the myth, but I think it’s interesting how he very much remains this far away, almost larger-than-life figure throughout the novel and never gets more developed like Achilles does.
I love your blog post and how it puts these two Greek Myth retellings together. I think what was really interesting about Autobiography of Red was that I felt that it reflected the end of Herakles’ myth more than it reflected Geryon’s myth. You say that Herakles was a brutal lover to Geryon and I think that sort of matches with the myth. In the end, Herakles goes insane and kills his wife and children whereas Achilles is not portrayed as a kind person at all in The Iliad but is shown to have redeeming qualities in Song of Achilles. I wonder why these authors decided to implement some changes of their own to Achilles and Herakles and their behavior.