Troy Quotes

“The gods envy us. They envy us because we’re mortal, because any moment may be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we’re doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again.”
― Brad Pitt

“And overpowered by memory
Both men gave way to grief. Priam wept freely
For man - killing Hector, throbbing, crouching
Before Achilles' feet as Achilles wept himself,
Now for his father, now for Patroclus once again
And their sobbing rose and fell throughout the house.”
― Homer, The Iliad

“Everything is more beautiful because we are doomed. You will never be more lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again.”
― Brad Pitt

“Why should I blame her that she filled my days
With misery, or that she would of late
Have taught to ignorant men most violent ways,
Or hurled the little streets upon the great,
Had they but courage equal to desire?
What could have made her peaceful with a mind
That nobleness made simple as a fire,
With beauty like a tightened bow, a kind
That is not natural in an age like this
Being high and solitary and most stern?
Why, what could she have done, being what she is?
Was there another Troy for her to burn?”
― William Butler Yeats, The Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats

“Rest in Peace?’ Why that phrase? That’s the most ridiculous phrase I’ve ever heard! You die, and they say ‘Rest in Peace!’ …Why would one need to ‘rest’ when they’re dead?! I spent thousands of years of world history resting. While Agamemnon was leading his ships to Troy, I was resting. While Ovid was seducing women at the chariot races, I was resting. While Jeanne d’Arc was hallucinating, I was resting. I wait until airplanes are scuttling across the sky to burst out onto the scene, and I’m only going to be here for a short while, so when I die, I certainly won’t need to rest again! Not while more adventures of the same kind are going on.”
― Roman Payne, Rooftop Soliloquy

“After so many years even the fire of passion dies, and with it what was believed the light of the truth. Who of us is able to say now whether Hector or Achilles was right, Agamemnon or Priam, when they fought over the beauty of a woman who is now dust and ashes?”
― Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose

“But the queen--too long she has suffered the pain of love,
hour by hour nursing the wound with her lifeblood,
consumed by the fire buried in her heart. [...]
His looks, his words, they pierce her heart and cling--
no peace, no rest for her body, love will give her none.”
― Virgil, The Aeneid

“the dank night is sweeping down from the sky
and the setting stars incline our heads to sleep.”
― Virgil

“The ship's boards were still sticky with new resin. We leaned over the railing to wave our last farewell, the sun-warm wood pressed against our bellies. The sailors heaved up the anchor, square and chalky with barnacles, and loosened the sails. Then they took their seats at the oars that fringed the boat like eyelashes, waiting for the count. The drums began to beat, and the oars lifted and fell, taking us to Troy.”
― Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles

“And there they ring the walls, the young, the lithe. The handsome hold the graves they won in Troy; the enemy earth rides over those who conquered.
”
― Aeschylus, Agamemnon

“Troy sighed with frustration. "Let me get this straight. We're stuck in the story of Romeo and Juliet and we can't get home without a magic charm from Shakespeare's quill, which doesn't exist in this world. However, we might be able to get home when the story ends, but if Romeo and Juliet don't meet, then we don't have a story. More important, we don't have an ending."
Friar Laurence tsk tsked. He placed his speckled hand on Troy's forehead. "Bless you, my son, but a fever has muddled your mind.”
― Suzanne Selfors, Saving Juliet

“I had only to remember that centuries before, men fell in battle for the daughter of Troy, that passions carried greater weight than decorum. It took so little to prove that human life and property are devastatingly temporary. All she had to do was lie down for a prince. They burned the city to the ground.”
― Brenna Yovanoff

“He waved to me to be quiet, as if I were annoying background noise. "Look, whatever your name is..."
Benvolio Montague."
Right. Look, Benvolio, why don't we go outside and get a taxi? My label has a New York office. We can go there and get you a money order or something." He smile, thinking himself clever. "Come on, what do you say?"
Benvolio raised an eyebrow. "I am begining to believe that you are insane.”
― Suzanne Selfors, Saving Juliet

“To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" he said.
I placed my hands flat on the table and leaned across it. "Stay the hell away from him."
"Who? Oh, you mean the guy who's gonna bite it soon?"
"He's not. He's going to be fine."
He reached a hand out and placed it over my own. I snatched my hand back. He shook his head at me and whispered, "You can't stop it."
"Watch me.”
― Megan Miranda, Fracture

“Why, what could she have done, being what she is? Was there another Troy for her to burn?”
― William Butler Yeats, The Collected Works of W. B. Yeats: The Complete Works PergamonMedia

“We were silent a moment. 'So, which of the suitors would you have picked?' I shoved him, and he laughed”
― Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles

“Achilles shook him. "Just come back.”
― Pat Barker, The Silence of the Girls

“Achilles' story never ends: wherever men fight and die, you'll find Achilles.”
― Pat Barker, The Women of Troy

“Be careful tomorrow,' she says. 'Best of men. Best of the Myrmidons...It is truth,' she says. 'Let it stand, for once.”
― Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles

“President Donald Trump is the canary in a coal mine. A babbling asshat from a galaxy far, far away.”
― A.K. Kuykendall

“That mortal is a fool who destroys a city,
its temples, its tombs, and the precincts of the dead,
making them a waste. He will be destroyed himself.”
― Euripides, Women of Troy/Hecuba/Helen

“I knew he spoke not of his death, but of the nightmare Odysseus had spun, the loss of his brilliance, the withering of his grace. I had seen the joy he took in his own skill, the roaring vitality that was always just beneath the surface. Who was he if not miraculous, and radiant? Who was he if not destined for fame?”
― Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles

“The never-ending ache of love and sorrow. Perhaps in some other life I could have refused, could have torn my hair and screamed, and made him face his choice alone. But not in this one. He would sail to Troy, and I would follow, even into death. Yes, I whispered. Yes.”
― Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles

“It is right to seek peace for the dead. You and I both know that there is no peace for those who live after.'
'No,' Achilles whispers.”
― Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles

“In human affairs there is no room for certainty”
― Virgil, Aeneid, Books VII-XII

“...They never let you be famous and happy.' He lifted an eyebrow. 'I'll tell you a secret.'
'Tell me.' I loved it when he was like this.
'I'm going to be the first.' He took my palm and held it to his. 'Swear it.'
'Why me?'
'Because you're the reason. Swear it.'
'I swear it,' I said, lost in the high colour of his cheeks, the flame in his eyes.”
― Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles

“He's going to Troy to kill men, not rescue them...He is a weapon, a killer. Do not forget it. You can use a spear as a walking stick, but that will not change its nature.”
― Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles

“I have killed a son of Zeus, but it is not enough.”
― Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles

“Maybe not, but I'll have you know that I'm a trained gladiator, and I'm a lot stronger than you think. I'll bet even that gorilla behind you there can't match me.”
― Phoebe Hinkle, Thunder of Time

“It Never Troubles The Wolf
How Many The Sheep May Be.”
― Allen Mandelbaum, The Aeneid of Virgil