Quotes from Madeline Miller

first blood was ours, spilt by the god-like prince of Phthia.

Il bagliore roseo delle sue labbra, il verde febbricitante dei suoi occhi. Il suo viso non aveva nemmeno una ruga, nemmeno un'increspatura, un accenno di grigio: era fresco e prefetto. Lui era primavera, dorato e splendente. La Morte invidiosa avrebbe bevuto il suo sangue, e sarebbe diventata giovane di nuovo.

said what he meant; he was puzzled if you did not. Some people might have mistaken this for simplicity. But is it not a sort of genius to cut always to the heart?

He is half my soul, as the poets say>"

The strangeness began as a prickling of my skin. First the quail went silent, then the dove. The leaves stilled, and the breeze died, and no animals moved in the brush. There was a quality to the silence like a held breath. Like the rabbit beneath the hawk's shadow. I could feel my pulse striking my skin.

J'avais commis tant d'erreurs que je ne pouvais pas remonter jusqu'à la première dans le labyrinthe qu'elles formaient.

You are weak and blind, and it is worse because you choose it.

Its burst of grainy sweetness filled my mouth; the skin was downy on my tongue. I had loved figs, once.

His hands were in his lap, spear-callused but beautiful still. No hands had ever been so gentle, or so deadly. Overhead, the stars were veiled. I could feel the air's heaviness. There would be a storm tonight. The rain would be soaking, filling up the earth till she burst her seams. It would gush down from the mountaintops, gathering strength to sweep away what stood in its path: animals and houses and men. He is such a flood, I thought.

Adesso ogni minuto era una goccia di sangue e amore che andava persa.

He didn't bother to threaten me, yet. I hated him for it. I should be worth threatening.

Ta?iau vienatvei pasmerktame gyvenime pasitaiko ret? akimirk?, kai greta tavo sielos netik?tai nusileidžia kita, kaip kad žvaigžd?s kart? per metus paglosto žem?. Man jis buvo b?tent tokia žvaigžd?

As Odysseus said, many boys took each other for lovers. But such things were given up as they grew older, unless it was with slaves or hired boys. Our men liked conquest; they did not trust a man who was conquered himself.

For me these four years had been an abundance, time that had been wrested from the hands of the miserly fates. But for them it was a life stolen: from children and wives, from family and home.

I lay on the ground after, breathing with effort. I would be left in peace. Peace. I would have laughed if I were not so ill.

His eyes opened. "Name one hero who was happy." I considered. Heracles went mad and killed his family; Theseus lost his bride and father; Jason's children and new wife were murdered by his old; Bellerophon killed the Chimera but was crippled by the fall from Pegasus' back.

He touched his fingers to the strings. The notes leapt out into the air, bright and silver-sweet. He gathered them into a melody as effortlessly as if he were a god of music himself, so that the whole room seemed to live inside the sound.

E dopotutto forse il dolore più grande è quello di chi viene lasciato da solo sulla terra. Non credi?

For me, the Greek gods reflect what happens to humans when we see only ourselves and our own needs.

Do you understand?" I could feel her breath on my cheek, not warm at all, but chilled like the depths of the sea. Do you understand? He had told me that she hated to be kept waiting.

The Fates were well known for such riddles, unclear until the final piece had fallen. Then, bitterly clear.

He was half my soul, as the poets say

the Erinyes, our hissing spirits of vengeance, were not always particular.

There was a quality to the silence like a held breath.