#achilles rambles

[achilles-invulnerable-heel]

Iliad book 18, 94-116. Translation by me

Then Thetis grieved her son, eyes overflowing with tears

“Your words have doomed you, my child, to an early death!

Immediately after Hektor falls, you will die too.” 

Swift Footed Achilles, miserable, cried out;

"I wish I'd die now, instead!

I was no help to my companion when he lay dying

dying, so far from his home.

he needed me to protect him and where was I?

I'll never see my home again either.

I didn't bring any light to Patroclus, or to the rest of my dying friends

many of whom Hektor himself killed.

No, no here I sit by the ships, useless, a burden to the good earth beneath me.

I could have done something, I am best of the Achaeans in war,

I only fall short in the assembly.

I wish strife would die, would leave gods and men alone,

and anger too, which drives men wiser than I into madness. 

That madness tastes sweeter than honey,

while it fills your soul like smoke.

Yes, that is the anger Agamemnon incited in me.

But I don't have time for grief,

I'll muzzle my heart in my chest, because I have no other choice.

And now, I go to face that murderer, Hektor, who cut short the dearest life of all.

I will welcome death,

the gods can fulfill my doom whenever they please."

[tboybobreynolds]

i love trans men i love trans masculinity i love being a trans man i love being gnc as a trans man i loveeeeeee being a boy i love being a man i love men

[silver-ink-iron-words-reblogs]

So I just finished reading The Song of Achilles, and forgive me if I'm stating the obvious but . . .

About two thirds of the way in, Thetis tells the boys that there is a new prophecy, that "the best of Myrmidons will die before two more years have passed." And at first they're afraid that it's Achilles, but then Thetis tells them that he will be alive when it happens

The first time I read this, I didn't understand. It was only when I read that passage again, after knowing what happens, that I realized the prophecy was about Patroclus

The book even acknowledges it later on, when Briseis is saying goodbye to him . . . "'Best of men. Best of Myrmidons.' She places her fingers to my lips, stopping my objection. 'It is truth,' she says. 'Let it stand for once.'"

In the first half of the book, a lot of Patroclus's pov is dedicated to describing how beautiful and amazing Achilles is. And when you see how ordinary and pathetic Patroclus makes himself look in comparison, you almost start to wonder why Achilles loves him in the first place

But Patroclus was the best of all of them, even better than Achilles. No one else had his kindness, his tenderness, his unwavering care for others

And Achilles knew this. Further on, Briseis says that Patroclus was worth ten of him, and Achilles doesn't disagree

[weeby-monster-the-bastard]

i want to make achilleas in my novel have scales on his body here and there so baddddddd bc baby boi is part of his mother who is sea nymph HELLO??

smake the scaly child???

YASSSSSSSS

NOOOOOO

see results (other: put in comments or reblogs)

Voting ended onNov 12, 2024

[santryss]

It’s sob your eyes out hour.

So y’all know how in the Song of Achilles, when Achilles leaves he hugs Chiron and promises he’ll be back? And Chiron is just standing there, watching, knowing that he won’t.

And this is mythologically accurate too. In some accounts, Chiron raised Achilles and Patroclus. He not only trains them as warriors, but raises them like he would his own children.

Now, imagine this moment again in the Song of Achilles. Achilles is promising he’ll be back, that he’ll live through the war and return to Chiron, and Chiron has to stand there and listen to him all while thinking “𝘕𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵”. Imagine the 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬. He’s sending these boys he’s raised, his sons in everything but blood, off to war knowing that he’ll never see them again. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he has to do it while that same son is promising he will.

If that doesn’t hurt enough, imagine Chiron actually got his hopes up. Achilles was one of the strongest Greek warriors to ever live (and while Chiron didn’t know it, Achilles’ anger had to be restrained otherwise he would have defied the Fated and ended the war before it was supposed to) so maybe, just maybe, he could defeat the prophecy and come home. But then he learns, 10 years later, that is wasn’t true. Both of his sons had died, they weren’t coming home. They couldn’t keep their promise. And Chiron’s heart shattered all over again because even though he knew it couldn’t happen, he had hoped.

The Song of Achilles broke my heart and I knew what was going to happen before I even read it. But thinking about this showed me that there were still pierces of my heart to shatter 😭

[thee-achilles]

it’s my birthday today !!!! :DDDD

[levipensieven]

*Achilles standing drunk on a bar stand trying to say something*

Patroclus: *Pulling his leg* STOP! You shouldn't!

Achilles: I JUST WANTED YOU ALL LOSERS TO KNOW I HAVE THE BEST BOYFRIEND IN THE ENTIRE FCKING UNIVERSE AND HE ALSO HAS PERFECT COLLAR BONES AND A BIG DIC-

*pat drags him down*

*Odysseus, Menelaus, Ajax sighs in the crowd*

[cryingdutchmann]

when i read the song of achilles i was very surprised at how genuine and equally matched their love for each other was. there wasn’t any such thing as one being more in love than the other. i’ve become so accustomed to that trope, that i kept waiting for it to happen; but it never did. i’m so used to love being a miserable, painful, unrequited thing, i kept expecting the moment when finally their unconditional love reached its limit but it never fucking did.

there was never a moment that patroclus wouldn’t have died, fought, or killed for his lover. and never one moment where achilles wouldn’t do the same. it never mattered that achilles was aristos achaion, because patroclus was the world to him and never stopped being so.

we never had to watch them grow apart, or become bitter towards each other. it was all pure, faultless, unyielding love until the very end. they never had to yearn, they never had to doubt. patroclus agonized over the idea of one day losing his achilles, constantly worrying over him. and achilles completely wrecked with grief over losing his most beloved.