#“the rage of achilles” was when he run after hector around troy and then killed him and dragged his dead body

[sophiejanefostersilver]

"sing, o goddess, about the rage of achilles"

are we talking about the beginning or the ending?

[katerinaaqu]

GIRL!!! How can you write such amazing and perceptive comments is beyond me! I have read them all like a thousand times like books! ^_^ (Girl mentioning your amazing art with our dear babies is the vert least I can do!)

As you know it always means so much when someone not aware of the lore or the people involved and they still can see where the text goes and all and I love you for all the insight you bring! And man those wre the key points of this! Because arguably this is a very simple piece of text that I wrote on an impulse that morning! ^_^

For the reference this takes place after the events of the Iliad. Priam has begged Achilles to give him back the body of Hector, which Achilles was defiling for days, dragging it around the walls of Troy with his chariot and at nights he was leaving it to rot outside his tent and he would have succeeded if the gods hadn't preserved it. Priam had begged Achilles for mercy and the return of his son for proper burial. Achilles finally moved he agreed and gave Hector to Priam and he promised that no Greek would fight Troy till the period of mourning for Hector was done. This was technically tops a few days after that point and now the Greeks and Trojans are planning the next day for battle. Antilochus here is the son of Nestor, whom I also briefly mention to my Odysseus age analysis as well as my Achilles and Patroclus analysis. As a figure he is yet another youth very fond of Achilles and apparently Achilles was very fond of him as well (According to Nestor in the Odyssey, Antilochus was his second favorite after Patroclus). Unfortunately Antilochus dies in battle, protecting his father from the Ethiopian king Memnon. Achilles sees this and falls into yet another terrifying fit of mad rage and rushes against the city of Troy in his mania. Depends on the source but probably the most famous says that Paris shoots an arrow from the walls and manages to hit Achilles to his heel ultimately leading to his death (according to some versions by poison that was in the arrow or because his foot was his weak spot in general). Then there is an epic battle that follows with Aias the Telamonian (or Ajax the Greater) and Odysseus trying to bring back the body of Achilles along with his weapons so no Trojan would strip him off his armor as a dead man. And as we know that also leads to Ajax and Odysseus compete for the armor, Odysseus wins and Ajax turns mad by Athena ultimately killing himself in shame.

Oh gosh girl thank you so much! TT_TT I remember those accute depression notes how people often cannot even get out of bed, they feel everything is helpless and everything matters not. In the case of Achilles after the series of intense emotions from grief to wild rage and triumph to pity, he is back to the feeling of empty depression and yeah as you brilliantly stated, he realized that his revenge played no role to Patroclus. He is dead and he will ever be. I am so happy you think so!!! TT-TT and yeah he is just empty inside and feeling helpless like nothing matters anymore; glory or wars. And yeah even if he expresses his honest love for Briseis many times over in the Iliad obviously Patroclus is just another level for him; he was his everything at some point so yeah it is hard to imagine how he felt that day. Not to mention the self-blame! Ultimately Achilles was the one to send Patroclus in battle because he refused to join the fight even if Patroclus begged him for it. The what if scenarios running through his head at that time must have been absolutely wild.

Yay! You got it! I wanted to just keep the relationships of the characters in this one-shot as close to homeric writing as possible who wasn't at all afraid to show affection to the extreme and yet he still didn't actively named them lovers and yet that energy was always there which is why as you brilliantly stated, I added the bed there. The bed is also a symbol for lovers but also people who are close in general! It was also a hint to the Iliad how Patroclus and Achilles spend the night together each with their respective lovers plus the tragic scenes in which Achilles literally had the dead body of Patroclus next to him and crying over it! And yes I imagine what it must have felt for him to know that Patroclus died out there, Hector removed the armor from his body and all and yet Achilles was never there...he couldn't even be with him in his last moments! And yeah I wanted to make Achilles self-conscious how he knows he is depressed over his dead companion and he wonders whether he would do the same for his own wife and son and the thought is of course devasting to him even.

Thank you so much!!!! It is arguably one of my favorite scenes to write here second to the embracing moment and the consolation between them! I just thought that because he had an encounter with Patroclus's ghost in the Iliad he would just have this mad hope he would somehow bargain his way so that he can see him again. Yeah he is completely taken over by grief... TT_TT

Awwww thank you so much!!!!! I just wondered how tenderly Antilochus might try to talk to him given how tenderly he was holding his hands before so that he wouldn't hurt himself. He seemed to be a very tender boy with Achilles and I wanted to capture it here. Aww thank you so much once again!!!! I thought it would make sense for the protective instinct to wake up inside Achilles at that moment and help him snap out of some of his grief for one moment to realize that he has something he still wants to fight for.

Dunno why I thought that fate would connect them but man it worked way too well in my head not to mention it here! And man you have your way with words dear!!! That was exactly what I wanted here especially for Achilles and I couldn't have said it better! And man yeah I so love it when characters share their vulnerable sides! It is one of my favorite tropes to see read and write on!

Hehehehe yup! Massive inspiration from our stuff and your amazing idea for that dialog! ^_^ Achilles begs him to stay because he is afraid of his own dark and gloomy thoughts. Caleb is begging Dilla to stay because his emotions have taken over him again.

Hehehehehe couldn't help adding him there. Somehow wanted to create this difference between the generations (aka Antilochus and Achilles vs Odysseus and Nestor) and yeah I wanted Odysseus to consider it all both from his personal daresay "egocentric" point of view (aka "I want to go home. I don't care about this war") till the more general perspective of his how he wants to protect the people that rely on him ("Our soldiers will lose their spirits at this point") and yeah somehow the fact that Achilles goes from a metal breakdown to the other is somehow heartbreaking on its own for the individual itself and yet Odysseus thinks closer on the aspect of war at this point. Our best soldier at a mental turmoil is dangerous for the spirits of the army not necessarily feeling sorry for him as a person (not entirely at least). He can understad his suffering and yet he chooses to see the bigger picture first.

Unlike Antilochus who thinks of Achilles first and the war second, Odysseus thinks of the war first and Achilles second, if that makes sense. I wanted this duality there for them.

Oh gosh dear! Calling the little detail of me making Nestor wearing furs to keep himself warmer because of age "attention to detail" means so much from a master of details such as yourself. And gosh girl you TRULY have your way with seeing things! Exactly! Achilles gains some of his spirits and yet Nestor loses some of his own realizing that there is something ominous that is about to happen and yeah now at the end Odysseys too, finally one can say, sees the individuals as well; two young men who suffer now not soldiers that are symbols among the people they try to rule. And yeah he realizes in the eyes of Nestor that these are their legacies; the young generation that perishes at war while others older are still there surviving. In a way wanted to connect it also to a forshadowing with the suitors too, given how Odysseus too single-handedly will destroy the young legacy of his own island 10 years counting from that moment.

Gosh girl your comments and ideas and perception always make my day!!!!!

The Lament of a Life (Achilles and Antilochus short songfic)

If someone asks me how the lament of Achilles looks like my answer would be the amazing aria with music composed by Vivaldi:

The lyrics go on a repeat like this:

So today is a bit chilly and so I was inspired by this amazing song and made this! (Sorry itis a random inspiration I had this morning from this piece thus the title "song-fic")

***

His eyelids were heavy. He didn’t feel like getting up anymore. His bed seemed cold and inhospitable and yet he didn’t feel like moving out of it. His eyes opened slowly and looked to the side. It was empty. He looked outside his tent. Also empty. There was nothing left; he didn’t have the subject of his revenge anymore; he had given it back. Hector’s body was buried and celebrated. His revenge had come to an end. And yet, he felt empty. Nothing mattered. Achilles, the Best and Noblest of all the Greeks was no longer feeling anything mattered. What would it matter now that the subject of his vengeance was gone, if the subject of all the affections he could offer to a human being was also gone? His soul was in turmoil throughout the process. He thought on Briseis, the woman that he felt so strongly for; merely a slave and yet so important for him, had started this domino of reactions which led him to the strike; his refusal to fight. Then his refusal led to this terrible result; the death of his other half. The flame that flickered inside him was gone, the moment Patroclus’s eyes turned glassy from death and he wasn’t even there. During Patroclus’s last moments…he wasn’t there! He remembered his wife; a woman he barely knew and yet she gave him a son, a son he adored despite his young years, a son that he never knew and a son that never knew him back. He could be lamenting for them; they wouldn’t see him again possibly. Given the prophecy, he was to die in war. Possibly neither his wife nor his son, were included in the prophecy. He should be crying for them. He should be crying for the people that were around him and yet…he was feeling weak; unwilling to even get out of his bed and eat because of… He slowly forced himself to sit up and he looked at the magnificent urn with two handles that was always within eye gaze from him. The intricate patterns were cold; just like his bed that could not give him warmth.

“Come back…” he whispered in a voice chocked deep in his throat

Tears oozed out of his sea-blue eyes; his throat burning anew.

“I did what you asked…I offered you a burial…come back…! Please…come back to me!”

His hand was shaking as it was reaching for the cold, golden urn; his other fixing the covers upon his naked chest, in a vain attempt to generate some warmth within.

“Please…” he whispered again, “Come back…!”

“Achilles…”

The young and soft voice didn’t surprise him neither made him react. Antilochus was standing right behind him, undoubtedly had entered his tent a little while prior, enough to hear his foolish and childish lament.

“He won’t come back…” the young man said as a matter of fact, “You offered him a burial. He is in the land of Hades now… He will not come back”

More tears arose from Achilles’s eyes as he clasped desperately the covers against his chest; his face buried to the pocket created by them as if his own eyes wanted to confirm what hurt so much was indeed the organ that was pumping his blood, giving him life inside. Yes, he knew. His cut hair was also a proof of that but hearing it again was somehow destroying that foolish illusion that if he begged hard enough, goddess Persephone would have mercy and send back Patroclus to him; his soul to talk to or at least restore his body to hold one more time…

“Soul of my soul…” he mumbled in lament, “My dear as my own heart…”

“Shh…” Antilochus whispered in tears, hugging his shoulders affectionately, “I know… I know… Please don’t do this to yourself… I know it hurts but…he’s gone… No matter what you do…how much you melt…he won’t come back…”

“Heart of my heart…” Achilles lamented again, “I want him back…! I want him to come back…”

“I know…” Antilochus said again, caressing his golden locks with his hands

Achilles seemed almost aged at that point in his sorrow. Antilochus almost felt tempted to look for white hairs in his golden head.

“And I am sorry that I cannot offer you any consolation… Forgive me. I am not him; I cannot take your sorrow away…”

Antilochus softly raised Achilles’s head, cupping his cheeks and making him look deep in the eyes. He moped the tears from his cheekbones with his thumbs.

“I know I am young and foolish…but, please, take one bit of advice from me; stop looking at it! Stop looking at that urn! It will only hurt you more… You need to come back to us too…we need you…”

He looked away.

“I need you…” he whispered shyly, “You are my hero, my idol… I need you back, strong and healthy…maybe some of your previous happiness back… Please…please my dear…we all need you. Above all I do…”

Achilles looked at him and for one moment he looked like a hurt animal facing the peasant that had released him from the hunter’s trap. However then he laughed; it was a dry, humorless, lamenting laugh.

“Don’t be foolish!” he said self-pettily, “No one shall need me! I shall die! I know I will!”

“Don’t talk like that!”

“You can’t deny it, Antilochus! I know it to be true! It was predicted for me! I will die! I will die in this war! My mother told me someday I would die in this war if I decided to fight! I shall never go home! I shall never see my wife and son! I will die now! I know I will and I don’t care! Nothing matters anymore!”

“Don’t say that!” Antilochus retorted again

“I know the truth” Achilles insisted, “I decided it for myself. I know what my fate is! That urn Im staring is waiting for me! I am to die!”

Antilochus looked away. He seemed hesitant; his arm rubbing his upper arm as if he was about to make that confession no one has heard before.

“I’ll tell you a secret…” he whispered, “So am I…”

Achilles seemed surprised and shocked for the first time in that conversation. Suddenly the lament gone; now there was fear in his eyes. Fear for yet another loss.

“My father was hiding it…but I overheard him. An oracle once told him to beware of an Ethiopian. At first I didn’t know…but my father tried to hide it from me. I know now that I am to die somehow by someone from a foreign land… Maybe today maybe tomorrow maybe here maybe at home… I know though that I will die like this…and…”

He swallowed and looked back at Achilles. The elder man gasped seeing tears to Antilochus’s eyes.

“…And I am scared! I am scared, Achilles! I don’t want to tell my father that for he would be ashamed of me and my cowardice but…I am scared! How can you take it, Achilles? How can you live knowing that you will die…?”

“Antilochus…”

Antilochus quickly mopped his own tears, sniffing his nose, trying to find his composure.

“I’m sorry…” he mumbled, “I don’t know what came into me! I just…”

He sighed.

“We need you back” he finally repeated, “You are our strength and our courage. When you are out there we are afraid of nothing!”

“Antilochus!”

And Achilles did something the younger prince never expected; he embraced him.

“Antilochus, dear to my heart…don’t say such things please. Don’t you say that you will die! I will not let you! I…I will protect you!”

“You…you will…?”

“I will!”

Achilles kissed the top of his head and held him close. Maybe for the first time in weeks he didn’t think of death and burials. Right now he was lamenting a life; this young man who was there apparently sharing his pain and fate. No, he wouldn’t see yet another young person close to him die before him in battle!

“I will protect you! I will not let anything happen to you I promise!”

The two men remained there for quite some time, neither wanted to count the time. It was a shared lament for their short lives; a lament that was different than the one for the dead souls. Who would die first? If both of them were destined to die in the war against Troy, who would die first and who would watch the other die? Neither wanted to be the last. Neither wanted to see the other die. What weird and sad fate! Achilles was almost rocking the youth in his arms so worried of his upcoming death while he was almost welcoming his at that point; oftentimes kissing tenderly his temple. Antilochus was trying to evoke some of his warmth to Achilles for he was afraid for his upcoming death; his welcoming of it. He didn’t want to hear fate yet alone his willingness to accept it. It was a weird way to connect that autumn morning. And yet he felt that at least Achilles might have found a reason to postpone his will to die. Antilochus broke the embrace first, standing up.

“Look at us!” he chuckled softly, “Looking like children playing at the gymnasium like this! We have a war to fight! I am sorry…I took your personal time, my lord Achilles…”

“Wait!” Achilles’s voice made him stop, “Stay…please…”

It was a request; a pleading.

“Please stay with me longer…” he almost seemed worried, afraid

“Are you afraid of the dark and shadows?”

“Yes…” Achilles admitted, “More like those inside my heart… Please stay a bit longer…”

Antilochus smiled softly.

“Of course, my lord…” he whispered, “I would be delighted”

*

Outside the tents, the Greeks were already preparing for the events of the day. The kings were to negotiate their next step again given how the mourning period for Hector was over, how the killings would start anew. It was a sad prospect and they knew their own forces wouldn’t last long. The spies were also informing them on movement on Troy’s part to call upon more allies to arrive to the battlefield. Odysseus was thinking all this as he pranced about the camp. He blew some warm air to his freezing fingers. Autumn was in for good. Soon winter would arrive again.

“Yet another year to the foot of Troy…” he thought miserably, “Yet another year away from our homes…for the sakes of this war…”

He was also worried on Achilles. That last lament period shocked everyone. Achilles had just collapsed and then turned into blind rage. People were afraid on his sanity; that his mind would break. An out of control Achilles was much more dangerous than they would have thought. And their army needed their support. Before the Trojans had Hector to even the odds. Now their strongest warrior was gone. It would be their chance to have higher spirits and yet they didn’t. Achilles was a mess. Once more they seemed to square one… He could only hope he would snap out of his grief enough to fight. His gloomy thoughts were interrupted when he saw old Nestor. Nestor was suffering more than the rest of them from the cold; he had a bear skin over his shoulders to keep his old bones warmer and yet he refused to stand back. Odysseus smiled.

“Good morning, my friend” he said

“Good morning” Nestor replied, “It turned chilly!”

“Yeah…” Odysseus agreed, “Sometimes I envy the young!”

“Speaking of which…my son left the tent earlier this morning. He said he wanted to check on Achilles and I didn’t hear from him since. Have you seen him?”

“No” Odysseus replied thoughtfully, “But I was heading there myself to check on things. Maybe he is still there”

As if on a queue they heard light laughter coming from the direction where the Myrdmidons had camped.  The distinct, clear laughter from Achilles made a small smile creep to Odysseus’s lips.

“It’s the first time I hear him laugh in weeks…” he sounded almost hopeful, “Your son is a miracle-worker!”

Nestor smiled back.

“He is…” he whispered thoughtfully, “He is…”

Odysseus’s smile dropped when he saw a shadow in Nestor’s eyes. He didn’t need to ask to know there was something ominous hanging over the two youths.

Yet another time he looked at the cloudy, gray sky and wondered to Athena how all that was even justified…if the youth were to perish and all the others would live…

***

So yeah...Achilles being depressed and Antilochus giving some consolation! TT_TT Achilles hoped to see Patroclus's ghost again (which is what inspired me from that amazing Aria as well!)

Also I wondered if Antilochus knew the warning Nestor got to "beware of an Ethiopian" if he would know or sense the warning was for himself instead of his father...what if he feared it all along...maybe that would be the connection with Achilles!

Set after the mourning period of Hector! As you can see I kept it a bit "homeric" in the essence that I love tenderness in his writing and then leave it unravel!

a small thanking thing in a way too for @smokey07 for honoring me with a mention! Anoher thankng for @h0bg0blin-meat for his sketch to one of my silly headcanons about Achilles and Patroclus! Still makes me giggle my friend!

Also I want you guys check out my brilliant friend's art and mentions on our characters trust me you won't regret it! Many parallels of the epic cycle were added unconsciously to our story! Hahahaha! @artsofmetamoor

My analysis on Achilles and Patroclus can be found here

Antilochus needed some love too there! Hehehe others write scary stories for October but I was like "nope I shall mention ghosts in angst!"

[johaerys-writes]

Prompt maybe?

"You are still alive because my beloved asked me to, but you took him from me. Now no one will beg for your life on your behalf."

Thank you for the prompt! I assumed it was for Patrochilles, so I went with something short, sweet and angsty :) I hope you like!

"I saw Hector on the field today."

Patroclus' eyes snap open. The calm and content expression he wore but a moment ago melts into one of alarm and wariness. "What was he doing?"

"Fighting, of course." Achilles lazily traces Patroclus' jaw with his finger, follows the smooth line of his throat. "He was on his chariot. It is a rather big chariot. Do you think mine is bigger?"

Patroclus pushes himself up on his elbow to fix Achilles with a piercing look. "Did he try to get close to you?"

"He always does." 

"Yes, but did you let him?" 

Achilles smiles, teasing. "Why wouldn't I? He seems quite amiable, don't you think?" 

The flickering firelight dances in Patroclus' honey brown eyes, makes them gleam like bronze. He does not look away, nor does he speak another word, waiting for Achilles' answer even though he's given it countless times already. 

"No," Achilles relents, after several moments of silence. "I did not let him. I told Automedon to lead us away before he could get too close."

Patroclus lets out an audible breath, his shoulders relaxing. "Good," he whispers.

"But I think, next time I see him, I should try waving at him at least, for courtesy's sake. We are, after all, in his lands. Or I could speak to him." Achilles tilts his head as if in thought, lips pursing in a mock frown. "Would it be too forward of me if I asked him to compare the length of our spears? Or perhaps--"

His sentence cuts off abruptly when Patroclus rolls over him, pressing him into the mattress. His features harden with determination. "Promise me," he says. "Promise me you'll never fight him." 

Achilles blinks up at him, taken momentarily aback. "I won't," he says. 

"Promise me you'll never challenge him. That you'll never get close to him."

"I won't. I won't." His hands smooth up Patroclus' sides, slow and soothing. "You know that." 

Patroclus' muscles are still tense under Achilles' palms; he's taut like a drawn string. Achilles cups the back of his neck and pulls him down to him. He brushes his lips over his, tastes the sweetness of his breath on his tongue. "I promise, Patroclus." 

There's a caught sound in the back of Patroclus' throat; a small shiver runs through him. He melts into Achilles' embrace, mouth parting eagerly beneath his own to let him in, drink him down. The flames crackle in the small brazier, and the sea breeze drifts beyond their tent; time grows soft and syrupy around them, and for a while, there are no other words. 

Later, Achilles runs his fingertip over the sheen of sweat that's gathered in the hollow of Patroclus' throat, the drops that linger on his skin, small and luminous like stars.

"I've told you before, haven't I?" he whispers in his ear. "Hector has done nothing to me." 

Patroclus turns to him, his face sweet and tender in the amber firelight, and smiles.

~

The dust from the chariots hangs heavy over the ravaged plains of Troy. The sun beats down upon him, harsh and unrelenting. Achilles takes a breath that scratches, sears his lungs; his hand that holds the spear has grown heavy.

He's had no sleep in days, he can't recall the last time food has passed his lips. His heart is a hole of hurt, a deep black pit of ash and bone-- his rage the scorching fire that never dies down. 

"You are still alive because my beloved asked me to let you live, but you took him from me. Now, no one will beg for your life on your behalf, and all your gods have left you."

Hector is on his knees atop the blood-soaked earth. He gazes up at him, his eyes dark and solemn in the shadow of his helmet. Those same eyes that looked upon Patroclus as he bled to death.

Achilles could make him pay. He could storm Troy right then - he could kill Hector's son before him, he could torture his wife for sport, he could feast on Hector's blood until he bled no more - but none of this would sate him.

None of this will bring Patroclus back. 

Achilles brings his spear down hard upon Hector's waiting throat. His body slumps to the ground, twitching with its approaching death, a death that heralds his own.

Yet there's no anguish in the notion, no thread of fear; despair has lost its sharpest sting. Achilles smiles as he weeps, as he ties Hector to the back of his chariot, as he drags him around the Achaean camp over, and over, and over again.

Because Patroclus waits for him. 

****

Thank you so much for reading! <3

[perhapsitisthegreatergrief]

patrochilles/demons

this was written very late at night when i was exhausted and procrastinating on multiple assignments. have fun reading it.

When the days are cold And the cards all fold And the saints we see Are all made of gold

hector will fold his cards for him. he will stab him, kill him, forces him to give up his life. this much patroclus knows as he lies curled on the ground, half-concious, the helmet fallen off to reveal who he is.

When your dreams all fail And the ones we hail Are the worst of all And the blood's run stale

this is what will finally prompt achilles to kill hector. their dream of letting achilles live as long as possible is ending. all because he wanted to save the greeks from annihilation.

I wanna hide the truth I wanna shelter you

patroclus has always wanted to shelter achilles from the loss of innocence that comes with war, ever since the war became an inevitable thing for them. at first it was because he didn't want to see achilles' face tortured with the image patroclus used to see every night, a dying person. now he wishes he could save achilles from the inevitable grief. wishes he can be there to soothe him.

But with the beast inside There's nowhere we can hide

achilles' anger over briseis is harsh, a flame burning under his skin, and he can't seem to do anything but feel it. he watches the battle from his station by the ships and wishes for patroclus to be safe. but then, somehow, he knows.

No matter what we breed We still are made of greed

achilles' destiny is finally coming for him. his greed for fame, his need to keep his demigod abilities. all of his wants and desires are catching up to him, and they're going to kill him. including loving patroclus. why is that such a crime? why do the gods have to curse him to this?

This is my kingdom come This is my kingdom come

achilles has his royal and god blood, that is true. it gives him status, a kingdom of his own if he were to survive the war. but the battlefield is his true domain, the one place where he is indisputably above everyone else. no one can see his flashing feet and powerful arms and not feel fear. none of the other kings inspire such awe. no one's rage is equal to his.

When you feel my heat Look into my eyes It's where my demons hide It's where my demons hide

patroclus remembers being a child in phthia. recently exiled, a murderer with the broken skull of the boy he killed imprinted behind his eyelids, haunting him like a persistent ghost. the bits of achilles' touch he got helped the nightmares. achilles has always been like that, a bright spot of hope and light in the darkness.

Don't get too close It's dark inside It's where my demons hide It's where my demons hide

achilles was so bright. patroclus always thought of him as a starburst of light and life in a dark tunnel. so bright, so brilliantly beautiful, scorching at the edges. and achilles truly is this. the prophecy is the scorching part. the peak of his excellence, a destiny so great that it causes pain for those around him. look where it's gotten patroclus.

At the curtain's call It's the last of all

patroclus feels hector's spear, the blossoming agony that comes with it. knowing what it will do to achilles almost makes him feel like an actor in a play, the curtain sweeping down to end this scene. ending his life. achilles, do not grieve, he thinks desperately, before everything goes black.

When the lights fade out All the sinners crawl

with patroclus gone, all the parts of himself that achilles has been able to keep under control come out. he rages, he screams, he kills more brutally than ever before. he is no longer full of delicate beauty. instead he's the weapon odysseus once said he was. a killer, born to cause destruction. and he does.

So they dug your grave And the masquerade Will come calling out At the mess you've made

as he's burning patroclus' body, everything suddenly seems clearer to achilles. he’s gone and made the mistake of letting patroclus get killed, and while it’s made the war take a turn for the better, it’s turned him into a grief-ridden wreck. he hates hector for killing patroclus, but now, with this realization, he begins to hate himself.

Don't wanna let you down But I am hell-bound Oh, this is all for you Don't wanna hide the truth

achilles arms, goes out to face hector in battle. he's hell-bent on avenging patroclus, and fuck if it brings his own doom. he doesn't care anymore. he has done so much for his own fame, and done so little for patroclus. patroclus, who loved him, helped him on his path to fame, and paid for it with his life. as he kills hector, all he feels is a sense of grim satisfaction and relief. finally, he can die and be with patroclus. finally, he can say how sorry he is, how stupid and cruel and hubris-ridden. he wants to say how much he hates himself for feeling such uncontrollable anger. how much he hopes patroclus still loves him.

No matter what we breed We still are made of greed This is my kingdom come This is my kingdom come

achilles is a greedy person. he's greedy for borrowed time, greedy for fame. greedy for the things that will lift his name to the stars. but perhaps instead of focusing on his future, he should have looked a bit more to the now, to the people closest to him. watched a little better. these are his thoughts as he slowly crosses the plain outside troy, scanning the walls. there is a figure high above him with a bow. he tilts his head, watching. the arrow comes for him with unerring purpose. achilles blocks out his body's screaming as he turns a fraction toward it. his body is so painfully mortal. even when most of it wants the release of death, it struggles away, desperately wanting to keep its heart beating for a few more seconds. but then. finally.

When you feel my heat Look into my eyes It's where my demons hide It's where my demons hide Don't get too close It's dark inside It's where my demons hide It's where my demons hide

they hold hands in the underworld for a moment as the golden glow fades. then they hug, and for a while that's all they can do. they can only hold each other close. there are tears on both their faces. achilles hadn't realized what exactly he was missing with patroclus gone until he has him back and the aching hole in his chest is finally filling up again.

Don't get too close It's dark inside It's where my demons hide It's where my demons hide

after those first few moments, when they've stopped drinking each other's presence in, patroclus brushes away one of achilles' tears. he's trying to be the strong one as always. he turns away and wipes one of his own tears, hoping achilles won't see it. achilles cries as he remembers living without patroclus, tells the story of life without him. later, patroclus breaks down and cries too as he tells his side of the story, and achilles realizes that perhaps it was worse for him, because he was there all along.

They say it's what you make I say it's up to fate It's woven in my soul I need to let you go Your eyes, they shine so bright I wanna save that light I can't escape this now Unless you show me how

patroclus tells achilles about being a spirit, stuck in his body. he remembers the sheen of tears in achilles' eyes and sees it again as he tells the story. he misses when the brightness in achilles' eyes was from joy. maybe he can bring that back with the simple happiness of them being close, being together.

When you feel my heat Look into my eyes It's where my demons hide It's where my demons hide Don't get too close It's dark inside It's where my demons hide It's where my demons hide

they both have demons, memories of the past that stick with them. all the pain they shared over their years at troy. and then the final, most terrible agony that they had to bear alone. but they're together now, and they can hold onto each other as much as they need to, remind themselves that it's over. that they're both here. and maybe someday soon the tears and silent sorrow and guilt will fade. maybe someday soon patroclus will see the mischief in achilles' eyes again, be able to be kissed by him without remembering their final touch.

[akhilleuskcsmcs]

for the meta meme: how about talking the difference between Achilles when he entered the trojan war vs him at the end of it ♥ ?

META TIME WITH CHAVI || ALWAYS ACCEPTING

Heavy subject but I’ll do my best to write down some coherent thoughts here. Gonna put it under a read more because it got LONG

SO! At the start of the Trojan War, that being when Achilles finally joined the war after being in Skyros hiding as a girl named Pyrrha and Odysseus having to go get his ass, he was about as boisterous, cocky and so full of himself as you’d expect. He commanded the Myrmidons, his people, and joined the war with 50 ships with 50 men each (that’s 2,500 men yo!) and all of them followed his orders without hesitation, loyal to the end. And as he and his Myrmidons racked up wins for the Achaean Army, so did his ego and his confidence, I mean, Achilles conquered 11 cities and 12 islands during the nine-year-long siege of Troy so needless to say, he was an even bigger self-centred guy than he was at the end and he could only be reined in by Patroclus and, to a lesser degree, by Briseis. However, this brings us to the last year of the trojan war... 

Close to the end, Achilles changed. It started with Agamemnon taking Briseis away from him, followed by him withdrawing from the war and, essentially telling Agamemnon to go fuck himself and see if they win without him. However, one of the biggest factors to his change was the death of Patroclus. Patroclus, seeing the suffering of his comrades in arms knew that something had to be done, so he begs Achilles to lend him his armour and Achilles agrees, letting Patroclus wear it into battle mimicking his beloved to a scary degree, to the point where the Achaean army believed that it was the real Achilles. Hektor killing Patroclus unleashed something that, well, no one was ready for. Achilles, upon hearing that his closest friend and boyfriend was dead, he went on a rampage, his rage being so great that even the GODS feared he could straight up break fate and bring Troy to its destruction before its time. So what does he do? He goes out to find Hektor, to kill him and to inflict every form of pain he can unto the man who killed Patroclus. And he does, he fights and kills Hektor before tying his corpse to the back of his chariot and driving around Troy, defiling the body. 

However, the biggest thing is this one. Achilles was still sort of running on pure adrenaline and anger, he wouldn’t return Hektor’s body to King Priam (Hektor’s father) so that the proper funeral right would be given. So Priam snuck into the Achaean camp with the help of Hermes and tearfully pleads with Achilles to take pity on a father bereft of his son and return Hector's body. He invokes the memory of Achilles' own father, Peleus and... It works, Achilles felt genuine sadness and empathy for Priam because he KNEW that Peleus would give anything to have the body of his son if he died. Achilles agrees and returns Hektor’s body to Priam and after the funerals were held, Achilles is killed by the Trojan Army after Paris (with the help of Apollo) shot his heel and turned him a mortal but by that point he just... He just wanted it to be over with, he’d achieved glory in the beaches of Troy, he’d carved his name onto history and he just wanted to reunite with Patroclus. Spoiler, it doesn’t happen, he and Patroclus never reunite in the Underworld. 

So, yeah, he changed. He cooled down after his rampage and his defiling of Hektor’s body, he didn’t pull a 180, he’s still as proud, as angry, as confident in his own skills and talents for warfare as he was when he lived. It carried over to his Rider self (and possibly his Lancer and Shielder self), he’s a much more mellow person in comparison to his living self in the first nine years of the war and the heroes who knew him can appreciate that (those being Odysseus, Ajax the Greater, Paris, Hektor, Penthesilea and Patroclus)

[hereticaloracles]

Asteroid Files: Achilles

Helios– Okay, I couldn’t just NOT do Achilles. He is the quintessential Aries, and leaving him off of the roster would have only been an affront to all things good and decent. Except Achilles rarely cares about what is good and decent, he’s just in it for the glory.

The Astronomy– 588 Achilles is a large and dark asteroid, classified as Jupiter trojan, the first and 6th-largest of its kind ever confirmed by astronomers. It was discovered on 22 February 1906, by the German astronomer Max Wolf at Heidelberg Observatory in southern Germany. It measures about 135 kilometers in diameter.

The D-type asteroid, classified as a DU-subtype in the Tholen taxonomic scheme, orbits the Sun at a distance of 4.4–6.0 AU in the L4 Lagrangian point of the Sun–Jupiter System once every 11 years and 10 months (4,337 days). Its orbit shows an eccentricity of 0.15 and an inclination of 10 degrees from the plane of the ecliptic. The asteroid is the first known example of the stable solution of the three-body problem worked out by French mathematician Joseph Lagrange in 1772, after whom the minor planet 1006 Lagrangea is named. After the discovery of other asteroids with similar orbital characteristics, which were also named after heroes from the Trojan War (see below), the term “Trojan asteroids” or “Jupiter trojans” became commonly used. In addition, a rule was established that the L4 point was the “Greek camp”, whereas the L5 point was the “Trojan camp”, though not before each camp had acquired a “spy” (624 Hektor in the Greek camp and 617 Patroclus in the Trojan camp).

The Mythology– In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War and the central character and greatest warrior of Homer’s Iliad. His mother was the immortal nymph Thetis, and his father, the mortal Peleus, was the king of the Myrmidons. Achilles’ most notable feat during the Trojan War was the slaying of the Trojan hero Hector outside the gates of Troy. Although the death of Achilles is not presented in the Iliad, other sources concur that he was killed near the end of the Trojan War by Paris, who shot him in the heel with an arrow. Later legends  state that Achilles was invulnerable in all of his body except for his heel. Alluding to these legends, the term “Achilles heel” has come to mean a point of weakness, especially in someone or something with a strong constitution.

Achilles’ name can be analyzed as a combination of ἄχος (akhos) “grief” and λαός (laos) “a people, tribe, nation.” In other words, Achilles is an embodiment of the grief of the people, grief being a theme raised numerous times in the Iliad (frequently by Achilles). Achilles’ role as the hero of grief forms an ironic juxtaposition with the conventional view of Achilles as the hero of κλέος kleos (“glory”, usually glory in war). According to the Achilleid, when Achilles was born Thetis tried to make him immortal, by dipping him in the river Styx. However, he was left vulnerable at the part of the body by which she held him, his heel. It is not clear if this version of events was known earlier. In another version of this story, Thetis anointed the boy in ambrosia and put him on top of a fire, to burn away the mortal parts of his body. She was interrupted by Peleus and abandoned both father and son in a rage. After, Peleus entrusted Achilles to Chiron the Centaur, on Mt. Pelion, to be reared.

The first two lines of the Iliad read:

μῆνιν ἄειδε θεὰ Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος

οὐλομένην, ἣ μυρί’ Ἀχαιοῖς ἄλγε’ ἔθηκεν,

Sing, Goddess, of the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles,

the accursed rage that brought great suffering to the Achaeans (the Greeks).

Achilles’ consuming rage is at times wavering, but at other times he cannot be cooled. Thetis foretold that her son’s fate was either to gain glory and die young, or to live a long but uneventful life in obscurity. Achilles chose the former, and decided to take part in the Trojan war. Homer’s Iliad is the most famous narrative of Achilles’ deeds in the Trojan War. Achilles’ wrath is the central theme of the poem. The Homeric epic only covers a few weeks of the decade-long war, and does not narrate Achilles’ death. It begins with Achilles’ withdrawal from battle after he is dishonored by Agamemnon, the commander of the Achaean forces. Agamemnon had taken a woman named Chryseis as his slave. Her father Chryses, a priest of Apollo, begs Agamemnon to return her to him. Agamemnon refuses and Apollo sends a plague amongst the Greeks. The prophet Calchas correctly determines the source of the troubles but will not speak unless Achilles vows to protect him. Achilles does so and Calchas declares Chryseis must be returned to her father. Agamemnon consents, but then commands that Achilles’ battle prize Briseis be brought to him to replace Chryseis. Angry at the dishonor of having his plunder and glory taken away (and as he says later, because he loved Briseis), with the urging of his mother Thetis, Achilles refuses to fight or lead his troops alongside the other Greek forces. At this same time, burning with rage over Agamemnon’s theft, Achilles prays to Thetis to convince Zeus to help the Trojans gain ground in the war, so that he may regain his honor.

As the battle turns against the Greeks, thanks to the influence of Zeus, Nestor declares that the Trojans are winning because Agamemnon has angered Achilles, and urges the king to appease the warrior. Agamemnon agrees and sends Odysseus and two other chieftains, Ajax and Phoenix, to Achilles with the offer of the return of Briseis and other gifts. Achilles rejects all Agamemnon offers him, and simply urges the Greeks to sail home as he was planning to do. The Trojans, led by Hector, subsequently push the Greek army back toward the beaches and assault the Greek ships. With the Greek forces on the verge of absolute destruction, Patroclus leads the Myrmidons into battle wearing Achilles’ armor, though Achilles remains at his camp. Patroclus succeeds in pushing the Trojans back from the beaches, but is killed by Hector before he can lead a proper assault on the city of Troy. Triumphant Achilles dragging Hector’s lifeless body in front of the Gates of Troy.

After receiving the news of the death of Patroclus, Achilles grieves over his beloved companion’s death. His mother Thetis comes to comfort the distraught Achilles. She persuades Hephaestus to make new armor for him, in place of the armor that Patroclus had been wearing which was taken by Hector. Enraged over the death of Patroclus, Achilles ends his refusal to fight and takes the field killing many men in his rage but always seeking out Hector. Achilles even engages in battle with the river god Scamander who becomes angry that Achilles is choking his waters with all the men he has killed. The god tries to drown Achilles but is stopped by Hera and Hephaestus. Zeus himself takes note of Achilles’ rage and sends the gods to restrain him so that he will not go on to sack Troy itself before the time allotted for its destruction, seeming to show that the unhindered rage of Achilles can defy fate itself. Finally, Achilles finds his prey. Achilles chases Hector around the wall of Troy three times before Athena, in the form of Hector’s favorite and dearest brother, Deiphobus, persuades Hector to stop running and fight Achilles face to face. After Hector realizes the trick, he knows the battle is inevitable. Wanting to go down fighting, he charges at Achilles with his only weapon, his sword, but misses. Accepting his fate, Hector begs Achilles, not to spare his life, but to treat his body with respect after killing him. Achilles tells Hector it is hopeless to expect that of him, declaring that “my rage, my fury would drive me now to hack your flesh away and eat you raw – such agonies you have caused me”. Achilles then kills Hector and drags his corpse by its heels behind his chariot. After having a dream where Patroclus begs Achilles hold his funeral, Achilles hosts a series of funeral games in his honor.With the assistance of the god Hermes, Hector’s father, Priam, goes to Achilles’ tent to plead with Achilles for the return of Hector’s body so that he can be buried. Achilles relents and promises a truce for the duration of the funeral. The poem ends with a description of Hector’s funeral, with the doom of Troy and Achilles himself still to come.

Why He Matters– Okay, so there’s a lot of great stuff that I didn’t get to put in the myth section because of brevity, but Achilles’ hijinks are legendary. He is very much a point of great rage, but he is more than that. He is in service to his people, he is a leader, and their greatest hero. Unfortunately his rage and his passions are his undoing. Achilles lacks restraint, and that carries over to his position in your chart. His placement indicates where there was a lot of pressure placed on you, a mantle that was impossible to truly live up to. He is where you seek out glory, where you chase your fame.

To find out where he shows up in your chart, go to astro.com, put in your birth details and in the extended options, all the way at the bottom of the next page, there will be a menu of additional objects. Under that is a blank space where you can enter the number 588, for Achilles. Once you have it entered, generate the chart! Where does Achilles affect your life? Let us know in the comments below!

Asteroid Files: Achilles was originally published on Heretical Oracles