#achilles and antilochus

[katerinaaqu]

Achilles being who he is could be a subject of his upbringing (and how CONTEMPORARY his case seems if one thinks of it!) - an Analysis

Soooo I got an amazing ask today here and got inspired for some random thoughts here!

Has anyone noticed that Achilles's complicated psychology might as well be a result of his upbringing and how incredibly MODERN his case can be? Think about it;

He was prophesied he would die early. His family of course was concerned about it (how similar it is to children born with terminal illnesses nowadays indeed!)

His mother was already worried given how she was immortal and she was already worried her son was mortal much more when she found out he would be short-lived

His father cared enough to fight his goddess wife but also to send him to Chiron, the man who was known to train the best heroes in hope that his son would get the best education but also be prepared for every terrible situation in his life

His mother dressed him up as a woman and hid him among women so that he would live

His father promised his hair to a river god in hope that he would escape his ill fate (how similar to parents who want their child to go for treatment abroad even if they know it is hopeless!)

One can say Achilles is a child ill-fated, already people overly-indulge him because of his natural talents but also his ill fate. He got his life settled for him one way or another. Built skills as spherical as possible (arguably even for his mother's charade he learnt some female roles as well!), he had the best education as a golden child (from the art of war till music and all) and exceeded in all but also he had his family always worried of him. He even had a companion by his side at all occasions to make sure nothing would happen to him. Arguably his withdrawal to Chiron in nature also shielded Achilles to remain pure from the intrigues of palaces, from actual talks of violence and war WHILE being prepared for war just in case he would need to use it!

But also if one thinks of it...

Achilles was a child of divorced parents. Thetis abandoned the already bad for her marriage with Peleus. Peleus who attacked her with accusations that she would hurt her own child, for example in Argonautica, when he saw her hold the child over the flames to make him immortal. His family loved him;

And yet his parents abandoned him one way or another in his young mind!

His mother abandoned him in Phthia when she divorced his father

His father abandoned him to Chiron to get education

Abandonment pattern became apparent in Achilles's life! Both his parents loved him he knew that very well. Both parents wanted to protect him almost to a suffocating degree. They shielded him from violence and all that could potentially bring violence such as intrigues and plans but they also prepared him for the worst all his life while his father was telling him to always aim for being noble.

Achilles learnt by them to care and love to almost an unhealthy degree. He could see people who loved him abandoned him! He was trying his best to be the golden child, the honorable one. The one who would bring pride to his noble father and his goddess mother and his god ancestors. And yet he felt people who loved him unconditionally abandoned him! No wonder he clang to Patroclus. He was the only person that would stick around; he was following him. He was his family, his friend, his companion, his squire and his everything basically. His love for him was unconditional. Achilles also probably expected that Patroclus would never abandon him; he would die after him!

Achilles was introduced to violence way too soon, way too quickly and way too definitive!

He was sent to conflict very quickly

He saw first hand how blasphemy affects humans

He witnessed a human sacrifice (or the attempt of it depending on the source)

He saw intrigue arguably for the first time in his shielded life

He caused a lot of slaughter at a bloody war that wasn't even his business

He had his honor, the one he was fighting SO HARD to maintain for it would be the only thing left of him

And finally he lost that ONE PERSON he was sure he wouldn't leave him all alone! And he lost him because of HIS DECISION to send him in his place!

No wonder how he broke down eventually. His mind which was already at a limbo state because of the expectations he felt he was carrying on his shoulders in combination to the overly protective love he received from his parents. He simply collapsed!

He committed all the atrocities one could expect a person pure as him wouldn't commit;

He wished other people harm even if he had a personal grudge against one person

He refused the heroic ideal in order to go home

He fell into an absolute emotional collapse when he lost Patroclus clasping a dead body for DAYS (miasma) and wouldn't allow anyone to bury him (technically disrespect for the dead)

He went to blind rage and killed many for the name of his lost companion

Utterly disrespected the dead by dragging Hector's body around with the aim of absolutely destroying them

Barrage of human sacrifices before or even after his death

Possibly attempt of rape of Troilus and his killing over an altar

Achilles seems to have completely broken down to every single thing his family wanted to prevent him from! It was as if all the sins he was taught to avert were introduced to him all at once and that was catastrophic for his mind and eventually Patroclus's death was the final stroke for his already fragile psychology! I feel like these ancient writers knew what psychology was before psychology was a thing because man! One can get mind-blown every single time!

Next time someone says that these ancient poems are "out of date" or that they are "not connected to our reality" please think of stuff like this! I mean how can one get more contemporary than that!?

My other analysis on Achilles: Achilles and Patroclus relationship "Devil's advocate" reasons (under a post by @justvea18) On Achilles being on the edge On silence and Achilles's expression of emotion (inspired by @deadbaguette)

To gather some more Achilles potential squad: @hermesmoly , @h0bg0blin-meat , @deadbaguette , @greeknerdsstuff , @smokey07 , @wolfythewitch , @achillesisnotcomingdown , @emmikay , @superkooku , @captnbunnie , @ri-dumb-fck , @hymnoeides , @cynicalclairvoyantcadaver , @venomspecs , @roachcicle , @mt-isnothere12 , @mythology-lover , @mythology-loving-lee , @kindred-spirit-93 , @dionysism , @margaretkart

If I forget someone forgive me please join us!!!! Also please join the profile of my friend @yararts for other type of amazing stuff!

[roachcicle]

imagine the younger trojan war members (achilles , patroclus , antilochus) speaking in gen alpha brainrot terms and diomedes who is unfortunately in the same age group is forced to hang out with them sometimes

[calciumyum]

Poor Antilochus

[justvea18]

Binging CoryxKenshin rn but this is so them

[incorrecthomer]

Patroclus: We need to talk about your maturity. Achilles, standing on a glass table with Ajax, Teucer, Antilochus, Stenelus, Diomedes, and Odysseus: Bold words for someone standing in lava! Glass table: (shatters)

[spineless-lobster]

Whenever I’m sad I think about that scene in the odyssey where odysseus sees achilles, patroclus and antilochus frolicking in the asphodel fields together and then I am reminded that love and joy is real

[emmikay]

Nestor: What's a Boomer and why is everyone calling me that?

Achilles: Okay, Boomer.

Diomedes: Okay, Boomer.

Patroclus: Okay, boomer.

Ajax the Greater: Okay, boomer

Teucer: Okay, boomer.

Antilochus: I don't think you're a Boomer, Father!

Achilles: Antilochus ruined it.

[bcb-brian-camryn]

Antilochus: "Thanks for helping me with training Patroklos, I would've asked Aias but he takes training too seriously." ☺️

Patroklos: "Don't mention it Antilochus, now I should probably get back before Achilles realises that I'm gone." 😇

[Cut to Achilles waking up in an empty bed]

Achilles: "Patroklos? Patroklos! My beloved where'd you go-" 😭

[achillesisnotcomingdown]

Hey fellas what do we think of that

Don't take any of this seriously I'm just here for the funsies

[saying-odd-shit]

the iliad is simply more fun if you subscribe to the belief the kings and such explored each others bodies. escape the matrix and join me

[nymphachilles]

Patroclus, Achilles and Antilochus.

[katerinaaqu]

Here is a little thing that came from the post of @deadbaguette which you can see here

Have you noticed how little dialog Achilles and Patroclus share in the Iliad? Achilles is a talkative man. He exchanges long and even philosophical dialogs with most people he encounters, with his peers and even his rivals and enemies. But his scenes that involve Patroclus hardly mention any dialog between them and yet their scenes are the most tender and most talkative.

They prepare food, they entertain their guests, they just sit by each other. They hardly speak. Homer was telling us all along; words were not needed between them. Their actions spoke for them; their closeness and their intimacy. Their scenes are peaceful amidst the war: silent amidst the loud noise and speeches. That is why the loss of Patroclus speaks so loud; the piece of peace in the flame of war was lost.

Which is why also Achilles found closeness to Antilochus next. Antilochus who also hardly exchanged a word with him and yet he was there in his lowest, just holding his hands to keep him alive out of fear that Achilles would try and kill himself. Achilles wanted someone to hold his hand. Antilochus did that both literally and metaphorically

They do not need to talk. Their closeness is enough. The absence of both of these silent yet close and intimate relationships so violently by war destroyed Achilles beyond repair. He lost Patroclus by violence and war while he was absent. He went on a lament and on absolute rampage by killing his enemies, performing human sacrifice and hubris against the dead. He lost Antilochus and he lost the last bits of his sanity, slaying Memnon and pushing carelessly the Trojans back uncovered and was killed by Paris. The strongest of Greeks fell from the hand of the arguably weakest Trojan because all that was left of his strength was gone; his strength, his will to live and his sanity. He was already tripping. At that moment he was beyond saving.

I am surprised I don't see more people talk about it

[roachcicle]

kinda hate that this is my second most popular post but it is funny so

[nhcmrii]

Caught in 4k

[justvea18]

Achilles and Antilochus post-Iliad

[akekiitaz]

Age headcanons for my favourite acheans when the trojan war started because I want to and CAN share them!!!

Achilles: 23. Yes, considering that, he had Neoptolemus young. It was more common at the time, from what I've seen. He is young and stupid.

Agamemnon: 40. 10 years older than Menelaus. I doubted for a second they'd be so close with a 10-year age gap, but then i remembered how close me and my older brother who's also 10 years older are, and it only made me more convinced of that age gap.

Ajax, the great: 34. Five years older than his half brother. Honestly, I am kind of choosing this one only using the fact Telamon and Nestor were argonauts in some versions as a metric, for I have not found any other indicators of his age.

Ajax, the lesser: 30. I mean, I can only see him as younger than Ajax the great. Also, I am using the fact his father was an argonaut as a metric for that age ONCE AGAIN.

Antilochus: 18. Some claim Nestor said he was too young to join the war when it started, and only joined in the middle. He would have joined at 23.

Diomedes: 26. Some interpretations say he was the youngest among the acheans, but I find that unlikely. I chose the interpretation he is only the youngest among the kings.

Menelaus: 30. Not very old, not very young. He is in the middle ground, in my opinion.

Nestor: 53. He, according to some interpretations, met and had a similar age to most of the achean's fathers, so I used it as a metric for his own age.

Neoptolemus: 6, 16 when he joined the war. Many describe him to be in his "late teens".

Odysseus: 34. He is described as an "raw old man" during the illiad if I am not mistaken, nine years after the war starts, so I believe that makes sense. Odydio toxic age gap yaoi

Patroclus: 25, older than Achilles, but only by two years. A bit more wise than him.

Teucer: 29. Guess what's the metric? Yeah, his dad being an argonaut. Then again, I do not know much about Teucer. Feel free to tell me about him.