#ships » hektor & apollo

[aphthiton]

ooc. left over tag drop 🚶

[littlesparklight]

Hi! Sorry if i bother you, but seriously, i need to say it :/

I saw a meme in which many AchillesxPatroclus fans are calling Apollo "homophobic" for killing them (he didn't killed then directly, he guided and helped Hector and Paris). But the point is… Are those people know about greek mythology? Because calling a god who had male lovers homophobic is not accurate… Is like those PJO fans whose call Zeus an homophobic ignoring the existence of Ganymedes.

I like the love story of Achilles and Patroclus, don't misunderstand me, but my problem is that so many fans of that couple act like they are "the only and the most amazing greek gay couple and all the gods, mortals and heroes who are against them in the Illiad are homophobic", because not… Achilles knew that he's gonna die in Troy, and Patroclus died because he was climbing the Troy's walls (and wanted to fights Hector)… They don't die just because they're gay… I'm lesbian, i'm not homophobic… But it hurts me more the death of Hector that the death of Achilles or Patroclus (was more sad Patroclus than Achilles btw).

The thing that also bothers me about the fandom is the fact that they put "AchillesxPatroclus" into a pedestal, claiming that they are perfect, nice, good, and ignoring the complexity… And this is for ALL, gods and heroes, no one was perfect, they're complex characters and try to make one the good and other the bad is completely misundertand the greek mythology and the Iliad of course. Nobody in the Iliad was perfect, good and nice, neither the gods. People need to stop puting modern labels into the ancient gods and mortals… Calling them homophobic or misogynist/feminist isn't accurate.

Also Achilles and Patroclus are not the only gay couple in all greek mythology, please… Heracles had many male lovers. The gods had male lovers too: Hermes with Crocus (and others) Apollo with Hyacinthus (and others) Dionysus with Ampelus (and we could count that guy Prosymnus). Poseidon with Pelops (and Nerites). Zeus with Ganymedes. Just because Paris, Hector and Apollo killed them don't make them homophobic… Seriously, they're not…The word didin't exist in that time period, was a war and people die in a war. Apollo also killed many other men with the plague in the beggining of the Iliad and nobody say anything about them. I don't call Artemis homophobic just because in some sources she killed Callisto. Being gay is not the reason of the killing. Same for Patroclus or Achilles, is not the reason of the killing.

Anyway, sorry i go off topic, but this problematic pissed me off. What's is your opinion? What do you think?

There are a, ahem, quite large contingent of Patrochilles shippers who, yes, think their ship is the MOST TRAGIC, and apparently is some unique outrage for them to be killed/for Apollo to have a hand in it, etc etc and so on.

They also seem to think that it somehow was WRONG for Hektor (especially, Apollo is usually not mentioned when it comes to this argument) to kill Patroklos. Like sorry obviously he's going to kill an enemy warrior? And a pet peeve of mine is all those shitpost-type (but seriously meant) "when Achilles sees Apollo again it's ON SIGHT and Apollo will be all afraid" like what.

Anyway, Apollo had plenty of reasons to help kill both of them (even if we ignore Troilus, which I'll never do. Die Achilles, and in the most insulting way for your time and culture, too. :) ), and neither Achilles nor Patroklos are the most tragic on the Trojan plain.

[valarhalla]

The Muppets Iliad and Odyssey Headcanons:

Statler and Waldorf are the muses. ("Trojan War? It's been ten years, this is more like the Trojan Bore, Oh Hoh Hoh!")

Animal is Achilles, and he sounds like this. Patroclus is our one human.

Camila the Chicken is Briseis.

Cassandra is Beaker in a wig. Apollo is Doctor Bunsen Honeydew, who cursed him in a failed lab experiment.

Well obviously, Miss Piggy is Helen, because there’s no way Miss Piggy would let anyone ELSE play the face that launched a thousand ships.

This leaves open the extremely bizarre question of whether Kermit the Frog is Paris or Menelaus. The answer is neither; Miss Piggy plays them both in addition to Helen, using fake moustaches, or one of those scenes where someone wears a split-in-half-costume and chases themself by going behind a screen and changing direction. Yes, the duel between Paris and Menelaus over Helen is amazing.

Kermit is Odysseus, and the other Achaeans including Nestor, Ajax, and Diomedes are played by the various members of Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. 

King Priam is Sam the Eagle. Rowlf the Dog is Hektor. Rizzo the Rat is Aeneas, since he’s the closest Muppet to being stereotypically Italian.

Several of the gods are played by Gonzo, and in the time-honoured comedic tradition of “the Muppets depicting explosions by just yeeting the muppet”, whenever he Goes Down to Troy, Zeus just yeets/drops him like five stories down onto the Troy set.

This is also how Animal/Achilles dragging Hector’s corpse is depicted, with Rowlf just being yoinked through the air on a string, a la this scene.

In the Muppets version of The Odyssey, Miss Piggy is both Penelope and Athena, and continues her fake-moustache-and-glasses gig when she disguises herself as Mentes. Robin is Telemachus, the Pigs are the suitors, and The Swedish Chef is Polyphemus.

Human-Patroclus convinces Animal to let face down the Trojans in a song contest. Animal consents, giving Patroclus his wig and his drumsticks that he received from his father, so Human-Patroclus can impersonate him. Animal tells him to return after defeating the Trojans, but Patroclus defies him and comes back for an encore and challenges the Trojans to a finally drum-solo-off. During this final contest, Dr Bunsen Honeydew accidentally releases a hallucinogenic drug into the auditorium which removes Patroclus’ wits, and he doesn’t notice Rowlf-Hector dropping a piano on his head, and is tragically crushed. After destroying the piano, Animal chases Rowlf three times around the set before killing him, and then dragging his body around the set behind his motorcycle on a string.

[julio-claudian-saberface]

Imagining that Hektor and Nero's first conversation starts cheerfully enough, with gushing about Our Trojan Ancestors and Apollo's Just Amazing and such.

It ends up in Hektor edging his way to the other side of the bench/couch/room as Nero merrily reminisces about hooking up with a superhot married woman and shipping the husband off to Portugal, because Paris is #goals.

[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)

[swamp-tastic]

Fan-Servant Idea: Helen of Sparta

Guess what. I wanted to try making one of my favorite mythological figures into a servant. Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed makeing

 itHelen of Sparta

Class: Archer

Strength: D

Endurance: D

Agility: B

Mana: B+

Luck: E

NP: EX

Noble Phantasm:

Βέλος του ηλιόλουστου ηλίου (Vélos tou ilióloustou ilíou/ Arrow of the setting Sun)

Guide my arrow, oh Apollo, so that the great Hero will fall

Anti-Unit                                  Rank: C

The arrow that the Hero Paris shot to kill Achilles. Through the guidance of Apollo this arrow will lead to demise and death. Any weak piont, no matter how small or guarded will be targetet for maximum damage. Why has the Queen of Sparta this Noble Phantasm? "He stole me from my homeland, so it is only fair to steal his one claim to fame from him."

This also is the reason for her Archer class. Using a mask, she hides her identity to pass as a simple warrior from Sparta using a bow. Should she reveal her other Noble Phantasm the disguise will be broken and this Noble Phantasm will be sealed.

[Single-target buster NP. Grants Pierce Invincible and curse enemy for 5 turns (Overcharge)]

Ελένη ω όμορφη Ελένη (Eléni, o ómorfi Eléni /Helen, oh beautiful Helen)

The face that launched a thousand Ships

Anti-Self                                   Rank: EX

The Noble Phantasm of the Queen of Sparta, Helen. A beauty that rivaled Aphrodite and lead to tragedy. From birth Helen was said to be most beautiful woman to have ever lived. Even Aphrodite granted her blessings. Looking upon her face invokes feelings of attraction, no matter the situation. A mystic-face-type Noble Phantasm that surpasses all resistances or preferences of the target. The action that is taken after witnessing Helens beauty will differ from individual to individual. t was this beauty that led to the kidnapping of Helen and the Trojan war and ended the Age of Heroes in greek mytholgy. Since Helen herself hated to be defined only by her beauty, she wears a mask to cover her face and seal this Noble Phantasm and hide her identity. She will only reveal herself if there is no other option.

Calling the true name of this Noble Phantasm will break her disguise and seal her other Phantasm. At this piont she "technically" doesn't qualify for an Archer anymore and therefor loses Independet Action as well as a rank in Magic Resistance. Her fighting style will depend on her divinity and skills from this point.

[Charm all enemies. Greatly reduce their Debuff Resist, Critical Chance, Attack and Defence for three turns]

Passive Skills:

Independent Action E-

Since she never was an Archer in life, she "borrows" this skill from Paris. Still, she hates doing so and will refuse to use it unless absolutly necessery.

Magic Resistance B

Divinity C+

Born as the child of Zeus in the form of a swan, boasting divine beauty, Helen has a reasonable high divinity rank even though she is never really acknoleged for her divine ancestry. She is able to cloak her arrows in divine lightning by invoking her father.

Skills:

Legendary Beauty EX:

A composite skill of the "Princess of Lovliness" and "Bewitchin Rosy Cheeks" skills. Men are drawn to the beauty that is Helen. She will be captured or protected. The Action taken will depend on the individual. People will ignore whatever she has to say and she can not influence them in any way.

Since others expect a weak-willed princess, they might not be prepared for a strike from a queen.

[Gain Invincibility for three attacks. Apply Taunt to self for one turn. Increase own critical damage for three turns]

Beauty Concealing Mask EX

A mask that hides her face. It seals her Noble Phantasm

[Increase own Arts-Card performance for three turns. Gain NP. Seals NP]

Golden Rule (Body): A

She possesses a perfect goddess-like body since birth. No matter how many calories she absorbs, even her figure will not change. Unlike the Natural Body Skill, there is no effect on one’s Strength parameter. In the end, it is said that it is no more than one’s beauty being preserved.

[Grants self debuff-immunity for three turns. Recovers own HP every turn for 3 turns. Charges own NP gauge every turn for 3 turns.]

Howl of the War God C+

A howl that will awaken the blood of the War God Ares. Although not a child of Ares by blood, she is his child since she was (is) the Queen of Sparta, the city that Ares watches over. Using this skill allows her to fight on the frontline. It increses her strentgth, agility and Endurance by on rank each. In extreme situations she can raise Strength, and Endurance by two ranks.

The rage of this queen is terryfing.

[Increase all Allies Buster Card performance for three turns]

Protection of the Goddess -

The divine protection from Aphrodite. This skill is sealed and will never be used, due to personal reasons...

Relationships:

Achilles:

The great Hero. I was able to see him fight from the citywalls. I would have liked to talk to him at least once.Maybe the glory he found in this war was worth all of this...

Hektor

My brother-in-law. One of only two people who were good to me in all of Ilium. I wished he wouldn't have to pay for his brothers mistake. Now his wife and child are alone, as am I.

Penthesilia

That Amazon. She too carries a curse of beauty? What? She seems enraged? The blood of Ares is boiling! I better keep my distance.

Menelaus

My husband. A strong but kind man.  He is the one I choose and the only one I will aknowledge as such. It breaks my heart to be away from him and our daughter.

Paris

A coward who hid behind others. He deserves not to be called a hero, so I took from him his one great deed. He can rot forever in the depths of Hades for what he did to me. And yet, when I remember our first meeting and how I was overcome with love, I wonder... was it Aphrodites curse, or... no it can only be the work of that goddess!

Herakles

My half-brother whose fate was as tragic as mine. I'd like to meet him once, for my brothers tell great tells of their time with the Argonauts

Atalante

My brothers told me of a huntress who has sworn of men, to honor great Artemis. Perhaps she had the right idea.

Medea

It was said that with the Argonauts there was a witch who helped a coward achieve greatness. My brothers told me that she was also cursed with love from Aphrodite. If only we had met, that goddess would surley have much to fear.

[pandaemoniumpancakes]

No sooner he with them of man and beast Select for life shall in the ark be lodged, And sheltered round, but all the cataracts Of heav’n set open on the earth shall pour Rain day and night, all fountains of the deep Broke up, shall heave the ocean to usurp Beyond all bounds, till inundation rise Above the highest hills: then shall this mount Of Paradise by might of waves be moved Out of his place, pushed by the hornèd flood, With all his verdure spoiled, and trees adrift Down the great river to the op’ning gulf, And there take root an island salt and bare, The haunt of seals and orcs, and sea-mews’ clang.

John Milton, from Book XI in Paradise Lost, lines 822-35.

                         ❧

  sic tauriformis volvitur Aufidus, “As the bull-formed Aufidus, which skirts the kingdom of Apulian Daunus, rolls along, when he goes on the rampage before spreading a terrifying flood over the cultivated farmlands, so Claudius with a huge onslaught broke up the steel-clad lines of the savages, and mowing down front and rear alike littered the ground, gaining victory without loss—and the troops, tactics, and divine assistance were all supplied by you.” (Horace, form ‘Ode IV.14′ in Horace. Odes and Epodes, trans. Niall Rudd, line 25)

  note: rivers were often represented as bull-headed or horned; Horace speaks elsewhere of the roar of the Aufidus:

   ➻ from ‘Odes IV.9′, line 2: Ne forte credas interitura, quae/ longe sonantem natus ad Aufidum/ non ante vulgatas per artis/ verba loquor socianda chordis, “You may imagine that these words will perish which I, born by the far-echoing Aufidus, speak to be wedded to the strings of the lyre by an art never before displayed to the public.“

   ➻ from ‘Odes III.30', line 10: dicar, qua violens obstrepit Aufidus, “I have finished a monument more lasting than bronze, more lofty than the regal structure of the pyramids, one which neither corroding rain nor the ungovernable North Wind can ever destroy, nor the countless series of the years, nor the flight of time./ I shall not wholly die, and a large part of me will elude the Goddess of Death. I shall continue to grow, fresh with the praise of posterity, as long as the priest climbs the Capitol with the silent virgin. I shall be spoken of where the violent Aufidus thunders and where Daunus, short of water, ruled over a country people, as one who, rising from a lowly state to a position of power, was the first to bring Aeolian verse to the tunes of Italy./ Take the pride, Melpomene, that you have so well earned, and, if you would be so kind, surround my hair with Delphic bay.”

                         ❧

   et gemina auratus taurino cornua vultu, “And now, marvelling at his mother’s home, a realm of waters, at the lakes locked in caverns, and the echoing groves, he went on his way, and, dazed by the mighty rush of waters, he gazed on all the rivers, as, each in his own place, they glide under the great earth—Phasis and Lycus, the fount whence deep Enipeus first breaks forth, whence Father Tiber, whence the streams of Anio and rocky, roaring Hypanis, and Mysian Caïcus, and Eridanus, on whose bull’s brow are two gilded horns: no other stream of mightier force flows through the fertile fields to join the violet sea.” (Vergil, from Book IV in Georgics, line 371)

   corniger Hesperidum fluvius regnator aquarum, “In whatever spring your water contains you as you pity our travails, from whatever soil you flow forth in all your beauty, ever with my offerings, ever with my gifts, you will be graced, horned stream, lord of Hesperian waters.” (Vergil, from Book VIII in Aeneid, line 77)

                         ❧

   "While Hektor lived and while Akhilleus raged,/ and while Lord Priam's town lived on, unsacked,/so long the Akhaians’ rampart stood. But after/ the flower of Troy went down, with many Argives/ fallen or bereft, when Priam's Troy/ was plundered in the tenth year, and the Argives/ shipped again for their dear homeland—then/ Poseidon and Apollo joined to work/ erosion of the wall by fury of rivers/ borne in flood against it, all that flow/ seaward from Ida: Rhesos, Heptaporos,/ Karesos, Rhodios, Grenikos, Aisepos,/ Skamander's ancient stream, and Simoeis/ round which so many shields and crested helms/ had crashed in dust with men who were half gods./ These rivers were diverted at their mouths/ and blent into one river by Apollo,/ who sent that flood nine days against the rampart./ Zeus let his rain fall without pause, to bring/ the wall more quickly under inshore water;/ as for the god who shakes the islands, he/ in person with his trident in his hands/ led on the assault. Foundation logs and stones/ the Akhaians toiled to lay he shunted seaward,/ leveling all by the blue running sea./ In sand again he hid the long seashore/ when he had washed the wall down, and he turned/ the rivers to their old, fair watercourses./ Thus before long Poseidon and Apollo/ settled this earthwork.” (Homer, from ‘Book XII: The Rampart Breached’ in The Iliad, trans. Robert Fitzgerald)

[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

[littlesparklight]

Chapter title: Let Him Take What He Can Bring, and Then You Walk Together Chapter: 7/7 Ships: Apollo/Hyacinthus, Hyacinthus & Ganymede, Hyacinthus & Polyboia

Summary: As Troy takes its last few gasps of existence, Hyacinthus asks Apollo about his relationship to and with Hektor, as well as the city of Troy and the Trojans.

In the end, sharing memories for the future together is what will be left.

[littlesparklight]

Chapter title: The First Cracks Chapter: 3/7 Ships: Apollo/Kassandra, Helen/Paris, Helen/Menelaos, Kassandra & Helenos (and others, more minor)

Summary: The Achaean fleet is leaving the blackened corpse of Tenedos behind.

Kassandra watches as her brothers get ready - and argue, for Paris is distinctly not getting ready, to Hektor's aggravation. But even that most decorative of brothers has some care for his family, at least. Kassandra talks to Helen in the wake of Paris leaving for the impromptu battlefield, and finds herself looking at a woman she no longer recognizes, for all that Helen has grown into something like one of her own sisters in the years she's been in Troy.

[littlesparklight]

So we all know there's several books worth of happenings between Patroklos being sent from the Myrmidons' camp to check if it was Machaon that had been injured, and the point where he comes back to Achilles.

But, like.

How much TIME elapses?

Patroklos leaves Achilles shortly after Nestor and Machaon has come back to camp (somehow Nestor knows Eurypylos is injured despite that Paris shot him AFTER Nestor and Machaon left the field and Machaon's injury is not treated upon arrival!). Nestor has a long speech, Patroklos leaves and comes upon the returning Eurypylos - these two acts/actions are connected in the narrative, but should we imagine some of the things happening out of the field is happening during? How many of them, in that case?

Anyway, at this point you have -the wall breached for the first time; Zeus "looks away" because he's assured no one's gonna mess with the proceedings, Poseidon starts aiding the Achaeans -heavy fighting right inside the wall, Hektor finally collecting everyone up for a collected advance -Nestor leaves Machaon (only NOW narrative-wise does he get treated) to talk to the injured leaders, they decide to go among the men and ~encourage~ them -Hera, seeing Poseidon's efforts, decides to do her little seduction thing to make sure Zeus doesn't just turn his head/attention back onto Troy and put a stop to this -Zeus now asleep, Poseidon helps the Achaeans drive the Trojans out beyond the wall. -Hektor is lethally injured, taken to the bank of the Scamander; Zeus awakes and is Pissed Off -Hektor is healed, the Trojans penetrate the walls AGAIN, Apollo kicking at the wall to make the entrance larger -fighting up towards the ships, where Ajax manages to defend them for a while -Patroklos leaves Eurypylos, reaching Achilles while Ajax and Hektor are fighting around Protesilaos' ship.

So. How long are we imagining this is taking? Is Patroklos away for several hours in total (despite bringing up Achilles' temper)? Does all of this take no more than an hour or two?

Should we maybe consider Patroklos' leaving Nestor only to happen right before Nestor leaves to encourage the injured Achaean leaders, to give some time to Nestor's speech/get some of the events out of the way before Patroklos comes upon Eurypylos and stays there for a bit?

It's not like it wouldn't make sense if all of this happen in a very to somewhat restricted space of time. Fighting is tiring work and things can easily switch for one side to the other.

On the other hand, "dramatically" it'd make sense for the fighting to be dragged out around the first breach of the walls and again as the Trojans push towards/around the ships.

Either way, how much time do you think elapses?

[julio-claudian-saberface]

Hektor advanced far enough to start setting the Greek ships on fire before Patroclus charged out, turned the tide of battle all the way back to the walls of Troy, and had to be stopped by Apollo coshing him over the head.