Greek Mythology From A To Z:

So out of spite I sped-read The Iliad

Because I wanted to see if there was any way that Patroclus and Achilles’ relationship wasn’t as understandable or blatantly obvious as The Song of Achilles made it out to be. Y’all are welcome. 

Here are things Achilles has said to/thought about Patroclus, heavily paraphrased bc I’m not citing verse (my thoughts in italics):

In general, to start, “Patroclus” is almost always followed by some variation of “my companion”, so there’s that-

Book 11

“(Patroclus), joy of my heart”

Book 16

“Every Trojan and Greek can die as long as we two survive! We can take Troy together” —Achilles’ goofy ass bruh, I swear -_-

“Zeus, give him strength, keep Patroclus alive and bring him back to me” —Zeus: ope

Book 18 (y'all I put the wrong book why ain’t y'all stop me! 😭)

“I hope the gods have not done something that will break my heart (like kill Patroclus)”

[Antilochus preventing him from cutting his wrists after hearing he’s dead, covers his face in dust, screams so loud his mom hears it at the bottom of the ocean]

“What pleasure is there for me, when Patroclus, my beloved companion has been destroyed, the man I honored above all…”

“My own heart has no desire to live on….unless Hector is (killed for killing Patroclus)”

“So now I’ll go (kill Hector), killer of the man I loved” —Now I know he claims love for a lot of men, but he wasn’t willing to fight for any of their dead bodies until Patroclus, sooooo

“I’m going to wait to bury you until we’re both dead so that we’re together in death” —Shit’s a lil weird, but Achilles is a drama queen so it’s in line- UPDATE- okay so, if they wait to be buried together they’ll go to the same place! Makes sense!

Book 19

“I can’t even eat I’m so distressed, not even my own father’s death would upset me as much. I would have had you tell my son of me if you were alive because I thought only I would die” —-this one in particular gets me because Deidameia is alive, but he wanted Patroclus to tell his son about him!

Book 20

“(Hector’s) getting closer, the man who scarred my heart more than all other men”

Book 22

“I’m going to leave your [Hector’s] body here to be torn apart by animals while Patroclus is getting the burial he deserves”

“I’ll not forget [Patroclus] as long as I’m alive. Even when I’m dead, I won’t forget my companion”

Book 23

[Patroclus’ ghost asks to be buried together, Achilles agrees and tries to hold him but he vanishes] —-Why would Patroclus ask this of someone he didn’t love? And why would Achilles agree so easily?

[Gives him a golden urn and commands they have a mound]

In fact, literally all of book 23 is a damn festival for Patroclus lmao

Incidents of him with women:

Book 9

“He stole from me (Briseis), a woman I love. Let him sleep with her! I still won’t fight”  —-Don’t sound very loving to me, and also star point because they offered Briseis back amongst hella other shit and he still said no

“Achilles slept with Diomede, Patroclus slept opposite Achilles with Iphis" 

Book 19 (again!)

Briseis cries over Patroclus’ body, saying that when Achilles killed her husband, Patroclus was nice and would make sure Achilles would marry her instead  —–Idk how this would make anyone feel better about their dead spouse, but….go off, I guess? Not to mention he knew Achilles wasn’t gone make it! Liar lmao

Book 24

He sleeps with Briseis after Priam comes to beg for Hector’s body

Final verdict: 

Bisexual, open relationship. I won’t deny evidence of him and the ladies, but he was most definitely in love with Patroclus. 

The movie Troy can suck it, and I’ll die on this hill in aristeia like Patroclus. 

(update! Lmao y'all I had the right quotes, wrong book for some of them- why ain’t y'all say nothing?)

The past echoes in our souls. Our passion is a burning flame, eternal. Antiquity is a part of us.

Hera: [to Zeus] Goodnight. Sleep tight. Don't let the fact that you're a terrible person and husband keep you up tonight.

Greek mythology from A to Z:

[E] - Eris (Ἔρις) was goddess of chaos, strife and discord.

Greek mythology from A to Z:

[H] - Hyacinthus (Ὑάκινθος) was a beautiful young man who became the lover of the god Apollo, although he also had the affection of Zephyr, the god of the west wind. During a game of discus, Apollo threw the discus, and Hyacinthus ran after it trying to impress the god. However, he was struck by the discus and died. Apollo, distraught at the youth’s death, forbade Hades to claim his soul; instead, he turned him into the flower of the same name.

Thetis and her son, he takes after his mum.

Greek mythology from A to Z:

[O] - Oizys (Ὀϊζύς) is the goddess of misery, suffering, depression and anxiety.

"I Love You" - An Analysis Of Zeus's Relationship To Hera, And All It's Complexities

Requested by @sworebytheriverstyx to expand on what I meant in this post, so I decided to write upon it! Also @withlovefromolympus bc I can <3

Enjoy!

So in the post mentioned above, I stated that in every interaction Zeus has with his wife, Hera, he would end it with an "I love you", but with time, the meaning/connotation/perception has changed (and maybe connotation wasn't the right word for that post... idk, it was late and now idc *shrugs*). Now, what do I mean by that? Many things.

In the beginning, back when Zeus was trying to seduce Hera or even further into the beginnings of their actual relationship, Zeus used this phrase as a way of connection. Of flattery and of security. That no matter what, he will always love her. And he meant this phrase fully and genuinely each time, showing to her that even when his mind was always occupied, or even angered, he will always love her. He would whisper it after their small fights or during a long night of sleep deprivation and trying to rule a newly-formed kingdom. A connection, a bridge for him to give as she walked upon it and stayed close to him.

Hera loved this. She was and never will be a person of physical and shown affection, especially as public as their lives may be as King and Queen, so Zeus doing all the work for them, to keep that connection verbally while she may be too shy to do it in any other place than their bed, is really appreciated. It warms her heart to know that, no matter what, he will love her. That, no matter if their hands cannot touch each other in the way they both want them to, his words will connect them. That she can take those vibrations and wrap them in her wind, have them echo and vibrate around her as she sometimes travels far away from him. It is their connection. Their Purpose together as King and Queen.

It starts out affectionate.

Then... it turns to something else.

She catches him cheating. They fight and throw things at each other, hurtling insults and trying at their power dynamics. She turns her back on him to leave (flee) and, still, he always whispers those three words. "I love you," comes from his lips and she's fooled each time. She comes back to their chambers warm and waiting, her skin icy cold but those words always trying to warm her from her core. He says it each and every time and, suddenly, it's not intimate anymore. Her skin is too cold and they are said to often, to thrown away, to carry their warmth to her core anymore. The connotation is different now. It's like he's trying to ask for her forgiveness. That their three words will make any difference in the already-determined outcome. She forbids him from saying it in their bedroom anymore, eventually extending that ban to all of Olympus. He tries to push her, to continue saying it, but she stands her ground by leaving it. She does not care if he says it anyway. They are not them anymore.

Zeus still tries. He seeks his wife out in the dark, in places nobody could possibly see her so she could maybe open a little more up. She tries to flee and, in the beginning, he lets her, but he tightens his grip more and more as he realizes they aren't getting anywhere. To him, the words are still a sign of their Love. Mortals preach and preach about loving someone forever, that people change but if you love them enough, then they will stay with you. He's tried everything with Hera. Talking, taking her out on dates, and Tartarus! he's even attempted to stay faithful for a long time for her, just enough for her to settle down for them to have a proper Talk! But Hera wouldn't budge and the longing for a mortal's softness, for a mortal's insignificance, was too much when his bed was already becoming too cold. At first, it was a release. A curiosity and a homesickness of back when he was young, running around Gaia's Plains like he had no care. He missed those days and wanted to experience that again, to take a break from his Kingly Load and just experience mortality again. Now, it's become a coping mechanism. The thought of coming home from a long day to see his wife not talking to him and practically mountains between them made his heart ache and so he went to different beds, trying out their warmths and softness and experiences. He tells her he loves her, trying to rekindle their relationship again, but even he knows it's drifting away. That it's more of an excuse now, but it's the only thing he can seem to grasp of her now. He's trying, he swears, but they're now too broken to be fixed.

The connotations of love between Zeus and Hera, written by Altis (sleepdeprivationbutposeidon)

(source:trust me bro)

Greek mythology from A to Z:

[L] - Leto (Λητώ) was one of the Titanides, the goddess of motherhood and the mother of the twin gods Apollon and Artemis.