One Of My Heart-wrenching Mythological Headcanons Is That Apollo, To Some Extent, Felt Afflicted For

Found this exact random panel on Pinterest last year, wondered who these two were since they looked sad and cute, read the story, watched the anime. Life destroyed since then👍👌

"But if I were not Alexander, I wish I were Diogenes."

Good Riddance Duet - Hades :) (cover by me)

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Iliad-related stuff about Alexander the Great (according to Plutarch):

- He owned a very special copy of the poem, annotated by his tutor Aristotle himself. He guarded the manuscript in a small, precious chest that once belonged to Darius of Persia, and slept with it - and his dagger - under his pillow every night

- When he was a young boy, one of his tutors liked to call himself 'Phoenix' (the name of young Achilles' mentor) and Alexander's father Phillip 'Peleus', while little Alex was obviously Achilles himself (he was literally obsessed with the guy, since he also believed to be his descendant from his mother's side)

- Speaking of which, Alexander visited and paid homage to said hero's tomb in the region of Troy with games and stuff, honoring his "blessed fate" since he had had "such a trusted companion [aka Patroclus] in life and a noble herald [aka Homer] in death." (some other sources say that Hephaestion was with him as they paid homage to the tombs of Patroclus and Achilles respectively. Plus the way Alex's grief after Hephaestion's death mirrors perfectly that of his fav hero would deserve its own post)

- During the same journey there, he got offered to see the mythical lyre played by his namesake, Paris (also known as Alexander in the Iliad), to which he replied something like "hell no I couldn't care less, let me see the lyre that Achilles used to play" lol

I do, in fact, catch myself yearning for lost works quite a few times (always)

Aeschylus’ the myrmidons… when will you return to me…?

If I got a cent for every devastatingly tragic love story (any kind of love) I'm obsessed with where the two are so painfully sweet yet so incredibly doomed by the narrative at the same time and one of them dies leaving the other alone and utterly destroyed by their grief bc they've lost their only reason for living (bonus point if the soul of the died one literally haunts the other, whose only wish is to join them) I'd be filthy rich and it's not even funny. im crying. it's not damn funny at all actually don't even talk to me im going to curl up in my small little corner sobbing. bye

Imagine this: a young, mighty king has just conquered some faraway regions in the East, so he and his men decide to celebrate one night.

Still a bit tipsy after the celebration, the conqueror goes to attend the dance competition held in his honor: the winner turns out to be a young eunuch of extraordinary beauty, praised generously and crowned by the king himself.

Seeing the two of them so close, the men and all the others start applauding from the stands, and they all start shouting in unison: "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

The king, amused, does not object: he smiles and wraps his arms around the beautiful dancer, whom he kisses gently on the lips among the cheers of his men.

No, I did not just come up with this. It's a small historical anecdote. And the king in question is none other than the GOAT Alexander the Great.

we know Achilles, we know

No one fucking talk to me I’m mourning my beautiful wife patroclus

(Spoilers and long yaps ahead)

I just finished rereading TSoA for the 3rd time to refresh my memory and bc apparently there's some sort of unwritten rule that I have to read it every other year (lol), so here are some of my thoughts/impressions...

- I really liked the way MM describes feelings and especially places and atmospheres, very detailed and immersive

- Overall, there were some kind of inaccuracies and stuff that sounded a bit weird-worded to me here and there (maybe it's bc I've read a translation but idk), but nothing too serious. Also I had forgotten about the humor, some bits were hilarious

- I LOVED the first part from the beginning up until they're called back from mount Pelion, better than I remembered

- (Also Chiron saying he'll wait for them to come back I was like wait it's not time for crying yet stop)

- You guys weren't joking abt the feet thing omg, I had totally forgotten about it. Like, 30 pages in and I've already heard about Achilles' feet at least 20 times, it wasn't annoying just mildly amusing to me lol

- I get that Thetis has to be overprotective, even unwilling to mingle with mortals, but I wasn't a big fan in general of her being represented as some kind of cold and indifferent "sea witch", or as the antagonist, even though she redeems at the end. At least at the end I managed to feel sorry even for her

- Pat's mom was barely there as a character (since we basically know nothing abt her from the myths) but...her portrayal felt deeply touching to me?

- It kinda bugged me at first that Achilles here is older than Pat, but that's just a detail

- every single scene between the boys felt so inherently sweet and intimate, absolutely loved it

- Pat is supposed to be an unreliable narrator, and that's fine, we get why. But at times, his thoughts get so unnecessarily self-deprecating, and I was like? my boy I get that it's not your fault you feel that way, but you're worth more than that omg? But it kinda makes sense within the story, you can immediately sympathize with him, you genuinely feel what he feels, so I didn't really mind it

- The whole Skyros part was...kinda there? I felt like it somehow broke the immersion for me. The whole thing was so rushed it was hilarious, like, Pat randomly arrives to the king's palace, and then the sequence after that basically goes

"Hello, stranger, I'm your very seducing princess. Wanna see me and my girls dance?"

"Wait, Achilles, you're one of the girls??"

"Pyrrha, what does this mean??"

"Shut up, he's my husband!"

"Wtf no, you're my husband!"

"You useless mortals..."

"Mom, I'm tired, make it stop!"

"But I'm pregnant!!"

"Wtf??"

"Wait, let me explain!"

Like...yeah.

- I think Deidameia has more to her character other than being "the annoying asshole used by Thetis to distract Achilles", like...idk, her relationship with "Pyrrha" could have been explored further other than the "my mom forced me" thing...also yeah, not a fan of what she did to Pat, it felt like an unnecessary addition. I understand that MM had to make significant changes to this part of the myth especially to make it fit in her story, but still...

- My poor, sweet Iphigenia. Again, kinda rushed, but her part read like the terrible tragedy it is. I have nothing else to say.

- Achilles at Troy. We need to talk about him even tho there would be way too much to say. He's still so young and innocent and perfect and beautiful, but with such a heavy burden on his shoulders? And at the same time he wants to be the best bc that's what he was born for, he craves honor, glory and recognition? Like, everyone wants him to be hero, a killer, but my boy was left paralyzed for days after witnessing his first ever death with his own eyes, after which he needed to be comforted and caressed? The way he's fully aware of the fact that his time is so short lived? The way he's so godlike, he literally exudes divinity, yet so incredibly and painfully human? Bye

- The damn FORESHADOWING all the time after they sail to Troy once every ten lines basically. "What has Hector ever done to me" and similar, I mean. Like, I couldn't afford to cry before the end of the book

- I still don't know what to think about Pat being all soft and vulnerable and pacifist in the middle of the war. Like, yes, it makes me want to hug him. He's lovely and lovable, of course. But idk, it's almost as if something didn't feel quite right with it

- Kinda same for Briseis. She's such a beautiful and interesting character, even tho MM's interpretation of her story, especially her relationship with our two mains, differs quite a lot from the original. The dynamics didn't feel to me as rushed or unnecessary as they were in the Skyros part, though

- The whole feel of camaraderie was quite tangible, it felt almost real. As if you were there, knowing each one of them in person, especially the Achaeans ofc (plus Odysseus and Diomedes' banter was awesome. They've truly got some great lines)

- I wasn't too convinced by the interpretation that Achilles felt absolutely nothing, if not just pity, towards Briseis, with Pat being the only one loving her, but again it makes sense within the story as it's told

- Everything after Pat dies felt...rushed, way less explored. Even tho it's the part where most of the important stuff happens (Achilles' death, most notably.)

- which absolutely needs to be talked about. 'He's chasing after himself... He's just a mortal, not a god. Hit him and he'll die... When he fell, he had a smile on his lips'. BYE I have nothing else to say.

- The contrast between young Achilles being utterly horrified by the slaughter of an innocent girl as a sacrifice, and Pyrrhus doing the exact same thing and claiming to be doing it in his father's honor........

- Last but not least, the ending between Thetis and Patroclus' spirit always hits hard...I haven't cried the first two times I've read it, but this time I sobbed like a baby

Like... I've always had sort of mixed feelings abt this book for different reasons. But it has always held a special place in my mind and heart, mainly because both the romance and the war/death part are so heart-wrenching and so well mixed together. And it will surely keep doing so. Now please make me feel less alone and cry along with me😭