#achilleus

In Philostratus work "Heroica" we have a rather distinctive description of Achilles and even if I do not always agree plot-wise with everything Philostratus says this description sticks to me;

His hair was untamable and thick and they say it was more beautiful than precious gold and always was well-shaped no matter where the wind blew it or he himself moved it. His nose was not exactly aquiline but close to that. His eyebrows were arch-like while his amber eyes even if he were calm, would never hide his readiness, on the contrary it was preparing you for some action that was simply being delayed. When he decided to take action his gaze simply harmonized instantly with the intensity of his soul. Such a gaze would magnetize anyone that perceived it. It was true that all the Achaeans felt for him exactly the same they would feel before strong lions; even though one embraces their calmness, I'd say they admire them even more when they rush with incredible strength against bulls or any other of the fighting beasts. They say that the mood of Achilles can already be perceived by his nape, which was truly straight and high up. He was also the most just among the Greeks both by nature but also due to his living with Cheiron

(Translation by me)

Okay for once whoa! What a description of his gaze!!! Like the way that they make Achilles appear like a lion because of his golden thick hair and all but above all with his gaze! His eyes almost looking like a lion ready to strike and even how everyone was magnetized by him! And I love it how Philostratus says that yes Achilles when calm was a marvel to look at because of his beauty but also when he rushed into battle he was truly a sight to behold! Then it even says that he was just because of his nature but also because he was raised by Cheiron away from the corruption of politics and all, which is a subject of many of the thought posts I made in the past!

Anyway back to the point of this post! Amber eyes!

The epithet that is used to describe his eyes is χαροπός (charopos) which as usual can have many meanings including "fierce". Many translators seem to actually translate it as "grayish-blue" as a substitute for the color γλαύκος which is of course known however Maxwell Stuart disagreed and said that this color is definitely a different color and is indeed a shade of amber. And I agree with him. The word χαροπός reminds me of "carob" (χαρούπι) a word with Accadian origins and as we all know the carob syrup has a very rich, amber hue;

it was already known in antiquity and I believe Theophrastus mentions it in his work. so yes I think that this is indeed a color for a shade of amber instead. In fact Stuart mentions how this color was associated with lion descriptions and as we all know lions have at large amber-hued eyes

so yes I know even I am depicting Achilles with blue eyes or describe him as such in my stories but sometimes I wonder the potential of Achilles have eyes that can literally resemble a predatory feline and the marvel they might cause. Amber eyes is after all one of the rarest eye colors in the world

Made Achilles wear the Mycenaean sun blush and some alta from the mehendi hc discussed with @katerinaaqu and @zeherili-ankhein lol

Yes, it is an interpretation that seems to originate in the Classical period, the mostly lost play „Myrmidons” by Aeschylus being (as far as I know) the first text in which the two of them are explicitly presented as lovers (mention of thighs and kisses), with Achilles as the erastes. It is also talked about in Plato's Symposium, where Phaedrus disagrees with the roles that Aeschylus asigned to them:

„… Achilles, son of Thetis, they [the gods] honored and sent to his place in the Isles of the Blest, because having learnt from his mother that he would die as surely as he slew Hector, but if he slew him not, would return home and end his days an aged man, he bravely chose to go and rescue his lover Patroclus, avenged him, and sought death not merely in his behalf but in haste to be joined with him whom death had taken. For this the gods so highly admired him that they gave him distinguished honor, since he set so great a value on his lover. And Aeschylus talks nonsense when he says that it was Achilles who was in love with Patroclus (that is, that Achilles was the erastes of Patroklos) for he excelled in beauty not Patroclus alone but assuredly all the other heroes, being still beardless and, moreover, much the younger, by Homer's account. For in truth there is no sort of valor more respected by the gods than this which comes of love; yet they are even more admiring and delighted and beneficent when the beloved is fond of his lover than when the lover is fond of his favorite; since a lover, filled as he is with a god, surpasses his favorite in divinity. This is the reason why they honored Achilles above Alcestis, giving him his abode in the Isles of the Blest.”( Symposium 179e–180b)

Some later texts mention it as well. That said, the idea that they were already implied to be lovers in the Iliad itself circulated in antiquity (just as it does today), with some arguing in favour of that view and others against (just like today).

Here's one example of someone in favour: „I will speak first of Homer, whom we rank among the oldest and wisest of the poets. Although he speaks in many places of Patroclus and Achilles, he hides their love and avoids giving a name to their friendship, thinking that the exceeding greatness of their affection is manifest to such of his hearers as are educated men.” (Aeschines, Against Timarchus 142)