I’m trying

I couldn't physically call Achilles and Patroclus boyfriends or lovers because their bond is something SO MUCH MORE than just that and I don't think we have the word for it. The closest I can think of is "Soulmates" and yet I don't think that's enough. They're so urgh that they can be platonic or romantic

Oh hey! Haven’t seen this in forever! Didn’t reblog it when it came across me before, not gonna skip it this time, I need some good vibes.

the fact that the last lines of the iliad are ‘thus, they celebrated the funeral of Hector, tamer of horses.’ makes me so sad. homer really ended a story that is full of violent imagery, of battle and death, with the celebration of the life of a good man, and the reminder of a gentler time. we dont need to see more death and the destruction of troy, we need to see a moment of peace

Whenever I teach the Iliad, I always emphasize the way that Homer uses juxtapositions to give the fullest possible picture of humanity: we talk about the epic simile and how it’s full of violent imagery from the natural world, involving animals who act on instinct, and we talk about the imagery on the shield of Achilles and how it’s full of contradictions, like there’s a murder trial going on in the city at peace, and we see numerous innocents in the city at war (the women and children on the walls, and the shepherds who get slaughtered by accident), because humans, like the rest of the animals, have violent instincts that (in the epic’s worldview) will never go away, and that makes the rituals we have that emphasize our common humanity all the more important. In the city at peace, the murder is dealt with not by vendetta but by a legal system. “Godlike Achilles” becomes human again when he finds empathy for Priam, and they dine together. So the Trojans buried Hector, breaker of horses.

If you see this you’re legally obligated to reblog and tag with the book you’re currently reading

lost friend this, childhood friend whose voice you can’t remember that- I’m here to talk about childhood best friends who are a phone call away, who are so entwined in your soul that no part of you could exist without them, who have given decades of love and support and laughter. there’s nothing in the world like knowing that in every universe, in every iteration of yourself, you will find them beside you. the magic light of girlhood/childhood still shines on their face bc everything you are together stretches in one long string from cradle to grave. they are in a tier entirely their own. they are a love you’ll never have again, a choice made over and over and over-

homer really said, every victory on the battlefield is a grieving father at home. and this is not a reason for the war to stop. and this is not a reason to stop telling stories about war. but you become fully human at the moment you recognize the total humanity of your enemy because it is only when you can see that that you can comprehend the humanity of your own mortal self. and like. three thousand years later and the world has yet to top that