Shufflemancy can be one of the most heart-touching ways to receive information if you just listen. Listen for the meaning, and take in the information.
A song that popped up for me was Achilles come down, and from initial reasoning and hearing the song you may just think that it is about not committing suicide, and not ruining your life. It is, but also so much more when you look up the myth of Achilles. The song makes much more sense.
The first thing I will say about the myth is not the right word. As someone who works with greek gods, there is truth in the myths, though there are some popular beliefs that are not true. For example, in the myth of Hercules, Hercules never became a god yes, and if you watched the Disney movie, but not for the reason they gave. In his story, he actually went mad during the twelve labors, and this led him to kill his mortal mother, father, and daughter. Not recognized at the time of his fight but soon afterward.
For this story, it is important to understand Achilles heel is the most popular story about him, but yet, most likely not true. What was believed to be his legend in popular fantasy is not the exact truth. It is mentioned in one of many excerpts about him.
In this exert talks about his mother Thetis, a nymph who is technically a goddess. In this story, achilles' heal is his heal because his mother tortured him to try to make him immortal. Including holding him against an open flame to try to make him immortal, and then taking him down to the underworld to place his heal in the river of Styx, which is the one thing that seemed to work, but gave him his mortal flaw.
Maybe it is most popular because it is most gruesome, yet in many other exerts of greek mythology, it is mentioned that lesser-known goddesses could not visit the underworld. Therefore makes this myth not only hard to believe but also nearly impossible to have actually happened.
So with this in mind, let me tell the myth and the song, “Achilles come down.” and how his mythology entangles in through the lyrics of the story.
As a boy, he lived in Pthia, with his father, visiting his mother at the ocean's edge. Fell in love with an exiled prince that was brought there for accidentally killing another prince. His mother hated this, thinking that it was his greatest downfall, and did whatever she could to separate the two.
Due to a prophecy that said that he would become the greatest hero in Greece, he was sent to Chiron as many other heroes were, Yet, waited for his companion to join him before ending up at Chiron's house despite his mother's approval. The two made it there, and Chiron agreed to keep the boy Patroclus there by his side.
Eventually, they left, after an urgent message from the king about a council meeting, which announced the kidnapping of Helen. Who was said to be the most beautiful girl in the world? When she got married the princes made an oath, swearing upon each other that they would protect the girl at all cost, and giving her the decision to choose her husband amongst the men. The oath had to be withheld leading the princes into war. The Trojan war.
But yet when it came to Achilles his mother wanted to protect his life and took him into hiding in a kingdom meant for all girls. So Achilles hid there, not wanting to fight disguised as a girl for the longest time. Patroclus was the first to find him, followed by other princes. Who set a trap to make Achilles show himself thinking they were under attack.
Through another prophecy, that Achilles will lose his strength slowly if he did not fight, his mothers warring approval he agreed to fight, due to not wanting to lose the fame that he was promised.
This is where I believe the song “Achilles come down, by Gang of Youths begins.”
“Achilles, Achilles, Achilles, come down
Won't you get up off, get up off the roof?
You're scaring us and all of us, some of us love you
Achilles, it's not much but there's proof”
The prophecy also promised his death after he killed the one named Hector, the reason why his mother was so defiant of him going to war, and also why Patroclus was so concerned about him going to war. Reluctantly crazed by the fame he went into war, though I’m not sure these lines are sung by his mother or Patroclus, it all refers to this.
“You crazy-assed cosmonaut, remember your virtue
Redemption lies plainly in truth””
The next line is definitely Patroclus, letting him know that fame is not the only way to prove his worth. That he didn’t need to go through with this, but yet ignored. He went to war, and fought for many years refusing to kill the person let would lead to his downfall.
That lasted until Apollo brought a plague upon them killing many animals and men after the king refused to give into the priest's wish of returning his daughter that he kept as a war prize.In an argument, the king took away Achilles war prizes that he won.
“Just humor us, Achilles, Achilles, come down
Won't you get up off, get up off the roof?”
Due to this, Achilles stopped fighting and refused to fight any more. So wrapped up in the fame and the pride the king took away, he stayed to his decision.
“Je vois que beaucoup de gens meurent Parce qu'ils estiment que la vie ne vaut pas la peine d'être vécue J'en vois d'autres, qui se font paradoxalement tués pour des idées Pour des illusions, qui leurs donnent une raison de vivre Ce, qu'on appelle une raison de vivre est en même temps une excellente raison de mourir”
A french verse that translates to, ““I see a lot of people die because they don’t believe life as worth living, and I see others who paradoxically get killed for the ideas, illusions that gave them a reason to live. What we call a reason to live is also a reason to die.”
Led by the belief the king wanted to take his fame, and that he knew the greeks didn’t stand a chance without him. He waited for them to give into his request. He believed he was alive for his fame, and later went to his mom with a request. To let the Trojans continue to destroy the Army of greeks until they undid his wrongs.
“Achilles, Achilles, Achilles, come down
Won't you get up off, get up off the roof?
The self is not so weightless, nor whole and unbroken
Remember the pact of our youth”
“Where you go, I'm going, so jump and I'm jumping since there is no me without you soldier on, Achilles, Achilles, come down Won't you get up off, get up off the roof?”
For months Patroclus disagreed with the decision, tried to talk him down, and went against his back to save an innocent girl from rape from the king. Made sure she was treated right at all costs to him, making a promise. Not only this but destroying Achilles' plan to make the army they have turned on the king, as raping a war prize that didn’t belong to him was the greatest dishonor a king could do.
“Loathe the way they light candles in Rome But love the sweet air of the votives Hurt and grieve but don't suffer alone Engage with the pain as a motive Today, of all days, see How the most dangerous thing is to love”
Achilles and Patroclus were against each other at the time. Achilles felt that Patroclus dishonored his wish of the king's own trap. He felt betrayed by his lover for protecting the girl that the king took from him.
“How you will heal and you'll rise above”
Trapped in his own spite, he still did not fight. Since the army did not speak against the dishonor brought to him by his refusal to fight. Patroclus continued to try to talk him down.
“D'un gérant d'immeuble qui s'était tué on disait un jourQu'il avait perdu sa fille depuis cinq ansQu'il avait beaucoup changé depuis et que cette histoire l'avait”
Another french quote, translating to, “Of a building manager who had killed himself, it was said one day, That he had lost his daughter for five years, That he had changed a lot since then and that this story had him”
The Greeks begged him to fight, and each day more and more Greek were injured by him. They begged and begged him to get back on the battlefield, but what was taken had taken control over him.
“Achilles, Achilles, Achilles, jump now You are absent of cause or excuse So self-indulgent and self-referential No audience could ever want you You crave the applause yet hate the attention Then miss it, your act is a ruse It is empty, Achilles, so end it all now It's a pointless resistance for you”
Patroclus beg, and his realization. The army was approaching the walls they built. The army grew weaker and weaker as that. And the more and more it escalated the fame that he was promised would be destroyed. He wanted the fame so bad, yet wouldn’t give it to himself.
“Ce qui déclenche la crise est presque toujours incontrôlableLes journaux parlent souvent de chagrins intimes ou de maladie incurableCes explications sont valablesMais il faudrait savoir si le jour même un amiDu désespéré ne lui a pas parlé sur un ton indifférentCelui-là est le”
Another french line translating to, “What triggers the crisis is almost always uncontrollable The newspapers often speak of intimate sorrows or incurable diseases These explanations are valid But it would be necessary to know if the same day a friend Of the desperate did not speak to him in an indifferent tone This one is the”
His reasons are starting not to matter, but now it is about the army. His fame will disappear if he keeps his act up and so will everything in between. They tell him of another myth, how a hero in a similar situation. Yet he ignores the advice and continues down the rampage he created.
“Achilles, Achilles, just put down the bottle Don't listen to what you've consumed it's chaos, confusion and wholly unworthy of feeding and it's wholly untrue you may feel no purpose nor a point for existing its all just conjecture and gloom And there may not be meaning, so find one and seize i tDo not waste yourself on this roof”
If he doesn’t fight, the army’s choice of the retreat is destroyed. The trojans will set the boats on fire, and all will blame him. They will be hostages instead of warriors, yet Achilles still stands his ground.
He doesn’t have the willpower or in his mind to save himself or the people that fought beside him…
“ Hear those bells ring deep in the soul Chiming away for a moment Feel your breath course frankly below And see life as a worthy opponent Today, of all days, see How the most dangerous thing is to love How you will heal and you'll rise above Crowned by an overture bold and beyond Ah, it's more courageous to overcome”
Again the plea of Platroclus becoming more desperate as he knows the name of every friend dying in front of him by his lover's choice. A pain more than he can handle. A pain aching in his chest, and all the army wants is for him to talk to Achilles and doesn’t even let him help in the medical tent as usual.
“Les souvenirs d'une patrie perdue, l'espoir d'une terre promiseCe divorce entre l'homme de sa vie”
Translation of this, “Memories of a lost homeland, hope for a promised land, This divorce between the man of his life”
Achilles gave up on his fame, and into his rage, and patrolus had enough. Achilles finally decided he wanted to live and almost left everyone behind, but was talked down. What he dreamed of was destroyed and that was of a hero having a happy ending.
“You want the acclaim, the mother of mothers (it's not worth it, Achilles)More poignant than fame or the taste of another (don't listen, Achilles)”
His mother didn’t give him what he needed, and instead let her god instincts of hatred take over. She supported his decision to give up in the middle when they spoke. Trying to save her son maybe, but also neglecting the bigger picture letting him fall further.
“But be real and just jump, you dense motherfucker (you're worth more, Achilles) You will not be more than a rat in the gutter (so much more than a rat)You want my opinion, my opinion you've got (no one asked your opinion) You asked for my counsel, I gave you my thoughts (no one asked for your thoughts)Be done with this now and jump off the roof (be done with this now and get off the roof)Can you hear me, Achilles? I'm talking to you”
Patroclus last beg, yet he was ignored yet again. He felt like his words didn’t matter, So he took matters into his own hands throwing himself on the battlefield as Achilles. So he wouldn’t break his pride but still do something.
“I'm talking to you I'm talking to you I'm talking to you”
To throw his lover in such a situation he couldn’t live with it. He told Patroclus not to fight, but agreed to the act. Fear roared in his heart, but he couldn’t ignore his cries any longer.
“Achilles, come down Achilles, come down”
Patroclus ignored his claim as he got on the chariot doing his best to act like him. Most retreated, but yet, he was forced to begin throwing spears. They went to the gates of troy, and somewhere along Patroclus lost his sanity. Climbing a wall is never meant to be climbed. His true identity came out, and then met with the angry Trojans he ran.
"Celle du oui et celle du Ce serait trop beau Mais il faut faire la part de ceux qui, sans conclure, interrogent toujoursIci, j'ironise à peine, il s'agit de la majorité Je vois également que ceux qui répondent non agissent comme s'ils pensaient oui De fait"
The translation of this, “That of yes and that of no It would be too beautiful But we must make allowance for those who, without concluding, always question Here, I'm hardly ironing, it's about the majority I also see that those who answer no act as if they mean yes Fact”
Even after death Patroclus believed that it was the gods doing of his identity exposed. He went to far, and knew it. But, Achilles is at fault, and that drove him mad.
“Throw yourself into the unknown With pace and a fury defiant Clothe yourself in beauty untold And see life as a means to a triumph Today, of all days, see How the most dangerous thing is to love How you will heal and you'll rise above Crowned by an overture bold and beyond Ah, it's more courageous to overcome”
And after this Achilles fought. So narrowed on hector made kill after kill. Stopped by a god of a river, well almost stopped through a fake stumble and then throwing a spear that injured the god to walk away from the situation. He killed hector and ran to the walls killing as many as he could till his death finally came. An arrow with Apollos touch, running into his heart.
So what we can all learn is that our actions lead to our downfall at times. To want something so unobtainable creates madness and chaos. It is something that we are all at fault for, searching and giving up too fast at the smallest downfall. Just because an obstacle is there doesn't mean things can not be repaired. Just because a fault is so worthy, can lead to are most contagious fears.
Keep pushing forward and persevering with those dreams. You don't need a legacy but forgiveness within yourself to move past the boulders in life.
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