CHARACTERS Achilles Peleiades (Character Bio)

[Achilles24]

(Art by lemondrop49)

Age: 25
Gender: Male
Birthplace: Phthia, Mycenaean Greece (Around 1050 BC)
Orientation: Bisexual

Likes
Animals
Combat
Horse Riding
Music
Myths & Legends
Theatre
Warfare

Dislikes
Archery
Fishing
Ironwork
Sailing
Philosophers
Trojans

Personality
What praises could yet be sung about swift-footed Achilles, son of Peleus, greatest of all the Greeks, that were not carved into stone, during those fateful years in lamentable Troy? His courage? His charisma? His prowess in battle? 'Hot blooded' came closest to describing Achilles, for his temperament was very much one of extremes.

The Phthian prince inherited his father's ambition and thirst for adventure, thus could he come across initially as remarkably enthusiastic, but also was Achilles' sentimentality finer-tuned than those of most mortal men, and so did he fall victim to moments of extreme sorrow and despair. The cautious patience of Peleus, however, was unrepresented by his son, and so was Achilles quick-tempered and prone to indignant outbursts.

Even those with whom he did not share a close bond could attest that Achilles was forever walking a knife's edge of fury - such was Achilles' greatest and most irresolvable fault.


Backstory
Wrath.

Sing, Goddess, of the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that raged during the ninth year of retribution against what was then the mightiest of civilisations - Troy. Though the the world knew countless killings before it began, it knew far more when Achilles tale was done.

How young Achilles was when he left stalwart Phthia, sailing for Troy with his father's loyal Myrmidons and his beloved Patroclus by his side. It was there that Achilles proved himself in battle, earning himself the title 'Achilles Podarkes - Swift-Footed'. But too proud was Achilles to fight under the foolish Agamemnon, and although the reason for their quarrel remained unknown to his peers, Achilles took to hiding in his tent, refusing to fight for his king.

Why, then, did Achilles stride out so readily to meet the Trojans in battle? To this day, those who survived the fall of Troy have had no answer for Achilles' sudden change of heart, nor the Prince's wrath, that brought that lamentable city to its knees and sent the greatest of all the Trojans - the man-slaying Hector - screaming down to Tartarus. Achilles himself always kept the answers close to his chest.

Such death and destruction did Achilles wreak on the Trojans that he made almost as many enemies as he slew, and how he returned from Troy, despite conflicting reports of his death on the battlefield, remains another mystery. Mayhaps the Gods sought to procure for him a chance, to atone for his brutality and wrath. The Prince remains tight-lipped on the subject, though it's clear to all that something eats away at him may yet redeem himself, if his wrath has not yet ruined him - the path he chooses to walk remains to be seen.

(Inspired by Homer's The Iliad. Circa 800-700 BC)