First, thank you for all of your good comments, support, encouragement, and acceptance (and remember that latter word–it will be important in just over a week!) over my last post. A weight has lifted, in a sense, even though I am still not used to moving without it; but, other weights oppress in the meantime, and more may be said on that in the near future. But in the meantime, there are devotional matters to address!
Today, in our week honoring the Trophimoi of Herodes Attikos and the rest of their family, we honor Achilles–in many respects, the most enigmatic of the three Trophimoi, even though we have more on him than we do on his brother Memnon
I have written about him in 2011 and in 2012. He is a father and grandfather of the Tetrad, as detailed in here. And, you can read a bit more about him in both Devotio Antinoo: The Doctor’s Notes, Volume One and A Garland for Polydeukion. [Shameless self-pluggery duties done with a smile for the day!]
One thing that is both frustrating and fascinating about Achilles of the Trophimoi is that we don’t even know which face is his. The above statue has been suggested to be one of his images; and the one further below also has been, based on the fact that it seems to echo the armoring scene of Achilleus in the Iliad of Homer, but the latter is often said to be Polydeukion as well. While the face of the latter is not quite like Polydeukion’s, the hair is; whereas the statue above has very much different hair. Who knows which, if either, of these is the “real Achilles” (“Won’t the real Achilles please stand up?”).
Of course, just saying “Achilles” puts people in the mind of Homer’s hero, and of uncontrollable rage, and of battle. I’m feeling that way inclined myself today…and yet, we know that Achilles was only a child when he died. (Though never underestimate the ability of an angry and enraged child to do some damage–see, for example, Cú Chulainn!) Was he an angry child? Very good with weapons? Or was this a name given simply to attempt to inculcate virtue in him in the future? To encourage him to live up to a heroic namesake? It’s hard to say.
So, not surprisingly, the YouTube oracle has some expectable results for “Achilles”–and they have nothing to do with Herodes Attikos’ Trophimos of that name. But, nonetheless, that’s the best we’ll do, so here are some of them.
If only all great myths could be done in Lego…there’s whole untapped possible resources on this matter yet out there!
And now for some music…
This was in Seattle, in the Kingdome (which no longer exists!), during 1977–I was alive and around then, but most definitely not at this concert, since I would have been 1. 
And, we can’t avoid it, so here it is…
I did like that scene, but that’s about it, from that film.
Praise to the great Trophimos, Achilles, Ward of Hermes!
