Achillean
| Orientation: | Any |
|---|---|
| GxG Format: | M/NB x M/NB |
| Genders: | Men, Non Binary |
|---|---|
| Attracted To: | Men, Non Binary |
| ⚠ WARNING ⚠ |
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Achillean is a term relating to a man or non-binary individual who is attracted to other men or non-binary individuals. One may or may not be attracted to other genders as well. As the attraction is not necessarily exclusive.
It was originally defined as just men-loving-men (mlm), but has also been recently used to describe non-women who love non-women (nwlnw), or men or non-binary individuals who love men or non-binary individuals (m/nblm/nb).[1]
History
The term achillean has been used since the late 1900s, to describe qualities related to the figure of Greek mythology hero Achilles, including sexual or romantic intimacy between men. In the book titled Alexander's Empire: Formulation to Decay, Waldemar Heckel, Lawrence Tritle, Pat Wheatley wrote: "For Theocritus Idyll 29.34 the sexual love between Achilles and Patroclus was so uncontroversial that it could be referred to in a pederastic poem by means of the shorthand "Achillean friends"."[2]
It is unclear who first used the term achillean to refer to men-loving-men, however its popularization is often attributed to the Tumblr user semituring (previously named asculan).[3][4][5]
Other alternative terms suggested for men-loving-men include:
- ganymedic (related to Ganymede)
- patroclean (related to Patroclus)
- sivanic (related to Troye Sivan)
- tomic (related to Tom of Finland)
- vincic (related to Leonardo da Vinci)[5]
- apollian or apollonian (related to Apollo)[6]
- wildean (related to Oscar Wilde)[7]
- theban (related to the Sacred Band of Thebes)
- chaeronean (related to the Order of Chaeronea)[8]
Controversies
The term achillean has received various criticisms in the past, due to a misconception that the creator or Achilles himself was a pedophile. However, the original coining is unknown, so the claims of a pedophilic creator are unfounded.[9] There are also various analyses of the mythological character that state the age difference between Achilles and his male lover, Patroclus, were minimal.[9][10][11][12]
Related Terms
| Label | Relationship | Description | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faunic | Similar | Non-man attracted to other non-men. | Non-man includes genders such as genderless and anonbinary genders, whereas achillean only specifies non-binary and man-aligned genders. |
| Floric | Similar | Non-woman attracted to other non-women. | Achillean individuals can additionally be woman-aligned, whether because they have multiple genders, or are genderfluid. |
| Gay Man/Vincian | Similar | A man or man-aligned individual who is attracted to other men or men-aligned individuals. | Achillean encompasses unaligned non-binary individuals, whereas gay man only refers to male-aligned non-binary individuals. |
| Lesbian | Counterpart | An individual with queer attraction to women. | Lesbian is the woman/female equivalent to achillean. |
| Straight | Opposite | Attraction to the opposite or dissimilar gender(s). | Straight refers to different gender attraction, whereas achillean refers to similar gender attraction. |
| Turian/Veldian | Similar | An individual with queer attraction to men. | Queer as a type of attraction is more inclusive and purposefully vague. |
| Uranian | Similar | A historical term used for gay men. | Uranian is an older term with its own unique history. |
Flags and Symbols
The original achillean flag was created by Tumblr user pridenpositivity in 2017.[13] The flag features a green carnation, which was worn by followers of Oscar Wilde in the late 1800s, used as a hint towards homosexuality.[14] The revised version of this flag, and the most popular achillean flag to date, was created on the 5th of October, 2016, by Mod Face, Mod Hermy, and an anonymous user.[15][16]
The alternative achillean flag was created by Reddit user Pacack, on the 6th of September, 2019. The dark blue represents the masculinity of manhood, compared to the baby blue of the original, which Pacack deemed to be representative of boyhood. The green acts as a secondary color to blue, focusing more on the attraction to masculinity rather than one's identity being masculine.[17]
Gallery
Original Achillean Flag (pridenpositivity)
Alternative Achillean Flag (Pacack)
References
- ↑ "what is "achillean"?". achilleaninfo.carrd.co, https://achilleaninfo.carrd.co/#what-is-achillean. Accessed on 30 Aug, 2024.
- ↑ Heckel, Waldemar. Tritle, Lawrence. Wheatley, Pat.. "Alexander's Empire: Formulation to Decay". ' 2007, p.87. https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/7635338.
- ↑ "who coined "achillean"?". achilleaninfo.carrd.co, https://achilleaninfo.carrd.co/#origins. Accessed on 30 Aug, 2024.
- ↑ pride-color-schemes. "Achillean". Tumblr, 24 Jun, 2017, https://pride-color-schemes.tumblr.com/post/162216050275/achillean.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 asculan. "suggested words for mlm so far:". Tumblr, 13 Jun, 2016, https://archive.is/c3Rag.
- ↑ cockyroaches. "Proposed Apollian/Apollonian flag based on @that-sweet-sweet-validation ’s post". Tumblr, https://archive.md/2022.02.15-070432/https://cockyroaches.tumblr.com/post/183383188298/proposed-apollianapollonian-flag-based-on. Archived on 15 Feb, 2022.
- ↑ achilles-in-the-flesh. "suggested words for mlm so far:". Tumblr, 25 Jul, 2021, https://archive.is/GO3s5. Archived on 15 Oct, 2023.
- ↑ lilnasxvevo. "okay, so i know a lot of MLM have been looking for a word". Tumblr, 28 Jun, 2016, https://archive.is/pI1S6. Archived on 15 Oct, 2023.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "arguments against the use of "achillean"". achilleaninfo.carrd.co, https://achilleaninfo.carrd.co/#arguments. Accessed on 30 Aug, 2024.
- ↑ Cameron, Micah. "#1-OP The Age Relationship between Achilles and Patroclus in Homer’s The Iliad". Undergraduate Research Web Showcase 2020, Dr. Kara Stone, 3 Apr, 2020, https://sites.psu.edu/ugrwebshowcase/2020/04/03/1-op-the-age-relationship-between-achilles-and-patroclus-in-homers-the-iliad/.
- ↑ Butler, Shane. "Deep Classics: Rethinking Classical Reception". ' Bloomsbury Publishing, 5 May, 2016, p. 29. https://books.google.com.au/books?id=KNeiCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA29.
- ↑ Wittenberg, Hayley. "He Whom I Loved as Dearly as My Own Life: An Analysis of the Relationship Between Achilles and Patroclus". ' Middle Tennessee State University, Spring, 2023, p52. https://libjournals.mtsu.edu/index.php/scientia/article/download/2406/1407/6159.
- ↑ pridenpositivity. "Achillean Flag". Tumblr, 2017, https://archive.md/2019.04.16-133242/http://pridenpositivity.tumblr.com/post/146340602624/sapphic-flag-pink-love-violets-sga-women-used. Archived on 16 Apr, 2019.
- ↑ "“Why the green carnation?”". Oscar Wilde Tours, https://www.oscarwildetours.com/our-symbol-the-green-carnation/. Accessed on 30 Aug, 2024.
- ↑ Pride-Flags. "Achillean". DeviantArt, 5 Oct, 2016, https://archive.ph/2019.04.16-133800/https://www.deviantart.com/pride-flags/art/Achillean-638170749. Archived on 16 Apr, 2019.
- ↑ ask-pride-color-schemes. "Simplified Achillean flag!". Tumblr, 29 Sep, 2016, https://www.tumblr.com/ask-pride-color-schemes/151092891459/simplified-achillean-flag?source=share.
- ↑ Pacack. "My Take On The Achillean/MLM Flag". Reddit, 6 Sep, 2019, https://www.reddit.com/r/QueerVexillology/comments/d0cn6c/my_take_on_the_achilleanmlm_flag/.
