Curator’s Remark: Achilles Come Down

Kenneth Tran

The song Achilles Come Down by Gang of Youths shows how ancient Greek myth can still connect to modern audiences. Instead of directly retelling the story of Achilles, the song uses him as a symbol of emotional struggle and pressure. This essay argues that Achilles Come Down modernizes the myth of Achilles by focusing on his inner conflict while still keeping important themes from the original Greco-Roman myth.

In Greek mythology, Achilles is one of the greatest warriors in the Trojan War. He is the son of the sea goddess Thetis and the mortal Peleus and is known for being nearly invincible. In Homer’s Iliad, Achilles is also famous for his strong emotions and pride, especially when he refuses to fight after being insulted by Agamemnon (Homer). His anger and isolation are important parts of his story and eventually contribute to his tragic fate. These traits pride, emotional intensity, and the pressure of being a hero are key to understanding how the modern song connects to the original myth.

Achilles Come Down does not tell the events of the Trojan War step by step. Instead, the song presents Achilles at a moment of emotional crisis. Many listeners interpret the song as imagining Achilles standing on the walls of Troy while different voices speak to him. The layered voices create the feeling of thoughts happening inside his mind. This shifts the focus from physical battle to mental and emotional struggle. While the original Achilles is known mainly for his strength in war, the song highlights the emotional weight of being a legendary hero.

Even though the song is modern, it keeps important ideas from the ancient myth. In the Iliad, Achilles cares deeply about honor and reputation, and this pressure affects his decisions. Similarly, Achilles Come Down shows a figure who feels overwhelmed and afraid of falling, both literally and emotionally. The intense tone of the song reflects the extreme emotions that Achilles shows in classical mythology. Because of this, the song still feels connected to the original character even though the setting and style are different.

In my view, the song is powerful because it makes Achilles feel more human and relatable. Instead of showing him only as an unbeatable warrior, Gang of Youths presents him as someone dealing with fear, doubt, and pressure. This helps modern listeners understand why myths still matter today. Stories like Achilles’ continue to inspire artists because they deal with universal human experiences. By turning Achilles into a symbol of inner struggle, the song proves that Greek mythology still has meaning in modern culture.

Overall, Achilles Come Down is an effective modern interpretation of the Achilles myth. It keeps the emotional core of the original story while presenting it in a way that speaks to contemporary audiences. The song shows that even after thousands of years, the story of Achilles remains relevant and influential.

Works Cited

Gang of Youths. Achilles Come Down. Sony Music Australia, 2017.

Homer. The Iliad. Translated by Robert Fagles, Penguin Classics, 1990.

Paige Knibbe

Achilles is consumed by rage and grief, it defines him millennia later. The wrath he feels is the main theme that is explored in the Iliad, the book starting and ending with it. But another theme that is as important, is the grief that he is plagued by that leads to his intense anger, the grief of losing Patroclus. Achilles cannot handle this feeling, it’s too much for him and he becomes reckless and hopeless. This feeling of reckless abandon and rage is what the song “Achilles Come Down” is trying to convey. They are covering Achilles’s hopelessness from the view of the people around him, the people who knew that there is always something worth surviving for.

Achilles loved Patroclus more than anything and anyone. The textbook talks about how close they were to each other, and how that was important to the Iliad, “Achilles and Patroclus become devoted friends and perhaps lovers, and their relationship provides a major theme for the Iliad” (Morford 475). The relationship that they have with each other is one of the driving forces in the Iliad, the depth of their emotions is what ignites Achilles to actually engage again with warfare because the person he loved most in the world was gone, so what was the point anymore. In the Iliad he exclaims “But what joy to me now? My dear comrade’s dead– Patroclus–the man I loved beyond all other comrades, loved as my own life–I’ve lost him” (Homer 470). Achilles explicitly shows just how deep the love between them ran, and how important Patroclus was and why his death turned Achilles the way that it did. How Achilles has tied his life to Patroclus’s and now that he is dead Achilles no longer has a reason to live. Achilles does not survive much longer because of this thinking, because he didn’t want to survive any longer.

Achilles is lost and believes he has no point, leaving people to be so compelled by this part of the story. The song “Achilles Come Down” picks up the story here, and talks about how defeated he already is. “You may feel no purpose nor a point for existing / It's all just conjecture and gloom / And there may not be meaning, so find one and seize it / Do not waste yourself on this roof.” The song affirms that even though he thinks there is no reason to live, there is always some reason you can find to keep going, the singer is pleading with someone to not die like Achilles, to find another reason to live. They are using Achilles as an allegory to show that people have been feeling this kind of grief forever, the grief feels so all encompassing it feels better to just die, however the singer wants his muse to know that there are still reasons to live. He affirms again that heartbreak is terrible, but that time can heal all wounds, “How the most dangerous thing is to love / How you will heal and you'll rise above.” He is saying just because things are terrible right now does not mean that they will forever be terrible, the sun will shine again. There are always going to be things to live for, you just have to look for them, you cannot just give up, it is worth it to continue on.

Unlike Achilles you are able to move on from the feeling, he chose to follow his grief into death, but that is not what the singer wants, he wants Achilles to come down. Achilles could not live with his heartbreak, no one could help him, but that is not the case for song. In the song, they are saying that no matter the pain, there are always reasons to continue. Even Achilles could have found reasons to live if he would have just taken a step back. The singer wants you to take a step back, “Won't you get up off, get up off the roof?”

Works Cited

Gang of Youths. "Achilles Come Down." YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_V76Dm42bY

Homer. The Iliad. Translated by Robert Fagles, Penguin Classics, 1990.

Morford, Mark, et al. Classical Mythology. Available from: VitalSource Bookshelf, (12th Edition). Oxford University Press Academic US, 2023.