Achilleanism is an

umbrella term Hypernymy and hyponymy are the wikt:Wiktionary:Semantic relations, semantic relations between a generic term (''hypernym'') and a more specific term (''hyponym''). The hypernym is also called a ''supertype'', ''umbrella term'', or ''blanket term ...

for

men A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the fa ...

who are attracted to other men, regardless of sexual or

romantic orientation Romantic orientation, also called affectional orientation, is the classification of the sex or gender which a person experiences romantic attraction towards or is likely to have a romantic relationship with. The term is used alongside the t ...

. The term can thus include men who are

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

pansexual Pansexuality is sexual, romantic, or emotional attraction towards people of all genders, or regardless of their sex or gender identity. Pansexual people may refer to themselves as gender-blind, asserting that gender and sex are not determ ...

asexual Asexual or Asexuals may refer to: *Asexual reproduction **Asexual reproduction in starfish *Asexuality, the lack of sexual attraction to anyone or lack of interest in or desire for sexual activity. **Gray asexuality, the spectrum between asexualit ...

aromantic Aromanticism is a romantic orientation characterized by experiencing little to no romantic attraction. The term "aromantic", Colloquialism, colloquially shortened to "aro", refers to a person whose romantic orientation is aromanticism. It is d ...

, or

non-binary Non-binary or genderqueer Gender identity, gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gende ...

. It is the male equivalent of

sapphism ''Sapphism'' is an umbrella term for any woman Interpersonal attraction, attracted to women or in a Interpersonal relationship, relationship with another woman, regardless of their sexual orientations, and encompassing the romantic love between ...

Etymology

The term derives from

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

, the greatest warrior among the Greeks at

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

and slayer of

Hector In Greek mythology, Hector (; , ) was a Trojan prince, a hero and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. He is a major character in Homer's ''Iliad'', where he leads the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, killing c ...

from Homer's ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

.'' The definition comes from the relationship between Achilles and his lover

Patroclus In Greek mythology, Patroclus (generally pronounced ; ) was a Greek hero of the Trojan War and an important character in Homer's ''Iliad''. Born in Opus, Patroclus was the son of the Argonaut Menoetius. When he was a child, he was exiled from ...

. Some have interpreted this relationship as a

same-sex relationship A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries ...

. The term ''Achillean'' was not traditionally used in reference to sexuality but rather to denote heroic qualities associated with Achilles, with its earliest recorded usage dating back to 1579 in the writings of

William Fulke William Fulke (; 1538buried 28 August 1589) was an English Puritan divine. Life Fulke was born in London. His father was Christopher Fulke, the Common Crier and Serjeant at Arms to the Mayor of the City of London. He had a younger brother cal ...

. As a descriptor, ''Achillean'' often referred to being nearly invincible with a critical weakness (an

Achilles' heel An Achilles' heel (or Achilles heel) is a weakness despite overall strength, which can lead to downfall. While the mythological origin refers to a physical vulnerability, idiomatic references to other attributes or qualities that can lead to do ...

), which ultimately leads to one's downfall, or to being guided by emotional motives, such as rage, rather than reason. In

medical literature Medical literature is the scientific literature of medicine: articles in journals and texts in books devoted to the field of medicine. Many references to the medical literature include the health care literature generally, including that of denti ...

, the term ''Achillean'' related to the

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

. The historical term for male homosexuality is Uranian, which was coined in 1864. The female counterpart to Uranian is

Sapphism ''Sapphism'' is an umbrella term for any woman Interpersonal attraction, attracted to women or in a Interpersonal relationship, relationship with another woman, regardless of their sexual orientations, and encompassing the romantic love between ...

, a term referring to female homosexuality, which had been in use since the 1890s.

Use

The term Achillean is used to refer to any man who is attracted towards other men, such as

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...

, homoromantic, multisexual, and

multiromantic Romantic orientation, also called affectional orientation, is the classification of the sex or gender which a person experiences romantic attraction towards or is likely to have a romantic relationship with. The term is used alongside the te ...

men.

Flag

The Achillean pride flag was created in 2016 by a

Tumblr Tumblr (pronounced "tumbler") is a microblogging and Social networking service, social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and is owned by American company Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content ...

user. The

light blue Light blue is a color or range of colors, typically a lightened shade with a hue between cyan and blue. The first use of "light blue" as a color term in English language, English is in the year 1915. In Russian and some other languages, there ...

represents men and the

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

carnation ''Dianthus caryophyllus'' ( ), commonly known as carnation or clove pink, is a species of ''Dianthus'' native to the Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean region. Its exact natural range is uncertain due to extensive cultivation over the last 2,00 ...

is a reference to

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

, who popularized using a green carnation to hint at homosexuality.

References

{{Gender and sexual identities Male homosexuality Queer Terms for men LGBTQ terminology Bisexuality Pansexuality Plurisexuality Achilles Oscar Wilde Leonardo da Vinci