Clothes Make the (Wo)Man: Tertullian on Achilles' Year at Skyros, De Pallio 4.2

Clothes Make the (Wo)Man: A Christian Author on Achilles’ Time on Scyros

Name: Tertullian Date:  155 – 220 CE Region:   Carthage [modern Tunisia] Citation:   On the Pallium 4.2.1-3

Achilles, the hero from Larissa, shook Nature to the core by turning into a maiden. This guy was brought up on the marrow of beasts! This guy, raised by a shaggy, forest-dwelling monster Chiron and schooled in a stony cave—was now a girl!

You could understand this phase if it happened when he was a little boy, when he was henpecked by an anxious mother. But he was already a grownup! He had already secretly proved his manhood [1] ; and yet despite this, he put on a dress, dolled up his hair, put on makeup, primped himself in a mirror, exfoliated his neck, pierced his ears—his sculpture in Sigeum still documents even this!

 

[1] i.e., he had a romantic partner [Deidamia] and became the parent of Neoptolemus/Pyrrhus.

Clothes Make the (Wo)Man: A Christian Author on Achiles’ Time on Scyros

Naturam itaque concussit Larissaeus heros in virginiem mutando, ille ferarum medullis educatus...[1], ille apud rupicem et silvicolam et monstrum eruditorem scrupea schola eruditus. Feras, si in puero, matris sollicitudinem patiens; certe iam histriculus, certe iam virum alicui clanculo functus adhuc sustinet stolam fundere, comam struere, cutem fingere, speculum consulere, collum demulcere, aurem quoque foratu effeminatus, quod illi apud Sigeum strongyla servat.

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[1] The author makes a reference to Achilles’ childhood, which will not be published here.

Tertullian [Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus; 155 – 220 CE, modern Tunisia] was an early Christian theologian who lived in Carthage during the 2nd century CE. He was one of the most prolific authors of his age; more than thirty of his treatises are extant. These works shaped the core beliefs of the early Christian church. Although some of his beliefs were later deemed heretical, he was nevertheless granted sainthood for his profound impact on Christianity.