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marysmirages · 3 months

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Spirits of ancient battles. Memories of Alexander the Great (2023/2024)

Gouache version of the work from 2017: https://www.tumblr.com/marysmirages/686070565494259712/spirits-of-ancient-battles-memories-of-alexander?source=share

#alexanderthegreat #hephaestion #hephaistion #alexander of macedon #marysmirages #asia #ancient greek mythology #painting #art #horse #rider #mirage #oasis #persia

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your-name-is-jim · 2 months

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Interviewer: Are you very fond of Alexander? Gene Roddenberry: As a matter of fact, I am. I have Mary Renault's new Oxford book―in fact, I'd have everything in the bookstores a few years ago. Passionate admirer of Alexander. Passionate man. [...] Interviewer: There's a great deal of writing in the STAR TREK movement now which compares the relationship between Alexander and Hephaistion to the relationship between Kirk and Spock―focusing on the closeness of the friendship, the feeling that they would die for one another― Gene Roddenberry: Yes. There's certainly some of that with―certainly with love overtones. Deep love. The only difference being, the Greek ideal―we never suggested in the series―physical love between the two. But it's the―we certainly had the feeling the affection was sufficient for that, if that were the particular style in the 23rd Century. [He looks thoughtful] That's very interesting. I never thought of that before. [From Shatner: Where No Man (1979)]

Sooo I watched the new docuseries Alexander: The Making of a God and I was hit by indirect Kirk/Spock feelings because I remembered this interview. And of course I had to make a gifset about it. :)

#spirk #alexander x hephaestion #star trek tos #alexander: the making of a god #star trek the original series #james t. kirk #spock #k/s #kirk x spock #space husbands #alexander the making of a god #alexander the great #hephaestion #my gifs #hephaistion #alexander x hephaistion #gene roddenberry

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fkmylif3 · 6 months

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ALEXANDER (2004) | dir. Oliver Stone

#Alexander 2004 #alexander #hephaistion #colin farrell #jared leto #filmedit #moviegifs #filmgifs #movieedit

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jeannereames · 3 months

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So you said you hoped they didn't use those nicknames, Alex, Heph, and Ptol. I thought Heph was a little weird, but I didn't mind the others. What nicknames would you have suggested instead? You said you suggested Greek ones. What were they?

Ah.... I'm glad somebody asked!

First, I've talked HERE about nicknames and endearments in ancient Greece. It's not the same as now. Not every culture makes nicknames by shortening. Yet even in my own novels I used nicknames to make unfamiliar names more accessible to readers.

So I get why nicknames might be valuable. But it's possible to use more likely ones!

What would be natural Greek nicknames? First, the names we know them by are Latinized, not their real names. In Dancing with the Lion I used the actual Greek, because it affected only a few and weren't that different. But here are the Latin, Greek, and known/likely nicknames.

Alexander = Alexandros (a-LEX-an-dros) = Aleko(s)

Ptolemy = Ptolemaios (tol-eh-MAI-os) = Ptolas

Hephaestion = Hephaistion (he-pais-TEE-on) = Phaistas/Phaiton

"Alex" and "Tol" aren't that far off. But "Heph"? Really? HUGH HEFNER is who immediately comes to mind: give him a pipe and a smoking robe. Maybe they thought "young people won't know..." but chatting with a 23-year-old student, that was the first thing she said. "It sounds like Hugh Hefner."

Virtually all I've heard from people is ridicule for the nicknames. This is one thing I completely disavow all responsibility for. I told them.

#asks #alexander: the making of a god #Alexander the Great #Hephaistion #Hephaestion #Ptolemy #ancient Greece #nicknames in ancient Greece #Classics #ancient Macedonia #tagamemnon #Alexander on tv

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jules-of-the-black-forest · 3 months

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Alexander: Love, are you alright?

Hephaistion: I have this headache that comes and goes.

Krateros, coming by: Yo.

Hephaistion: Ah, there it is again.

#alexander the great #hephaestion #hephaistion #incorrect quotes #history shitposting #krateros

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mcversipellis · 8 months

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“True friends share everything, except the past before they met.”

― Mary Renault, Fire from Heaven

*Redid my old (not really old, they’re from last year🙄) illustrations on the historical novel “Fire from heaven” which follows a journey of Alexander the Great through childhood to the very end.

#illustration #book illustration #vintage illustration #book art #quotes #vintage #books #ancient greek #ancient art #alexander the great #fire from heaven #adult fiction #historical fiction #hephaistion #ancient aesthetic #fanart #mary renault #macedonia

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planet-gay-comic · 1 month

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Deep Love and Connection

In ancient Greece, love was not bound by gender but by the beauty of the connection between two souls. This culture did not know our modern terms of homosexuality or heterosexuality. Rather, love was experienced as a multifaceted spectrum that could include all people.

Especially in the world of warriors, this freedom of emotional bonding was pronounced. The famous Sacred Band of Thebes consisted of pairs of men of the same age, whose mutual love was considered a source of their strength. Their bonds were not only strategic in nature but also deeply emotional. Such relationships were publicly acknowledged and respected, as they were seen as an expression of the highest virtue and harmony.

In the education of young men, pederasty was a socially recognized form of relationship between an adult man and a male youth in ancient Greece. These relationships often had an educational component and were an important part of the social structure. Peer-aged pairs were also common. It was a world where men could freely express their affection and admiration for one another without the strict labels that later emerged.

The ancient stories of Achilles and Patroclus or of Alexander the Great and Hephaistion offer examples of profound bonds between peer-aged warriors. The martial culture of ancient Greece, where strength and virtue were highly valued, provided fertile ground for the emergence of such deep emotional connections. For a warrior, the companion at his side was not just a fellow combatant in battle but also a partner in life, with whom all joys and sorrows were shared.

In our modern world, where we still struggle for acceptance, these ancient traditions remind us that love in human history has always been complex and boundless. It awakens in us the memory of a time when love was free from prejudice and definitions and celebrated for what it truly is: a deep connection between people.

Text supported by Chat GPT-4 Images generated with SD-1.5, overworked with inpainting and composing.

#hashtags #DeepLove #Connection #AncientGreece #SacredBandOfThebes #Pederasty #Achilles #Patroclus #AlexanderTheGreat #Hephaistion #LoveBeyondLabels #gayart #gaylove #manlovesman #muscles #washbaoardabs

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forrealaperson · 3 months

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I haven’t posted a lot of original stuff on my blog but when I have, it was about the Alexander (2004) movie and here is one aspect that I adore about that film that I haven’t read yet on the internet. Maybe I have to preface it by saying that I didn’t have big big expectations on the portrayal of Alexander and Hephaistions relationship going into the movie. It came out the same year as Troy and we all know how that went. Now here is an excerpt of the three pages document that I wrote after watching this movie (the Ultimate Cut):

There is one thing that I would really like to discuss in the depiction of Alexander and Hephaistions relationship. It is the lack of a kiss between the two. I was indeed wondering if there would be one, from before watching (though then, I really did not expect it) to the first scene with „it is hardest to be alone“. And then throughout the second half of the movie until the end, I wondered if they would kiss at Hephaistions death scene. Speaking now, I am really glad that they didn’t and here is why. Now there are a lot of kisses shared between various characters, Alexander even kisses his mother on the mouth. I interpreted that one as more of a „violent“ act. They were fighting in that scene. Whereas his father, he would hit, he kisses his mother. He kisses Bagaos as a show, to symbolise his love to the eunuch or his desired unity between the Persians and Macedonians. He never kisses Hephaistion on screen. This may also be a tribute to the fact that we don’t exactly know to which degree they were physically intimate and I find that okay. It is because we are very clearly and openly shown how profound their relationship and love for one another is. A great focus is laid upon the fact that there is no denying the love between them that is more important to Alexander than any other. So much that I think that any kiss would not do them justice; no kiss would be a greater symbol than any of their other scenes. It would feel flat. In particular a kiss at the deathbed could hold an implicit meaning that they did not kiss before that moment, which I do not like to think.

I like how they showed the relationship in its organic form. Their hugs are more intense and I feel like they convey the strength of the relationship more than a kiss would. No one hugs their (only) best friend like that. That is clear. There is no open interpretation.

A kiss in passing would have been nice as well, but the absence makes the fact stand out and I do like it this way. I like that it demonstrates that you don‘t need a kiss to depict a romantic relationship. That is also why I think that it could never be made this way today. Because there would be public uproar at how there wasn’t a kiss and how dare they and how it would be cowardly that they didn’t even shoot a kiss. Everything needs to be explicit nowadays, there is a checklist to go through for every film.

(this is only one way to think of it though - romances were always explicit - but I do feel this way in regards to the Alexander film)

#Alexander 2004 #alexander the great #hephaistion #hephaestion #alexander of macedon

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capelinssm · 4 days

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Alexander/Hephaistion dynamics

ref

https://x.com/_goblin_mom/status/1781024754557759919?s=46&t=2tEbCteQYhTCgiWGER9q8Q

#ancient history #ancient greece #ancient macedonia #alexander the great #hephaistion #hephaestion #alexander/hephaestion #history #historical art #digital art

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grailfinders · 3 months

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Grailfinders #335: Hephaistion

today on Grailfinder we’re making Hephaistion, who just kind of showed up one day. it honestly feels really weird to have a new character introduced in an event rerun, but she came, so we’ll make her. that’s how that saying goes, right?

she’s a Crown Paladin to protect her king physically and an Arcana Cleric to protect him magically as well. you have a party with a barbarian who constantly gets charmed? this is the build for you.

check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

next up: I’ve had three years to figure out how to make counterattacks good in D&D, and didn’t. now the reckoning has arrived.

Ancestry & Background

fun fact, Faker is a Human! unless she was lying about that too. still, we’ll just hope she isn’t and give her +1 Wisdom and Charisma, as well as proficiency with Arcana and the Mounted Combatant feat. while mounted, you get advantage to hit anything smaller than your mount, and you can redirect attacks from your mount to you. also, your mount has evasion, which is nice. you’re a rider sometimes, kind of, so be nice to your rides.

Faker’s technically nameless, but we’re going to call her Faceless instead, so she gets proficiency in Deception and Intimidation. I don’t think deception’s needed for magical stuff, but it’s good to have regardless.

Ability Scores

Faker’s highest score is Wisdom- you need to ask the gods for help with making magic happen, plus you need to not die from the curses aimed at your boss. both of those are wisdom. second is Strength. you hit stuff a lot when you’re fighting, and you use heavy armor. third is Charisma. we need it for multiclassing, and it’ll also help you imitate a man twice your size well enough to pass for him. I wish your Constitution could be higher, but we needed everything before this for multiclassing. besides, while you can take hits for people, you’re kept around to block curses. this means your Intelligence is pretty low, but we’re dumping Dexterity. with your armor, it’s our safest dump stat to pick.

Class Levels

1. Paladin 1: we need to start off as a paladin if you want gold armor at third ascension, but while you’re here you’ll also get proficiency with Wisdom and Charisma saves, as well as Athletics and Insight. you’re not quite as beefy as Iskandar, but you’ve to be able to keep up with the guy.

at level one you can use your Divine Sense to detect extraplanar being nearby, or you can use Lay on Hands to heal yourself or an ally. what is healing but retroactive protection?

2. Paladin 2: second level paladins get a Fighting Style. you use daggers and shortswords, so Dueling is more your speed, giving you +2 damage on one-armed weapon attacks. your fighting style actually works out really well for us, since it keeps a hand open, we don’t need to pick up warcaster for your spells later.

or now, really, since you can cast Spells this turn using your Charisma. Faker is an accomplished spellcaster, so your ability to prepare spells each day gives the whole build some much needed flexibility. we’ll bring up some particularly useful spells to stay in-character, but feel free to pick what you like.

for example, at first level you can pick up Protection from Evil & Good, Shield of Faith, and Heroism, each one protecting your charge from a magical malady. the first protects from possession and divine/unholy interference, the second gives a creature +2 AC, and the last grants immunity to fear, as well as some extra temporary HP.

if you’d rather, you can also use your spell slots on Divine Smites instead, adding radiant damage to your weapon attacks so even a dagger can hit like a greatsword. the stronger the spell slot, the stronger the damage dealt, though this only works up until level 5 spells.

3. Paladin 3: at third level you gain Divine Health, granting you immunity to disease. you also take up your oath of the Crown, which here grants you the start of your Mystic Eyes of Compulsion- your class spells Command and Compelled Duel. the former lets you give a one word command, which a target must follow on their next turn if they fail a wisdom save. this spell doesn’t work if the command is impossible or would cause them harm, but that’s what the second spell is for! if they fail a wisdom save for Compelled Duel, the target gets disadvantage to hit anyone but you, and needs to make another wisdom save to move away from you each turn. the spell lasts a minute, or until you attack another creature or another creature attacks it.

but we’re not done taunting just yet. once a short rest you can Channel Divinity in one of two ways. the Champion Challenge forces every creature you choose within 30’ of you to make a wisdom save as a bonus action. if they fail, they can’t move more than 30’ away from you unless you get knocked out or move 30’ away from them. alternatively, you can Turn the Tide as a bonus action, healing bloodied creatures near you for 1d6 plus your charisma modifier. Faker doesn’t really have healing, but again, this is just retroactive protection. that’s my justification, at least.

4. Paladin 4: we’re not really getting many magical attacks this time around, so make sure you use this Ability Score Improvement to bump up your Strength. your sword arm’s gonna get quite the workout by the time we’re done here.

5. Paladin 5: fifth level paladins get an Extra Attack each attack action, so. two per action. speaking of two, you get second level spells! Warding Bond is the best shielding spell we can get for a while, adding +1 to your charge’s AC and halving all damage they take for an hour. the downside is you also take whatever damage they do, so try to keep them alive. you also get another mystic eye spell, Zone of Truth. it’s a zone, that you tell truth in.

while it’s not a dragon, Find Steed can help you get a horse so your rider abilities won’t go to waste in the meantime. summoning dragons is a bit of a long-term goal.

6. Paladin 6: sixth level paladins have an Aura of Protection, adding your charisma modifier to every save made by friendly creatures near you, including yourself. boom, that’s instant curse protection right there. it’s only a +2 bonus atm, but a bonus is a bonus! plus, it works on any other saves too, like say, Dexterity saves. but I mean really, when would Iskandar ever need to make dex saves?

7. Paladin 7: seventh level crown paladins get a Divine Allegiance, letting you take the hit for another ally as a reaction. you can’t reduce the damage to you if you take a hit this way, just like the warding bond.

8. Cleric 1: we’ve got all the taunts we need, so let’s crank up that magical protection now. as a first level Arcana cleric you become an Arcane Initiate, giving you two cantrip from the wizard spell list like Message for the chaldea-standard holophone, and True Strike, the sign that you’re not sure what other cantrips to give someone. speaking of, you get cleric cantrips too like Guidance and Resistance to protect people better than most, and Spare the Dying. I consider mortality a curse, so I’m counting this as an in-character spell. you can cast these or your other Spells from the cleric spell list using your Wisdom, and again this is a group of spells you can prepare each day. Clerics have some of the strongest spells in the game, and we have to go in deep to grab a dragon, so have fun with it! get the spells you want.

but also get Sanctuary, it’ll force a wisdom save on anyone trying to mess with your charge, whether that’s attacking or by using a spell. if they fail a wisdom save, the attacker will have to change targets or waste the action entirely. this only works for a minute, or until the warded creature attacks someone themselves, but it’s a potent defense while it’s up.

9. Cleric 2: second level clerics get their own flavors of Channel Divinity, and I’m pretty sure this is the first time it’s come up, but doubling down on CD doesn’t double the number of uses per short rest, it just gives you more options. options like Turn Undead to scare off zombies and skeletons, and Arcane Abjuration to turn a celestial, elemental, fey, or fiend. it can also gets upgrades like Destroy Undead later, banishing creatures of the same CR. I don’t think this comes up that often, but both of these options would protect Iskandar, so they’re technically in-character.

10. Cleric 3: third level of cleric is literally where the magic happens, as getting second level cleric spells opens up a lot of opportunities. Magic Weapon is nice, but we’re here for Arcana Cleric’s other class spell, Nystul’s Magic Aura. with this, you can make nonmagical items seem magical to spells like Detect Magic, but more importantly you can make yourself appear to be a different creature as far as spells go. technically this could only change your creature type, but I’m sure you can work something out with your DM. it’s also a useful defensive spell against magic, as a lot of weaker spells only work on humanoids, and you can make your king look unhumanoid to spells, shutting them down completely. it’s also super economical, lasting a full 24 hours.

you also get what is probably your most powerful use of your mystic eyes yet, Hold Person. when a target falls under the effect of hold person, all melee attacks against them crit automatically. paladins love crits because it makes your smites twice as effective. being able to command someone to hold still in the middle of a fight is good, actually.

11. Cleric 4: fourth level clerics get another ASI, so bump up that Strength again. you can also cast Light now, which is always going to be useful since you have dumb human eyes.

12. Cleric 5: fifth level clerics can Destroy Undead of CR ½ or lower using their channel divinity. ghosts suck, Iskandar hates ghosts, so just get rid of them. you also get third level spells like Dispel Magic to retroactively protect your king from magic, and Magic Circle to lock ghosts in place while you work to get rid of them. you can also reverse it to give you and your party a safe space away from ghosts and the like.

as far as spells we can choose go, Remove Curse is basically what you were born to do, and Life Transference is more of that retroactive protection we were talking about earlier. it’s healing, but it also hurts you in the process. I don’t know why they put this in the spell list of the most powerful healer in the game, but I’m glad they did.

13. Cleric 6: sixth level clerics can channel divinity twice per rest, and you become a Spell Breaker as well. whenever you heal an ally, you can end a spell’s effect on them for free. you know, like. curses. for instance.

14. Cleric 7: seventh level clerics get fourth level spells, and there’s not much we really need here. this build’s a bit awkward in that Faker is generally a low-level caster in execution, but her NP is a high-level spell, so the middle levels don’t have a lot for us magic-wise. still, that just means you have plenty of space to figure out what spells your Faker needs, so it’s not all bad. we only need Death Ward to block instant death spells, but the freebie spells, Arcane Eye and Leomund’s Secret Chest, aren’t bad either.

15. Cleric 8: eighth level clerics get another ASI, so bump up your Charisma for a stronger aura. you also get a stronger Destroy Undead this level, as well as Potent Spellcasting, adding your wisdom modifier to the damage dealt by cleric cantrips.

we do not have any damaging cleric cantrips.

16. Cleric 9: ninth level cleric, fifth level spells. again, Planar Binding and Teleportation Circle are nice, you’ll get use out of them, but if you want magical eyes that compel people to do what you say, you need to put a Geas on them. it lasts 30 days, and you can force it to either do something you want, or not do something you don’t, if it fails a wisdom save. once a day, if it works against your command, it will take 5d10 psychic damage. you can issue a harmful command, but certain death is off the table.

17. Cleric 10: tenth level clerics get Divine Intervention- once a day (or once a week if you succeed), you can ask the gods for help. you have a Your Level in 100 chance of success, so right now it’s 1/10. if you succeed, your DM will decide what the gods think is appropriate aid.

you also get one last cantrip, so Thaumaturgy. Iskandar is loud, so you need to be too.

18. Cleric 11: it’s an odd level, so you know what that means, more spells! there’s a few sixth-level spells we want, actually, like Fizban’s Platinum Shield to protect your king as best we can, giving him half cover, resistance to most elemental damage, and evasion. you can also swap it between people, but we really just care about the king.

while Mass Suggestion might not seem like the most powerful use of your mystic eyes, since its commands come with more restrictions than Geas, it can force a whole crowd to help you for up to a month by the time this build is done, so it’s not one to be underestimated. that being said, this will force every creature in the crowd to make their own wisdom save, so your DM might not be too happy about it.

19. Cleric 12: with our penultimate level, you receive your ultimate ASI, the Tough feat. it’s a whole 38 extra HP now, plus another two next level. we’re spending our HP on a lot in this build, we need all the stuff we can get.

20. Cleric 13: thirteenth level clerics get seventh level spells. the one spell we definitely need from this list is Conjure Celestial, letting you summon a celestial of CR 4 or lower. the important thing here is that includes Winged Lions, our stand-in for a dragon chariot. though if you wanted to just run people over, winged bulls are certainly an option as well. this spell takes a minute to cast, but after that you have your flying buddy for an hour, which is a lot of trampling time in D&D. plus you can ride on a flying lion, which is cool.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

you are very good at protecting people. you can lock down individuals or crowds, block off curses, disguise yourself or your king from magic, and just being around you improves everyone’s saving throws. and of course, worst comes to worst you can put your life on the line to shield others from attacks.

speaking of attacks, you’re a paladin that knows hold person. you can deal stupid amounts of damage if you pull that spell off you can just delete someone pretty easily.

also, while protecting people from physical attacks is pretty trivial, you specialize in protecting them from magical effects, which can be a lot more devastating as a whole. think about it. how many berserker builds get dinged for being easily charmed? and of course curses can be just about anything your DM okays, so being able to block those from ever hitting a party member can be huge.

Cons:

we need three stats for multiclassing, which really stretches how strong you can be in any one of them. don’t get me wrong, you’re okay, but there’s quite a few stats I wish could be higher for this build to really shine. also worth noting, both paladins and clerics have super strong level 20 bonuses, so by multiclassing you miss out on both.

speaking of stats I wish were higher, your HP isn’t bad, per se, but if you’re running a build all about taking damage for others you’d probably want something past 200 HP, not 170. thankfully you’re a palacleric, so you have a shitton of ways to refill that HP bar.

we don’t get your mount until level 20, and before that your best replacement is a regular horse. even with Mounted Combatant your steed will probably get shot out from under you within the first few rounds of combat. riding a flying lion looks cool, but falling from 10 stories up because they just got sniped does not.

#fgo #Fate Grand Order #D&D 5e #DND #Hephaistion #Faker

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jeannereames · 3 months

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