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johaerys-writes · 3 years

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Fandom: The Song of Achilles

Summary: During his two month long sea voyage from Phthia to Skyros in search of Achilles, Patroclus makes an unexpected friendship.

I always wondered what Patroclus got up to during his trip to Skyros, so this is my attempt to satisfy my own curiosity (and hopefully yours too!). This is a quiet and introspective fic that focuses on Patroclus’ state of mind, being away from Achilles for so long, as well as his unexpected friendship with a sailor on the ship.

Read here or on AO3! :)

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Chapter 1: Guiding Star

We don’t always choose where life takes us. Sometimes the choice is made for us. The three Fates spin their weaves, and we must go wherever they lead us. If the world is an endless ocean, we are but pieces of driftwood, mercilessly swept here and there by the shifting currents until we are spat out, discarded at the water’s edge.

Those were the thoughts that drifted through my mind as I made my way to the docks. A red and swollen sun was hanging low over the mountains to the west, and the heavy smells of fish, ship tar and stale wine reached my nostrils. The coin purse that Peleus had given me hung heavy by my belt. I drew the edge of my cloak over it to hide it from view and pressed it discreetly to my thigh to stop the gold coins from clinking as I walked straight past the clusters of dock workers and sailors that lined the stone wharf of Phthia’s docks.

Not a few of them looked my way, stopping their games of dice, obviously impressed by the rich colour of my tunic. It was a deep and vibrant purple, the golden embroidery along its hem catching the light as I walked. It was the best I could find, one of Achilles' own. Their eyes on me, the quiet that fell around me as I walked made me uneasy. I hasten my step, eager to reach the ship that Phoenix had indicated before he saw me off. The captain of the Paralos, Achilles’ old and kindly tutor had told me, is an honest man, and does not ask many questions. He’ll see you safely, wherever you need to go.

I felt more than a little lightheaded when my sandaled feet touched the ship’s deck. The wooden floor was smoothed and sanded, well taken care of. The sailors and ship boys were hauling crates of fruit, sacks of grain, sealed amphorae filled with wine and honey. They would be trading them on the islands we would be passing on our way, receiving gold and even more goods in return.

I eyed the vessel warily. It was large and wide, heavy, meant for slow sailing. Slow enough to keep the goods safe even when the winds were rough and the waves battered against its wooden belly. I didn’t know much about ships. I had never spent much time at the docks, preferring the quiet gardens of the palace, the olive grove beyond it or the beach nearby, or the solitary pleasure of Achilles’ company, yet even I could tell that with a ship like this it would take weeks to get to Skyros. Perhaps even months.

My heart tightened at the thought. My worry, that I had tried so hard to rein, slithered to the surface. What was Achilles doing? Was he safe? Would he still be there when I reached Skyros' shores, or would his mother have whisked him away somewhere else, somewhere further still, as soon as she caught scent of my arrival?

I shook my head lightly, letting the humid, salty breeze that combed through my hair take the thoughts away. I had a destination now, a place to go. Achilles was somewhere, somewhere I could sail to, and I took heart from that knowledge. However ominous the future felt right then.

The golden coins I had given the captain clinked softly in their pouch when the man walked behind me up the long wooden plank that connected the ship with the long board walk of the docks. He was watching me from the corner of his eye. He did not know what to make of me, I supposed; I was neither a boy nor a man, I had not given him a name that he had recognised, yet my tunic was fine and well-made, my manners as regal and commanding as I could make them, and my coin had been enough to take me to Skyros and back three times over. I needed him to believe that I was important. It was the only way I could gain passage on a ship like this, which was not meant for it.

“We leave at dawn,” he told me flatly, coming to stand beside me as a ship’s boy brought the leather bag that carried my few belongings. I winced when he deposited it unceremoniously before my feet; my mother’s lyre was in it.

The captain asked me if there was anything more for them to bring up, to which I shook my head. He made a non-committal grunt, then waved at a young man that was gathering a length of wet and heavy rope up the side of the ship. “Xanthos will show you to your berth,” he said, then walked away without a second glance.

The man the captain indicated hastened to my side. He was tall and broad of shoulder, but his bare feet were light and quick when he approached me, barely making a sound. The ship was rocking gently with the waves, but he never missed a step, practiced after years of sailing, no doubt. His smile was wide and friendly, and there was a warmth to it that I had not expected to see from someone that barely knew me.

“First time on a ship?” he asked merrily, bending to pick up my bag. I nodded reluctantly as I followed in his footsteps as he led me through the twisting passages of the ship’s underbelly, careful to move around the other sailors going about their business. The whole ship was astir with activity, in a way that I had never before imagined while gazing at the ships from a distance, from the safety of the palace.

“First time is always rough. You’ll get used to it soon enough, though.” He pushed open a door to a small and narrow room, barely wide enough for two men abreast to fit through. He almost dumped my bag at the feet of the small cot like the previous sailor had, when I stopped him, my arms raised in alarm.

“Please, be careful with that.” I held out my hands to take the bag from him.

“Oh. Forgive me, my lord. I did not know—” He stood for a moment, shifting awkwardly on his feet. He seemed too large for the small room, out of place. Our gazes met, and at that moment I was sure that I was the one that must have looked entirely out of place to him.

He ran his fingers through his hair. It looked like it was usually cropped short, yet now had grown longer, wisps of it falling over his sun kissed brow. Its colour was a light brown, bleached lighter still at the ends from the merciless beating of the sun. His name, Xanthos, meant blonde, aureate, with a quickness and sparkle like the light that catches on polished gold before it disappears. People often called Achilles that, but where Achilles was fair and golden, Xanthos was burnished bronze. It suited him well, I thought. I figured it was more because of the golden brown tan of his skin, of his honey brown eyes. Among the other sailors, with their dark hair and weather beaten skin, he would have looked the fairest.

He was peering at me now with those golden brown eyes of his, as if afraid to inconvenience me, and the natural, unadulterated kindness in them took me by surprise. His gaze was clear and honest; I felt like I was looking at crystal clear waters, so diaphanous that I could see right down to the sea bed.

I had not realised I had gone quiet until Xanthos spoke again. “It must be important to you.”

I swallowed thickly, then tore my gaze from his to place my bag gently on my cot, as if it was precious glass. “Yes. It is.” My answer sounded too harsh in my ears, so I softened it by saying, “There’s a lyre in there. It used to be my mother’s. I took it with me because—”

Because Achilles didn’t.

My throat tightened, my eyes burning with the tears I had tried to suppress since that morning, when I had woken up in an empty bed. The lyre had been at its usual place, leaning against the wall adjacent to our bed, untouched. Achilles hadn’t taken it with him this time. I believe it was this that had unsettled me the most. I knew he could not have gone willingly, not if he'd left it behind. Now I know how to make you follow me everywhere, he’d told me once, years before, when he’d brought the lyre with him to Pelion. I would follow him anywhere, it seemed, with or without it. I would do anything, cross oceans and mountains and plains, just to be with him.

My worry and sadness swelled, ready to consume me. I cleared my throat, pushing it down. “I took it with me, because I need to give it to someone. Someone… important to me.”

The words seemed paltry and frail, too small to encompass the true depth of what Achilles was to me. But for now, they were enough. They had to be. Otherwise, the emptiness of his absence would swallow me whole.

Xanthos nodded solemnly. “I understand. I do hope you get to give it to that person… whoever they are.” When I did not reply, he bowed his head and slithered past me to the door. Even though he was tall and broad, the muscles in his bare arms strong and defined, he moved quickly and agilely, not missing a step despite the smooth rocking of the ship. He stopped at the doorway and glanced at me over his shoulder. “The food is served after sunset, usually. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to. Most visitors don’t like spending much time with the crew. Not that we have that many visitors, but, uhm…” He seemed not used to speaking with many people other than his crew mates. He moved with much more ease and grace than he spoke, and my fine tunic and royal bearings did nothing to put him more at ease. Still, he smiled at me, quick and fleeting, before he continued, “You are more than welcome, in any case. There’s good food, and perhaps even some good company too.”

“I…” I started, then stopped. I wanted to tell him that no company would be enough to take my mind off my troubles, however pleasant. That there was nothing to soothe the ache that plagued me, to make me forget the worry that was gnawing at me from the inside. Instead, I bit the words back and inclined my head in gratitude. “Thank you.”

With another small bow, Xanthos left, closing the door softly behind him. I was left alone in my narrow cot. Suddenly, the walls seemed small and tight, closing in on me. There was no window, so I was half drowned in darkness, too. I lit the small lamp that had been left there for me before I’d arrived, and sat on the bed that would be mine for the foreseeable future. The mattress was hard like dry, packed earth, and the blanket on top of it rough and scratchy.

I sighed. It was not going to be a pleasant voyage, or easy. Of that, I was certain.

I was falling. A stone sinking in dark waters.

The world around me was darkness. I could not see where I was, nor could I tell where I was going. I was looking for something, at the same time that I was running from something; what, I did not know. My mind was seized in an icy grip, and I felt cold and hollow. The weight of that emptiness crushed me. I did not know how to fill the void, yet I knew I had to find what I was looking for soon. Before my time ran out.

Footsteps echoed behind me, ringing hollowly as if I were in a deep, dark cavern. The light of a lone candle trembled in the darkness, but its light was grey and lifeless. I moved towards it, following the tremor of the shadows it cast. That was when I saw him.

Clysonymus.

He was standing before me, watching me solemnly with empty, transparent eyes. He was perfectly still, his countenance ashen and grey, but all I could see was him falling, tipping backwards in a moment that felt never ending. The sound that his head had made when it cracked against the stone like an egg, the brightness of his blood that had made every colour seem dull, crimson poppy petals drifting with the wind.

He opened his mouth.

Terror gripped me, flooded me to the brim. I turned around and ran, as fast as my legs could carry me. I could not let him take me with him. I could not, not before I’d found Achilles. I knew, with a certainty that seemed to be embedded deep in my bones, that I had to be with him, no matter what. Otherwise I would be caught in this dark, desolate place of haunted and desperate souls, and everything bright and brilliant and beautiful would be taken from me forever. I would be caught, trapped; I would slip and slide and disappear in the depths of the underworld, never to be seen again.

I would never see Achilles again. Not ever.

Despair consumed me, a wave that curled over me. I called out his name, again and again, hoping he would hear me, desperately wishing he would take my hand and pull me back up to the light with him.

Achilles, I whispered, pleading. Achilles, Achilles—

I woke up with a start, jolting bolt upright on the bed. My breaths were coming in fits and starts, clawing at my throat. For several moments I could not tell where I was, what I was doing. I fumbled on the mattress, searching for Achilles’ hand that surely lay beside me. The safety of his presence was always enough to calm my beating heart, to ease my terror after every nightmare. I searched frantically in the dark, but my hands only found scratchy blankets, a wooden wall, the leather bag that lay beside my bed. Panting, with trembling fingers, I lit the lamp beside me, blinking as the shadows were driven away.

The trembling flame illuminated my narrow berth. The floor beneath me bobbed gently, in time with the rocking of the waves underneath the ship. I took a deep breath, leaning back against the wall as reality slowly solidified around me. I was alone, on ship filled with strangers, that knew nothing about me and cared not for me. I was alone, without him. Without Achilles.

The realisation bore down on me like a mountain. My throat tightened and my eyes burned as tears started streaming down my cheeks in an unbroken stream. I pressed the back of my hand against my mouth to muffle my sobs, hugging my knees tightly as I curled in on myself. I could feel his absence as acutely as a missing limb. It was as if part of him was still there, his presence tugging at the edges of my consciousness, but I couldn’t see him, couldn’t hear him, couldn’t reach him. My mind struggled to comprehend it, but nothing seemed real. It would surely drive me mad, if I let it.

I took in a deep breath when my sobs had finally ebbed, wiping my cheeks on the fabric of my tunic. I felt weak, lightheaded. I had had nothing to eat since the day before when we had sailed away from Phthia, so tight the knot in my stomach had been. Even if I tried, I wouldn’t have been able to keep anything down, not with the way the ship rocked as it glided over the waves. Sleep had left me completely. Even if it hadn’t, I was too scared to close my eyes, in case my nightmares found me again.

With a sigh, I swung my legs over the edge of the narrow bed. I hastily pulled on my cloak, eager to leave the small, suffocating cabin behind me. The ship was largely quiet when I walked out onto the deck, the sea wind and the waves that crashed against the ship’s belly the only sounds. I walked up to the railing and gripped it tightly as I stared out into the dark and frothy sea. The salt air whipped at my hair, the fabric of my cloak. It was a chilly night, but the sky was clear and bright with stars.

I started slightly when I heard footsteps behind me, light and careful, in sync with the rhythmic whispers of the waves below.

“Can’t sleep, I take it?” Xanthos asked, and his voice was laced with genuine concern. I had learned soon after I’d boarded ship that he often took the night’s watch. I made a weak attempt at a smile.

“The ship’s rocking is keeping me awake,” I lied. He believed me.

“It takes a while to get used to it, but once you do, you can’t sleep without it.” He leaned against the railing, reaching for something at his belt. He offered it to me, and I gingerly plucked the wineskin from his hands.

“It’s from Lesbos,” he said. “It’s good. Try it. Might ease the nausea a bit.”

My first instinct was to decline, but then I thought better of it. What did I really have to lose? At the most, I might be able to sleep a little easier. I uncorked the wineskin and brought it to my mouth. The wine was strong and aromatic, already watered and spiced. It was indeed good, I realised, though I had little taste for wine. I took a sip, then another, before handing it back to him. “Where are we now?” I asked, nodding at the dark outline of the mountains in the distance.

“North of Euboea.”

“And where are we headed next?”

He pointed to the bright constellation right above us. “See that?”

I squinted at where he indicated. The stars twinkled in the dark, one among them shining the brightest. “Polaris,” I said quietly. “The guiding star of sailors. We’re going north.”

“That’s right. We’re going to to Alonissos. The captain wishes to sell the amphorae and the fresh plums we got from Chalcis and Eretria there.”

“I see,” I replied, though I had scarcely heard what Xanthos had said. My heart thumped painfully in my chest as I traced the constellations with my eyes. Micri Arctos, Megali Arctos. Orion. The Pleiades, just starting to glow in the horizon.

So many times had Achilles and I named them together, either in the open sky or the painted ones of our cave, that it felt odd now to do it without him. Unnatural. Wrong. My sadness mingled with my anger at Thetis, for taking Achilles away from me, for trying to keep us apart— for I was sure that was the reason for her spiriting him away to Skyros. She must have known what had transpired between us the moment we stepped foot beyond Chiron’s protection. But more than that, I was angry with myself, for challenging my fate, the gods themselves. I had been drunk on love, on my own foolishness, holding him like nothing could ever come between us. At that moment, it all seemed so hopeless. My entire life felt like an uphill battle, like I’d been fighting waves large enough to engulf me, with the only moments of respite being the ones when I was with him. The time when I had felt invincible, happy beyond measure seemed distant, a dying star on a winter night.

I hadn’t even realised that my eyes had filled and overflowed once more until the tears that had been coursing down my cheeks had soaked the top of my tunic. I heard Xanthos opening his mouth to speak, to ask if everything was alright, but I cut his sentence short.

“Have you been travelling on this ship long?” I asked, hoping to change the subject, and that the darkness hid my puffy eyes and reddened nose, my haggard appearance. “You seem perfectly at ease here.”

He gave me an awkward smile and glanced politely away from me, yet I could still see the concern that furrowed his brow. He wasn’t particularly good at hiding his feelings. Like someone else I knew. “I’ve been with this crew for two years now,” he said softly, gazing out into the sea. “Before that, I was a ship’s boy in a trader that travelled the coast of the Peloponnese. I even went to Crete twice. This one, it only travels through the northern islands, for the most part. Modest pay, but decent work. Fewer pirates around these parts, too,” he added. “It’s good work, really.”

“I don’t doubt it,” I responded, and instantly I felt my sadness ebbing. Xanthos’ voice was gentle, almost soothing. His eyes and expression were earnest, and he was surprisingly easy to talk to. At that moment, I couldn’t have asked for a better distraction from my own thoughts. “Where are you from, Xanthos?” I asked in honest curiosity. His accent was light and sing-songy, with a strange sort of rhythm to it, and had none of the flat and clipped vowels of the Phthian dialect. It had always sounded rough to my ears, until I’d heard Achilles speak. After that, I had come to love it. “Did you grow up far from here?”

“I’m from Naxos,” he replied. “From Apollonia.”

“You’re a long way from home, then.”

He huffed softly at that. “I suppose I am. There isn’t much there. It is beautiful but barren, and the winds are high in winter. They can tear the doors from their hinges, and blow the roofs away. My father was a fisherman. That’s all you can do there, really, if you don’t own land. That,” he tilted his head to the side, “or join a ship crew.”

“Do you... still have family there?” I asked, half-dreading the answer I would get. To my relief, Xanthos nodded.

“I do. My sister and my brother in law never moved away. My mother died many years ago, and my father is old. He can’t row the boat anymore. Aktaios, my brother in law, has taken over now. He fishes and sells what he catches to the market. It’s not much, but it’s enough for them. As for me… well. If I stayed, I would have just been an extra mouth to feed. So when I was strong enough to pick up an oar, I left.” He leaned with his elbows on the railing, letting out a soft exhale through his nose. He seemed to want to talk more, then thought better of it. We remained in companionable silence for a while. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, painting the sky in gentle shades of pink and violet, when he asked, “What about your family? Are they in Skyros?”

I blinked, taken aback by the question. I hadn’t realised how completely I’d been distracted from my thoughts in the handful of minutes that Xanthos and I had been talking, yet now they all came back to me. I remembered that I had no one, no family to speak of. Other than Achilles.

I swallowed thickly. “You… could say that.” I let my words trail away, unable to say more, and looked away from him. There was no way I could explain to him in simple terms what Achilles meant to me, what I stood to lose if I never managed to reach that island. How he was an extension of myself, and more than that; how we completed each other, like two pieces of a whole. How he was the one light in my life that never went out. My guiding star.

Xanthos noticed my long pause. He shifted on his feet, shooting me an uneasy glance. “If I’ve offended you, my lord, forgive me,” he finally said when I let the silence linger between us.

“You did not.” I smiled to brush off his concern. “This person I’m meeting in Skyros… he is very dear to me,” I said quietly, and even those words seemed small and trivial. I took a breath, then tried again. “Family, friend, companion. Everything. He is everything to me.”

He did not reply to that. He just stared out into the sea, the frothing waves that were turning from black to grey to golden pink with the sunrise. “I envy you,” he said softly, yet there was no malice in his voice. “It is a rare thing, to have someone that means so much to you.”

The signal for the change of watch sounded cleanly across the deck, startling me. Xanthos, on the other hand, seemed quite used to it. “That’s me,” he said with a sigh as he pushed himself upright. His bronzed skin was gleaming with the light from the rising sun, his eyes a deep golden brown. “It was nice talking with you.”

“You, too,” I replied, and I meant it. “Thank you for your company, Xanthos.”

“You’re welcome, my lord.” He turned around to leave when my voice stopped him short.

“Patroclus.” He looked at me quizzically over his shoulder, and I said, “My name. It’s Patroclus. You... can call me that, if you’d like.”

He turned to face me then, his expression unusually solemn. "Patroclus," he said, and something in the way he said it, so slowly and deliberately, as if testing out the sounds, reminded me of the only other person that spoke my name thus.

Patroclus, Achilles always called me. Pa-tro-clus.

“I’ll see you around then, Patroclus.” He smiled warmly before turning around once more. “Make sure you get some sleep.”

I listened to the muffled sound of his retreating footsteps, to the ship slowly stirring awake. I stayed by the railing, for a long while, watching as the sun rose higher, bathing the world in its amber glow. Somewhere, beyond those waves, across that great divide, my guiding star was waiting for me.

I would not rest, until I reached him.

#the song of achilles #tsoa #patrochilles #patroclus #tsoa fanfiction #at the water's edge #johaerys writes

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fmdjoosungarchive · 4 years

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【✧】━━━━━━━ ♥ t s w i f t p l a y l i s t ♥ ━━━━━━━【✧】

t swift i say. i mean red. this is sung’s ranking for taylor swift’s red album, since it came up on dash and i was Inspired. this is just the standard edition bc it’s already sixteen songs give me a bREAK. underneath the cut are explanations of why each song is in its position

16. the lucky one

when he first heard it, sung was a trainee, but not Famous. he didn’t get it. and after debuting and becoming some level of Famous... he still doesn’t get it. he doesn’t hate it, but he’d rather hear songs about love than fame

15. the last time

this would have been higher when he first heard the album. the meaning of it would hit, and he’d have liked their voices together. however, as he grew into an idol and producer, he’d come to dislike the pairing of their voices, as gary’s is much stronger, but to combat that, the mix of taylor’s voice in the studio version is much louder. sometimes a skip for him

14. i almost do

as much as sung gets the lyrics, experiences the feeling often, he doesn’t think it’s the best of the bunch sonically, or lyrically. he doesn’t skip the song by any means. he still quite enjoys it, however, if he Had to rank the songs (as i’m doing for him) he would put it here

13. i knew you were trouble

sung vc: pop perfection (for 2012) he loved the goat memes at the time. does he feel super close to the song? no. but it’s a single, and makes him wanna shake his little booty the second it starts

12. state of grace

mosaic broken hearts and achilles heels, sung Feels this song. sonically it’s not his favorite, as it has a bit of a slow middle, but it describes his kind of optimism well

11. we are never ever getting back together

sung vc: pop perfectioner. no, he doesn’t have an ex he will never get back together with, but he feels like taylor’s bestie cheering her on to roast his ass

10. holy ground

the thought of the song makes his heart leap a little, in a nice way. however, he’s not as connected to it as songs above it. the sonic side of it is what bumps it up for him, though, because it’s very easy, pleasant listening

9. everything has changed

this makes his heart pump even harder. as much of a sad sack as he can be, happiness and hope tickle his feathers with the force of she-ra. it’s one of those songs that makes him smile. and he thinks ed’s voice works better with taylor’s than gary’s

8. begin again

in famed, it lyrically doesn’t Hit sung the same as it would in aus, but it Almost does. mostly because sung is an empathetic beech, but it makes him feel so incredibly happy for t swift, and makes him feel Hopeful

7. red

as a dude who has never Actually lost a lover, he doesn’t get it. but damn if red doesn’t make him think he gets it. sonically, very into sung’s likes, And... sung single luver, so red has to have a higher spot because it makes him think of the album overall

6. 22

sung pre-debuted at 22 (intl), so he thinks of that as a pretty good time in his life, and 22 is the right song to celebrate that with. and, as a single lover, the song gets even higher marks. it makes him happy, makes him feel light, and he just loves it. he’ll play it at any friend’s 22nd birthday, don’t Test him

5. sad beautiful tragic

what can i say? boi loves sad shit. if he wants to steep in his sadness he can pull up this song and be like yes. i am sad. this is sadness i’m feeling. taylor swift is agreeing with me. we’re both sad right now, together

4. stay x3

sung probably read taylor saying this was a fictional desire in a relationship and sung would have felt that Hard when the album came out, even, which can’t be said for a lot of the album. the song makes him happy as hew, especially after getting into a relationship that gives him this Feeling

3. all too well

this song really appeals to the sentimental side of sung. he tends to have a bad habit of feeling romantically for every man he develops the slightest connection with, and could Feel a song like this for a dude he spent three hours with. also he has SOME taste and can realize the lyrical masterpiece of you call me up again just to break me like a promise so casually cruel in the name of being honest i’m a crumpled up piece of paper lying here cos i rmr it all too well

2. treacherous

part of what sung loves about t swift is that she expresses his feelings even when the way they each interpret the music is different, and is a religious romantic. and for sung, this song feels like his connection to his sexuality. treacherous, but worth the drive

1. starlight

sappy motherfucker. sung would have thought this song was written by him. he says, who doesn’t want to be dancing like they’re made of starlight? he’s a big fan of star/moon allusions in music, because they Speak to him. he’s also a we could get married have ten kids and teach them how to dream type, especially since getting with a dude that wants six kids. he just wants his little fairytale

#i don't cosign this ranking this is HIM not ME #all too well begin again and stay x3 superior #i hope what i wrote makes sense in order i refuse to reread #tunes

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ofbloodandfaith · 5 years

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Day 18 of 30 Days of Apollon

How does this deity stand in terms of gender and sexuality? (historical and/or UPG)

I believe (UPG) that Apollon would as a protector of youth, protect LGBT+ children along with his sister and mother. Considering that his brother Dionysus was considered between genders and his various other siblings, uncles and father have had lovers of both genders I don’t believe that anyone can say he was against it.

Historically (in myths) he had lovers of both genders. His Lovers included:

Female lovers

Love affairs ascribed to Apollo are a late development in Greek mythology.[222] Their vivid anecdotal qualities have made some of them favorites of painters since the Renaissance, the result being that they stand out more prominently in the modern imagination.

Daphne was a nymph whose parentage varies. She scorned Apollo's advances and ran away from him. When Apollo chased her in order to persuade her, she changed herself into a laurel tree. According to other versions, she cried for help during the chase, and Gaea helped her by taking her in and placing a laurel tree in her place.[223] According to Roman poet Ovid, the chase was brought about by Cupid, who hit Apollo with golden arrow of love and Daphne with leaden arrow of hatred. The myth explains the origin of the laurel and connection of Apollo with the laurel and its leaves, which his priestess employed at Delphi. The leaves became the symbol of victory and laurel wreaths were given to the victors of the Pythian games.

Apollo is said to have been the lover of all nine Muses, and not being able to choose one of them, decided to remain unwed.[224] He fathered the Corybantes by the Muse Thalia,[225]Orpheus by Calliope, Linus of Thrace by Calliope or Urania and Hymenaios(Hymen) by either Terpsichore or Clio or Calliope.[226]

Cyrene, was a Thessalian princess whom Apollo loved. In her honor, he built the city Cyrene and made her its ruler. She was later granted longevity by Apollo who turned her into a nymph. The couple had two sons, Aristaeus, and Idmon.

Evadne was a nymph daughter of Poseidon and a lover of Apollo. She bore him a son, Iamos. During the time of the childbirth, Apollo sent Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth to assist her.

Rhoeo, a princess of the island of Naxos was loved by Apollo. Out of affection for her, Apollo turned her sisters into goddesses. On the island Delos she bore Apollo a son named Anius. Not wanting to have the child, she entrusted the infant to Apollo and left. Apollo raised and educated the child on his own.

Ourea, a daughter of Poseidon, fell in love with Apollo when he and Poseidon were serving the Trojan king Laomedon. They both united on the day the walls of Troy were built. She bore to Apollo a son, whom Apollo named Ileus, after the city of his birth, Ilion (Troy). Ileus was very dear to Apollo.[227]

Thero, daughter of Phylas, a maiden as beautiful as the moonbeams, was loved by the radiant Apollo, and she loved him in return. By their union, she became mother of Chaeron, who was famed as "the tamer of horses". He later built the city Chaeronea.[228]

Hyrie or Thyrie was the mother of Cycnus. Apollo turned both the mother and son into swans when they jumped into a lake and tried to kill themselves.[229]

Hecuba was the wife of King Priam of Troy, and Apollo had a son with her named Troilus. An oracle prophesied that Troy would not be defeated as long as Troilus reached the age of twenty alive. He was ambushed and killed by Achilleus, and Apollo avenged his death by killing Achilles. After the sack of Troy, Hecuba was taken to Lycia by Apollo.[230]

Coronis, was daughter of Phlegyas, King of the Lapiths. While pregnant with Asclepius, Coronis fell in love with Ischys, son of Elatus and slept with him. When Apollo found out about her infidelity through his prophetic powers, he sent his sister, Artemis, to kill Coronis. Apollo rescued the baby by cutting open Koronis' belly and gave it to the centaur Chiron to raise.

In Euripides' play Ion, Apollo fathered Ion by Creusa, wife of Xuthus. He used his powers to conceal her pregnancy from her father. Later, when Creusa left Ion to die in the wild, Apollo asked Hermes to save the child and bring him to the oracle at Delphi, where he was raised by a priestess.

Male lovers

Hyacinth or Hyacinthus was one of Apollo's male lovers. He was a Spartan prince, beautiful and athletic. The pair was practicing throwing the discus when a discus thrown by Apollo was blown off course by the jealous Zephyrus and struck Hyacinthus in the head, killing him instantly. Apollo is said to be filled with grief: out of Hyacinthus' blood, Apollo created a flower named after him as a memorial to his death, and his tears stained the flower petals with the interjection αἰαῖ, meaning alas.[231] He was later resurrected and taken to heaven. The festival Hyacinthia was a national celebration of Sparta, which commemorated the death and rebirth of Hyacinthus.

Another male lover was Cyparissus, a descendant of Heracles. Apollo gave him a tame deer as a companion but Cyparissus accidentally killed it with a javelin as it lay asleep in the undergrowth. Cyparissus was so saddened by its death that he asked Apollo to let his tears fall forever. Apollo granted the request by turning him into the Cypress named after him, which was said to be a sad tree because the sap forms droplets like tears on the trunk.

Admetus, the king of Pherae, was also Apollo's lover.[232][233] During his exile, which lasted either for one year or nine years,[234] Apollo served Admetus as a herdsman. Developing a passion for the king there, he herded and fed the cattle, and caused the cows to give birth to twin calves. He would make cheese and serve it to Admetus and was often seen being domestic, causing embarrassment to his family.

Oh how often his sister (Diana) blushed at meeting her brother as he carried a young calf through the fields!....often Latona lamented when she saw her son's disheveled locks which were admired even by Juno, his step-mother...[235]

When Admetus wanted to marry princess Alcestis, Apollo provided a chariot pulled by a lion and a boar he had tamed. This satisfied Alcestis' father and he let Admetus marry his daughter. Further, Apollo saved the king from Artemis' wrath and also convinced the Moirai to postpone Admetus' death once.

Branchus, a shepherd, one day came across Apollo in the woods. Captivated by the god's beauty, he kissed Apollo. Apollo requited his affections and wanting to reward him, bestowed prophetic skills on him. His descendants, the Branchides, were an influential clan of prophets.[236]

Other male lovers of Apollo include:

Adonis, who is said to have been the lover of both Apollo and Aphrodite.[237] Atymnius,[238] otherwise known as a beloved of Sarpedon Helenus, the son of Priam and a Trojan Prince, was a lover of Apollo and received from him an ivory bow with which he later wounded Achilles in the hand.[239] Hippolytus of Sicyon (not the same as Hippolytus, the son of Theseus)[233] Hymenaios, god of marriage hymns (here, the son of Magnes)[240] Iapis Phorbas, the dragon slayer (probably the son of Triopas)[241]

Some of his children such as Orpheus also had lovers of both genders.

That said applying sexuality or gender to a God/ess could be a mistake as you are applying human terms on to beings definitely not human, no matter how much they love humanity.

There seems to be a mistaken belief that is floating around that the Hellenic gods champion, patron or are linked to specific sexual identities. Therefore you end up having some members of the LGBT community celebrating certain gods as homosexual deities (examples of this would be Dionysos, Apollon—especially in regards to the Hyakinthos myths, and Artemis, among others), and then you have some heterosexual screaming their heads off that such and such a god isn’t homosexual, and at times even aggressively ignoring the myths (and associated festivals) in which a god appears to be having a homosexual (or in reverse for the other side of the fence…heterosexual) relationship when this was never an issue for the ancient Hellenes. It really is a sign of the modern culture in which we can be so obsessed with sex-identity that we feel a need to *claim* gods as being a part of our own sexual identities.

Yet when it comes right down to it, it doesn’t make sense on either sides of the fence. The gods don’t possesses biological bodies, they don’t possesses chemical hormones, they don’t literally have forms in the way that we think of it….therefore claiming any specific sexual orientation is rather ridiculous. The gods love, they experience attraction through Eros, and the love and union is going to be carried out on a spiritual level. The soul can’t be said to be strictly female or male, for which I think hermaphroditic images is more closely related to our spiritual existance. Truly though when you get right down it to the souls are aligned, in relationship to the gods, with having a receptive nature (therefore being symbolically feminine as we see in the myth of Psykhe) because we desire to receive the union with the gods. Otherwise I must say that we have no spiritual sexual orientation, and we possess many lives in which we may experience life as male or female, and probably a variety of sexual orientations over the course of our lifetimes.

So I would say he is very much for LGBT+ people and he will protect youths (specifically males (cis, trans, etc), while his sister protected female (cis, trans, etc) youths) going through issues pertaining to their gender and sexuality.

#30 days of Apollon #dodekatheism #hellenic polytheism #hellenismos #hellenic pagan #for the love of apollo #for the love of the dodekatheon #ares is great #Hail King Zeus and Queen Hera #hermes is my god #Hades is great too #Hestia is a sweetheart #30 days of deity devotion #30 days of devotion

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darrowsrising · 4 years

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I think it's an unpopular opinion, but I always felt really bad for Adrius. What he did was terrible, but I think his evil came from a place of sorrow and pain, rather than just ambition or arrogance. He was broken and he never managed to get fixed and it makes me sad. I am hoping that with this clone, there can be a chance for him to redeem himself? Adrius 2.0 becoming good, Mustang having the brother she never had. Do you think that's possible?

I too feel bad for Adrius, but I think that a lot of people disregard the fact that he had a choice. It was his choices that made him like he was. Nero didn't love him, but Virginia did, his mother did, his step-mother did. I think that even Claudius did.

He can be suspected of having a mental illness, given that he sees humans as sacks of meat and bones. But still, he had his fair shots at being a decent person and he discarded them out the window. His decision making abilities didn't seem to be affected. And for bad deeds didn't come from pain and sorrow, but from ambition - he wanted power because that was what would grab Nero's attention. He just wanted recognition. And that ambition came from lack of love - he thought that if his father loves power so much, he would love him too if he had power, lots of it. But after Nero died and he forgave him, he still wanted power. He wanted to fill that void with power he always did.

And truth be told, he wasn't broken, he wasn't born evil either. He just strayed too far from the decency of the human soul. But he did it consciously and very aware of it.

Adrius is mostly like he is because of Nero's attitide towards him. But the clone didn't have Nero and he still burnt Howlers to ashes and made Sevro and the others watch. Dying by fire is horrible. I think we can blame Lilath for that bad influence, but...still, the clone called the shots.

I know everyone wonders about redemption for Lysader, for the clone, for Ajax, for Julia au Bellona, for Diomedes and Dido, for Apollonius.

But truth be told, I can't see the clone having a happily ever after. Virginia left him with neuro-poison in his hand, which will need to be cut off. For Virginia herself, Sevro is more her brother than that clone or Adrius himself ever was.

That being said, I can see him trying to help Darrow and the others after calming down and understanding some things about himself, but I can't see him surviving the series. I think that at this point, after being hurt and betrayed by his sister yet again, he can either become worse and then better or worse and remaining so.

I know it is sweet to think of Adrius having another chance and such, but...he had his chances and he blew them. Sure, Pierce can make it all sound cool and credible and make me eat my words. But, my opinion still stands, that the clone isn't surving the series. He can change, sure, but I can't see him with a happy ending.

@violethowler had a cute and crazy spectulation that Sevro will adopt the clone. I am for it, albeit reluctantly. Maybe he'll name him Achilles or something, that'd be cool. Victra would freak out, though. It'd be funny and weird at the same time. Imagine that - rescue mission for Sevro and they find him teaching Addy how to scalp Boneriders properly...

Yeah, even then, I can't see Addy not sacrificing himself to save his new fam's arse in the most tragic and heart breaking way ever.

Sorry for the negative vibes this answer has.

#adrius ii #adrius au augustus #jackal #iron gold trilogy

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sgannaoui-blog · 5 years

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The Odyssey- 2019 Film Adaptation

"'When your crew have taken you past these Sirens, I cannot give you coherent directions as to which of two courses you are to take; I will lay the two alternatives before you, and you must consider them for yourself. Homer’s great literary work, The Odyssey, is coming to the big screen in 2019. With background information on the film, we are interviewing Sound Designer Sophia Gannaoui. We have a list of songs featured in the film with descriptions of why they were chosen by Gannaoui herself.

*Note: This film is Rated R because of strong references to alcohol and the inclusion of mild curse words.

1. The Light Behind Your Eyes by My Chemical Romance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSg-eHng52E

Book 1 in The Odyssey holds an introductory discussion about the fate of Odysseus- the king of Ithaca. The instrumental of this song at the beginning represents sadness and mystery which is reflected upon the whereabouts of Odysseus himself. When the song transitions into having lyrics, the lyrics contain a very resigned mood starting off by saying, “So long to all my friends, every one of them met tragic ends.” For Odysseus’ son, Telemachus, he has given up all hope of reuniting with his father by saying “‘My father is dead and gone,’" answered Telemachus, ‘and even if some rumour reaches me I put no more faith in it now. My mother does indeed sometimes send for a soothsayer and question him, but I give his prophecyings no heed.’” Odysseus is the friend of Telemachus and the possible death of Odysseus is the “tragic end” that is mentioned in the song.

2. Pachelbel's Canon in D Major

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlprozGcs80

Love is in the air in Books 3 and 4 filled with great elegance. Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major is a classic song played at weddings and is enjoyed by many. It already emotes romanticism through its legato playing. The celebration of the marriages of the children of the King and Queen of Sparta was a grand event, “For his only son he had found a bride from Sparta, daughter of Alector. This son, Megapenthes, was born to him of a bondwoman, for heaven vouchsafed Helen no more children after she had borne Hermione, who was fair as golden Venus herself. So the neighbours and kinsmen of Menelaus were feasting and making merry in his house. There was a bard also to sing to them and play his lyre, while two tumblers went about performing in the midst of them when the man struck up with his tune.] “

Weddings bring people together in great unity and the ones in the story were what brought Odysseus closer to the royalty that took him in and discussed the Trojan War altogether.

3. Aaron Burr, Sir from Hamilton the Musical (Karaoke)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLgo9drgZ6g

This song contains many breaks for dialogue to speak over which is needed for scenes in Book 7 because of the main conversation going on between Ulysses and Alcinous. The original song contained comedic lines of reasoning and logic about drinking and reaching an elite level of political control. When “Ulysses said: ‘Pray, Alcinous, do not take any such notion into your head. I have nothing of the immortal about me, neither in body nor mind, and most resemble those among you who are the most afflicted,’” we had our actors saying this in a teasing way for the idea of immortality to be such an absurdity to Ulysses.

4. Troy Song from Phineas and Ferb

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIOjFkcWT5g

In Book 8, “the muse inspired Demodocus to sing the feats of heroes, and more especially a matter that was then in the mouths of all men, to wit, the quarrel between Ulysses and Achilles, and the fierce words that they heaped on one another as they sat together at a banquet... Thus sang the bard, but Ulysses drew his purple mantle over his head and covered his face, for he was ashamed to let the Phaeacians see that he was weeping.” The Troy Song tells the story of the Trojan War in an upbeat matter. It is a positive song about defeat and victory which would give a reason for Odysseus to cover his face while crying. If the song was meant to be sad, Odysseus could freely express his sadness and memory of the war through tears but because it is a celebratory song, it gives him the purpose of hiding his true emotions.

5. I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) by Sleeping at Last

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU81DihqD0c

When Odysseus reveals who he is in Book 9, he describes his experience in fighting throughout the time of the Trojan War. When telling of the victory his soldiers faced, Odysseus said, “‘Thence we sailed onward with sorrow in our hearts, but glad to have escaped death though we had lost our comrades, nor did we leave till we had thrice invoked each one of the poor fellows who had perished by the hands of the Cicons.’” This represents sadness and struggle after the war and I imagine each soldier to have had the mission and duty to work as hard as walking the “500 miles” somberly sung in the song. The song does represent the hope of reuniting with loved ones saying “when I wake up, yeah I know I’m gonna be, I’m gonna be the man that wakes up next to you.” Soldiers waking up each day in hopes of being a day closer to being at home with their family in comfort, a fantasy that could not be lived by other members of their party.

6. Sail by Awolnation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CaypEojjKQ

As the men accompanying Odysseus on the ship believe him to be hoarding gold and silver in Book 10, their distrust corrupted their minds “‘Thus they talked and evil counsels prevailed. They loosed the sack, whereupon the wind flew howling forth and raised a storm that carried us weeping out to sea and away from our own country.’” The “ooh’s” in the song represent the strong howling noise caused by the wind escaping from the sack that was irresponsibly opened. In addition, the fragmented beats of the song represent the quick jumping of conclusions that led Odysseus’ men to open the sack.

7. Coming Home by Diddy featuring Skylar Grey

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-ImCpNqbJw

In Book 12, Circe warns Odysseus, "'When your crew have taken you past these Sirens, I cannot give you coherent directions as to which of two courses you are to take; I will lay the two alternatives before you, and you must consider them for yourself.” This line marks the true life or death matter in the journey back to Ithaca. Circe gives the choices of safety or risk to Odysseus and the beginning of the song’s slow tempo and somber tone represents this sad moment of decision making and risk taking. When the song transitions into rap, this follows the build-up of anticipation and danger in what Odysseus would have to face on his journey back home.

8. Thrift Shop by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis Featuring Wanz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK8mJJJvaes

This song represents a complete wardrobe change based on a lower budget on clothing spending in thrift shops. Minerva transformed Odysseus into a man that looked older and dirtier than what he was in Book 13 and “As she spoke Minerva touched him with her wand and covered him with wrinkles, took away all his yellow hair, and withered the flesh over his whole body; she bleared his eyes, which were naturally very fine ones; she changed his clothes and threw an old rag of a wrap about him, and a tunic, tattered, filthy, and begrimed with smoke; she also gave him an undressed deer skin as an outer garment, and furnished him with a staff and a wallet all in holes, with a twisted thong for him to sling it over his shoulder.” The complete transformation of Odysseus’ looks is something new for him to experience and the increasing pace in the song is empowerment and motivation to make this change worth the sacrifice in order to take his kingdom back.

9. Jealous by Nick Jonas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQw2qIl838Q

In Book 18, Odysseus gets into a fight with a beggar named Arneaus (also called Irus). Irus challenges Odysseus in fighting for the hand in marriage of Penelope by saying, “I have a good mind to lay both hands about you, and knock your teeth out of your head like so many boar's tusks. Get ready, therefore, and let these people here stand by and look on. You will never be able to fight one who is so much younger than yourself." As the song says, “I turn my cheek, music up, and I’m puffing my chest, I’m getting ready to face you,” Odysseus is indeed getting mentally prepared to fight off Irus to become the suitor of his own wife Penelope. This is the moment where Odysseus goes into his mind for a moment to gain strength and realize his fight from the Trojan War is not over until he is reunited completely with his family.

10. Thousand Years by Christina Perri

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrM-Bkm4c_I

In Book 19, Odysseus talks with Penelope, still in disguise, about how he will return to her soon. Penelope has waited for so long for him to come home but there would be civil unrest if she waited any longer to find a suitor. She comes up with a solution to the public that would delay time for her marriage in order for Odysseus to come home before then which “Ulysses answered, ‘Madam wife of Ulysses, you need not defer your tournament, for Ulysses will return ere ever they can string the bow, handle it how they will, and send their arrows through the iron.’” Thousand Years reflects the undying love Penelope has for Odysseus as she truly does not want to find a new partner. She has waited for a long time for Odysseus to come home which can hyperbolically be compared to waiting a thousand years.

11. Shut Up and Drive by Rihanna (Karaoke)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPVo9MnoiEc

In Book 22, Eurymachus encourages Odysseus to fight every man fighting for Penelope by announcing, “‘My friends, this man will give us no quarter. He will stand where he is and shoot us down till he has killed every man among us. Let us then show fight; draw your swords, and hold up the tables to shield you from his arrows. Let us have at him with a rush, to drive him from the pavement and doorway: we can then get through into the town, and raise such an alarm as shall soon stay his shooting.’" The fighting montage that ensues after this proclamation has the karaoke track of Shut Up and Drive playing underneath it because it is as fast paced as the action taking place.

12. i love you by Billie Eilish

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXfh63M5yLo

In Book 23, Penelope struggles with believing that the man who claims to be Odysseus really is him. Euryclea reasons "‘My dear child," answered Euryclea, "I am not mocking you. It is quite true as I tell you that Ulysses is come home again. He was the stranger whom they all kept on treating so badly in the cloister. Telemachus knew all the time that he was come back, but kept his father's secret that he might have his revenge on all these wicked people.’” The back and forth tempo increase and decrease in the song represent the fluctuating belief of Penelope that Odysseus is with her.

To listen to all of these songs incorporated within the storytelling of Odysseus’ journey home, watch The Odyssey in theaters- coming in the summer of 2019.

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tipsycad147 · 3 years

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Apollo – Greek God of Music, Sun and Light

Apollo is one of the twelve Olympian gods, and among the most important of the Greek pantheon of gods. Apollo is the son of Zeus and the Titan goddess Leto, and the twin brother of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. Apollo played many roles in Greek mythology, being the god of a range of areas, including healing, archery, music, the arts, sunlight, knowledge, oracles and herds and flocks. As such, Apollo was an important god with influence in many areas.

Life of Apollo

Birth of Apollo

When Leto was about to give birth to Apollo and Artemis, Hera, who was vengeful that her husband Zeus had bedded Leto, decided to make life difficult for her. She sent forth Python, a serpent-dragon, to pursue and torment Leto.

Python was a giant serpent-dragon borne out of Gaea and the guardian of Delphi’s Oracle. Hera sent the beast to hunt Leto and her children, who then were still inside their mother’s womb. Leto was able to successfully evade Python.

Hera also forbade Leto to give birth on terra firma, or land. Due to this, Leto had to find wander around, looking for a place to deliver her children that was not connected to land. As per Hera’s instructions, no one would give Leto sanctuary. Finally, she arrived at the floating island of Delos, which neither the mainland nor an island. Leto delivered her children here under a palm tree, with all the goddesses in attendance except for Hera.

In some versions, Hera kidnaps the goddess of childbirth, Eileithyia, so that Leto couldn’t go into labor. However, the other deities trick Hera by distracting her with an amber necklace.

Apollo came out of his mother’s womb holding a golden sword. When he and his sister were born, every single item on the island of Delos turned to gold. Themis then fed Apollo ambrosia (nectar) which was common food of the gods. Immediately, Apollo grew strong and declared that he would be the master of the lyre and of archery. Thus, he became the patron god of poets, singers, and musicians.

Apollo Slays Python

Apollo grew quickly on his diet of ambrosia, and within four days he was thirsting to kill Python, who had tormented his mother. To avenge the hardships the creature brought upon his mother, Apollo sought Python and killed it in a cave in Delphi, with a set of bow and arrows given to him by Hephaestus. In most depictions, Apollo is described as still being a child when he kills Python.

Apollo Becomes a Slave

Enraged that Apollo had killed Python, one of her children, Gaia demanded that Apollo be banished to Tartarus for his crimes. However, Zeus disagreed and instead temporarily banned him from entering Mount Olympus. Zeus told his son to cleanse himself from his sin of murder if he wanted to return to the abode of the gods. Apollo understood and worked as a slave for King Admetus of Pherae for eight or nine years.

Admetus became Apollo’s favorite and the two are said to have been in a romantic relationship. Apollo helped Admetus to marry Alcestis and gave them his blessing at their wedding. Apollo valued Admetus so much that he even intervened and convinced the Fates to allow Admetus to live longer than they had designated.

After his service, Apollo was then ordered to travel to the Vale of Tempe to bath in the Peneus River. Zeus himself performed the cleansing rites and was finally given rights to the Delphic shrine, which he claimed. Apollo also demanded to be the sole god of divination, which Zeus obliged.

Apollo and Helios

Apollo is sometimes identified with Helios, god of the sun. Due to this identification, Apollo is depicted as riding a chariot pulled by four horses, moving the sun across the sky each day. However, Apollo wasn’t always associated with Helios as this only occurs in some versions.

Apollo in the Trojan War

Apollo fought on the side of Troy against the Greek. He offered assistance to Trojan heroes Glaukos, Aeneas, and Hector. He brought plague in the form of deadly arrows raining down on the Achaeans and is also cited as guiding Paris’ arrow to the heel of Achilles, in effect killing the invincible Greek hero.

Apollo Helps Heracles

Only Apollo was able to help Heracles, at the time known as Alcides, when the latter was struck with madness that made him kill his family. Wanting to purify himself, Alcides sought the help of the oracle of Apollo. Apollo then instructed him to serve a mortal king for 12 years and to complete the tasks given to him by such king. Apollo also gave Alcides a new name: Heracles.

Apollo and Prometheus

When Prometheus had stolen the fire and given it to the humans in defiance of Zeus’ orders, Zeus was angry and punished the Titan. He had him chained to a rock and tormented by an eagle who would eat out his liver every day, only to have it regrow to be eaten the next day. Apollo, together with his mother Leto and sister Artemis, pleaded with Zeus to release Prometheus from this eternal torture. Zeus was moved when he heard Apollo’s words and saw the tears in Leto’s and Artemis’ eyes. He then allowed Heracles to release Prometheus.

Apollo’s Music

The Greek philosopher Plato believes that our ability to appreciate rhythm, harmony, and music is a blessing from Apollo and the Muses. Several stories tell of Apollo’s mastery of music.

Pan vs. Apollo: On one occasion, Pan, inventor of the panpipes, challenged Apollo to a contest to prove that he was the better musician. Pan lost the challenge as almost everyone present chose Apollo as the winner, except for Midas. Midas was given the ears of an ass because he was deemed unable to appreciate music with human ears.

Apollo and the Lyre: Either Apollo or Hermes created the lyre, which became an important symbol of Apollo. When Apollo heard Hermes play the lyre, he immediately loved the instrument and offered to give Hermes the cattle he was after in exchange for the instrument. From then on, the lyre became Apollo’s instrument.

Apollo and Cinyras: To punish Cinyras for breaking a promise made to Agamemnon, Apollo challenged Cinyras to play the lyre in a contest. Naturally, Apollo won and Cinyras either killed himself at being defeated or was killed by Apollo.

Apollo and Marysas: Marysas, a satyr under a curse of Athena, believed he was a greater musician than Apollo and taunted Apollo and challenged him to a contest. In some versions, Apollo wins the contest and flays Marysas, while in other versions, Marysas accepts defeat and allows Apollo to flay him and make a wine sack out of him. In any case, the result is the same. Marysas meets a violent and brutal end at the hands of Apollo, is hung from a tree and flayed.

Apollo’s Romantic Interests

Apollo had many lovers and numerous children. He’s depicted as a handsome god and one that mortals and gods both found attractive.

Apollo and Daphne

One of the most popular stories involving Apollo relates to his feelings for Daphne, a nymph. Eros, the mischievous god of love, had shot Apollo with a golden arrow that made him fall in love, and Daphne with a lead arrow of hatred. When Apollo saw Daphne, he immediately fell for her and pursued her. However, Daphne rejected his advances and escaped from him. Daphne turned herself into a laurel tree to escape Apollo’s advances. This myth supposedly explains how the laurel tree originated and why Apollo is often depicted with laurel leaves.

Apollo and the Muses

The Muses were a group of nine beautiful goddesses who inspire art, music and literature, areas with which Apollo is also concerned. Apollo loved all nine muses and slept with them all, but he couldn’t decide which of them he wanted to marry and so he remained unwed.

Apollo and Hecuba

Hecuba was the wife of King Priam of Troy, father of Hector. Hecuba bore Apollo a son called Troilus. When Troilus was born, an oracle prophesied that as long as Troilus was alive and allowed to reach maturity, Troy would not fall. On hearing of this, Achilles ambushed and attacked Troilus, killing him and dismembering him. For this monstrosity, Apollo ensured that Achilles would be killed, by guiding Paris’ arrow towards his heel, Achilles’ most vulnerable point.

Apollo and Hyacinth

Apollo also had many male lovers, one of whom was Hyacinth, or Hyacinthus. A handsome Spartan prince, Hyacinth were lovers and deeply cared for each other. The two were practising throwing the discus when Hyacinth was struck by Apollo’s discus, taken off course by the jealous Zephyrus. Hyacinth was instantly killed.

Apollo was distraught and created a flower out of the blood that flowed from Hyacinth. This flower was named Hyacinth.

Apollo and Cyparissus

Cyparissus was another of Apollo’s male lovers. Once, Apollo gave Cyparissus a deer as a gift, but Cyparissus killed the deer by accident. He was so saddened by this that he asked Apollo to allow him to cry forever. Apollo turned him into a Cypress tree, which has a sad, drooping look with the sap leaking out in droplets like tears on the bark.

Symbols of Apollo

Apollo is often depicted with the following symbols:

Lyre – As god of music, the lyre represents Apollo’s mastery as a musician. It’s said that Apollo’s lyre could turn everyday objects into musical instruments.

Raven – This bird symbolizes Apollo’s anger. Ravens used to be white, but once, a raven brought back the message that Coronis, Apollo’s lover, was sleeping with another man. In anger, Apollo cursed the bird for not attacking the man, turning it black.

Laurel wreath – This goes back to his love for Daphne, who turned herself into a laurel tree to avoid Apollo’s advances. Laurel is also a symbol of victory and achievement.

Bow and arrow – Apollo used a bow and arrow to kill Python, his first significant achievement. This symbolizes his bravery, courage and skills.

Python – Python is the first antagonist that Apollo killed, and symbolizes Apollo’s strength and power.

Significance of Apollo in Modern Culture

The most popular manifestation of Apollo is the naming of the moon-bound NASA spacecraft after him.

A NASA executive thought the name was fitting, since the image of Apollo riding his chariot towards the sun was commensurate to the grand scale of the proposed moon landing.

As the patron of civilized arts, many theaters and performance halls across the world are also named after this god.

Apollo Facts

1- Who are Apollo’s parents?

Apollo’s parents are Zeus and Leto.

2- Where does Apollo live?

Apollo lives on Mount Olympus with the other Olympian gods.

3- Who are Apollo’s siblings?

Apollo had several siblings and a twin, Artemis.

4- Who are Apollo’s children?

Apollo had numerous children from mortals and goddesses. Of all his children, the most famous is Asclepius, god of medicine and healing.

5- Who is Apollo’s wife?

Apollo never married but he had many consorts, including Daphne, Coronis and several others. He also had numerous male lovers.

6- What are Apollo’s symbols?

Apollo is often depicted together with the lyre, laurel wreath, raven, bow and arrow and python.

7- What is Apollo the god of?

Apollo is the god of the sun, arts, music, healing, archery and many other things.

8- What is the Roman equivalent of Apollo?

Apollo is the only Greek deity to maintain the same name in Roman mythology. He’s known as Apollo.

Wrapping Up

Apollo remains one of the most loved and complex of the Greek gods. He had a significant impact on Greek society and his rule encompassed a great many areas.

https://symbolsage.com/music-and-light-greek-god/

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ghxstee · 4 years

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Post four;

The mistakes you make in the beginning of a relationship whether that be a friendship, romantic relationship, familial, etc. set the tone for the rest of the relationship. Whether we like it or not it’s difficult to “forgive and forget” so to speak. Especially when it’s in the very start.

In this instance, I’m referring to my own romantic relationship with Liebe. At the start, he made some detrimental mistakes that have effected our relationship then on. Admittedly I have troubles even trusting him at this point.

It’s weird too, because I can never tell if I’m justified in it or not. Mostly because a part of me believes that if someone can do it to you once, they are capable of doing it again. However, I also believe people don’t grow unless you give them the room to.

These are two very conflicting ideologies, and I never know when or where I draw the line. I have no answer as to what the “unless” between those two statements is.

When I met Liebe, I quickly learned he had someone he referred to as his “Future Wife”. He had already come to terms with the fact that it would never actually happen though. When we refer to her, I guess we can call her “Insecurity” because she has been the basis of all of my insecurities in my relationship with Liebe.

I feel that Liebe genuinely feels remorseful for the things he put me through early on, but the unfortunate thing is once I’ve been hurt in a specific way, I can’t trust that it won’t happen again.

It’s especially hard when I alrway have PTSD, because my amygdala is already overdeveloped and hypersensitive. Things that normal people would just get over, feel beyond traumatic for me. Things that normal people can just let go of, I hold onto. They get to haunt me in my weakest moments.

Story time;

When Liebe and I got together it was immediately following the relationship I had with Control. There wasn’t much room inbetween.

Control and I had our own apartment together. When I broke up with him, he and I were in an open relationship. I didn’t start seeing Liebe or anything during our relationship especially because the rule was that it couldn’t be with someone Control knew. And he knew Liebe, since he saw him around the Sadness Factory.

Even though I had paid for the entirety of the deposit on the apartment Control and I had together, I ended up abandoning ship because I couldn’t handle the emotional abuse he had started putting me through. I didn’t have anywhere to go and Liebe was kind enough to let me move in. He offered me an out and a safe space.

I stayed with Liebe until a few months in when we broke up. I was having troubles jumping right back into something else as it wasn’t my typical style. Not to mention all of the shit Liebe started putting me through.

Liebe hadn’t been in a relationship in four years. Getting used to that change was difficult on him. If anything I try to be understanding.

But it was difficult. He would be out at the bar until 2am without warning, I would have no idea where he was or what was going on. And I was still very aware of his feelings for Insecurity.

Liebe didn’t really open up to me, and he didn’t really spend any actual time with me. Which quality time for me has always been a need in a relationship.

Understand that I’m not trying to paint Liebe as a Villain here. He hurt me, but he is human. And the older I get the more I realize everyone will let you down and hurt you in some way at some point. Especially when you’re sensitive like me.

I left him, and ended up sleeping on the couch of a coworker for a few months. In that time frame, my ex who we can call “Colorado” and I were in the process of repairing things. He was my ex before Control and I got together, and the person who had left me the most damaged in some ways. I loved him deeply and felt as if he was my first true love.

Colorado was stationed in well, Colorado. Meanwhile I was in Idaho.

I was always honest with Colorado, but I was so far from perfect to him. I recognize he tried to repair the damages he had even done. He tried to call me regularly and listen to me. He tried to be there for me in every way he could. He had his things that I really just couldn’t get past because he wasn’t perfect. But no one really is.

While I was repairing things with Colorado, Liebe and I still remained in contact. But things were difficult with him.

I still had stuff to reclaim from his place. I ended up going there to get it and everything seemed fine. We talked and I explained how I was silly and accidentally purchased 40 joints, because I thought the packs I bought only had five each.

He said he would buy some off of me, and I told him there was no need. He could just have them. When I grabbed my stuff and had almost all of it packed to go, he hugged me goodbye. The hug felt like an eternity and every part of me wanted to cry. He held me tight and I could tell he didn’t want to let go.

I didn’t want him to let go either. And just as I was about to start crying he made a joke and we both laughed.

A few weeks later, I brought Liebe the joints. I drove about 30 minutes to come drop these off, which to me wasn’t a big deal.

I knocked on the door, stepped in momentarily to hand them off, and turned to walk out before he told me I didn’t need to go so soon since I drove all the way out there.

“There’s a concert tonight that my friend is playing, and we can go to that.”

Deep down I knew this was his way of making amends for never doing anything with me or spending time with me. But I agreed to go.

I told Colorado what I was doing so he would understand that I wasn’t trying to be shady. He understood and he was fine with it.

The entire time we were there was difficult, I was uncomfortable. I still had feelings for Liebe. We sat at the table, and we didn’t really say much. I wanted to touch him, I wanted to hold his hand. I wanted things to be the way they used to be. I just knew better than that, and I was supposed to be repairing the relationship I had with Colorado.

Eventually we left, he stuck a sticker to the dashboard of the car. And I remember always looking at it whenever I was in the car, fondly. Even though it was not my car. But the owner, explicitly expressed she did not care.

I still had things to grab from Liebe and so a few weeks went by and I had asked Liebe if I could get them. The way he treated me was so much colder. His best friend started talking to me semi-regularly which I didn’t really think anything of it. Mostly because I had no ulterior motives behind talking to him.

Liebe would periodically message me upset that I was talking to his friend, which at that point I didn’t understand. I didn’t understand why he even cared because we weren’t together.

The thing that Liebe still had was a set of bedsheets. I know you’re probably thinking, “Big fucking deal. They’re just sheets.” Except I’m weird and my sheets are important to me, especially when they’re of a higher thread count. I love nice linens. Probably due to how I was raised or something.

Eventually I went to recover them. He was supposed to wash them, but I lost hope on that happening and just went a grabbed them from him myself. It was frustrating waiting for him to get around to it, and with the way he was treating me I wanted to cut ties.

Or that’s what I thought anyways. I grabbed the sheets and he handed them over and practically slammed the door in my face. Which I never understood, and honestly when I think about it I feel it had something to do with Insecurity.

Shortly after, I messaged him asking what changed after the concert. Why had he started being so cold. His response was something along the lines of him feeling I wasn’t ready to be friends or something which never made any fucking sense to me.

Eventually, the coworker I was residing with needed to rehome a litter of kittens. And the one that had trouble finding a home, I offered to Liebe because I knew he would take good care of her.

I brought her over, again with Colorado knowing who I was with and where I would be. I hung out and gave her time to warm up to her environment and Liebe had just gotten done with a road trip to see family for some disheartening reasons.

His best friend and I sat outside the apartments bullshitting and discussing various things while we smoked our cigarettes.

Meanwhile I was receiving messages from Liebe like “You guys are being loud”, and then once I quieted down, “You guys are awfully quiet out there, are you making out?” And a handful of other shitty messages.

We made our way back in after smoking like five cigarettes.

Liebe was in the living room, and I asked him if we could have an actual conversation and talk things out like adults.

I explained to him that I didn’t stop having feelings for him. And that him acting jealous was crap. He calmed down, and asked to lay his head in my lap so I could rub his back and I had no problem with that. I still cared for him.

He and I talked and shared music as we typically did. He accused me of having a broad taste in music and I was a little offended but it was nice for he and I to just be getting along without any weirdness.

Admittedly, this is when I should have left. It was about one or two in the morning, and I should have gone home. But Liebe offered to let me stay since it was so late. And to him, I was still single. There was no one else.

These are things I still feel guilty for.

Liebe has always been my Achilles heel. That night I ended up sleeping with him. I left feeling like a sack of shit.

I did try to turn him down on multiple occasions, but I fell victim to seduction.

The next day, I immediately called Colorado and explained what happened. I couldn’t be dishonest, and I couldn’t hide my actions from him.

He begged me to get help because these things weren’t like me, and my mental health was a rapid decline. He just wanted to see me be the best version of myself, but he recognized I was self destructing. I agreed to start therapy again even though I had always been opposed to it after negative experiences from my childhood.

I told him I would and that I was sorry, he even gave me the opportunity to fix things. Which I never deserved in the first place.

-To Be Continued-

#love #my story #ghostee #ghostee speaks #anonymous #story #writing #therapeutic #ptsd #feelings #thoughts #Liebe #guilt #insecurity #pain #emotion #emotional #emotions #my feelings #anon #mine

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swaglexander-the-great · 7 years

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Hey!!!! Dumb question but what exactly is the Iliad?

THE ILIAD: A SUMMARY

The Short Version: A yarn about blokes getting shitmixed in a war over Miss Hellenic Beauty Champion because some gods thought it would be a Lol.

The Long Version: A Homeric epic poem passed down through spoken word over generations that was penned down in about 800 BC. In the mythological timeline, it ends the Age of Heroes (by wasting them all). It covers the Greek seige of Troy, a whole lotta gods Messing With Shit, a Poseidon who needs anger management, a few hundred names and lots of General Epicness ft Diomedes and Patroklus. Sit back my buddy, let’s go through a quick summary of the books.

Book 1: Apollo ghettoblasts the Greeks with Pain because Agamemescunt kidnapped his priestess Chryseis. Being a douchebag, Agadouchebag Mr Steals Yo Girl from Achilles, which leads to in͟ten̛şȩ ͟śul͜ki͢n̶g͡ . Achilles’ divine Ma brokers a deal with the Zeus goose (not literally thank goodness, although it’s a definite possibility) so that the Greeks won’t win until they realize how fucked they are without Achilles and go crawling back to him for help.

Book 2: Zeus messes with Agafuckface by telling him to attack Troy. Agamemhoe messes with Zeus by telling his entire army to fuck off back to Greece. Odysseus, with Athena’s help, uses his wicked ol’ tongue to lick Agaiceheart back into shape (not literally, although very possible in Ancient Greece). There are 31 paragraphs of names about Greeks and 16 paragraphs of names about Trojans going to war. The epic story continues.

Book 3: The armies meet. Memealaus (sorry, Menelaus) and Paris decide to have a 1v1 to end this shindig. Paris is saved by Aphrodite and a cloud because he is a Weak Bitch, so we gear up for another 9 years and 11 months of war. Helen tells Aphrodite to go fuck Paris herself if she likes him so much, but Aphrodite threatens Godly Bitch Revenge is Helen ever talks back to her like that again.

Book 4: Menelaus gets grazed by an arrow. Like a football player with a stubbed toe, this means war. He also apparently had ‘shapely thighs and fair ankles’. Watch out for the Zeus eagle, boi. Fighting commences. Diomedes appears. He is awesome, as usual. We continue to the next chapter.

Book 5: Pretty much an entire chapter about Diomedes being a son of a gun and killing fucking everything thanks to Athena. A dude called Sthenelus gets a rock hard boner watching all of this. Aeneas thinks it’s a good idea to take on Diomedes. Mistake. Big Mama Aphrodite has to save him, also with a cloud. Diomedes hasn’t quite reached Critical Awesome yet, so he stabs Ares and Aphrodite as well. Hera calls Ares a little bitch and we carry on.

Book 6: Just a lot of death really. Diomedes was going to kill a bloke, but they realize they are family friends, so just do a little swapsie of armour. Hector gives Paris a spray for being a cowardly little bitch, Paris agrees, and they set off for battle.

Book 7: Hector decides to 1v1 and get this over with. Menelaus tries to accept, but his wingmen Restrain Him. Ajax gets picked out of a hat to fight, but after a bit of a tussle it gets dark, so the fighting pair give each other presents and go home for the night. The next day, they all take a holiday from fighting and the Greeks build a wall. Poseidon is triggered. (reason here.)

Book 8: Due to Poseidon being triggered, Zeus forbids any godly interference on both sides of the war. Hera and Poseidon bitch about Zeus as the Greeks get casually wreckt by the Trojans, but decide not to act on it. Lucky for the Greeks, the Trojans decide sleeping is better than winning, so leave off for the night.

Book 9: The Greeks hit Fuck It and decide to grovel to Achilles for help. Before they do, Diomedes gives Agasaggytitnon a spray for being a douchebag, and everyone agrees that he is indeed a douchebag. Sthenelus probably pops another boner. Back in the tent with the power pair, Achilles and Patroklus, Patroklus tries to be the polite bf to the pleading Greeks, but Achilles is still thinks Agamoomoo called him a ‘vile tramp’ so refuses to help. The drama continues.

Book 10: Odysseus and BAMF Diomedes go on a sneak mission and heroically stab the Trojans in their sleep. They also heroically steal some horses. The epic heroism continues.

Book 11: Hector takes a leaf out of Diomedes’ book and decides to shitmix the Greeks. He successfully shitmixes the Greeks, giving Agamugface a well-deserved arm wound. Paris shoots Diomedes in the foot, but Diomedes literally does not give a shit. Some random dude gives Odysseus a bit of a stab, Ajax gets Confused By Zeus but survives, but things still look Grim. Sweetheart Patroklus sees the Grimness and decides to try and use his wiles to break Achilles out of his Uber Sulk.

Book 12: The Trojans continue to roadhaul the Greeks, which will come back to bite Hector, but we do meet a dude called Thootes. He doesn’t do shit, but his name is great. There is graphic violence, and the Trojans go to chuck a Greek ship on the barbie.

Book 13: Poseidon rises from the sea, back being a buddy to the Greeks now the his great enemy The Triggering Greek Wall has been overcome.There is a shit ton of fighting wherein the Greeks do well and Poseidon is happy because he’s getting vengeance for his other traumatic wall experience.

Book 14: Hera sees Poseidon disobeying Zeus and getting sweet wall vengeance and while probably thinking she married the wrong brother, decides to use Titty Distraction so that the Greeks don’t get chucked on the Trojan barbie. Titty Distraction predictably works A+ and the Trojans get slightly shat on with gratuitous eyeball violence. Hector gets hit by a rock and almost has the most anticlimactic death since Amycus, who suffered death by Elbow Punch.

Book 15: Zeus wakes, calls Hera a scurvy knave and tells Poseidon to Fight Him. Poseidon does not want to Fight Him, so melts back into the ocean and stops helping the Greeks. Apollo resurrects Hector from his rock to the face and the Trojans joyously return to their mission to barbeque the Greek ships.

Book 16: Honeyboo Patroklus (still on his way to Achilles since Book 11) sees Apollo and his Brojans on the warpath and breaks Achilles’ heart with Man Tears. While Achilles and Patbroklus have a very, very long, heartfelt conversation, the Trojans start to toast the Greek ships. Achilles gives (yes gives) Patroklus his armour and tells him to fuck shit up, but not to win without him. Fighting commences, we discover the word hurly-burly, Sarpedon dies in a shower of Zeus-induced blood rain and Patroklus becomes Diomedes 2.0 until he is gang bashed by Hector, Apollo, a literal god, and some awkward random called Euphorbus. Sasstroklus delivers a final fuck you, pulls the finger at all three of his killers and blazes it down to Hades.

Book 17: Hector takes Achilles’ armour off Patroklus, marking him as target #1 for the Sulk King. The Trojans and the Greeks spend an entire chapter having a tug of war with Patroklus’ body. Ajax and Menelaus comment mildly on how Zeus is helping out the Trojans, and the god shines a bit of sunlight in chagrin for being called out. The Greeks win the tug of war thanks to Double Ajax Tactics.

Book 18: In which Achilles goes nuts. Everybody has a cry because Patroklus was a Swell Guy (seriously,as swell as a Hawaiian surf that guy). Achilles goes and therapy-screams at the Trojans, who see the mad bloke and back the fuck off - rightfully so, as Achilles is planning some good old human sacrifice to his dead ‘rider’ Patroklus. Meanwhile, Hephaestus quick-smelts some smashing new armour for Achilles with his household robots.

Book 19: Achilles gets dolled up for battle. Agadickbutt and Odysseus try to placate the madman with gifts, including Briseis, the dame Agamemnope stole from Achilles, but Achilles’ quota of fucks has run out indefinitely. He saddles up and gets ready to fuck up his bae killer.

Book 20: Zeus R͡ELE҉ASE͜S̵ ͝T̀H͜E͡ ́ǴO̷D͞S͝ and lets them play for whichever team they like, so long as Achilles doesn’t sack Troy just quite yet. It’s probably a friendly game similar to football in god terms. Athena invents the spear boomerang, Hera and Poseidon do some casual sunbathing, while Achilles paints the town red rather literally.

Book 21: Achilles finds men too weak and decides to take on a literal river (Scamander). Achilles realizes this was A̴ B̸ad ̶I͜de͟a͡and decides he’ll stick to men. We’re not sure whether Diomedes would have backed off from a river, but I guess we’ll never know. Apollo saves a dude called Agenor from Achilles molestation and in doing so also saves the Brojans. The epic story continues.

Book 22: Apollo says surprise Achilles, tricked ya into chasing me boi, I’m immortal. Achilles stares him dead in the eye for a full minute then says ‘fuck you’ and rides off back to Troy. Hector decides it’s time for another 1v1, but at the last minute considers that this idea was insane and fuckin legs it. Achilles chases Hector around the wall of Troy three times presumably to this soundtrack. Hector finally stops to fight, and thanks to the Athena Spear Boomerangᵀᴹ, Achilles avenges his Patroklus. Hector performs the minor miracle of talking whilst having a spear sticking out of his throat before he dies, then Troy’s hero gets roadhauled and everyone is Sad.

Book 23: Ghost Patroklus pays Achilles a visit, like a sexy Obi wan Kenobi and tells Achilles to bury him already. Patghostklus also beseeches that their bones be laid (ha) together when Achilles inevitably gets fucked on by Fate. Achilles says of course bby I was gonna do that anyway, and tries to make out with a ghost, but this isn’t a Whoopi Goldberg type deal, so Patroghost gets sent back down under. They put the fun in funeral by having games and giving out toasters and such as prizes.

Book 24 (The End): After ‘yearning after the might and manfulness of Patroklus’, Achilles continues to roadhaul Hector until Apollo gives his fam a spray about the dishonour of it. Hera says he’s only mortal scum so who gives a fuck and Zeus says chill wife and commands Achilles to RE̵L͘E̡A̷S͢E ̴T́HȨ H̀ȨC̕T̵O̷R͡ (sorry I can’t help it). With Hermes as a bodyguard, Priam (Hector’s dad) goes to get the body back. Achilles and Priam have a man-cry bonding moment over Dead Loved Ones, Hector is whisked off to be buried and there ends the Iliad! There’s none of the ankle-shooting, wooden-horse-building shenanigans in there, they all come in later texts such as the Aeneid and Ovid, although I still can’t find the exact text where Achilles gets shot. If y’all know, send me the link ;) I fucking found it nvm

Anyhoo, that was…Jeez, that was The Iliad (aka the longest post in existence). Well, my retold, abridged more slightly less serious version.It’s definitely worth a read, if you can get past all the names!

Check out more Greek Stories here :D

#stories #the iliad #greeks #homer #Achilles #HOLY SHIT THIS IS LONG #the iliad summary

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flauntpage · 7 years

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Your Wednesday Morning Roundup

Well, we can’t have every day be a good one. For hopefully at least a day, we returned back to the sad and depressing times of being a Philly sports fan.

Let’s start with the Flyers. They played Anaheim to wrap up a four-game homestand and lost 6-2. They sucked.

This also sucked:

Kevin Bieksa superman punch http://pic.twitter.com/r8PZs3jchF

— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) October 24, 2017

But what makes the loss worse is the injury suffered by rookie Nolan Patrick. His head hit the boards and came off very woozy, needing the help of trainers and a few of his teammates:

Patrick heads to locker room after taking this hit. #Flyers @AntSanPhilly @CrossingBroad http://pic.twitter.com/JnSKXIA0WX

— Tyler Trumbauer (@tylertrumbauer) October 25, 2017

Woof.

What about the Eagles? Fresh off a nice win Monday night against the Redskins and they sit atop the NFL!

Except Jason Peters tore his MCL and ACL and Jordan Hicks ruptured his Achilles. They’re officially done for the season.

Woof.

And last but not least, because they’ve gone together so well for the last few seasons, the Sixers got the injury bug again. And it involves a top rookie draft pick. It’s Markelle Fultz.

Originally, Fultz’s agent, Raymond Brothers, told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski his client had fluid drained from his right shoulder. Head coach Brett Brown was asked about Fultz and his shoulder at the end of practice yesterday.

A few hours later, Brothers updated his statement to Woj, saying Fultz actually got a cortisone shot on October 5.

At least nothing has happened to Rhys Hoskins…yet.

The Roundup:

With Tuesday being the day after an Eagles win, that means plenty of game recaps. We’ve got our ten takeaways, and what the media is saying about the Birds.

Jimmy Kempski asks what the Eagles will do without Jordan Hicks and Jason Peters.

With nine games left, the second half of the schedule will test the team’s offensive line, pens David Murphy:

After Sunday’s game against the winless 49ers, the schedule turns daunting. Five of the Eagles’ last nine games come against teams that rank in the top third of the league in sack percentage. The Rams have sacked opposing quarterbacks on 9.2 percent of dropbacks (fifth), the Cowboys on 8.7 percent (seventh), the Bears on 8.2 percent (eighth), and the Broncos on 7.8 percent (11th). That does not include a game in Seattle against the Seahawks’ vaunted defense.

The sudden uncertainty at tackle is, in some ways, a reminder of the unique nature of the Eagles’ situation. Since Roseman regained control of the roster after Kelly’s dismissal before the 2015 season finale, both he and owner Jeffery Lurie have spoken of their roster building as if its endgame lay somewhere beyond this season. As the only offensive linemen selected by the team in the last four drafts, some combination of Seumalo and Vaitai was going to need to contribute to that future. Peters wasn’t going to play forever. There had already been rumblings about center Jason Kelce’s contract.

Carson Wentz met with the family of the Dutch Destroyer after the game and even gave them a game ball.

Meanwhile, Malcolm Jenkins, Chris Long, and Torrey Smith went to Harrisburg to talk to state lawmakers yesterday morning.

Let’s enjoy the Eagles and Sixers again.

—

Kevin Kinkead has his five observations from the Sixers’ first win of the regular season.

Backup center Richaun Holmes is out of his brace on his left wrist and should be reevaluated later this week:

“Hopefully, I get cleared and hopefully ready to play,” he said.

Holmes has been participating in shooting, dribbling and layup drills.

“Everything is pretty normal,” he said Monday night. “I just got to get back to taking contact. That’s kind of the last step. Then I’ll be ready to go.”

Looks like Andre Drummond wants Joel Embiid again:

See you Dec 2nd

— Andre Drummond (@AndreDrummond) October 24, 2017

—

In other sports news, Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Houston Astros 3-1 in Game 1 of the World Series. Game 2 is tonight at 8 pm on Fox. Justin Verlander will get the start for the Astros, while Rich Hill will take the mound for the Dodgers.

Lonzo Ball’s Laker teammates didn’t take Marcin Gortat’s tweet too lightly:

“Yeah, of course we did,” Ingram said when asked if he saw Gortat’s tweet on Monday. “Everyone has social media, definitely saw it. The competitor in Lonzo, of course he didn’t take it so well and, with his teammates behind him, we didn’t take it so well.”

Sorry Rudy Gobert:

Excuse me coming through. http://pic.twitter.com/FiawcatHpb

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) October 25, 2017

The Seahawks have signed defensive end Dwight Freeney to a one-year deal.

According to the ABC affiliate in Phoenix, it’ll be Bruce Arians’ last season of coaching in the NFL. But according to Bruce Arians, that’s not true:

Hearing reports I'm retiring. News to me. Nothing could be further from truth & 100% focused on getting back on track at SF! #birdgang

— Bruce Arians (@BruceArians) October 24, 2017

The best hockey game last night, Connor McDavid and the Oilers against Sidney Crosby’s Penguins, ended with the Penguins winning in overtime. You probably didn’t watch it, and even if you wanted to, you couldn’t because NBCSN decided to air Detroit-Buffalo.

Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch will serve his one-game suspension after appeals officer and former Eagle James Thrash upheld the ban.

—

In the news, a fire on South Street has damaged Bridget Foy’s restaurant.

A manhunt for an escaped shooter led Philadelphia Police to a huge heroin facility.

Texting and crossing the street in Honolulu is now illegal.

Chipotle, which I am a fan of, had profits and sales rise in the third quarter. But the Hurricanes and avocado prices hurt as well, along with their very bad queso.

Your Wednesday Morning Roundup published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

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darrowsrising · 6 years

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Darrow and Vlad: #astrearants #maybeboring #youhavebeenwarned #historyandshite

By unpopular demand (and because @sevroaubarca ’s probably a fan of Vlad the ultimate muderous babe) I am writing a post about Darrow, the Reaper of Mars from Red Rising, and Vlad, the Impaler of Wallachia, historical person. I am not an expert. I will say only what I have learned at school and from extensive reading (I am a history nerd and Ion Bulai and Neagu Djuvara are awesome to say the least). Also, as Djuvara says in almost all his book, history is subjective so there is no way historians can be objective 100%. The are a lot of suppositions and hypothesis etc.

To me and romanians, Vlad was a ruthless, but fair monarch who protected his people and his throne by any means necessary, to Ottomans, he was a cold blooded monster, to the rest of the world, he is a serial killer, a cruel ruler etc. You get the idea.

Fitchner au Barca states in Red Riding that students at the Institute can be as ruthless as Vlad Dracul as long as they don’t lose like he did.

And I was like, dude, Vlad lost because people betrayed him. His plans weren’t that bad for a feudal monarch surrounded at all corners by mighty states. Here’s a brief history lesson:

He was first born to his father Vlad II Dracul and supposedly the daughter of the then Moldavian Prince.

His father won the throne with Ottoman support, but many boyars (romanian nobility) always conspired against him and the Drăculești dynasty.

Don’t get it wrong. Vlad Dracul won his throne, but he wasn’t an usurper. It was believed his dynasty had Mircea the Old as ancestor. It’s the ‘law’ of the royal bone. If you were related to someone who had the throne then you had the right to demand the throne.

The rulers of the romanian countries (Transylvania is debatable, because it was under other countries’s control over the centuries with little to no autonomy) are called Princes in english. But the actual term is 'great voivode and domn’. The first term means total military power. The second comes from “dominus”. Leader, master, ruler etc.

Vlad Dracul made a pact with The Order of the Dragon to ensure that the Ottomans won’t sack and conquer Wallachia. He wasn’t a great leader and his impossibility to deal with the Sultan cost him the respect of his people and his heir.

Vlad and his little brother Radu were given to the Ottoman Empire. It was a safety enssurence, but Vlad was trained to become a eniccesery in the Ottoman army. It was a normal practise then. The Romanian Countries paid tribute in gold and children so the 'merciful’ Sultan won’t conquer and sack their lands. The enemies of the Empire risked to face their own brothers, sons, nephews etc.

Vlad and Radu were kids then. But Vlad was the one who opposed the most. He was mercilessly tortured into obedience. Here it is were he learned how the Ottoman Army works and the most gruesome torture practises.

Radu The Handsome will become, as rumors has it, Mehmed II’s lover.(the old sleeping with the enemy thrope.). Hence 'the handsome’ (gay).

Vlad will go back to his beloved Wallachia. He will rule it on and off for short periods of time. He will quickly become feared through out the region.

His best tactics were made to compensate for the lack of men he had compared to the Ottomans. The Ottoman Empire was a huge empire. Wallachia was a small country. Almost a quarter of Romania’s actual size (almost, search Wallachia map for more info). A small kid against a huge giant. But this isn’t David and Goliath. Vlad managed to hold the empire in check. He killed emmisaries and diplomatic convoys from the Ottoman Empire so their corpses will decorate the gates of the keeps. (It was easier to instill fear than reinforcing the keeps). He personally arraged the head of the Pasha and his sons on the iron spikes of the gates to reinforce fear and the myth of the bloodthirsty monster from Wallachia.

He got rid of ploys to dethrone him by inviting the conspirators at dinner then locking them in and setting the place on fire.

He ordered hangings, stakings and decapitatations of rapists, desertors, spies etc.

When the Ottoman Empire responded with armies and conquering, he ordered the salting of the earth, the poisoning of wells. It was a well known practise (nothing new, but very effective). The sad part was that many people thought the same with their boys: better dead than in the hands of the Ottomans. And even sadder it is that the Romanian Countries weren’t the only ones living under the shadow of the Empire. The Balkan countries were in the same position and worse, they were considered parts of the Empire.

In June 1462, Mehmed II himself went into a expedition to dethrone Vlad. Vlad set on fire half his army in a savage night attack with his army dressed in Ottoman clothes.

He had to retreat in the mountains and wait for help from Matthias Corvin, half romanian - half hungarian voivode of Transylvania. Matthias betrayed him, but instead of giving him to the Ottomans (Iancu of Hunedoara, Matthias’s father was the one who supported Vlad’s ruling fron the start of it), he arrested him and held him at Buda for 14 years.

The thing which also held back Matthias was, in my opinion, the fact that Vlad was married to Ilona Szilágyi. A noble hungarian woman, Matthias’s cousin and the Queen mother’s granddaughter - Elizabeth Szilágyi.

When Vlad tried again to gain back his throne, not only Mehmed II jumped out of his arse, but the boyars started to militate for Radu as the rightful ruler. There were many fights for the throne, but with Mehmed as his supporter and some noble families backing him up, Radu won, but only because traitors eventually stabbed Vlad in the back.

Btw, Radu (who is Vlad’s little half-brother and who converted to Islam while in the Sultan’s care) didn’t have a great rule either, he battled for the throne with a no-one-cares-about and he was killed by Mihnea the Bad, Vlad’s only surviving heir. (Proud papa is smirking fron hell).

Darrow uses the Reaper myth to instill fear, to freeze his enemies, to make them play after his rules.

He was trained and taught by the Society he was trying to break (and eventually did break).

People he considered brothers turned against him (Cassius and Roque, although in Vlad’s case we can only talk about Radu and someone from his enturage whom he trusted, but we can’t compare them to Cassius and/or Roque).

There were many situations when Darrow had less people in his army than his enemies, but he always found a solutions around that.

Radu The Handsome was indeed handsome. Vlad on the other hand had a savage appearence: wild, wavy, soulder lenght, black hair, crooked, acviline nose nose from fights, black moustache, high cheekbones, black, deep set eyes. Darrow is described as being handsome in a savage way. Cassius and Roque have classic beauty, which is inviting, trust worthy, maybe intimidating a bit. But Darrow’s beauty is wild. He is has this aura of restlessness, anger. He is not only intimidating, he is scary; there are even rumours that he eats glass.

After infiltrating in the Society he eventually comes back to his roots, not longer a child.

Some historians think that Vlad was married to a romanian girl before Ilona. There was speculation that after their children died in either childbirth or because of illnesses, she threw herself down a tower’s spiral stairs. On the other hand, Vlad’s love with Ilona is recognized and it’s supposed to have been happy. Vlad’s cousin, Ștefan the Great, Prince of Moldavia (and in my opinion a tad more badarse than Vlad), had enough daughters if Vlad wished to strenghten his ties with Moldavia. Radu married one of those daughters to assure his throne and allies. Vlad and Ștefan helped each other a lot, but they were also rivals. But instead of forcing bonds, Vlad chose Ilona (he didn’t have an extraordinary relationship with Matthias Corvin and the Hungarian Kingdom either, because the majority of the population in Translyvania was romanian and they were discriminated against). So to say he might have loved her isn’t exactly a stretch.

Darrow’s marriages aren’t totally similar to Vlad’s, but there are some elements here and there which match.

Mihnea is the only child which was recorded from the marriage of Vlad with Ilona. There aren’t notes of bastards (the concept isn’t really that of the western view. Radu has as much right to the throne as Vlad and they were half-brothers. It’s called the 'law’ of the royal bone (os domnesc, the bone of the dominus), not the hereditary law.) Just like Pax is the only child, Mihnea was the only one to carry his father legacy.

The difference is that Darrow learns that people need a reason to follow you. And that using them and using only cruelty and fear will get you stabbed in the gut. Vlad didn’t have Ilona at his side or hidden in the woods to mend his wounds like Mustang did to Darrow. So it was too late for Vlad to fix things.

I admit that by the standards of today, Vlad is a serial killer. But Ștefan, for example, wasn’t too far either: he killed people because they were getting on his nerves, he hated when people were more talentated than him (he killed a teenager for hitting a target with an arrow, a target he couldn’t hit), but he was a good ruler, a strong diplomat, a great strategist. His people prospered for 47 years under his rule and protection. Vlad didn’t really managed to have a constant rule.

Anyway, I wrote this because 🇷🇴 #pride and because there are a lot of instances where Darrow is compared with Achilles, with Mars, with Ares, with Selenius au Lune (indirectly. He is compared to Iron Golds and Selenius was considered an Iron Gold), with Scipio, and a lot of other people of legends and myths and reality. I just wanted to put my favorite character face to face with one of my favorite historical figures.

#vlad the impaler #vlad tepes #romanian history #darrow au andromedus #darrow of lykos #reaper #red rising trilogy

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