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kchasm · 1 year

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Ryu Number: Xerxes I

Xerxes I, also known as Xerxes the Great, was the ruler of the Achaemenid Empire from 486 BCE until his assassination in 465 BCE. At the time of his ascension to the throne, the Achaemenid Empire ran from the eastern end what's now Pakistan to the west end of what's now Turkey. You might notice that that's about the same amount of empire in about the same location as Alexander the Great had—that's because Alexander the Great was the guy who took over the Achaemenid Empire and made it not-so-Achaemenid anymore.

It was awful big, is what I'm saying.

But let's be honest: You probably know Xerxes I better as the Bad Guy with the nose ring in that one weird Spartan hagiography Gerald Butler was in. Fugging Miller.

Anyway, Xerxes I almost certainly has a Ryu Number of 2, and definitely not a Ryu Number more than 3, but there's some stuff.

The problem with finding a Ryu Number of Xerxes I is that 5th-century-BCE Persian monarchs don't show up in video games that often, for some reason. He makes a historical appearance in the Assassin's Creed Odyssey DLC Legacy of the First Blade...

...but unfortunately, Odyssey takes place too far after the times of myth and legend for anyone big enough to be a Minecraft skin in Greek-mythology-inspired DLC to show up.

It doesn't help, either, that in Assassin's Creed lore, all the "gods" were just members of a Precursor Race pretending to be gods, a la Stargate. No, that's not "Hera," that's a jerk Precursor Person who's taken on the identity of "Hera," all the better to lead mankind around like a clowder of schmucks. She's pretending to be Norse elsewhere. Don't fall for it.

(There's also A Minotaur, which feels like it ought to connect via that Minecraft skin pack, but if I'm understanding the Odyssey lore correctly—and I very well might not be; holler at me—the minotaur the player encounters isn't actually the Minotaur from the myth we know and love, but some random other guy who subsequently got his hands on the Precursor Technology that turns you into a minotaur. Yeah, everything is Precursor People in Assassin's Creed. It's kind of disappointing.)

Of course, you can still get to Xerxes through Odyssey if you want to—a handful of historical characters who don't have Minecraft skins show up—but you'll need an extra step. And if we're going to have an extra step anyway, I'm going to go for the route that doesn't need Assassin's Creed, partially because I haven't played the games yet but mostly because I'm still really disappointed about the Precursor People thing.

Which means, unfortunately, it's back to Miller.

I'll say this: For all that 300: March to Glory is Not A Very Good Video Game, it left me the impression that someone behind the scenes actually did the bare minimum research into the Greco-Persian Wars. Persian commanders Hydarnes and Mardonius make appearances (if only to provide something unique to hit), and Mardonius even survives the movie-equivalent events of the game until an epilogic, post-movie level that takes place during the Battle of Plataea—which is, indeed, where the historical Mardonius bit it. It's not much, but I had to watch the whole dang thing, so I'll take what I can get. Gets me more names for The Chart, besides.

As for connecting this game to Ryu, you can, of course, count on the Ol' Dependable of Games With Historical Figures:

...Or maybe you're not a fan of Anime And Things That Look Like Anime, in which case, try this, instead:

I'm not sure I can explain how weird Spartan: Total Warrior is—by which I'm referring to its existence more than anything in the game itself, though the content's pretty weird, too. For context, Total War is a series of strategy games featuring a combination of turn-based strategy, resource management, and real-time tactical control (so sayeth Wikipedia). There are a coupla Warhammer entries in the franchise, sure, but the vast majority of the games focus on real, historical campaigns and factions.

Spartan: Total Warrior, on the other hand, is a hack-and-slash that took one look at a history book and immediately took a pair of shears to it. The story starts in 300 BCE: The Roman Empire, led by Emperor Tiberius, has conquered almost the whole of Greece, with only Sparta remaining, and Leonidas leads his men into battle to oppose him. Later, the Romans reveal a superweapon powered by the imprisoned Medusa. Sejanus, Tiberius' right-hand man, is a powerful necromancer who kills and resurrects Castor's brother Pollux. One mission involves protecting Archimedes, leader of the Athenian resistance, from assassination.

To quote someone on Discord, this is a game supposedly set circa 300 BCE that "has one side led by a king who died 200 years before, and the other by an emperor who reigned 300 years after (never mind the fact that Rome was still a senatorial republic)." If you forced a too-serious historian to play this game they'd end up on the floor in a frothing heap of rage and/or despair (actually, someone should totally do that; I want to see the Greco-Roman history version of Jonathan Ferguson having to analyze the firearms of Team Fortress 2).

Oh yeah and Beowulf is there.

At some point you've got to appreciate—no, admire, even—the Xena:-Warrior-Princess-level decision to just Don't Worry About It.

And now that we have finished with the indisputable, let us proceed with the first of the hinky. Which is to say: Let's look at God of War: Chains of Olympus.

Chains of Olympus begins with an attack by the Persian navy on the Greek Attic peninsula (where Athens is, incidentally). The opening sequence features (among a whole lot of faceless Persian mooks) this prone-ish fella, who doesn't quite get to operating a ballista, irresponsibly leaving the work for Kratos instead.

(Credit: Migeman)

Inspecting the body after all the local ruckus is over identifies him as "Eurybiades," the "leader of the Athenian army."

Eurybiades was—according to historical record—a real person, though God of War doesn't exactly nail it on the head. Herodotus (who historians depend on more due to him being one of a Very Small Number of sources rather than anything to do with actual reliability) names Eurybiades as a Spartan who, during the second Persian invasion of Greece, was given command of the Greek navy due to some political whatuppery (the Spartans said that if a Spartan didn't lead it they'd be Awfully Uncooperative).

Following this bit, Kratos confronts the King of Persia (identity unspecified), who is apparently personally leading the invasion himself, which seems dumb but was apparently the norm back in those days. I bet we'd have a lot less wars if we made our Presidents actually serve on the front lines whenever they started feeling belligerent.

(Credit: Ibid.)

Anyway, Kratos kills the King of Persia, because if the King of Persia killed Kratos the game would be a lot shorter. Now, there's no watertight confirmation that this is the second Persian invasion—the first one also featured attempted Persian inroads into Attica, and was recent enough that it's not inconceivable for Eurybiades to have shown up, there, too—but if this is the second Persian invasion, and that is the King of Persia that was King of Persia during the second Persian invasion, then that King of Persia is Xerxes I.

And now, I think, you peer up at me, gaze beseeching. "But KC," you say, anxious and afraid, "Xerxes I didn't die during his invasion of Greece! After Greek victory at the Battle of Salamis, Persian forces were forced to withdraw from Attica, including Xerxes I himself, after which he focused on lavish construction projects until he was assassinated fifteen years later for unrelated reasons! He didn't die in the Greco-Persian Wars at all!"

To which I say: You know who else didn't die in the Greco-Persian Wars? Eurybiades. And you know who definitely didn't die in a fit of paranoid, obsessive overwork in the heart of a monumental statue of Apollo on the isle of Delos?

What I'm saying here is that God of War's relationship with historicality is fleeting at best, so maybe Don't Worry About It here, too.

(Incidentally, if it's the first Persian invasion of Greece that Kratos is mucking around in, then that king is actually Darius the Great, who also didn't die in Greece in real life. Darius is in Civilization V, though, so getting his Ryu Number is a lot easier.)

And speaking of Civilization, I've finally come to the shortest route I've found that, for all its likeliness, isn't as definite as I'd like, which is why I've saved it for last. You know how Civilization works, I think—you play a historical civilization (with a historical leader to match), and go up against other historical civilizations with their leaders. Like Darius, just now—he's your leader if you decide to play as the Persians.

Civilization III is like that...but unfortunately not as much like that as a fellow'd prefer. Sure, it's got its civilizations and leaders...

...But there's the occasional glaring unspecificity that's apparently there to make life difficult for me in particular. Yeah, sure, Montezuma here is most likely the second one—the one everyone knows, the one that had the real bad experience with Spain—but are you sure he isn't the first one instead? Like, absolutely sure? The instruction manual doesn't say, you know. How sure are you? Sure enough to bet a dollar? Two dollars? Fifty dollars? Your firstborn child? Why would I want your firstborn child, anyway? I don't want to look after a child; that's literally more work for me.

The Persian civilization exhibits the same problem here. Yeah, of course that's Xerxes I! If the team behind the game is picking out a historical figure named Xerxes to represent the Persians, it's got to be Xerxes I. But at the same time, there's technically nothing saying this isn't Xerxes II, a separate 5th-century-BCE Persian ruler of the Achaemenid Empire. I mean, it's terribly unlikely, seeing as Xerxes II ruled for 45 days before being killed by his half-brother, who ruled for six months before being killed by his half-brother, making him Not Exactly The Sort Of Individual You'd Put The Spotlight On, but Mahatma Gandhi and Joan of Arc are the leaders of Indian and French civilizations in this game, and that's weird, too. Gandhi was never the Prime Minister of India or anything like that, and Joan of Arc was a military leader, not a monarch.

Still, if you're willing to follow the reasonable assumption that the Xerxes here is Xerxes I, then the path that results is pretty dang optimal:

...If this is how you found out that Mahatma Gandhi is in Minecraft DLC, I'm sorry.

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marryat92 · 1 year

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I am looking at some of the sketches of Edward Pelham Brenton, who was Frederick Marryat's captain and commanding officer at the start of the War of 1812. Marryat called him "a scholar and a gentleman. Kind and friendly with his officers, his library was at their disposal."

Christopher Lloyd writes in Captain Marryat and the Old Navy:

It is probable that he exercised a very important influence over Marryat's development... And he is the only man whose help Marryat acknowledges when he was learning to sketch.

You can't blame Brenton for Marryat's amateur art, he was a better artist by far.

Here's HMS Spartan at Quebec, and two Barbadian women by Captain Brenton ("he loved the society of ladies," said Marryat). Capturing the variety of the Atlantic World so often described in Marryat's novels, with their frequent stops in Halifax and the West Indies.

The biggest influence I can see on Frederick Marryat in Brenton's art is his goofy sense of humour, like this caricature drawing called "Bucks of the first kind 1801".

#frederick marryat #captain marryat #age of sail #edward pelham brenton #naval history #atlantic world #naval art #hms spartan #biography #christopher lloyd #captain marryat and the old navy #royal navy

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wolfythewitch · 5 months

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Just a fun note on character designs: Perseus and his wife Andromeda, who was an Ethiopian Princess, and the ancestors of the Spartan Royal Family in The Iliad and The Odyssey. This means that you can depict Tyndareus, Clytemnestra, Pollux, and Penelope as what modern society would call 'black' and have canonical mythological backing.

oh thats cool!! i really wanna flesh out my clytemnestra and helen designs. is it more widely accepted for her to be the daughter of tyndareus or zeus?

#wolfy tedtalks #anon

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chaeshitty · 1 year

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RISING SIGNS AND THEIR CONNECTION TO OUR NAME PT. 3 -fire signs-

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disclaimer: this is just my personal observation and i'm not saying your name will be 100% connected to your rising sign, so take this with grain of salt!

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1. ARIES RISINGS:

being honest I don't know any aries risings personally. this will be based on celebrities, i'm sorry fellow aries risings :/. these folks usually have long names, or names with heavy pronunciation, lots of SHs and Rs. since they represent a ram they are not necessarily connected to fire. some of the meanings those names could have: spring, flowers, dragon, courage, dancing, art, warrior, fire, persistence, strength, boldness, tower, iron. those names could be of mongolian, latin, greek (spartan) and arabic origins. you could be even named after great warriors, comadants, rulers (napoleon, katherine the great). names i've noticed amongst these folks: shakira, timur, sheyla, seulgi, batzorig.

2. LEO RISINGS:

their names are a great combo with their last name most of the time (tina turner, marilyn monroe). they are not long, but not short, they are usually not even hard to pronounce and are very easy to remember, that helps them become really well known. names could carry those meanings: sun, shine, bright, lion, king/queen, gold, passionate, vivacious, royal, theatrical, spotlight, warm, strict, righteous leader. they could've got their names from royalty and they could be of any origin but usually french or british. the names i noticed among leo rising folks: leila, danin, margot, basile, soleil, elin, jin.

3. SAGITTARIUS RISINGS:

like the name of their zodiac rising their personal names could be long as well, or just funny to pronounce even tho they are short. (cheryl cole). however those names are unusual and are very unique. i didn't notice a certain pattern in word or letter play in their names, it connects to the witness and originality of sags. their full names could end sentences or make slangs (summer dawn, fa hua and other examples in other languages). they tend to have lots of nicknames. possible meanings: arrow, funny, smart, curious, hot, healer, princess/prince, chiron. names i've noticed: anne, tequila, summer, višnja, dunja, persephone, diana, dahyun.

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I hope it resonates and I hope you like it! Don't forget to leave notes ♡

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dicknouget · 3 months

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A Sparring Partner

This is snippet that takes place in the "Three Sentinels" AU

“Hey Jaune, who’s that?” asked Blake.

The knight looked at the ridge line overlooking the group. Standing on top was a silhouette of a guardsman. However, this one was different. Instead of lanky arms attached to a squared off body, the silhouette had a much more professional shape to it. The figure held onto a spear in their right hand, as opposed to the halberd utilized by the royal guards, and on the helmet’s top was a plume matching the figure's gaze. Weiss watched the fabled Rusted Knight run a tasse through his fingers as he had done time and time before.

There was an unspoken agreement between the sentinels of the Ever After. When guiding or guarding, there is to be no combat. There is to be a united front against any dangers within the Ever After as a sentinel acts as a guide through the Acres. It had happened when The Rusted Knight led Alyx and Lewis, it happened when the Tarnished Spartan had led Lily, and now it’s apparent that it’s the Frozen Empress’ turn to act as a guide.

The silhouette collapsed the spear, shouldering it. They banged their shield three times, before walking off from the overlook ridge.

“-ne? -aune? Jaune?” came the rouges voice. He looked over at RBY, then at Weiss and back at the ridge. He shook his head before taking a deep breath.

“A sparring partner.” He answered flatly, exhaling. “Let’s just get back to Origami Arc.”

#rwby #jaune arc #pyrrha nikos #weiss schnee #rusted knight #tarnished spartan #frozen empress #the three sentinels #three sentinels

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the-good-spartan · 9 months

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Posts about Ancient Greek History

Things I write to help process information and assemble my notes and thoughts for future reference.

This is an ongoing project. I will add more over time.

My focus is primarily the Arkhidamian (Archidamian) War with a particular emphasis on Sparta, but I'm currently widening my focus to include the First Peloponnesian War, the Messenian Wars, and the lives of Demosthenes (the General) and Thucydides (the Historian).

Sparta

Their Culture

Spartan scholars be like

Introduction and List of Chief Sources

Becoming a Spartan Citizen, Part One: The Agoge.

Becoming a Spartan Citizen, Part Two: The Phiditia & Contributions to the Mess

Food for Warriors.

Spartan Social Structure: Part One - The Helots || Rent? Contracts?

Spartan Social Structure: Part Two - The Perioikoi

Spartan Social Structure: Part Three - Spartan Women

Spartan Social Structure: Part Four - The Hypomeiones

Stalkers in the Night: The Krypteia || Primary Sources: Krypteia

The Horses of Lakedaimon

The Spartan Political Structure: Damos, Ephors, Gerontes, Kings.

Spartan Men and their Hair || Examples of likely hairstyles

Felt Helmets

Rethinking the scale of Spartan mess and barrack buildings

Spartan Games

Ask: Did Homoioi Travel?

Military History

Background to the Third Messenian War

The Third Messenian War c. 464 BCE

The Battle of Tanagra c. 457 BCE

Maps (Mostly Related to Brasidas' Campaigns during the Arkhidamian War)

Sparta || Amphipolis 1 || Amphipolis 2 || Koryphasion (Pylos) & Sphakteria || Korinth/Nisaia || Brasidas' Campaign in Makedonia

Sparta in Pop Culture

A Cry of Frustration

Response to Anti-Spartan Sentiment

A Few Notes on God of War: Ragnarok (the Spartan Stuff)

Spartan Armour (this ain’t it)

Thinking About Spartans Thinking

A Distinction Between Sparta and Lakedaimon

Contracts? Rent?

Spartans and Their Aversion to Ranged Warfare?

Posts About Figures in the Arkhidamian War

Brasidas, Son of Tellis.

Probable Timeline of Brasidas' Life

Brasidas' Ossuary

Demosthenes, Son of Alkisthenes (The General):

As a Catalyst to the Battles of Spahkteria and Pylos?

A Few Notes

Alternative to Thucydides' Version of his Death

Thucydides, Son of Oloros (The Historian):

The Way Thucydides Thinks

A Few Notes

Posts about Polytheism and Mythology (Roman & Hellenic) :

Lakonian Royal Lineage (Mythological) || Sparta in the Catalogue of Ships || Helen, Kastor, Polydeukes

Chief Gods worshipped at Sparta (Not Ares!) || The Gods Worshipped at Sparta - further details.

Roman and Hellenic Mythology: They are not the Same Thing

Mythology, the Gods and Gatekeeping: A Personal Take

Viewing History Through a Modern Lens

Graeco-Roman Art: A Cautionary Tale

#sparta #ancient sparta #ancient greece #lakedaimon #ancient history #greek history #spartan history #history posting #masterlist

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bethanythebogwitch · 5 months

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Digimon & mythology: the Olympos XII

One of the most underused major groups of Digimon in my opinion is the Olympos XII. As the name suggests, they are based on the twelve Olympian gods of ancient Greece and their Roman successors, the Dii Consentes. While the older lineup of the Olympoans and the Dii Consentes used an equal number of gods and goddesses, the goddess Hestia/Vesta was later replaced by Dionysus/Bacchus as her worship fell out of favor and his became popular. Digimon uses the lineup that includes Dionysis/Bacchus and excludes Hestia/Vesta. The Olympos XII also use the Roman names for the gods, though they take inspiration from both cultures' interpretations, as well as original ideas. In fact, some of the Olympos XII seem deliberately designed to be unlike their mythical counterparts.

The Olympos XII rule their own Digital World called Digital World: Iliad, which is hosted on a different server than the mainstream Digital World ruled by the computer god Yggdrasil. While the two worlds rarely interact, Yggdrasil is keeping its eye on Iliad and it is said that one day the Royal Knights of Yggdrasil's server and the Olympos XII will confront each other. Whether that confrontation will be violent or peaceful remains to be seen. Iliad has its own computer god named Homeros, who is very different from Yggdrasil. While Yggdrasil seeks to rule its Digital World, Homeros believes in absolute freedom and left Iliad in a state of anarchy. The Olympos XII rose up to establish order and justice in defiance of Homeros's anarchy. While some media depicts Homeros as an enemy of the Olympos XII, others imply it has some authority over them.

One thing to note before covering the members of the Olympos XII is that the Greek and Roman myths were not set in stone. Beliefs changed and ideas were absorbed from neighbors. Different groups of people also interpreted the gods differently. For example, the Athenians generally had a negative view of Ares and depicted him as a brutal monster, the but Spartans and Romans had a much more positive view on him. The Greeks and Romans also had a practice called interpatio graeca/interpatio romana where they would absorb the gods of other cultures into their own pantheons, often by claiming that the foreigners' gods were actually the same gods under different names. This was especially common in Rome given how diverse the empire was. An easy way to avoid religious infighting was to declare that everyone is actually worshipping the same gods under different names. Different sects would also worship different aspects of the same god, which were sometimes given their own titles. For example, one group of Romans might worship Jupiter in his aspect as the bringer of storms where another may worship him in his aspect as a leader. This is all to say that the mythologies that the Olympos XII draw from are very diverse and were constantly changing and whatever I say about mythology here can be both supported and refuted by multiple sources, all equally valid.

Warning that some of the Olympos XII members have some of the most explicit "sexymon" designs in the franchise. Some of the art below may be NSFW.

The founder and leader of the Olympos XII is Jupitermon. It founded the Olympos XII to bring justice to the Digital World: Iliad and presides over weather as the god of the sky. It acts as a dispassionate judge who declares acts as being either good or evil, then metes out divine judgement on those declared evil. There is an appeals system to Jupitermon's Judgments which consists of facing Jupitemon in combat. If anyone beats it, then Jupitemon will rescind its judgement. As of yet, nobody has ever succeeded. Jupitermon wields two hammers that produce lightning bolts. While it normally refuses to allow emotion to get in the way of its duties, those who have committed great sins can cause Jupitermon to become overcome with range and trasfrom into Jupitermon Wrath Mode. In this form, it becomes much larger and transforms into a living mass of lightning contained in armor. It trades in its hammers for a greatsword named Keraunós (Greek for lightning) that is crackling with electricity. Jupitermon is based on the Greek Zeus and roman Jupiter. It lacks many of Zeus's more famous traits, such as being impulsive, hedonistic, and willing to sleep with anything that moved regardless of consent. In this is draws more of later Roman depictions of Jupiter (or Iupiter or Jove) whive removed many of the character's more negative traits and made him much more of a paragon and leader figure. The hammers it uses may be a nod to Norse mythology and the thunder god Thor's hammer Mjolnir, but may also reference a judge's gavel. Wrath Mode is based on the general idea of divine wrath, where a god will smite evildoers to those that displease it. There are many stories of Zeus sending down his lightning bolt to smite mortals who have wronged him. Each member of the Olympos XII has a signature animal that is incorporated into its design and Jupitermon's is the owl. Owls are more traditionally associated with Athena than Zeus/Jupiter and are often used to symbolize wisdom. That fits with Jupitermon being a judge over good and evil and most of Athena's wisdom aspects didn't make it into her Digimon counterpart anyway so moving them to Jupitermon makes him a better leader.

Jupitermon (left) and Wrath Mode (right)

Jupitermon's partner is Junomon. She is Jupitermon's lover and defender who spends her time defending and eliminating those who would act against him. Because its love for Jupitermon is overflowing, Junomon is very aware of its habits and personality and preferes to spend as much of her time with him as possible. If separated for too long and forced to face an overflowing amount of enemies, Junomon can be taken over by a hidden, evil personality will surface, changing her into Junomon Hysteric Mode. Hysteric Mode is overflowing with jealousy and views everything around it as a threat to Jupitermon. Whenever Hysteric Mode emerges, it will slaughter everything round it until reverting. Curiously, Jupitermon seems to be unaware of the existence of Hysteric Mode and has therefore never judged it as evil. Even when not in Hysteric Mode, there is a hint of the darkness within as the angelic-seeming Junomon is a virus attribute and member of the Nightmare Soldiers field. Junomon is based on Hera/Juno, the wife and sister of Zeus/Jupiter and goddess of marriage and fertility. Junomon's relationship with Jupitermon is almost the inverse of Hera's with Zeus. Hera and Zeus seemed to hate each other and their wedded life was miserable, with Zeus constantly cheating and fathering bastard children and Hera attacking those children because she couldn't take it out on Zeus himself. By contrast, Junomon is so in love with Jupitermon she becomes a yandere. Interestingly, we won't have any official media I'm aware of that shows whether Jupitermon reciprocates her feelings, though him never noticing Hysteric Mode could be interpreted as deliberately turning a blind eye so he doesn't have to judge his love. Hysteric Mode can be seen as representing Hera's fits of anger, though in this case she's lashing out in a misguided desire to protect Jupiter(mon) rather than proxy revenge against him. The Romans' beliefs about Juno were so diverse that adequately cataloging them is a huge headache for scholars of Roman religion and she almost seems to have been multiple distinct goddesses conflated into one. Several Roman depictions did give her and Jupiter a much happier marriage than that of Zeus and Hera. She also took on some war god aspects, which is reflected in Junomon battling those who would oppose Jupitermon. Some scholars have suggested some Hindu influences from the goddess Sarasvati on the Roman Juno and Junomon's weapons are identified as katars, a type of Indian dagger. Junomon's animal is the peacock, which was seen as a sacred animal to both Hera and Juno.

Junomon (left) and Hysteric Mode (right). Can I just say that Hysteric Mode is one of the dumbest looking mode changes in the franchise?

The Olympos XII members that have gotten the most exposure in the franchise are the siblings Apollomon and Dianamon. They are gods of the sun and moon, respectively. Apollomon can unleash the heat of a star, which lets it burn through anything. It is a prideful being with barely-restrained energy that can lead it to going on a rampage or launching itself at a powerful enemy in search of a battle. In contrast, DIanamon is more peaceful, but just as the moon has a light and dark side, Dianamon's nature is two-faced and it is shockingly powerful in a fight. While Apollomon uses fire, Dianamon presides over water and ice. It can weave moonlight into illusions so powerful they can trick an enemy into ripping itself apart. These two are based on the twin gods Apollo and Artemis/Diana. While these two were gods of the sun and moon (in some versions inheriting this position from or contracting it out to the older Helios and Selene), they were also gods of many other things and sometimes the sun and moon aspects were seen as fairly minor duties for them. Digimon chooses to go all-in on the sun and moon motifs and ignore the other elements. This is fitting of the two's evolution lines debuting in the paired games Digimon Story: Sunlight and Moonlight (released in English as Digimon World Dawn and Dusk) which heavily played into the sun/light and moon/darkness motifs. Both gods were often depicted as archers and while neither Digimon uses a bow, they both have attacks where they shoot arrows named after their Greek god inspirations. Apollomon's signature animal is the lion and it looks like a humanoid lion. Lions are often associated with the sun and strength and in alchemy, a lion was used to symbolize the sun. Dianamon's animal is the rabbit, which is easier to see in her pre-evolutions, which are all humanoid rabbits. Japan often associated rabbit with the moon. The dark markings on the lunar surface that are interpreted in the west as a face (the man in the moon) are interpreted in Japan as a rabbit making rice balls or mochi. This rabbit and moon symbolism is found in another major influence for Dianamon: the title character of the mange Sailor Moon. Her name, Usagi, means rabbit and she and Dianamon have similar silhouettes and design features. In addition, one of Dianamon's attacks is named after the children's book Goodnight Moon. When the Digital World: Iliad was visited by an unprecedented crisis, Apollomon and Dianamon merged into GraceNovamon. GraceNovamon holds the power of a galaxy in its body and it is impossible to measure the amount of data that makes it up. GraceNovamon doesn't have any mythological references that I can find.

Left to right: Apollomon, Dianamon, and GraceNovamon

Volcanusmon is the Olympos XII member with the most influence on Digimon outside of its group. This is because it is the god of smithing and has created many of the Digital World's most famous weapons, all of which it names after Spanish words for food for some reason. Examples include Beelzebumon's Berenjena shotguns, Astamon's Oro Salmón tommygun, and Sparrowmon's Zanahoria pistols. Given that Astamon is a villain and Beelzebumon is one of the Seven Great Demon Lords, it's clear that Volcanusmon doesn't care about the morality of its client, just whether or not the client is impressive enough to deserve a special weapon and has the power to master its use. Volcanusmon works in silence, using all eight of its arms in harmony to create true artworks. It is not very good at fighting and prefers to work behind the scenes. Volcanusmon is based on the god Hephaestus/Vulcan. This is one of the gods that changed more in the transition between Greece and Rome as Hephaestus is specifically the god of smiths and craftsmen while Vulcan is more generally the god of fire, with smithing being just one of his roles. Since the fire god role was given to Apollomon, Volcanusmon leans heavily into the smith role. Another trait of Hephaestus that didn't carry over to many depictions of Vulcan is that he was disabled, having a bad leg due to (depending on which version of the story is told) either being born that way or being thrown off of Mount Olympus after birth. Volcanusmon's legs leem to be fine, but it does have bandages over its face and one eye, is using a breathing device, and is weak in battle, all of whcih hearken back to Hephaestus's disability. Volcanus or Vulcanus is sometimes used as an alternate name for Vulcan. The name Vulcan may descend from a god worshipped on the island of Crete named Velchanos. Volcanusmon's animal is the octopus, which appears to be an original idea rather than having any mythological basis.

The members of the Olympos XII have a varying relations to their mythological inspirations. Some are very strongly based on a god while in other, it is much more loose. The latter category is where Mercurymon comes in. Mercurymon is the fastest of all Digimon, so quick it cannot be seen with the naked eye. It also hates staying still and constantly travels the world. Mercurymon is also a shaman who can summon spirits from another world. Mercurymon is based on Hermes/Mercury, who was the god of a lot of things but was most famously the messenger of the gods. To aid in this duty, he wore winged sandals that allowed him to move at incredible speeds. That is literally the only thing that was brought over into Mercurymon. Well one attack description says Mercurymon has the Kerykeion, which is another word for the god's famous Caduceus staff, but that's the only place I could find it referenced. There's not even art of Mercurymon using it. Mercurymon also has some references to the Aztecs with its design and knife being named Aztec. Hermes/Mercury was sometimes associated with shamanism and divination, but Mercurymon's shaman aspects seem more Aztec. Mercurymon's English name is interesting. There was already a Digimon whose English name was rendered as Mercurymon (based on the metal) that debuted before Mercurymon. The dubbers experimented with Mercuremon or Mercurimon as new names, but somehow settled on Merukimon, which is complete gibberish. Mercurymon's animal is the wolf.

Another Olympos XII member who subscribes to the same "dude in an animal suit" school of design as Mercurymon is Marsmon. Known throughout the Digital World as a god of war, Marsmon is a master of every form of combat and will use underhanded methods in battle. While it has a variety of hidden weapons on its person, its preferred method of combat is wrestling. So focused on victory is it that it will cheat in battle if it is losing. Marsmon was the first member of the Olympos XII to debut and its reference book entry established the existence of the group. Marsmon is based on Ares/Mars, the god of war. He is one of the gods that has had the widest variety of depictions. Many of the Greek sources we have, which are mostly from an Athenian viewpoint, depict Ares as embodying all the worst aspects of warfare: brutality, savagery, fear, and pain. By contrast, the Roman view of Mars was more positive and he was revered as aone of the most important and beloved gods. This is partly due to him now embodying all aspects of war rather than just the worst parts and also due to him being merged with agricultural gods. In addition, he was said to be the father of Romulus, the legendary founder of Rome, making him the ancestor of Roman people. This can kind of be seen with Marsmon, who is a vaccine-attribute, which are usually seen as more heroic. Marsmon preferring wrestling is a reference to ancient Greek wrestling or Pále, a popular sport and the first sport added to the Olympics that wasn't a race. Marsmon's animal is the panther.

Probably my favorite member of the Olympos XII is Ceresmon. It is a god of nature that takes the shape of a colossal bird-shaped island with a forest on its back that flies through the air. The forest is called the Karpos Hulē (Greek for fruit forest) and grows the sweetest and most nutritious fruits in the world. Ceresmon is a gentle being who will allow injured and weak Digimon to live in its forest and feed on its fruits to grow strong. However, it will not tolerate those who disrespect nature and will bring down on them all the power a flying island can give. The island body of Ceresmon is more of a vehicle that the true Ceresmon uses. The true form, the humanoid on the bird's head, is Ceresmon Medium. Medium can detach from the bird and move around on its own, but it is weak on its own and will only do so around those it trusts. It's worth noting that Digimon Survive treats Ceresmon Medium as an independent Digimon no weaker than any other of its level. Ceresmon is based on Demeter/Ceres, goddess of nature and agriculture. She was seen as a motherly figure and a patron of the common folk, which fits with Ceresmon aiding common Digimon. The most famous myth involving the goddess, that of her daughter being taken to the underworld for half of the year, is not represented in Digimon. Ceresmon's animal is the bird.

Ceresmon (left) and Medium (right). Sidenote, Ceresmon is one of the few cases where I think the reference book art is better than the New Century art.

Some gods have grand purposes and some just want to have fun. That's where Bacchusmon comes in. It is the self-proclaimed foremost drinker of the Digital World and spends its entire time partying or preparing to party. It can brew any kind of alcohol within its body, but its favorite is made from the fruits of Ceresmon's forest. Because of this, Ceresmon and Bacchusmon are on good terms with each other. While jovial and generous, there is a dark side to Bacchusmon as it can generate all manner of horrific poisons in its body. It can also reconfigure the data of enemy Digimon to turn them into drinks, which it will then consume. Rumors say that human hackers are studying the data of Bacchusmon's poisons to develop chemical weapons. Some media gives Bacchusmon a mode change called Crapulence Mode, but most treat Crapulence mode as the normal Bacchusmon and give it no mode change. Bacchusmon is based on Dionysus/Bacchus, the god of wine, indulgence, and parties. He was a latecomer to the Greek myths, but eventually his following became so popular that writers and theologians replaced Hestia with him on the twelve Olympians. Bacchus was never considered that major in Rome, where Hestia/Vesta remained on their version of the twelve Olympians, the Dii Consentes. In fact, the festivals in his honor, Bacchanalias, were eventually banned due to them subverting the social order of Rome, though they of course continued to happen in secret. A really interesting thing that happened with Bacchus is becoming the subject of multiple mystery cults. The mystery cults are a really interesting and really complicated topic I do not know nearly enough to give a comprehensive overview of. To overly simplify, mystery cults were a trend in the Roman world of taking a god from a previous, often polytheist faith, and worshipping them as personal savior deities who could grant salvation (often salvation from death) to followers through fellowship, communion, and baptism. What made them mystery religions is that the general public and new initiates would be given false stories filled with metaphor and parable. Only as one advanced within the religion would they be considered wise enough to learn the true teachings. Because of this secrecy, we don't know the true teachings of a lot of the mystery religions, even if their public stories are well-documented. Bacchusmon's animal is the snake.

Minervamon is one of the most combat-focused of the Olympos XII. Despite having the physique of a young girl, she has incredible strength and can easily wave around her sword, Olympia, one-handed despite it being as large as her. Minervamon is a childish Digimon that prefers to spend its time playing and having fun (often through fighting things) and can throw temper tantrums if it gets mad. When Minervamon matures, she becomes Mervamon. This is sometimes treated as an evolution, but the two are the same level. Mervamon is much more mature and calm than Minervamon. SHe seeks elegance and sensuality at all times, even in battle, where she moves with the grace of a dancer even while hacking down enemies with her gigantic sword Olympia Kai. Because she is more mature, Mervamon is much more intelligent than Minervamon and is a brilliant strategist. She also no longer throws temper tantrums when mad. One one arm, Mervamon bears a snake named Medullia that can move and fight on its own. Minervamon is based on Athena/Minerva and being or at least starting as a hyperactive child with no attention span was a deliberate subversion of her mythological counterpart's role as the goddess of wisdom. The Greek Athena was also seen as a war goddess, representing the civilized aspects of warfare as opposed to Ares representing brutal warfare. Minerva lost many of the war aspects and became more focused on wisdom, though she still was associated with victory and strategy and was usually depicted holding a spear. I find it interesting that the transition to Roman mythology stripped Athena of her war aspects while the transition to Digimon stripped her of her wisdom aspects. Mervamon regains some of the wisdom aspects by being calmer and smarter. Another subversion of the original myths that Digimon uses is Mervamon being focused on sensuality (and being one of the more notorious sexymon) while the original Goddess swore to remain forever a maiden. Mervamon's name comes from Menvra, the Etruscan version of Athena that developed into Minerva. Minervamon's animal is the snake. Minerva was more famously associated with owls, but snakes were used as a motif as well.

Minervamon (left) and Mervamon (right)

While the Olympos XII rule the Digital World: Iliad, there is only one who commands the seas. This is Neptunemon, the absolute lord of all aquatic Digimon on Iliad. It resides in a castle built at the bottom of the ocean, so deep that only Digimon whose body can withstand the crushing pressure can travel there. Neptunemon is blindingly fast and can command powerful storms and tidal waves to crush its enemies. Neptunemon is based on Poseidon/Neptune, god of the sea. He was one of the most important gods to the greeks and retained a similar level of importance to the Romans, who expanded his domain to include fresh water. Like the gods, Netunemon wields a trident as a weapon. Tridens were used for spearfishing, hence their association with the water. Poseidon also dwelled in a palace underwater. Poseidon and Neptune were associated with horses, a trait that did not carry over to Digimon. While the gods were not generally depicted as mermen, Poseidon's son Triton was a merman with two fish tails. Neptunemon's animal is a fish.

The Digital World is a harsh place where the law of the jungle reigns and violence is a way of life. Into this world came Venusmon, who desires nothing more than peace. Venusmon rules over love and is filled with compassion. It is a pacifist that refuses to fight. All of its attacks deal no damage, instead pacifying the enemy. Wherever Venusmon goes, flowers bloom and the land is restored to beauty. Because of her looks and powerful glamour, Venusmon constantly has to deal with other Digimon swooning over her. This makes her uncomfortable and she wears a blindfold to reduce the effect of this power. Because she can't tell if a Digimon really likes her or is just enamored by her, Venusmon is rather lonely. Her only true friends are the two animals she travels with, a dove named Olive and a scallop named Hotan, who both talk to her without reservation. Venusmon is based Aphrodite/Venus, the goddess of love, beauty, desire, and sex. Venusmon is another case of Digimon deliberately subverting the traits of the god. Aphrodite was a promiscuous, vain, jealous, and proud goddess who seduced damn near everything while Venusmon is uncomfortable with all the attention she gets and tries to reduce it. The Roman Venus did have some association with peace as she can turn hearts from vice to virtue. Her friends being a dive and a scallop is because both doves and seashells were often used as symbols of Aphrodite. A common example of Aphrodite imagery has her rising form the sea, fully grown, supported by a giant scallop shell. Weirdly enough, Mercury, the god who is famous for having winged sandals doesn't get them on his Digimon counterpart, but Venusmon does for some reason. Venusmon's animal is a dove.

That is all the members of the Olympos XII, but because this monster of a post isn't long enough already, there are two more Digimon to go over. They aren't members, but they are tied to the Olympos XII's lore. The first is Plutomon. Plutomon shares Jupitermon's desire to punish evil, but its methods are so brutal and cruel that the dispassionate and neutral Jupitermon was disgusted and refused to allow it to join the Olympos XII. Plutomon rules the Dark Area of Iliad, the graveyard of deleted data where evil Digimon are consigned when they die. When not in the Dark Area, Plutomon patrols the world looking for villainous Digimon and attacking them. Its armor is covered with mouths that gnaw on sinners and it can summon a gigantic mouth that consigns those it swallows to the Dark Area. Even good Digimon, who Plutomon will not target, fear it due to its cruelty. Plutomon is based on Hades/Pluto, the god of the dead and ruler of the underworld. Hades/Pluto is often notorious for being depicted as evil in later adaptations, a trait that resulted from Christian writers using him as a satan figure, something Greek mythology lacks. While Hades was never viewed as a god of evil, he was feared and was never a popular god. His worship was often viewed more as appeasement than an act of devotion. Plutomon kind of draws from the devil in that he rules over the Digital World's hell (or Tartarus in this case) and torments evildoers. Unlike the devil, Plutomon does want to do good despite his methods. Think of him as the Punisher to Jupitermon's Superman. I don't know if this was intentional, but Plutomon's mouths chewing on evildoers reminds me of Satan's depiction in Dante's Divine Comedy, where his three mouth endlessly chew on the worst traitors in history. Its worth noting that Plutomon's usual pre-evolution, Cerberumon, is based on Hades's three-headed dog Pluto and guards the entrance to the Dark Area.

The final relevent Digimon is Titamon. Titamon is the enemy of the Olympos XII, born from the hatred of all the Digimon ever defeated by the Olympos XII in their battles for supremacy over Iliad. It now lives for nothing more than to slay the Olympos XII and will stop at nothing to kill them. Chambers on its arms hold the skulls of all those it has killed and it can call on their power to raise an army of phantom warriors fueled by hate. Titamon is based on the Titans, the generation of gods who lived before the Olympians. Eventually, the Olympians overthrew the Titans in a war called the Titanomachy. The majority of Titans were imprisoned, but a few who sided with the Olympians or stayed neutral were allowed to remain free. The Titans are often depicted as giants, but there's no real texutal evidence for them being bigger than the Olympians. Their siblings, the cyclopes and hecatoncheires, were giants and that''s where the idea may have come from. Titamon is indeed, gigantic. Titamon being able to summon an army from bones comes from the Spartoi, an army of warriors who sprung from the teeth of a dragon that were sown in the ground like seeds. Titamon also has some Japanese origins, with the names of its attacks and sword being Japanese. It was originally designed as an evolution for Ogremon intended to fill the role of Bacchusmon and to draw from the evil, alcoholic oni Shuten-Douji. the finished design was judged to be too evil for one of the Olympos XII and it was repurposed into an enemy of the group.

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monochrome-cropcrown · 11 months

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What do you think of Daddy Leonidas? 🤣😊

Roygiri Roygiri.... You don't know what you just asked don't you?

Let's start with something.... appropriate first shall we~

When people said that "King Leonidas" is a Spartan soldier & king, I expected his design to be a classic Greek armory or royal gettup like Qin or maybe Ares. But when he showed up with a whole ass more modern attire, let me tell you I choked on air when I first saw him. It took me minutes to process everything, and when I do, I freaking love his design.

It makes sense since he's one of the oldest Einherjar and died in the early history (aside from Adam) so he sorta watched how war these days evolve and he increases his military training to adapt with modern wars.

We don't have a complete description of his personality yet, so we'll just have to wait. But with what we have for now, lovely Leonidas girlies headcannon him as a rude and brute hunk, but deep down is a gentle teddy bear who actually cares for others. 😊☺️

Also, I have high hopes for his backstory later.I know nothing about Spartan history/mythology, so I sorta imagine his story to be like Lu Bu's or maybe Kojiro's - their ways of honing their skills and fighting are different from norm. But if Ajichika-sensei writes a tragic story for him, I don't mind either. What matters is how it will turn out.

Now that aside, let's move to the inappropriate ✨✨ part~

OH HAVE MERCY I'M ABOUT TO BUST

I WANT HIM TO FUCK ME SO HARD THAT THE BED BREAKS

THERE'S NO "TILL"

WE DOING IT ALL NIGHT ALL DAY LONG

FUCK ME EVEN IF I PASSED OUT DADDY

WOOF WOFF WOFF BARK BARK WOOF

OH YOU LIKE CATS? MEEEOW MEOW MEEOOWWW MEOW MEOOW MEEEOWWWW

THOS TATASS SO FAT SO SQUISHABLE LET ME SQUISH JUST ONE SQUISH DADDY I MEAN SIR

#Don't mind me~#record of ragnarok #shuumatsu no valkyrie #record of ragnorak #shuumatsu no walkure #ror leonidas #ror king leonidas #snv king leonidas #snv leonidas #king leonidas #King Leonidas record of Ragnarok

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peacockpenis · 6 months

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as a umich student and knowing starkid started at umich... can't stop hearing the "hail to the victors" theme in go go nighthawks. like "we are leaders and the royals" vs "leaders and the best". plus the colors at the end of the song being blue and yellow (umich colors) vs the chemists being green (spartan colors). you can take the starkid out of michigan but you can't take the michigan out of starkid.

#npmd #nerdy prudes must die #starkid

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incorrecthomer · 1 month

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Menelaus, to the waiter: A milkshake with two straws, please. Helen, blushing: I didn’t take you for the romantic ty- Menelaus, putting both straws in his mouth: Watch how fast I can fucking drink this.

#greek mythology #incorrect greek mythology #greek heroes #incorrect greek heroes #incorrect greek quotes #incorrect quotes #iliad #incorrect iliad #spartan royals #melelaus #helen of sparta #helen of troy #helen x menelaus

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streets-in-paradise · 1 year

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Undying Legends - Achilles x Princess!Reader

Troy (2004) Oneshot

Requested by Anon

“Not sure if you're taking requests right now, but when you are...

An Achilles x princess!reader that was captured by a foreign kingdom to be married off and he goes with an army to save her. Forbidden love basically, and he is just smitten with her, and her with him. She has a kind personality, but firmly believes in her own freedom to love(cause they're not supposed to be together) and he admires her for it. Maybe for a dramatic ending, the readers father puts Achilles to death and he accepts it as they weren't supposed to be together, but she puts on a scene like clinging to him so nobody would hurt him. Sorry I have a lot of ideas.

You can think up different details for her capture, or the ending, if you want to. I wrote a lot, sorry."

( I loved to write this, anon. i sincerely hope that you will enjoy it because i loved it.)

Word Count + 4K

Warnings: Mentions of an abduction to enforce marriage. No proofreading, possible mistakes on my part regarding greek geography.

Summary: When a princess that fame threatens with turning into the new face of deathly desire gets kidnapped the greatest warrior of all times gets involved on the difficult task of bringing her back home. Historical remembrance of passed incidents regarding many other damisels in distress across the time of heroes seem to point out that fate would leave him no choice but to fall for her. However, unlike the remarkable men that came before him, Achilles is unfortunately aware that his is a woman far away from his reach and strictly forbbiden for him.

Notes: This post by @creativepromptsforwriting served me as inspiration for the dialogue.

Prompts 2 - "You’re so beautiful, it’s hard to directly look at you”.

5 - “ I feel completely safe when I'm with you."

Tags: @mysticaldeanvoidhorse @helie-brain @spideyanakin

Singular heroic works were always more rewarding than fighting for Agamemnon. Achilles found the rescue mission an interesting change that was also good for his image, since it had potentiality to soften the brutal undertones his legend was acquiring. To prove himself as more than the attack beast of that cruel king he needed to triumph on heroic tasks for better causes and the corinthians needed his help. Their city, one of the richest in the mycenaean region, was going through a hard time due to the suffering of their ruler. His most valued treasure was stolen from him, one he would do anything to get back: the splendid daughter that he adored.

The news didn't surprise the greek world, since the victim was a heavily desired young maiden. The corinthian princess became the next great target once the mythical beauty of Helen got an official owner through her marriage to the spartan king. Before the herds of suitors could start to invade another country all over again one of the many interested men acted quicker than all the rest. The clever king of Athens found his way to kidnap her and refused to return her unless the father would legitimize his pretensions with a wedding officially celebrated at their comeback. Rage unleashed to the indignant details of the story, Achilles accepted the personal begging of the royals and was designated as commander of the corinthian army on the mission. However, not everyone around found that decision fitting.

A council of the most powerful kings on the Peloponnesus took place in order to decide the common fate regarding a situation that, despite affecting one city, could always end up involving everyone else. Mycenae and Sparta were eager to declare full war, Pylos was calling for discretion while the argive king recalled on his well earned title of heroe to offer himself as leader of the operation alongside the corinthian soldiers. Careless as he was to hear the kings talking, Achilles ignored many warnings about some risks of the task. Most were doubtful, but the sons of Atreus had no self restrictions on openly judging him absolutely incapable of succeeding on his own. The observations,of course, had nothing to do with his skill.

" The honor of your beautiful daughter is safer with the kidnapper than with this shameless bastard. " The mycenaean king advised the corinthian. " The best for your girl is us burning Athens to the ground. Go to war with me and I guarantee you will still benefit from the strength of his arms but someone will be keeping him under control. "

" I have orders and I plan to stick to those. " Achilles defended himself, calm and composed as he was rarely seen. " I can stay loyal to my purpose."

" Since when? All you do is disobeying me in ways that are always impossible to predict."

" Your impulsiveness goes against the requirements, Achilles." Menelaus followed from a less insulting standpoint. " Being impulsive is precisely what brought the athenian king into this madness. He lost his mind for that girl, she is almost as beautiful as my wife. Even my brother over here has reconsidered marriage for an instant the last time we saw her and you know him enough to understand how strange that is. "

Agamemnon ignored the well intentioned tease to keep his persuasive speech.

" My dear friend, don't let desperation take over your reason. Achilles is a weapon you can't wield, Diomedes would be a far better choice. If endangering your friends is what worries you because you don't want a king risking his life, take any other of my best warriors. The mighty army of Mycenae is at your disposition. "

" I am not taking any risks. " The corinthian stated. " If Achilles says he can bring my dear daughter back to me, I take his word. Legends claim him the greatest warrior of our times and I have seen how wars are won or lost depending on his fighting inclinations. Losing is not an option to me, not this time. "

The matter was decided, but the end of the meeting didn't stop the repetition of similar warnings. Less as a king and more as a friend who was in touch with his perspective, Diomedes was the last trying to dissuade him.

" It's said it took a one week visit for the athenian to decide he wanted to kidnap her, others claim he arrived here with the idea in mind. In either case, be careful. You can lose a lot if she gets under your skin. "

" I will be like a herald and that girl is a package I'm supposed to carry. " Achilles calmly replied. " There are plenty of gorgeous women in Greece, she is just the one high nobility wants to fight over now."

The demigod warlord was truly convinced of his position, reinforcing it over and over during the journey against the skepticism of the local soldiers he was meant to command. In the collective imagination formed by bards at the time of heroes there was no way for him to save that princess without ending up wanting to claim her his. As it happened to Perseus in the rescue of Andromeda, or Hercules after meeting Iole, Achilles was expected to develop an unstoppable passion for the captive girl. Not being found of prophecies that wouldn't come from his mother, Achilles simply discredited the claims until reaching Athens.

The one single battle that was recklessly fought became a tragedy for the city. The king opted for staying trusting of the numerical advantage in his forces, commiting the terrible mistake of underestimating the rival.

Hopes returned to you, but you weren't feeling entirely good about that. You knew your father and your city would never abandon you, but you couldn't help pitying the athenian men dying prisoners of their king's wishes. Escaping and never having to see him again was all you wanted, but you wouldn't wish death upon persons that were as powerless as you. The people couldn't be blamed for your captor's actions yet they were taking the worse part of the punishment. At first you thought that seeing their suffering was going to show that man his mistake, but whenever you would try to exhort him of doing the ríght thing he would accuse you of manipulations.

All he achieved with that paranoid attitude was delaying the inevitable, the golden haired heroe found you and sent that king directly to his downfall.

Amazement happened on both sides. You couldn't believe how far the warrior had came for you, easily murdering the man who dragged you there against your will, but he neither could believe your initial reaction to that. You gave some cold comfort to the agonizing kidnapper in front of you. Achilles could tell it wasn't sympathy, just kindness shown to a dying man.

It was not your beauty, as many men augured, the first of your traits that he found interesting.

" That man kidnapped you and could have taken advantage of you in more severe ways, he doesn't deserve to die with a smile on his face. " He simply said, showing to have contextually recognized you. " He wouldn't have stopped for anything, you were lucky I am here to make him stop. "

You glanced at his direction to deliver an answer, but felt unprepared for the encounter with his beautiful blue eyes.

" His people claim he once was a great king, this unfortunate outcome comes from his previous loss of two wives. Pain blinded him, he wanted to be happy again and he didn't mind the cost to satisfy his wishes." You calmly explained. " I despise him as it is normal for a prisoner to hate the captor, but I can still show respect. "

The warrior stared at you in silence, as curiously and intensely as you were doing with him.

" May I know my savior's name? I shall honor it in the highest esteem."

He couldn't help smiling for you. Even if it was brief, that reaction was the hardest to achieve from him in that sort of context.

" Achilles, son of Peleus." Was his sweetly delivered introduction. " I'm at your service, princess. It was given to me the task of bringing you back home. "

Not self satisfied with the conflict's resolution, Achilles demanded a real retribution to be given to you before acceding to retree the troops. Formally accepting you as an abduction victim, the main protection mechanism for your honor, the city had to pay with gold to your father. Once all the arrangements were done, you finally abandoned Athens as a passenger on the myrmidon's chariot feeling safe and comfortable alongside him on the triumphant exit.

Mutual curiosity developed immediately. You were guilty of demanding more resting stops than what was needed on the journey just because you wanted to get to know the mysterious man in a non controlled environment. On his part, he could have been blamed for indulging your requests a bit too often for the same reason. The unusual kindness perceived on his first impression of you amazed him for real and he couldn't stop himself from wanting to know you better. Achilles would show you his softer side with particular dedication given the horror you have faced before and in return you were giving him your trust.

In the scarce time the travel provided he accomplished what the troubled king lost his life trying. You were spending most of your time with him willingly and happily, refusing to leave his side because of how well he made you feel. The otherwise rather silent traveler would talk for hours with you about anything you wanted. Among other things, you listened to some stories about his past adventures feeling in absolute awe. You even clapped your hands at the end of one, gesture so cute and pure that he began to understand why the ruler of a great city died willingly for you.

" The humble feat of my rescue sounds boring in comparison. " You commented regarding what you heard. " Sorry for that, although I must admit I am relieved to know my father hired you and you are not part of some aid sent by Agamemnon of Mycenae. "

The mention of his most hated superior in the chain of command brought to his mind the odd words of his brother.

" Has he bothered you before?"

" His generosity always comes with a price. In this case, it could have been me. " You replied, not an affirmation or denial. " Do you know why he wasn't a suitor of Helen? His brother wanted her first and he would never risk upsetting him. Horror tales are being told across the continent about the hate that grew between his father and uncle over his mother. The atrocities committed must haunt him. "

The mere thought of that despicable old pig trying to get on the top of your suitors list was repulsive to him.

" Your father is a smart man. " He comforted you. " Nobody sensed the wit past his pain, he rejected all involvement from other kings and sent a man who will never have any ríght to you. I can't ask to get you as payment when we will return to your kingdom, so you are safe with me. Don't expect second intentions. "

" You have been shamelessly honest and for that I thank you." You answered, holding chuckles. " I can tell it's real, men who act nice for me as a performance think I don't notice... but I do. "

"... And to think Oddyseus truly thought it was going to end once Helen would be married. It never ends, they just move on to bother someone else. "

" Greece needs undying legends and she is the biggest in our times, at least after you. " You followed with some intentional praise. " A moving myth built on desire is a problem in so many perspectives. The flame inside those men wasn't ready to be extinguished with her marriage. She can no longer be openly wanted without it constituting an offense to a very powerful king, but Corinth is not that far from Sparta and I am not married yet. Someone has to fill that gap, they want me to be her because they need her but they fail to see i will never be Helen. "

" Being yourself was enough for the fool who thought kidnapping you was a good idea. "

His casual comment made you chuckle and he internally cursed himself for enjoying it.

" My father is not like Tyndareus, that's something he figured out quickly. As you know, the most common way to obtain a younger bride is to bribe the father by either buying his consent or threatening him. My captor knew that was impossible and that was why he stole me. The mycenaean king feels confident thinking that when the time comes my father will sell me to keep his scepter because that is what he would do in that position. He underestimate us, my father is not a coward and neither I am"

Achilles felt slightly prideful of your statement and that made him smile.

" Glad to know I am not merely delivering you to someone worse."

" I would never allow it, that's what I mean with men not realizing I will never be Helen. There is no man, mortal or divine, that would ever force me to endure a marriage like hers. I would rather die at the flower of youth than living a bitter life submitted to a despicable man I will never love. "

The passion in your voice awakened something in him and his usual defense mechanism for that sort of feeling didn't help at all.

" What does a man have to do in order to get your attention and not die trying?" He asked, a cheeky taunt to the whole situation. " Many young heroes, friends of mine that hold more political power than me, would love to know the secret."

" Good conversation is an excellent start, especially if he manages to make me laugh. " Was your quick comeback. " Saving me from a fate I despise above anything also helps. "

The indirect was too obvious, typical behavior of a young girl who never had much chance of speaking to a man she truly likes.

" Be careful, princess. I have been warned about this. You shouldn't be playing with fire..."

" ... Says the man that could have burned the athenian palace by himself just to find me. " You teased back in a lovely tone. " You are an extraordinary man, the warriors of my father would have never gone that far. Your serenity outside of the battlefield is pleasant but intriguing and there is a soft light in your precious eyes that makes me never want to stop looking at you. "

His glance followed you for an instant and you smirked, a gesture that came up more sweet than provocative because you delivered it with tenderness.

" You are so beautiful, it is hard to directly look at you. " He complimented you through a confession. " I never had this problem with Helen, no matter how irresistible people say she is "

The myrmidon did a pause and deviated his stare to concentrate in some random point of the horizon with a very contemplative expression, as if he needed to stop looking you to keep talking.

" It's not only in your pretty smile, or your soft skin smelling like arabian esences that match perfectly with the sweet notes the breeze gets from your hair when it caresses it. Your courage is beautiful, your passion wasn't written on any warning I received and that must be because no other man has sensed it. I don't know you enough yet I am proud for what you have accomplished. Not only you kept yourself safe until my arrival, you forgave the man who caused you harm at his time of dying just because his people told you a sad story about how he used to be good to them. I would have never done that, kindness as yours would be out of the question if the choice would be given to me. I try to understand you and fail, but there is beauty on that. You are precious: not as a jewel up to be seen, but like a comeback embrace after a long war. "

Acting on your feelings, you approached him for a surprising hug that he had no clue on how to interpret. Gratitude motivated comfort, perhaps, because it was too early to think of something else.

Achilles was aware of the effect he had on women and the possibilities of it reaching you. The conversation was crossing dangerous territory because he liked you, but he wasn't expecting you would openly reciprocate so early.

" Are you comfortable like this? Being so close to me? Doesn't it scare you that I could want to break my pact with your father to take you with me? That's what everyone thinks I am going to do. " The warrior joked as an indirect way to express a real doubt. " They fear that if we get too friendly I will not want to let you go. "

It didn't bother you in the slightest. On the contrary, you intensified the closeness and laid your head against his chest.

" I feel completely safe when I am with you. '' You replied almost immediately. ``Maybe I am the one who doesn't want to leave your side."

Near the time of your arrival you were head over hills for him and he was smitten by you. Firm believer in your freedom to love, a belief that intensified after someone tried to take it away from you, you remained careless for some obvious opinions of the men around you. None of them had the courage to openly call out Achilles, but you could tell some noticed your peculiar favoritism for him. Some of them weren't even surprised, as if you would be following together a path to the most predictable outcome.

Perhaps you were, but you didn't care because you were falling in love with a handsome hero who effortlessly stole your heart. It wasn't meant to happen, he wasn't planning to win you over. He wasn't there for the rumors, wanting you from before even meeting you like all the others, but only doing his work and you were the one desperate for his attention.

On his part, Achilles had a personal battle with his impulsiveness. From time to time during the journey he would remember only of Diomedes's advice because it was the only sincere one and it pointed in the ríght direction. To a man so used to follow his heart's desires in any ocassion, hot headed and stubborn as he was, falling for you was torture. Aware of your own infatuation, if you would have been any other woman he wouldn't have tried to resist his crave for you. Biting his lip before daring to kiss you or being careful with his touch to avoid getting intimate were acts he wasn't used to performing, especially in a situation where the romantical tension was clearly mutual. You weren't shying away and that made things harder. Knowing you reciprocated him was the greatest obstacle for his titanic efforts to handle you back at Corinth as untouched as he found you.

The King, your father, selected him as your rescuer precisely because you were strictly forbidden to him. He counted with his awareness on how impossible it was for him to be with you, but the comments that consistently reached his ears made that faith fade. He had a test prepared for your glorious return, a simple trial he was planning to make him go through in order to measure the danger he feared to have exposed you to.

After the emotive receivement in which your family encounter developed the palace was preparing for celebrations and the enlisting of payment for the leading hero. Your mother, happy as she was to have you back, begged to your father that anything Achilles would want would be conceded to him and he seemed to agree on that. However, he also had the small treasure destined to him ready. Gold, bronze and weapons were the first half of it, but he claimed he wanted to give him a gift that would feel more personal. Since giving him a horse would be pointless, because Achilles had the fastest in Greece, the corinthian king offered a woman.

The most beautifull concubine slaves were presented in front of all of you so the myrmidon would pick his prize. Powerlessness and jealousy ruined your prior happiness for being back home, since there was nothing you could do against it. The payment was normal and perfectly valid, a common gift for men that want to seal friendship. Achilles realized it was a trap crafted by your father and he sensed some will of emulating the famous trick Odysseus pulled on him when he was a kid.

If he would choose a woman, he would break your heart. If he wouldn't, he would be exposed.

" I fought to free a woman, accepting to be paid with another one can be insulting to the suffering of your daughter. " He pointed out after barely looking at the line of girls, an observation he judged neutral enough to not sound incriminating. " Gold and weapons will be enough this time."

You dissimulated a smile to avoid looking hopeful, but both of your parents knew you too well and the tension was escalating.

" This is the least I can do for you. Take the one you find the prettiest to your home." Your father insisted. " I can't offer you a wife because the unwed daughters of my friends are beyond your possibilities, but nothing impeeds you from taking a slave girl to be the company keeping your bed warm. "

Your blood boiled to the implications of that comment. He spoke as if, because Achilles was a mercenary, that was all he could aspire to have. You loved your father but despised his attitude and were trying so hard not to confront him. He had no idea of who that man was for real or how insulting his words were. That foreigner he judged fitting only to mantain sexual unions with prisoners of war was the only man you have ever wanted to be with.

" When I want company I seek it myself. " Achilles defended himself, way more careless than you were for the insults. " That isn't a problem that needs to be fixed. "

" Don't take me for a fool, Achilles. You know that isn't of my concern. " The king prepared his last strike, revealing his true intentions. " It is my honest opinion that the sight of my daughter has numbed your perception and you can no longer find any other girl desirable. Your wish will never be indulged: even though I am grateful for your services, that is not something I can allow. "

To his signal the women were retired and the room was filled with men of his personal guard on prior orders of restraining the warrior. Achilles picked up his sword, but didn't throw himself immediately on a rageful combat to end with all of them as it would have been expected on other occasions.

Instead, he looked at his main opponent at the eye with a deathly serious expression.

" Your daughter is not my mere desire... I am in love with her. If you want to kill me for it, do it, but get at least the decency of fighting your own battle."

Light peeked through the sorrow saddening your face. It would have been easy for Achilles to fight his way out of there and never come back, but he loved you and he dared to confess it in front of all those people that clearly wanted him dead for it.

Careless for anything but his safety and eager to show him your love, you stepped in front to shield him with your own body before any of the soldiers could start the battle.

" If you want to kill him you will have to kill me and all the blood splattered on my name would be in vain. How are you going to explain that to the families of the soldiers that lost their lives trying to save me ?" You called your father out from your secure position. " I will not allow this, father. If there is something the nightmare i endured showed me is that I never want to have my own will to choose be putted in question."

Abandoning the reprobatory speech for an instant, you deviated your attention back to your beloved myrmidon.

" Achilles, my heart has chosen you and that is the gift I want to give you. It's mine to give to whoever i want and it will be yours if you want it."

The sweet confession amused him.

" Princess, I am ready to die for you ríght here and now... How dare you doubt that I want it?"

#troy 2004 #achilles #brad pitt #achilles x reader #brad pitt x reader #troy fanfiction #troy

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nikoisme · 4 months

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Do YOU have any headcanons about the Ithacan royal family that you'd be willing to share? >:D

SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG!! I was super busy and it took me a while to type everything out (as you'll see)

Here we go!

-Odysseus was a little shit as a kid. Causing trouble and headaches.

-He inherited most of his mischevious nature from his mom :D But she did NOT encourage it too much.

-But Autolycus did. His relationship with little Odysseus was the "do you see this shit odysseus??"

-Eurycleia is the one who kept him in check.

-"Odysseus DON'T do that." "gET BACK HERE YOU JUST BATHED-"

-He DID eventually calm down as he got older. But he is still a shit at heart.

-Also he absolutely BRAGGED about his big ass scar he got from a boar.

-But it causes him problems for the rest of his life. Lots of pain.

-He started with running to exercise and strengthen that leg (all that running came in handy when he had to win the hand of a certain Spartan princess)

-Ctimene is almost as mischevious as him, she's just more discreet about it.

But she's definitely more collected than him.

-Ctimene and Odysseus got along pretty well as kids. Bantering good-naturedly and often driving their parents insane.

-Laertes is so easily frightened and often gets light-headed when he gets startled.

This backfired really badly for mischief-loving-Odysseus several times.

-Laertes taught Odysseus everything about plants and stuff, and it always kind of stuck with Odysseus

-Odysseus is short. Ctimene? Even shorter.

Anticleia is the tallest of the four. No one inherited her height.

-Odysseus loved swimming as a kid! He longed for the feeling he had when he was swimming as a kid, but after he got home he developed a crippling fear of the ocean.

-Penelope and Odysseus didn't really fall in love at first. It was more vibing because they found someone on the same level. It's only later that they kind of thought "ah shit i think there's something else"

That feeling actually came to be when Penelope chose to go with Odysseus over staying in Sparta with her father. That's when Penelope realized that she actually loves him, and Odysseus too was like "ah shit."

-ANTICLEIA AND PENELOPE GOT ALONG WELL. Anticleia, who was also really clever, enjoyed Penelope's quiet intelligence and understood exactly why Odysseus loved her.

-I like to imagine that Ctimene married after Odysseus and Penelope got married, so she had the opportunity to meet Penelope

-Penelope loved Ctimene like a sister! It was almost like she was with Iphthime, and Ctimene definitely liked Penelope a lot as well

-Penelope is left-handed.

-Given that Penelope's mother is a naiad, she really likes water and often went swimming in the sea.

-While she can't breathe underwater, she can hold her breath for quite a while

-Odysseus sometimes accompanied her on her swims! Which is where she showed him how long she could stay underwater. The guy almost had a heart attack after not seeing her resurface for a while

-Odysseus got Argos some time before Telemachus was born.

-Odysseus was just walking around minding his business when a little puppy came up to him. He tried to shoo him away but the little thing was persistent. Odysseus thought of just ignoring him, but relented when the dog kept following him with no signs of stopping. He kind of admired the pup's determination and endurance, so he thought he'd make a fine hunting dog.

-Basically Odysseus and Argos are like the "Odysseus doesn't want a dog. Ends up with a dog anyway. Odysseus and the dog:" meme. You know it.

-Odysseus was always calm and calculating in any situation, but god fuck he was losing it while Penelope was giving birth. Just sitting in the courtyard and slowly losing his patience.

-He always wanted a son.

-He cried when Telemachus was born. That's a fact.

-Penelope got very sick after Telemachus was born and it took her a while to recover. Sickfic potential!

-Odysseus proudly presented his son to the owl that seemed to follow him everywhere. hmm.

-Said owl often sat on Telemachus crib and watched him closely

-Odysseus carved little toys for Telemachus, even before he was born

-Telemachus was a sickly kid

-And he gave Penelope too much worry after Odysseus left

-He was either sick or being a little mischevious playful toddler

-Someone constantly needed to watch Telemachus because he had a habit of slipping away quietly

-One time he left the palace as a kid without telling anybody and returned only when the sun started setting. He was somewhere doing kid shit.

-Penelope absolutely lost her mind in worry. Where is her son? What could have happened to him? Is he alright? What will her husband think if she loses their kid like this? She worried a lot about what Odysseus will think of Ithaca, her and Telemachus after he returns from the war. Does he still care? (little does she know Odysseus calls himself "Telemachus' loving father")

-She cried when Telemachus came back like nothing happened. His mother was sobbing and kissing him and holding him so tightly and he was like ":DD??? wha??"

-This was why Penelope was so worried when she couldn't find Telemachus that one time, and Eurycleia told her he left to find news of his father

-There were times where Penelope was.. not doing well. It often happened when there were no news from Troy. She'd hide away in her chambers and wouldn't see anyone. Only Telemachus, but even that was sometimes. But after the war ended and there were either absurd stories of Odysseus' travels or no news at all - she wouldn't see anyone.

-So Telemachus spent quite some time at Laertes'. But even Laertes was shrouded in grief, which was no comfort for the rather lonely Telemachus.

-Telemachus was constantly surrounded by sorrow and grief. This will come to shape him a lot.

-Telemachus has back problems. He slouches a lot.

-He is also really good with animals! Dogs especially love him!

-He grew up with Argos as a very young kid, but as he got older and suitors started arriving - Argos got neglected and Telemachus had no memories of him anymore since he was so young.

Part 2!

#asks #weeee thoughts go brrrrr

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jeannereames · 2 months

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Hii😄, could you talk about Alexander and hefestion's skills? Whether militarily or diplomatically, I heard that Hephaestion was better at politics, diplomacy and logistics, and that in some ways his and Alexander's skills complemented each other.

I'm always a tad amused when my own research is quoted back to me as a bit of general knowledge. 😂 That's not at all a slam, btw! I'm quite pleased it's escaped out of academia to become part-and-parcel of what people know about Hephaistion. Means I made an impact on rehabbing his career.

But yes, those things are true. I wrote about them first back in 1998, in my dissertation, then published it as part of an academic book chapter in 2010, titled "The Cult of Hephaistion" in Responses to Oliver Stone's Alexander: Film, History, and Cultural Studies, P. Cartledge and F. Greenland, eds. Complete with tables! Follow the link to read it.

I am now, some years later, returning to Hephaistion's career with the current monograph I'm working on. I've altered my opinion about some things (primarily details), and modified my take, but it remains largely the same. I've even convinced a number of my colleagues, so Hephaistion as logistics officer now appears in most summaries about him. Now, if I can just convince them he wasn't either incompetent or the quarrelsome bastard he's often made out to be.

He did have diplomatic assignments too, although he's hardly the only one. Erigyios, Perdikkas, Ptolemy...they were also used for diplomatic purposes. Plutarch (in a long contrast with Krateros) says ATG employed Hephaistion for business with the "barbarians" and Krateros for business with Greeks and Macedonians, because Hephaistion agreed with ATG's "Persianizing" whereas Krateros kept his traditional ways. From Plutarch, that's not necessarily a compliment for Hephaistion. It's also not stated so anywhere else beyond Plutarch. I have some theories I'll be discussing in the book.

IF we can take the disproportionate assignment of logistical/diplomatic assignments as any indicator, it would seem that Hephaistion was more skilled in that realm than in combat command. That isn't to say he was no good at combat command, mind (I've had some read it so, as if "not as good" = "bad" because middle ground apparently isn't permitted).

It also doesn't mean he wasn't a decent fighter. He probably was, as he seems to have been assigned to lead the agema (Royal) unit of the Hypaspists, e.g., the king's personal guard in battle. According to earlier accounts of the origin of this unit, Philip created them to cut across regional divisions, picking the largest men and best fighters. The agema was, if Waldemar Heckel is correct, drawn specifically from the sons of Companions (Hetairoi). That would back up Curtius' description of him as "larger in physique" than Alexander. (That's what the Latin actually says, not simply "taller.") But keep in mind, the best fighters are only occasionally equally good at command. Those are two different skills.

Finally, his choice as Chiliarch may also underscore some of what we've already seen in his assignments. But it's this appointment that leads some scholars to conclude that he rose due to Alexander's favoritism, not actual ability on his part. That, however, seems to me to stem from several (erroneous) assumptions.

IME, competent people surround themselves with other competent people, at least for any length of time. Flatters may be tolerated, but they're not continually advanced. It's dictators who surround themselves with yes-people (and not all of them; they also need competent individuals). Alexander may have been called a "tyrant" by the Greeks, but he wasn't. He was a king. The Greeks/Athenians/Spartans/Others were playing politics. Macedonian kings had to court their courtiers. If Alexander had been manifestly unfair in his appointments, his men would have rebelled against those officers. They rebelled...but not for that reason. They wanted to go home.

For those who regard Alexander (and Philip) as tyrannical, and/or the enemy of (Greek) freedom, and/or megalomaniacs, and lucky rather than competent, then sure. It would follow that ATG would surround himself with asslickers. But if one thinks he was actually good at what he did (which is a different thing from approving of conquest, mind), and a halfway decent politician--then no, it doesn't follow that his top officers were yes-men. Curtius bluntly tells us that Hephaistion was freer than anyone to "upbraid" the king. Doesn't sound like a yes-man to me.

I think Hephaistion was appointed as Chiliarch for two reasons: Alexander trusted him AND he could do the job. Too bad he didn't live long enough for us to see what he might have done with it.

#asks #Hephaistion #Hephaestion #Alexander the Great #Hephaistion's military assignments #Hephaistion's status in the army #chiliarch #Classics #ancient Macedonia #ancient Greece #Plutarch's hit job on Hephaistion

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stories-from-the-shaded-moon · 3 months

Text

THIS IS SPARTA

Mr. Lon cleared his throat. “Is everyone done with their test?” He heard a chorus of answers, all of which were akin to yes.

“Well, I don’t have anything else for you to do. So, you have…” he looked at the ticking clock, “thirty minutes of free time.” He heard sighs of relief and smiled.

“Truely, a test on Greece couldn’t be that hard,” he laughed. “It was mostly wars, Persian and Pelopponesian, you lot like wars, don’t you?”

Then he saw a hand raised. It was Sky, one of his best students. “Yes Sky?”

“Well,” he laughed a little, “like, Sparta right?”

A wider smile rose on Mr. Lon’s face. This is why he loved his job. The thing about history is that there are so many interesting things about it. The thing about being a history teacher is that you can rant about it, and outside sources think that you’re teaching.

“What about Sparta?” Time felt the little guy inside of him start to jump.

“Are there more things about it?”

“Well, I’ve told you a lot. However, If you’d like to hear me…rant…about Sparta, I am more than happy to!” Time internally begged them to let him.

Then another hand raised. “Yes Twilight?”

“You said that their last training thingy before they became military was…killing a slave?”

“They called their slaves Helots, and yes. The last or near last thing they had to do to be considered a man, was to kill a slave. They also couldn’t be found out, or they’d get into reasonable trouble.”

“That’s…”

“Today, if there was a city or state who did that, someone would eventually burn it down for crimes against humanity…Well,” Time tapped his chin, his hand on his hip. “maybe it’d actually be about them killing disabled babies.”

Another one of his students caught their laugh in their hand, his royal blue beanie coming off of his head. “That’s going in the quotebook.”

Sky’s head was on his desk, his shoulders shaking. “Agreed.”

“Live abortion…” Twilight lightly chuckled. “That’s not funny guys.”

“Well, on a sadder note. The only graves that got marked, or had names on it, were those of soldiers who died for Sparta in battle, and women who died during childbirth,” Time thought about this ‘quotebook’ silently.

“On one note, Sparta is pretty barbaric, but Athens was honestly worse. Well, in my opinion.” Mr. Lon began walking in circles. “Yes, Sparta threw babies and killed them or killed slaves as a test, but women were actually appreciated and somewhat equal with the men. They were educated and learned how to fight. In the event that someone came to Sparta to invade and the men weren’t present, it was up to the women to fight. They had to know how to fight to protect Sparta.”

“That’s another thing, everyone in Sparta was under Sparta. The rich in Sparta were still under Sparta and fought to protect Sparta. That connection is probably why I don’t consider Sparta barbaric.”

Mr. Lon laughed. “Athens, on the other hand, was a hot mess. The poor were, in many cases, three years behind the rich. The Romans followed a good deal after Athens, which is probably why Rome fell the way it did.” He stopped at the boys’ table. “I feel like Rome took the bad aspects of Sparta and the average bits of Athens…”

“Isn’t it crazy that they called the ones who respected women, the savages?” A girl asked from some tables away.

“Well, Dawn, I find that ironic. But there are some barbaric aspects to the Spartans, no matter how beautiful I paint them.”

“But they basically saved Athens during the Persian war. They’d be dust without Sparta.” Dawn’s eyes looked bored, but Time could tell that she was challenging him again. She did this thing where she’d bring up a topic, and they’d debate about it for some time. Well, she was the captain of the debate team, he was the teacher responsible for the debate team. It’s only natural that she’d want to win. Well, she’s won one debate against him. Though, how was he supposed to know the message of My Little Pony other than Friendship is Magic?

But then again, how was she supposed to know that Alexander the Great and Hephaestion or Achilles and Patroclus were definitely not straight for each other?

“Ah, but Sparta would be dust without Athens in that sense. Yes, the Battle of Thermopylae was a Sparta stand for Athens. And, yes, without King Leonidas holding out for…three days, the Athenians wouldn’t have had time to evacuate to Salamis for the final fight, but if you really think about it, the Persian wars wouldn’t have been won by Greece without Sparta and-“

“The Persian Wars wouldn’t have happened if Athens didn’t send their ships.” Dawn cut him off. Time chuckled.

“Good point, however-“

“And after the wars, Athens decided that they wanted to fill themselves with hubris, which is why Sparta attacked them, which is why the Peloponnesian War happened, which allowed Alexander the Great to conquer Greece.” Dawn’s face grew a smirk, the same one she’d pull when she knew she’d won.

And, suddenly, Time found himself losing a debate about history in his own history class.

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ap-kinda-lit · 4 months

Text

Saiyan Squad AU (part 1) ⭐️

The Saiyan homeworld is Sadala (because Planet Vegeta is ridiculous), but its capital city is Vegeta, where, of course, the royal family resides. Sadala itself is a conglomerate of Australia, Asia, and Africa and the Saiyans are a mishmash akin to the Spartans, Celts, Aztecs, and Mongols. Sadala is pretty much like a space version of Australia: it’s a chaotic death trap from its climate and wildlife to its inhabitants. The Saiyans are made up of clans and have a feudal system, but they all serve the one ruling monarch.

Saiyans act as mercenaries and hunters. Like Predator, they are best known for traveling galaxies to find worthy opponents to fight. They’re feared and reviled as a race of barbaric savages.

They also look more animalistic: they have pointed ears, sharper teeth, claws, and some fur on their bodies.

Saiyans have had a feud with the Cold Empire for a very long time. At one point, they were allied together but the Cold Empire looked down at the Saiyans and began to subjugate them, so the Saiyans started resisting which led to all out war. When Frieza came to power, he amped up the war. He killed King Vegeta III but spared his young son, Vegeta III, to make the boy his puppet king/child hostage.

The city of Vegeta’s center is where the royalty live, while its outskirts is made up of the slums the third class inhabit. This is where Raditz and Kakarot are born and live with their parents Gine and Bardock. Gine serves as a cook to the troops and the residents while Bardock is a captain of his own troop. Gine and Bardock both teach the boys about hunting but Bardock is mostly in charge of their combat training. The boys start their formal training at five-years-old and are put in the same unit as young king Vegeta.

Raditz is the atypical rough and crass Saiyan boy, but Kakarot is another story. He inherited Gine’s kind heart and good nature, making him seem as weak by most Saiyans. He’s unfortunately treated as an outcast and subjected to bullying from his peers. However, he’s passionate and hard-working and wants to become a great and strong warrior, like his big brother and dad, so he’s committed to training hard. It pays off and he makes enough progress so that when his father Bardock talks with the higher-ups he’s able to convince them to put Kakarot on the same unit as Raditz and Vegeta under Nappa, Vegeta’s guardian.

The Saiyan-Frieza feud reaches its turn years later, when Vegeta approaches age fifteen. By then, he’s old enough by law to rule on his own and he’s determined to break free from Frieza’s grasp. As Vegeta begins to secure his independence and throne and wiggle free, Frieza has become fed up with the Saiyans and sees them as a genuine threat. The final nail in the coffin is when he and his men consult the Kanassans on the future of Frieza’s reign. A Kanassan oracle foretells that Frieza will meet his end at the hands of a golden warrior, presumed to be the legendary Super Saiyan. Frieza straight away comes up with a diabolical plan.

To everyone’s surprise, Frieza not only agrees to Vegeta ruling independently, he also agrees to signing a truce with the Saiyans and ending the bad blood for good. In celebration, a formal coronation is held for Vegeta along with ecstatic festivities all over Sadala. Every Saiyan is recalled back to homeworld for the momentous occasion. However, Bardock and his troop stumble upon Frieza’s real plan: to get all the Saiyans together in one place, make them vulnerable, and destroy them all along with their planet altogether. Bardock’s team is attacked and killed to quiet them but Bardock survives and despite being wounded he races to tell everyone and save his family.

Bardock barely makes it back in time. Just as he’s warning the others, Frieza’s soldiers attack and Frieza himself forms a Death Ball to strike at Sadala. Saiyans desperately try to fight back and escape, but many are killed by Frieza soldiers and many more as the Death Ball collides and the planet begins to destruct. Bardock fights on while trying desperately to find his family.

During Sadala’s destruction, Gine and teenaged Raditz and ten-year-old Kakarot manage to find a pod, but it can only fit two of them. Gine makes the boys get in and go without her, assuring it will all be fine (she knows she’s probably not going to make it, but at least her children will be safe). Sadala finally explodes into oblivion just as Raditz & Kakarot make it to safety. Bardock barely makes it out in time. Gine doesn’t make it.

The Saiyans are thusly reduced to the brink of extinction as only a few thousand remain. Surviving Saiyans flee to a desolated planet to recover. This includes Vegeta, Nappa, Raditz, Kakarot, and Bardock (who barely made it out in time). Because of his wounds, Bardock is put in a comatose state in a healing tank for a few days.

In spite of the loss of Sadala and the majority of the Saiyans, Vegeta swears revenge on Frieza. All remaining Saiyans are ordered to group up and spread out across the galaxies. The war against the Frieza Empire is to continue by any means necessary. Saiyans resort to whipping up secret settlements on planets and fighting back via piracy and guerrilla warfare. The endgame is to tear down Frieza’s empire brick by brick and, ultimately, kill Frieza himself.

Vegeta calls on Raditz and Kakarot to join him and Nappa on his quest to hunt and kill Frieza. Vegeta initially doesn’t want to include Kakarot, whom he deems a liability, but acquiesces.

Frieza puts out a bounty on each and every remaining Saiyan, most of all on the “so-called King of Saiyans” Vegeta.

And so, the Vegeta Force moves out. But they become known as the “Saiyan Squad”. Vegeta and Raditz don’t like it, but Kakarot thinks it’s a cool name.

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