"And faintly, ever so faintly, on the inside cover, the remnants of a custom bookplate read what I think was, 'From the library of Jurgen Leitner.'"
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FINALLY finished the art I've been working on for my TMA fanfic, which should be posted tomorrow at the latest! It's been super fun, and I'm greatly enjoying myself. Below are attached some different versions of this drawing, as well as the original plain monochrome version <3
fic here
(plain background)
(flat color, plain shading)
(monochrome)
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Thais, Anatole France, ilustración de Frank C. Papé.
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Repostober Day 3!
City of sin
it's a pity on a whim
God I can't believe this piece is from 9 years ago, but I still like it!
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Hi! I was wondering what all we know for certain about Thais? She must have been extraordinarily witty and charming to have remained in a relationship with Ptolemy for so long, and I love that she accompanied them on Alexander's campaigns. The fact that someone like her was explicitly mentioned in history (rather than being generalized) is lovely, even if it's generally with regards to the probably untrue story of her encouraging Alexander to burn down Persepolis.
Do historians know anything about her early life as a hetaera and the approximate time she entered the scene with Ptolemy/Alexander and was she actually Alexander's mistress? And is there anything we know for sure with regards to her later life and relationship with Ptolemy after he started ruling Egypt - I know they had three kids who seemed to have been accepted by their father and probably gave her an additional level of security, but was she ever Ptolemy's legal wife and queen, or was it more of a quasi-legal relationship? And do you think it might have been impacted by his later (as far as I know, political) marriages, or would it have remained unaffected by them?
... these are lots of questions in one ask, sorry 🙈 I just wish we knew more details about her life
As an hetaira (highbrow prostitute), and later mistress (palakē) of Ptolemy, it would have been impossible/unwise for Ptolemy to legally marry Thaïs. That doesn’t mean he couldn’t protect her (and their children). Some accounts suggest they were married, but this is probably a later misunderstanding. Her children, despite being older, were never in the running to inherit the kingdom of Egypt, which suggests they weren’t recognized as legitimate. A palakē held a recognized, if liminal status in Greece (and Ptolemy was Greco-Macedonian). Not a wife, but also not/no longer a prostitute. Hetairai seem to have crossed back-and-forth between the two categories. Having a long-term patron elevated one’s status, but if he died, one might return to (or take up) life as an hetaira.
p I’ve heard scuttlebutt that they plan an historical study of Thaïs too, but that IS scuttlebutt. (The author of the Phryne book hasn’t heard about any others.) That said, keep your eye peeled. Something may emerge.
Incidentally, I know Jo Graham is working on a novel set in the early Hellenistic period, which will feature Thaïs, along with Ptolemy’s wives Eurydikē (daughter of Antipatros, and mother of the infamous Ptolemy Keraunos and his brother Meleagros) and Berenikē (mother of Ptolemy’s successor Ptolemy II).
On the matter of Thaïs as a mistress of Alexander, it seems unlikely to me, based largely on conjecture from the ancient evidence.
On Thaïs and the infamous burning of Persepolis, her role in the legend is symbolic. Persia dared to burn the Athenian acropolis and temples. How fitting, then, for a woman—and not even a respectable one—to lead the burning of Persia’s most sacred city? To the Greeks, that’s the ultimate insult. Persepolis was certainly burned, and by Alexander, but archaeology suggests it was deliberate, with specific buildings destroyed while others were left standing. Definitely not a result of the ancient equivalent of a frat party gone wrong.
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Ockiss day 2! Now with Thais and Rhys in this royal!au!!
Thais never expected to ending up working as a servant in the palace where Rhys resides as king. At the start Thais wasn’t too happy with that living situation since he was a traveling scholar, eventually everything gets cleared up and regains his freedom, but with the whole chaos at the kingdom’s borders, Thais decided to keep living in the palace. Forming new friendships and falling in love with the king who also loved him since the beginning.
Rhys belongs tp @b-thical
Thais belongs to Me
@ockissweek
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all the mikko in hell character sheets i made a while ago
p2 (p1)
(most of these ones were previously unposted)
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Does anyone know that French term that means or has to do with the “beauty of a voice that has passed its prime”? I know a critic used it to talk about Anna Moffo’s recording of Thaïs by Massenet and other recordings by other sopranos, but I cannot remember for my life what is the name of this expression.
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