#Damon And Pythias

[mattnben-bennmatt]

Damon and AffleckPythias

LIPTON: In mythology, the archetypes of male bonding are, of course, Damon and Pythias. That leads us, inevitably, to Damon and Affleck. BEN: Now I get it! Some reviewer said something about Damon and Pythias about Matt and I, and I was like, "Who is Pythias?"

— From Inside the Actors Studio, hosted by James Lipton (14 January 2001)

[NOTE: My gratitude goes to mattfleck.memes on TikTok for pointing me in the direction of this interview.]

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"Damon and Pythias". Illustration from H.A.Guerber's The Story of Greeks (1896)

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As told by Aristoxenus, and after him Cicero (De Offic. 3.45), Diodorus Siculus (10.4), and others, Pythias and his friend Damon, both followers of the philosopher Pythagoras, traveled to Syracuse during the reign of the tyrant Dionysius I (r. 405–367 BC). Pythias was accused of plotting against the tyrant and sentenced to death. Accepting his sentence, Pythias asked to be allowed to return home one last time to settle his affairs and bid his family farewell. Not wanting to be taken for a fool, the king refused, believing that, once released, Pythias would flee and never return. Damon offered himself as a hostage in Pythias' absence, and when the king insisted that, should Pythias not return by an appointed time, Damon would be executed in his stead, Damon agreed and Pythias was released. Dionysius was convinced that Pythias would never return, and as the day Pythias promised to return came and went, he called for Damon's execution—but just as the executioner was about to kill Damon, Pythias returned. Apologizing to his friend for the delay, Pythias explained that on the passage back to Syracuse, pirates had captured his ship and thrown him overboard, but that he swam to shore and made his way back to Syracuse as quickly as possible, arriving just in time to save his friend. So astonished by and pleased with their friendship, Dionysius pardoned both men. It was also said that the tyrant then sought to become their third friend, but was denied.

— From Wikipedia's entry on "Damon and Pythias" (Retrieved 8 July 2024).

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"Damon and Pythias" came to be an idiomatic expression for "true friendship."

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In Shakespeare's Hamlet (1623)

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In Alan Dale's A Marriage Below Zero (1889) p. 30-31.

A Marriage Below Zero is a novel by Alan Dale. Published in 1889, it has been described as the first English-language novel portraying a romantic relationship between two men. It is a melodrama told from the point of view of a young woman who realises her new husband has been in a long-standing affair with another man.

— From Wikipedia's entry on A Marriage Below Zero (Retrieved 8 July 2024).

[movieposters1]

[keepthisholykiss]

read damon and pythias because i have a supremely large brained idea of a staging of it i want to do and here are the highlights of what i lost my mind over

[yeehawpim]

[celttim]

[hurtcomfortguaranteed]

In the film Damon and Pythias, Pythias is captured by the king of Syracuse. Damon offers his life in exchange so that Pythias can live free two more months before execution, and the king accepts to test Pythias' philosophy that all men are brothers. If he does not return, Damon will die in his stead. The king tries to stop Pythias from returning to save his friend, but Pythias fights his way to Damon, and both are rewarded with their freedom!

[mysterysimblr]

“Dad! You made it!” Ann burped.

“Annie…” “Oh, stop it! Weren’t you in the frat? This can’t be your first toga party.”

[pigeonwhumps]

Roll up!

Taglist: @painful-pooch

As a circus sideshow act, Pythias is forced to kill her immortal friend Damon repeatedly.

658 words

CWs: immortal whumpee, multiple whumpees, temporary character death, resurrection, forced to kill, forced to whump, blood, public whump, circus, on display, captivity, past caning, implied past starvation, exhaustion

"See the incredible resurrecting man! Watch as he comes back to life time and time again! Experience the thrill of seeing death, safe in the knowledge that it won't be permanent! Be amazed at the perfect resurrection! No wires, no tricks! Within minutes, the resurrecting man will be back on his feet!"

Pythias takes a breath, gesturing to Damon with a flourish as he steps out from behind the screen in a loose white blouse and trousers, his little stumble going completely unnoticed by the crowd of onlookers. He's exhausted, the dark bags under his eyes hidden by a thick layer of make-up, but he manages a smile that just about covers the dullness of his eyes.

He knows the score. So does she. It was taught to them both at the stroke of a cane. They've got to do this, got to do it well, so convincing in their enthusiastic participation that no-one suspects they're trapped here.

And they have to turn a profit. Or they won't be eating tonight.

Pythias smiles wider. She knows her spiel off by heart now, as she pulls an ornate dagger out from beneath the folds of her blood red dress, twirling it in her hand.

Her elbow-length gloves are a delicate white, but even when they're clean they're covered in his blood.

"Are you ready, folks? Prepare for the show of a lifetime! Gather in and watch closely!"

The crowd shuffles closer, whether through obedience or curiosity she's not sure. The sideshow tent they're in is rather small, and with the onlookers so close... well, the circus director calls it intimate. Pythias prefers claustrophobic.

Pythias lifts the knife, the ornate golden handle glinting in the warm light of the lanterns, and plunges it through the slit in Damon's blouse.

Damon lets out a little gasp as the knife enters, shuddering, before he falls, boneless and empty-eyed, into Pythias's arms.

"Like a reverse damsel in distress, darlin's."

This is the worst part of the act. The lifeless body in her arms, blood spreading, staining the white fabric, covering her gloves where it comes out through the slit in the blouse, red, red blood, matching her dress, contrasting with the white, a contrast the director is so fond of. There's the incessant nagging worry that this time Damon won't return to life, the tense silence that allows the director's voice to worm its way through her brain, leaving nothing to banish it with.

It's only a few minutes but it feels like an eternity every time.

Damon awakes with a groan and a jerk, and the crowd gasps. Someone swoons. Some people step backwards, out of surprise or the fear that his abnormalities are contagious. Pythias wants to scoff. They were fine with his suffering until just now.

She helps Damon to his feet, placing a hand carefully between his wing stubs to support him as he sways very slightly. He grins and waves at the crowd in his blood-soaked blouse, although she can see the discomfort clearly in his face.

This seems to break the onlookers' silence and they break out into cheers and applause.

Pythias smiles. "Thank you, folks. Tell your family and friends about us, come and watch us again, and don't forget to visit the other sideshow acts before you leave!"

The crowd disperses after that, and Damon heads behind the screen to change his blouse, stumbling as he goes. Pythias wipes the knife on a rag until it's gleaming again and peels off the bloodied gloves, surreptitiously handing them both to Damon, to be swapped with clean white gloves that are a lie in their semblance of innocence.

As new people enter the tent, eating candyfloss and toffee apples and chatting happily amongst themselves in a way that makes her hate them just a little bit, she slips into the gloves and prepares to do the whole act all over again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

[penig]

Stop it Xander! That's not your fiancee!

That's better, but he's got to get to class. I will break up and rearrange Xander/Gabriella and Tina/Isaiah if that's what they want to do, and I'm putting them in proximity to give them chances but I'm not doing it for them.

Meanwhile, Anna Graham and Damon Pythias, my husband's sim copy, spontaneously get to crush level, which without ACR doesn't happen that often but is far from unknown.

[lasudio]

StrangeSpot, Round Twenty One: Sorority (Uni)

DJ is close to graduating; Monica’s gone from the dean’s list to academic probation within a semester. Guess she got distracted sleeping with Damon Pythias and enjoying sorority life. Oh well - cannonball!

[chaotic-history]

i am finally writing something 👍

[some-stars]

tonight’s hyperfixation: nat/dan from little men, my very first OTP...i read that book SO many times as a kid. so many times. and then later i got into jo/dan bc mother figures/motherless troubled teen boys is also my jam. anyway i’m obsessing extremely hard and there are only 6 nat/dan fics on ao3 and none of them are long so someone PLEASE come commiserate with me about this. or jo/dan, we can talk about that too. please i am dying

[jamietukpahwriting]

Ch. 14: The love children have for each other can be so pure. Sometimes we'll do anything to protect a friend.

[yeehawpim]

Commissions are still open too, I'm just not making extra comics for a while. Maybe. Unless I get hit with the idea stick and sit up at night with an urge.

[mysterysimblr]

Of course, Damon was crushed. Artie knew better than to repeat his mistake ever again. Falling asleep, he reaffirmed his commitment to something he should have done years ago.