#Pasargada

[ochoislas]

YA ME VOY A PASARGADA

Ya me voy a Pasargada, donde amigo soy del rey, donde la mujer que quiera, tengo en la cama que guste. Ya me voy a Pasargada.

Ya me voy a Pasargada, que aquí yo no soy feliz; la vida allí es aventura de tan poca consecuencia que aquella Juana la Loca —reina y demente fingida— resulta ser la allegada de la nuera que no tuve.

Mira si allí haré gimnasia y pasearé en bicicleta, montaré cimarrón asno y subiré a la cucaña, tomaré baños de mar. Y cuando todo me canse, tirado a orillas del río, mandaré por madredagua para que me cuente cuentos que cuando yo era chiquito solía contarme la Rosa. Ya me voy a Pasargada.

Hay de todo en Pasargada: allí están muy avanzados; tienen un método cierto de impedir la concepción, el teléfono automático, alcaloides a puñados; tienen las putas más lindas a gusto de cada cual.

Y cuando me ponga triste, que más triste ya no quepa, cuando por la noche me entren muchas ganas de matarme —donde amigo soy del rey—, tendré la mujer que quiera en la cama que me guste. Ya me voy a Pasargada.

*

VOU-ME EMBORA PRA PASÁRGADA

Vou-me embora pra Pasárgada Lá sou amigo do rei Lá tenho a mulher que eu quero Na cama que escolherei Vou-me embora pra Pasárgada

Vou-me embora pra Pasárgada Aqui eu não sou feliz Lá a existência é uma aventura De tal modo inconseqüente Que Joana a Louca de Espanha Rainha e falsa demente Vem a ser contraparente Da nora que nunca tive

E como farei ginástica Andarei de bicicleta Montarei em burro brabo Subirei no pau-de-sebo Tomarei banhos de mar! E quando estiver cansado Deito na beira do rio Mando chamar a mãe-d’água Pra me contar as histórias Que no tempo de eu menino Rosa vinha me contar Vou-me embora pra Pasárgada

Em Pasárgada tem tudo É outra civilização Tem um processo seguro De impedir a concepção Tem telefone automático Tem alcalóide à vontade Tem prostitutas bonitas Para a gente namorar

E quando eu estiver mais triste Mas triste de não ter jeito Quando de noite me der Vontade de me matar — Lá sou amigo do rei — Terei a mulher que eu quero Na cama que escolherei Vou-me embora pra Pasárgada.

Manuel Bandeira

di-versión©ochoislas

[algumaideia]

I’m leaving for Pasargada There, I am the king’s friend Have the woman I want In the bed that I choose I’m leaving for Pasargada I am leaving because Here I am not happy Life there is adventure And so very inconsequent, that A queen of Spain, Joan the Mad Becomes my relative, through The daughter in law I never had How I’ll do calisthenics Cycle riding Wild donkey taming Climb greasy poles Do some sea bathing! When feeling tired I’ll lie by the river bank Send for a Siren To retell the old tales Those spun by Rose When I was a child I’m leaving for Pasargada There, you have everything Another civilization With a safe-proof system For the dangers of conception Automatic phone booths Alkaloids for the asking Good looking harlots With whom to romance When, during the night I am feeling sadder Sad without hope Wishing to kill myself — There I am the king’s friend — Have the woman I want In the bed that I choose I’m leaving for Pasargada

...

Translated by A. B. M. Cadaxa

[ashitakaxsan]

A treasure was found,by accident.

TEHRAN –Two climbers have found a rock-carved bas-relief on their way near the UNESCO-registered Pasargadae, southern Iran.

“Two climbers came across this inscription while climbing on their way near Tangeh Bolaghi in the Pasargadae region,” a local official in charge of the protection of cultural heritage said on Wednesday.

They immediately informed officials of the Pasargadae, the World Heritage site, Mehr reported.

“These two mountaineers, who asked not to be named, considered the historical relics to be a part of the past of this region, which belongs to all Iranians, and efforts should be made to preserve and protect them.

Experts say the inscription, which dates from the Sassanid era, is actually a dedicatory letter that informs about the construction of a bridge, dam, and road, and a blessing has been prayed for its builders.

Inscribed on a rack piece measuring 90 by 40 cm, the relief bears three separate texts with the same themes, all in the Pahlavi script.

Tangeh Bolaghi is an archaeologically significant valley, consisting of 130 ancient settlements, dating back to the period between 5,000 BC and the Sassanian dynastic era (224-651 CE). It is situated in the southern province of Fars, some seven kilometers from Pasargadae.

Archaeological research since 2005 has discovered a section of a former royal road connecting Pasargadae to Persepolis, Susa and other regions of the Persian Empire up to Sardis. Excavations have provided archaeologists with a unique insight into the lives of the people living in the Achaemenid dynastic era.

Pasargadae, which began under Cyrus the Great in about 546 BC, maybe more expanded than what is perceived from its ruins. “Archaeological evidence suggests that Pasargadae is beyond what we see. It was a summer residence, a recreational area with many gardens and buildings…,” according to Iranian archaeologist Ali Mousavi.

Situated about 50 km north of Persepolis, Pasargadae was the first dynastic capital of the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BC. Its palaces, gardens, and the mausoleum of Cyrus are outstanding examples of the first phase of royal Achaemenid art and architecture and exceptional testimonies of Persian civilization.

Pasargadae developed into a city of some significance until it was superseded by Darius I’s magnificent palace in Persepolis. The key sights on this isolated plain are the Tomb of Cyrus, Darius' Garden, and Cyrus' private palace. Around 500m north of Cyrus’ private palace is the remains of the Prison of Solomon (Zendan-e Soleiman), variously thought to be a fire temple, tomb, sundial, or store. On the hill beyond is the Tall-e Takht–a monumental 6000-sq-meter citadel used from Cyrus’ time until the late Sassanian period. Local historians believe the references to Solomon date from the Arab conquest when the inhabitants of Pasargadae renamed the sites with Islamic names to prevent their destruction.

The 160-ha archaeological site stands as an exceptional witness to the Achaemenid civilization. The vast Achaemenid Empire, which extended from the eastern Mediterranean and Egypt to the Indus River in India, is considered the first empire to be characterized by respect for the cultural diversity of its people. Experts believe that Pasargadae represents the first phase of this development, specifically Persian architecture, which later found its full expression in the city of Persepolis.

Source:https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/480467/Bas-relief-found-near-Pasargadae-by-accident

[whencyclopedes]

Ciro el Grande

Ciro II (muerto en 530 a.C.) también conocido como Ciro el Grande, fue el cuarto rey de Anshan y el primer rey del Imperio aqueménida. Ciro llevó a cabo varias campañas militares contra los reinos más poderosos de la época, incluidos Media, Lidia y Babilonia. A lo largo de estas campañas, unificó gran parte de Oriente Medio bajo la hegemonía persa mientras mantenía la administración local intacta en general. Al garantizar cierta continuidad y ganarse la lealtad de la élite, asentó los cimientos del Imperio aqueménida.

Sigue leyendo...

[timetolearnoclock]

in this tomb

“In this tomb lay Cyrus, “Who founded the Persian Empire, and was the King of Asia.”

October 1951

Quote taken from original text included with the image in the magazine

[whencyclopedia]

Alexander the Great & the Burning of Persepolis

In the year 330 BCE Alexander the Great (l. 356-323 BCE) conquered the Achaemenid Persian Empire following his victory over the Persian Emperor Darius III (r. 336-330 BCE) at the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BCE. After Darius III's defeat, Alexander marched to the Persian capital city of Persepolis and, after looting its treasures, burned the great palace and surrounding city to the ground, destroying hundreds of years' worth of religious writings and art along with the magnificent palaces and audience halls which had made Persepolis the jewel of the empire.

The City

Persepolis was known to the Persians as Parsa ('The City of the Persians'), and the name 'Persepolis' meant the same in Greek. Construction on the palace and city was initiated between 518-515 BCE by Darius I the Great (r. 522-486 BCE) who made it the capital of the Persian Empire (replacing the old capital, Pasargadae) and began to house there the greatest treasures, literary works, and works of art from across the Achaemenid Empire. The palace was greatly enhanced (as was the rest of the city) by Xerxes I (r. 486-465 BCE, son of Darius, and would be expanded upon by Xerxes I's successors, especially his son Artaxerxes I (r. 465-424 BCE), although later Persian kings would add their own embellishments.

Darius I had purposefully chosen the location of his city in a remote area, far removed from the old capital, probably in an effort to dramatically differentiate his reign from the past monarchs. Persepolis was planned as a grand celebration of Darius I's rule and the buildings and palaces, from Darius' first palace and reception hall to the later, and grander, works of his successors, were architectural masterpieces of opulence designed to inspire awe and wonder.

In the area now known as the Marv Dasht Plain (northwest of modern-day Shiraz, Iran) Darius had a grand platform-terrace constructed which was 1,345,488 square feet (125,000 square meters) big and 66 feet (20 meters) tall and on which he built his council hall, palace, and reception hall, the Apadana, featuring a 200-foot-long (60 meters) hypostyle hall with 72 columns 62 feet (19 meters) high. The columns supported a cedar roof which was further supported by cedar beams. These columns were topped by sculptures of various animals symbolizing the king's authority and power. The Apadana was designed to humble any guest and impress upon visitors the power and majesty of the Persian Empire.

Darius I died before the city was completed and Xerxes I continued his vision, building his own opulent palace on the terrace as well as the Gate of All Nations, flanked by two monumental statues of lamassu (bull-men), which led into his grand reception hall stretching 82 feet (25 meters) long, with four large columns 60 feet high (18.5 meters) supporting a cedar roof with brightly decorated walls and reliefs on the doorways. The city is described by the ancient historian Diodorus Siculus (l. 1st century BCE) as the richest in the world and other historians describe it in the same terms.

Continue reading...

[sibirsibir]

A modern reconstruction of a Saka (Scythian) warrior, featuring a pointed cap inspired by Reliefs from Pasargadae (Persepolis, c. 550 BCE).

[ladyofpasargadae]

OH! Article Recommendation!

It is in the 47th Volume of the journal Antichthon and is called “Clothes and Identity: The Case of the Greeks in Ionia c.400” by Margaret Miller.

For anyone doing any fashion studies about the Achaemenid Empire, I say this is a certain must-read!

It not only talks of a variety of clothing worn, but also about how it could be rather varied for people. You might see someone who might wear their hair in one cultural style, but wear clothing or jewelry of another within the empire.

It also talks about the questions of Persian identity and clothing and what it meant to those who adopted it or received it. And also the nature of Persian culture not necessarily being taken to or adopted wholesale.

persian history mutuals do you have recommendations on where to research achaemenid clothing and/or armor i need it for art reasons thank youuu

[maryflorlovyblog]

Compensation

"I don't know how to love like Jesus loved, But I know how to love him. I don't have the faith of Saint Francis of Assisi, But I have a Franciscan life. I don't know how to write like Quintana, But I can read Quintana. I don't have Romeo's Juliet, But I have a love that is mine. If I can't live in Pasargadae, I live happily in Passo Fundo. If I can't be William Shakespeare, I can be a man of few words. Or not. If I don't have answers, I research. Without beauty, I exude sympathy. Without money, Capriche in the economy. I avoid lenses, For not being photogenic. Having sadness, I fight with joy. And if there are cameras, Laugh. Just laugh. He used to smile."

[Classified among the 250 to be published in the 2013 free poetry competition Moacir LuÌs Araldi]

Peaceful night my dear friends

[chronivore]

A modern reconstruction of a Saka (Scythian) warrior, featuring a pointed cap inspired by Reliefs from Pasargadae (Persepolis, c. 550 BCE).

[algumaideia]

I'm not fond of poems but I think it is very funny how all the 4 poems I like talk about death

[aboutanancientenquiry]

Ancient Greece and Ancient Iran: Cross‐Cultural Encounters 1st INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE (ATHENS, 11‐13 NOVEMBER 2006) Edited by Seyed Mohammad Reza Darbandi and Antigoni Zournatzi National Hellenic Research Foundation Cultural Center of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Athens Hellenic National Commission for UNESCO Athens, December 2008

Description The extraordinary feats of conquest of Cyrus the Great and Alexander the Great have left a lasting imprint in the annals of world history. Successive Persian and Greek rule over vast stretches of territory from the Indus to the eastern Mediterranean also created an international environment in which people, commodities, technological innovations, as well as intellectual, political, and artistic ideas could circulate across the ancient world unhindered by ethno-cultural and territorial barriers, bringing about cross-fertilization between East and West. These broad patterns of cultural phenomena are illustrated in twenty-four contributions to the first international conference on ancient Greek-Iranian interactions, which was organized as a joint Greek and Iranian initiative.

Contents

Preface (Ekaterini Tzitzikosta)

Conference addresses (Dimitrios A. Kyriakidis, Seyed Taha Hashemi Toghraljerdi, Mir Jalaleddin Kazzazi, Vassos Karageorghis, Miltiades Hatzopoulos, Seyed Mohammad Reza Darbandi, Massoud Azarnoush, David Stronach)

Introduction (Seyed Mohammad Reza Darbandi and Antigoni Zournatzi)

Europe and Asia: Aeschylus’ Persians and Homer’s Iliad (Stephen Tracy)

The death of Masistios and the mourning for his loss (Hdt. 9.20-25.1) (Angeliki Petropoulou)

Magi in Athens in the fifth century BC? (Kyriakos Tsantsanoglou)

Hājīābād and the dialogue of civilizations (Massoud Azarnoush)

Zoroastrianism and Christianity in the Sasanian empire (fourth century AD) (Sara Alinia)

Greco-Persian literary interactions in classical Persian literature (Evangelos Venetis)

Pseudo-Aristotelian politics and theology in universal Islam (Garth Fowden)

The system Artaphernes-Mardonius as an example of imperial nostalgia (Michael N. Weiskopf)

Greeks and Iranians in the Cimmerian Bosporus in the second/first century BC: new epigraphic data from Tanais (Askold I. Ivantchik)

The Seleucids and their Achaemenid predecessors: a Persian inheritance? (Christopher Tuplin)

Managing an empire — teacher and pupil (G. G. Aperghis)

The building program of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae and the date of the fall of Sardis (David Stronach)

Persia and Greece: the role of cultural interactions in the architecture of Persepolis— Pasargadae (Mohammad Hassan Talebian)

Reading Persepolis in Greek— Part Two: marriage metaphors and unmanly virtues (Margaret C. Root)

The marble of the Penelope from Persepolis and its historical implications (Olga Palagia)

Cultural interconnections in the Achaemenid West: a few reflections on the testimony of the Cypriot archaeological record (Antigoni Zournatzi)

Greek, Anatolian, and Persian iconography in Asia Minor: material sources, method, and perspectives (Yannick Lintz)

Imaging a tomb chamber: the iconographic program of the Tatarlı wall paintings (Lâtife Summerer). Appendix: Tatarli Project: reconstructing a wooden tomb chamber (Alexander von Kienlin)

The Achaemenid lion-griffin on a Macedonian tomb painting and on a Sicyonian mosaic (Stavros A. Paspalas)

Psychotropic plants on Achaemenid style vessels (Despina Ignatiadou)

Achaemenid toreutics in the Greek periphery (Athanasios Sideris)

Achaemenid influences on Rhodian minor arts and crafts (Pavlos Triantafyllidis)

Historical Iranian and Greek relations in retrospect (Mehdi Rahbar)

Persia and Greece: a forgotten history of cultural relations (Shahrokh Razmjou)

The editors Seyed Mohammad Reza Darbandi is General Director of Cultural Offices of the Islamic Republic of Iran for Europe and the Americas. Antigoni Zournatzi is Senior Researcher in the Research Centre for Greek and Roman Antiquity, National Hellenic Research Foundation. Her work focuses on the relations between Achaemenid Persia and the West.

The whole volume can be found as pdf on:

[fabiansteinhauer]

Essers Tafeln/ Juristen fabrizieren

Juristen fabrizieren und sie werden fabriziert. Cornelia Vismanns Geschichte und Theorie juridischer Kulturtechnik ist auch Geschichte und Theorie des Institutierens. Darin ist Institution nicht gegebene Macht. Auch wenn sie mit Vermögen und Gabe einhergeht liegt sie in artifiziellen, technischen Verfahren oder Routinen. Ich ziehe den Begriff des Instituierens dem Begriff der institutionellen Macht vor, weil mir dieser Begriff meine Fragen an Kulturtechniken schärfen lässt und mir besser beobachten lässt, was unterhalb der Schwelle des Rechts liegt und dennoch dabei kooperiert, Recht wahrzunehmen.

Das sind zum Beispiel Tafeln, denen ich öfters nachgehe - und auch in meinen Antrittsvorlesung am Beispiel eines Lehrbuches (also einer Institution) von Hermann Jahrreiß aus dem Jahr 1930 nachgegangen bin. Das oben abgebildete Beispiel stammt, wie die hier auf dem tumblr schon gezeigten Tabellen auf dem Geschäftsbuch meines Vaters (der damals im ersten Semester Jura in Mainz studiert), aus dem Jahr 1949, hier aus dem Lehrbuch von Josef Esser zu den Grundbegriffen, zu dem Susanne Paas, Ralf Seinicke und Florian Forster ebenfalls forschen.

Mich interessieren hier seine Tafeln und Tabellen. Wie Warburg, so hat auch Esser eine Vorstellung davon, dass die Wahrnehmung des Rechts polarisiert sei; wie Eduardo Viveiros de Castro in der kannibalischen Metaphysik, dass also diese Wahrnehmung auch irisiert sein kann (denn die Irisierung faltet in den Spektralfarben die Polarisierung auf). Wie Warburg und wie de Castro: das ist ein kleiner Vergleich, der etwas zu einer Berühung im Detail sagt. Viel sagt das nicht, aber ein Detail ist es, damit etwas, in dem nach Stolleis alles anders sein soll und in dem nach Aby Warburg der liebe Gott stecken soll.

Esser denkt Polarisierung im Detail auch als Normalisierung, das ist gar nicht schlecht gedacht, weil damit auch das Normale schon als polarisiert gedacht werden kann und Polarisierung nicht einfach als Spalterei erscheint, also etwa nach dem Muster, dass in eine Streit der andere immer der ist, der polarisiert. Mit einem Detail liefert Esser hier einen Beitrag zur Geschichte und Theorie polaren Rechts, das aber, nicht wie bei Warburg oder de Castro, unbeständig ist, sondern durch die Normalisierung auch beständig wird.

Boaventura de Sousa Santos wird in Brasilien einer der Anthropfagen, die Esser gefressen haben und verdauen. In seinem berühmten Text zu Pasargada erwähnt er den Tübinger, was mich erst erstaunt hat. Esser hat aber in dem Buch von 1949 in kurzen Hinweisen zur Multidisziplinarität neben der Psychologie auch die Anthropologie als eine der Disziplinen genannt, die der Rechtswissenschaft fruchtbar sein, sagen wir so: sie speisen kann. Darum ist es nicht so verwunderlich. Die Tafel, die er in seinem Buch als Abbildung 1 verwendet assoziiert ein Wissen der Optik mit dem der Psychologie, der Anthropologie und der Rechtswissenschaft, um ein Schema und ein Modell zu formen. Man kann dieses Modell mit anderen vergleichen, etwas mit denen Merleau-Pontys und Jacques Lacan, deren Tafeln in der Bild-und Rechtswissenschaft auch eine Vorstellung von Dogmatik und Instituierung geben soll, dazu wesentlich häufiger kommentiert wurden.

Esser nennt in den dichten Erläuterungen das Rechtsbewußtsein einen Spiegel der Rechtsidee. Die gespiegelte Idee wurde von rechtsbildenden Organen, die insofern auch als bildgebende Organe erscheinen, gesammelt, gebündelt und durch Gitterstäbe (nach Cornelia Vismann sind das Cancellierungen; nach Alberti wäre das ein Velum) polarisiert.

[p-pasargada]

Amarga depressão,

Você apareceu novamente, mais severa, mais sufocante e assustadora. Faltou ar para lidar com o que estava acontecendo e tantos soluços desesperados em meio às lágrimas para transbordar.⁣

Buscar ajuda quando a depressão chega é justificada por ser tão pesada para uma pessoa sozinha carregá-la, mas tão injusto e egoísta querer compartilhá-la com alguém. ⁣

Tantas vezes é melhor se fechar em um casulo, em que só é permitido nossa bagunça. Só nossos pensamentos, só a nossa voz. ⁣

Quando toda euforia está presente nos preenchemos de amores vazios, de noites rápidas e em raros momentos ficamos, uma vez que, sabemos quão doloroso vai ser se despedir, mesmo que naquele momento não se pense em nada, além do desejo de sentir. ⁣

Nunca fui boa em dizer um simples “Tchau”, porque sei que dificilmente alguém vai pretender ficar. ⁣

♡ Catarina (p-pasargada)

[the-hilda-librarians-wife]

Carpe Diem - Chapter 10

Pairing: Sketchbook (Kaisa/Johanna)

Summary: Carpe diem: one of the five latim mottos of the arcadist, or neoclassical movement. Literally translates to "seize the day"

Picking up where Locus Amoenus left off, this fic follows the lives of Kaisa and Johanna for a couple weeks as their feelings grow and develop. Updated weekly.

Notes: Hey, guys! Sorry for having skipped last week. In my defense, it wasn’t a cliffhanger. Anyway, I hope you guys are still up for this story!  Btw "Pasargada" in the first paragraph is a reference to the poem "Vou-me embora pra Pasárgada" (I'm leaving for Pasárgada, in English). It's just supposed to represent an idealized place, but I like to pop Brazilian lit references bc why not :)

Read it on ao3 or read the first installment on this verse or read the second installment on this verse  

When Johanna drove back home, much later into the evening after having spent a lovely afternoon with Kaisa, saying she was on cloud nine felt like it fell flat in comparison to her feelings. She was in heaven. She was in Pasargada. She was in Ancient Greece, about to deliver an offering to Aphrodite in thanksgiving for blessing her with her beloved. Cloud nine was nothing compared to how she felt. 

So, of course, she had had to share it. Edmund hadn’t been home when she arrived, making her assume he was working on his professor’s project. She could have texted him the news, but this felt like something that was too big to deliver over text. This deserved drumrolls and pomp, and she wanted to make sure she could see his face when she told him. That being the situation, she decided to do the next best thing and pay her best friend a visit, both to gossip and to let him know he would still be hearing a lot about Kaisa, but under very different circumstances now.

Alfred lived in a student accommodation which was also inside the campus, a short walk away from Johanna’s house. The flat was shared between him and two other alumni, a Weather Sciences graduate who was doing a masters in fire sciences and another one that frankly, nobody could figure out what he did. Johanna had been there enough times to show up uninvited, and as the door had been unlocked when she arrived, she allowed herself in.

“Guys?” She announced herself by saying. “It’s Johanna. Is Alfred here?”

“In the kitchen, Jo!” Came his voice through the wall that separated the entrance corridor, which had the doors to each of their bedrooms, from the communal area, which consisted of a living room and an attached kitchen. When she walked in there, the three of them were in the process of making dinner.

In the back of her mind, Johanna thought that there would definitely not be dinner for her that night. Even if she hadn’t eaten her fill for the day from the spread Kaisa had made them, she was far too giddy to be able to eat anything else. It felt like tiny explosions of fireworks inside her belly.

“Good night, you three!” She said, a little breathlessly and accompanied by a happy wave. It was enough to make Alfred stop chopping a tomato and lift his eyebrows at her. He knew her well enough to pick up on the sudden bright mood. “How do you do?”

“Well enough, thanks.” Answered the guy whose major nobody knew, as he was putting something in the oven. He had long, curly brown hair that fell over his face and made it hard to distinguish his features. The other one, who kept his black hair tied back in a neat bun, offered her a smile and a ‘same here’. 

“Would you guys mind if I talked to Al for a minute?”

There was no need to ask, of course. Alfred had already stopped his salad preparations and was wiping his hands to go give her attention, but the other guys were nice and Johanna didn’t want to disturb their meal prep. Both assented, and Johanna let her friend guide her to his room where they could have more privacy.

Alfred’s bedroom was impeccably neat, exactly like she imagined the inside of his mind must be like. There was not a single book out of place, and not a single crease on his duvet. Until she unceremoniously sat on it, that is, and she almost felt bad for it. Her spirits were lifted too high for any guilt to register on her mind. After closing the door behind them, he sat down on his desk’s chair and made her retell, word by word, exactly what had happened.

Even if she’d tried to do it to the best of her ability, her mind was too convoluted with chart topping amounts of adrenaline and oxytocin for a single coherent thought to come to her, so she often had to take back a sentence after she realized she’d forgotten to mention something that came before it, or had to repeat the same point in the story twice to make sure it was accurate enough for him to get a crystal clear image of what had happened.

He was over the moon for her, as expected. Johanna was sure Kaisa would eventually get a ‘hurt Johanna and you’re dead’ speech, but it was much more likely that this would come from her cousin rather than Alfred. His style of support was much more like helping Johanna overanalyse their interactions than making sure Kaisa knew she’d regret it if she messed up. It was something she was grateful for, of course, but unfortunately it meant that he was armed with a lot of realism to cut through Johanna’s haze.

Which meant that he’d noticed the lack of usage of the ‘g’ word in Johanna and Kaisa’s conversations.

“Isn’t it kind of obvious, though?” Johanna asked when he pointed it out. “We both made it clear we like each other a lot. Doesn’t this make us automatically girlfriends?”

The look Alfred gave her told her he knew damn well she was trying to convince herself through wishful thinking.

“From the girl who asked to hold your hand and then didn’t make a single move until you spelled your feelings out for her? No. I think this situation calls for being stark clear, Jo.”

When she arrived back home, still thinking about Alfred’s advice, Edmund had already come back and settled with a book on their couch. His pretend annoyance when Johanna walked up to him and said she needed to talk to him faded as soon as he noticed where the conversation was going. As soon as she mentioned Kaisa with a besotted schoolgirl voice, he sat up and told her to sit down by his side, clearly hanging on her every word.

All things considered, he did a great job of pretending to be nonchalant and only mildly invested in their relationship, offering her nothing but brief well wishes before announcing he was still very tired from the night before and going to bed. Johanna wasn’t fooled for a second. Deny as he might, Ed was a softie at heart, and she rolled her eyes lovingly as he walked away to his room. Maybe ‘pretends to be cold, is actually a dork’ was just her type of person.

Johanna had only just decided that a cup of tea was what she needed for the heaviness of somnolence to begin to fall over her when her phone whistled with a text.

Kaisa 🐈‍⬛🔮

…So apparently Tildy and Frida had placed a bet on when we’d get together.

Doing her best not to allow her kettle to drip water before she placed the lid on it, Johanna barked a laugh. A wave of affection for Kaisa’s family washed over her as she quickly typed a response.

omg that’s so Them 

I bet Tildy won

Kaisa wasn’t typing for long before the answer came.

Tildy won.

Now she’s bragging about ‘believing in me’ or something. I’m never going to tell her the first move wasn’t mine.

Give urself some credit! Johanna typed, you told me you had been wanting to show me her garden that time. pretty good flirt, if you ask me

The typing sign was off for a considerable couple of seconds, which Johanna took as her typical baffled silence.

I was FLIRTING??????

Oh, good God.

She really did have some work ahead of her.

                                                      ………

Even though they very much wanted to, it was impractical for them to meet on Sunday. Johanna had a group project to work on, and Kaisa, as always, was getting desperate about all that she still had to study. It didn’t stop them from texting all throughout the day, however, and they kept sending each other little nothings that had brought them joy (with the exception of the text Kaisa had sent her asking why she was getting bizarre threats from her cousin).

It was on Monday that they did meet. Johanna had just left a lecture, and Kaisa had arrived early for hers so they could eat together in the cafeteria. The sun was at its peak when they met in the humanities garden, and Johanna felt static energy all around her when she saw Kaisa approaching her with a coy smile and rosy cheeks.

“Hey!” Closing the space between them with eager steps, Johanna pulled her into a hug as soon as she was in arms length. She felt Kaisa’s arms sneaking around her middle as well as the smile on her face when she buried it in Johanna’s shoulders, and scented lavender on her hair. “I missed you. You look beautiful.”

Two months ago, Kaisa would have rolled her eyes and pointed out how they had seen each other the day before yesterday. She would have looked the other way if any couple was being as sappy in front of her, and considered herself too busy and focused on more important things to waste her time similarly.

That Kaisa was probably dead in a ditch at that point.

“Why do you say that?” She asked and didn’t move away from Johanna, not even an inch. She’d done her best to reign it in when picking her clothes for college, catching herself wanting to dress up as if she was going on a date. She supposed she was, but she was pretty sure she’d heard those romance movies that Tildy enjoyed so much saying it did no good to overdo your attempts to impress someone. It only made you look desperate.

But then again, she was currently clinging to Johanna like a koala, so she wasn’t sure she was doing too well on the desperation front.

“Because it’s true, and it’s true everyday, and I’m tired of limiting the amount of times I say it to you.” When she stepped back - minimally, their arms were still around each other, but looser now - Johanna was smiling and gazing into her eyes like she wanted to try and drown in them. “I thought you were the prettiest person I’ve ever seen since the first time I laid my eyes on you. I still can’t believe my luck that you let me be near you.”

If Kaisa had been blushing before, the way she felt like she had been for the whole weekend, now her face was burning up. What the fuck. People should <em>not</em> be allowed to talk like that in public. How was she expected to know how to deal with this?

“You sound like a medieval troubadour poet.” She said, trying and failing not to smile. Aware of Johanna’s eyes on her, she looked down at the grass as if it held the secrets that would save her from acting like a ridiculous teenager in love.

“Well, did they get the girl?”

“No, they usually died at the wars of reconquest first.” 

For a moment, Kaisa was afraid she should have thought of something smooth and flirty to answer instead of blunt honesty, her worries were put to rest by Johanna’s twinkling laughter. 

“Sucks for them, but I already consider myself more successful than their lot.” Her eyes were sparking with satisfaction when Kaisa dared to look back. “Shall we go? You must be starving after your long trip all the way here.”

After they untangled themselves from each other’s arms, Kaisa curtsied before her. “You know I would hike through the harshest terrains to get a glimpse of you, my lady.”

Though she scrunched her nose playfully, Johanna’s face gave away her delight as she hooked her arm through the one that Kaisa had offered her.

“Very on brand of you to try and outdo me, Don Quijote.”

“Don Quijote was insane, Anna.”

“And you aren’t?”

Gladly allowing herself to be defeated, Kaisa chuckled and pretended she wasn’t seeing the way Johanna was looking at her with so much open fondness through the corner of her eye. There had to be a limit of happiness you could feel at once without spontaneously combusting, right?

Something told her that she would go a good length of time testing that theory in the future.

                                                        ………

“Listen, I’m not questioning you, I just don’t get it!” 

They had just finished eating the somewhat questionable food that was offered in the nearest cafeteria, and technically it was time for Johanna to go home and study and for Kaisa to head to her lecture, but they loathed the idea to leave each other. Johanna had already suggested that Kaisa went to her house after the lecture so they could be together a little longer and she could drop her off at home, but it still felt like they were glued to their chairs, both unwilling and unable to separate from one another for any amount of time.

“I mean, what’s the philosophy behind it if you don’t eat any other animal, but do fish meat? What have they done? Have they sinned against you?”

“Yes.” Kaisa answered, her hands flat on her lap and her back straight as she kept her face the most serious she possibly could. “Fish do not blink. I don’t trust them. Therefore, they are sinners and deserve death by my fork.”

Johanna buried her face in her hands and laughed, taking Kaisa with her when she could no longer keep up the bit. She herself had considered turning vegan many times, especially since she began living with Edmund, but she knew she didn’t have the resolution to commit to it just yet. Kaisa, though, was nothing if not committed. In fact, Johanna was willing to place a bet on her only eating fish solely so she could make that joke.

“Okay, Kai, you win.” She said after taking one last sip out of her water bottle. “I subscribe to your brand of fishtianity.”

She bowed her head solemnly. “Welcome, new convert.” When she rightened her posture again, there was a teasing lopsided smile on her lips. “We’re going to have to find something else for you to call me now, though. ‘Kai’ is what Frida calls me and now it’s kind of… weird.”

“Yeah, that’s fair. I’m going to be straight with you, ‘sisterly’ is not how I picture our relationship being from now on.”

“Anna, that’s the least straight you could possibly be.”

It was a good thing she had finished her drink, otherwise she would have choked.

As she watched Kaisa look at her with a mischievous sort of satisfaction in her eyes, Johanna briefly wondered if she had been aware of this very issue when she gave her a nickname different from that which her family and friends called her by, but dispelled that thought when she remembered how very much unaware Kaisa had been when making moves on her. In that aspect, the girl really seemed as thick as the books she read.

Which brought her to the matter she’d been mulling over since talking to Alfred.

The conversation had given her the perfect hook to pop the ‘what are we’ question. Even if a loud cafeteria wasn’t the place she would have preferred that to happen, it was a quick and easy chance to end the dilemma that had been troubling her. She was just analyzing whether it would be too sappy to hit Kaisa with ‘can I call you mine, then?’, and whether Kaisa would even understand it as not being a joke, when a voice she didn’t recognize spoke from behind her.

“Kaisa, oh thank goodness, I have been looking for you everywhere!”

Johanna turned her head to see where that had come from, but not before she saw Kaisa’s eyebrows rise up in amusement.

“Well, in the new century we have this thing called ‘cellphones’ that we can use to talk to people. They really are quite magical, though I know elderly people like yourself can have some trouble with them.”

The tall woman squinted at Kaisa, her wild grey hair falling over her face.

“Didn’t know the humanities people were allowed to use them, that’s all.” She answered, sarcasm dripping from her words. “From the way you lot speak, I thought you were still sending pigeons to each other.”

Johanna’s presence was noticed by the newcomer when she snorted. Her eyes immediately softened when she noticed someone else was accompanying Kaisa.

“Oh, hello.” She said, looking like she didn’t exactly know what to do. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

Johanna greeted her back politely, quite confused but willing to try to fit in on that unexpected situation. Across from her in the booth, Kaisa sighed.

“Johanna, this is Victoria. She’s the asshole friend I told you about.”

Victoria’s eyes shined with recognition when Kaisa said her name. She stepped closer, and offered her her hand. Assuming that this was just how she greeted people, Johanna gave her hers for a handshake.

“Ah, so you’re the Johanna I’ve heard so much about!” She said cheerfully despite Kaisa’s clear warning glare. “A true shame your situation, I’m sorry to hear you’ve been burdened with being on the receiving end of this creep’s affection.”

“Victoria.” Kaisa hissed. “If you’re done, could you please just tell me why you’re looking for me?”

The woman blinked, and the spark in her eyes was replaced by a cloud of concern as she was reminded of her message. She bit the inside of her cheek and fiddled with her labcoat’s hem.

“Oh, that.” There was a stiffness to her voice now. “I’m sorry, maybe we should talk about that alone.”

Kaisa frowned. Victoria wasn’t usually one for seriousness. She only carried things like a burden when their weight hid a true importance, and the only time she could remember seeing her look truly austere was when comforting Kaisa after they met, when she had been crying in a hidden nook. Besides, she’d just confessed to Johanna for her, which, mind you, was concerning since Victoria had not opened Kaisa’s messages since the prior week and had no way of knowing they were actually on the same page now. Her saying they needed privacy wasn’t a good bearing.

"It's okay.” Kaisa found herself saying anyway. “I’m sure that whatever it is, it’s okay if Anna hears it.”

Still standing up beside their table, Victoria glanced at Johanna so quickly it was almost imperceptible, not quite sure about that affirmation.

“If you say so.” She reached into her labcoat’s pocket and picked up a small metal device. Kaisa recognized it as being one she’d shown her in her lab once, a small recorder Victoria had built herself so she could easily record experiments without a bigger gadget holding her down or having to bring her phone into the lab. There was also something about resisting ‘extreme weather events’, but she hadn’t been paying that much attention. “But I warn you that it’s upsetting.”

She placed the device in her hands, and sat down in front of her, by Johanna’s side in the booth. Both of them watched Kaisa closely and with concern, as she ignored the drumming of her heart and brought the machine close to her ear, finally pressing play.

[whencyclopedia]

Pasargadae

Pasargadae was one of the oldest residences of the Achaemenid kings, founded by Cyrus the Great (r.559-530). It resembled a park of 2x3 km in which several monumental buildings were to be seen. According to the Roman geographer Strabo of Amasia, the palace of Pasargadae was built on the site where king Cyrus (r.559-530) defeated the leader of the Medes, Astyages, in 550 BCE (Strabo, Geography, 15.3.8). The battle is a fact, also mentioned in the Nabonidus Chronicle, and there is no evidence to contradict that it took place on the Murghab plain, but the context contains errors, so we should not place too much confidence on it. However, that Cyrus was indeed the builder of this town, can be corroborated from the fact that the building inscriptions in the palace, known as CMa, mention Cyrus, the great king, an Achaemenid. If he did not build the palace on this site because of a military victory, there may have been other reasons: the place is beautifully situated in the center of a fertile plain, on all sides surrounded by mountains. It is essentially a valley that was filled by sediments from the river Pulvar. Pasargadae is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Learn more about Pasargadae