#The Royal Family of Iphigenia

[tosimornottosim]

First Day Of School For Royal Heir

The Princess Nadja began her education today as she departed for kindergarten at one of the schools within the Capitol (the identity of her school has been hidden for privacy although it is believed to be one of the more mundane public schools, in a break from tradition)

In a further break from tradition, the hands-on Queen was seen taking her herself. There have been very few photos of the Princess released to the public since her birth, and it is known that her royal parents have attempted to give her the most ‘normal’ upbringing that can be had.  

[littlesparklight]

Some general thoughts on the gods on Troy's side, and why they might be:

Aphrodite: Presumably out of affection for her son, Anchises, and Paris. Very potentially, wanting to assure the gift she's given Paris lasts as long as possible? But if this is a factor, hardly something she is beholden to in any way; it'd probably be more about her own pride in that case. But, given that she also helps protect Hektor's corpse, when he, at least, is no longer able to pay her back for such aid, her affection/aid to the Trojans aren't just for or because of those three.

Apollo: Thetis' warning/prophecy to her son that killing Tennes/a son of Apollo would mean Apollo would kill him (Plutarch, Quaest. Graec. 28, Bibliotethe, Epitome 3.26), then we have Achilles killing Troilus in his sancuary, which would be reason enough on its own but Troilus can also be Apollo's son. There's Apollo so ardently protecting Hektor throughout the war, even/maybe especially after his death (Hektor is also in several sources Apollo's son). Also his relationship with Hecuba and how in Stesichorus he rescues her. (Could also put Kassandra and Helenos here.)

Part of his defense of Troy might be about "fate" and when it's the "proper time" for Troy to fall, but Apollo's ties to Troy/individuals attached to Troy are more deep-set than that. He is the one to punish Neoptolemos' sacrilege of killing Priam at Zeus' altar. Apollo is also rarely present during vase art scenes around the Judgment, potentially connecting to; Apollo specifically being the one to aid Paris (or in some variants, using Paris' shape) to kill Achilles. Real-world wise, the possibility of connecting Apaliuna(s)/Appaluwa as Wilusa/Troy's patron god to Apollo.

Ares: Unstable ally. Hard to say how consistently he is on either side; Athena says he "only yesterday" on the first day of fighting in the Iliad was loudly pledging to Hera and Athena that he'd help the Achaeans.

Perhaps he's been aiding the Trojans more or less secretly/openly throughout the war, as much because he supports whatever side he wishes on a whim as that Aphrodite (and Apollo?) has asked him to. Either way, certainly not as consistent nor out of any particular affection or feeling of protectiveness for the Trojans.

Artemis: "For, in her pity, holy Artemis is angry at the winged hounds of her father, for they sacrifice a wretched timorous thing, together with her young, before she has brought them forth. An abomination to her is the eagles' feast." (Agamemnon, Aeschylus, line 135) ; this is about the eagles and hare omen, which replaces (or in addition to, as this seems to have happened in Mycenae) the snake and sparrows one. Artemis is put forth as unhappy with Troy's (future) fall/the war.

And, it's of course very easy to see the demand for Iphigenia in reparation for Agamemnon's hubris in a similar way, that if he/the army, wants to go off and kill/enslave innocents elsewhere, he/they has to start at home. She may also be helping her brother, and there is the Skamandrios, son of Strophios, who she herself taught to hunt in the Iliad. She has independent connections to Troy, and could be one of the more focused on Trojan deities along with her brother and their mother.

Leto: We have nothing, aside from the fact that she is on the Trojan side with her children in Book 21. But real-world-wise, there's also that Leto was an important goddess on the coast, and in Lycia connected to a Lycian mother goddess. So one could probably make inference for the in-universe reason being as much her siding with her children as that Troy is honouring her (maybe particularly so), along with the rest of the countries on the coast.

Xanthos: intimately woven together with Troy's royal family, as he's married a couple daughters into the line and his (only?) son's daughter married Dardanos.

Zeus: He's technically/actually neutral, a driving force to keep the war going as it "needs to". He's therefore on Troy's side more through the sentiment(s) he expresses or is assigned to him rather than in action.

Particularly so if one turns to the "he planned the war" variants - but these are never about Troy, or Paris, but rather about something much larger than any fault any individual Trojan or Troy has a whole as made themselves guilty of. [Though individual mortals in the Iliad, and in later sources, both tragedies and lyric, will imply that it's Zeus as god of xenia that ensures his working towards Troy's destruction, rather than any plan that has little to do with Troy.]

For his connections to and being for Troy, have Proclus' summary of the Kypria for example, where the plan mentioned at the end is to "relieve the Trojans" specifically, and that phrasing turns Achilles' anger and Zeus acting to fulfil his demands not about Achilles' honour, but about aiding Troy. In Pindar's Paean 6 (fragmentary), Zeus is said to "not dare to change fate [the destruction of Troy]", easily to implicate that he otherwise might, because he would wish to. More important, perhaps, is his statement that Troy is his most favoured city, and how Hera offers up three of her favoured cities for Zeus' one, how he wishes to save Hektor, and the description in the Iliad (by Poseidon) that Dardanos was the/one of the sons [by mortal women, though Elektra couldn't have been that] that he loves the most.

[catindabag]

TBOSAS on Crack short take (47)

Felix: Hey, guys, please settle down and listen to me-

Clemensia: Class Pres, why is your hair bubblegum pink today?

Felix: Well, Clemmie, that’s a funny story. You see, a certain someone happened to steal my very expensive Ravinstill exclusive shampoo and replaced it with pink hair dye-

Androcles: It wasn’t me! I swear on my mother’s cooking that it wasn’t-

Felix: Andie, your mother doesn’t cook.

Androcles: Oh, yeah.😐

Coryo: Let’s just go straight to the point, Class Pres.

Felix: *sighs* Fine. So I’ve gathered everyone here to discuss our upcoming PTA meeting this Friday-

Hilarius: PTA meeting?! With my father?! Class Pres, I’m not sure about that-

Felix: Calm down, Heavensbee! Your creepy old man is not even allowed to go near our school.

Urban: True. He can’t even go near us without Dean Highbottom calling the Peacekeepers-

Hilarius: You don’t understand! My old man will try to sneak into that meeting either way!😫

Coryo: Well, if he does, we can always call the President to punish him indefinitely-

Urban: Or strangle him ourselves for the greater good of Panem-

Hilarius: Hey!😠

Urban: Just saying~.

Sejanus: I’ll protect you from that creep, my Coryo, my love!😍

Coryo: Sure, Babe. Whatever you say.

Io: By the way, Hilari, how many restraining orders does your father have?

Hilarius: 42-

Felix: It’s 77 and counting. But anyway, Dean Highbottom told me to list down the parents who would be attending our PTA meeting this Friday. So-

Livia: Obviously, my ever fabulous mama will represent thee~!😌💅

Pup: Meh Daddy~!😘

Felix: Stop saying “daddy” like that, Pup.

Florus: Both or none. Depends on my crazy dad’s mood.

Dennis: Sorry~. My mama can’t attend this week. She’s too busy running the Capitol black market and trading illegal magazines with Cardew’s mom-

Livia: You lying little shi-

Felix: How about you, Urban?

Urban: Same with Florus.

Felix: And the rest?

Io: Both will come as usual~.😎

Arachne: My pushover big brother will represent me as always.

Androcles: My mama and her camera crew-

Felix: Andie, we’ve talked about this issue before. Your mother can’t bring her camera crew to our PTA meetings again-

Androcles: They’ll pay everyone 20 bucks for a feature.

Festus: Free money?!

Coryo: Free money!!

Persephone: I love money!

Dennis: Oh, yes~. Mah money~.😏

Felix: Fine! But this is the last time-

Gaius: Class Pres, can my crazy grandmother attend for me?🥺

Felix: The one who fought and defeated the rebels with a giant toothpick?

Gaius: Pretty please?

Felix: Sure. She’s a war hero.

Palmyra: Can my unhinged mama and her delicious pies-

Felix: No. Next.

Hilarius: My father-

Felix: He’s banned. Next.

Hilarius: My mother-

Felix: She’s banned too. Next.

Vipsania: My gym instructor-

Felix: Nope. Next.

Lysistrata: My drug- I mean, medicine dealer?

Felix: For legal reasons, no. Next.

Iphigenia: The pizza delivery guy next door-

Felix: Not a parent. Next.

Domitia: My emotional support cow-

Felix: Too hairy. Next.

Apollo: My imaginary friends-

Felix: Not real. Next.

Diana: My cute stuffed animals.🥺

Felix: Sure. Why not.

Apollo: That’s not fair-

Felix: Next!

Coryo: I’ll bring my cousin Tigris. But if Highbottom’s drunk, I’ll summon the ghost of my gorgeous dead dad instead.

Sejanus: My Ma will represent!

Coryo: Will she bring food?🥺

Sejanus: Always, Babe. Always~.😘

Coryo: I might kiss you right now-

Lysistrata: Kiss him, Coryo! Kiss him!

Coryo: Not now, Lizzie!

Felix: How about you, Creed?

Festus: My whole family’s going.

Sejanus: The whole Creed Clan?!

Festus: Yup! Free food is free food.

Pup: Especially when Ma Plinth’s the one cooking it.🤤

Juno: Well, whatever, peasants. My royal daddy will represent for me as usual~.😌💅

Urban: Nobody asked you, Juno~.🙄

Juno: Suck a di-

Felix: How about you, Clemmie? Is your dad going too?

Clemensia: Depends~. If my mom wins their annual wrestling match, then she’ll be the one attending-

Vipsania: Wrestling match? What kind?

Clemensia: Do you truly want to know, Sickle?😏

Vipsania: Yes-

Felix: Nope. We don’t wanna know about that, Clemmie.

Persephone: Well, I think my old man-

Coryo: Wasn’t Nero Price banned from the school grounds last year?

Persephone: My dad was banned?!

Coryo: Yes.

Persephone: What for?!

Felix: Cannibalism allegations.

Persephone: That’s a lie-

Coryo: He literally almost bit off Highbottom’s foot when he found out about the Heavensbee Hall Flooding Incident.

Persephone: He did that to defend me!

Felix: He also bit Professor Click’s hand-

Persephone: He was hungry!😭

Coryo: And stole all of Ma Plinth’s ham sandwiches from her body bag.

Persephone: To be fair, my daddy thought that there was a literal dead body inside her bag-

Felix: Still banned. Next.

[windywallflower]

Its a very late post into pride month here (we've been exercising sleep-month jk... we've been kinda scrambling to get back on top of everything after May. Idk what it is but every year is the same).

But HEY! If you don't know who we are yet, we're Tas & Winter and we run a small minipub called Windy & Wallflower where we write a bunch of fun stories featuring gaggles of queer characters.

Note: on our shop ALL of our PDFs are 5$ no matter if its comics, prose, zines, what have you (some of our older stuff is free/pwyw).

But here's a VERY quick run down of our series/titles!

AUGUSTINE - is our newest webcomic! A series we lovingly dub as our junkpunk meets greek mythology, borderlands meets hercules, mad max meets... uhhh uhhh t-troy?? ENOUGH COMPARISONS. You've got a found family of freaks who get into trouble pissing off local landlords in a crusty pit of desert lovingly called the Crater. Maybe the group relies on their leader a bit too much, maybe she DOESNT know what she's doing. Maaaaybe we'll find out what happens ... when she ... [spoilerspoilerpsoiler] (You CAN buy the PDF on our shop, the physical copy of Volume 1 OR you can also catch up and read it FOR FREE online!) (.....yes its coming back v soon we're almost done rebuilding the buffer i promise)

MYTH RETOLD - Is prose! Retelling Greek myths but with a queer twist. There are 3 in the series so far: Iphigenia (sapphic babes, Iphigenia gets to KISS Artemis? mmm~), Medusa (maybe she meets a transmasc Perseus... maybe its just bi af and Medusa DOES get a happy en-- wait spoilers--) & Atalanta (what can i say, im a sucker for sapphics... Atalanta x Dyktinna) with loose plans to make ... even More. (You can also get all of these as PDFs or as physical copies... im a sucker for the physical since I went pretty hard with the foil ANd spot gloss--)

PAINT THE TOWN RED - is our other major ongoing comic of the queer persuasion (are we... starting to notice a pattern--). This one with a main cast consisting of Vampires, Werewolves.... ... and other mysterious babes. Story opens up with a werewolf shelter, but what happens when a vampire shows up one night?? Hmmm. Looks like things are a lot messier in Merlot than we thought~ This one releases in volumes first so you can grab them all on our shop OR you can test it out for yourself and see if its your thing by reading the first 2 volumes for FREE online~!)

PRISM KNIGHTS - A series of short stories (loosely based on fairytales) in the POV of queer knights! Each story is a 'different shade of queer'. You will be hearing a LOT about these two in the next month because we're funding the paperback print of the omnibus so here are the highlights:

Coquelicot: Evil lesbian knights.

Bronze: A nonbinary, ace knight caught in a time loop.

Lamplight: A haunted trans knight learns to love the beast within.

Juniper: A tragic gay knight meets his blacksmith boyfriend.

Sapphire: A polyship between a dragon, a knight and a royal.

Velvet: A sad bisexual knight overcoming grief.

You can snag ALL of the PDFs on our shop though a lot of the physical copies are out of stock because, as mentioned, we're hosting a campaign to reprint soon. You can follow along to be notified the second we launch! (We'll need a LOT of help pushing this one since... um... it IS a reprint).

THAT'S my schpeel. I know we try our best to offer our stories free/as cheap as we can possibly make them to keep them accessible so if you CAN afford to spend a bit this pride consider checking out our shop! You'd be doing us a real solid.

We have a TON of really cool stories in the works all of them extremely queer so any little bit goes a long way, boosting, sharing, buying, telling your libraries about us.... hinthint, everything helps!!

[celticcrossanon]

BRF Reading - 15th of January, 2023

This is speculation only

Cards drawn on the 15th of January, 2023

Question: Does Harry have any damaging information on Prince William and if so, what is it?

Interpretation: Harry has nothing but made up stories about his brother.

Card One: Justice in Reverse

Justice is reverse is the card of injustice, of people not getting justice or of a miscarriage of justice in the courts. This card is coming across as Harry's energy. he is coming from a place of grievance. He thinks that he has been unjustly treated, that his wife has been unjustly treated, and he is on a crusade to get what he sees as justice for both of them (and what everyone else sees as blatant entitlement). From Harry's perspective, things are terribly, horribly unfair and he wants to do something about that . It's the 'I had to share a room with William (the horror!) and my half of the room was smaller (don't ask me how that even works, half a room is half a room) and the BRF owe me for this terrible injustice they perpetrated upon me' energy from his book that I feel here - the energy of 'you treated me and my wife horribly and I am going to make you pay for it.' Waaaah, waaaah, throw all the toys out of the pram and so on.

Justice in reverse is also my card for lying, as Justice upright involves finding the truth. This is an indication that the stories Harry is talking about are lies.

Card Two: The Two of Swords.

This is a card about making a decision. Harry has two choices - to tell his stories or not - and he is making up his mind which one to follow. At the moment, he is standing at the crossroads between those two options. He has a small amount of time to decide which oath to follow, and if he doesn't decide them someone else will make the decision for him.

The card shows Queen Clytemnestra crossing swords with her husband, King Agamemnon, over the sacrifice of their daughter Iphigenia. In the background stand Orestes, with his eyes closed and his hands over his ears so he can't see or hear anything. Orestes here represents Harry. He has not seen or heard anything that would be damaging to Prince William, as his eyes are closed and his ears are blocked.

At the same time, Orestes/Harry is blocking out the argument over whether to sacrifice a his sister so his father's ships could leave on their expedition to Troy, or whether it was better not to do this and stay at home. This tells me that Harry is not listening to any outside argument (such as legal advice) that says it is wrong to tell lies about his family. He is blocking all those arguments out and only consulting his own desires in making this decision.

Card Three: The Page of Wands in Reverse.

Pages are messages, and Wands are PR, and in reverse these are messages of bad tidings or bad PR.

Harry wants to create bad PR for the Royal Family, and he is threatening to do so by writing and publishing another memoir that contains stories about his brother (and his father) that Harry implies they would not want published. If Harry decides to go ahead with his threats to publish another book about the Royal Family with all the stories that he says he left out of the previous book, then it will go very badly for him. The second book may be a success, but for Harry personally it will be bad news. He will receive a lot of negative PR from this and it will damage his PR image even further.

Harry will receive messages of bad tidings, most likely from the palace and I think from their lawyers (we have two cards with swords before this and Swords is the suit of legal issues, among other things).

In terms of the stories themselves, the Page of Wands card in reverse says that these stories are bad PR, designed to hurt the reputation of his brother, and like many PR puff pieces they are most likely to be entirely or almost entirely made up - once ounce of truth to a pound of lies.

Underlying Energy: The Moon in Reverse.

The Moon is the card of lies, deceit, illusions, deception. When it comes up in a spread people can't see things clearly and they have to look deeper before they can start to see the truth. When it is in reverse, all those lies and deceptions are brought up into the light of day and exposed. Harry is threatening to expose secrets about his father and his brother, but if he continues along this path the only secrets that will be exposed are his own lies and deceptions.

This card also tells me, quite clearly, that all Harry has on his brother are false stories, deceptive stories, distortions of the truth and even, perhaps, outright lies. The stories he puts in his next memoir will be falsehoods and they will be exposed as falsehoods. He has nothing truthful on his brother that will damage him. He will most likely try to damage his brother with lies/deceptions/illusions, but those will not be the truth and the falseness of them will be exposed.

Conclusion.

Harry is threatening to release damaging stories about his brother because he feels that he has suffered injustice at the hands of the Royal Family. He thinks that he and his wife have been badly done by, and by telling stories about the Royal Family he can correct what he sees as the injustices he and his wife have suffered and/or blackmail the royal Family into correcting those injustices. He has not yet made the decision to publish a second book with those stories in it. If he does publish the book, it will back-fire on him in that it will create bad PR for him. He is also likely to receive bad news from the Royal Family and/or messages from lawyers (possibly of the 'see you in court' kind).

The stories that Harry tells will be lies, distortions, stories where he has twisted the truth, and so on. If he publishes said stories, his lies, deceptions etc will be exposed. He has nothing damaging on Prince William that is the truth and his falsehoods will be called out for what they are. This will damage his image far more than it will damage the reputation of his brother.

Edit: I am getting lawyers and the law energy, but it is not clear for whom the lawyers would be working. The most likely option is if there were people other than the Royal family who were mentioned in the false stories, they would be the ones sending the lawyers after Harry. It is a medium energy at the moment and a bit confused, so that could go another way in the future.

[myburntwritings]

The Tragic Tale of Aegisthus

All speculation and musings for the character of Aegisthus. Here there be spoilers.

The past has not been kind to Aegisthus. Exiled from his homeland by Agamemnon, his crown stolen after everything he did to get it. He has hidden himself in Troy these past years, where Agamemnon could not find him. But Troy has not been kind to him either. The Trojan royal family were too familiar with what had happened in Mycenae, so he hides from them, instead getting to know the regular people of the city. The flower shop owner, Askalaphos, who is always so kind and cheerful (and makes the best lotus flower drugs.) The waitress, Eurydice, who is always so kind to him and never does anything for herself. She’s been in love with that bartender for an age, but is too busy serving the royals to take something for herself.

Polymestor, the hotel and nightclub owner, knows who he is though, and exploits it. He makes him perform in the Peep windows, holding his identity over his head in the threat of exposure. He gives him a mask, but Polymestor is sadistic and cruel. The Peep windows show outside of the city walls, and once Agamemnon turned his ire on Troy, Aegisthus was forced to perform for the very army that should have been his.

He's not doing well for himself, and he desperately wants to return to Mycenae. Aegisthus knows the secret ways out of the city and how to avoid the border guards. He has watched Iphigenia grow up. He has watched as Agamemnon ignored the wife that should have been his, in favour of a pointless war.

Tonight is different. Something important is happening for Iphigenia. It’s her ceremony for Artemis. He wants to be there for her. He steals clothes from the hotel rooms. He gets flowers from Askalaphos.

He ensures Agamemnon is not at the palace before he arrives, and being welcomed by Iphigenia and Clytemnestra feels like home... This is the life he should have had. Clytemnestra would have been his wife, Iphigenia his daughter.

When Agamemnon takes Iphigenia away in favour of his war, sacrificing her for the storm to take his ships to Troy, Aegisthus is the one to help Clytemnestra through her grief. He stops her from ending it all at the loss of Iphigenia. He’s grieving the daughter he could have had.

Then, Clytemnestra shows him what he could have if he only helps her with vengeance. She puts the crown of intestines on his head. He is taken over in that moment, stamping his foot and standing proud like a king.

'Get his guts for me, and you will be my king.'

But he would be recognised by Agamemnon, so he returns to Troy one more time, taking drugs from Askalaphos, taking the mask from the Peep windows that had been his prison. The Greek soldiers don’t pay him any notice when he returns now. Just another war prize for the glory of Agamemnon.

But when he returns to Mycenae, he sees Clytemnestra play her role of welcoming wife a little too well. He knows he’s been used. He takes more time with the drugs. He doesn't kill Agamemnon on the stone table as planned. He hangs back at the showers and Clytemnestra does the deed herself.

And, were the story not to reset, I imagine Aegisthus would be abandoned by Clytemnestra, probably blamed for Agamemnon's murder, right back where he started. In exile.

[tragedyrot]

navig

diaphanous darling > iphigenia

a mirror shard in sunlight > elektra

his royal auditorium is a murder scene > orestes

> klytemnestra

> agamemnon

do you see your little red house? > the family destroyed

blood curses > inheritances

despite despite despite > it didn't change anything but we held on anyway

all the energy of not trying to stand between him & the grave > elektra's relationship with orestes

check for poison > elektra's relationship with agamemnon

and i need a shovel to love her > orestes' relationship with elektra

phantom son > orestes & klytemnestra

favourite daughter > iphigenia & klytemnestra

there's a mouth behind the scream > iphigenia darling sacrificial lamb favourite daughter favourite victim beautiful lovely bloody princess iphigenia

for the love of the gods who talk to you when you're asleep > this is your divine right

[pastedpast]

Another one of my artistic heroines, Mrs. Mary Delany (1700-1788), features in several of my earlier blog posts, and this is a book about her life that I bought from a second-hand bookshop in Glasgow last year. She made the most wonderful paper collages from tissue paper detailing a wide range of flowers set against a black background and, what's more, she started her artwork at the age of 72! Although, as the book recounts, she had already made a name for herself in eighteenth century privileged society* (she was on close terms with King George III and Queen Charlotte) for her exquisite embroidery, decorative shellwork and landscape sketches.

*On page 92 there is an example of one of those what I call the-size-of-a-small-sofa dresses, known as 'mantuas', that were favoured by the ladies who attended royal court. Mrs. Delany designed and made her own court dress from black silk which she embroidered with over 200 flowers on the overskirt alone. Her dress was not as exaggerated as those worn by the very fashionable ladies, but instead sounds like perfection, decorated with a veritable Eden of blooms: winter jasmine, hawthorn berries, sweet pea, love-in-a-mist, lily-of-the-valley, anemone, tulips, convolvulus, bluebells, roses, and many others.

POSTSCRIPT: I've actually started reading the book, instead of just grabbing notes from the back cover and flicking through to look at the pictures - and it's a real page-turner! She was more or less forced into a marriage of convenience at the age of seventeen to a wealthy man of nearly sixty, whom she described as a "large, unwieldy person, [with a] crimson countenance." After the wedding, she wrote: "when I was led to the altar, I wished from my soul I had been led, as Iphigenia* was, to be sacrificed." Poor Mary would rather have been dead than marry this decrepit oaf. But she was stuck with her gout-ridden and frequently drunk husband for six long, drawn out years, until she woke one morning, drew back the curtains of their four-poster bed and discovered him lying there drained of all life, face black.

At the age of 43 she married again, this time in a union far more agreeable to her, although the 'lowliness' of her husband's background (he was the son of a servant to one of Ireland's top judges) met with strong disapproval from the male members of her family. Despite their misgivings, Mary went ahead with the marriage to Dr. Patrick Delany and spent the following twenty-five years living in marital bliss. Indeed, her husband penned this charming poem about his beloved, in which he compared her to a rose:

O fairest emblem of the fair My pride, my life, my bliss, my care! Where all the lovelinesses meet - Beauty and grace, both bright and sweet! Emblem of Mary, gift divine. Blest be the hour that made her mine!

*In Greek mythology, Iphigenia was the daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and was sacrificed by her father to appease the goddess Artemis before setting out with his men to fight the battle of Troy.

Photograph of the embroidered fabric used in Mary's dress. It was cut into sections and framed by her ancestors.

[bookofsloth]

WITHIN SCARLET CHAMBERS...

Secrets are kept, conspiracies are murmured. Noble courtiers and concubines wear many faces and hide their true intention beneath ritual and splendor. The Night Court is deep and bloody. It is a place of opulence and venom where vipers take refuge beneath lilac trees and priceless silks conceal hidden perils. You are safe as long as you stay far away, but that security is no longer an option.

This morning, Night Court officials arrive at your door and you and your family fall to your kneels to hear the decree. Next to you, someone trembles and from the back, you can hear a pair of girls whispering to each other. The air is heavy and burbling and then it is full of their pronouncement:

"Imperial Mother laments! Besides the emperor, there are not enough youths and talents. Open the doors of the Crystal Palace for the worthy!"

Apparently, that includes you.

WITHIN SCARLET CHAMBERS is a dark fantasy interactive story set in a deadly and decadent Fae Court in which conspiracies and betrayals are par for the course. This is a story focused primarily on the development of characters and relationships within the confines of court intrigue.

Select your character's origins, personality, appearance, skills, and more.

BEGIN WITH THE HISTORY of a false prophetess, an oppressed heiress, or a defamed courtesan. Move through the world as a ray of light, as still waters, as a raging disaster, or as a cloudy sky. Bear the visage of the dragon and power, of heaven and melancholy, of the siren and warmth, of the prince and effulgence, or of the princess and innocence. Specialize in rites, duels, music, calligraphy, or games.

CHOOSE YOUR PATH. Would you like to gain the Imperator's favor and ascend to the highest points of his harem, perhaps even replacing the current Imperatrix? Or would you rather curry favor with those already at his side, hoping to gain benefits and find a promising marriage or even career? Speaking of career, you may be able enough to enter Court by your own talents and efforts, becoming an official, jostling for one of the coveted positions of Magistrate. Or, perhaps even higher?

RAISE YOUR FAME. Tend to your reputation. Use your disposition and persona to hide your true intentions or take the steeper path; use your perpetual honesty to win over supporters and increase integrity. There is always the risk (of sabotage, of discovery) but risks must be taken if you hope to make great achievements. Even gathering infamy may yield promising results.

BUILD STRONG BONDS. Spread your network. Choose between 6-8 love interests (up to 4 male and 4 female.) Up to three polyamorous options; so far, one is definite because it makes so much sense for the characters and setting.

IMPERATOR CASSIANUS I, High King of the Night Court and the current leader of the Nox Imperium. While he pretends to be above power struggles, watching distant from his place at the summit, he is the most aware of "the bigger they are the harder they fall" and the most well informed of how much he has to lose. He is the conqueror who has killed thousands for his throne and he is ready to slaughter more if it grants him godhood.

HERA IPHIGENIA CLARA, the Noble Consort whose name is most honorable. She is the alleged cherished daughter of a revered Night Court family and the longtime favorite of CASSIANUS. She rules the inner chambers and fae high society with a velvet glove and steel talons. In her dreams, the husband is long gone and instead there is an imperial heir, dancing in the soft palm of her hands.

MAGISTER AIDONEUS REX, the ruthless fan-bearer by His Majesty's right hand. The most upright vizier who has been bestowed the royal relic, the Lamella Fan, as a sign of the High King's esteem and appreciation of all the cruelty that Aidoneus has dirtied his hands with in order to further the imperial agenda. Distant and gloomy, he is difficult to read and even more so to know. Whether or not he is truly as steadfast and loyal as he makes himself out to be is yet to be seen.

TANIS, the ambitious palace attendant who’s more than what she appears to be. Returned from the mortal realm, Tanis is a gleamy eyed changeling with strange ways and unorthodox means. Having spent too long with humans, the mundane stink follows her wherever she goes, which causes most members of the Court find her presence awkward and her company undesired. Tanis, however, continues to press forward because her methods, while eccentric, always bear fruit.

PARTHENIA SIBYL, the midnight oracle. May have history with the false prophetess as an unrequited enemy who never really caught onto the fact that she was in an intense rivalry.

MAGNUS HAEMON LAEGATUS, the war hero. May have history with the oppressed heiress wherein he broke off their engagement, causing severe damage to her already delicate reputation.

SOPHOS ELARA TRIBUNI, the candescent courtier. There are those who were born to come in the second wave and climb over fallen comrades in their way to certain victory. Elara has long had the luck to always strike when the iron is hot and grasp hold of her enemies at the crucial moment. May have history with the defamed courtesan as an opportunist who pressed her own advantage at the courtesan's expense.

LETO PROMUS, the cunning eunuch and respected steward of one of the more favored princes. He knows, intimately, what it feels like to stand at the very bottom, to feel the boot heels of so-called superiors on his neck, to lie awake trembling and too terrified to sleep. Never again. He has been to the valley and become the most frightening thing, willing to use any means to protect himself and what he treasures.

The following characters aren't currently romance options. That might change in the future but for now these relationships are mostly concerned with the values of affinity and enmity. They are possible friends, enemies, and allies. Currently, there are two planned platonic partnership options exclusively for any romance averse folks in the crowd and hopefully I'll be able to include more. And while we're here...

FUN FACT ! In the world of WSC, fae only have one public name to give to close acquaintances and casual companions. Their other names are hidden (even from you, dear reader—for now!) and known only to intimates. So the "first name" is typically the title, unless a character has only two names then it's a toss up. Third names are generally honorifics and positions. So, for example, "Hera" is Iphigenia's title and "Clara" is her honorific, used to emphasize her high position. Promus is Leto's title and so on. The only exception is Imperators and Imperatrixes (including the dowager).

ALETHEA TENEBRA one of your fellow candidates and the rare presence that immediately captured CASSIANUS's admiration. She is someone who hides herself deeply and goes with the flow. Skeptical of romance and cold towards amorous intentions, Alethea values kinship, sorority, and her own comfort above all else.

OLYSSEUS ERES the heir apparent to one of the more reputable noble houses at Court. He may have history with the courtesan.

DAREIA SANCTUS the profane priestess who is shamelessly willing and eager to accept bribes in exchange for boosting pious reputations and perhaps even the odd accusation of heresy and defilement. As it takes one to know one, she may in fact have some small amount of credibility. She often clashes with PARTHENIA SIBYL and may have a history with the false prophetess.

GAIA MAEJA PRONUS the former Imperatrix and current imperial mother to IMPERATOR CASSIANUS. She is restless in her role, believing that she is made light of by her nominal son because she is not his birth mother. Instead, she feels much closer to his main wife IMPERATRIX NYX REGINA who is her niece and the cause of much of her current worries. Maeja is suspicious of Nyx's recent illness. She's begun to investigate it where she can and take precautions against the Imperator.

HERA USIRIS CERES the single other titled Hera in the harem. While she may not have Iphigenia's charm and precision, she has her own ways. Deft with deception and unafraid to use her family name to strong arm her adversaries, Usiris has proven herself a contender, even going so far as to relentlessly maneuver her son towards the position of crown prince.

DOMINUS URIAS TRIBUNUS the bitter yet competent underling of HAEMON and the younger brother of USIRIS. He is a constant and important chess piece on her board.

AND MORE ! It's just that I realized that this is getting excessively long!! Ahh!!! Maybe I'll cut some stuff out or something.

There will be adult themes. My aim is to try to make any possible sexual content optional, but given the nature of the game, things may become emotionally intense. Triggering topics such as death, betrayal, and trauma will likely be explored.

In the near future, I'm hoping to post in depth character profiles, a post dedicated to how character customization will work, and of course a demo of the prologue. It's proving a bit lengthy since I'm very new to twine (it took me so long just to set stuff up!!) and also because the prologue follows you from three different starting points.

BLOG | DEMO TBA | CHARACTERS | PINTEREST

[yamayuandadu]

Who is Baal, anyway?

As I mentioned in my previous article, the instigator of the recent attacks on museums in Berlin believes some of the artifacts held in them to be part of a nefarious, bloodthirsty cult, prominent on the “global satanism scene” and devoted to “Baal (Satan),”  as he put it himself according to articles covering this incident. In the following article I'll discuss the origin of this esoteric claim, as well as the actual nature of Baal, myths associated with him, other similar deities and their role in the ancient Middle East (and beyond).

I'll start with the matters I am not particularly enthusiastic about: Baal is the star of many conspiracy theories, mostly these which arise in christian fundamentalist circles, and which cast him as the deity venerated by nefarious groups, ranging from insufficiently conservative political parties and ethnic minorities to vampiric aliens, blamed for all of the world's evils. He owes this status to being one of the most frequently mentioned “false gods” or “idols” in the Bible. In fringe pseudohistory context it's basically a given that Baal is equated with the nebulous figure of Moloch, the child sacrifice boogeyman. They are not actually analogous, though - Baal is brought up in relation to idol worship, depicted as powerless, and generally associated with people from coastal cities like Sidon and Tyre – the groups Greeks collectively called „Phoenicians.” Moloch meanwhile is associated with the Ammonites, whose kingdom lied further inland – it is possible that he is therefore a biblical corruption of the Ammonite god Milkom. Some researchers propose instead that “Moloch” was a type of sacrifice involving the burning of victims in honor of a deity – this theory matches both the accounts of biblical Moloch, as well as some Greek and especially Roman accounts meant to prove the debased, barbaric nature of Phoenicians, especially these from Carthage. In later writing, all of the idols and false gods mentioned in the Bible were equated with the devil - in reality their inclusion in biblical text likely reflects struggle between various faiths and their cult centers in ancient Canaan, and later increasingly more fragmentary memories of it. In Christian demonology and in occultism, in addition to their names being considered synonyms of the devil, new demonic identities were assigned to them, which is where the popculture idea of Beelzebub, Bael and other similarly named figures has its origin. As almost every type of pseudohistory eventually connects to blood libel (or an equivalent of it), the exaggerated assumptions about biblical Moloch inspired Gilbert K. Chesteron to propose that blood libel was based on real events, specifically on possible outbreaks of “idolatry” in Jewish communities leading to bloody sacrifices. Needless to say, this is an outlandish, baseless claim rooted in prejudice. The scarce textual sources  left behind by the Phoenicians themselves do not discuss any rites which match biblical and roman claims particularly commonly – occasional mentions paint an image similar to the sacrifice of Iphigenia in Greek myth, which would imply that human sacrifice was either the domain of myth, or a rarely performed act which only occurred as an irrational response in times of great peril. Romans claimed the epicenter of such practices was Carthage, their early rival to the title of the preeminent power of the Mediterranean, and its recipient was its tutelary god, Baal Hammon – a figure not directly relate to the biblical Baal(s), who I will discuss later, but for centuries commonly assumed to be one and the same as him due to the lack of primary sources. Excavations from Carthage do show the existence of funerary sites with a high concentration of child burials, but it's a matter of heated scholarly debate if they represent a proof of Roman propaganda being rooted in truth, or if it's simply the result of the well known fact that infant mortality prior to modern times was widespread. The debate is ongoing and I do not follow it closely. There is however precisely zero evidence of human sacrifice being performed in Ugarit, the most significant site associated with the most famous, and arguably original, Baal. The extensive cult literature recovered from its ruins discusses the sacrifice of cattle, sheep, rams, birds (but only uncommonly), donkeys (only for a specific reconciliation rite), oil, wine, and precious stones and metals - but not humans (researchers also often point out that dogs and pigs were never offered to gods too, which is a pretty clear proof that some taboos present in abrahamic faiths predate them). The Ugaritic texts do mention that sacrificial meat was at least sometimes shared by the devotees (in the case of sacrifices which did not involve a pyre, obviously – which essentially means such sacrifices were feasts or holiday meals ritually shared with the deity), which I assume where the false idea that both Phoenicians of classical antiquity and their bronze age Canaanite forerunners were cannibals might come from. This specific claim seems to be currently spreading as “trivia” online, alongside a false etymology of the word cannibal (a term only attested since the beginning of Spanish colonization of the Americas). It should be noted that even the researchers who do believe that human sacrifice might have sometimes occurred in Carthage do not suggest that it was followed by cannibal feasts, and even in Roman propaganda texts from the Punic wars period no such claims show up, despite their obvious bias and need to demonize the recently vanquished rival nascent power.

In art of ancient Levant, worshipers are sometimes depicted as tiny compared to gods – many “scandalous” conspiracy posts claim as a result that the minuscule figures raising their hands on ancient artifacts represent infants sacrifices to the gods depicted. However, accompanying inscriptions identify them as kings or priests – this is the case, for example, with the famous Baal stele from Ugarit, depicting a king praying to the tutelary god of the city. With the unpleasant matters out of the way, it's time to finally ask - who is Baal? Baal refers both to a specific figure, and to the general concept of a head god of a city's pantheon in certain parts of the Levant and Mesopotamia. “Baal” simply means “lord” and can be found in both titles and names of not only gods, but also royals – including some biblical examples.

As I said, the Baal most famous today is Baal Hadad of Ugarit, a city in present day Syria which was among the victims of bronze age collapse. This Baal was derived from an earlier god, Adad, who seemingly first became a major figure near present day Aleppo, emerging as the head of the local variation of Syro-Hurro-Mesopotamian pantheon. Eventually, the title of Baal started to be regarded as his true name, with Hadad relegated to the rank of a title. His other titles include “Rider of Clouds” and “Aliyan” (“Victorious”). His cult survived the destruction of Ugarit, and flourished well into Ptolemaic times.

In Ugarit, he served not only as a god of rain and thunder, but also agriculture and fertility, and, as expected from the lead god, a source of royal power. He was depicted as an impulsive and boastful figure in myths, but was also a firm ally of humans, subduing monsters, the forces of nature, and even promising to protect his followers from wrath of other gods in myths. His symbolic animal was the bull, and he was usually depicted in horned headwear. The associations between bull horns and divinity is well attested in the religious art of Mesopotamia, Anatolia and Levant, and to a degree Egypt too. Bulls are prominently featured in the art of Minoan Crete as well. This is also why the biblical golden calf is, well, a calf. Baal Hadad's family tree is rather confusing, with two separate gods being called his fathers in the Baal Cycle and other texts. The interpretation can potentially be complicated by the fact that Ugarit's (and other bronze age kingdoms’) kings seemingly often called monarchs they viewed as more powerful as „fathers” and these of similar perceived prestige as „brothers” in diplomatic correspondence. For example, one can operate undeer the assumption the god Dagon was Baal's actual father (he's only ever brought up in such a context, and shared many of Baal's roles, and like him was a prominent god deeper inland as well) while El, the elderly king of the gods, was only Baal's „father” in the diplomatic sense of the term. Some scholars instead propose that Dagon and El were partially or fully syncretised in Ugarit, that mention of Dagan was a nod to foreign tradition, or even that Baal having two fathers might be the echo of the myth of Baal's Hittite counterpart. Our main source of information about Baal is the Baal cycle, a heroic epic recovered from Ugarit in the 1920s and a subject of much scholarly analysis ever since. While not perfectly preserved, it is nonetheless a very valuable source of information, and arguably it's what allowed Baal to metaphorically speak in his own voice to modern researchers. It details his struggle with various enemies seeking to ruin his dream of becoming the king of the gods. While it's hard to tell if that was the intent of the ancient writers, Baal appears as somewhat of an underdog in this myth – his posdible father doesn't seem to be a god of particular importance, he has to rely on his allies to accomplish most of his heroic deeds, he whines about having no house of his own, and his actions are often impulsie. However, this shouldn't overshadow the fact he was for the most part the most popular god of Ugarit.  Figures associated with the Ugaritic Baal include:

Anat -  a war goddess who shares Baal's impulsive nature, and in myths frequently acts as his main ally or enforcer, slaying various sea monsters and the personification of death, Mot (however, there are a few instances showing Baal siding with humans rather than with Anat). She's often referred to as Baal's sister, and sometimes argued to also be his consort, though this view is challenged nowadays by some researchers. It should be noted that while Baal is firmly established as Dagon's son, Anat is never presented as related to the latter – she is pretty firmly only a daughter of El and, implicitly, his wife Asherah.

Ashtart - the Ugaritic forerunner of the famous Phoenician Astarte. She was equated with Babylonian Ishtar, and while she's not as prominent as Anat in Ugaritic texts, they emphasize her roles as a warrior and hunter; she is however also renowned for her beauty. In the Baal Cycle she berates Baal for his insufficient determination during the battle with his first opponent, and later announces his victory to the world.  In many texts, both in Ugarit and beyond, her epithet is “face of Baal,” implying a particularly close bond between these two figures – it is plausible that she was viewed as Baal's consort in Ugarit. Ashtart/Astarte is NOT the same figure as Asherah (technically Athirat), the Canaanite mother goddess, and both of them appear in the Baal cycle in different roles.

Kothar-wa-Khasis – a craftsman god, indirectly equated with and possibly in part derived from Egyptian Ptah – myths state outright that he lives in Memphis, where Ptah's main temple was located. He acts as a reliable ally to Baal, providing him with weapons and precious objects and eventually also building his palace. In one scene, an argument occurs between him and Baal over whether the palace needs windows:

Yam – the god of the sea, also serving as Baal's rival to the throne. Various passage of the myth and other texts portray him as violent, tyrannical and otherwise unpleasant, and his overthrow by Baal as a positive development. He's aided by a number of sea monsters, the most notable of which is the serpent Lotan. It has been argued that that the later Babylonian Tiamat was in part based on him or his counterparts, as she doesn't appear in any Babylonian sources earlier than Enuma Elish, which is a work younger by a few centuries than the Baal cycle.

Mot – a personification of death and desolation. While even Yam received some reverence and offerings, Mot did not – he only existed as an antagonist for heroic figures. Mot's main trait is his insatiable hunger.

While the Baal from Ugarit is, due to possessing his own heroic epic, the most famous and probably best researched today, he was by no means the only deity of this sort – most cities in the Levant (and beyond, in other areas settled by the Phoenicians) had their own tutelary gods, often referred to as Baals. Among these, notable examples include:

The Baal of Tyre – Melqart served as the lead deity of the city of Tyre, seemingly the most prominent of the Phoenician centers. His name seems to simply mean “lord of the city”. He was a god of many things, most notably being viewed as a culture hero who discovered the secret of producing the purple dye which made Phoenician city-states rich and prosperous. He was also an underworld deity, and as a result an association with Babylonian Nergal has been proposed. It's quite likely that the Tyrian Baal was the one mentioned in some Biblical accounts – for example, Jezebel was said to be a princess of Tyre, therefore it's plausible that the god she revered was the Tyrian Baal. Greeks regarded him as analogous to Heracles, sadly I am unable to find the explanation for this.

The Baal of Sidon – Eshmun, a healing deity. He was seemingly viewed as analogous to the Mesopotamian Tammuz, Ishtar's lover condemned to torment in the underworld in her place. The origin of his name is unclear. His myth is somewhat similar to that of Phrygian Attis – the goddess Astronoë (possibly a variant of Astarte/Ishtar) was madly in love with him, but he was, to put it lightly, not interested (unlike Attis), and eventually castrated himself to show that, which lead to his death. He was restored to life (also unlike Attis) and made into a god of healing. Melqart and Eshmun were the two Phoenician gods invoked in a treaty meant to guarantee peace between the coastal regions and Assyria, which shows the high status of their cities in antiquity.

The Baalat of Gebal (Byblos) – Baalat was the feminine form of Baal, and a title sometimes simply applied to any prominent goddess. However, the Baalat of Gebal was seemingly a separate deity, associated with this epithet in the same way as Ugarit's Hadad became inseparable from his title of Baal. Some researchers instead propose she was simply Ashtart/Astarte, though Anat, Asherah, and Egyptian Isis and Hathor (while Ugarit was a Hittite or Mittani vassal, Gebal was under Egyptian control) were also proposed as her true identity based on instances of historical syncretism. However, due to very few surviving documents, her exact nature remains puzzling.

Baal Shamin -  revered not only by Phoenicians and their ancestors, but also by Nabateans. He was likely initially simply an epithet of Baal Hadad, but developed into a distinct deity in later times. As a separate figure he was the lead god of Palmyra, though he was eventually upstaged by Bel (Marduk) there.

The Baal of Carthage, Hammon - unlike the generally youthful other Baals, he was depicted as an old man. He was also regarded as the father of Melqart, with the latter viewed as a more important deity – Carthage in fact paid tribute to his Tyrian temple. Most of what we know about him comes from Roman sources, and as a result it's hard to tell what was his true nature – it has been proposed he was a sun god at first. He was equated by Greeks with Cronus.

In a way, Babylonian Marduk can be considered to be a Baal – among the titles used to refer to him was “Bel,” the equivalent of “Baal,” and like the coastal Baals he was originally simply the protective deity of a specific city. However, occasional attempts to identify Marduk as originally having roughly the same nature as Adad/Hadad – that of a weather and agriculture god – are generally not considered to be credible by modern researchers. As I already noted, it is however quite likely that Marduk's battle with Tiamat – a figure invented for the Enuma Elish – was at least in part based on Baal's fight with Yam in the Baal cycle. Sadly, the dubious claims that Tiamat represents a deposed matriarchal order seem to be much more known to the general public – as I already said on my blog before, these are nonsensical and their spread relies on limited understanding of Mesopotamian history. Enuma Elish was not a primordial text, but a myth devised relatively late to further help with increasing Marduk's status by having him perform the same acts as many other popular gods, there is also no evidence of the existence of an earlier matriarchal religion in Sumerian and Akkadian sources. Curiously, it's also possible the myth of Baal and its analogs and derivatives inspired Zeus' battle with Typhon – it is sometimes said that it took place near mount Saphon, associated with the cult of Baal Hadad and specifically with his battle against Yam.

Egyptians regarded Baal as analogous to Seth – this conflation occurred before Seth's dominant role became that of an opponent of Osiris of his family, and relied on Seth being a god of the borderlands and foreigners inhabiting them, as well as on his chaotic, impulsive nature. Possibly depictions of Seth as the opponents of the serpent Apep were a factor, too. In an Egyptian adaptation of the Ugaritic Baal cycle, the so-called Astarte papyrus, Seth battles Yam, though no outright conflation of the Ugaritic and Egyptian mythical evildoers ever occurred to my knowledge. Baal's supporting cast of Anat and Astarte was likewise associated with Seth in Egypt, and both are referred to as his consorts in Egyptian texts. Outside of this specific example of syncretism, “Seth” was also sometimes used as a generic title for foreign gods, almost the same was as Baal functioned as a title in the Levant – it was applied to various Canaanite gods, but also to the gods of the Hittites. For example the peace treaty between Ramses II and Hattusili XI mentions “Seth of the city of Zipalanda” and “Seth of the city of Arinna” - corresponding Hittite text reveals that these are simply Teshub, the Hurrian an Hittite monster-slaying thunder god (and close analog of Ugaritic Baal Hadad – as Ugarit was seemingly at least for some time a Hittite dependency, it is more than likely their myths influenced each other), and the sun goddess of Arinna. Egyptians referred to the Libyan god Ash as a Seth, too. Curiously, at least one Ugaritic text identifies the city's Baal with Amun, rather than Seth – it doesn't seem like this idea caught on in Egypt, though.

Teshub was possibly the deity closest to Baal Hadad both in terms of myths and depictions – compare the one above with the Ugaritic Baal stele from much earlier in this article – but as a little known figure he (and his most notable allies and enemies) deserves his separate post, so I will not discuss him there, beyond letting you know that while Baal simply clobbered Yam with some encouragement from friends, Teshub only managed to best the serpent monster Illuyanka by having his son seduce Illuyanka's daughter in order to recover his internal organs stolen by the snake. Even functionally similar deities can have wildly different stories behind them! Further reading (most articles available on academia edu, jstor or persee):

A Moratorium on God Mergers? The Case of El and Milkom in the Ammonite Onomasticon by Collin Cornell

Animal sacrifice at Ugarit by Dennis Perdee

The Lady of the Titles: The Lady of Byblos and the Search for her "True Name” by Anna Elise Zernecke

Ugaritic monsters I: The ˁatūku “Bound One” and its Sumerian parallels by Madadh Richey

‛Athtart in Late Bronze Age Syrian Texts by Mark S. Smith

ʿAthtartu’s Incantations and the Use of Divine Names as Weapons by Theodore J. Lewis

Baal, Son of Dagan: In Search of Baal’s Double Paternity by Noga Ayali-Darshan

The Role of Aštabi in the Song of Ullikummi and the Eastern Mediterranean “Failed God” Stories by Noga Ayali-Darshan

The Death of Mot and his Resurrection in the Light of Egyptian Sources by Noga Ayali-Darshan

The Other Version of the Story of the Storm-god’s Combat with the Sea in the Light of Egyptian, Ugaritic, and Hurro-Hittite Texts by Noga Ayali-Darshan

The storm-gods of ancient Near East: summary, synthesis,  recent studies, parts 1 and 2 by Daniel Schwemer

Politics and Time in the Baal Cycle by Aaron Tugendhaft

Echoes of the Baal Cycle in a Safaito-Hismaic Inscription by Ahmad Al-Jallad

My neighbor's god: Assur in Babylonia and Marduk in Assyria by Grant Frame

Gods in translation. Dynamics of transculturality between Egypt and Byblos in the III millennium BC by Angelo Colonna

Zeus Kasios or the Interpretatio Graeca of Baal Saphon in Ptolemaic Egypt by Alexandra Diez de Oliveira

[vavuska]

Bob's Burgers, Season 11, Episode 7, Diarrhea of a Poopy Kid

When Gene can't eat Thanksgiving dinner because of a stomach flu, the family tries to make him hate food, by telling him horror stories about food: in both Tina's — a parody of Harrison Ford's Air Force One (1997) — and Bob's —a parody of Michael Bay's Armageddon (1998) — stories, Gene insists that his wife be played by Linda. The others find it questionable, while Linda finds it sweet.

Bob's Burgers, Season 9, Episode 14, Every Which Way but Goose

Oedipus Mythology

Laius, king of Thebes, was warned by an oracle that his son would slay him. So, Laius started avoiding physical contacts with his wife, Jocasta. Unfortunately, a night, while he was strongly drunk, ended up sleeping with her, getting Jocasta pregnant. So, when Jocasta, bore a son, Laius had the baby exposed (a form of infanticide) on Cithaeron. (Tradition has it that the name Oedipus, which means “Swollen-Foot,” was a result of his feet having been pinned together, but modern scholars are skeptical of that etymology.) A shepherd took pity on the infant and decided to rescue him and gave little Oedipus to the royal couple that didn't have child of their own. So, Oedipus was adopted by King Polybus of Corinth and his wife and was brought up as their son. In early manhood Oedipus visited Delphi and upon learning that he was fated to kill his father and marry his mother. Horrified by this reveal, Oedipus, who didn't know to have been adopted, he decided to never return to Corinth.

A depiction of Oedipus and the sphinx, taken from an Attic kylix produced by an artist known to modern scholars as ‘Painter of Oedipus’. Gregorian Etruscan Museum, Vatican City, Rome. 470 B. C.

Traveling toward Thebes, the young man encountered Laius, who provoked a quarrel in which Oedipus killed him. Continuing on his way, Oedipus found Thebes plagued by the Sphinx, who put a riddle to all passersby and destroyed those who could not answer. Oedipus solved the riddle, and the Sphinx killed herself. In reward, he received the throne of Thebes and the hand of the widowed queen, his mother, Jocasta. They had four children: Eteocles, Polyneices, Antigone, and Ismene. Later, when the truth became known, Jocasta committed suicide, and Oedipus (according to another version), after blinding himself, went into exile, accompanied by Antigone and Ismene, leaving his brother-in-law/uncle Creon as regent. Oedipus died at Colonus near Athens, where he was swallowed into the earth and became a guardian hero of the land.

Charles Francois Jalabert, Oedipus and Antigone (1843)

Antoni Brodowski, Oedipus and Antigone (1823)

Oedipus' children and his uncle/brother-in-law have a tragic mythological story of their own: Antigone and Ismene, after the death of their unfortunate father, returned to Thebes, where they attempted to reconcile their quarreling brothers—Eteocles, who was defending the city and his crown, and Polyneices, who was attacking Thebes. In fact, Eteocles and Polynices were twins and they made a pact in which they would govern on Thebes togheter in alternate years, but at the end of his first year of government, King Eteocles decided to not pass the crown to his brother, breaking their pact. So, Polynices with his loyal followers and allies decided to attack Thebes to obtain the crown for himself. Both brothers, however, were killed, and their uncle Creon became king. After performing an elaborate funeral service for Eteocles, Creon forbade the removal of the corpse of Polyneices, condemning it to lie unburied, declaring him to have been a traitor. Antigone, moved by love for her brother and convinced of the injustice of the command, buried Polyneices secretly. For that she was ordered by Creon to be executed and was immured in a cave, where she hanged herself. Her beloved, Haemon, son of Creon, committed suicide.

Antigone with Polynices' Body, painting by Sebastien Norblin, 1825 CE, Paris, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts.

Oedipus in art: X

Oedipus complex

in classical psychoanalytic theory, the erotic feelings of the son toward the mother, accompanied by rivalry and hostility toward the father, during the phallic stage of psychosexual development. Sigmund Freud derived the name from the Greek myth in which Oedipus unknowingly killed his father and married his mother. Freud saw the Oedipus complex as the basis for neurosis when it is not adequately resolved by the boy’s fear of castration and gradual identification with the father. The corresponding relationship involving the erotic feelings of the daughter toward the father, and rivalry toward the mother, is referred to as the female Oedipus complex, which is posited to be resolved by the threat of losing the mother’s love and by finding fulfillment in the feminine role. Although Freud held the Oedipus complex to be universal, most anthropologists question this universality because there are many cultures in which it does not appear. Contemporary psychoanalytic thought has decentralized the importance of the Oedipus complex and has largely modified the classical theory by emphasizing the earlier, primal relationship between child and mother.

Here the link to a post of mine in which I analyze the relationship between Freud and his parents:

Electra complex

Electra complex is the female equivalent of the Oedipus complex. Carl Jung introduced this concept in his Theory of Psychoanalysis in 1913; however, Freud did not accept this theory as he believed that Oedipus complex applies to both boys and girls although they experience it differently.

What happens in the Electra complex is that girls become unconsciously attracted to their father and develop hostile feelings towards mothers, seeing them as their rivals. Penis envy is an element in female psychosexual development, where the daughter blames the mother for depriving her of a penis. Eventually, this resentment leads the girl to identify with and emulate the mother, incorporating many of the mother’s characteristics into her ego.

Electra Myth

Electra was the daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra of Mycenae. She was the sister of Iphigenia (who Agamemnon sacrificed to Neptune to have a good sail to Troy) and as well as Orestes, with whom they planned the murder of their mother and her lover Aegisthus, seeking revenge for the murder of their father. Agamemnon was the brother of Menelaus, who was king of Sparta and married with Helen (the woman fallen in love with Prince Paris of Troy and "kidnapped" by him) and Clytemnestra was Helen's sister.

When Agamemnon returned from the Trojan War along with his slave-lover Cassandra (was a fromer priestess of Apollus, cursed by Apollus himself to tell future and not be believed for refusing his love attentions, and also the sister of Paris), he was murdered by his wife and her lover, Aegisthus, who was also his cousin. Aegisthus had a rotten past of being born by an incestuous rape and in a family history of adultery, murders and revenge: Thyestes, Aegisthus' father, and Atreus, father of Menelaus and Agamemnon, were brothers and they were exiled by their father for killing their own half-brother to rule over Olympia. They moved to Mycenae and started fighting for the throne. Thyestes was the lover of Atreus' wife and Atreus for revenge murdered all Thyestes' sons and severed their flesh to their unwilling father as meal. Horrified by have eaten his own children, Atreus plotted his revenge and asked for help to an oracle, that told him that his revenger would be born from the rape of his own daughter, Pelopia. However, when Aegisthus was first born, he was abandoned by Pelopia, ashamed of the origin of her son. A shepherd found the infant Aegisthus and gave him to Atreus, who raised him as his own son. Only as he entered adulthood did Thyestes reveal the truth to Aegisthus, that he was both father and grandfather to the boy and that Atreus was his uncle. Aegisthus then killed Atreus, accused of murdering his brothers/uncles and forcing Thyestes to rape his own daughter. While Thyestes ruled Mycenae, the sons of Atreus, Agamemnon and Menelaus, were exiled to Sparta. There, King Tyndareus accepted them as the royalty that they were and gave his daughters' hands (Clytemnestra and Helen) in marriage to the brothers. Shortly after, he helped the brothers return to Mycenae to overthrow Thyestes, forcing him to live in Kythira, where he died. Clytemnestra was furious at her husband for sacrificing their daughter Iphigenia before his departure to Troy and Aegisthus with a similar past wasn't that happy with his uncle and cousins too. So, they killed both Agamemnon and Cassandra upon their arrival, even though Cassandra had warned of this ill fate.

Clytemnestra after the Murder, oil painting by John Collier, 1882, London, Guildhall Art Gallery

Clytemnestra hesitates before killing the sleeping Agamemnon as Aegisthus urges her on. 1817.  Pierre Narcisse Guerin. French 1774-1833. oil/canvas.

Electra and Orestes sought refuge in Athens, and when Orestes was 20 years old, he consulted the Oracle of Delphi; there, he was told to take revenge for his father's death. Along with his sister, they went back to Mycenae and plotted against their mother and Aegisthus. With the help of his cousin and best friend, Pylades, Orestes managed to kill his mother and her lover; before her death though, Clytemnestra cursed Orestes and as a result, the Furies or Erinyes (justice or revenge goddess, who punish people who committed most horrible crimes) chased him, as it was their duty to punish anyone commiting matricide or other similar violent acts. Electra, instead, was not haunted by the Erinyes.

Orestes murders Aegisthus, (On the left Chrysothemis), Red-figure pelike. Detail. Attic., by an ancient artist known as the Berlin Painter. Clay. Ca. 500 B. C., Vienna, Museum of Art History

The Ghost of Clytemnestra Awakening the Furies, John Downman, 1781, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America

About the House of Atreus: X

[tosimornottosim]

Nadja: “Mum! Papa! Look!”

Constanze: “Don’t you look sharp in your uniform!”

Sigmar: “You’re going to blow them all away purely from a fashion standpoint!”

Constanze: “And from a school-standpoint.”

Sigmar: “But fashion, Constanze.”

[littlesparklight]

Just had the thought how, like, yes, Hyacinthus and Apollo being at odds during/because of the Trojan war, which is a juicy conflict on its own. (Especially if you let Apollo be right and sympathetic, especially given his eventual losses.)

But Apollo isn't the only one of the twins who has connections to the Spartan royal family but is on the Trojan side.

Artemis does as well!

Like, even setting aside Iphigenia, if you go with her surviving and being immediately or eventually immortalized, Artemis also immortalizes Phylonoe, sister to Helen and the rest, sometime before the war. And then there's Hyacinthus' little sister Polyboia.

Artemis can have anywhere from 1-3 members of the Spartan royal family in her inner circle of "immortalized mortal girls", and yet she's firmly on the Trojan side, too. That gotta have bred some tension at least for a while! Especially with Phylonoe, who's niece Iphigenia is, if not with Iphigenia herself!

[kareenvorbarra]

homer, or greek myth broadly if you prefer

this is probably going to be mostly Iliad since that's what's on my mind right now

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most): it's a rotating cast but at the moment i'm fixated on Andromache, Hector, Cassandra, Polyxena, Briseis, and Tecmessa

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped): Iphigenia a little bit, and Perseus a little bit (he's just trying to help his mom!). also weirdly Iliad!Aeneas, who has major "reckless baby cousin" energy imo

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave): Teucer and Tecmessa are both particularly underrated I think - everyone is sleeping on the potential for drama in Teucer being Priam's nephew and the son of an enslaved Trojan, and how that might affect the way he views Tecmessa and her son, and also how their relationship might change after Ajax dies

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week): literally too many to count, i've been getting emotional about every member of the Trojan royal family including the ones who show up once and are immediately killed. top five obscure faves who aren't already somewhere else in this post are probably Melantho, Diomede, Iole, Ismene, and Hesione.

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave): Ajax son of Telamon :| also Agamemnon unfortunately

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason): most of my faves tbh, but they're already tormented so much by the narrative that i don't have to do a lot of work

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell): this feels like a boring answer but Achilles

[justforbooks]

Elektra, Op. 58, is a one-act opera by Richard Strauss, to a German-language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, which he adapted from his 1903 drama Elektra. The opera was the first of many collaborations between Strauss and Hofmannsthal. It was first performed at the Königliches Opernhaus in Dresden on 25 January 1909. It was dedicated to his friends Natalie and Willy Levin.

While based on ancient Greek mythology and Sophocles' tragedy Electra, the opera is highly modernist and expressionist in style. Hofmannsthal's and Strauss's adaptation of the story focuses tightly on Elektra, thoroughly developing her character by single-mindedly expressing her emotions and psychology as she meets with other characters, mostly one at a time. (The order of these conversations closely follows Sophocles' play.) The other characters are Klytaemnestra, her mother and one of the murderers of her father Agamemnon; her sister, Chrysothemis; her brother, Orestes; and Klytaemnestra's lover, Aegisthus.

Various aspects from the myth are minimized as background to Elektra's character and her obsession. Other facets of the ancient story are completely excluded, in particular the earlier sacrifice by Agamemnon of his and Klytaemnestra's daughter Iphigenia, which was the motivation for Klytaemnestra's subsequent murder of Agamemnon. These changes tightened the focus on Elektra's furious lust for revenge. The result is a very modern, expressionistic retelling of the ancient Greek myth. Compared to Sophocles's Electra, the opera presents raw, brutal, violent, and bloodthirsty horror. Some scholars detect hints of incest in Elektra's dysfunctional family relationships. Norwegian musicologist Ståle Wikshåland has analysed the use of time and temporality in the dramaturgy of Elektra.

Elektra is the second of Strauss's two highly modernist operas (the other being Salome), characterized by cacophonous sections and atonal leitmotifs. These works contrast highly with his earliest operas and his later period. The reception of Elektra in German-speaking countries was mostly divided along traditionalist and modernist lines.

Elektra is one of the most frequently performed operas based on classical Greek mythology, with a performance lasting—like the composer's earlier Salome—around 100 minutes. Elektra received its UK premiere at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 1910 with Edyth Walker in the title role and Thomas Beecham conducting at the first- ever performance of a Strauss opera in the UK. The first United States performance of the opera in the original German was given by the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company at the Academy of Music on 29 October 1931, with Anne Roselle in the title role, Charlotte Boerner as Chrysothemis, Margarete Matzenauer as Klytaemnestra, Nelson Eddy as Orest, and Fritz Reiner conducting. The opera made its premiere at the Metropolitan Opera in New York on December 3, 1932, with Gertrude Kappel singing the title role and Artur Bodanzky conducting.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

[celticcrossanon]

BRF Spread - Anon Question, 7th of March 2021

This is speculation only.

7th of March, 2021

Question: Will Harry and Meghan divorce?

Interpretation: Will they ever!

The first card that flew out of the deck while I was shuffling was the Ace of Wands. This is a new creative endeavour. Nothing is actualised as yet, but the idea is there. Hidden behind that card was The Empress. This shows a pregnant woman. This woman is hiding behind the Ace of Wands, the new creative idea, using it to obscure her real self. This to me is Meghan Markle. She is thinking of divorcing Harry, but she is hiding her plans behind a pregnancy and the image of the so-in-love, growing happy family (I didn’t say that this was working, but that is what she is doing). Wands can represent PR, so this pregnancy is also a PR stunt - a way to hide her plans and to gain sympathy for herself. It also gives her another child to claim money for when she leaves Harry.

The second card is the Five of Wands. Two people - Harry and Meghan - are facing off with a dragon, which to me represents the BRF. This card is one of conflict, but notice that the picture shows no actual fighting, just the man and the woman waving torches. This tells me that MM and PH are using PR (the torches) to create the illusion of conflict with the BRF (Hello Oprah interview!). While there may be some conflict in fact, that factual conflict is not what MM and PH are showing to the world. The conflict they tell people about is 100% a fabrication of their own making.

The third card is the Three of Wands. This is a card of carrying a plan to an initial triumphant conclusion. Whatever plan MM has (and it is her plan as Harry is not showing up in this spread as anything other than a supporting character) it will initially be successful (like getting an interview with Oprah and airing it on TV, or announcing that she is pregnant). However, and it is a big caveat, there is a lot of hard work ahead to bring this plan to a successful conclusion.

The fourth card is the Ten of Swords. The plan does not work. Things go terribly, terribly wrong. This is the card of someone who is utterly defeated, at rock bottom. They can go now lower. They have no strength or energy left. There is hope in the sunrise on the card, and in the goddess Athene holding back the Furies, but the person in this card is at the end of their limits, especially mentally, as swords is the suit of thoughts. I’m not happy about writing this, but I would not be surprised if the failure of this plan caused PH  to go off the deep end mentally and have a complete breakdown. I think there is some sort of betrayal here that hits PH the hardest. MM will turn on him, like the Furies in the image, and do her best to destroy him/rip him to pieces in her anger. At his lowest point, PH will be protected from the Furies/MM by the forces of justice and the law (Athene is the goddess of law, justice, wisdom, and strategy).

The fifth, and last card, is the Three of Swords. Someone is murdered, literally or figuratively, by their past actions, as on the card Clytemnestra and her lover murder her husband King Agamemnon for his past action of sacrificing Clytemnestra’s daughter Iphigenia to the Gods. It is a card of sorrow, heartbreak, and completion. The cycle is finished. Past actions, possibly involving a child, have caught up with MM and PH and come to a brutal conclusion. I see this card as MM (the wife, the married in royal) and her lover destroying PH (the royal in blood) in the media so they can leave and create a new life together. 

The underlying energy is that of the Five of Cups. Psyche has brought light into the darkness shrouding her marriage bed, and her husband, Eros, flees from it. There is an energy of one party having fled the marriage - for me that is PH. The other still wants the prestige of the marriage and is pursuing the departed party. The cups show all that has been lost - 4 are knocked over, only one stands upright. From having an abundance of earthly goods (the cups), only one portion is left.

Putting it all together: Yes, PH and MM will divorce. MM has been thinking and planning for this for a while (Ace of Wands, Three of Wands). She may have conceived her second child to get more money out of the BRF when the divorce comes (the Empress). She is trying to portray the BRF as a huge monster and herself as the noble hero fighting against it (Five of Wands). In the long run, it will not work. Things go wrong. PH is physically present in the marriage, but his soul/self left a long time ago (Five of Cups). MM knows this, and is clinging on to the shell of the marriage for her own ends. When the plan of MM falls through, PH will be driven to a breakdown (Ten of Swords), but when he is at his lowest he will be rescued/protected by a force of justice. MM will try to destroy him and while she will not cause his physical death, she will destroy the image he presents to the world (Three of Swords).

The major arcana card in this is the Empress, so those pregnancies of MM are important. The last card, the Three of Swords, shows past actions with respect to their child causing the murder of King Agamemnon. The pregnancies and the children born of them will play a role in this, as past actions in respect of pregnancy/child will be used to destroy PH in the eyes of the public. We reap what we sow.