#accepted: helenus | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

babyrdie · 5 months ago

Text

ACHILLES ON SKYROS [PART 3]

Part 1 here. Part 2 here.

This text is a continuation of the previous one, therefore the warnings given in the previous one apply here. Reading the post before this one is recommended if you're interested in reading this one.

Posthomerica, by Quintus Smyrnaeus (4th century AD)

This is a source of Greek mythology. Posthomerica, or The Fall of Troy, is an epic poem that aims to tell what happened after what was narrated in The Iliad. For example, the death of Penthesilea by Achilles, the death of Antilochus by Memnon, the death of Memnon by Achilles, the death of Achilles, the search and arrival of Neoptolemus, etc etc. The part that is interesting for this post is that of Neoptolemus in Book 6 and Book 7, as they’re the ones that provide details about Skyros.

This part is too long to copy and paste entirely here, so I'll summarize it instead. However, I recommend reading at least Book 7 of Posthomerica for context. It's long for a post, but not long for a read, I promise!

[Book 6] Although the prophecy regarding Neoptolemus is usually given by Helenus after he was kidnapped by Odysseus, in Posthomerica the person responsible for the prophecy is Calchas, the seer of the Greeks. He tells the Greeks that they must send Diomedes and Odysseus to Skyros to bring Achilles' son, as he’s essential to the fall of Troy.

Menelaus tells Odysseus, if Neoptolemus accepts to fight in the Trojan War for the Greeks, he will marry him to his daughter, Hermione. He did this as a guarantee, as this marriage would be too promising for Neoptolemus to refuse, as it would connect him with the royalty of Sparta.

Odysseus and Diomedes leave for Skyros. The rest of Book 6 is unrelated to the post topic, so let's move on to Book 7.

[Book 7] While things were going on in Troy, Diomedes and Odysseus arrived on Skyros. As they approached the Palace of Skyros, they found Neoptolemus practicing. Upon seeing Neoptolemus, they were happy to find him and at the same time sad, as they immediately recognized him precisely because he looked a lot like Achilles thanks to his beauty and the way he practiced, which reminded them of their deceased friend. Neoptolemus then greeted them.

Odysseus greets Neoptolemus, introduces himself and Diomedes, praises him saying he’s similar to Achilles, offers the armor forged by Hephaestus that belonged to Achilles while explaining how he won it and informs him of the marriage promise offered by Menelaus. Neoptolemus accepts, saying if the oracles call for him then he will come, and invites them to enter.

They meet Deidamia, here called Queen Deidamia, who was immensely sad because she had already learned about Achilles' death. Neoptolemus introduced Diomedes and Odysseus to her, but decided to tell her the reason for their journey the next day to avoid increasing his mother's sadness.

There was a good reception for the guests and everyone slept well, except Deidamia. She noticed the names of Diomedes and Odysseus were the same names as the men who had convinced Achilles to leave her to go to the same war that made her a widow. Blaming them for the grief she and Peleus (Peleus is actually mentioned) feel, Deidamia cannot sleep because she knows they’re after her son and she’s afraid that Neoptolemus will suffer the same fate as his father, that is: leaving with Odysseus and Diomedes in search of a promised glory and never returning.

The next day, Deidamia tried to convince Neoptolemus not to leave, saying he was too young to go to such a cruel war, saying that if even someone as powerful as his father didn't survive she felt that Neoptolemus wouldn't survive either, accusing Diomedes and Odysseus of being cunning and saying there is no sadder fate for a woman than losing both her husband and her children.

Neoptolemus tells her not to have so many bad feelings, but he also said that only those who are destined die and that if his destiny is to die for the Greeks, then he will do so. Lycomedes, an elderly man here, doesn't try to convince him not to go, and instead says he looks like his father, gives him lots of advice and kisses him.

Neoptolemus is excited to leave, but Deidamia tearfully stops him to say goodbye. Despite her pain, she’s proud of her son. She kisses him several times, and then Neoptolemus leaves along with trusted men that Deidamia has chosen. After her son's departure, Deidamia goes to Neoptolemus' room and cries on his bed, on the doorpost, on top of his childhood toys, on top of his dart.

Poseidon (“Raven-haired, the Lord of all the sea”), Thetis and the Nereid watch Neoptolemus' journey, pleased with his joy. Subsequently, the Book focuses on the reception of Neoptolemus by the Greeks, which is not the focus here.

Here, Deidamia and Achilles are apparently married, since she’s described as a widow. Her being described as “Queen” is curious to say the least, since this isn’t a title commonly given to her.

The parallels between Achilles and Neoptolemus have always been obvious. The two had a prophecy that made them essential to the fall of Troy, they were both recruited in Skyros by Odysseus (according to the most popular versions of the myths. This varies, as I have already shown in this post), in both cases their mothers tried to stop them from leaving and in both cases they left anyway, in both cases they were too young for war, in both cases they were described as beautiful and great warriors, both committed the same sacrilege (attacking a supplicant inside a temple of a god), both were represented as sincere (in the case of Achilles this already appeared in The Iliad, in the case of Neoptolemus you can read Philoctetes for reference) and both died young (in the case of Neoptolemus, he survived the war). They even share similar names, since more than one source says that Achilles' feminine name on Skyros was Pyrrha and more than one source says that Neoptolemus' birth name was Pyrrhus, it was Pyrrhus, and in one of them Phoenix is the one who renamed him precisely in honor of Achilles (because Neoptolemus means “new war”, thus referencing the youth of both Achilles and Neoptolemus). In a way, both were promising young men with an exceptional lineage who, eager for glory, entered a war at a very young age and, throughout that war, became corrupted to the point of committing sacrilege (Achilles kills Troilus inside the Temple of Apollo, Neoptolemus kills Priam inside the Temple of Zeus). In particular, I think that reading Iphigenia at Aulis by Euripides and Philoctetes by Sophocles it’s very easy to see how Achilles (in Euripides' case) and Neoptolemus (in Sophocles' case) were actually very young and innocent at the beginning of it all. On the other hand, reading the characters in sources that report their deeds in War, they’re definitely not innocent. Both were born for war, as the prophecies said, and they were "lost" in it. In the case of Neoptolemus, it is even in the etymology of his name.

In Greek mythology, the character of Achilles seems haunted by the prophecy (which the theme of this post emphasizes well, since the most common/famous tradition of Achilles + Skyros is that he was taken to Skyros because of the prophecy. Likewise, he left Skyros because of the prophecy. Likewise, he didn’t return to Deidamia because of the prophecy), but Neoptolemus' character seems haunted by the ghost of his father. He only participates in the Trojan War after the death of Achilles and, upon joining the army, ironically fills the role that previously belonged to his father as an impressive young and unstoppable offensive attacker. Often, praise directed at Neoptolemus is made by comparing him with Achilles, for example Philoctetes only trusts Neoptolemus because he trusted Achilles previously in Sophocles' play and in Posthomerica Quintus uses Achilles as a way of exemplifying Neoptolemus' beauty and skill. Deidamia is afraid of losing her son because she lost Achilles first. Neoptolemus seeks glory for himself and also for Achilles. Commonly, Neoptolemus also wears the iconic armor made by Hephaestus that previously belonged to Achilles. While Achilles aimed to be the strongest of his generation without thinking about a specific name, Neoptolemus aimed at his goal while thinking about Achilles.

However, Posthomerica seems dedicated to emphasizing these similarities. Neoptolemus is presented as being easily recognizable due to his similar appearance and practice skills as Achilles, for example. But the most interesting resemblance here is Deidamia, wife of one and mother of another. In Book 7, she’s the link between them. It's from her point of view that, seeing how Neoptolemus is being recruited, we learn that his father was recruited in a very similar way. In some sources Deidamia is portrayed as asking Achilles to stay (in visual representations of discovery of the disguise it’s also common for her to be depicted at his side), and here she does the same for Neoptolemus because she sees in him the dead husband who will become the dead son. More than that, ironically Deidamia reminds me of the way in which Thetis also tried to prevent his son's death because of a prophecy, an attempt that in myths is almost always the reason for Deidamia and Achilles to meet (depending on the source, Thetis is not mentioned . In an unusual version, it is Peleus). In a way, Posthomerica presents a little explored (at least in the surviving sources) vision of an older Deidamia. Not a princess, but a queen. Not a girl trying desperately to keep her boy from leaving, but a woman trying desperately to keep her beloved son from leaving. Throughout the text, Deidamia is in grief. If we were first introduced to a widowed Deidamia who mourns her husband, later we were introduced to a Deidamia who prematurely mourns the fate of her son. Thus, Deidamia is used as a way to emphasize the similarity between the two young heroes.

Bibliotheca, by Photius I of Constantinople (9th century AD)

This is a source of Greek mythology. Bibliotheca was dedicated to Photius' brother, and contains reviews of books he read. As such, the intention wasn’t to be a reference, as was the case with Pseudo-Apollodorus and Hyginus, but currently it has great importance because of the number of versions it offers. In addition, there is information about lost works that are now only found in the Bibliotheca. Anyway, it's because of things like this that I recommend not ignoring Byzantine sources.

Photius says that Aristonicus of Tarentum said that while Achilles was disguised as a girl, his name was Cercysera. Unfortunately, it isn’t possible to be sure which period Aristonicus belongs to and, therefore, there is no way to know which period this information is from. Photius then goes on to speak of other names attributed to Achilles, including Pyrrha.

Aristonicus of Tarentum said that Achilles, when he lived among the young girls at the house of Lycomedes, was called Cercysera; he was also called Issa and Pyrrha and Aspetos and Prometheus.

Bibliotheca, 190.9. Translation by John Henry Freese.

Photuis says, according to Ptolemy Hephaestion, Achilles and Deidamia hadn’t only Neoptolemus, but also Oneiros. As far as I know, this is the only source mentioning Oneiros and, like his brother, he was killed by Orestes. The difference is that in the case of Oneiros the death was accidental, while in the case of Neoptolemus it was deliberate. Due to a passage in the Suda, a Byzantine encyclopedia, Ptolemy Hephaestion is theorized to possibly be Ptolemy Chennus, a contemporary of Trajan and Hadrian. If he really was Chennus, then this is a version dating possibly to Roman Greece.

Achilles and Deidamia had two children: Neoptolemus and Oneiros; Oneiros was killed by Orestes, who didn't recognise him, while fighting with him in Phokis for a place to pitch a tent.

Bibliotheca, 190.20. Translation by John Henry Freese.

Visual Representantion

The oldest on record is a Greek painting made by Polygnotus of Thasos and belonging to the 5th century BC. It didn’t survive, but is attested by Pausanias. Another Greek painting was painted by Athenion of Maroneia and belongs to the 4th or 3rd century BC. It didn’t survive, but is attested by Pliny the Elder. Later, the Romans retracted this myth. According to Michel E. Fuchs: “The subject of Achilles on Skyros, showing Odysseus coming to look for Achilles in the court of king Lycomedes where it is hidden, disguised as woman, to try to escape its fate, is represented on about fifteen mosaics dated from the 2nd to the 4thc. These mosaics are as well in the western part as in the oriental part of the Roman Empire (Fig. 1). A group includes pavements of Gallia, Germania Superior, Iberic peninsula, North Africa and Britain; the second group is situated between Greece and the antique city of Zeugma.” (Achilles on Skyros: Crossing over Architecture, Mosaic and Wall Painting, pag 36). Thus, we certainly cannot say that this myth hasn’t become popular.

About the theme, Katherine Dunbabin says:

An enormous amount has been written about Achilles on Skyros, and there have been many subtle readings of the varied composition of these scenes and the different messages that they may have conveyed in their specific contexts. The fundamental sense of the Skyros episode is clearly the self-revelation of the hero, rejecting the life of soft luxury for that of manly virtue and his warlike destiny; but it can be tempered, to a greater or lesser degree, by the erotic elements: Achilles as the lover of Deidameia, who tries in vain to hold him back, or as the general object of female desire, surrounded and clutched by a bevy of maidens. In the eastern versions the ambivalent, feminine side of the disguised Achilles is much more apparent; emphasis is placed on the transformation, the male body emerging from the female clothing. My concern in this paper is not with the specific way(s) in which viewers might have read any one of these scenes, nor with the message that each patron may have been wishing to convey, but with the flexibility of the scene and its potential to be adapted to so wide a range of meanings. Nevertheless, a central core persists through all the changes and variations, which allows the underlying story to be identified, and is essential if the image is to have any meaning at all.

Transformations of Achilles on Late Roman Mosaics (Wandering Myths by Katherine Dunbabin, pg 362-363.

When analyzing the common characteristics between the representations (especially the Roman ones), Winsor also discusses about the gender aspect:

The second extra-textual consideration is the status of the myth of Achilles on Skyros to which Horace alludes in conclusion. As I have suggested, the rhetoric of the passage contains certain self-undermining implications, but the same might be said of the story itself. How seriously should we take Horace's comparison? As an item in heroic tradition, the story derives from the secondary epics rather than the Homeric mainstream, and was particularly favored by the deviant Alexandrians. Literary testimony reports that it was the subject of two Greek pictorial representations: one by Polygnotus and another by Athenion of Maronea who worked around 330 B.C. Descriptions of these provide insight into the kind of derogatory responses that the subject could provoke. Pausanias (1.22.6) deplores the earlier painting, declaring that Homer had done well to represent Achilles as the captor of Skyros, rather than saying he had lived there among the maidens as Polygnotus showed him. Pliny (HN 35.134) describes Athenion's rendering of the topic with emphasis on action and dress: "Achillem virginis habitu occultatum Ulixe deprendente et in una tabula VI signa.” Apparently what struck him was the incongruous costume, virginis habitus, meant for concealment.

The subject appears also in several Pompeian panels, primarily from the fourth style period and therefore post-Horatian, but conceivably mediated through earlier representations known at Rome (figs. 1-5, p. 341). Allowing for variations in the placement of figures we see common characteristics among these compositions, which unexceptionally depict the moment when Odysseus and Diomedes succeed in provoking Achilles to betray his disguise through their trick of offering arms; in three examples, these arms include a shield on which Achilles himself is depicted as Chiron's pupil. Like Athenion's rendering of the subject, all these paintings show Achilles in female dress, the drape parting to reveal a substantially fleshed thigh; yet one might say that the painters, as if interesting themselves in the credibility of the erstwhile successful disguise, had actually underplayed the incongruity between the revealed male figure and woman's clothes. Many features of Achilles' person in these paintings are effeminate. The details differ from one example to another but variously include long coiffed hair, rounded cheeks and light skin. Feminine characteristics are most explicitly developed in the Casa dei Dioscuri painting (fig. 1) where the hero's pale and fleshy limbs, emerging from a swirling voluminous chiton, contrast with Odysseus' bronzed, muscular physique. Beyond this, the posture of Achilles, whom Diomedes has grasped from the rear, is actually that of woman as the object of sexual aggression, as can be seen in several analogous portrayals: Hercules and Auge (fig. 6) ; Apollo and Daphne (fig. 7); Mars and Venus (fig. 8); or a Satyr surprising a Maenad (fig. 9 [figs. 6-9, p. 342]). Here, then, is an Achilles whom cross-dressing has so successfully integrated into feminine society that his gender identity has become visibly questionable. Beneath appearances lies nonetheless another incongruity made clear by Deidamia's presence both in this and in other painted versions of the subject. In spite of Achilles' costume and gesture we must understand his identity as fully male because his liaison with the princess has confirmed his sexuality. The result is a comic view of crossdressing. This idea, which is adumbrated in Horace's phrase cultus virilis, as much applicable to costume as to education, may raise another question about Sybaris. Is he hiding because his habituation to the soft amorous life has made him genuinely effeminate? If so his healthy Roman recovery may seem less assured and the condition to which he has been reduced more serious.

Several recent studies by classical scholars have explored ways in which ancient literary and artistic representation of crossdressing highlights flexibility in gender definition and the recognition of gender as a primarily social construction. Examining the phenomenon across a broader chronological spectrum from the Renaissance to the present day, Marjorie Garber places cross-dressing within the Lacanian literary-cultural realm of the symbolic and notes its occurrence as calling attention to category crisis: cultural, social, and aesthetic dissonances. Insofar as the social construction of gender involves a complex of conditions programming the routines by which personal identity is validated, a foregrounding of gender indeterminacy may signal the disorientation of these routines by changed social circumstances. Although the general practice of cross-dressing is understood as a source of gratification to those who engage in it, all the same when cross-dressing also involves misidentification of gender, it discomforts persons who have a stake in keeping their gender identity clear. Thus Achilles' spontaneous and decisive response to Odysseus' trick makes his disguise appear comically awkward.

Horace Carmen 1.8: Achilles, the Campus Martius, and the Articulation of Gender Roles in Augustan Rome by Eleanor Winsor Leach, pg 339-340.

The figures she’s referring to are:

Achilles on Skyros (pag 341)

Women being assaulted (pag 342)

Synthesis

Fun fact: the reason Libanius' Oration 64 is only at the beginning of post 1 and is not among the sources and has no interpretation presented is that I simply couldn't find an accessible translation. All I got were academics arguing about the text and I don't know if this section at the beginning is the complete part that refers to Achilles in Skyros, so I didn't comment on it. I know there is a widely used translation by Margaret Molly and it's available on the Loeb website. The problem is: without having an institution that gives me access to Loeb, the first year of registration is $175 DOLLARS. My friends, my country's currency costs about 5 times less than the dollar. Can you imagine me paying for this subscription? You can't, right? Alright! So no Libanius here, but I still wanted to mention that this text exists, so I put it as a quote at the beginning of the post. I also know about Ioannis Malalas, who is theorized to be one of the sources for Ioannis Tzetzes, but I didn't really know what to do with him, so I didn't include him. Anyway, let's get to the synthesis.

VERSIONS: The following divisions are used in academia:

Option 1 (seems to be the most used)

There is a version where Achilles sacks Skyros (The Iliad)

There is a version where Achilles ends up on Skyros because of a storm (The Cypria and The Little Iliad)

There is a version that Achilles disguises himself as a girl on Skyros (most sources dealing with this topic)

Option 2

There is a version where Achilles ends up on Skyros because of a storm and plunders the island (The Cypria and The Little Iliad + The Iliad)

There is a version that Achilles disguises himself as a girl on Skyros (most sources dealing with this topic)

Option 3

There is a version in which Achilles disguises himself as a girl in Skyros at one point and, later (already in the army), accidentally ends up in Skyros because of a storm and sacks the island.

Interestingly, I didn't see Heroica considered in these divisions proposed by academics. I imagine, by purposely seeking to differentiate as much as possible from the most traditional version of the myth (especially Homer), it ends up presenting a completely new version that no previous author had used and is, therefore, a completely separate version. Thus, if we consider Heroic, it would be necessary to add one more version for each option, totaling: option 1 has 4 versions of the myth, option 2 has 3 versions of the myths and option 3 has 2 versions of the myth. Tzetzes' version is also not accounted for and, in fact, isn't present in any other source, but I think it may fit with Heroica's version due to the idea that “they were married and had a son, and Achilles went to the Trojan War of his own free will and the disguise never happened” even if unintentionally.

RELATIONSHIP: Although it's a constant Achilles had something sexual with Deidamia as the character of Neoptolemus exists, the nature of the relationship seems to change.

According to Homer, it isn't possible to have any information other than to assume that there was no marriage since Achilles is thinking about getting married. Any other idea is mere speculation.

According to the summary of Stasinus of Cyprus's work, it is possible to know that they got married. However, it isn't possible to know the development of this and theories of how the development happened are just theories.

According to the summary of the Lesches of Mytilene's work, it's possible to know that he uses the same version of Stasinus in which Achilles disembarks on Skyros because of a storm. However, nothing else is possible to know and anything else is just theory.

According to Euripides, it is not possible to know much because the play is fragmentary. However, there is a possibility that the rape element is present, not because it is stated in the surviving fragments but because there are textual elements similar to scenes in which a character becomes pregnant after a rape. Still, the fragmentary state allows us only speculation.

According to Lycophron, Deidamia is the adoptive mother of Neoptolemus, who is the son of Iphigenia, and Achilles actually disguised himself as a girl. However, there is no mention of a sexual/romantic relationship between Deidamia and Achilles. The rest is theory.

According to Bion of Smyrna, their relationship was consensual, flirtatious in nature, and possibly with a homoerotic subtext. The rest is theory.

According to Horace, Achilles disguised himself as a girl and there are no further details. The rest is theory.

According to Hyginus, it isn't possible to have any information other than that they were living under the same roof, had sexual intercourse and Deidamia became pregnant. The rest is theory.

According to Ovid, it's possible to know that a sexual thing occurred while Achilles was disguised as a girl, although it's ambiguous in terms of consent. The rest is theory.

According to Statius, the relationship began as a romance and was apparently reciprocal (in terms of feelings, not actions. Deidamia didn't want to date), but developed into a rape (it isn't ambiguous and isn't between the lines as may perhaps be the case with, it's actually abuse). The rest is theory.

According to Pseudo-Apollodorus, they lived together for several years once Achilles was taken to Skyros at the age of 9. When Achilles was around 14 or 15, Deidamia and he became involved and she became pregnant. There is no mention of marriage. The rest is theory.

According to Philostratus (the Athenian or the Elder), Deidamia and Achilles were married in an unusual version in which Achilles goes to Skyros to punish Lycomedes. The rest is theory.

According to Philostratus the Younger, Deidamia and Achilles were secretly involved. There is no mention of marriage. The rest is theory.

According to Tryphiodorus, Achilles and Deidamia had a son. The rest is theory.

According to Quintus Smyrnaeus, there was apparently a marriage before Achilles went with Odysseus and Diomedes to Troy and years later Deidamia is still mourning him. The rest is theory.

According to Photius, it isn't possible to have any information other than that they were living under the same roof and were sexually involved. Unlike the other versions, he offers a version where there are two children instead of one. The rest is theory.

According to Ioannis Tzetzes, there were versions of the myth in which Achilles disguised himself as a girl, but he believes the true version is that he was already married to Deidamia and had a son with her until he was called into the Trojan War and left. The rest is theory.

THEME: This myth was used for possible themes: military conquest (e.g. The Iliad), eroticization/romance (e.g. Epithalamium of Achilles and Deidameia), discussion of gender roles (e.g. The Skyrians), coming of age (possible interpretation in most versions in which Achilles is hidden in Skyros. Although the interpretation focuses on male coming of age through reaffirming masculinity, it's also possible to comment on female coming of age represented through Deidamia becoming a mother), subversion of the character Achilles (e.g. Alexandra ), reaffirmation of masculinity (e.g. Achilleid), ironization of social customs (e.g. Art of Love) and explanation of the existence of a character (the character is Neoptolemus. The only source in which this doesn't happen is Alexandra).

RAPE: Rape isn't actually present in most versions, but it's undeniably present in Achilleid and possibly in Art of Love (depends on academic interpretation) as a way of reaffirming masculinity. In versions like The Iliad, The Cypria, and The Little Iliad, any rape is speculation. In the case of The Skyrians, it's a possibility presented in academia, but there is no way to confirm it with certainty due to the fragmentary state of the work (however, if we consider that there is, it serves the same purpose as Achilleid). For the rest, there is no evidence of lack of consent. In Epithalamium, in particular, consent is an important narrative resource as a way of extolling romantic courtship and not typical masculine strength.

ACHILLES' FEELING ABOUT GENDER ROLES: In at least 2 versions, Achilles is initially comfortable with the idea of playing female roles. Imagines and Epithalamium, both Greek. However, Imagines paints a scenario in which it appears that Achilles is beginning to be upset, not by the idea of femininity but by the idea of the repression of masculinity. In Epithalamium, the character continues in femininity and at no point appears uncomfortable with it. In Alexandra, Achilles is effeminate, but it isn't possible to know how he felt about this since the point of view is Cassandra's. Achilleid and Art of Love both represent a clear discomfort with the idea of the suppression of masculinity, although in Achilleid the feeling is Achilles's while in Art of Love the feeling is primarily the narrator's. In the rest of the versions, it isn't possible to know either because the author did not address this subject (for example, Quintus) or because the work is too fragmentary to know (for example, Euripides).

THETIS' ROLE: Considering the plot itself without further interpretation, Thetis is just an immortal mother worried about the imminent death of her mortal son. However, in terms of considering narrative resources, it's interesting Thetis is only visibly absent as a justification for Achilles' stay on Skyros in versions in which Achilles' character needs to have a greater association with femininity. That is, in Alexandra and Epithalamium. In the first case the absence of Thetis reinforces the idea that Achilles was so afraid of Hector he preferred to pretend to be a girl and in the second case the absence of Thetis reinforces the idea that Achilles is comfortable with the femininity he performs. In the other narratives, generally focused on Achilles somehow regaining his masculinity (in particular, when he is deceived by Odysseus and later decides to leave for Troy), Thetis is always used as a justification for why Achilles is there, as a kind of in a way of saying “hey, this hero is only doing this for his mother. He wouldn't do it willingly” in order to protect the character's traditional heroic image. This element is even more evident in the Achilleid narrative, in which other characters are shown to be opposed to Thetis' idea (e.g. Chiron, who is said to not have allowed her to take Achilles if he knew, and Calchas, by the way he describes as Thetis hides Achilles). If we consider the interpretation that the disguise myth concerns adulthood, Thetis can also be interpreted as the archetype of the mother who, afraid of the dangers of adult life, doesn't allow her son to grow up and tries to keep him in the safety of childhood. This second case is mirrored by Deidamia in Posthomerica.

GREEK DEIDAMIA: Combining ALL sources of Greek mythology (Ode I.VIII, Achilleid and Art of Love not included as they're Roman mythology), the information we have about Deidamia is:

She's the daughter of Lycomedes, king of the island of Skyros (a constant);

She's the oldest of the girls (Imagines);

If Achilles' courting manner seeks sincere praise, she is good at weaving (Epithalamium);

She and Achilles become involved sexually and in secret (portrayed consensually in Greek mythology);

In at least one source (Epithalamium) this interest appears to arise while she still thinks Achilles is a girl;

She usually becomes pregnant with one child, Neoptolemus (a constant. The exceptions are Alexandra, where she is Neoptolemus' adoptive mother, and Photius' Bibliotheca, where she has Neoptolemus and Oneiros);

She and Lycomedes raised Neoptolemus (constant);

When Odysseus came to get Neoptolemus, she didn't want to let him go for fear that he would suffer the same fate as his father (Posthomerica);

She's given in marriage to Helenus, the ex Trojan prince (Library).

ODYSSEUS/ULYSSES AND DIOMEDES: Regarding the presence of Odysseus and Diomedes, we have:

According to Homer, there was no disguise.

According to the summary of Stasinus of Cyprus's work, there was no disguise.

According to the summary of Lesches of Mytilene's work, there was no disguise.

According to Euripides, Odysseus is certainly present and appears to have an important role, since two lines in the fragments are Odysseus' reprisals directed at Achilles because of his unmanly and unhonorable behavior. Because of the fragmentary state of the piece, there is no way of knowing who he is accompanied by.

According to Lycophron, it isn't possible to know how Achilles was discovered.

According to Bion of Smyrna, it isn't possible to know about how Achilles was discovered.

According to Horace, the discovery isn't explored.

According to Hyginus, Odysseus is responsible for the discovery and there is no mention of Diomedes.

According to Ovid, Ulysses recruited Achilles.

According to Statius, Diomedes and Ulysses recruited Achilles.

According to Pseudo-Apollodorus, Odysseus discovered Achilles and there is no mention of Diomedes.

According to Philostratus (the Athenian or the Elder), there was no disguise.

According to Philostratus the Younger, Odysseus is responsible for discovering Achilles, but he was accompanied by Diomedes.

According to Tryphiodorus, it isn't possible to know the version of the myth.

According to Quintus Smyrnaeus, both Odysseus and Diomedes recruited Achilles.

According to Photius, the discovery isn't explored.

According to Ioannis Tzetzes, there was no disguise.

ART: There are at least two works of art attested from Classical Greece (one attested by Pausanias, another attested by Pliny the Elder), the rest are late works, mainly moisacos and wall paintings. In these works, it's well exemplified how the ancients (mainly Romans) saw the social construction of gender, since the representation of Achilles played with this idea, reaching the point that in at least one of them the position of Diomedes and Achilles resembled the position when a woman was harassed (Achilles being the woman here). The difference between how Achilles was painted in Skyros and how he was painted in Troy is evident, especially in his skin (in one pale, in another tanned) and in his hair (the curl was more pronounced in the female disguise). Generally the core consisted of Achilles, Deidamia, and Ulysses as characters, Achilles at least exposing his thigh, and Ulysses' trick weapons present. Deidamia was portrayed in certain instances as trying to stop Achilles, and could also serve as a reminder of their relationship (which, in turn, was a reminder that Achilles was, in fact, a man). In some cases, Achilles was surrounded by Lycomedes' daughters, as if he was attractive to them.

Sources

Myth texts:

The Iliad. Translated by Fagles, Robert. Penguin Books, 1991.

Hesiod, Homeric Hymns, Epic Cycle, Homerica. Translated by Evelyn-White, H G. Loeb Classical Library Volume 57. London: William Heinemann, 1914.

Flavius Philostratus: On Heroes. Translated by Ellen Aitken, Jennifer K. Berenson Berenson, Berenson. 2003.

Elder Philostratus, Younger Philostratus, Callistratus. Translated by Fairbanks, Arthur. Loeb Classical Library Volume 256. London: William Heinemann, 1931.

The Library of Photius, Volume 1.Translated by Freese, John. Society for promoting Christian knowledge, 1920.

Oppian, Colluthus and Tryphiodorus. Translated by Mair, A. W. Loeb Classical Library Volume 219. London: William Heinemann Ltd, 1928.

Quintus Smyrnaeus. The Fall of Troy. Translated by Way. A. S. Loeb Classical Library Volume 19. London: William Heinemann, 1913.

Ovid. Metamorphoses. Translated by More, Brookes. Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922.

P. Ovidius Naso. Ovid's Art of Love (in three Books), the Remedy of Love, the Art of Beauty, the Court of Love, the History of Love, and Amours. Anne Mahoney. edited for Perseus. New York. Calvin Blanchard. 1855.

The Natural History. Pliny the Elder. John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S. H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A. London. Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street. 1855.

Apollodorus. The Library. Translated by Sir James George Frazer. Loeb Classical Library Volumes 121 & 122. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921.

Pausanias. Pausanias Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918.

Statius, Thebaid, Achilleid. Translated by Mozley, J H. Loeb Classical Library Volumes . Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1928.

Libanius, Libanius and The Dancers. Trans. M.E. Molloy. 1996. Hildesheim, Zurich, New York.

Academic texts:

Tsagalis, Christos. Cypria fr. 19 (Bernabé, West): further considerations. 2012. Tsagalis published it for free here.

Fantuzzi, Marco. Achilles in Love: Intertextual Studies. Oxford, 2012. Fantuzzi published the book for free here.

Fantuzzi, Marco. Brill’s Companion to Greek and Latin Epyllion and Its Reception. Brill, 2012. Fantuzzi published the chapter he wrote for free here.

Funke, Melissa. Euripides and Gender: The Difference the Fragments Make. University of Washington, 2013. Melissa published it for free here.

Warwick, Celsiana. Chthonic Disruption in Lycophron’s Alexandra. The Classical Quarterly . 2022 Warwick published it for free here.

Leach, Eleanor Winsor. “Horace Carmen 1.8: Achilles, the Campus Martius, and the Articulation of Gender Roles in Augustan Rome.” Classical Philology 89, no. 4 (1994): 334–43. Eleanor published it for free here.

Diack, Jacqueline. Men, Marriage and Mistresses: Ovid’s use of Myth in the Ars Amatoria I-III. University of Johannesburg, 2018.

Fuchs, Michel. The proceedings of IV. International Mosaic Corpus of Turkiye. Uludag Universitesi Mozaik Arastirmalari Merkezi, 2008. Fuchs published his part of the book for free here.

Davis, Peter. Allusion to Ovid and Others in Statius' Achilleid. Ramus, 2006. Davis published it for free here.

Dunbabin, Katherine. Transformations of Achilles on Late Roman Mosaics (Wandering Myths). 2018. Dunbabin published it for free here.

#Achidamia #Achilles #Deidamia #Deidameia #Neptolemus #Thetis #tw: rape #Pyrrha #Epic Cycle #birdie.txt #birdiethings

8 notes · View notes

angelcakealec · 5 months ago

Text

Alec frowned at that. "Well...what does he want? Can't you just give it to him so he's goes away?" Hayden hadn't told them anything about why the fae was rampaging in the first place. At least not to Alec or even Jace it seemed. Which wasn't unheard of really. From what Alec understood about Hayden was he didn't offer information unless he was certain they needed to know it. He'd gotten used to being in the know back in New York. And was a little bitter about being kept in the dark like this. He puffed out a breath. He smiled a little when Helenus said he could handle it. "Yeah but...." He bit his lip. "You shouldn't really have to. If he's doing something potentially against the accords...its our job to take care of it. But..." He shrugged a little sullenly. "We're not meant to do it alone."

When Alec pulled back from the haphazard kiss, he ducked his head a little. Unsure of whether or not he wanted to see the expression on Helenus' face or not. But morbid curiosity won out and he looked at him. Then, he smiled. Helenus did. Alec was too stunned to smile really. And it was a nice smile, one that made a little flutter of anticipation bubble in his belly. And he did consider just leaning forward and doing it again. But caution was always the better part of valour. At least in Alec's case anyway. He bit his lip to keep from laughing at what Helenus said. "Sorry." He said soberly. Though it pleased him to know that Helenus felt his nerves were in question.

Alec took a little breath and nodded. "I'm sure. Probably more sure than I ought to be but..." He tapped his temple a little sheepishly. "Head trauma." And he laughed. Because really that's all he could do. Because bursting into tears was not an option for him. Not one he was willing to accept anyway. It really wasn't all that uncommon. Head injuries among nephilim. Jace had suffered quite a number of them. Probably indicative of his reckless behavior. Alec smiled sadly. Because Jace was still a point of contention.

"Oh..." Alec said, a little unsettled by the idea of needing to move. But, he supposed it made sense. The sheets were really dirty. And Alec himself was dirtier still. But he couldn't help but worry over the idea of a shower. Though as pleasant as the thought was. Mostly only because he was worried about his leg. But, whatever the fae had done healing wise, there wasn't any pain. So it was likely fine. He flushed a little at the offer of pjs. "You wear pjs?" He asked, letting his eyes hesitantly roam over Helenus's bare torso. "I mean. Thank you. That's very kind of you."

He was still rather reluctant to move, eyeing Helenus' offered hands with some trepidation. But he took them anyway and let the fae help him maneuver his tired and sore body off the bed. His legs wobbled a bit, but he was mostly fine. He met his eyes, and the look he found there caught his breath in his throat. It was a very vulnerable expression. One Alec found he didn't like on the handsome fae's face. His eyes softened, that overwhelming feeling still gnawing at him. The urge to cry still close to the service. But this was fine. This would all be fine. He had to tell himself that. Because knowing that it wasn't would only unravel him faster.

Helenus moved suddenly, wrapping his arms around Alec. Alec gasped in turn. Because he hadn't been expecting it at all. But something broke inside of him. Something that had been a part of him for so long he couldn't remember when it even got there in the first place. But, with his gentle touch. Helenus knocked it down. Like it was a tower of blocks. Alec took a shuddering breath, his body shaking with the effort of it. His arms came around Helenus in return, his fingers burying themselves in the soft feathers of his wings. He melted against him. Fitting there quite perfectly really. He would have laughed at the simplicity of it. But he was still so close to the edge, he found he couldn't. Pressing his face into Helenus' neck, he let go of his control, clutching at the fae. Even if it was just for an instant. Just so he could shed that debilitating fear, that panic, that rage, just all the things he had been feeling.

Helenus could see the protectiveness blazing in Alec's eyes. It did something to his heart that it was for him. And it echoed the fierce protectiveness he'd felt for the nephilim tonight. Well, not just tonight he supposed but before tonight he hadn't be in a situation that had summoned it to that degree. He thought for a moment of the best way to describe it. "He sees me as an obstacle, someone keeping him from what he wants. But he's nothing I can't handle,"

This kiss was so sudden that it caught him off guard. His wings flared slightly to keep him balanced. It brushed the edge of his lips but he didn't think it was his cheek Alec had been aiming for. At least he found he rather hoped it hadn't been. He smiled again, a softer somehow more intimate smile. "Any time," he replied. And he would. He'd save Alec over and over again until the end of time if he had to. "Though I think my nerves would thank you if I didn't need to for sometime," he joked lightly. In reality the prospect that he could have lost Alec tonight terrified him. Not that he could claim he was his of course.

He stilled at Alec's words, surprised again. Pleasantly so. Because getting to sleep next to Alec, especially after what they'd just been through, was exactly what he wanted. To be close to him and know he was safe. "As long as you're sure," he said.

"I do think I should change the sheets though," he mused, his gaze drifting away from Alec for the first time in a long while, to the dirty sheets. "And I can lend you some pjs if you'd like to shower and change," he offered.

He stood then and offered his hands to help Alec up. His sisters words about how tired his body would be after everything ringing in his head. When he was up Helenus met his gaze straight on. He was once against filled with that strange mix of fear that he'd almost lost him and relief that he was ok. So he didn't bother resisting the urge to hug him.

#I crrrrryyyyyyyy

42 notes · View notes

diveronarpg · 5 years ago

Photo

Congratulations, KAY! You’ve been accepted for the role of HELENUS. Admin Rogue: I will be honest and say I must have read this app six times since we got it, minimum. There was something about your words that made me want to live in them forever, to tell Hugo all my secrets and let him tell me his. Hugo is so easy to turn saintly or push toward martyrdom, and your Hugo is a good person with all his flaws on display, humanity shining forth so clearly from him that he breaks my heart. He reminds us that sometimes God’s will brings down the crusades; he understands peace the same as he has made war, and Hugo knows the sanctity of blood in how he cannot wash it from his hands. I think I fell a little in love with him in this app, in spite of his Jimmy Buffet obsession, and that’s when I knew we couldn’t go another day without him! Please read over the checklist and send in your blog within 24 hours.

WELCOME TO THE MOB.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Alias | Obiwan Kaynobi

Age | 25

Preferred Pronouns | She/her

Activity Level | I feel like I’m active on the dash at least twice a week, and if I’m not posting replies I’m able to lurk the dash on mobile and plot on discord. But, with the quarantine and finally getting into a rhythm, I think I’ll be able to get on the dash more often!

Timezone | The Twilight Zone jk it’s PST now!

Triggers | REMOVED

How did you find the rp? | One day Pandora showed up in my brain and I couldn’t get rid of her. Now Hugo also lives there with his Catholic guilt and honestly it’s a nightmare.

Current/Past RP Accounts | Here’s Panda’s blog!

IN CHARACTER

Character | Helenus, Hugo Kim. Hu-go, (German); meaning mind. Kim, (Korean); meaning gold, iron.

What drew you to this character? | Honestly, the thing that struck me about Hugo was that he’s the guiding light for so many people - and it’s ironic. He’s the prophet of the people, telling them each Sunday to do well, to be good and then he turns around and commands the other Capulet soldiers to harm others. And honestly, I think there are times that Hugo questions the good word. His hands are stained with blood and it doesn’t matter how many confessions he sits through because they’ll be stained red forever.

I also love that despite his affiliation with the Capulets, he does hold sermons on Sundays. Religion is the one thing that he has left of his parents - his mother - and Cosimo can pry that from his cold, dead hands. There’s a sort of natural confidence Hugo exudes when preaching and it spills over into his missions. In his bio it says, “They flock and he guides them, a SHEPHERD to Cosimo Capulet’s people.” He’s someone that people will listen to regardless of whether he’s leading the mission or not.

But, the one thing that really stood out to me with Hugo is his devotion. Whether it’s to his mother, God, Halcyon, he’s 100% devoted no matter what. He puts the time needed to do a job well done and I think that’s something most people look over with Hugo. There is no person more devoted to the morals he’s bound to than him. It’s something that makes him stand out from the rest of the gang members.

What is a future plot idea you have in mind for the character? |

a. Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. The Cathedral is technically Capulet territory, but Lawernce wandered in one night and let every sin fall from his lips, tethering the two of them together whether the liked it or not. This encounter is something that can and will tear Hugo apart. He’s bound to both the church and the Capulets - neither of which he ever planned on crossing. Watching him struggle between his faiths is something I would love to see happen on the dash.

b. Sister Saint Monica, you’ve got me on my knees. Halcyon, his personal angel sent from Cosimo. She’s his guiding light, his angel of mercy, the one he’ll pray to each night - and I would love to see how far he’s willing to go for her. How much blood will he spill in order to feed the person he sees as a God? And of course, how will that guilt manifest after he’s done it? How often will he find himself on the bathroom floor, shaking and sobbing from the faces that haunt his dreams and the souls that claw at his throat all for the sake of Halcyon?

c. Bathe me in holy water and erase my sins. Killing his own brother is something that Hugo has yet to forgive himself for. The memory of his parents on the floor, the gun in his hand, the sounds coming from his mouth after he pulled the trigger play on repeat in his mind daily. How does he deal with the constant onslaught of this? Does he find himself crying in the confessional over what he’s done or does he simply let the memory play out and avoid thinking about it? It’d also be interesting if another character knew what he did and used it as leverage over him.

Are you comfortable with killing off your character? | As long as he gets to marry Brat first, feel free to kill him. That can be the first and last thing I do with him, please just let him marry them.

IN DEPTH

In-Character Interview:

What is your favorite place in Verona? | We recommend looking at the location page and reading it over to figure out where your character’s favorite place is – if it’s not their own house/room.

He’s positive that the woman across from him expects to hear the Cathedral. But, the stained glass and golden pews have long since turned sour to Hugo. Now, they remind him of blood and guns and the rush of guilt that burns in his throat like bile. He thinks of the theater, how he and Albert used to hide underneath the seats to sneak into a second showing. The library, once a place that he was able to roam without hesitation and devour any book he desired, now stings in his memory since it became off-limits. Finally, the corners of his lips quirk up. “Twelfth Night Museum holds a dear place in my heart. I can’t say much about the attendees who show up at night, but during the day it’s beautiful.”

What does your typical day look like?

Hugo pauses for a moment, mulling over the words before he speaks. He glances at the watch on his wrist, then his shoes, and finally meets the eye of the interviewer. The interview is for a profile on him, a puff piece to lighten the city when all it knows is death and destruction. “Well, it’s Saturday. I host evening mass then head over to Phoenix and Turtle for the bread donation. My days are typically the same, depending on whether or not the farmers market is here.” He graces her with another smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. What he leaves out is that his nights are filled with the scent of gun powder and his fingers brushing eyelids shut, a prayer whispered under his breath.

What has been your biggest mistake thus far?

How was he supposed to pick just one mistake? There had been plenty of missteps through the years that would certainly be labeled the worst. The stolen liquor from the bodega, the moans in the backseat of a car, the night he killed Albert. Far too many things have been deemed his biggest mistake. “Even I’m allowed to have secrets.” Hugo glances out the window and watches the couples walk by. They’ll have to try harder than this to get him to reveal what it is. “That one is between me and myself.”

What has been the most difficult task asked of you?

His gut reaction is to say preaching his sermon. The words of the good book that fall from his lips and into the ears of the parish are nothing but lies - but now was not the time nor place to discuss that matter. “There are times I’m asked to stop helping those in need. I have to respect their wishes, but it’s not in my nature to walk away from those who need help.” He thinks of the dying who were left to bleed after he shot at them, of the unfortunate souls who end up injured by falling into debt with them, of the addicts who pump their veins with Theo’s latest experiment and can’t escape the warmth the drug gives them. Ignoring these souls only to have them haunt him later is the most difficult thing he’s done.

What are your thoughts on the war between the Capulets and the Montagues?

He nearly chokes as he takes a sip from the mug. As the interview continued, it seemed as if the questions were diving deeper and deeper into unsafe territory. Perhaps it would’ve been smart to let one of the emissaries approve the list of questions before he arrived. “As a man of God, I can only hope that no more bloodshed happens.” His lips press into a thin line. “Hasn’t our city seen enough?” His answer is honest, one that he never dared utter before now. The war his boss wages against the Montagues is one that he finds despicable. So much has been lost in the names of each family and yet, they continue to take more and more and more.

Extras: Bold of you to assume I don’t have any extras. Here is his mockblog, a Pinterest board, and as always, let me sprinkle some hcs here:

Hugo’s very into the arts. His favorite artist is M.C. Escher.

This man is not straight. Local disaster bi preacher is at your service.

There’s a photo of his parents tucked into his wallet so he’s able to carry them everywhere.

He does yoga whenever he gets the chance.

Hugo’s a huge Jimmy Buffet fan, I’m sorry but it’s true.

He’s also a huge Florence and The Machine fan so it balances out.

More often than not, there’s a bottle of cheap scotch in his chambers in the Cathedral. It’s hidden inside of a hollowed-out Bible.

#accepted #accepted: helenus

6 notes · View notes

archivesdiveronarpg · 8 years ago

Photo

Congratulations, PIKA! You’ve been accepted for the role of HELENUS. Pika, I’ve been waiting for a Helenus application for a long, long time and I can say with utmost certainty that your application did NOT disappoint. Quite the opposite! You nailed every single aspect of Hugo down so perfectly I almost can’t believe it. His mannerisms and dialogue in your interview and sample were beautifully wary, and you get a sense of his devotion to God and why he’s so admired as a priest - but with one line you also nailed why he excels as an emissary. I can’t wait to see our beautiful, conflicted, weary priest on our dash. Please read over the checklist and send in your blog within twenty-four hours.

WELCOME TO THE MOB.

Out of Character

Alias | pika.

Age | eighteen.

Preferred Pronouns | she/her/hers or they/them/theirs, i’m honestly not super picky.

Activity Level | tbqh…not great? i can’t promise anything more than my best, which is usually activity at least every other day (though i try to get on daily!). probably a 6/10, if i were to give it a number.

Timezone | pst.

Permission | ye sure!

In Character

Character | helenus ;; hugo kim

What drew you to this character? | i’m not gonna lie, hugo definitely snuck up on me. the paradoxical image of the sinning holy man was striking, but as i never read troilus and cressida, i didn’t quite feel comfortable enough with the character to apply the first time i peeped around diverona. so, this became an application for puck. anyway, fast forward a few days: i missed the friday acceptances, i looked into helenus a little (both the shakespeare and greek versions), and hooooo boy the inspiration just kind of…came? i mean, there’s a lot to draw from between the bio, the mythology, and the play.

to actually answer your question, i think what drew me to hugo was his internal conflict. hugo is a study in dichotomy, in balance. as a priest, he lives in a world of black and white, yet his reality bleeds an ugly, mottled grey (except for when it bleeds red, kek). he walks a precipice between faith and doubt (or more accurately, faith and love), and more than anything, i get the feeling he dreams on wings broken by reality. i’m not normally one partial to the good guys (i’m more of a chaotic-neutral kinda gal), but the thing with hugo is that he both is and isn’t a good guy, if that makes any sense. he’s a good man who does (has done, will do) bad things. he’s got vices that’ll come back to bite him in the ass. he’s an angel in free-fall, and i’ll be damned if that’s not intriguing to me.

What is a future plot idea you have in mind for the character? |

► 001. i am the lord thy god (comedy at its highest reveals a tragedy, and darling, you’re the biggest laugh of all)

living such a juxtaposed double life isn’t healthy. i’d like to explore how hugo is affected by the hypocrisy of his actions. how can a man preach kindness to all in one moment, then turn around and promise threats in the next? one of hugo’s biggest struggles is between balancing his role as a man of god and a man of the montagues. and obviously, this causes a lot of moral conundrums. at some point, the balance must tip. i want hugo to make a choice one way or the other: fate or faith? it doesn’t have to be an explicit choice (in fact, it likely wouldn’t be), but rather, defiance or compliance with an order. i want to see an embittered hugo, a cynical hugo. a hugo questioning his faith (or really, his identity). faith is such a central part of hugo’s character; what is he without it? is he anything without it? gimme a hugo wrecked by the war—just another casualty. how will this affect him? he is, essentially, pitting his family against his personal ethics—two fundamental aspects of himself. i imagine it may very well tear him apart, either figuratively or literally, depending on his choice.

► 002. thou shalt have no other gods before me (vacant eyes and hearts and hands)

all of hugo’s connections are fun, but oho, cinead’s. cinead’s. cinead terrifies hugo. hugo believes in one God, but to deny the power of the witches is a unique kind of heresy in which even hugo is reluctant to partake. there is only one way to reconcile this: hugo believes cinead to be the devil. well. perhaps not the devil, but his devil. i’d like to see the evolution of their relationship, how the unstoppable force meets the immovable object. hugo…doesn’t pride himself on being good at manipulating people, exactly, but he is aware he’s good at it. however, he’s outmatched by the witch, and i don’t know that he knows it. it might take him a while before he even realizes how easily he’s manipulated by cinead. interestingly, this is a plot that could break hugo, but is also possibly the only one that allows him to be truly free—after all, the hedonist is slave only to his own desires. so. yeah.

► 003. ye shall erect these stones which i command thee (though you shroud yourself in white, even you bleed red)

as a priest, hugo’s first and only devotion is to god. and he’s been good about that. but he’s still only a man. i’d like to see hugo form a romantic attachment to somebody. bonus points if it’s a guy (i hc hugo as being panromantic demisexual), because hi internalized institutional homophobia. the world of romance is a dangerous new frontier for hugo, and exploring that has a 70:1 chance of ending in angst, because, y’know…jesus.

In Depth

What is your favorite place in Verona?

“You’d probably expect me to say the Cathedral, wouldn’t you?” Hugo chuckles, steepling his fingers on his desk. “I mean, I suppose I ought to say the Cathedral, seeing how it is my home parish. And I do love it, I do. It is, without a doubt, the most beautiful house of worship I have had the honor of laying my eyes upon, much less preaching in. But—”

(…but in Verona, the Cathedral is not a place for the Lord. It is a place for Them, and Hugo cannot help the seed of resentment that buds in his heart when he thinks of their arrogance, of their flagrant insistence to squander their power in the futile pursuit of more. They have deluded themselves into playing god, have lost sight of His way in their games of war. Pride is perhaps the most deadly of the sins, but it is not the only one.)

“—but I must admit to be rather partial to the library. I love books.” His small office is a testament to his statement. Books and writing are strewn across the room in an organized sort of chaos; there appears to be some kind of system, but it’s incomprehensible to the untrained eye. “Stories, facts…you could live entire lives in a library.”

What does your typical day look like?

“Busy.” There’s a rueful twist to Hugo’s smile. “It’s Lent, which means we must prepare for the Easter Triduum alongside regular mass…which means, basically, there’s a lot going on.” And that’s before he factors in his emissary work, which has been anything but typical since Alvise’s death. “Still, my day is pretty structured. I’ll wake up, pray, eat something light. Then I’ll go to the Cathedral and assist with business there for the day. How long I stay varies, depending on my, ah…personal business. Eventually, I’ll find my way home for the night. I always end the day with a prayer.”

What are your thoughts on the war between the Capulets and the Montagues?

Hugo heaves a heavy sigh. “War is…” Ugly. Profitable. Terrible. Beautiful. He trails off, seemingly unsatisfied with the direction of his thought.

A moment passes. Another. He tries again. “One misconception people have about the Lord, I feel, is that He is responsible for war, for suffering. I think people misunderstand his power; God is Almighty and omnipotent, but also gifted us with autonomy. One of His greatest gifts is the freedom from him—the freedom to make our world. He relinquished control so that we may be free.” His voice lightens with a levity that only feels somewhat forced. “I don’t know that I’d call this war, yet, but for all our sakes, I pray it doesn’t become one. Things are already enough, as it is.”

He stands up; there is business to attend to. “There are a lot of things I could say about the war, but let’s leave it at this: may God have mercy on their souls.” He sighs. “On all our souls.”

In-Character Para Sample:

One truth that Hugo couldn’t deny: emissary work was not unlike addressing a congregation. In both, the man was the messenger—an arm of a higher being, with no real power of his own. An effective messenger understood this; an effective messenger didn’t need power. After all, why waste your breath preaching your own insignificance when you can channel the will of a god? No, persuasion was the most effective tool available to the mortal man. Though the body belonged to the Lord, the heart belonged to the individual.

And there were few people as good as playing heartstrings as the man who looked back at Hugo in the mirror. The man sighed, tugging one hand through his hair and another across his plain black shirt. Hugo’s vestments laid neatly folded behind him, the celebratory white and green a flash of brightness from the mass he concluded only an hour earlier. The mass’ other holdover, the joyful buzz from performing a service, had long since faded, only to be replaced by a new (though not unfamiliar) sensation: the buzz of anticipation. There were fewer things Hugo hated more than being called to work immediately following a mass. He had been acting as the Montague’s emissary for long enough that it didn’t phase him—he even had taken to wearing all black under his alb and vestments, just in case—but switching from a celebrant to a businessman was immeasurably draining.

Still, when duty called, he answered. Casting his reflection one more sigh, he grabbed the mobile off the corner of his desk and exited his tiny office. He took his time walking through the Cathedral’s hallways, nodding to everyone he passed in greeting but not making any effort at initiating conversation. He couldn’t help but blink when he exited the building; it was an overwhelmingly sunny day, truly worthy of being called the Lord’s Day.

Hugo headed toward the spot of darkness in the light, a sleek black sedan parked on the street corner. He nodded at the driver, an unremarkable associate whose name always escaped Hugo, in greeting, and settled into the passenger’s seat as the vehicle roared into motion.

“You’re late, Father,” the driver said.

Hugo caught the sigh that threatened to escape by the skin of his teeth—it was a terrible habit, the sighing, really. “Yes, well. Patience is a virtue, you know. Besides, I had a few matters to attend to at the church before I left.”

The driver snorted, an inelegant sound. “Pft. The church has been around for a couple thousand years. It could’ve waited ‘til after you did your business for the Family. Should’ve. Apparently you’re meetin’ with someone important.”

“More important than the—!” Hugo was scandalized. Did this heretic not realize that Easter was in a month? No, he reasoned, composing himself, probably not. The priest coughed into his fist, and continued in a more measured tone. “Ahem. Yes. I’ve been told this is a…delicate deal.”

That morning, Hugo had been told to pay a visit to a dealer associated with the Montagues. Apparently, the fool had been keeping a higher portion of his profits than the family liked, so they had decided to send the priest in to remind the man of the immorality of theft. Well, Hugo had supposed, you couldn’t deny the Montagues had a sense of humor.

Their conversation lulled into silence as the drove through the city. Hugo watched as it flew by in the window, nice neighborhoods bleeding into slums bleeding into historical centers. They slowed in a middling part of town—you wouldn’t take a tourist there, perhaps, but the area had a familiar vibrancy unique to locals. The driver pulled up to a rather nondescript home that looked to have been repurposed as an apartment complex.

“Ya got a gun on you, Father?” The driver asked.

“Unfortunately, yes.” It weighed heavily in Hugo’s pocket, another habit adopted in Verona. “Wait here until I get out. I pray the proceedings won’t escalate, but it never hurts to be prepared.”

“Aw, Father, you don’t need to worry. Who in their right mind’s gonna shoot at a priest? That’s, like, a one-way ticket to hell.”

And extorting drug dealers isn’t? The sardonic thought went unsaid as Hugo gave the driver a final acknowledgement and exited the car. A cursory glance at the tenant list gave him his final destination, and he entered the building with a pride he didn’t feel, a one-man processional sent to deliver the word of God to the heretic. Upon reaching the intended’s door, he knocked once, twice. A man, presumably the target, opened it—what a fool, Hugo thought—and regarded the priest with a wary glance, hand snaking to the waistband of his pants. So he knew why the angel had been sent to his door. Good. That made Hugo’s job much easier. Primly, he adjusted his shirt collar.

“Tell me,” he said, voice gentle but knowing, “did you know that theft is a sin?”

Time to go to work.

Extras:

a playlist–

ultralight beam ;; kanye west

( i’m tryna keep my faith, but i’m lookin’ for more / somewhere i can feel safe / and end my holy war )

talking to myself ;; gallant

( how’d my own molecules forsake me? / atoms changed behind my back )

blessings ;; chance the rapper

( don’t believe in kings, believe in the kingdom )

fall away ;; twenty one pilots

( every time i feel my selfish ambition is taking my vision / and my crime is my sentence / repentance is taking commission )

in the woods somewhere ;; hozier

( his bone exposed / his hind was lame / i raised a stone to end his pain )

day n nite (nightmare) ;; kid cudi

( within his dreams he sees the life he made / the pain is deep / a silent sleeper, you won’t hear a peep )

fade ;; kanye west

( when no one ain’t around / i think i think too much / ain’t nobody watchin’ / i just fade away )

medicine ;; daughter

( you’ve got a warm heart / you’ve got a beautiful brain / but it’s disintegrating )

hc’s & misc. bits

hugo is technically ordained as an eastern catholic priest, but is familiar with roman catholic tradition.

hugo is fluent in russian and italian. he speaks the latter with a trace of an accent of the former. he also speaks pretty good english, and is fair in classical latin.

this was kinda obvious in the para sample, but hugo sighs a lot?? the man is tired; let him live. other ticks include pacing and holding his hands on his hips. he gesticulates a lot when he speaks, especially when impassioned.

he keeps an extensive collection of herbal teas. his favorite is oolong, though his daily staple is earl grey.

hugo and albert used to call each other every week. hugo feels guilty because he’s been letting their phone calls slide recently.

hugo tries not to curse, and is usually pretty successful. when he starts breaking out the expletives, you can safely assume shit has hit the fan.

hugo claims that his plain choice in clothes is strictly a practice in practicality and professionalism. this is true. it is also true, however, that he’s otherwise hopeless at picking outfits. don’t bother flashing your rolexes and red bottoms at him, because it’ll go right over his head.

i feel like i was a little heavy on the angsty/struggling side of hugo in the app, but he really doesn’t come across as such in his interactions. he’s kind of a nerd tbh.

anyway, thanks for reading! i wanna apologize for playing hard and loose with catholicism; i’m a minimalist catholic, but there are definitely aspects here that may or may not reflect the actual rl church haha

#accepted: helenus

3 notes · View notes

pelideswhore · 3 years ago

Note

Soooo, I want an essay. Please tell me how the Trojan would have gone in any level of detail had Paris given the apple to Hera or Athena.

I’m afraid I can’t go into too much detail, and this is more personal musings than essay, but nevertheless thank you for asking! Also thank you to @mitsybubbles for helping me out with this :)

First of all, technically, there could be no other path for the Judgement of Paris because fate rules it. Fate says there had to be a war in which Troy would fall, so that will happen. But for the sake of this ask, I’ll ignore that for a moment.

Now, regardless of who Paris would’ve chosen, a war would’ve started. Agamemnon was using Helen’s kidnapping as an excuse anyway, he had been waiting to start a war for actual political/economical purposes for a while now.

I’ll start with Hera’s route:

If Paris chooses Hera, he’d be king over a large kingdom—that was the promise. This is not a Barbie film (sadly) so we have to use some logic here, he can’t just become king automatically. When he is accepted back into the Trojan royal family, he is at least 4th in line to the throne. He has no inheritance to any other kingdom so becoming king would require the deaths of at least Priam, Hector, Deiphobus and Helenus before him. There is no way they would all die shortly one after the other excluding illness (unlikely since they’re favored by Apollo) and targeted murder. Either way, it’s depressing for Paris. Beyond that, he really wouldn’t make a great king? He’d be depressed and out of place. And, like I said, it wouldn’t prevent a war. The larger a kingdom gets, the bigger threat it poses to other kingdoms. If the Achaean army didn’t consider Troy a threat at that point and start a defensive war, Trojan leaders would get power drunk and start the war themselves. Using the oath, the Greeks would win.

Conclusion: Hera path is a bad path.

Athena path next.

Athena promised Paris skill in battle and victory in war. In that sense he’d be taking over the current position Hector or Achilles have in the Iliad respectively. Only problem: Both Hector and Achilles die. Paris would be the target of every opponent. Not fun. Beyond that, Athena has a thing for controlling her heroes’ every step and she isn’t scared of using manipulation or psychological tricks on her heroes. Odysseus and Diomedes deal with that pretty well because they’re on Athena’s level in some way or another. Paris has close to no points if similarity with Athena (unlike Aphrodite). Athena would quite literally drive him mad. Also, like before, Paris explicitly says in the Iliad that he has no interest in the military. He would be out of place. As for the start of the war, Helen might not be involved, but Agamemnon would find a reason to start a war anyway. Paris would still die in a war that the Greeks will inevitably win.

Conclusion: Athena path is also a bad path.

As for Aphrodite’s path, we all know how that goes.

Another change that Paris’ decision would make is obviously which gods are on which side of the war. This obviously especially effects Athena, Hera, Aphrodite and by extension Ares.

Okay, technically answered your question (i hope), but I wanted to say a little more on the judgment of Paris in his defense.

Paris was chosen to select the most beautiful of the goddesses because he’s honest and impartial. He has virtues, he’s not just horny. Obviously, we can’t judge, but personally I think it’s clear that Aphrodite is the most beautiful of the three. She’s the goddess of beauty. Maybe Paris wasn’t regarding their bribery at all, maybe he was just making an honest decision. After all, the competition was regarding their beauty not their bribery.

If that’s not what Paris was thinking of, maybe he was making what he considered a politically smart move. I mean, how is Paris supposed to know that the “most beautiful woman on earth” was going to be the sister-in-law of the most powerful king in Greece and that he was prince of Troy, their biggest enemy? How was he supposed to know that getting married was going to start a war? In comparison to Athena and Hera’s routes, getting married seems harmless.

Also, I mentioned this briefly before, but Paris and Aphrodite have loads of similarities. It makes sense that she’d be his patron goddess, hence him choosing her.

85 notes · View notes

classicschronicles · 2 years ago

Text

Hi lovelies,

I recently came across a very interesting book entitled ‘Cassandra’ so I thought I should probably do some background reading before reading Christa Wolf’s alleged masterpiece. And so today I thought it would be a nice idea to talk about the story surrounding the infamous Trojan princess, Cassandra. Just a quick trigger warning- this entry contains mentions of r4p3 after the sack of Troy.

Cassandra was the mortal daughter of King Priam (side note- why do this man and his 100 children constantly crop up in every area of classics, it’s starting to stress me out) and Hecuba. Now as you may expect from a man with 100 children, some of them were very notable. Cassandra’s brothers included Hector, Paris and her twin brother Helenus. But Cassandra is also due her fair share of fame as a seer (i.e. having the gift of foresight, although in her case it was more of a curse).

Cassandra grew up to become the most beautiful of all Priam’s daughters and so naturally had plenty of suitors- both mortal and immortal, including the god Apollo. In the most popular version of Cassandra’s story, it is Apollo who gifts her with the power of prophecy. In this version of the story, Apollo is enamoured with Cassandra’s beauty and tries to seduce her. He tells her that in return for something he will turn her into a seer. Cassandra accepts this offer, but after Apollo gives her foresight he reveals that what he wants in return is for Cassandra to sleep with him.

Now, as is the nature of the gods in Greek mythology, Apollo thought that the concept of consent was below him and so when Cassandra (as is fully her right) refused to sleep with him he felt as though he had been cheated. A repudiated Apollo could have simply taken her powers away, but in an act of blind rage, he cursed Cassandra instead. And so from that point on, whatever Cassandra professed would indeed come to pass but no one would ever believe her. Because of this, Cassandra then thought her twin brother Helenus how to see into the future and so good was she as a tutor, that Helenus’ predictions always came to pass (but with the added advantage of people believing him).

Cassandra gains much of her fame in mythology, as many do, because of the events of Troy. The first commonly known prediction of Cassandra is when Paris returns to Troy. Cassandra tells everyone that he will be the reason for the destruction of Troy and talks about how, because of him, she sees Troy in flames. But because of her curse, she was ignored. Paris would then go on to abduct Helen and so began the Trojan war, leading to the inevitable destruction of Troy as Cassandra had foretold.

Another very famous prophecy of Cassandra can be found within the Aeneid when Aeneas tells the story of the Trojan Horse. The Achaean army came up with a plan to sack the city of Troy by gifting them with a seemingly empty wooden horse- you all know this story. Cassandra knew that if the Trojans were to accept the horse Troy would fall overnight, but no matter what she said no one would believe her. Thus the Trojans let the horse into the walls of Troy and that very night the city fell to the Achaeans.

After the Greeks took possession of Troy, Cassandra sought refuge within the temple of Athena. However, the temple provided no refuge as Cassandra was found by Ajax the Lesser, who dragged Cassandra from Athena’s altar and r4p3d her. It was because of this act that Athena caused the storm that scattered all the Greek heroes and took them so long to get home.

With the fall of Troy, Cassandra became a spoil of war, with Agamemnon forcing her to become his concubine. Cassandra would bear two sons for Agamemnon. Despite being his slave, Cassandra tried to warn Agamemnon to not return to Mycenae, for Cassandra knew that his wife (Clytemnestra) was having an affair with Aegisthus- who would murder Agamemnon. Sure enough, when Agamemnon returned to Mycenae he and the children Cassandra bore for him, were murdered by Aegisthus.

Little to nothing is known about what happened to Cassandra after the events of Mycenae but given her previous luck, we can probably assume that it wasn’t pleasant. That being said, I hope you all enjoyed reading about Cassandra and that you have a lovely weekend!

#classical studies #classics #dark acamedia #greek mythology #ancient rome #homer's iliad #roman mythology #the iliad #the aeneid #princess cassandra #troy #christa wolf #apollo deity #athena

15 notes · View notes

aguecheek · 4 years ago

Note

Can you tell us about that gender bent midsummer night's dream production you did lights for?

Oh boy oh baby oh boy ive been waiting for this one

So in 2019, I ran lights for a Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Midsummer that took the characters of Lysander and Helena and genderswapped them. Lysander became Lysandra, and Helena became Helenus. And dude???????? It changed...SO MUCH??? It literally lives in my head rent free, i still think about this production every goddamn day. More under the cut.

When Hermia’s father insists that she marry Demitrius or face death, it becomes much less a matter of a man exerting control over his daughter as if he owns her, although it still definitely is that, but now takes on a new dimension. Egeus has delivered an ultimatum: be straight or be killed. Absolutely fucking terrifying, and for modern audiences especially, the stakes suddenly become much more personal and much more real. (We also kept a running tally of every family who left in the middle of the show when they realized it was gay LMFAO our highest record number was 18 families in one night. Gotta love PA!) So in the scene immediately following that, you get this really gorgeous tenderness in the “how now my love, why is your cheek so pale” scene, you know the one. The agreement to elope, the overwhelming joy that comes from the notion of leaving your homophobic father and going to live with your girlfriend’s accepting aunt...it’s good, it gave me the warm and fuzzies.

The Helenus comes on, and oh boy oh boy oh fucking boy. Because in the first scene, you have this line from Lysandra about Demitrius promising himself to Helenus, and Egeus looking absolutely horrified at it, and Demitrius denying it fervently. And Helenus is lost, confused, and desperate, and he’s seeking comfort in two other openly gay people, his childhood best friend and her girlfriend—and the’re both leaving athens. Together. When he gives that fucking goddamn how happy some o’er other some can be speech (which ive had memorized since i was eight because its so unbelievably fuckign good) it’s absolutely HEARTRENDING. Demitrius was his, and they were in love, and then demitrius got cold feet and backed out, and now hermia and lysandra are leaving too, and helenus is going to be alone in athens.

Then you get helenus and demitrius’s first scene together, the “you draw me you hardhearted adamant” scene, the “spurn me like a dog” scene. And this scene was hard for me to watch every single night. Because, now forgive me for getting a little personal, I struggled with a lot of internalized homophobia for a pretty significant portion of my life. And there was this awful heartwrenching moment the actors did where demitrius grabbed helenus by his shirt and their mouths were inches apart and demetrius like tore himself away and stumbled away shouting and it just...i’ll say, okay, i named my sword demitrius(That’s not a euphamism, I have a sword hanging on the wall of my apartment named demitrius, I intend to name all my swords after shakespeare cahracters)because of this character. I don’t like demitrius within the text, i think he’s an asshole LMAO. But this version of demitrius really just grabbed my heart ripped it out of my chest and stomped on it, because he wasn’t a misogynist freak, he was a real dude struggling with some serious significant internalized homophobia. It gave him a reason to reject helenus, it gave him a reason to pursue hermia, and it gave him an actual in-depth character reason to be a dick other than just...hey, this is demitrius, he’s a dick to women.

One of the worst and best scenes every night was the fight scene. Now the fight scene fucking gets me, no matter what, but with the sexuality dynamics, god, it’s just so fucked up. Because when demitrius first starts acting all lovely-dovey towards helenus, there’s this awful heartbreaking look of longing on helenus’s face, and then when “oh, spite, oh, hell” comes bursting out, ur heart breaks ight the fuck along with him. Not to mention now here’s hermia, who ran away from her father to be with her girlfriend, to escape the confines of heterosexuality, so they could be together, and now lysandra is turning away from her and trying to get all cozy with helenus. Helenus’s heart is breaking because he thinks that he’s being betrayed by his own community, being mocked for something that they above all else should support him for. Hermia’s heart is breaking because she’s losing the one person she sacrificed everything to be with. Lysandra and demitrius are fine lmao they’re asleep, they don’t know whats going on.

But like okay. Okay. god. Okay. listen to me. When theyre all running exhaustedly through the woods and they eventually collapse on the ground, sound asleep, and puck comes out with the cure for the spell...he cures them both. HE CURES BOTH LYSANDRA AND DEMITRIUS. Because unlike in the original text, demitrius doesn’t need to be under a spell to love helenus. He loved him all along, he never stopped loving him, he just...wouldn’t let himself. So wheras in the heterosexual midsummer, puck usually cures lysander but not demetrius, in this version, you have them both being cured, both being brought back to themselves.

And when they wake up, and the lights went all purple and blue and soft and the music started playing (it was fucking moon river. The music was fucking moon river please im going to cry) and they’re all just standing there, holding the person they love, swaying softly, whispering in amazement at their fantastic dream…”are you sure that we are awake?” oh my fucking god. Oh my fucking god. Oh my god.

Then everybody comes storming on, theseus and hippolyta and egeus and such, and demitrius has that line...that fucking line… “The object and the pleasure of mine eye Is only Helenus. To him, my lord, Was I betrothed ere I saw Hermia. But like in sickness did I loathe this food, But as in health come to my natural taste, Now I do wish it, love it, long for it, And will for evermore be true to it.” DUDE ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME THAT’S SO GOOD. Because unlike with the magic flower route, he actually is returning to his natural tastes. This is the story, this is his story, this is him giving up on his attempts to hide that part of himself. This is him accepting who he is and wishing for Helenus, loving him, longing for him, will forevermore be true to him….god. It got me every single fucking night. Every goddamn single night that line made me tear up.

And then they all got married and it was lovely and beautiful blah blah its a comedy everybody gets married you know the drill <3 but yeah, i still think about that production every single fucking day of my life. I dont think ill ever stop thinking about it.

#askdrew #shakespeare tag #infodumping #yeah i got thoughts <3 many thoughts brain full what about it <3 #ok to rb

452 notes · View notes

neoptolemid · 3 years ago

Text

Middle of the night

This is a story between Helenus and Deidamia, a talk between the two during the night discussing the future but also a lot of the past

It was late at night and the weaving room was lit by only a single candle and the room was lit by a single candle and the sound of a single loom being used. It was Deidamia who sat alone weaving a new piece. The design was simple and more akin to something of a blanket, a piece to be used to warm and comfort a person.

She had been working on this blanket for the past month and she made blankets like this one every year in the same month.

She had long since worked out a pace for herself and hummed to move along the time as she went.

Her hair no longer was kept wrapped and high but she wore it loose and let it fall over her shoulders, her hair had lost some of youthful shine and took on more luster and gray.

She had no care to mind though her life was full, she had loving children and partners to keep from any thoughts of vanity in gray hairs.

She worked her speed and hummed a single tune, something mostly solem.

Work was interrupted with quiet footsteps, and she knew the intruder far before they gave a slight knock on the doorframe and came in.

"Hello deia, what are you doing up so late?" The question and voice belonged to her husband, the priest king of Eprius Helenus. He spoke hushed in the quiet room and walked to her pulling a seat next to her.

He too was aged by time, his hair had grown long and also gray. She remembered from when they had first met and his hair was black and cut short, he had been shorn quickly and roughly with no care put into it but she supposed that was the nature at the time.

When they had come to Skyros all those years ago.

"I couldn't find sleep and I wished to continue my work on this piece, what made you awake also at this hour?"

"I admit I was looking for you, I wanted to speak to you about your trip to Delphi, if I have the dates correct you'll be going in the next few weeks?"

"Yes that is correct"

She knew well enough that this would be the set up to a conversation, she didn't know exactly what the end of the conversation would bring. She knew well enough he was trying to breach a subject that was causing him thoughts, he was always a bit of the type to dance around things. He meant all the bust but he would always start out with making small talk and speaking on all things around him first.

And like she thought he wouldn’t quite get to his point yet “did you intend to take Kassandra with you like you did last year?”

His voice was quite like prior but there was hesitation in his voice now, worry clung to him a bit.

“If she wants to go with me then I will welcome her company, if she doesn’t wish to come with me again then that is fine. I would not push her.”

“Andromache and I wanted to make the request that even if she asks to not bring her.”

This had her stop, this had her turn and finally turn and look helenus in the face.

“Why not, if she wishes to come then I would allow it and she is my daughter she ought to be at my side how I will it to be” Her voice punctures the air, she speaks hard for a moment with him, looking him in the eyes and burying her gaze.

She knew this was coming, this house wishes to put the past to rest and all she wishes to do is give simple remembrances. Her grief swallowed her once and after climbing back she simply wanted to give small tokens and things as remembrances, as small offerings.

She knew the tainted nature of the past in this house, it was not something she could deny or hide, not something she could apologize for and she accepted all that.

Helenus looked somewhat taken aback from how Deidamia came to be, but his offense wasn’t taken so hard that he simply slipped back from her, he couldn’t meet her eyes and his shoulders slumped a bit.

He kept his arms close to himself and softly rubbed the back of his hand with his thumb, seemingly working out words and what he would say.

“Look Deidamia, we simply think it would be best for you not to take her, she is so little and Delphi is not close, it is a journey and for such a small girl”

She didn’t care to hear anything but the reason that had drawn him to seek her out in the middle of the night. “Cut it out. Helenus.”

“You going to Delphi is fine but just don’t take Kassandra”

“Why Helenus?”

Her tone was sharp with him, if he were to continue this charade of answers her tone would do nothing but grow with him.

"Andromache and I simply don't think it's the best, recently kassandra was asking about Neoptolemus and it is not a topic I or Andromache really want to entertain any growing interest in."

She signs, she softens, her shoulders relax and she turns her gaze from him and to her work, "alright, I can understand that, I can be fair, I will not take her."

Silence slinking back in and the only sound to be heard is her making her work, the sound of fabric passing by fabric, but he does not leave.

Something in the silence bothers him and keeps him from leaving just yet, something in the air keeps him where he is, there is more to be said he can simply feel it. He doesn't know yet what must be said but the words will surely fall from him, but while he collects his thoughts he turns to look at her work.

It is a rather simple blanket, the patterning is minimal and the color is teal.

"I'm am sorry if I have upset you Damia, I simply worry for you and for Kassanadra, I do not want this grief to consume you"

The shuttle drops from her hand with a thunk as she turns around to him.

"Consume me! Do I not live here, do I not govern here, do I not raise my daughter here! Do I not love you here! How am I not present, in what way do you need me to be more present. Pray tell me Dear Helenus how I am not present here"

Her voice pitches and it is very nearly a yell, while her mood might have settled had he left, he said what he supposed he was supposed to, he spoke what he believed necessary.

She stands taking his arm. Eyes boring into eyes she speaks and cries to him.

She weeps to him, in that moment she cries and breaks to him "You barely let me grieve alone, I know what my son did, I know he wasn't perfect, I know he did harm, I've seen the harm first hand. But I can't not grieve for him, I can't not, he was my baby! My baby that I raised by my hand"

"Oh, Damia . . ."

"I know his crimes!” her anger breaks to a quiver as she continues “but I can’t stop loving him, he’s my son and I’ve no more sons now, I love Kassandra I truly do but I’ve lost my sons, I’ve lost my last bit of Achilles and Patroclus.”

It falls out like that, and part of that hurts Helenus, he knows that he is forever loved in her arms but such old names still hurt. Years elapsed and still those names sting.

It is unfair that such old names should still sting and hurt him.

Between the two boys Pyrrhus was the image of Deidamia with Achilles’ eyes and while Oneiros was alive he took mostly after Patroclus, it was forever clear the boys did not share a father. It was forever funny that while alive, although Pyrrhus was the elder of the two brothers, Oneiros outgrew him. Who would know that he would be taken from the living age while still young, no one would know how tall he would grow be.

He loved her so much but such words like these acted on old fears that he truly was no one's first choice, he was not wanted ever first.

“I .. . I’m sorry you feel that way Damia, I really am sorry you feel that way” he pulls her close and kneels to the floor with this, he holds her with his person. He folds around her and holds her with all that he can.

If he just truly holds her as tightly as he can then nothing can get to her, nothing can harm her as long as he holds her and hides her within himself. He can go through so much in life, he has seen the hardships of life first hand and none of that is anything that she deserves.

It is her voice that breaks the moment of silence between the two of them.

“He left me,, I let him leave me, I couldn’t keep my baby boy safe and simply keep him at home on skyros. I couldn’t even do that much as his mother! I let him leave me, I let my boys leave me and they died!’

Her breaths come quick as she speaks.

So much of everything she has felt pours forth to him, she wept for her son when he left, she wept for the child she has raised and cared for.

Grief swallowed her when black sails came in the direction of skyros, one could think it was simply the ending of a war and that people might be returned. However the only sails were those of black sails not a single other ship, and this was only trouble, this was only a sign of grief to be had. True to nature these sails came with nothing good, they took what was good to her, they took her peace.

They came with gifts and promises, they came with fortunes.

Nothing but empty things.

They came the same way when Achilles and Patroclus left her.

What's a child to do when they are offered all the things of a king, what is a child to do when they are told of glory to be won and gifts to be given. She remembers distinctly the gifts promised.

She remembers promised arms, surely too big. She remembers the promising of a shield, surely too heavy for her boy. She remembers the promise of a daughter to be a wife, surely he was too young to care for such things.

“I did NOTHING! I did nothing, Helenus, I did nothing but weep, I did nothing but look sad. I was an ideal wife and mother to some known force as I just sat where I was and wept for what I had lost and all I stood to lose. I should have done something, I could have done something I could have and I did nothing!”

Her sorrow rang out and filled the room, it made an effort to swallow both. He felt for her, he felt for her position and the emotion that hung on her back and weighed her down.

#my writing #helenus #deidamia #uhhh sorry for the sad

11 notes · View notes