#classicstober 2024

[whimsimarion]

My first entry in the Classics-tober 2024 Challenge. "Harmodius and Aristogeiton" (they were the original "Be gay, do crimes", you can't convince me otherwise!)

Center below: The tyrant Hipparchus, after being assassinated by Harmodius and Aristogeiton (notice the Family Guy death pose?)

Left to right: Harmodius, Aristogeiton

Behind them: Varius Scythian guards, ready to kill them

First time learning about them was through Abraham Kawa's, Alecos Papadatos' and Anni Di Donna's (if the two last names are familiar to you, it's because they have worked on "Logicomix", which I strongly recommend) graphic novel, "Democracy", which retells how democracy came to be in Ancient Athens. I do like it, although the design is not that appealing

[classicstober]

✨Welcome to ClassicsTober 2024!✨

The idea is to create something – anything – for the prompt. Like other October prompt lists, it can be an illustration, but it can also be text, reference, historical artefact, video, story, translation, pretty much anything you’re interested in from the Ancient Med World that fits with the prompt. There’s no pressure to do every single one, just the ones you like.

This year it’s an ANCIENT HISTORY TAKEOVER! We asked Classicists, Ancient Historians, Archaeologists and Authors we know and love to suggest an ancient personage that they think everyone should know about! And, to combat misinformation and encourage research, we invite you to share your sources with your submission, whether that’s image references, texts, or even a whole bibliography!

✨NO AI USAGE ALLOWED✨

See the ClassicsTober24 Details page for background on each of the names chosen by our friendly Classicists, Archaeologists, Historians and Authors, to get your creativity going! https://greekmythcomix.com/classicstober-24-details/

THE LIST:

1 Regina of South Shields

2 Eumachia

3 Thucydides

4 Cleopatra Selene

5 Pliny the Elder

6 Meleager of Gadara

7 Harmodius and Aristogeiton

8 Boudicca

9 Eritha

10 Vitruvius

11 Julia Felix

12 Homer

13 Zenobia

14 Kallistomache

15 Aesop

16 Elagabalus

17 Iphikrates

18 Tacfarinas

19 Vespasian

20 The Trung Sisters**

21 Marcus Aquilius Regulus

22 Martial

23 Corinna

24 Cleopatra Thea

25 Sappho

26 Vitellius

27 Menander I Soter

28 Crassus

29 Phryne

30 Flavius Cerialis

31 Sejanus

*Ancient Greece and Rome and other near-Mediterranean Ancient cultures

**wildcard!

[nausikaaa]

Six Sentence Sunday

thanks for tagging me @run-for-chamo-miles @that-disabled-princess and @orange-peony!

classicstober 2024's prompts have been announced and i'm super excited because it's historical figures! my obsession with Roman non-fiction and biographies has finally paid off!

i thought it would be a good opportunity to jumpstart my writing brain by writing lots of short and snappy things. and so today, i've written 1000 or so words for Regina of South Shields, who i've had the pleasure of visiting!

i'm about to ramble, so i'm putting it under a cut. also warning, i've included photos of a tombstone and a human skeleton. if you just want to read the six sentences and not see them, scroll fast right to the bottom.

so, this is Regina. or rather, her tombstone, discovered by builders in 1878, and a reconstruction of how it might have looked when it was erected. if you haven't heard of her, which is understandable, she was a British woman from modern day St Albans (near London) during the Roman occupation of Britain. she was sold as a slave (did her family need money? was she born a slave? we don't know) and bought by a man named Barates, from Palmyra, a city in modern day Syria, who was either a soldier or at least travelling with the Roman army. they moved to a garrison close to Hadrian's Wall in what is now South Shields in the north east, and Barates fell in love with Regina. he freed her and they got married.

her tombstone is mostly important because it tells us that a Syrian man was in Britain during this time, and since her tombstone has Palmyrene script on it, and the chances he engraved his own wife's tombstone are slim, there was likely at least one other Syrian person who could engrave headstones around. which suggests that there was a whole group! the name of the Roman fort in South Shields was Arbeia, which could even mean "the place of the arabs."

it's estimated that a third of people in Britain during the Roman occupation were long distance migrants, and most were not slaves, as is often assumed. Ivory Bangle Lady, who I have also visited in York Museum and who lived around the same time, is believed to have come from Africa. and she was a wealthy free woman!

but what about Regina? well, we know she was from the Catuvellauni tribe, and that she died aged 30. we can assume she spun wool as she's depicted doing so on the tombstone, which was a respectable pastime for Roman women, and she's shown wearing lots of jewellery, so she probably led a comfortable life.

but we don't know how she felt about her marriage, as her tombstone is in Barates' words. did she love him back, or was she under duress to marry him to improve her own prospects? did they have children? did she have friends in Arbeia? did she have to learn Aramaic or Latin to communicate with Barates, or did he know Celtic? we simply don't know. so much of her personality has been lost to time.

so my challenge was to write something that pieces together various possibilities to create what could be an approximation of who Regina was. to give her some life, a voice, and at least a bit of agency.

okay. enough preamble. here's six lines:

I had grown and reached my twentieth year, and as the dark circles beneath my eyes disappeared and the warmer months led me to abandon my woollen cloak, I noticed men's behaviour towards me change. I am not the type to play at being coy- I knew they found me attractive. With my white skin, red hair, and pale blue eyes, I was exotic to them. I stood out.

I noticed Barates' behaviour change too. I realised I had a choice to make.

if you want to know more about Regina, my main source is this podcast by Mary Beard, but i also took inspiration from the book Roman Woman by Lindsay Allason-Jones.

tags: @forabeatofadrum @j-nipper-95 @artsyunderstudy @prettygoododds @confused-bi-queer @imagineacoolusername @ic3-que3n @aristocratic-otter @larkral @hushed-chorus @ivelovedhimthroughworse @shemakesmeforget @fatalfangirl @ebbpettier @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @cutestkilla @youarenevertooold @alexalexinii @shrekgogurt @bookish-bogwitch @thewholelemon @supercutedinosaurs @shutup-andletme-go @theearlgreymage @ileadacharmedlife @alleycat0306 @carryonsimoncarryonbaz @comesitintheclover @noblecorgi @roomwithanopenfire and @blackberrysummerblog

[mercerspoems]

Happy 10th Birthday Greek Myth Comix

Sunday 21st January 2024 marks a whole decade of the classics-inspired art, snark and sometimes bwark that is Greek Myth Comix. In order to celebrate I’m here to answer a simple question; What’s My Favourite and Why? My choice will come as no surprise to our esteemed artist: #ClassicsTober Day 22: MOTHER. Inspired by a tweet from another wonderful classicist, Dr Ellie Mackin Roberts, the…

[whimsimarion]

My second entry for Classicstober 2024, Septimia Zenobia. Warning: badly written. Read out of your own risk!

[classicstober]

Just a reminder that mini biographies for every one of the ClassicsTober 2024 prompts are available here:

https://greekmythcomix.com/classicstober-24-details/

(Please use them they took ages!)

AND you can see which Classicist, Ancient Historian, Archaeologist or Author picked each one!

[nausikaaa]

classicstober 2024 has begun!

today's historical figure is Regina of South Shields, who i've had the pleasure of meeting!

here's my ao3 work for the month, i'll add to it for whichever days/people i decide to create for. @dilfaeneas will also be adding her art!

and if you need it, here's a cheat sheet i've mucked up for all the people included in this year's classicstober. though be warned, it is currently incomplete.

[classicstober]

#ClassicsTober23 is now over!

Thank you so much to everyone who took part, from me ( @greekmythcomix ) and Dr Cora Beth Fraser. It was the most successful ClassicsTober yet, with the most daily submissions.

The most popular platforms were Twitter (despite everything!) and Instagram, followed by BlueSky and Tumblr (the first time running it on these platforms) and the hashtags on all these streams are awash with beautiful art and references and inspiration!

Hopefully we’ll run the prompts again in 2024 - follow this account here to get a reminder and to see the daily reposts.

Thank you again!

Jenks, GreekMythComix

Ps: please don’t use the hashtag now until next year!

2023s prompts: https://www.tumblr.com/classicstober/729739482703806464/its-three-days-til-classicstober23