#damon & pythias

[mysterysimblr]

“Dad! You made it!” Ann burped.

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

[penig]

Stop it Xander! That's not your fiancee!

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

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

[lasudio]

StrangeSpot, Round Twenty One: Sorority (Uni)

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

[yeehawpim]

[evesedenramblings]

I want to talk about the Greek Myth of Damon and Pythias and how I think it could tie into Project: Eden’s Garden. For those unfamiliar, the story of Damon and Pythias basically goes like this:

A man named Pythias is to be given the death penalty for his crimes of protesting tyrannical authority against a man named Dionysus (not the God, just named after him). However, Damon volunteers to take his place so Pythias can tend to his affairs (basically say final goodbyes). If Pythias does not return by a certain time, Damon shall be executed in his place. Pythias arrives in time and neither character dies, and Dionysus praises the two for their friendship and loyalty, and even asks to join the two in their friendship but is rejected.

It’s important to look at the framework of the story rather than the details. If we do that, I think there’s a lot to work with.

The story ties very neatly into the idea that Tozu’s Killing Game “continues until there’s only two people”, those two people in this context being Damon and Pythias, especially considering Tozu has the ongoing theme of lying! The Killing Game would end, but then maybe only one person gets to leave, and then begins the free-for-all seen in the Prologue. But then if Damon is Damon, who is Pythias supposed to be? Who is Damon willing to go against his entire ideology for with the belief they won’t kill each other? Honestly it’s too early to say. But that’s not all we can take from the story.

I think Tozu is our Dionysus. Dionysus is a tyrannical ruler named after, but not actually, a God, which is interesting in terms of a power complex. His role in the story is to pit Damon and Pythias against each other, making them doubt and question their trust for each other. The key difference is obviously Tozu will be relying on them to kill each other- however, should the story follow beat-by-beat, they won’t kill each other, and Tozu will be so impressed, he may let the two of them go. Frankly, I have another theory pertaining to Tozu that I haven’t created it into a proper post yet, but I think Tozu may try to bring them into his organization, and the two reject.

It’s an interesting story that makes for a fascinating theory. Considering how often the myth comes up in the origin of the name Damon, I imagine it has to have some form of relevancy. Not to mention the story is just a little bit too perfect of a character arc for Damon and a kick in the nuts for Tozu.

Brief aside: thanks to @panomiels-box for inspiring this analysis! They reminded me my “Damon and Pythias” draft exists and did their own analysis on Damon and Pythias. Our theories are pretty different which is why I’m not reblogging off their post, I’d hate to take away from their theory. Make sure to read theirs too, they make a lot of interesting points!

[mattnben-bennmatt]

Damon and AffleckPythias

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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In Shakespeare's Hamlet (1623)

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

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

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

[movieposters1]

[chaotic-history]

i am finally writing something 👍

[keepthisholykiss]

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

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

[jamietukpahwriting]

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

[yeehawpim]

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

[celttim]

[pigeonwhumps]

Character intros

The Greatest Show on Earth

Damon/Star

Part of a two-person sideshow act, killed multiple times a day for entertainment. He's immortal, resurrecting within minutes, and has stubs of wings on his back where they were removed – the scruffy yearly moulting and initial growing in would've been too disruptive and lost them far too much money. Born in captivity, he finds the outside world very challenging once he and Pythia escape.

Pronouns: he/him

Pythias/Amelia

Part of a two-person sideshow act, forced to kill Damon multiple times a day for the entertainment of paying circus patrons. She has iridescent blood reminiscent of an oil spill, which is regularly bottled and sold as circus merchandise.

Pronouns: she/her

Mosi

Circus director. Is in charge of creating the exhibits and ensuring that all performers are up to standard. Claims to use a carrot and stick approach, but it's far more stick than carrot.

Pronouns: he/him

Sandip

Coffee shop owner who employs Star and Amelia after they escape the circus, unknowing of their past. They also sleep in his shop, which it takes him a long time to find out about.

Pronouns: he/they

[evesedenramblings]

What's the Tozu theory about him trying to bring the last two survivors into his organisation you mentioned in your Damon and Pythias analysis??

P.S. I really like all your posts.

First of- thank you so much!! I’m really happy to hear you like the posts!!!!

The very short version of the theory is that I believe Tozu runs a cult dedicated to redeeming/fixing Ultimates. I’m pretty sure his process is to 1) strip the students of their pride by making them murder each other, going from 16 students until only 2 remain (as the rules state). Then, 2) have them prove who’s worthy of actually being an Ultimate by forcing them into a free-for-all (as seen in Prologue Trial). Assuming Damon’s name symbolism comes into play, this particular game will be special and the last 2 survivors will refuse to kill each other and that’s just as charming to Tozu. It’s “Ultimate” to overcome the set challenge, and that’s what matters.

As for the reasoning behind it, it currently seems the world is overabundant with Ultimates, and a lot of useless ones at that who contribute nothing to society. To Tozu, it’s just getting rid of deadweight who can’t handle the pressure of being Ultimate, and then those who can are welcomed to the true Eden’s Garden Academy.

There could also be more behind Tozu’s motives- we know Ultimates are important via context clues, and a lot of them but other than that we don’t actually know a lot of about P:EG’s world-building yet given our setting. Given it’s a Fangonranpa, the motivation could just be that Ultimates are meant to be symbols of Hope, but Tozu thinks they’ve been seriously lacking. We only have one chapter so far so who knows!

This Q/A has sparked a LOT of actual notes from my brain to my notes app so you can expect a full proper post on this theory soon. Thanks again so much for asking!