#his priests like chryses

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

having Cassandra and Apollo thoughts...

thoughts about how she still calls Apollo "the god I love", even after the curse. how he gifted not just her, but her twin with the gift of prophecy. he loved both of them. they loved him.

I know people claim Athena avenged Cassandra's rape at the hands of Ajax but tbh that wasn't Athena avenging Cassandra - that was Athena punishing Ajax for violating the sanctity of her temple.

if Cassandra hadn't been inside Athena's temple, Ajax would have gotten away with it. and in a way, he did anyway.

and then when you think about Cassandra's death...the one to avenge her is the god she loves. Apollo. he cursed her, yes. but he still loved her too.

because think about it. apollo did not give a flying fuck about Agamemnon. if it was just Agamemnon who died, Apollo would have thrown a party.

but Cassandra was also killed. someone Apollo loves, and a favored priestess.

...remember what happened to Agamemnon when he insulted a priest of Apollo? a plague fell on the Achaeans.

and when Cassandra is killed...Apollo finds a way to make her murders pay the price. He gets Orestes to kill his own mother to avenge Cassandra.

frankly, I love them. I want more of them. This messy, complicated relationship with so much more meaning than "apollo got mad because she wouldn't sleep with him". Even with the cursory view I have, I can see there is so much more there.

Gods, I need to get my hands on those primary sources so I can obsessively read about them in full.

If anybody has recommendations on which primary sources have Cassandra and Apollo please tell me

I am begging you.

RAWRRAWRARWR I LOVE THEM👀

I also have thoughts about Apollo and Orestes but that's for another time

[katerinaaqu]

Might be a stupid question but what did ancient greek kings and queens wear to show their status? Specifically did they wear crowns or something similar?

How dare you call that a "stupid question" my dear Anon?! That is one hell of an intriguing question and I am so happy you stated it!

Of course historically we have many different suggestions in regards to the actual symbols of power that the ancient kings had given how we have very few sources in regards to the palatial system. The power was determined by the several objects of exotic origin that are difficult to acquire such as lapis lazuri that came exclusively from the area of modern Afghanistan, hippopotamus teeth and ivory that come from Egypt or Africa in general or the color crimson (aka a shade of purple) that comes from only one source from Europe and from the seashell porphyra that not only is a very rare item to find but you also need many shells to have enough paint for it thus is expensive both to acquire and to produce.

By n large we talk on items that cost money! Hahahaha Other status symbols we discover in mycenaean tombs are for example boar tusk helmets or weapons of metal in general. Hunting seems to be an activity historically connected to nobility (thus even in Greek mythology we have so many hunts of animals in general and boars in particular because as an animal is very dangerous and powerful so determines also bravery and skill) and of course metals like gold or silver. Status symbols such as rings and sigils that bore status symbols were also common. Rings that bore a seal were a thing already from minoan and mycenean times

Now in mythology and epic poetry we have another example that seems to be discussed and is interesting; the rod of power.

It seems that all kings in Iliad have a symbol of power in the form of a rod or a scepter that they hold when they speak in public to show their position. For example Achilles has his infamous oath not to fight upon that rod:

But now I shall swear to you this great oath; by this scepter that will never have leaves come from it, as it was cut off from the mountain shall never sprout again since bronze has covered it both the leaves and the bark, now the Achaeans hold in their hand to speak their judgement and the prophets that show the will of Zeus this shall be my oath; there shall come a time where all the Achaeans shall miss Achilles, when they shall not be able to ward off the killer of men Hector and they shall fall by him, then you shall regret it in your heart that you did not honor the Noblest of all Greeks!

(Translation by me)

This scepter mentioned by Homer seems to be a piece of wood that has been dipped into metal to form as a scepter that seems to be a form of authority that both the kings and the prophets or priests are using. Achilles swears upon this scepter basically that he "shall enter the battle when the metal-dipped scepter shall sprout again". He even makes his point further to show how much he resents the council of the Greeks with his action to throw the scepter to their feet.

So the son of Peleus spoke and then he threw the scepter decorated with golden nails upon the earth and he sat himself down

(Translation by me)

So we also know that the scepter bore decorations such as nails of gold and all. The same scepter we know that Chryses bore when he went to the Greeks and beg Agamemnon for the release of his daughter Chryseis. Odysseus was having the same type of scepter when he went with Menelaus to Troy to negotiate the return of Helen without a fight. The same scepter, ironically, Odysseus uses to beat Thersites up in the Iliad! Hahahaha But we also know that Telemachus holds the scepter in the Odyssey when he speaks in front of his people for the first time.

So it seems that the status symbol of the scepter is more common than a crown even if we do see kings and queens of the Greeks bear crowns or sitting upon thrones which also dictates their power and status (for example Penelope sits upon a throne with ivory when she shows herself in front of the Suitors for the challenge). So in one way the whole set of status symbols is not THAT much as you got used to fairy tales and such hehehehe they mostly seem to be using the scepter as a symbol more commonly but other such as crowns or rings are also used even in mythology (for example Chryses wearing the crown of a priest to show his authority)

I hope this helps. Thank you for the amazing question and don't you dare call it "stupid". It is great!

[k-nayee]

CHAPTER 14. THE WEIGHT OF PRIDE

❝Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall❞

Warrior M.List | Act Two

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˚＊˚✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ・・✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ⚔️・⚔️・⚔️・⚔️・✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ・・✦ʚ♡ɞ✦ ˚＊˚

War on Troy: Year 5

Two years have passed since Briseis joined the Greek camp, five since the start of the Trojan war itself. 

The air all around was heavy—not just with the usual stench of war and unwashed bodies, but with something darker. A creeping weight that settled over the men like a shadow.

It wasn’t exhaustion from battles or the malaise that came with endless stalemates. It was something deeper, something rotting at the core of the Greek army.

You sat just outside the war tent, the rough fabric of your cloak pulled tighter around your shoulders as a chilly wind swept through the camp.

The sun, though high did little to warm the earth, and the usual din of soldiers sharpening weapons or boasting of exploits felt muted.

The men were quieter now, their gazes wary as they avoided one another as though afraid to acknowledge what was happening.

“Doesn’t feel right, does it?” Patroclus’ voice broke through the silence. He was crouched nearby, his sharp eyes scanning the soldiers milling about.

“No,” you replied, your voice quieter than usual. “It doesn’t.”

Patroclus didn’t press further. He knew you well enough by now to recognize when you were lost in thought.

Instead, he turned his attention to Briseis, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground as she attempted to fix a knot in the leather cord of her sandal.

“Need help little sparrow?” Patroclus asked, his teasing tone earning a glare from the young girl.

“No,” she snapped, though there was no real heat in her voice. “I can do it myself.”

You couldn’t help but smile at the exchange.

Briseis, now fourteen, was bold—almost brash at times, her confidence growing with each passing day. She had grown under Achilles’s tutelage, her slight frame showing the faint outline of muscle from hours of training she had taken with surprising enthusiasm.

“She’s getting good at tying knots,” Patroclus remarked with mock seriousness, leaning back on his hands. “Give her another year and she might even best me at it.”

Briseis rolled her eyes but grinned, the corners of her mouth quirking upward despite herself. “I’ll best you at more than knots.”

“That’s the spirit,” you murmured while watching the exchange with a faint smile. It was moments like this that gave you reprieve from the endless struggles of war.

The sound of heavy footsteps drew your attention, your body instinctively tensing.

You turned to see Agamemnon approaching, his figure unmistakable even from a distance. He carried himself with his usual arrogance, his golden cloak billowing behind him as though it alone could announce his presence.

But it wasn’t the King of Mycenae that held your attention—it was the girl trailing behind him.

She was a stark contrast to Briseis.

Where Briseis had grown stronger, more vibrant, she looked as though the life had been drained from her.

Her pale skin seemed almost translucent in the midday sun, and her shoulders were hunched, her movements hesitant.

She wore a beautiful dress, its fine embroidery a cruel juxtaposition to her downcast gaze and trembling hands. Around her neck was a jeweled choker—its chain trailing to Agamemnon’s hand as though she were a prize to be paraded.

Patroclus stiffened beside you, his easygoing demeanor evaporating in an instant. Even Briseis’ smile faltered as her gaze dropped to the ground.

Agamemnon strode past without so much as a glance in your direction as he dragged the young girl along as though she were an afterthought.

She stumbled slightly, the chain pulling taut, but he didn’t slow. Your jaw tightened as you watched the scene unfold, your hands curling into fists at your sides.

“Her name is Chryseis. She’s the daughter of one if Apollo’s priests, Chryses.” Briseis whispered suddenly, her words so soft they were almost lost to the wind.

You turned to her sharply. “What?”

Briseis glanced around, making sure no one else was within earshot. Her voice was steadier this time, though it still carried an edge of hesitance.

“I’ve heard the men talking.” she murmured. “She was taken from Apollo’s temple during a raid.”

Your stomach churned at her words. The pieces clicked into place with a sickening finality. The illness spreading through the camp—it all made sense now.

“Foolish,” Patroclus muttered, his tone dark. “To desecrate a God’s temple...to steal from one of the most revered deities? Agamemnon’s arrogance knows no bounds.”

You didn’t respond as your mind raced.

The sickness had started slow, barely noticeable amidst the chaos of war. But it was spreading now, its shadow growing longer with each passing day.

And if Briseis was right—if Apollo’s wrath was to blame—then the consequences could be catastrophic.

*･:*:★☽✧⚔️✧☾★:*:･*

The war tent was filled with tension as the Greek leaders gathered for the meeting. The usual boasting and camaraderie were absent, replaced by grim faces and quiet murmurs.

Penelope stood at the head of the table, her expression composed but unyielding. You were by her side, your gaze sharp as you scanned the area.

The air buzzed with frustration over the war’s progress—or lack thereof.

Raids on Trojan towns had bolstered the Greek supplies, but Hector, along with Aeneas and Sarpedon, had launched devastating nighttime assaults on the Greek camps, damaging morale and resources.

Though the fortifications held strong—a testament to the ingenuity of the Greek engineers. As the discussion shifted to strategy, Diomedes suddenly spoke up, his booming voice cutting through the silence.

“We have more pressing matters than Trojan reinforcements,” he said gravelly. “This sickness spreading through the camp cannot be ignored.”

Agamemnon scoffed from his place at the table, his arms crossed over his chest.

“It’s the chill in the air,” he said dismissively. His voice carried the tone of a man accustomed to command. “Common enough for this time of year. The nights grow colder; men grow weaker. It’s the nature of war. We’ll endure.”

You leaned back in your seat, arms crossed as you studied Agamemnon. His casual dismissal grated against the rising anxiety in the tent and you couldn’t hold back your tongue any longer.

“Oh?” you drawled, your voice cutting through the gathering. All eyes turned to you, and you didn’t miss the flicker of irritation in Agamemnon’s gaze.

You tilted your head as a wry smile curl your lips. “And it has nothing to do with your defiling of the God of Medicine and Light's temple? Stealing the daughter of one of his priests no less.” You clicked your tongue in mock disapproval, shaking your head.

Agamemnon’s composure faltered for a split second before he quickly regained it, though a faint flush crept up his neck. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said sharply, his voice tinged with defensiveness.

“Don’t you?” you shot back. “Word spreads quickly my King. You took Chryseis, daughter of Chryses, from Apollo’s temple. Desecrating sacred ground, stealing a priest’s child. Do you truly believe the God of Plagues would let that go unanswered?”

Murmurs rippled through the tent.

Some of the lords exchanged alarmed glances while others murmured in disbelief. Achilles leaned forward slightly, a smirk tugging at his lips as he watched the exchange.

Even Penelope, ever composed, arched a brow, her sharp gaze cutting to Agamemnon.

The Mycenae King's eyes darted nervously, but he quickly masked his discomfort with bluster. “T-this is nonsense! The Gods meddle where they please, but this sickness is no divine punishment. We have more important matters—”

“More important than stopping a plague?” Penelope interrupted sharp and cuttingly. “Ignoring the possibility of Apollo’s wrath is a dangerous gamble. If this sickness spreads unchecked we’ll lose more men to disease than to battle. Or do you intend to lead an army of corpses?”

You pressed the point further. “We’ve all heard of the little love Poseidon has for Apollo. Troy reveres the healing God, their temples shining with offerings while his rival—Poseidon—watches from the shadows. Use that rivalry to our advantage. A ceremony to honor the God of Sea’s protection could turn his favor to our fleets. A shield against Apollo’s wrath.”

The suggestion hung in the air for a moment. A few generals exchanged glances, the wheels of possibility turning behind their eyes.

Even Diomedes, who had been leaning against the edge of the table with a skeptical look, straightened slightly as he considered your words.

But Agamemnon’s laughter cut through like a blade—cold and condescending. “And what then? Shall we anger Athena? Or Hera? Do you truly believe that aligning ourselves with Poseidon will win us favor while spurning the Gods who have guided us this far? Shall we invite even more chaos into this war?”

His voice carried, the weight of his authority swaying the wavering opinions. You narrowed your eyes, your jaw tightening as his argument took root.

“Chaos?” you repeated, incredulous. “As if Apollo has not already brought chaos to our camp? As if more of your pride will not doom us further? A prayer—an offering, costs us nothing but time. Yet it may save us from being consumed.”

Agamemnon’s knuckles whitened as he gripped the edge of the table. His gaze locked with yours, a battle of wills waging between you.

He could see the cracks forming in his support, see the men weighing your words against his, and that knowledge only seemed to deepen his stubborn resolve.

“It is a distraction,” he insists. “We are here to fight, not to appease every whim of every God. This sickness will run its course as all things do. We must focus our strength on Troy—not on the winds of divine discontent.”

The shift in the room was palpable.

Agamemnon’s carefully chosen words—rooted in pragmatism and veiled self-preservation—were enough to sway the hesitant. The murmurs of agreement grew louder, and the weight of his authority carried the moment.

Your jaw clenched as frustration simmered beneath your calm exterior. Penelope placed a steady hand on your forearm, a subtle gesture to remind you of the bigger picture, even as her expression remained stoic.

You glanced at the gathered leaders, at the faces of those who now sided with Agamemnon, and bit back the sharp retort rising to your lips.

Prideful as he was, Agamemnon had succeeded in turning the tide in his favor—for now.

You instead decided to focus your gaze on the map before you, studying the markings as if willing them to distract you from the boiling anger within.

“We’ll reconvene tomorrow.” Penelope began, her calm voice cutting through the remaining tension. “Until then, prepare your men.”

Agamemnon was the first to leave amongst the generals and leaders filing out.

He yanked Chryseis forward with a rough tug of her jeweled chain as he stormed out causing the girl stumbled to keep pace, her head still bowed, her expression blank.

Your hands clenched into fists at your sides as you forced yourself to look away. “Arrogant bastard,” you muttered under your breath, barely audible.

Finally, without looking at your Captain, you said, “I’m going to check on the men. Need some air.”

Penelope didn’t respond, but you caught the faintest incline of her head in your peripheral vision. With that, you turned on your heel and stepped out of the tent into the cool night air.

The sun had long since set and the camp was alive with the flicker of torches lining the walkways, their warm glow casting long shadows on the worn paths.

The hum of activity—the distant laughter, the low murmur of conversations, the rhythmic clang of hammers repairing armor—filled the air as you began your walk toward the Ithacan quarters.

You didn’t get far before a familiar voice called out behind you.

“____!”

You turned to see Polites jogging toward you. A smile curved your lips as you slowed down to let him catch up. “Polites,” you greeted warmly as he stopped before you, slightly out of breath. “What brings you here?”

Polites adjusted his glasses and offered a faint smile in return. “I could ask you the same,” he said, his tone light but curious. “Where are you off to?”

You tilted your head. “Same as always,” you lightly explained as he fell into step beside you “Routine rounds, just making sure everything is in order.”

For a while neither of you spoke, choosing to move in comfortable silence. Though there was a weight to it that you couldn’t quite place.

Out of the corner of your eye you noticed Polites stealing glances at you, his head dipping quickly each time you turned in his direction. A soft chuckle almost escaped you but you held it back for his sake.

His usual composure when around other soldiers was nowhere to be found. His hand brushed absently against the hilt of his sword, fingers tapping a nervous rhythm, while his other hand fiddled with the edge of his tunic.

It wasn’t like Polites to be so fidgety, but the slight pink tint blooming across his nose was telling. He was flustered.

A small smile creeps on your face but you keep it hidden enough to avoid embarrassing him. The poor man was working himself into knots; opening his mouth as though to speak only to close it again just as quickly.

Each failed attempt seemed to make him more determined despite the words he sought refusing to come. It was almost endearing the way he struggled.

Out of kindness you decided to pretend not to notice and let him grapple with his nerves in peace. Instead you focused on the glow of the torches and the soft crunch of dirt beneath your sandals.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of silent deliberation, Polites took a breath and parted his lips parting as he seemed ready to speak—

“Well...isn't this a rare sight.”

The familiar teasing tone of Patroclus cut through making you and Polites both stop walking. Odysseus' childhood friend stiffens at the interruption, his fingers tightening around the hilt of his sword as he cast an annoyed glance over his shoulder.

Patroclus approached with his usual casual stride as a mischievous grin tugs at his lips. “I was starting to think you’d forgotten about us,” he added, his voice laced with mock disappointment.

Briseis darted ahead of him, her smaller frame illuminated by the flickering torchlight. She reached your side quickly, her wide smile as bright as ever.

“You’re not avoiding us are you?” she asked playfully, her tone so innocent it made you chuckle despite yourself.

Polites’ expression darken as Patroclus came to a stop a few paces away. The soldier’s hand dropped from his sword hilt, but his posture remained tense, his back rigid as though bracing for whatever quip the Myrmidon would throw next.

“Ah Polites.” Patroclus’s grin widened as his gaze flicked between the two of you. “Always so serious. Lighten up will you? It’s a beautiful night.”

Polites’ only response was a curt nod, his lips pressing into a thin line as he adjusted his glasses. His frustration was evident though he made no move to voice it.

You could feel the tension radiating off him, his usual composure unraveling under the weight of Patroclus’ playful taunts.

Before you could intervene Achilles appeared. He said nothing at first, his green eyes taking in the scene with a knowing glint.

“Patroclus,” Achilles said finally, his tone calm but edged with subtle amusement. “Don’t tease too much. You’ll scare them off.”

Patroclus smirked but stepped back slightly, though the mischievous glint in his eyes didn’t fade. “Fine fine,” he said, raising his hands in mock surrender. “But I still say you’d look stunning in that ceremonial dress for Poseidon.”

The comment was aimed at you, and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes. “Is that all you think about?” you asked dryly, though your tone carried no real bite.

Polites, however, bristled visibly. His lips thinned further and his hand twitched as though he were considering drawing his sword after all.

Before the tension could escalate further the sound of approaching footsteps drew everyone’s attention. Turning, you saw Penelope approaching while being flanked by Diomedes, Eurylochus, and Nestor.

The sight of them together was striking and enough to make your brows furrowing in mild confusion. Penelope’s eyes met yours and she sighed. “Don’t look at me like that,” she said with an amused huff. “They insisted.”

You could only stare as you wait for her to elaborate.

It was Diomedes who stepped forward, his towering frame and commanding aura drawing the focus of everyone present. His sun-bronzed skin glowed faintly in the torchlight, and his long dark locs framed his rugged yet approachable face.

“To hell with Agamemnon’s dismissal,” he said simply, his voice a deep rumble that seemed to resonate around you. “We’ve decided to proceed with the ceremony for Poseidon whether he likes it or not.”

You blinked, taken aback by his straightforwardness.

Diomedes continued, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “I always knew Agamemnon was a coward at heart. Hesitation was my own failing for not speaking out earlier, not yours.”

The weight of his words hung in the air and you found yourself momentarily speechless.

“You’ve proven your judgment time and again—you and Penelope,” Diomedes continued, his warm eyes meeting yours directly. “I, for one, am done doubting it.”

Nestor, the elder general, stepped forward with a measured nod. “Wisdom doesn’t always come with age...I’ll admit when I’ve been blind. Your plan for Poseidon is a sound one and we would be fools not to heed it.”

Penelope moved closer, her hand brushing lightly against your arm. “This is your call,” she said softly. “We trust you.”

Glancing around at the faces surrounding you, you finally release a breath, a slow smile spreading across your lips.

[freakinthefridge]

a long and unnecessary investigation of apollo the mouse lord

this is so different from what i usually post, and, i'm gonna be honest, zero note post right here, but. here is a glimpse of irl me i go to school for classics and art history so

i was so enraptured by this moniker that i had to research it, and have nowhere to put this other than tumblr, so i hope at least one person other than me finds it interesting. I actually love doing this kind of stuff so if anyone wants to hear about peacock symbolism in early christianity or the development of the written english alphabet OR if you happen to know a shitload about mouse lord apollo please add on or correct me if i have anything wrong! all resources i used will be linked in blue

prepare yourself as i convert to correct punctuation and capitalization for ease of understanding

As a proper art/classics student (and just between us, Apollo is one of my favorite gods), I was SO excited when I started reading the Iliad for my class on the Trojan War (Emily Wilson translation) and got to these lines, spoken by Chryses, Apollo's priest, when he's praying to Apollo to bring a plague to the Greeks stationed outside of Troy (Agamemnon got Chryseis, Chryses's daughter, as a war trophy, and refused to return her):

"Lord of the silver bow, now hear my prayer! Great Guardian of Tenedos and Chryse and Sandy Cilla! Mouse Lord! If I ever built temples to your liking, ever burned fat thighs of oxen or of goats for you, fulfill this prayer for me, and let the Greeks suffer your arrows to avenge my tears!" (Book 1, lines 36-42)

Now this stopped me in my tracks. WHAT was that!? I have NEVER heard of Apollo being called "Mouse Lord" before. What an interesting image, a splendiferous vision of a strapping young Apollo with a mouse army in his wake (Willard Stiles, anyone?). Why is Apollo the Mouse Lord, you may ask? Well, I had the same question, burning such a deep ardor in my heart and soul, that I just HAD to investigate.

This is not quite where I started, but I will begin my explanation with some etymology (another love of mine!!!) "Mouse" is a word inherited into the English language from Germanic (according to the Oxford English Dictionary––SUCH a good resource; crazy story behind it but, alas, one for another time), deriving from sources such as Old Frisian mūs (pronounced "moos"), Middle Dutch muus/mues/muys, Old High German mūs/muos (there's a few others, but let us continue forward)––while Germanic and Romance languages are two different things, they both stem from Indo-European, so sometimes there is overlap between the two (illustrated nicely in this image). All these Germanic words ultimately have the same base as the Classical Latin mūs and the ancient Greek μῦς (mūs).

Side note: mūs is also the root for muscle. This is because the Greeks decided that when you flex it looks like there are mice under your skin.

For those of you familiar with Greek and Roman mythology, the gods will often be given a specific title to denote which role of the aforementioned god is being portrayed (e.g. Jupiter Optimus Maximus ("best and greatest") may have different iconography than, say, Jupiter Tonans ("thundering"). Interestingly, this trend can also be seen with images of Christ, such as Christ the Good Shepherd versus Christ Pantocrator ("ruler of the universe"). Apollo as Mouse Lord is known by the epithet "Apollo Smintheus," but where does this name come from? It seems the Greeks had another word for mouse: σμίνθος (smĭ́nthos) (the distinction between smĭ́nthos and mūs I will not claim to know; I study Latin, not Greek). Adding an -eus suffix (added to noun or adjective stems to form a masculine noun of a person concerned with a thing (i.e. Apollo associated with mice)), we get Smintheus Apollo.

OK. That's about it for the etymology. Take my hand, onward we march.

Let's do a little loop back to Chryses for a second. Because he prays to the "Mouse Lord," it's clear he's the priest at a temple of Apollo Smintheus. This temple was likely located in Sminthe/Smintheion/Smintheum, Chryse (the town from which Chryses and Chryseis would have been from), or Hamaxitus (all of these are in modern Turkey btw). It seems there is rumor of mice living inside this temple, although we will return to that in a bit. There are ruins of a similar temple, the Smintheum, in Gülpinar, Turkey, although these are much newer than the dates associated with the Trojan War or Homer, going back to the mid-second century BCE.

(It is to be noted that Homer is a very contested individual. The epics of the Iliad and the Odyssey are dated much later than the supposed dates of the Trojan War, and they started as oral poems. The Greeks borrowed the alphabet from the Phoenicians, and did not have a system of writing during the periods of the Trojan War or when the epics would likely have been composed. They were written down much later, and it's possible that Homer didn't even exist, or that he was multiple people. Along with this, the Trojan War is also contested. Obviously, it did not occur as it appears in the Iliad and the Odyssey, but there is archaeological evidence of some kind of war happening at some indeterminate point somewhere in Turkey.)

Not to mention, this temple has Latin inscriptions, which means this would have been built during the time of the Romans (images of the temple here). Here's an article about the inscriptions if the passion strikes you, I skimmed through it, but it's mostly just honorary stuff and your average temple engravings of built when and by whom. Interesting nonetheless. The cult statue, although no longer standing, was seemingly Apollo stepping on a mouse, as determined by the coins of Alexandria depicting the same image (Apparently sculpted by Scopas, which I have just learned, is also the name of a fish). I think there's also supposed to be a common image of Apollo holding the mouse in his hand––I've searched for these coins, although I'm not quite sure what I'm looking for, so here is a picture of what seems, to me, to be closest.

Now all this is fascinating, but we still haven't discussed why Apollo might be the Mouse Lord, so let's not beat around the bush any longer.

There are two leading theories I've found that might explain this:

Apollo is a mouse-killer

The mice are sacred

Let's start with the former, since I personally like this version less. Let us remember, though, this is mythology, so neither of these theories are more correct than the other, and I've found evidence for both.

Apollo is the god of many things. I usually refer to him as the god of music, but he's also a god of archery, the sun, prophesy (remember this one), poetry, etc. He's quite the multi-talented guy. BUT, among these, he is a god of healing and diseases. This is clear, given that he's the one who sends the plague to the Greeks after they disrespect Chryses.

The Greeks would have known mice to be vermin, and might have associated them with disease. I've been looking at this website, which gives a pretty good summary of what we've been talking about (if not a little bit concise), but it's also literally a forum of ancient coins that says mice can't carry plague (they can, here's the CDC page for it), so take it with a grain of salt. A couple of the sites linked above translate "Smintheus" as "Mouse-Killer," although, as I explained, it really just means "person associated with mice." Apollo being a god of health, it's not a far stretch to assume that he would protect against plague, and I'm of the mind that the Greeks would know mice could bring sickness, and might pray to Apollo to keep them away. This would also explain why the image on Alexandrian coins and the cult statue depict Apollo with a mouse under his foot; literally quelling the plague. (I'm gonna be so honest I just wanted to include the next poem, I could not, for the life of me, think of a good segue into it):

Be it for bread, ye mice, you come, elsewhere Then go (my hut houses but scanty fare) Where you shall gnaw fat cheese and dried figs find, Full satisfied when on these scraps you've dined. If on my books again your teeth you whet, Poor feast you'll have, and one you will regret. (Ariston)

If mice were simply just pests to the Greeks and not plague-bringers, I find it difficult to believe Apollo would have an entire role dedicated to being a mouse-killer. Then again, this brings up an interesting question: why are the mice singled out? Lots of other vermin carry diseases––why is Apollo a mouse-killer and not, like, a general exterminator? What if these mice are important to him instead? So important that he gets the title of Mouse Lord? What if these mice... are sacred? (I hope that transition made up for the last one lol)

Remember that point about the mice living in the temple I said I would come back to? Here we are. It's mentioned in this article from University of Chicago Press that Claudius Aelianus, a Roman author, claimed there were mice living in the temple of Apollo Smintheus; these mice would have likely been fed well, given that they were eating food meant for Apollo. Honestly, I think this fact in and of itself makes a strong argument for why the mice might be sacred. Along with this, mice were a prophetic symbol, because they were "inspired by the vapours arising from the earth." As I mentioned before, prophesy is also in important aspect of Apollo. The most well known oracle of Apollo is the Oracle of Delphi, through whom he was known to speak to mortals. That being said, it's likely the oracle was inhaling ethylene, a central-nervous stimulant, from faults in the ground. While the temple at Delphi and the Smintheum are in two different places, these tales seem eerily similar. I'm not saying that the temple mice where inhaling stimulants and experiencing prophetic visions, but I can see why mice in a temple of Apollo might be associated with prophecies.

I also want to mention that the foundational myth of Hamaxitus has to do with mice AND prophecies. This myth can be found on the wiki page for Hamaxitus, or here (pg. 17). This excerpt is taken from the wiki:

Hamaxitus was founded by a band of Teucrian (i.e. Trojan) Cretans who were told by an oracle to found a city wherever the 'earth-born' (γηγενεῖς) attacked them. When they reached the area of Hamaxitus, a great horde of field mice ate all the leather on their equipment, and so they settled on the spot, interpreting the 'earth-born' of the oracle to have been the mice.

This myth was apparently written by Callinus of Ephesus, a greek elegiac poet, but, unfortunately, after, I kid you not, HOURS, of searching, I cannot confirm this. I have looked everywhere for some scrap of his poetry that has to do with mice––I have scoured the internet and I have scoured my library. I have touched books that likely have not been touched in 30 years. I found a book talking about Greek poetry that was written in Latin. I strongly considered translating a book from German to try to figure this out. No, I tell myself, you have hit a dead end. You do not need to translate a book from either Latin OR German to find out this one little scrap of information for a project no one asked you to complete and one which you are not getting a grade for. Alas, I digress. If you would like to read excerpts from the only two Callinus poems in apparently my entire library or the internet, here you go. They are not about mice.

I'm sorry to say, but that's about it. Apollo Smintheus is the Mouse Lord because he either protects against plague by killing mice, or mice are sacred to him because they're prophetic, and were a part of the foundational myth for one of his temples. I don't even like rodents that much, but I LOVE the idea of Apollo having a bunch of little mice that he carries around with him. I was mostly hitting research dead ends by the end of that, but honestly, I'm satisfied with what I've found. I don't really know what the point of all this was, but I was a woman possessed, and know more than I did two days ago so... I'd call that a success, I suppose.

[table-top-romulan-playing-games]

Chryses: hello, king Agamemnon, i have brought adequate reverence and offers to you and wish to plead for the safe return of my daughter please.

All of the other kings and generals: Yeah, he brought sufficient offers, you should give her back.

Agamemnon: No. She's my concubine and im sending her back to my palace where i will have her adorn my couch every night, fuck you old man :/

Chryses: -Goes back to the temple of Apollo where he is the priest- pls save my daughter.

Apollo: -Agrees and sets a plague onto the Acheans bc wtf Agamemnon-

----- later -----

Achilles: Hey, the prophet we've had with us since we before we even declared war, the one you supposedly dont like bc of the prophecy he told about Artemis wanting a Sacrifice, says he knows why there is a plague upon us rn.

Agamemnon: fine, he may speak.

The prophet: you will protect me from his anger wont you achilles?

Achilles: sure, he shouldnt get angry with you anyway, ur just the messenger and it was something we fucked up so...

Prophet: ok, well the plague is here bc you wouldnt give back the daughter of Chryses when he asked you nicely and gave you offering, so he asked Apollo to smite you and Apollo agreed you fucked up, so now if you want to fix it you have to give her back, plus reverence to Apollo, and you cannot ask for anything in return :/

Agamemnon: THATS BULLSHIT! SHE IS MY PRIZE I WILL NOT LET HER GO!

Achilles: I think you should listen to him, you already have 6x the amount of treasure and war prizes than anyone else, and if you do, then upon the next raid, we shall garauntee 3x what you had recieved this raid.

Agamemnon: actually u kno wat fuck u i'll just take Breseis instead since u wanna take mine away :/

Achilles:....

Achilles: listen here you lazy ass petty bitch, were it not for the goddess Athena holding me back i would run you through with my sword, but she gave me permission to lash at you with my tongue. You have done nothing but order people around and sit on your ass, you have done the least and have gotten the most reward where as i and mine have done the most and get scrap for reward, and the one actual war prize i had recieved fairly you wish to take away bc you want to be petty that a god is forcing you to give back one of dozens of concubines??? That we all agreed you should have gave back and refused, causing this plague in first place.

Agamemnon: U brought this doom singing prophet, that i didnt bother replacing 10 years ago, into the council tent, so, yes.

Achilles: well then fuck u, im about to become the demigod of petty, eat my ass

[peggy-sue-reads-a-book]

Which of the gods, then, instigated the beef?

Apollo, son of Leto and Zeus,

who could not even with Agamemnon,

raised a pandemic through the army;

the homies were unalived

bc Agamemnon was in his villain era.

When the priest Chryses invited himself

to Greeks’ ships

bringing hella drip to ransom his daughter,

holding in his hands the golden selfie-stick

of Apollo who yeets from afar,

and went Bernie Sanders on the Greeks like:

“Sons of Atreus, and all you other strong-greaved mother-fuckers, I am was once again asking you to release your side-hoe and instead take this swag-bag, stanning Apollo who yeets from afar.”

Quoth the Greeks: “bet!” because they really liked all the cool stuff he brought.

But Agamemnon said, “Bitch, this shit does not spark joy. I will never release bae bc we do be fuqin. Now get your saggy ass off my boat.”

Chryses was shook, for hella old was he and the sons of Atreus were unnecessarily aggro. He took a long walk on the beach, praying to Apollo:

“Hear me, god of the silver bow, if ever I burned as a sacrifice to you the thicccc thighs of goats and bulls—- do me this solid:

cancel those shady ass Greeks. Periodt.

Thus he popped off, and Apollo heard him,

and set out from the heights of Olympus,

tweakin out of his damn mind.

Then, socially distanced from the ships,

he popped a squat,

and fucking sent an arrow.

First he went for the mules and the doggos (RIP) but then he unalived the homies themselves,

and the crowded pyres of the dead burned for a hot minute, pun intended.

Nine days the shafts of the god yeeted through the army,

and on the tenth, Achilles assembled the squad and addressed them:

“Ayo, this pandemic got us lost in the sauce. But come, let us ask our life-coach what tf even.”

Thus Achilles spoke and sat down. Then stood among them Calcus, far the most legit life-coach, who knew tea that is, tea to come, and tea that had gone before.

He in his wisdom spoke:

“O Achilles, main character, you bid me state the reason for the bad vibes, but someone’s not gonna like it so before I share the tea, you Achilles must swear to protect me.”

Then answering him, Achilles spoke, “go off. I gotchu, fam.”

So Calcus was like, “it is not with prayer, nor with sacrifice that Apollo is tweaked, but for the sake of his priest, whom Agamemnon dissed. He will not cancel the pandemic until Agamemnon gives back the Trojan hoe.”

Thus speaking, he sat down; and then rose among the squad main-baddie Agamemnon like, “Prophet of bad vibes, you say that the Archer who yeets from afar causes our affliction because I did not accept the ransom for my side-hoe, since she is a legit snack; for I greatly prefer her to Clytemnestra, my main-hoe, as she is not inferior to her in thiccccccness of ass, nor the making of sammich.

Even so, I am willing to deport her hoe ass

lest the gods unalive my men.

But make ready a new honey at once, as befits my cred, as bae finna peace out.”

Then answered him god-tier Achilles, “Oof, that’s tricky.”

Then answering him spoke big-baller Agamemnon, “You ain’t sly, god-tier Achilles. How about you can lemme smash your own number 1 booty call Briseïs, and we’ll call it good.”

And then Achilles said, “Pffft. As if. My rizz is more fire than yours and score the most Ws against the Trojans. My butt hurts and I’m going home. So fuck you, Dad— uh, I mean king.

And Agamemnon said, “Cool story. I’m still coming to your tent later to smash your boo for my own bad self.

But the big sads had already descended upon Achilles and the heart in his swole AF chest debated two ways,

where he should shank Agamemnon with his pointy sword

or if he should take several seats and #chill.

But Achilles was #nochill. As he drew his pointy sword, Athena came to him from heaven, seized him by the mullet, and was all like, “Ayo, check yourself before you wreck yourself. You’re gay. Why do you even care?”

“You’re so valid for that, O Goddess,” spoke Patroclus, roommate of beefcake Achilles, with whom he had butt seggs every day.

Achilles was deep shook, for he recognized the goddess at once by her fierce RBF. He said, “hey girl, I’m finna shank this mofo. Are you here to watch?”

Then fierce Athena addressed him, “OMFG could you not? Pro strat: come at him with sick burns instead.”

Achilles understood the assignment. Thus did the son of Peleus clap back, “Ok boomer. If you ever went into battle like the rest of everyone, you’d wouldn’t need to pilfer my swag nor my fly honies. You’re lame. Achilles out.”

Thus did Achilles, MVP of the Achaeans cancel himself.

@each-uisge achem

Go off, Muse, of unhinged Achilles,

who cost the Greeks like so many Ls,

and yeeted countless souls of dank heroes

into Hades' big dark,

making their bodies into snack for doggos

and all kinds of birbs.*

Begin with the how Agamemnon--

CEO of men--

deadass canceled the main character.

*edit

[godsofhumanity]

BOOK I | HOMER’S ILIAD | LITERATURE REVIEW

SUMMARY: Agamemnon demands Achilles' war prize Briseis in return for returning his own war prize Chryseis back to her father after Apollo sends a plague to pester the Greeks. Achilles, in anger, removes himself from the war and asks his mother Thetis to persuade Zeus into granting victory for the Trojans to spite Agamemnon. Hera is infuriated when Zeus agrees to help Thetis without telling her (or anyone else).

all books / next book

Book I opens up right in the middle of the Trojan War... the scene begins with Homer providing a little background into why Agamemnon (called "king of men") and Achilles are at odds with one another.

i see often that when Agamemnon is mentioned, the author often describes him as "king of men" or write something about his association with Zeus- i think it's an interesting choice to do this because, IMO at least, it makes it seem like Agamemnon is the most powerful, and even noble, of all the heroes.. certainly, at the very least, Agamemnon himself seems to think so.

i learned while i was reading that the early kings of Mycenae were considered to be descendants of Zeus (something to trace back from Tantalus, Agamemnon' ancestor), and Agamemnon himself was the most powerful king in Greece.

later interactions with his fellow allies and the gods themselves seem to indicate to me that the title of "king of men" is only a superficial title- i mean, it doesn't reflect the worth of his heart, only his earthly gains. i know that Agamemnon isn't meant to be a villain in the intended audiences' eyes but i do find his characterisation interesting... he doesn't seem likable to me at all.

anyhow, moving on... when Apollo comes down from Olympus to wreak havoc on the Greeks, i noticed that Apollo's bow is described as "silver":

"... his silver bow rang death..."

intuitively, i'd have assumed that Apollo should have golden bow (i know this is a trivial thing to nitpick about, but i thought it was interesting!!).. however, when i searched it up (apparently other people were thinking like me ^-^) i discovered that in many poems, Apollo's bow is referred to as both silver and gold.

Homeric poems often described the bow as silver, while Classical Attic poems described it as gold... this is odd to me because i think that even in Ancient times, gold had more worth than silver, and Apollo is a revered god so shouldn't his weapons reflect his rank and status?

of course, i know that colours in Greek epics are often more symbolic than they are literal.. so i came to the conclusion that the silver bow is more suited to Apollo in this scene as a symbol of purity- the pure intentions of Chryses in rescuing his daughter against the unclean pestilience which plagues the Greeks and seems to mirror their "unclean" intentions in defiling the daughter of Apollo's priest (and thereby insulting Apollo too).

a few sentences later, Homer then describes Apollo as firing his plague for 9 days:

"For nine whole days he shot his arrows among the people..."

curiously, in Homer's Hymn to Delian Apollo, he writes that Leto laboured for 9 days and 9 nights to give birth to Apollo... it makes me wonder whether this association of the number 9 with Apollo was intentional... the 9 seems to indicate wholeness- the time needed to complete a journey/task.

that same sentence is ended by Hera encouraging Achilles to take action against this plague and find out why Apollo is so angry with them:

"... but upon the tenth day Achilles called them in assembly- moved thereto by Hera, who saw the Achaeans in their death throes and had compassion upon them."

there are two things about this sentence that i noted.

the first is the phrase "moved thereto by Hera". i read that, in the original Greek, this concept is described as "phrén" (plural: phrénes) which describes a state that is "physiological, intellectual, and emotional" all at once... another translation of the text but in verse says:

"On the tenth, Achilleus called the people into assembly, A thing put into his [phrénes] by the goddess of the white arms, Hera: Who had pity on the Danaans when she saw them dying." (trans. by Richard Lattimore)

i suppose it's similar to Hera entering into Achilles' subconscious directly... i think this scene is important because to me, it demonstrates that once again, things are happening because of the will of the gods... the mortals really aren't in control. the gods are watching everything unfold and are having a conscious role in it.

physically, they're involved in the fighting- we just saw Apollo coming to shoot arrows at the Achaeans, and we know later on, Athena and many other gods manifest on the battlefield and fight.. but they're there mentally/spiritually as well.

here, Hera is directly putting thoughts into Achilles' mind to make the battle go a certain way. it establishes the power and might of the gods, and their control over the universe.

the second thing that the sentence points out to me is the way that Homer does characterisation. something i keep noticing as i read through is that many of the characters start of as one thing, but then do a 180° and their personalities drastically change to the way they were when first portrayed.

this happens with a lot of different characters, but i think it's interesting that it happens to some of the gods too.

this is Hera's debut in the Iliad, and from the description of her as having "compassion" for Achilles and his teammates, to her gently interceding in the war and saving them from Apollo's wrath with the phrén, Hera has somewhat of a maternal role. i also feel that her utilisation of the phrén compared to Apollo's direct hands-on approach with the pestilence arrows further enforces her station as Queen of Olympus... she doesn't need to come amongst the action to have her way.. it's subtle and benign.

and yet!!!!!! at the end of the book, we see a change in Hera's characterisation- she argues with Zeus and her words are cruelly cunning... Zeus himself gets angry with Hera for her "nosiness" and berates her, even threatening to hurt her.. and suddenly, Hera loses her elegance and becomes fragile and timid:

"'... hold your tongue as I bid you, for if I once begin to lay my hands about you, though all heaven were on your side it would profit you nothing.' On this Hera was frightened, so she curbed her stubborn will and sat down in silence."

obviously, i wouldn't expect that Hera talks back to Zeus, or that Zeus would say anything less than what he says above.. but i do find it interesting how the dynamics change. a sense of hierarchy is established so well with just a few lines of dialogue, and more than this, the personalities of all the characters are fluid and changing... i think this makes the characters more "reachable" and more relatable. none of the characters seem to be infallible, no matter how mighty they are... i think it's very human.

still, Hera's initial characterisation is not lost... at the end of the Iliad, Hera's final appearance involves her and Thetis, and the presence of the phrén appears once again:

"Hera put into her hand a beautiful golden goblet and spoke to her to comfort her [phrén], and Thetis accepting drank from it." (trans. by Richard Lattimore)

the peacefulness and gentleness of Hera's character returns to her.

later on, Athena is sent by Hera to prevent Achilles from doing anything irrational (i.e. lopping Agamemnon's head off LOL)..

something that stood out for me in this scene was the repetition of Hera's love for Achilles and Agamemnon both:

"... Athene came down from heaven (for Hera had sent her in the love she bore to them both), and seized the son of Peleus... And Athene said: 'I come from heaven... Hera has sent me, who cares for both of you alike...'"

i love the repetition of this statement.. i think it reinforces Hera's maternal side, and i love the revelation of Hera and Athena shown to be productively working together. we know already that Hera doesn't get along with a fair few of her step-children, but here Hera is shown to work well with Athena- she commands Athena, and Athena obeys.

i think it's also interesting to note that, although Hera wasn't really a patron of heroes, she still seems to do a lot for many heroes- we know she deeply cared for Jason, and now we see Hera intervening on behalf of both Agamemnon and Achilles. and it doesn't seem to me that she's doing this purely because she doesn't want them to fight amongst themselves and lose the battle- it's not selfish..

the wording of Hera "having compassion", and "love she bore to them both" is emotionally strong language. it feels like there's more to the war than a trivial beauty competition... the gods are more engaged in this battle than meets the eye.

another interesting thing to note in this scene is the presence of Athena:

"Athene came down from heaven... and seized the son of Peleus by his yellow hair, visible to him alone, for of the others no man could see her... and by the fire that flashed from her eyes at once [Achilles] knew that she was Athene."

this is a powerful scene to me because Achilles is immediately set apart from his comrades. no one can see Athena standing before them, not even Agamemnon "King of Men" who fancies himself the most powerful of all the Greeks...

not only does Achilles see Athena, but he recognises her as Athena.. i think this is important to. it foreshadows Achilles integral role in the Iliad.. and once again, reminds the audience of the important role the divine plays in the war.

the lack of mention of Thetis, a goddess, feels intentional to me... it makes it seem like Achilles recognises Athena not by virtue of his divine lineage (for Agamemnon bears the blood of the divine too but does not see Athena), but by his own merit- Achilles is worthy of seeing Athena.

i suppose you could simply interpret the scene as Athena selectively making sure that only Achilles sees her (and that probably IS the right answer aha!) but i like this interpretation because it's a testament to Achilles' character. i feel that it makes the fight with Hector all the more tragic and bitter because there is a noble side to Achilles lost momentarily when he loses Patroclus.

at the end of Athena's speech to Achilles, she assures him that he will:

"... receive gifts three times as splendid by reason of this present insult. Hold, therefore, and obey."

it's pretty standard in literature that the number 3 is very powerful.. i'm not sure for how long the number 3 has been utilised as such a potent literary tool, but i think it's interesting that the Ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras identified the number 3 with "communication". he said that the number 3 encourages creativity and sociability...

is Achilles ever rewarded for obeying the gods as Athena promised? off the top of my head,, i can't recall whether he is... but it's definitely an interesting part of the story to remember as the story unfolds further.......

moving on... the first mention of Hector occurs in Book I.. it seems that Achilles has always disliked Hector.. though Hector is definitely a hero, and is considered brave and noble, the mightiest of the Trojans, i love the way the first mention of Hector has Achilles describing him as "murderous"...

we are also introduced to Nestor who attempts to pacify Agamemnon and Achilles. in his debut description, Homer intentionally provides us with the following line:

"Two generations of men born and bred in Pylos had passed away under [Nestor's] rule, and he was now reigning over the third."

this line not only establishes Nestor as the one with wisdom acquired after many of years of living, but his longevity also establishes him as the "spectator".

Nestor himself says that he has lived to be among great heroes like Pirithous, Dryas, Polyphemus, and Theseus... i'm not entirely sure whether the implication is that these heroes have already died, but it definitely does make Nestor appear to be some sort of mystical observer, watching over the fate of the heroes.

this is reinforced in the fact that Nestor survives the war, and eventually reappears in the Odyssey, again providing wisdom to a younger generation of heroes, in particular- Telemachus, the son of Odysseus.

further on, Agamemnon, quarrelling with Nestor, says this:

"Granted that the gods have made [Achilles] a great warrior, have they also given him the right to speak with railing [to me]?"

there are lots of ironic scenes in the Iliad, but this one makes me laugh because Agamemnon here presumes to know the thoughts of the gods- and he thinks that they wouldn't like Achilles talking so badly about Agamemnon with so little respect... BUT! the irony is that the gods have seen and heard it all, and they kinda just... don't care.

in the previous scene with Athena and Achilles, and Athena literally gives Achilles permission to get angry at Agamemnon, as long as he doesn't physically hurt him:

"Cease, then, this brawling, and do not draw your sword. Rail at him if you will, and your railing will not be in vain..."

once again, Homer shows us that the gods are present in the battle, and from the background they are controlling what happens.. as gods do.

in the next scene, Achilles pleads with his mother Thetis to allow the Trojans to win, and he says:

"Go, then, to [Zeus], remind him of [what you have done in the past for him], clasp his knees, and bid him give succor to the Trojans."

i didn't realise until i did more research, but the "clasping" of knees is an important, recurring motif in Greek literature..

supplication is an ongoing theme in many Greek epics- the clasping of the knees seems to indicate sinceere humility and a sense of desperation... when Thetis later goes to Zeus in the same book, she not only clasps his knees, but touches Zeus' chin, further establishing a sense of sincerity, and intimacy.. which of course, Zeus cannot refuse.

when Thetis assures Achilles that she'll try to talk with Zeus, i found it very fascinating that Zeus was described as being gone for 12 days:

"For Zeus went yesterday to Oceanus to a feast among the Ethiopians, and the other gods went with him. He will return to Olympus twelve days hence."

the reason why i love this number so much is because... and i don't know if Homer at the time knew this already, or whether some astronomer had heard this passage and decided it would work out.. BUT! the planet Jupiter (named for the Roman equivalent of Zeus, Jupiter) takes TWELVE (12) years for a full cycle!!! and how long was Zeus gone from Olympus for? TWELVE (12) days!!!!!!! i just think it's perfectly brilliant the way it works out.

12 seems to represent unity and completeness.. Zeus is gone for 12 days, there are 12 Olympians, and there were 12 Titans before them. it's a good number.

finally at the end of Book I, we are brought to Olympus where Zeus and Hera bicker, Zeus gets pissed, and then we are introduced to everyone's favourite blacksmith god, Hephaestus.

i really really love Homer's characterisation of Hephaestus. although he's an outcast in Olympus, and the other gods laugh at Hephaestus, Hephaestus himself doesn't see himself as less than the other gods.. i mean, he doesn't have low self-esteem, and even though he "bumbles" around, he's not pathetic.

Hephaestus plays a key role in pacifying both Hera and Zeus.. the Hephaestus in Homer's version loves his mother Hera deeply and was cast from Olympus after defending her from Zeus.. Hera returns this affection for her son, calming down after he speaks words to her and deciding to not push the matter further with Zeus.

but Hephaestus doesn't only prevent a fight, he picks up everyone's mood after it as well- all the Olympians are gathered together for a banquet and are feeling awkward after Hera and Zeus' show down, but Hephaestus manages to pick the mood back up-

"Hera smiled at [Hephaestus], and as she smiled she took the cup from her son's hands. Then Hephaestus drew sweet nectar from the mixing bowl, and served it round among the gods, going from left to right; and the blessed gods laughed out a loud applause as they saw him bustling about the heavenly mansion."

i'm not sure whether, traditionally, it would have been Hebe or Ganymede's role to serve the nectar, but the way that Hephaestus takes initiative and performs this role is a testament to his own character.

there's no doubt in my mind that the use of the word "bustling" is intentional and is meant to portray Hephaestus as clumsy and a bit oaf-like... but it doesn't seem like it's an accident on Hephaestus' part.. in my opinion, the way he moves "from left to right" makes me feel like Hephaestus does it on purpose.. he purposefully takes up the role of the fool in order to make everyone laugh and restore unity among the Olympians.

FURTHER READING:

Hera in the Iliad

supplication in Ancient Greek literature

[sweet-soul-fragnance]

Apollo : superstar of the illiad -

following are the instances of apollon awe-invoking moments in the illiad : (1,2,3 ... GO bonus : all apollo concerned content of illiad is mentioned too !! Happy scroll through

=> Apollo's priest chryses invoked Apollo For he had come to the swift ships of the Achaeans to free his daughter, bearing ransom past counting; and in his hands he held the wreaths of Apollo who strikes from afar , thus Phoebus Apollo Down from the peaks of Olympus he strode, angered at heart, bearing on his shoulders his bow and covered quiver. The arrows rattled on the shoulders of the angry god as he moved, and his coming was like the night. Then he sat down apart from the ships and let fly an arrow: terrible was the twang of the silver bow. The mules he assailed first and the swift dogs, but then on the men themselves he let fly his stinging shafts, and struck; and constantly the pyres of the dead burned thick. For nine days the missiles of the god ranged among the host .

(This must've had helped troy beyond as the aecheans strengthen decreased) .

=> Calchas , who knew the things that were, and that were to be, and that had been before, and who had guided the ships of the Achaeans to Ilios by his own prophetic powers which Phoebus Apollo had bestowed upon him . He suggested the argives to give the priest daughter back to appease the angered god apollon thus They brought forth the hecatomb for Apollo, who strikes from afar, and also the daughter of Chryses from the sea-faring ship. Odysseus lead her to the altar and placed in the arms of her dear father persuading chryses to ask apollo to deliver the greek army from the plague thus chryses prayed to apollo and argives were freed of plague .

=> Odysseus and his men when sailed back to their camp apollo sent them favouring winds too .

=> pandarus , glorious son of Lyacon was gifted his bow by apollo .

=> machaon , son of asclepius (son of Apollo whom Apollo taught the art of healing and medicine) used to treat the wounds of soldiers of the troy . Apollo has a hand behind machaon ability as asclepius recieved his own knowledge and art of healing by Apollo in the First place.

=> here is a adorable motivation apollo is seen to give to troy soldiers :

And Apollo, looking down from Pergamus, had indignation, and called with a shout to the Trojans: "Rouse ye, horse-taming Trojans, give not ground in fight before Argives; not of stone nor of iron is their flesh to resist the bronze that cleaveth the flesh, when they are smitten. Nay, and Achilles moreover fighteth not, the son of fair-haired Thetis, but amid the ships nurseth his bitter wrath". So spake the dread god from the city .

=> Apollo saving Aphrodite's son aeneas

as diomedes harmed aphrodite , she then with a loud cry let fall her son, and Phoebus Apollo took him in his arms and saved him in a dark cloud, lest any of the Danaans with swift horses might hurl a spear of bronze into his breast and take away his life . Apollo then took aeneas to pergamus where his temple is built there leto and Artemis heals him and apollo of the silver bow fashioned a wraith in the likeness of aeneas seld and in armour like to his not only this but Apollo himself sent aeneas on the battlefield putting courage in his breast .

[pelideswhore]

demeter vs chryses

it's mother's day in germany today, so i made a post about the best mother in greek mythology :D also upcoming post about ares on father's day

TW—kidnapping

the idea of this post is basically just a shower thought and is as follows: both demeter and chryses lost their daughters to forms of kidnapping, but while chryses is praised for how he handled it, demeter is antagonized .... let's get into that.

fyi, the meaning of this post is not to drag chryses down. i do believe that he did the right thing and is a great father. however i do mean to uplift demeter because she deserves it :)

also, i'm going to be referring to Chryseis as 'Astynome' in this post so you don't mix her up with the nymph from Demeter's myth or even her father himself, since the names are similar/same.

first of all, a summary of each of their stories:

demeter — Persephone and Demeter were chilling with their girlfriends on some field somewhere when Persephone went to pick a daffodil, which was a trap set by Zeus and Hades. When she reached the flower, Hades emerged from through the ground k!dnapped her. Demeter was extremely saddened by this incident and when no one would help her find her daughter, she left Olympus and plants stopped growing because she was sad. Harvests failed and that was shit for mortals, so Zeus had to do something. Meanwhile, Persephone has eaten a pomegranate in the underworld, meaning she can't leave. Zeus strikes a deal with Hades and Demeter: Persephone is to stay on Olympus with her mother for 2/3 of the year and the rest with her now-husband (the greek calender is different from ours don't be confused lol, they had shorter years).

chryses — During the ninth year of the Trojan War, the Greeks captured a city allied to Troy and took many citizens as slaves. Amongst them was Astynome, daughter of Apollo's priest Chryses. Chryses entered the Greek camp despite being considered an enemy and offered money in return for his daughter, which Agamemnon denies. Angry at him, Chryses prays to Apollo to send a plague on the Greeks – he does just that, and Agamemnon realizes where he went wrong (everywhere). He sends Odysseus to bring Astynome back to her father and the plague ends.

now let's compare the two:

both asked for their children back before getting serious.

"For Chryses sought with costly gifts to gain, // his captive daughter from the victor's chain." (source)

"She [Demeter] sped off like a bird, soaring over land and sea, looking and looking. But no one was willing to tell her the truth." (source)

both were respectlessly denied this plea.

"The Greeks in shouts their joint assent declare, The priest to reverence, and release the fair. Not so Atrides [Agamemnon]: he, with kingly pride, Repuls'd the sacred sire, and thus reply'd: Hence, on thy life , and fly these hostile plains, Nor ask, presumptuous, what the king detains; Hence, with thy laurel crown and golden rod, Nor trust too far those ensigns of thy god. Mine is thy daughter, priest, and shall remain; And prayers, and tears, and bribes, shall plead in vain; Till time shall rifle every youthful grace, And age dismiss her from my cold embrace, In daily labours of the loom employ'd, Or doom'd to deck the bed she once enjoy'd. Hence then, to Argos shall the maid retire, Far from her native soil and weeping sire."

both more or less caused the death of hundreds of people.

"The fleet in view, he [Apollo] twang'd his deadly bow And hissing fly the feather'd fates below. On mules and dogs the infection first began And last the vengeful arrows fixed in man."

"It [the year] was so terrible it makes you think of the hound of Hades. The Earth did not send up any seed."

however

chryses explicitly asked for the people to get ill and die. demeter can't change the fact that her emotions effect harvests etc.

chryses is 'merely' a priest. demeter is a deity, and is hence worthy of more respect.

chryses is a male. demeter is female.

the definition of double standard according to the Cambridge Dictionary is as follows: "a rule or standard of good behaviour that, unfairly, some people are expected to follow or achieve but others are not." (source)

this definition applies to this situation because Demeter is expected to not get angry while Chryses' emotions are justified. And objectively, Hades and Persephone's relationship started out just as problematic as Agamemnon and Astynome's, so that can't be the reason.

It is literally unacceptable to hate on Demeter for displaying her emotions like Chryses did while praising him. It’s just wrong.

The final statement: You are legally not allowed to hate Demeter cus she's awesome.

edit: there was an incorrect quote somewhere here which @littlesparklight pointed out. it has been changed :)

[achilles-in-a-blanket-burrito]

IM SO SORRY THIS WAS GONNA BE SHORT AND YOU PROBABLY KNOW ALL OF THIS BUT I GOT MILDLY CARRIED AWAY BECAUSE I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO WAFFLE

yayay! so uhm basically right during the trojan war, achilles and agamamnon, who was the leader of the greek army right. and anyway this happenned, got into like a fight because agamemnon took this girl chryseis as his war prize. uhm and then her father chryses was of course upset. oh yeah by the way chryses was a priest of apollo. anyway, so chryses comes with a butt-load of treasure so agamemnon returns his daughter. agamemnon refuses. then apollo curses the greek troops and theres like disease. achilles thinks that agamemnon should return chryseis. eventuakky, he does. but he takes achilles' war prize, briseis. this is IMPORTANT because she is basically a living embodiment of his honour and worth in the army so now agamemnon and achilles are on the outs and achilles is going to sulk. and you know how the ancient greeks had like them vase paintings. yeah basically in one of them to shoe that the artist just shows him wrapped up in like a big blanket.

anyway imma go back to listening to the silver blaze

in the tags

say what you think prev's url means

[imissthembutitwasntadisaster]

Sometimes Homer is a genius and sometimes he's like "this priest is called Chryses and he's from the town of Chryse and his daughter's name is Chryseis fight me."

[katerinaaqu]

The Iliad Plague

Honestly I am disappointed at how little we talk about the Iliad plague that was sent by Apollo in the first rhapsody of the Iliad to the Greeks after Chryses, Apollo's priest, begged for justice for the disrespect Agamemnon showed him plus the fact that his daughter was not returned to him.

"First he stroke the mules and the swift dogs but then he shot his shafts to the humans themselves and the funeral pyres were burning non-stop and crowded and for nine days the army was being assaulted by the God's arrows"

(Translation by me)

So we basically get that the plague spread to animals first and then swiftly passed to humans and it became deadly very quickly.

It seems like a classic case of an assault of the bacteria Yersina which is responsible for three major plagues; the bubonic, septisemic and pneumonic plagues. All three seem to be associated with transmission from animals to humans. In this case my random guess would be that this would be the case or a pneumonic plague. It transmits from the breathing of fumes and it is much easier transmittable from one person to another given that both other plagues require the mix of bodily fluids. Since the disease seems to strike animals commonly not associated with food like mules or dogs it seems more probable the disease was of a lung nature.

The main symptoms of a pneumonic plague are:

Fever

Headaches

Shortness of breath

Chest pain

Intense coughing

Hemoptysis (aka "coughing out blood")

It seems indeed highly probable that the plague was of such nature which would lead to a large number of soldiers suffer from headaches and fever which gradually got worse and added coughing chest pain and coughing out blood (the other plagues have also intense vomiting-boubonic- and blood infection -septisemic-). Various post-homeric and mainly early Roman sources speak on the contributing of Palamedes suggesting better diet and exercise countering the effects of the plague or preventing it. Although traditionally we know plagues can be effectively cured with the use of antibiotics it is probable that the mention of cardio exercise could be a wink that a good cardio system can defend itself against lung diseases.

Either way it surprises me that the losses of war when studied rarely mention the results of this plague since many people count only the deaths in battle and not this which is ironically the only set of deaths seemingly affecting only the Greek side. It is interesting given how many times cities being surrounded by armies are the first to suffer from diseases rather than the people outside (although both sides suffer eventually from diseases). Realistically speaking we do understand why we see so many mentions of diseases.

And again when it comes to the sequel Odyssey as well, very few people consider not only the losses Odysseus undoubtedly suffered in battle but also one should expect he lost a man or two from the plague as well (mind you I can easily imagine some kings also being affected by it at least at early stage especially the less vigorous such as Nestor because of age or Menelaus if we take my headcannon that he probably was a bit frail of health later as I mentioned to the post tagging @thehelplessmortals which could indeed back up more how careful Helen was with him since plagues do affect massively the health of lungs or heart permanently

More vigorous and fighting fit characters like Achilles or Diomedes or Odysseus and Agamemnon seemed less likely to have been stroke by the plague. Achilles is also the one who calls upon council of kings to find a solution.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

During my collaboration with @artsofmetamoor I always entertain the thought of disease to the various war camps. Disease would often be the most common way soldiers died instead of battles.

In our stories our characters suffer a lot of many things but this also makes me do a note to self to refer more on plagues or diseases

[gracchisuggestions]

[Agamemnon brandishes his scepter at a cringing Chryses]

PSA Narrator: You wouldn't steal a priest's kid.

[Diomedes buries a spear in Ares' gut]

PSA Narrator: You wouldn't stab a god.

[Odysseus yeets Astyanax off the city wall like a discus]

PSA Narrator: You wouldn't throw a baby!

[Achilles pulls his chariot to a stop, Hector’s still-armored body tossing around behind it. He hops off, goes around the back, and retrieves Hector’s helmet, considerably worse for wear]

PSA Narrator: You wouldn’t drag a man behind your chariot, and then steal his helmet!

[The helmet is on the ground, open side up. Achilles squats over it and hikes up his armor]

PSA Narrator: You wouldn’t go to the toilet in his helmet!

[Andromache peers out from the slightly-open city gate, warily regarding a gift-wrapped box set before it]

PSA Narrator: And then, send it to the man’s grieving widow!

[Andromache opens the box and looks into it, horrified. Achilles runs up, grabs it out of her hands, and zips off]

PSA Narrator: And then steal it again!

[An incongruously unconcerned Ajax the Lesser perches on a rock in the middle of the raging ocean, an “I’m #1” flag flapping next to him]

PSA Narrator: Mocking the gods is hubris. 

[Camera pans around to show Poseidon risen out of the water, aiming a handgun at the back of Ajax’s head]

PSA Narrator: If you do it, you will face the consequences.

[Pew!]

[semusepsu]

Χρύσης μετέειπεν Άχαιοῖσιν, ἀλλ' οὐκ Άτρεΐδῃ  ἥνδανε θυμῷ. Chryses addressed the Achaeans, but this did not please the son of Atreus - this is Agamemnon - in his heart. What's going on? The Greeks have sacked a town near Troy. They then divided the plunder among themselves. This plunder included not only such coveted items as cooking pots-- Homeric heroes loved cooking pots as much as sports stars today love expensive cars-- but also the daughter of the local priest of Apollo. His name was Chryses, and hers Chryseis, or "Daughter of Chryses." We'll learn how to decline her later. The priest, Chryses, however, is a first declension masculine, and he comes to the Greeks to ask for the return of his daughter. He even offers shiny ransom. But Agamemnon has taken a liking to Chryses' daughter, and does not want to give her back. This is going to cause a lot of trouble.

Hans-Friedrich Mueller, The Great Courses' Greek 101: Learning an Ancient Language

[accusedofsin]

Suddenly, Reynauld was all up in Dismas face, looking at him with wide eyes, full of adoration. "That was beautiful!" he said quietly. "Please, continue?" the knight begged, he wanted to hear more of the verses Dismas could recite.

from @bulwark-of-hope

[what Reynauld was talking about]

Dismas choked on smoke and reeled back, dropping the pipe but managing to catch it mid-air.

"Da fuck?" he muttered with confusion, looking at the pipe in hand. "T'is ain't that herbs I usually-- huh? Yer... real? Nah. Can't be. Right?"

He cocked his head to the side and cautiously came back to Reynauld, frowning in concentration before slowly, wearily reaching up to his face and softly touching him - and abruptly jumping back, as if burned:

"Light's tits, yer real?!" he nearly yelped before cutting himself even more abruptly and trying to recompose himself into his usual calm facade, hurriedly tugging the neckerchief up to hide his embarrassment. Yet his ears were painfully red, giving him away and he cleared his throat. "Ye... heard 'at...?"

Finally, he looked at the knight, baffled and embarrassed in equal measure, and maybe, just maybe slightly hopeful.

"Ye... actually liked 'at?" Dismas questioned in a small voice, not taking his eyes away from the crusader, then paused, and then gave a slow, dazzled nod. "I... yeah... sure, I mean. Sure. Grab a chair n' a pint... this bloody thing lasts for hours... I... I don't rememba' all o' it, but... some bits, uh, sure..."

He cleared his throat again and dragged the neckerchief down. Wet his lips. Shuddered. Any audience unnerved him - unsurprisingly, for an ex-brigand, heh. Took a breath and--

"n' which o' da gods was it that set them on t' quarrel?" he had to gulp for air again. Reynauld's presence was both unnerving and thrilling, but he remembered the first few pages by heart. "Tis was the son o' Jove n' Leto; for he was angry with the king n' sent a... a pestilence upon the host t' plague the people, 'cause the son o' Atreus had dishonored Chryses his priest..."

He must've been dreaming...

for @bulwark-of-hope

[terpsikeraunos]

Goddess, sing about the damnable rage of Achilles son of Peleus Which forced sorrows beyond counting on the Achaeans, Flung many strong souls of heroes headlong into Hell, And made them pickings for dogs And all flesh-eating birds; so Zeus’ plan was carried out From the moment they first stood apart, quarreling, The son of Atreus, lord of men, and divine Achilles. And which god pitted them against each other? Zeus and Leto’s son, since he, provoked to anger by the king, Raised a terrible sickness through the army, and the people died, Because the son of Atreus scorned Chryses, a priest. He came to the quick ships of the Achaeans To free his daughter, bringing ransom beyond counting, Holding in his hands the wreaths of far-shooting Apollo Along a golden staff, and he begged all the Achaeans, But most of all the two sons of Atreus, commanders of the people: “Sons of Atreus, and you other fine-greaved Achaeans, May the gods with their Olympian halls grant That you plunder Priam’s city, and come home safe; Just release my dear daughter to me, and take this ransom, With reverence for the son of Zeus, far-shooting Apollo.” Then all the other Achaeans shouted their agreement, To respect the priest and take the splendid ransom, But the heart of Atreus’ son, Agamemnon, was not pleased, And he threw him out rudely, and made a forceful speech: “Don’t let me find you by the hollow ships, old man, Loitering now or coming back later, Or the staff and wreath of the god might not save you next time. I will not free her. Old age will come upon her before that happens, In our house in Argos, far from her homeland, Working the loom and sharing my bed. But go, don’t provoke me, so you may return unharmed.” So he spoke, and the old man was frightened, and took him at his word. He went silently along the dunes of the loud-roaring sea, And then, moving far away, the elderly man prayed urgently To lord Apollo, whom rich-haired Leto bore: “Hear me, o silver-bowed, you who protect Chryse And sacred Cilla and rule over Tenedos by might, O Sminthian, if I ever roofed for you a graceful temple, If I ever burned for you fat thighbones Of bulls and goats, grant this wish of mine: Make the Danaans pay for my tears with your arrows.” So he spoke, praying, and Phoebus Apollo heard him, And went down the peaks of Olympus, seething in his heart, With his bow and close-covered quiver on his shoulders, And the arrows clashed on his shoulders as he moved Infuriated, and he fell like the night.

Iliad 1.1-47