#plutarchs revenge

[gergyhergydoo]

yall you NEED to listen to plutarchs revenge they're so good oh my godddd

[letterstotheflre]

people hating gale and the carreers when they were just kids and a product of their environment breaks my heart

[ancientcharm]

Understanding Roman Legend

Numitor, king of Alba Longa, was dethroned and taken prisoner by his younger brother, Amulius, who, after killing his nephews, forced his niece Rhea Silvia to enter the temple of the Vestal Virgins so that she could not have offspring. But the god Mars and Rhea Silvia fell in love. Mars fathered the twins Romulus and Remus.

Mars and Rhea Silvia (1617) by Rubens. Liechtenstein Museum

Amulius, fearing that he would have two rivals in the future, ordered the newborns to be killed. The man in charge of the infanticide did not dare to do it but he placed the babies in a basket and left them to their fate in the Tiber River. The current carried the basket to a swamp called Velabrum, between the Palatine and Capitoline hills.

In the cave known as Lupercal they were suckled by a wolf called Luperca. According to Plutarch in 'Parallel Lives: Romulus', Luperca was the sacred animal of Mars.

Shortly afterwards they were found by the shepherd Faustulus, who was working for Amulius, so he knew very well who those babies were. He decided to secretly care for the children together with his wife Acca Larentia.

The Shepherd Faustulus bringing Romulus and Remus to his wife.  Nicolas Mignard (1654) Dallas Museum of Art.

When they grew up did he reveal his true identity to them and they decided to do justice. They killed Amulius and freed their grandfather from prison, who was reinstated on his throne.

Why sons of Mars and not of another god or a king?

Mars was the god of war and the army, virility, violence, revenge, and courage: all these attributes was the essence of Ancient Rome, rather the Roman army.

On the other hand, if the twins had been the sons of a man, even a king or a great warrior, they would have been ordinary men. That was a clear message to the Romans: they were not like the others; their army was not to be one among many.

Why a she-wolf?

The first food was not mother's milk or the milk of a tame animal but of a fearsome predator; A powerful message to the Romans about who they were, where they came from and where they should go. Engendered by the war, fed by ferocity; Their duty was to always be aggressive and feared by their enemies. Roman soldiers remembered at every step: “ We are sons of Mars and the Capitoline she-wolf”. And Rome, like the she-wolf called Luperca, was also capable of protecting its allies.

The foundation of Rome

The twins left their hometown of Alba Longa as they wanted to rule without overthrowing their grandfather. Romulus wanted to build a new city called Rome on the Palatine Hill, but Remus wanted to call it Remoria on the Aventine Hill. They decided that whoever saw the most vultures would win the dispute. Remus saw six and Romulus twelve.

According to tradition, Romulus founded Rome by drawing its sacred border on the afternoon of 21 April 753 BC.

Romulus had declared that no one could cross the borders of the city in arms; his brother disobeyed and crossed the limits carrying a sword, thus violating the sanctity of Rome. Romulus became enraged and a heated argument and subsequent armed confrontation began between the twins. Remus was seriously wounded and died hours later. Romulus held a funeral for his brother and buried his remains at the place where Remus had wanted to found his city Remoria.

Why a story about twins?

Romulus and Remus (1615) by Rubens. Capitoline Museums

The fact that they were twins, and not an older and a younger brother, was to make it clear that the god Mars was the father of both, and that they were 100% brothers.

So there was no doubt that Romulus and Remus represented all Romans, both in good times, when they were united and fighting for a common cause, and in times of division and conflict.

The fratricide was not premeditated. The fight was not for ambition or for a woman, it was for Rome. This story taught that, for the good of Rome, civil wars could be fought, as many as necessary.

Romulus and Remus. Silver didrachm (6.44 g). c. 269–266 BC. Photo: Curtius http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

[katabay]

LUNCH DATE

I probably won’t cite a lot of the Ancient Rome plot inspirations when I launch Bad Governance for real, but for now we’re just vibing, so citations here we come!

once when Caesar was on the point of setting out for Spain as praetor, and had no money, and his creditors descended upon him and began to attach his outfit, Crassus did not leave him in the lurch, but freed him from embarrassment by making himself his surety for eight hundred and thirty talents.

Plutarch, Crassus

The Roman Revolution, Ronald Syme

the Christmas Party Incident is an act of extremely petty revenge against Felix, Crasso brings Cesar as his plus one and introduces Cesar to a lot of Felix’s influential business friends who aren’t aware of how bad Felix wants Cesar dead, more or less ruining Felix’s plans to freeze Cesar out of politics for good.

Lucky invited Crasso ALSO against Felix’s wishes because Lucky might be in bed with Felix, but he doesn’t answer to him, and he thought it’d be fun to see what would happen.

⭐ places I’m at! bsky / pixiv / pillowfort /cohost / cara.app / tip jar!

[whencyclopedia]

Perdiccas

Perdiccas (d. 321 BCE) was one of Alexander the Great's commanders, and after his death, custodian of the treasury, regent over Philip III and Alexander IV, and commander of the royal army. When Alexander the Great crossed the Hellespont and threw his spear onto the shore of Asia Minor, he and his loyal army began a ten-year journey that would take them to the far reaches of Asia, amassing an empire unlike any that had existed before it. However, the young king's sudden death in 323 BCE left a vast kingdom leaderless and in disarray; there was neither an immediate heir nor appointed successor. Perdiccas stepped to the forefront to offer a solution. With the king's signet ring in his hand, he attempted to keep the empire intact. Unfortunately, others loyal to the king maintained a different opinion. In the end, the various commanders took possession of their small piece of the territorial pie, leaving Perdiccas with only a slim chance of rebuilding what had already been lost.

Early Career

Perdiccas stepped to the forefront to offer a solution. With the king's signet ring in his hand, he attempted to keep the empire intact.

Much of what history knows about Perdiccas is not flattering, clouded by the hostile account in Ptolemy's history of Alexander and his conquest of Persia. Ptolemy I and Perdiccas had been constantly at odds with one another since Babylon, a conflict that would eventually lead to Perdiccas' death. However, other than Ptolemy's history, most dependable versions maintain that he was about the same age as Alexander (possibly a little older) and was the son of Orontes, a Macedonian noble from the House of Orestes, a royal family that had once ruled a small independent kingdom in the Macedonian highlands but whose power had been stripped by Philip II, Alexander's father.

Initially, Perdiccas was a page in the imperial court at Pella, but in 336 BCE he became a member of Philip II's elite infantry, a shield-bearer or hypaspist. Later in the same year, serving as a king's bodyguard, Perdiccas was one of many who pursued Pausanias, Philip's murderer. The reason for the murder: Pausanias believed the king had betrayed him and sought revenge. When the assassin's boot caught on a vine as he hopped onto his horse, he was immediately slain by his pursuers. History still debates whether or not Olympias, Alexander's mother, had anything to do with the death of his husband. Many still believe she encouraged Pausanias to kill Philip to ensure Alexander's ascension to the throne. One of these was Plutarch who wrote in his The Life of Alexander the Great,

… when he found he could get no reparation for his disgrace at Philip's hands, watched his opportunity and murdered him. The guilt of which fact was laid for the most part upon Olympias, who was said to have encouraged and exasperated the enraged youth to revenge… (11)

Continue reading...

[jaykorianddickkoriforlife]

I don't think anyone can understand how obsessed I am with the idea of reading Snow's point of view of The Hunger Games. I used to want Peeta's version, but after reading The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, there is nothing more that I want than to read Snow's complete obsession with destroying Katniss. All the memories of Lucy, the rage he must've felt when he heard Katniss sing that song, the hatred he must've felt for Cinna when Katniss's dress changed into the form of a mockingjay. I want to read his reaction when he realized that Plutarch had betrayed him, the fury that followed at the reminder that the Mockingjay, that Lucy's greatest revenge, was managing to beat him more, and more. This mere girl from District 12 was destroying his entire foundation both literally and mentally.

Weirdly enough, I do believe he saw a lot of similarities between Katniss and him as well, especially involving Peeta, and I genuinely want to know his thoughts on that because Lucy was more warm-hearted, and naive, but Katniss was more cold, and logical like him.

I also want to read his descent into power and how many people he continued on poisoning. I want to see what finally caused the relationship between Tigress and him to end to the point where she'd wish Katniss good fortune on her plan to kill him, the ruin of their relationship. I want to see her reaction when she found out that Snow was selling off the victors into prostitution when he knew damn well that she had to do it to be able to feed them all when they were starving and poor, knowing how much pain it caused her, and still forcing that fate onto others without a care which was most likely the tipping point of their severed connection, but still, I want to see the denial, and all the signs she must've seen before having to face reality. I want to read what happened between the timeline after The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and before The Hunger Games. I want to read about his cruelty as messed up as that is only because it'll make reading his downfall only sweeter.

I'll use my imagination for now, but still, hopefully it happens cuz damn, what a book that will be.

[jeannereames]

Considering Alexander’s official version of history vs what historians know today, what is the thing Alexander was trying to hide the most?

Quite an interesting query. There’s one big problem with answering it, however: we don’t have Alexander’s official releases. That would be Kallisthenes’s account, and it’s among those early Alexander histories lost to time.

A quick reminder: our earliest still-existing Alexander history is Diodoros’s, and he was writing in the middle/late first century BCE. His last known work dates to 21 BCE, and the Bibliotheka Historika (World History) dates between 60-30 BCE, with the Philip/Alexander/Successors portions (Books 16-20) written around the middle. (The full Bibliotheka was 40 books; only portions of it survive.) Alexander died in 323 BCE…almost 300 years before any of it.

What survives is one part luck and one part quality and another bit of luck, part II. We have (maybe) a quarter of what was actually written in ancient Greece and Rome.

While Diodoros, Plutarch, and others may have used parts of Kallisthenes’ reports, it wasn’t their primary source. Arrian tells us that he preferenced Ptolemy and Aristobulos, Diodoros used Kleitarchos, while Curtius also used Kleitarchos as well as others, including Kallisthenes, and Plutarch used a mishmash of what he could get his hands on. THEN they modified it. This isn’t like a lazy high school student’s term paper, cut-and-pasted from 19 different places. I kinda wish some of them HAD worked like that. Ha. They’re all writing to show off their own literary mastery, which meant, yes, showing how well-read they were…then do something new and unique with it. It’s more akin to that annoying friend who has to pepper conversation with quotes from Shakespeare or other literary giants. Arrian even went so far as to write the Anabasis in the same dialect of Greek as Xenophon wrote his Anabasis, then to write his Indika in the same dialect of Greek that Herodotos wrote the Histories. That’s some serious showboat mimicry going on, no?

But none of it is exact copying.

That means, even when we know/strongly suspect they’re lifting from Kallisthenes, we can’t be sure it’s Kallisthenes’ actual words, or even the gist. How have they repurposed it?

For instance, if your annoying Shakespeare quoting buddy claims someone you both know is “but mad north-northwest,” they just mean the person is off their rocker sometimes (and maybe deliberately pretending), not that they’re a prince of Denmark in a play about revenge. So, they may be relating things about Alexander gleaned from Kallisthenes, but using that information in completely new ways. (See the embedded video below where I explain lost sources in a little more detail.)

So, what that means is that we can only “suppose” what Alexander’s official version actually WAS…and the specialists may disagree about it.

Let’s take the Burning of Persepolis. Here, archaeology reveals the actual fire was controlled, contradicting accounts in the sources, which either gloss it, or exaggerate it into something like a drunken frat party gone horribly wrong. So how did that wild story get started? And why was the tossing-of-torches led by an Athenian courtesan (Thaïs)? WHERE did that story come from?

Apparently, Kleitarchos. But where did Kleitarchos get it? He wasn’t there.

I’d propose we look at what really happened: a controlled burn of the royal platform after everything of worth had been carried out or pried off the walls, specifically aimed at erasing (damnio memoriae) the hated Xerxes. Darius the Great’s stuff was left untouched. That was a message for the Persians. But it’s not the message Alexander wanted to send back to Greece. So I’d propose that the “official” (Greek) version was that the palace was burned down not just by an Athenian, but an Athenian “whore” at that—the ultimate insult!—in revenge for the earlier Persian burning (by Xerxes) of Athens.

“Mission Accomplished.”

Kleitarchos got a hold of it and turned it into a Dionysian komos. (His history was, we know, rather sensational—probably why it was so popular. The ancient version of The National Enquirer or The Daily Mail.)

Not all my colleagues would agree with that reading. I’m reconstructing it based on what’s in the sources, what we know from history of Greek attitudes, and what the archaeology tells us. Someone else might reconstruct it a different way. We don’t actually know what Kallisthenes wrote about it, to send home to Greece.

So, the answer to the question is…I’ve no idea what he might have put out as the official version in order to hide something else. We can only guess. What we CAN say is that he was a master of propaganda—but not everybody in Greece bought into what he was selling. And some (as with Demosthenes & Friends, like an ancient Fox&Friends) would have hated anything he did because he was a Macedonian and Philip’s son.

I should probably add, the companion video to that one above, about the lost historians themselves:

[kebriones]

Okay here's one of my favorite sequences of events in Alcibiades' entire life

Then the city willingly ordered Alcibiades to come back home. But he thought he must not return with empty hands and without achievement, through the pity and favour of the multitude, but rather in a blaze of glory. So, to begin with, he set sail with a small fleet from Samos and cruised off Cnidus and Cos. There he heard that Mindarus the Spartan admiral had sailed off to the Hellespont with his entire fleet, followed by the Athenians, and so he hastened to the assistance of their generals. By chance he came up, with his eighteen triremes, at just that critical point when both parties, having joined battle with all their ships off Abydos, and sharing almost equally in victory and defeat until evening, were locked in a great struggle. The appearance of Alcibiades inspired both sides with a false opinion of his coming: the enemy were emboldened and the Athenians were confounded. But he quickly hoisted Athenian colours on his flagship and darted straight upon the victorious and pursuing Peloponnesians. Routing them, he drove them to land, and following hard after them, rammed and shattered their ships. Their crews swam ashore, and here Pharnabazus came to their aid with his infantry and fought along the beach in defence of their ships. But finally the Athenians captured thirty of them, rescued their own, and erected a trophy of victory. Taking advantage of a success so brilliant as this, and ambitious to display himself at once before Tissaphernes, Alcibiades supplied himself with gifts of hospitality and friendship and proceeded, at the head of an imperial retinue, to visit the satrap. His reception, however, was not what he expected. Tissaphernes had for a long time been accused by the Lacedaemonians to the King, and being in fear of the King's condemnation, it seemed to him that Alcibiades had come in the nick of time. So he arrested him and shut him up in Sardis, hoping that such an outrage upon him as this would dispel the calumnies of the Spartans. After the lapse of thirty days Alcibiades ran away from his guards, got a horse from some one or other, and made his escape to Clazomenae. To repay Tissaphernes, he alleged that he had escaped with that satrap's connivance, and so brought additional calumny upon him.

(from plutarch's life of alcibiades)

The "arriving in the middle of battle and nobody knows whose side i'm on" The "okay I beat the allies of this guy I was just playing buddies with, better go flex on him IN PERSON" The "escaped prison after 30 days and got a horse and then spread rumors that the guy who imprisoned me was actually the one who freed me, to take revenge"

Non stop legend behavior??

[tylermileslockett]

Amazons #4 "The Attic War"

Seething with fury at the abduction of their sister in arms, the Amazons, led by the Co-queen, and sister to Antiope, Orithyia, sails to Attica and invades. They are fiercely intent on rescuing Antiope, and avenging Hippolyta’s murder and recovering the war belt from Herakles. After conquering the surrounding area of Attica, the Amazons march on the capitol; Athens.

But Antiope is now queen of Athens, and now mother to a Greek son, Hippolytus. Thus she fights on the side of the Greeks, and in the frenzy of battle, is accidently struck down by a Lance from an Amazon sister, Molpadia. Theseus, raging at the death of his wife, kills Molpadia in revenge. The Attic war rages on for 4 months, and after many Amazonian and Greek deaths, finally draws to a close when a peace treaty is brokered between Orithyia and Theseus, and the Amazons return to their homeland.

In Plutarch’s “Parallel Lives” he mentions the multiple versions of events in the Attic war. One version has, as mentioned, Antiope fighting to defend the Greeks, and is killed by the misplaced javelin throw of Molpadia. Another fascinating version has Theseus abandon Antiope to marry Phaedra, and Antiope and the Amazons attacking on the day of the wedding, where Antiope is killed by Theseus. Talk about drama! Plutarch also mentions historical authors which list specific locations of where the Amazon troops fought amongst Athens, as well as Amazonian burial sites.

Orithyia, sister to Antiope, is the daughter of Amazon Queen Marpesia, who is said to be one of the founders of Ephesus. It is said after the death of her sister Antiope, Orithyia built a tomb for her, and later dies of her own wounds. Orithyia is succeeded by the Amazon Queen Penthesilea, who we will discuss next.

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[kit-kat-katie]

At dusk, the nightmares and monsters start to play

A/N: two fics (barely) in a month??? haven't done this since September (god it's been a long three months, thank you all for bearing with me through the end of the year). hope everyone has had a good holiday season and is looking forward to the new year! (there's gonna be more action in the next part, this is the set up dw 🫶)

as a future heads-up, most of the chapters will be smaller in size so I can have the time to complete one a month while I'm working on school work. I'm aiming for 1.5-2k words a chapter, but there may be more depending on what I have due at that time.

TW: medical trauma, trauma in general, sad vibes, reader has a knee injury

Pairing: Finnick x GN! Reader (romantic)

Summary: You pay Katniss a visit in the infirmary, only to find that she's more remorseful than revenge-filled, which is a good sign for your other knee. Afterwards, you seek your room and find a comforting memory there, along with Finnick.

(<- Previous Part | Next Part -> | Series Masterlist)

Nightmares.

That was something you had grown to live with, as a victor of the Hunger Games. Your mentors had your back when it came to the nightmares, at first - all you saw when you went to sleep were the dead tributes that you had killed or seen killed. Why were you the one to live, out of all of them?

You were hesitate to approach Katniss after she had a bad nightmare and ran off - she was probably one of the last people that wanted to see you. The last time she saw you, she put an arrow into your knee that gave you the cane and limp that you’re known for in District 13.

Although you tried to tell Haymitch it wasn’t a good idea, he insisted.

“What harm could it cause you to see her?” Haymitch asks before his eyes land on your cane. “…that doesn’t count, Sunny.”

“You’re lucky I still like both of you after that happened.” You vaguely gesture to your knee before grabbing your cane and standing up. “I’ll go find her when she needs me.”

You were sure that Katniss didn’t trust you, but you were positive that she trusted the nurses around you even less. You couldn’t blame her - you were the exact same way. President Snow had insisted that his victors were in the best shape possible, so you had to go to routine doctor’s visits. The prodding and poking was enough to drive anyone nuts, but the vague memory of needles and surgeries sends a shudder down your back as you quicken your pace.

It’s better if she kills me than some poor nurse or doctor.

~

Once you approach the hospital ward, you slowly make your way to Katniss’s room. You peak inside her room to see her sitting up in bed with a younger girl brushing her hair.

You lightly knock, as to not startle the two girls, before making your way into the room.

“Sorry about your knee.” Katniss grumbles as you collapse into a nearby chair and let out an exhausted sigh.

“It’s okay. I probably would’ve done a lot worse in your scenario.” You shrug before leaning your cane against the hospital bed.

“It’s not okay-“ She tries to argue, but you aren’t having any of it.

“What’s done is done, and I have to live with the consequences. You should save your care for a much more worthy cause.” You see her fidgeting with the pearl that Peeta gave her. “We’ll get him back, I promise.”

“They won’t want to.”

“Does it matter what they want? You have more power than you think, Katniss.” The girl behind Katniss starts to look familiar as your eyes glance between the two girls. “You’re Primrose Everdeen, right?”

The girl doesn’t say anything until Katniss lightly bumps her shoulder.

“I am.” She quietly answers while continuing to brush Katniss’s hair.

The three of you linger in the room with contemplative silence before a man comes to bring Katniss to President Coin and Plutarch.

Primrose sets the hairbrush aside as you fetch your cane from the side of the bed.

“Those are nurse scrubs, right?” You ask as you grab the bed’s railing in order to get onto your feet.

“I’m trying to help out, as much as I can.” She answers before starting to make the hospital bed.

“If you’re anything like your sister, you’ll be a great nurse.” You offer her a warm smile that she quickly replicates.

Perhaps the future isn’t as messed up as I thought it was.

~

You return to the living quarters side of District 13, only to be bombarded by a few small children. The younger kids always ran up to you when they hear the click click click of your cane hitting the floor, as you often had squirreled away treats or extra bits of food from meals. You were willing to share, so you offered them a few small candies that you had snatched from the front desk of the hospital ward.

“Don’t give yourselves a stomach ache,” You warn them with a wagging finger, “otherwise, you’ll end up back there.”

The kids promise to be careful before running off, and you continue your journey back to your room. You had been discharged from the hospital ward, after your strong insistence that you were fine, which you were, but you had to have daily check-ups to make sure that your knee was alright.

You had the appointments in the morning - it wasn’t like you were getting any sleep, anyways - but your progress continued to be positive. You weren’t going to be in fighting shape for a long time, and you might limp for the rest of your life, but the cane may get to be retired in another week or two.

Your bed can’t be found soon enough, and when you do find it, you set your cane on the ground before laying down on the bed. 

You had given so much effort into your capital duties - being a “model citizen”, doing exactly as President Snow asked - but you had never been as tired as you were now. The simple act of movement left you exhausted, the injury be damned, and all you wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep.

You couldn’t. Although you weren’t physically strong, your determination to keep going kept you mentally well. You had to be strong, you had to be sunny, for the District 12 children, for Katniss, and for Finnick.

Finnick had a rough adjustment to life in District 13, due to the absence of Mags and Annie as well as your injury. Despite being drugged up, once he heard that you were going under for surgery, he knocked out two guards and nearly stabbed a third with a pair of scissors before Haymitch pulled him off of the guard. Finnick had stayed by your side for days after he had been discharged and you were recovering. 

He didn’t leave your side after you were discharged from the hospital wing. He was the one who helped you back onto your feet and he encouraged you to keep going, even when you felt like giving up. 

Finnick was quiet when you weren’t around, however. He would lock himself in his room for hours, only coming out to talk with Haymitch or to get the next meal. He was never like that with you - his smile was never so bright as he carefully embraced you. The two of you would talk for hours about anything and everything - it reminded you of your days back in the Victor’s Village in District 4.

Cooking for four was a learned habit of yours - you didn’t want Mags to have to cook or eat alone, Annie struggled to take care of herself, and Finnick was so busy that he didn’t often have the time to have good meals. 

You quickly distributed the food into four different containers. Two went straight into your refrigerator - Finnick would be home late on a flight from the Capitol, so you wanted to have dinner with him. You sealed up the other two meals, placed them into a small satchel, and began your trip to Mags’ house.

She warmly welcomed you in before putting a kettle on. You handed her the meal, which she took with a gracious smile. Mags grabbed two forks out of her silverware drawer, and you took one of them before joining her in the dining room.

You couldn’t stay long, as you had another meal to deliver, but you did enjoy a nice glass of tea and a few bites of food. With Mags waving you off, you ventured across the way to Annie’s home.

You softly knock on the door, as to not startle her, before the door slams open. Annie appears while rapidly wiping the tears off of her face. She tries to speak, but you shake her head before handing her the food.

“Don’t worry about getting the container back, I have plenty.” You gently reassure her as she nods before shakily closing the door.

With a soft breath, you go back to your own house to enjoy a bit of well-earned peace and quiet. A couple hours go by before someone knocks on your door.

You open the door, only to see Finnick standing there, all dressed up in Capital wear. Despite everything he’s wearing, he still is your charming, very attractive mentor.

“Are you in the mood for company?” He asks with an irresistible smile.

“You’re lucky I made extras, pretty boy.” You tease before letting him in.

“Sunny?”

You sit up at the sound of his voice, albeit slowly so you don’t injury yourself.

“Finnick!” You break out of your thoughts to greet him as you gesture for him to sit next to you on your bed.

“Are you alright?” His eyebrows scrunch as he inspects you for injuries before gently sitting next to you.

His hand finds yours, and your fingers intertwine as you softly kiss his cheek.

“I’m good, I promise. Haymitch wanted me to see Katniss in the hospital ward.”

“She didn’t have a bow and arrow this time, right?” A teasing smile rests on his face as you lightly shove him away.

“Very funny, Finnick.” You roll your eyes before looking over at him. “How are you doing?”

“Better now that I’m with you, honey.” He leans in to kiss you, and you indulge him in one kiss before locking eyes with him.

He lies to you about how he feels at times. You know it’s because he doesn’t want you to worry, but you end up worrying more because of it. This time, you only see merriment and a twinkle of mischief in his eyes as he looks at you.

That’s Finnick being Finnick.

“Isn’t it almost meal time?” You ask before grabbing your cane.

“It’s getting close, but we should get going if we want to make it there on time.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” You poke Finnick with the bottom of your cane as he happily laughs.

You rest your head on his shoulder as you enjoy this moment of tranquility and happiness. You don’t know what tomorrow’s going to look like, but you can only hope that it’ll be just as good, if not better, than today.

tagging ->  @yokolesbianism , @avoxrising, @honethatty12, @sweetybuzz25, @catvader101, @sollum, @emerald-valkyrie, @randomgurl2326, @caitsymichelle13, @bcbci, @iris1587 (send a request or comment on this fic to be added to the taglist!)

[rebelumbrella46]

Watching the end of Mockingjay Part 2. And I love how Snow got the last laugh, during the scene when Katniss kills Coin instead of him.

This scene is so perfect because:

Katniss took revenge on Coin for killing Prim. Coin would also become a tyrant, she was too full of rage and hatred not to. Snow didn't deserve a clean kill from an arrow. He deserved the same brutal death that he gave to all those children. And also, the fact that all of this happened in front of the only remaining victors, i mean, Johanna and even Annie were there.

I love how people don't care that Katniss just killed the leader of the rebellion, they only cared about making sure Snow died. (Ending this terrible corrupt regime)

Katniss smiling, while she's been dragged away, when she sees that Snow is going to die.

And that Plutarch doesn't look surprised by any of this, but rather relieved.

But the best thing is Snow's laugh before being attacked, he was already dying, and he knew he wouldn't get out of there alive. but he knows that he has beaten Coin, and the fact that Katniss killed her and not him. He won one last time.

It's also possible, that he thought, that Katniss was going to die too. He could have anticipated that she would take the pill, and that would have been ironic given the fact that he would have preferred that she and Peeta had taken the poisonous berries in the first movie and died, rather than having two victors (who inadvertently started the rebellion) Or maybe he thought that Coin's people would kill her… and he would have gotten rid of both of his enemies at the same time.

But of course, this time it's Peeta who saves her.

[evieaxx]

Tbh I would also go crazy if the games I invented had ties to my ex and the friend I betrayed.

Suzanne Collins is a genius or I am going insane. I spent to much time researching these books. Anyways I digress

In MockingJay, Plutarch says this to Katniss to describe the capital and by association Snow himself.

"Thirteen was used to hardship, whereas in the Capitol, all they've known is Panem et Circenses."

"What's that?" | recognize Panem, of course, but the rest is nonsense.

"It's a saying from thousands of years ago, written in a language called Latin about a place called Rome," he explains. "Panem et Circenses translates into 'Bread and Circuses.' The writer was saying that in return for full bellies and entertainment, his people had given up their political responsibilities and therefore their power.""

Snow sacrifices two people in his rush for power. Those two people are Sejanus Plinth and Lucy gray Baird.

One of Lucy grey Baird's first descriptions in the books is clearly linked to the circus.

“She’s like a circus performer,” one of the girls remarked. The other mentors made sounds of agreement.

That was it. Coriolanus reached back into his memory to the circuses of his early childhood. Jugglers and acrobats, clowns and dancing girls in puffy dresses twirling around while his brain grew giddy with spun sugar."

One of the more interesting aspects of Sejanus character is the customs he brings back from living in district 2.

“He’s putting bread crumbs on the body,” said Ma. “So Marcus has food on his journey.”

“His journey where?” asked the Grandma’am. “He’s dead!”

“Back to wherever he came from,” said Ma. “It’s what we do, back home. When someone dies.”

Lucy Gray Baird and Sejanus fate's are not forgotten within the games themselves. Cornelius snow's empire is built on the death of Sejanus along with his customs and respect of the dead. Lucy grey Baird is a temporary sweetness that turns to poison in his grasp. They are the bread and circus respectively and are both consumed by the capitals ideals.

This symbolism goes even deeper when you read the original source material which is Juvenal's Satire X. The fact that it is satire is very prevalent in the hunger games series.

"What indeed do we wish for or fear that is Rational? How often is what we conceive so far from wrong-headed. That we don’t regret both the effort, and the fulfilment of our desire?"

Cornelius's fatal flaw is seen in the first part of the satire. His fear of love led to his desire for money, both destroying him in the end.

"Would you like to be greeted as Sejanus, possess all that he Possessed, be the one to grant highest office to some, appoint Others to military posts, be seen as the Emperor’s guardian,"

The second part is about Sejanus who at the very least inspired the book. It is about a death caused by a letter written because of the underlying envy of his wealth. Then the eventual climb to power is definitely comparable to snow using his death to climb up the social ladder.

"Yet both orators died for their eloquence, a rich overflowing Stream of talent was what sent both of them to their deaths."

This part can be viewed as Lucy Grey's fate. her words and spectacle are only viewed as good when snow controls them. her leaving him and the sound of her music haunting him is her revenge.

This phrase exemplifies Snow's downfall and eventual death

"Few kings go down to Ceres’ son-in-law, Dis, free from

Blood and carnage, few tyrants achieve a tranquil death.  "

[sforzesco]

also I'm sorry but tell me more about your Giuliano thoughts because Giuliano is the reason I'm in all of this and he gives me EMOTIONS my poor sad boy 🗡️🥀

shdhdh I had to type out a rough draft in reply in a writing doc and even then my thoughts are a little more abstract, but oh man. giuliano.

my favorite niche focus is brothers and grief/love that transgresses or transcends accepted/expected boundaries. lucullus and his brother, with lucullus waiting until his brother was old enough to hold office with him, and his biography from plutarch closing the same way it opened. with his brother. there's catullus and his brother, where his grief breaks both performances of gender and geography.

Catullan Myths: Gender, Mourning, and the Death of a Brother, Aaron M. Seider

there's ludovico and ascanio sforza. a singular defining moment for ludovico is the death of beatrice, there is a marked before or after in the man, her death has changed him irrevocably. to find ludovico, you must go to where his wife has been interred. when it seems like ascanio will die, ludovico's plans are to bring his brother's corpse back to milan and to inter the body in the same holy space as his wife. milan is a grave multiple times over.

giuliano occupies a similar space. the love the brothers medici have for each other is what makes them complementary to each other in terms of personality and function, but it's also what prompts lorenzo to a truly spectacular scale of violence that cannot contain itself. it's foundational violence! from here on out, the violence will escalate in coming generations. the punishment for the crime of his brother cascades out well beyond the point of justice, and eclipses base revenge. nothing short of absolute annihilation will do, no portraits, nothing will remain except a very sharp outline of a terrible act that was half your own making! how great is that love! it was here, it did not make anything better, and has instead made a lot of things worse.

also I'm obsessed with how giuliano has such a sharp read on francesco de' pazzi from machiavelli's writing of the event. I bet he saw his death coming.

[katabay]

CYCLES OF VIOLENCE AND REVENGE

or: a scene where sulla and crasso measure each other up and decide to use each other

republikang romano remixed returns!

ALRIGHT SO the historical parallel for scene is crassus siding with & supporting sulla during sulla's civil war. the very brief summary of events are that crassus' family were victims to political violence (cinna, marius) while crassus survived on account of his age and went on to give everyone a very bad day.

but this is also fiction, it's set in the philippines, I get to throw in some teleserye drama if I want to.

originally, the line about crasso's age was supposed to be, 'you WERE so young,' but I fucked up the tense and wrote 'you ARE so young,' by accident. which is. not wrong, crasso is in his early-mid 20s here. he IS young, and it adds in some fun subtext because sulla's going to fuck crasso over later and turn his attentions to pompeyo, who is younger than crasso. subtext, baby!

speaking of the philippines tho, the thing about the tapping and the chicks is that if someone is murdered, you put chicks on the casket because the tapping of the pecking is supposed to eat away at the guilty party's conscience. it's also eating away at crasso because he's haunted (read: traumatized) by being forced to watch his family get murdered. the chicks are just vibing.

Plutarch, Life of Crassus

[thewisecheerio]

The historical record proves that people have always been weird.

I started reading a bestiary originally published in 1608 on Serpents, only to be met with the following information regarding dragons: 1) Dragons love wilde Lettice, but cannot abide apples, and 2) ye olde Rule 34 jumpscare dragon/human porn. From 1608.

They greatly preserve their health (as Aristotle affirmeth) by eating of wilde Lettice, for that they make them to vomit, and cast forth of their stomach whatsoever meat offendeth them, and they are most specially offended by eating of Apples, for their bodies are much subject to be filled with winde, and therefore they never eat Apples, but first they eat wilde Lettice. Their sight also (as Plutarch saith) doth many times grow weak and feeble, and therefore they renew and recover the same again by rubbing their eyes against Fennel, or else by eating of it. (Page 706)

There was a Dragon the lover of Aetholis(?) (as Plutarch writeth) who came unto her every night, and did her body no harm, but gently sliding over her, played with her till morning, then also would he depart away assoon as light appeared, that he might not be espyed. The Maidens friends came to the knowledge hereof, and so removed her far away, to the intent the Dragon might come no more at her: and thus they remained asunder a great while, the Dragon earnestly seeking for the Maiden, wandered far and neer to finde her out. At last he met with her, and not saluting her gently as he was wont, flew upon her, binding her hands down with the spire of his body, hissing softly in her face, and beating gently with his tail her back-parts, as it were taking a moderate revenge upon her, for the neglect of his love by her long absence. (page 709)

There is also a section on scorpion necromancy, which includes a line implying that spitting on them will kill them if you are thirsty enough:

By touch of Hen-bane they lie dead and overcome, but if one touch them again with white Ellebore, they revive, and are released from their former stupefaction. It is also said that the leaves of water-mallowes do also astonish Scorpions, and so also doth the Radish-root. The Sea-crab with Basil in her mouth destroyeth the Scorpion, and so doth Tunicle and Mushroom of trees. To conclude, the spittle of a man is death unto Scorpions; and therefore when a certain fellow took upon him to be a cunning Charmer, and by incantation to kill a Scorpion, he added to the words of his Charm a treble spitting in the mouth of the Serpent, and so it dyed: whereupon Wolphius which was present, and saw this Charmer, did afterward by himself alone at home, make triall of spittle without a Charm, and so found that it alone killeth Scorpions, especially the spittle of a man fasting, or very thirsty. Moreover, there be certian Lands wherein no Scorpions will live, as that about Clupea in Africk, and the dust of the Island Gaulus neer Cercina, being sprinkled upon a Scorpion, doth incontinently kill it. ANd so much also writeth Hermolaus, of the Region Galatha. (Page 755)

Getting stung in the lower half of your body will produce an erection, while being stung in the upper half will produce symptoms of cold and heat and "slimy" tears. (By the way, the first part can actually happen, it's just not exclusive to lower-half body stings!)

...But yet (as we have already said) there is a difference of the pain, according to the difference of the Scorpion that stingeth. If a man be stung in the lower part of his body, instantly followeth the extension of his virile member, and the swelling thereof: but if in the upper part, then is the person affected with cold, and the place smitten is as if it were burned, his countenance or face distorted, glewish spots about the eyes, and the tears viscous and slimy, hardnesse of the articles, falling down of the fundament, and a continuall desire to egestion, foaming at the mouth, coughing, convulsions of the brain, and drawing the face backward, the hair stands upright, palenesse goeth over all the body, and a continuall pricking like the pricking of needles. (Page 756)

There is also a section on sea serpents that seems to depict reports of oceanic cryptids:

There be also in the Swevian Ocean or Balthick sea, Serpents of thirty or forty foot in length, whose picture is thus described, as it was taken by Olaus Magnus, and he further writeth, that these do never harm any man untill they be provoked. [Photo] The same Author also expresseth likewise the figure of another Serpent, of a hundred and twenty foot long, appearing now and then upon the coasts of Norway, very dangerous and hurtfull to the Sea-men in calms and still weather, for they lift up themselves above the hatches, and suddenly catch a man in their mouths, and so draw him into the Sea out of the Ship: and many times they overthrow in the water a laden Vessel of great quantity, with all the wares therein contained. And sometimes also they set up such a spire above the water, that a Boat or little Bark without sayls may passe through the same. And thus much for the Sea-serpents. (Page 761)

You can find the entire manuscript here at the Internet Archive in its 1658 collected works form, which contains both bestiaries on four-footed creatures from 1607 and serpents from 1608:

[jeannereames]

I saw you mentioned that Justin wrongly states Eurydice’s child to be a boy - if it really was a girl, presumably it was a far lesser threat to Alexander ? Does that mean it is more likely that its death was ordered by Olympias, not Alexander himself ? I have seen conflicting accounts of this…

Yes, it's highly likely that the death of the baby and Kleopatra Eurydike was at the instigation of Olympias, not Alexander.

In fact, if my colleague Tim Howe is right, Olympias killed her when Alexander was away because Alexander may have intended to marry her himself. It's a very interesting theory and would, I think, explain as political an action that the ancients (especially Plutarch and Justin) wanted to portray as simply bloodthirsty. (See "Cleopatra-Eurydike, Olympias, and a 'Weak' Alexander.")

Given Alexander's position when Philip died, marrying Kleopatra, who'd proven able to get pregnant and give birth, wasn't an entirely insane idea, as Tim explains. But it would have significantly lessened Olympias's power at the court, so she acted to protect her own interests.

That he might have married her isn't contraindicated by his refusal to marry anybody else, as the most likely candidates were the daughters of Parmenion or Antipatros, and that would have given one too much power (and offended the other, perhaps).

If far from certain, I find it an intriguing theory, even likely. Revenge might have been reason enough for Olympias to eliminate the girl, but once Alexander was king, she couldn't hurt Olympias, so it might have been a better revenge to leave her alive in the women's rooms with a(nother) "useless" daughter of Philip.