#pythio

[skimblygifs]

ℌ𝔬𝔴 𝔦𝔰 𝕲𝖊𝖓𝖉𝖊𝖗 𝔤𝔢𝔯𝔪𝔞𝔫𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔇𝔦𝔰𝔠𝔲𝔰𝔰𝔦𝔬𝔫?

[musicalpilftournament]

Pythio vs Claire Zachanassian

Propaganda (Click names for full propaganda pages and more actors)

Pythio: They're a nonbinary oracle with killer outfits and a gorgeous voice and so much confidence. They are one of the main driving forces in moving the plot forward and helping out the other characters. They have a daughter, so they are a parent, but they had to leave that daughter behind because their husband would not accept their nonbinary identity - they do meet their daughter again later, though.

Claire Zachanassian: She's uhh not. A parent. It's a sore spot shh. She was about to be though, there's trauma involved, she counts. Also please look up pictures of her she is UNHINGED she is SEXY she wants that guy DEAD I'm swooning as we speak

[winter-wise]

Head Over Heels, one of the musicals of all time. This poor himbo is wandering around the woods, then a nonbinary oracle appears out of nowhere to say, "I'm going to tell you what you need to do to reunite with your girlfriend. Step One: You need to crossdress."

[dpsqueerblog]

Nonbinary

Pythio (Head Over Heels)

canon

[s-c-r-ee-ch]

Apollo Pythios seated on the omphalos

Unknown creator, 500 BCE - 400 BCE

Museo archeologico nazionale di Napoli Naples, Italy

[bleedingichorhearts]

𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫

“I just changed the titles. The first one is a prologue. This is more set in the future, but that should be clear with how the chapter changes? I mean, last one is prologue. Here’s an continuation after about a year.😭” - Ichor

Summary - “Simply walking the halls of a defective mansion. You are suddenly met with new things.”

“@kit-williams, @egrets-not-regrets, @bispecsual, @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan, @sleepyfan-blog.”

“+@c-u-c-koo-4-40k, @marcela2000.” - Tagged

TW // Neglect, Predator.

|°𝕄𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕃𝕚𝕤𝕥°| • {Prologue} • {Chapter II}

Your hands are behind your back as you walk straight down one of the mansions corridors. A gleaming white tile glaring at you each time you pass and wide window that brings in a reflective glare of the sun into the home. Something you honestly hate of this modern mansion. Too much white for your tastes, and well the people that lived inside of it, but that couldn’t be clear enough already. Yet, your not one to purely judge people and nature itself- Well… unless those Golden Knights count as something… unnatural.

Its weird though, you have never really addressed them as their original titles: Adeptus Custodes or just Custodes in short. You have just been mentally calling them “Golden Knights.” Your pretty sure it was because you practically grew up under their eyes, and your younger, innocent self couldn’t fathom nor pronounce Adeptus Custodies. So your little mind settled on what was closer: Golden Knights. Knights also had happened to one of the things you admired then and well now. Admittedly, you like to think of a more… characteristic knight now since you figured out how exactly knights where back in the 12th century. It was a very stark contrast between a little fairytale and the real thing. All the more reason to avoid the Golden Knights though. You’re not sure how they act besides being annoying statues, and trying to follow you are despite your inner turmoil.

Maybe you should just settle for a War World II soldier instead? At least they cared for their nurses… Well, in the movies they did. You didn’t have enough information in written history to claim such. Maybe that is something you could figure out in the time being? Learn a bit more about War World II? You know you have heard of the Astarte's being first sighted there… Maybe that will allow you to get more information on the Golden Knights in your home er- household? No, those words don’t seem right to call this false security of a home…

You pause in your steps; in the middle of the hallway. Your head slightly down as you eye the shiny tile. Your mind in a sudden deep thought. What would you even call this household? Certainly not the Last name of the family, the blood is too mixed and… judging. You felt like they didn’t even deserve the honor of a last name. So, what would you call this… corruption?

‘Dysfunctional? Toxic? Tumultuous? Unstable?’ You almost amuse yourself with those definition's.

“Auntie?” A little, childish voice brings you out of your thoughts. Blinking, your back straightens up a bit again at your other- rather only friendly title you’ve been called here. Eyes flickering down to a little girl behind you, no more than 4 years old. Her wavy, strawberry hair stopping at just her shoulders; her sea green eyes innocent of youth. “Little Eden” you like to call her- mentally. Selectively mute you chosen to be. If you can’t talk in the home; voice your opinion's… Why bother talking at all?

You remember the first time you had met little Eden though. How her little fingers, grasped around your pointer finger while she tried to eat at her other hand, slobbering all over it. Her little cheeks chubby with cute fat, and her eyes a bit puffy with the cry’s for attention she desperately needed. Yet, she seemed to calm at your mere presence. Quieting down to soft sounds of nibbles. A few gnawing “yah, yah, yahs” leaving her. It would have been cute sight if it weren’t for the thought of the whys and hows she was crying for attention in the first place.

You were simply wandering the night halls of the mansion again. A routine you usually do to keep yourself and other things in check. Another party being hosted by your father as the walls thrum with vibrations, and through all that noise? You can hear a faint cry of displeasure. A cry of a newborn that you knew that was, and had come into the world, but just was never allowed to the hospital to see the brith of the new addition. So, you had to settle on patiently waiting for the time you would be able to see her without the foul glares and words of the family that might change her perspective of you at day one. It just��� wasn’t a risk you were willing to take just to see someone new, but that wasn’t the thing you were most worried about. It was how the child was crying their heart out, wanting, seeking, needing attention. Their parent no where in sight, no doubt joining that damn party, and you’re not sure what scares you. The child’s obvious neglect or how you feel like you would be another failure to someone else. Even if they weren’t supposed to rely on you.

You sigh out, trying to calm your thoughts before your body would start to shake in anxiety. A hum leaving you to acknowledge the little one behind you. Your body turning a bit to give her your attention. Her eyes brightening up at your simple movements after she rubbed her eyes with her palms. Your eyes flickering to the shimmer of gold behind her, ignoring the… What was he again? A Shadow Keeper? Did she just wake up from a nap?

“Hi, auntie!” She greets you again, bounding up to you on her little legs. Her hands coming out to grasp at your pants. A huge smile on her face, and you’re not sure of what to make of it. No one has ever smiled so brightly at you before. Your brain thinks “logically;” to protect yourself, even from a child, thinking this was a trick. While your heart craves for such actions. Yet, you know better to have your heart to lead you, but it doesn’t mean you would neglect anything- anyone that would show you a smidge of kindness in this chaotic world.

Your eyes flicker over to the Shadow Keeper again. His form slow, basking in the shadows that a part of their armor seamlessly absorbs. His red visor softly glowing, even in the brightest areas, and it never fails to pull a shiver down your spine. These beings were so unnerving, but they have shown nothing to… oppose that. Opposite, really? You think? The people just somehow accept these… things that just appear out of no where, didn’t they think that was a bit suspicious? You weren’t at all judgmental of them nor combatant of them. You just wanted to know their origin, their purpose. Everything has it purpose you believe, but you can’t find anything to support your own ideals of them. Not even with the normal Astarte's. You just find they are kind of like different species: Primaris Marines, first-born, Iron Warrior’s to Salamander's…

Ugh, thinking about them just hurts your brain, brings you a massive migraine. You’ve gotten a bloody nose out of it one time, and you really don’t want to experience that again. It was one of the worst ones that you had, and even that, was suspicious to you. It wasn’t hard to notice that something was at play here as a mute watcher. Yet, something stops you from thinking of such. You wonder if you can get your answers from an Alpha Legionnaire or a Thousand Son. You heard it was a bit risky to deal with the mysteries untold, but if you wanted answers…

“Auntie?” Eden calls for you again, a tone of worry, perhaps defensiveness in her voice. Her hands tugging up at you. Wanting your attention again. “Did Mr. Varon offend you? You stare at them quite a lot…”

‘What? ’ You think to yourself, blinking away from the Shadow Keeper; rising your brow as you look back down at the child. Ignoring your own hint of embarrassment that grows inside of you that you were just… staring at things. Though, who's Varon? Wait…

Your head moves back up to the Shadow Keeper, your eyes narrowing at him slightly, judging him. His helmet tilting a centimeter to his right. His visor flashing a bit brighter as if he was… amused. Never in your life have you made on effort to learn the first and last names of the Golden Knights. You didn’t want to, you wanted the favor of your supposed parents then, but now?

You shake your head, ridding of any thoughts that could be driven by your heart. Turning your head back down to the child that was trying to pull you along somewhere. Her hands tightly grasping at you, grunting in… cute effort to try and move you from your spot. A singular twitch of your lips frowning upward, being shown for the trained eye before quickly going stoic again and following where the child wanted you to be. The shadows’ following at a respective distance right after.

She leads you a bit through the mansion, as if she was checking it out with you. Her hand never leaving their spot on your pants to pull you along. Taking you around the kitchen, living room, the outer rim of the mansion before taking you back inside and pulling you up stairs that has a loft near the entry way of the mansion. An honestly good spot to spy on the new people that come and go, and you suppose its one of the things you and Eden like doing together. Sitting in each others presence and watch the drama unfold just at the entry of the mansion.

“Father! I got someone new I want you to meet!” Ah, and so the show begins. A male and feminine figure slamming the front door shut upon entering the mansion. A click of heels echoing through the area as Father and Mother appear from just down the hall. Mother appearing from the laundry room. Something you take note of quickly as her being in the laundry room was suspicious, she never- doesn’t do laundry. Father appeared somewhere further down the hall. The rest of the hallway unseeable with the second story room wall’s in the way, but you would have to guess it was from his office.

Mother, something you don’t even call her anymore nor Father, but she was a rather fine looking woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. Good figure that would make her a model until you get to her shitty attitude. Most of the time she's a manipulator. Her tone untrue to others, including family. Seems like she just can’t stop being in a play. A fantasy she puts herself in. Something at least you can feel pity on her **for.

Father was all the dark a broody unless he was hosting his parties. Drinking away his worries. His dark eyes almost distant; black, slicked back hair seemingly always greasy now a days, but at least he occasionally shaved when a beard started to grow. That was something to show he wasn’t a complete failure. At least physically, emotionally? You, and only you knew he was drowning in silent debt. He should really consider rejecting some things… It will only be a matter of time before he breaks. You take a bet that he would even brake before your mother would.

“This is Linton Stokes.” Your stepsister, more like half-sister, but you don’t really even consider her blooded or even a sister. It’s another thing you think that many would need to earn the title of, but she introduces the new male next to her. Her arms wrapping around his neck while this “Linton Stokes” puts his hands on her waist. A sound of hushed disgust coming from the child besides you. “He’s my new boyfriend.”

‘What's the number now for that? The 12th one this year?’ You muse to yourself, shifting your weight as you lean up against the glass railing. That's also not even counting the past years she's had these flings of boyfriend's. Sometimes you feel bad for them because some of them seemed genuinely good material, only to be ruined by Lessas’ habits of being well…. a known whore, to put it boldly. Other times you can tell it was just a game to the men, and this male? Was going to be no different. You can just tell. It’s like a sixth sense.

“Oh! How exiting!” Mother gasps in fake excitement, but it has just enough training that it fools nearly everyone. Her hands clasping together. Her smile too bright, and the bright red lipstick she was wearing wasn’t helping her either. “What do you do, young man?”

“I, uh, I do business.” The guy retorts and immediately, you know that's a lie. If he was business he wouldn’t be dressed like a commoner. He would be more formal. Not only that, but he hesitated his words. He wasn’t confident in his position. So that's all the more reason to think that he was a liar or he just wasn’t doing well at his job that he was most definitely going to get fired sooner or later.

That, or you’re too judgmental.

“What type of business?” Father inquires, raising his brow. His fingers threading through his hair as he sighs out. Seemingly not in the mood to meet anyone else, unless of he was drinking of course. Friendly, deceiving person when drunk. Uncaring, tired man when sober. Pitiful, almost.

“Corporation, sir.” Linton speaks with manners but if he actually had any he wouldn’t be allowing himself the freedom of touching Lessa openly. He would have been respectful and shown promise in front of father, but you know the simple word: Corporation caught your father’s interest. His eyes regained a bit of light to them at the first syllable.

“Corporation, eh?” Father chuckles in a low tone, coming forward to remove Lessa from him and wrap his own arm around his shoulder. His daughter, not even of blood, pouting just a bit with a stomp of her black heels. “Say… I can teach you a thing or two? Hmm?”

“Mother!” Lessa huffs and puffs, never really liking the attention off of her. Another clicking stomp coming from her as she looks over to mother, expecting her to do something when another solid gold came into the room: Aquilan shield if you remember correctly of what type the Golden Knight was that has entered the entry way freely. His golden armor, and what you assume jewels imbedded in it having a bit of a reflex on the tile below. His figure more prominent in the tile reflection than anything else in the damn house. Probably the most expensive thing in the world too. It’s one of the few things why your father just… tolerates them because not only do they look intimidating, but your pretty sure there is dollar bills in your fathers eyes each time he glances over them.

Linton, probably and most likely has never seen an Custodies before, shivers in his spot. His adam apple signaling that he swallowed hard at the Aquilans’ sudden appearance, and man was it always amusing to see the new people crumble at just the sight of them. You had to at least give that to the Golden Knights. They were effective in chasing people off and keeping them off the property. Not they really intend to. It was just how they were built.

Yeah, built. You don’t believe these men or perhaps just things of armor: formed like golden bars were birthed like 1,000+ pounds at the getaway from a woman’s womb. They were definitely created in a lab unless they came from a line of giants or some mythical creature. Exaggerated? Maybe, but what else could you think of without getting a pounding headache that stops you from thinking further?

“Is…i-is that a Astarte's?” Is the first thing Linton says about them, and it’s almost a boring answer. Her eyes flickering over to father before looking back at the Aquilan with clear nervousness. His hands were shaking a little bit as he swallows again. It was a bit of a miracle that he hasn’t excused himself yet. It was a bit strange, but not everyone was the same. Maybe this guy has a bit of a back bone?

“No, that’s Atlas!” Eden speaks up right next to you. Her little mind not taking the disrespect for the Custodies, no matter if it was a simple question, and you… praise her for it, but did it have to be near you? You were just the playing object, perhaps a puppet in their eyes. Not even their child or sibling, just some random that lives in their house, eating their money, and you can just tell with how they look up to you with such disgust. It would sicken you, yourself if you weren’t used to it already.

“What are you doing out?” Your father more like comments up at you. His arm still wrapped around Lintons’ shoulders while they just seem to forget about the new Golden Knight in the room since they noticed you, and not in a good way as an uncomfortable silence stretches through out the area. Your mouth never opening to answer them. You never do as it would come with a cost of your own sanity. You just watch.

“Who is that, sir?” Linton speaks up with a slight waver in his tone. His brown eyes looking up at you in mild curiosity, and it leaves you skeptical. Your eyes tracking every movement that he does. Man should know what not to question around here. Especially with the attitude of your mother and Lessa. They do not do well with your mere presence or of an uttered word of/and/or about you.

“They are no one, honey!” Your mother grins too brightly, gaining the attention of the newcomer for a second and huff from her daughter: who smirks in response as if she won something she never even participated in. Her arms folding over her chest as she shoots a poor attempt of a sinister glare up to you.

‘Was that suppose to remove me from the plains of the Earth?’ You muse to yourself to keep your spirits up despite the prickling anxiety that feels like lightning was roaming across your back. Your form shifting your weight on one leg.

“Come, baby!” Lessa smiles too brightly as well, forcefully taking Linton back from her father, pulling at the mans’ clothes. Her tone so full of under toned venom, and she wasn't even hiding it. She never tries to. Probably one of the reasons she losses relationships so much…You honestly wonder how well she would do if she was paired up with a chaos Emperor Child? For you, you want it to be a form of punishment for her. You know that what you’re thinking of is… dark. You know the difference between chaos and a “holy” marine; have a slight concept of it, and by god you wished something akin to what was going through your mind happened to her. “Let me show you around my mansion!”

Your father face twitches at Lessas’ words, clearly taking in of how she says “my mansion.” Clearly displeased with her. Not only did she take away a potential victim of his… scam’s, but she was pulling a dominance card, and if you didn’t know any better yourself? Certain men don’t like that, like your father. It’s surprising he doesn’t do anything about it just yet. Most likely wanting to try and score some money off the “Linton Stokes” and spend it all in one go. That is if he was even a business man. This guy could be wanting to do the same to him.

“Hold on now,” Linton pauses their attempts to move him further down the mansion. His hands coming up to hold Lessas’ hands to try and stop her from dragging him. Lessas’ eyes giving him a glare that he simply ignores, looking back up at you. “I thought I was supposed to be meeting your whole family?”

‘Whole family, huh?’ You narrow your eyes down at him, meeting his gaze; making sure that you gather any more detail you could about him physically. He knows a lot more than what he leads on… His eyes flickering around briefly: at Eden then back to you, and something about that simple look around irks you. It sends a couple of negative mixed signal’s through your brain. Your form shifting a bit to cover Eden up more with your body, at most your legs. Her hands squeezing at your clothing at the unintended invitation.

Lessa was a absolute fool to bring this one in.

“She’s nobody.” Lessa hisses through her teeth with a happy tone. Her blue eyes sending you another glare up at you before lighting up again once Linton looks back at her. Smiling as if she hasn’t done a single unholy thing in her life before giving a light laugh. “A maid at most! Let me show you around, babe!”

You can see the man hesitate before reluctantly following her. Letting himself be pulled by her hand and lead him further into the mansion. Your parents lingering for a second, giving you a lasting glare before following their steps. You would feel… sorry, but with how many years you put up with their shit? It wasn’t even worth to waste such emotion.

“That guy is weird.” Eden comments up at you, saying whatever pops up into her head. Your figure leaning up from the glass railing while you decided that pinnacle of drama was enough for the both of you. Better things can be done besides being bait to some theatricals.

You nod down at her though: agreeing. This “Linton Stokes” was definitely weird. He knew that you were part of the household even if you weren’t really well… apart of it. His gives off an… strange aura that you can’t pinpoint just yet, but you know it’s negative. It’s not something to just brush off either. Not to mention the random look he gave Eden…

You need to keep an eye on this dude. Yet, you cannot always be there for her, no matter if you want to or not; could or not. The family would get suspicious, and start lies or something that was supposed to ruin your own reputation. She also could get targeted too, and you definitely did not want that to happen. No child deserved to not feel a mother’s love, father’s protection or even a siblings connections, and just because you didn’t have it yourself? It doesn’t mean you would revoke someone else of that… wholesomeness. That was just a low blow, or at least you think it was- is.

You sigh, your shoulders dropping slightly in some form of internal defeat. How would you even protect her? At least until you feel safe that she was safe? It’s not like you could hire a damn mercenary or bodyguard. The spent money would be suspicious too.

…Wait.

Your eyes flicker up to the black and gold Shadow Keeper that kept to the shadows and the gold and royal blue Aquilan Shield below that keeps his own red visors staring up at you. Your mind thinking… There are others that can protect her, but were you willing to take that risk? To finally make request them of something after years of trying to ignore them the best you could?

To finally give them a sliver of your inconclusive trust?

[halloweencatsart]

Attacks on @anteros-art of Bunniculauren and Pythio Gorgon!

[robo-milky]

Art Trade W/ @seuing

(Feat. Pythios [@seuing ‘s OC], Leikata [Mine])

Thank you so much for drawing my son with the funny fish pie! I absolutely love the creative liberty you took to give him the apron and oven mitts, it’s so precious!! I had an absolutely blast drawing Pythios, and it was a good excuse to get me to sit down and work on something… rendered after a hot minute ^^; They’re both such cuties <3

[misiahasahardname]

i love my classical studies teacher... bro bought chainmail armour for no reason, let us hold it to see how heavy it is, put it on, and then got stuck in it and had to leave the class to get another teacher to help him take it off 😭

[nethertrolls]

#66 #68 #70 truth untold

#66. Do either of them have a crazy ex?

I’d like to introduce you to a troll named Derodi Zaktiv, his got that azure coloured blood and was in the same band as Vasuki since the start as an org member. They were Kismesis before the inevitable end of their relationship, it went on for way too long.

Derodi got jealous way too easy of Vasuki himself and everyone that interacted with him, so not a lot of respect going on with that man for his partner. Not sure about Hyerin having a crazy ex so I can’t answer on that but can you imagine Hyerin and Derodi interacting.

#68. What do they do for Valentines Day?

So first of all I think they’d be very lowkey given Vasuki’s status in two different communities (idol and royalty) and mostly based on spending the day together. Vasuki used to put his work above all which is why his quads used to fail but now he makes sure to set aside important dates especially for non bandmates such as Hyerin. Of course Hyerin has his own fans too so the same works in reverse.

So between both of them, I think they’re both super into cuddling especially after Vasuki regains his tail so they’d do that for a lot of the early evening and than they can go to a restaurant for food, one of those fancy ones where the food is fine but you go for the experience mostly… Maybe afterwards the carnival where they end it on the Ferris Wheel. They’re wearing marvel disguises btw (the hoodie, sunglasses etc).

#70. Who is the hopeless romantic?

At the beginning stages of their relationship, it was definitely Hyerin because Vasuki was a little jaded when it came to relationships. He was ready for another relationship don’t get me wrong! But it lingered a little bit. But when he gets into the groove, he becomes just as hopeless of a romantic and while they aren’t our most k-drama of pairs…. I think they’re reaching there.

[musicalpilftournament]

Pythio vs Fairy Godmother

Propaganda (Click names for full propaganda pages and other actors)

Pythio: They're a nonbinary oracle with killer outfits and a gorgeous voice and so much confidence. They are one of the main driving forces in moving the plot forward and helping out the other characters. They have a daughter, so they are a parent, but they had to leave that daughter behind because their husband would not accept their nonbinary identity - they do meet their daughter again later, though.

Fairy Godmother: Submitted without propaganda

[itsskoll]

Microraptor need smoko

can you guys watch my squab for me im gonna go on my smoko

[spoonsandsporks]

Ancient Greek custom laws, you say? :D{

Ohhhhhhhhhhh you know not what you've wrought. (Long post warning)

SO. I can finally talk about this b/c the place has been and gone and my players follow my tumblr account. BUT I DM a Theros campaign for my friends every other saturday, which is a dnd 5e setting based on the mtg cards, that are inspired by ancient greek and roman mythology and history. I, a person with a degree in ancient history and a love for making more work for myself, took this as a challenge to make the setting not just more accurate to ancient greek mythology but to ancient greek society and history as well. This led to me needing to research athenian port cities as that was a location my players were going to visit. And thus I dived into the rabbit hole of ancient athenian custom laws and got very heated about it.

Which I'll now proceed to inflict on you b/c you asked about it. :))) You're welcome

So, first of all, Athens was a big port polis. Many ships stopped at Athens while on the way to other places. Which was important b/c the sea is dangerous! Ship travel was mostly via rowing with oars or maybe sail and big boats were expensive. Distance was an important risk factor to consider. Maritime trade was high risk and high stakes. Shipwrecks were very common! If you were travelling and shipping goods by boat and it was like a week's journey to your final destination port, and your options were travel for 3 days and stop at a nearby port before continuing onwards or travel the full week across the deep ocean and risk shipwreck you'd stop at as many ports as you can afford. And yeah, afford is the key word here.

e.g: 2 days travel to Port A selling at X price might be preferable than 4 days travel to Port B selling at XX price because you were more likely to arrive at Port A intact than risk the 2 extra days at sea.

Additionally, there were some goods that were considered higher quality or in higher demand than others. Such things as wine, pottery (amphora), wood (a luxury item for fuel), grain and olive oil (essential for gyms + personal hygiene) were expensive and paid well for. Grain was the big ticket item for athens, they often struggled with grain shortages. And while amphora were big you could use them to store other luxury goods, such as the aforementioned grain, olive oil and wine, saving you cargo space and money as you could sell the wine and the amphora that held it.

So, with all that set up, lets talk about athenian custom laws and how (maybe understandably) strict they were.

So, when boats arrived at port, they had to announce what goods they carried and how much you were bringing to shore. Once you announced these things, you could not change it once you declared it. If prices on shore were bad (ie not expensive enough) and you wanted to take back what you were going to sell and try and sell it at another port that may have better prices, you had to pay a very high export tax. Equally, if prices were good, you couldn't then go back to your boat and bring out the extra to sell, you had to lug those goods to the next port.

e.g: you have 100 measures of grain on your boat. you announce that you are bringing 60 measures ashore to sell in local markets or whatever. you get to the market and prices are bad, which means you're either forced to sell at a loss OR pay a tax that is worth more than double what your grain is normally worth to take it to another port that might have better prices. OR you have 100 measures of grain on your boat. you announce that you are bringing 60 measures ashore to sell in local markets or whatever. you get to the market and prices are great! you want to go get your extra 40 measures of grain to sell for profit. you are not allowed to do that. trying to is illegal and has consequences. you are forced to accept the profit you got from your 60 measures and leave port for the sea.

Remember how I mentioned grain was in high demand in Athens? Yeah, so, illegally taking grain out of athens territory was punishable by death and was considered a very serious issue. So if you didn't pay that export tax and tried to take your 60 measures of grain back onto your boat b/c prices are bad (like in the above example), that counted as illegally stealing grain from athens and you would be given the death sentence for it.

Ships were searched heavily when entering the port (in case of a trojan horse situation where men or weapons are being smuggled in to try and take the port lol) and tax was paid by any ship entering port in order to secure berth and protection in port. These checks meant that any ship entering or leaving was well tracked and any illegal activity would be noticed. Access to a port was NOT a right and could be revoked - bans were usually on a case-by-case basis so merchants were encouraged to behave themselves.

Merchants kind of had to hedge the amount of goods they'd bring ashore before knowing the state of the market and then weren't allowed to change their position upon discovery. They just had to guess and presume based on the reputation of that port and their markets. Lukily, maritime trade wasn't done in a vacuum and talking to other merchants for news wasn't illegal or anything, as long as they were willing to share their knowledge.

Any merchant funded by a specific polis - so their ship was paid for by a government official or something - had to by law sell their imports in that polis' port primarily. So that was a something merchants had to consider as well on top of the custom laws. Sometimes it benefitted to be loyal tho! Helping out a polis with a specific goods shortage could result in long term benefits or rewards. Such as favourable exceptions to future trading or a gift of land within the polis/port itself in exceptional circumstances.

The trading process was also heavily controlled by Athens in their ports. Once declared goods were unloaded, the marine merchant would head to the trading house in the harbour to negotiate sales with local retailers. The local retailers would then sell it at the marketplace to the local populace. The retailers and merchants would all be in the same room so it was very quick and easy to get an accurate picture of what a good price was. But only once you'd already declared your goods.

If there were shortages, the rules could become a little lax. A customs counter could give certain merchants a wink and a nudge if there were shortages to capitalise on, in theory (source dubious). But if there was a significant enough shortage that drove prices up prohibitively, supplies would be bought up by wealthy port officials at a fixed price and then sold in the local markets by the state at a loss. They tried hard to prevent mass starvation. These officials would oversee trade in the markets and trading house so they would know what a good price was and what was an exaggeration. The market was often so highly regulated that there wasn't much of a scope for a 'black market' of sorts without an official knowing about it (source dubious).

So yeah! Ancient greek custom laws were very strict. We of course don't know the scope of how rigidly these laws were adhered to nor the scale of possible corruption in these laws. Maritime trade was a big risk! But grain was so important and Athens had trouble growing their own to feed their people, they had to import it and export their own quality goods to fill the money deficit. Hence, while yes their laws seem a little wild, it's understandable considering the position they were in.

(but hey take all this with a pinch of salt, most of this was sourced from old uni notes and what i could remember off the top of my head. i am not an expert! i'm just a passionate blogger and researcher trying my best with limited resources. not to mention many of the og sources were written from the point of view of the higher echelons of society, so it's important to take all these biases into account. be critical of everything you read!)

Anyway thank you for the excuse to ramble about something that was TRULY WILD to me the first time i read about it. Now you can tell your friends about athenian custom laws and bore them to tears like i did my players :D

[astrophale-and-fischl]

I love my in-system partners, send tumbl

[riverofmolecules]

These are the types of insight I can only have when I get to work from home and lay down in the middle of the day.