#scamandrius astyanax

[katerinaaqu]

please. everything you know about hector and andromache i will give you my soul

Hahahaha don't worry Anon I am not harvesting souls this time of year 😆 Let's see what we can do about this couple which arguably reminds criminally underrated to this day given how Hector is being mentioned mostly in his fight with Achilles while his relationship with his wife remains to the background forgotten. Not to mention the criminally underrated factor that Astyanax, their only son was born, no matter how one sees it, in the middle of war. The baby was too young in the events of the Iliad (whether one takes the interpretation that Astyanax was a toddler or an infant) that means that his birth happened amidst that bloody war and siege. No wonder that his existence seems to be an oasis of peace in this whole fire of war.

So here goes!

Arguably the most ancient source of these two is Homer's Iliad and rightfully so one of the favorites of the world. Andromache appears with her husband for the first time in rhapsody 6 in Iliad where she begs him basically not to enter the battle reminding him that his son is there and tells him that "he doesn't pity their son" because she fears his piousness shall be his doom. There we have arguably the most tender scene in the entire Iliad where Hector plays with gis son in his hands and of course we also have Andromache's half-prediction on the poor child's fate through her fear. However from that scene we get some background information on her and how she and Hector got married. Basically her father's name Eëtion and where she lived before (beneath Placus of Thebes in the kingdom of Cilicia, a kingdom close to Troy by the way. Not to be confused with Thebes in Greece or Thebes, or Guaset of Egypt). Andromache also informs us that she had 7 brothers there that were killed by Achilles (something that Strabo also makes a note of).

For the marriage itself we have one representation from the poem written by Sappho. In fragment 44 we hear how Andromache arrives at Troy dressed in purple and wearing golden bracelets silver wine cups and ivory (indicating rich gifts for the wedding) while the Trojans accompany in chariots and carriages with encourages and all. In the poem I believe is said "Hector and Andromache, their love pure as the gods!" So the atmosphere is outmostly festive and joyful while the wedding itself is said to be out of love. The wedding seems to be widely celebrated and in a way ideal for its time; marriage out of love with a brave young and handsome prince and a beautiful and crafty woman (we know that Andromache like Penelope also weaves in Iliad) and two of them are said to be loyal to each other to the end.

Also according to Malalas she was tall and blonde while also Dares the Phrygian agrees. Ironically on the accounts of Ovid Andromache is "too tall" presented almost like a disadvantage while he says "only Hector refers to her as small" so might as well have some cute interaction with them if Hector was indeed taller than Andromache and referring to her as "small" while Andromache usually tall for a woman seeing as a disadvantage with her husband is not a problem.

Of course we know that Hector and Andromache had one son Astyanax or as named by birth Scamandrius. However later sources like Dictys Cretensis names another son as well named Laodamas. That child was apparently spared by the Greeks and not killed and stayed with his mother. Tzetzes is also making commentary on that. Ironically it makes no sense in that way why would the Greeks spare a son of Hector like that (unless Laodamas was born after the fall of Troy) but either way he is mentioned to the accounts of Dictys in Trojan War Chronicle and is mentioned as part of the conspiracy that follows after the consumption of marriage of Neoptolemus with Hermione. In that version also Hermione appears bitter why Neoptolemus would prefer his concubine over her lol

Anyways back to the main couple;

Their marriage was by every account ideal. Both Andromache and Hector were loyal to each other, both capable to their respected fields (war and household) and their marriage was out of love. Andromache was also honored for her loyalty even after Hector's death. In fact when in Aenead she is questioned whether she still remembers her husband or if his memory was erased "within Phyrrus's bed" Andromache laments her fate and speaks on how forced she is. By accounts she is happy again only when married to Helenus who is Hector's brother because she finally finds peace at her own kin but even then she seems to hold her loyalty for her husband since by accounts she keeps making offerings to a cenotaph dedicated to Hector.

Either way their story is tragically linked to the war. Even after their marriage Andromache loses plenty of her own under the sword of Achilles when he plunders her kingdom and Hector loses plenty of his brothers during the war and of course his own life. Both characters are mostly known for the events of the war or the consequences of it. Like most myths involving Hector revolve around the war and for Andromache about her story as war prize and concubine of Neoptolemus and how she gives him sons that eventually take over his new kingdom of Epirus such as Molossus who gives the name to the omonymous greek tribe of Epirus. Both seem to have the ideal marriage that ended up the most tragically.

[deadbaguette]

“Then glorious Hector kissed his darling son

and took him in his arms to rock and cuddle”

- The Iliad 151, Wilson

[nobodyofithaca]

I'm not immune to Odysseus raising Astyanax/Scamandrius

A mix of me joking to my partner about "what ifs" regarding this alternative and tumblr telepathically knowing to send posts my way regarding the same subject matter lead to this being made.

Athena's goodbye coming sooner than anticipated as well lmao.

The reason why I chose Zeus is because I imagined it takes place during "The Horse and The Infant", with Zeus listing all the reasons Odysseus should NOT take the baby,as Odysseus straps the lil one to himself,nonchalantly.

"He will burn down your house and throne"

"Oh just that? Aight bet,what's a little arson from a little rascal-".

[deathnguts]

As much as everyone loves the ‘Odysseus raises Astyanax’ AU what about Hector raises his own baby AU because he was a good father a good son a good husband and he deserves to see his baby more than just once in at least one other universe

[spineless-lobster]

IM NOT GONNA CRY IM NOT GONNA CRY IM NOT GONNA CRY IM NOT GONNA CRY IM NOT GONNA CRY IM NOT GONNA CRY IM NOT GONNA CRY IM NOT GONNA CRY IM NOT-

[crownedcupcake17]

Grabs you by the arms

Did you know? Did you know Hector, with his handsome face and brow clutched his son? Did you know that he removed his great helm to press kisses to the boys crown? Did you know Hector told his lovely Andromache, go to your handmaidens and do your weaving, leave all men to their fate at the call of the war, me especially? Did you know she mourned him as he walked the great streets of troy for his fate was sung long ago, to die for the city he so loved? Did you know he gazed into the eyes of his foe, godlike Achilles, and asked only for his body to be returned to his high father Priam to be buried? Did you know he faced the best of the Greeks bravely even when he swore his skin would serve as feed for his dogs? Did you?? Did yo-

[itsabouttimex2]

What do you think would make Odysseus a yandere?

I think it would happen right after he drops Scamandrius from the walls of Troy.

That little baby, already so loved that he had inspired a nickname from his father, his people- “Astyanax”, detailing what he; as the firstborn son of Troy’s heir apparent, was set to become- king, ruler, overlord.

And Odysseus kills him.

Not because he wants to, but because he is, at the end of the day, just a man. A selfish man who loves himself and his soldiers and his home, but not nearly as much as he loves his son and his wife.

The only thing that breaks him from the harrowing thought that a like-minded man might be doing the same thing to his own son miles away is a broken wail cutting through somber silence.

Odysseus turns, feet heavier than his heart, hesitant to see not what, but who he already knows is behind him.

Andromache running towards him. He sees her, wrapped in loose white robes, arms held close to her chest, tears running down her face, closer and closer to him- barefoot and broken.

And realizes that she’s not coming at him, not coming for revenge or catharsis or some measure of score-settling, but instead she’s headed for the rim of the stone wall that her son was dropped from, intending to plunge the same misty heights and fade into the swallowing vale below.

She leaps in a blitz of white silk, looking so much like an angel descending that Odysseus nearly misses his chance to reach for her in a sort of awe- though her enthralling beauty pales in comparison to his Penelope, it spurs him to try and catch the grieving wife, mother, queen.

The Itchacan king reaches for her hands and snags a bundle of white instead, accidentally tearing it from her grasp and leaving her to plummet without whatever had been so dear that she would take it to the grave held against her heart.

And after the shock has worn off, after his soldiers have moved from wide-eyed gasping and into solemnly shaking their heads at the waste of good life, after Polites calls for him to please come down and come back to the ship, Odysseus takes a moment to unwrap that little bundle with a heavy heart.

Another child, even younger than the first, blissfully asleep in spite of the carnage and ruin around them.

This time, there’s no god or soothsayer or prophet to chime in his ear an order or command, leaving Odysseus on the edge of a very welcoming ledge, contemplating his decisions as the soldiers below grow anxious at the grief in their captain’s eyes.

Polites coaxes him down again, this time even more gently, so the king wraps you back up and heads for the stairs.

His second-in-command waits for him at the beach, having paid last respects to both Andromache and her beloved son, both wrapped in a tattered sail and covered in rocks to keep all but the most determined of predators away- he and his brothers-in-arms did what they could, and even now spill wine in the sand around them.

It’s not much, but they did their best. That’s all any man can do in this situation.

Eurylochus doesn’t like the haunted look in his captain’s eyes, how his fingers twitch around the bundle of cloth, how he can’t bear to look at the impromptu grave of two innocent souls.

Nobody does.

But the deed is done, the blood is spilled, and dawn breaks soon. There’s no time for questions, no time for further delays. Home is waiting.

Six hundred families are waiting for six hundred tired soldiers, hoping to welcome them with open arms and settle for boring times.

So there’s no hesitating or comprehending or deciding. The bundle doesn’t protest, and neither do his men. No one questions the impromptu addition to the crew.

A living reminder of all the children they orphaned, even if indirectly. Bringing you along is a form of penance that none confess to wanting.

Odysseus holds the infant close as he returns to the ship, wood creaking under the boots of soldiers boarding in lockstep, heavy as his conscience and heart.

…he’ll need to think of a name for you.

[lyculuscaelus]

The Trojan War, for Odysseus, starts with the dropping of an infant, and ends with the dropping of an infant.

[yourlokalescholar]

Astyanax lives AU doodles!

[k3lerse]

Astyanax, Lord of the City.

Hmm revenge time! Au where Astyanax lives design.

[theriverpointace]

this might legitimately be the funniest i've been, ever

[sawyer-sterling]

High King,

Astyanax

Forever

Left in the underworld

[perroulisses]

did y'all knew that there's a fish whose scientific name is

Astyanax Aeneus

and there's also other species of Astyanax

[catcas22]

Maedros in Troy AU

Long, long post about my very niche obsession. Original AU by @sweetteaanddragons can be found here.

Every so often when I'm listening to EPIC, my mind will play six-degrees-of-Kevin-Bacon and I'll end up back at this AU. This particular addition was inspired by my remembering that Achilles was a redhead (Or maybe strawberry-blonde, idk enough about the Greek language to say for sure. His son was a redhead, and he once went by the alias of "the redheaded girl.")

The morning after the sack of Troy is a somber affair, even, surprisingly, amongst the victors. The surviving Achaean princes limp their way back to the feet of the horse, finally able to take a headcount. Odysseus and Ajax the Lesser are missing, Neoptolemus is nursing a nasty leg-wound, and less concerning but equally inconvenient, Menelaus and Helen have absconded to Sparta to start their second honeymoon.

Neoptolemus, in particular, has been having a day. First he got paired with Odysseus, which he has come to learn means he's going to be acting as the muscle while the Ithacan takes the credit. Then Odysseus was granted the honor of ending Hector's bloodline, and Neo couldn't even say anything because the order came directly from the mouth of Zeus. (Odysseus already took his father's armor. Could Neo not at least be allowed his vengeance?) Then Hector's woman took a swipe at him with a dagger, which Neo handled quite easily, then a madman burst out of the crypts and nearly cut his leg off, which presented a bit more of a challenge.

The princes compare notes, slowly piecing together a picture of The Stranger who carved a bloody swath through their armies and then disappeared as quickly as he materialized. Finally, Eurylochus says what everyone else has been thinking (fearing). Towering in stature, redhaired, wearing armor that turned their blades and wielding a sword that pierced through bronze like soft clay? They all know who that sounds like.

Yes, the others reluctantly admit, The Stranger is most definitely the ghost of Achilles, returned from the grave to once again punish them all for the sake of some personal slight. (Neo can't stop thinking about the look in the man's eyes, that look of pity or maybe disappointment before he left the youth bleeding on the steps of Hector's tomb).

Diomedes is the only one to object. Aside from Neo, he was the only one to get a good look at The Stranger and live to tell about it. That wasn't Achilles. In fact, he made the man bleed, so he wasn't a ghost either. No one else seems convinced.

Neo confirms that Odysseus went into Hector's tomb alone, and only The Stranger emerged. Sage nods are exchanged amongst the other princes -- Achilles must have returned to avenge his old comrade, Greater Ajax. But then why would he kill so many Achaeans after presumably taking his vengeance on Odysseus? (Agamemnon scoffs. As if Achilles ever needed a reason to be a pain.)

Then a messenger arrives, breathlessly announcing that Ajax the Lesser has been found. Specifically, he has been found dead by a blow from The Stranger's magic sword, lying at the feet of a toppled statue of Athena.

Now that's clearly an omen of some sort, though no one can agree on what message to take from it. Athena is Odysseus's patron, but is the toppled statue a sign of judgement or of disrespect? Does this have anything to do with The Lesser's cousin The Greater? Nestor suggests consulting the Trojan oracle Helenus. They left the boy tied up on Agamemnon's ship after Odysseus finished with him, and he was still alive the last time they checked. Perhaps he can interpret the omen.

This plan only makes it as far as the beach, where the gang discovers that both the oracle and Agamemnon's flagship have been stolen.

Suddenly it all makes perfect sense. Diomedes explodes -- yet again, Achilles is punishing them all for the sake of his feud with Agamemnon. The High King sputters out a denial -- he and Achilles were square when the man died. His conscience is perfectly clean. He still looks as if he is actively having a heart attack.

Nestor attempts to intervene. Diomedes shouldn't jump to conclusions... But if Agamemnon knows of anything that might have brought a vengeful Achilles back from the grave, he really should tell them. They promise they won't be mad.

Agamemnon has the horrible, sinking feeling that this might be about the fact that he took a leak on the ashes of Achille's funeral pyre. But he's certainly not going to admit to that. Wounded or no, Neo has a good couple of inches on him, and the kid is built like he strangles oxen for a hobby. He has that same twitchy look in his eye that his father always had.

This man cannot have been Achilles, he insists, and Agamemnon is going to bring back his head to prove it! (No one else is willing to set sail while the son of a Nereid might be after their heads, and Agamemnon is quite sure that they're one more bad omen away from sacrificing him to appease Achilles. It's what he would do, were he in their position.) Eurylochus and his crew quickly get pressed into service -- they need a captain, and Agamemnon needs a boat. And don't they want to avenge their fallen king?

Neo insists on coming along, much to Agamemnon's horror.

Maedhros isn't ready to panic just yet. Disorienting as that first night was, he's now fairly certain that he knows where he is. He's on the eastern side of the Sea of Rhûn. This is an inland sea, and the climate and general look of the people suggest that he's somewhere south and east of Dorwinion. He's a long way from home, to be sure, but at least he knows how to get back. He takes a moment to privately curse that storm Maia for dragging him so far out of his way.

He's fairly certain that the woman he rescued is the baby's mother. At least, she seemed very relieved to have him back. So if he recalls the storm Maia's threats correctly, that would make her the prince's widow. The others seem to tentatively consider her to be in charge, and she's at least attempted to communicate with him. Maybe she can help him get his bearings.

Unfortunately, she doesn't speak any of the Easterling tongues he learned from Bór. That's not terribly surprising. Rhûn is a land of many nations, and this particular clan must be rather isolated if they're still casting weapons out of bronze. That's fine. He might not invent new languages on a whim as his father did, but he does enjoy learning them.

The golden-haired girl hasn't stopped watching him. She looks away with a pained expression every time he catches her at it, but even now he can feel her eyes boring into the back of his head. He saw eyes like that once before -- the first time he saw a mirror after Thangorodrim.

The others give her a wide berth, though she does nothing apart from sit curled under the mast, arms around her knees. During their flight, she broke from her stupor long enough to lead them to this ship -- the same ship where they found the prisoner who Maedhros assumes to be her twin brother. It almost seemed as if she knew where...

But that would be ridiculous. She couldn't have known. Maedhros rather forcibly shrugs the notion off. They're twins. He's seen Amrod and Amras do far stranger.

On his first night, Maedhros was too preoccupied to look up. Even had he chanced to look at the sky, the smoke of the city's burning would have blotted out the stars. He spends the following day tending to the wounded, despite having nothing but torn clothing and seawater, and offering what comfort he can, despite speaking not a word of their language. When the sun sets, he forces himself to stay awake. One look at the stars will give him his heading, and from there he can plan the route home...

Oh. Maedhros doesn't know those stars.

Maedhros is beginning to suspect that he isn't in Rhûn.

More coming soon, by request of @sweetteaanddragons !

[helpmeimblorboing]

Sometimes I like to sit and imagine that the reason baby Astyanax didn't cry at Odysseus' appearance is because he instinctively associates war-helms with his father.

Even when Odysseus takes him over to the balcony to drop him, even as his mother cries out at the sight of him in Odysseus' hands, he doesn't cry, because his father is right there with him

[the-gentle-jellofish]

Th story of the son of prince of Troy, Astyanax...

<3