#such a captivating read

[mythology-void]

okay so I was doing a Research™️ about ancient Greek etymology as one does and I found some Things that made me want to Violently Claw My Arms Off please allow me to force feed you my discoveries

So there are 2 words for "not" in ancient Greek, depending on the context: ou and mē. Having introduced himself in the Cyclops episode as " ou tis", or No-man, he then stabs Polyphemus in the eye. When Polyphemus' brothers come to check on him, they say this:

"... surely no man [mē tis] is carrying off your sheep? Surely no man [mē tis] is trying to kill you either by fraud or by force?"

Right after this, after the other cyclopes ditch Polyphemus, Odysseus's inner monologue goes something like this:

"Then they went away, and I laughed inwardly at the success of my clever strategem [metis]." (pronounced mEH-Tis)

Now, there's a difference between mē tis and metis. [mē tis] (pronounced mEH-Tis with a space between the syllables) is the literal translation for "no man". Metis is a word for extreme intelligence/cunning, which is something Odysseus is famous for.

Now, there are several examples of abuse of metis/intelligence in the Odyssey, but I think the juxtaposition between [mē tis], or the concept of anonymity, and metis, or extreme intelligence, is REALLY interesting. Odysseus's adoption of the title "No-man" was characteristic of metis--it was a really smart move that simultaneously hid him from the cyclops and avoided any future consequences. It was a highly effective strategy all wrapped up in a nest little package with a bow on it.

But when he revealed himself as Odysseus of Ithaca, effectively throwing off No-man (anonymity and [mē tis]), that was characterized as idiocy--he's essentially doxxed himself, and now he's doing to (spoiler alert) get tossed around the Mediterranean by Poseidon for the next 10 years.

This is really interesting because it lets you see the parallels/codependency between metis(intelligence) and humility. When Odysseus refused to allow himself to go unnoticed (hubris) he suffered for it. BUT when he declined instant glory/satisfaction (kleos) in order to achieve the long term goal of survival, he was rewarded with Athena's favor (pay attention. This part is important).

And this situation repeats itself MULTIPLE TIMES in the Odyssey--the EXACT SAME THING happens near the end of the book, with the suitors. When. Odysseus is dressed as a beggar and the suitors/Antinious are abusing him, he ACTIVELY CHOOSES not to react--he doesn't stand up and rip off his disguise and start hollering "TIS I, ODYSSEUS OF ITHACA! FEAR MY WRATH"

No. He sits there patiently and waits. He plans and schemes and quietly orchestrates their downfall without alerting them of it. Why? Because he learned his lesson the first time this happened. He buried his rage and adopted what was, according to Grace LA Franz, a more feminine form of metis, weaving a web of destruction for his enemies that ultimately resulted in their total annihilation (see Weaving a Way to Nostos: Odysseus and Feminine Metis in the Odyssey by Grace LaFranz). His patience allowed him to win the whole prize--no questions asked, no 10-year-long-business-trip strings attached--just the sweetness of a full victory. And he is, once again, rewarded with Athena's favor--both in the battle with the suitors and in the aftermath (cleanup/reuniting with Penelope).

This really reinforces the idea in the Odyssey that Odysseus's defining characteristic is not just his intelligence--it's his ability to learn from his mistakes. He used what he learned at the Lotus Eaters Island against Polyphemus--the Lotus Eaters drugged his men, so he drugged Polyphemus. He used what he learned from Circe and Polyphemus against the suitors--Circe used false sweetness and honeyed words to lure his men into a trap, so that's exactly what he did to the suitors. His hubris on Polyphemus' island cost his whole crew their lives, so he intentionally left well enough alone until the right time. He didn't just learn from his failures--he turned them into BATTLE STRATEGY.

i don't care what anyone says that is completely totally and objectively awesome

[tototalks]

Finally got round to reading Captive Prince and so far the premise seems to be “what would happen if the ancient Greeks/ Romans met the French bourgeoisie?” and this question is promptly answered by “well clearly the French would be the problem”, and honestly, respect.

[slavhew]

jakey + dirkjake sandwiched between my organic chem notes. a poem in there somewhere

[laur-the-cat-prince]

[todaysbird]

Today’s Bird is: this pair of Eurasian Griffon Vultures (Gyps fulvus)!

[isa-sketches]

“You see?” said Laurent. “He has forgiven me for the small matter of the whip. I have forgiven him for the small matter of killing my brother. All hail the alliance.”

[voidstilesplease]

swearing is basic. at this point in my life, only a few things faze me anymore. "I hope that 200k, 55 chapters ongoing fic on AO3 that you're religiously waiting to update weekly gets abandoned by the author." LE GASP. you sorry exCUSE of a CUNT—

[vikingpoteto]

The best part of reading Captive Prince for the 100th time is imagining what's going on in Laurent's head at any given point. Everything he does has a reason and his reactions hide as much as they reveal about his character. Meanwhile Damen is doing fuck knows what out of spite and horniness.

[lucky-clover-gazette]

captive prince series to damen:

captive prince series to laurent:

[velvetdream03]

Hello everyone! Was so happy to hear a lot of people liked my book bind for captive prince. Started reading it to give it a chance, only ever saw snippets of it on tik tok and wow did I read the trilogy so fast 😂 Just wanted to come on here to post all sides of book 1 and maybe start sharing some artwork and other projects I’m doing. First time doing this so I made some mistakes but always learning ❤️ Thank you to my sis for giving me the confidence to share 😂

[martyrbat]

well maybe if you look at bernie wrightson's frankenstein art youll calm down!

[platoapproved]

Something about Armand’s detached pragmatic certainty that if he just goes and walks down the street looking helpless someone will inevitably attack him sooner rather than later. And he is not wrong.

[bogkeep]

i reread captive prince trilogy for the third or fourth time recently

[andrewminyardslawyer]

Every day I wake up and am forced to witness the most heinous interpretations of characters and storylines

[laur-the-cat-prince]

[xieliancore]

laurent of vere.