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#holding achilles quote
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Chiron: "I see the way you look at him. ..."
"... You see a version of Achilles, even he struggles to find. He looks at you the same way."
Patroclus: "Uh, 'way'? What way? What do you mean by 'way'?"
Chiron: "Exactly."
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porelarte · 2 years
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FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE + Hannibal
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icanbeyourgenie · 3 months
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The beauty in that is greater than the bitterness of his death.
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peccaberry · 9 months
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Me: *sees Volo* Ok good, good. Like what he's got going on. Great character, love him.
Me:*sees Rei* YESSSS HELL YEAH HELL YEAH THATS MY BOY DO YOU SEE THAT BEAUTIFUL MAN RIGHT THERE? FLAWLESS, BEAUTIFUL!
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Achilles, Come Down, Gang of Youths//Hold The Girl, Rina Sawayama
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soni-dragon · 1 year
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sad song of achilles quotes but with the monkies comic time
bonus closeups:
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[ID: A comic showing Macaque and Wukong from Monkie Kid. They sit in front of a bright red and yellow sunset wearing their past outfits, Wukong with a blue scarf. The comic takes a quote from The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, reading “name one hero who was happy” below them. The next panel shows Macaque thinking, and then Wukong saying “you can’t.” His face is partially obscured, and Macaque looks towards him. The next panel shows Wukong looking sad, saying “they never let you be famous and happy,” then looking up with a soft expression. He holds Macaque’s hand, then says “let me tell you a secret.” The next drawing zooms out, shows them very small sitting next to each other. Macaque says “tell me.” The next page is a drawing of Wukong with a dark purple background. There is one stream of light over him, and he sits over Macaque who is laying down and bleeding. It’s set after they fought and Wukong killed Macaque. The writing in the top corner shows Wukong’s words from the previous scene: “I’m going to be the first.” /End ID.]
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piscesmoonpress · 7 months
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Choices by MesserMoon (@sophsicle)
People make mistakes, but they also make choices. It’s important to James, that difference. He does his best not to confuse the two.
Fandom: Harry Potter Pairing (s): Regulus Black/James Potter, James Potter/Lily Evans, Remus Lupin/Sirius Black
AHHHH I am SO excited to share this bind—but first, I want to say thank you to Soph for letting me make (my first ever) author copies for this story. I'm definitely a beginner bookbinder but I truly hope I've done this fic justice <3
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The design process for this bind was probably one of my favorite parts. I decided to go with some really simple design elements in comparison to my other binds, primarily because I felt it was more fitting for the story, and I was inspired by some of the design choices made in my personal copy of Song of Achilles.
Photographed here are the author's copies, so I've held off on posting about them until now:
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(The dedications are all pulled from Soph's playlist for the fic, and each quote reminds me of that particular volume, given that there are three. Pictured above is the dedication for the first volume.)
624,188 words | 1,945 pages
Title Font: Cinzel Decorative Body: Crimson Text Headers/Capitalization/Dedication: Palatino Nova
Some elements of this bind were entirely new to me, such as the fact that it was an in-boards three piece bradel binding. It was also my first time painting edges, as well as rounding spines. Neither of these things turned out perfect, even after completing personal copies, but i did learn a lot of don't's.
One of the things that I did in the process of this bind that I LOVED was combining two different decoration styles. I've done covers that are either completely foiled, or completely HTV—but not both. For this cover design, I was struggling to figure out the best way to make the upside-down antlers on the cover pop. Adding HTV over a full foil cover was the perfect way to get the look I wanted:
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(The contrast/shininess is best pictured in the process photo on the left.)
Special thanks to both @maybebabyplease for listening to my rants about this bind since July, as well as the @renegadepublishing discord server.
As large a bind as this was, it was so so much fun to bring to life this incredible story that holds such a special place in my heart as well as the fandom's.
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f3mme-f4tale · 3 months
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something wlw! with ellie! and valetines-esque!!
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of course! my mind jumps directly to clairo :) specifically the song north (have i listened to the song twenty times today bc i have a crush? yes) & also (you) on my arm by leith ross ✧˖*°࿐
pairing: bestfriend!ellie x female reader word count: 1.3k warnings/tags: just fluff rly, mild suggestive content :3 summary: possible unrequited love (hehe), ellie is in love her with best friend, love confessions via literature, friends to lovers
Ellie was overwhelmed. She felt the emotions racing through her like a waterfall. She could practically imagine feeling her friend's warm hands on her thighs, and she was paralyzed with uncertainty. For the first time, she was unable to turn a blind eye because she was afraid of what it all meant. She was starting to have serious feelings for her friend.  It didn’t help that you would give her various homemade trinkets, such as the ceramic dish that you painted to look like her cat or knit beanies you just kept making.
So when you had handed Ellie a box wrapped in newspaper for her last birthday, dated from the day you met two years prior, that’s when Ellie knew she was a goner. As her fingers slid under the taped corner, careful not to rip the paper (to which you told her to hurry up), she felt like kissing you right then and there.
She imagined a hot summer day with you two together. Her hands wandering all over your body in an intimate moment as you both shared the summer heat together. The scent of sweat as she felt the hot touch of you. Ellie had always felt comfortable with her best friend, but now this was crossing the line. 
She wanted to take you to parties, adorned in a tight dress. She wanted to watch you curl your hair, hold your hand as you fell asleep beside each other. Ellie could picture pinching your cheeks, hearing you giggle in response. And god, did she love your laugh. Your eyebrows would furrow together, your head thrown back and hair a mess.
With Valentine's Day just around the corner, Ellie wanted to make something that showed deep appreciation and an understanding of just how much she cared for you. So when you had revealed to her two weeks ago one of your all-time favorite books – Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller – she was set.
Ellie spent the last few weeks learning how to bind a book, how to weave together an intricate cover, and how to make paper look old. She also spent days reading your favorite books, looking for the perfect moment to pull a quote from them, that she would then include in the card for the book. She spent so much time on the book that it was becoming an obsession, and she wasn't sure if she was ready to actually give it yet. 
Written on the inside cover, Ellie inscribed “In the darkness, two shadows, reaching through the hopeless, heavy dusk. Their hands meet, and light spills in a flood like a hundred golden urns pouring out of the sun” in black ink, trying her best to heart the I’s like you like her to. She hopes it's not too cheesy, too overbearing. 
Ellie’s face was smashed against the unmade bedspread, her vision impaired slightly, with her hand beginning to lose feeling. The pin pricks shot up and down her arm, the nerves screaming at her to move. The bed linens, which held your scent, were causing her heart to race. You were face to face; her eyes scanning your features. A stray piece of hair fell over your nose and moved slightly with each exhale. The other girl wanted desperately to reach out and push it behind your ear, and before she could stop herself, she was doing exactly that. 
She struggled to stay centered – the real word fading away. Her eyes took in the beautiful curve of her friend's hips, the soft skin of her arms, and the way she curled her fingers against her own cheek as she sighed in her sleepy daze. The scent of coconut shampoo tickled her nose, not wanting to leave your peaceful figure. As if on cue, your eyes slowly open, a yawn capturing your mouth. You gaze at her curiously, feeling her hand on your face. You flash her a toothy grin, making Ellie blush a deep crimson.
“Hi,” you whisper, the sunlight pouring in from the window behind you. It was pushed partly open, not a single car rumbled down the street and the birds were just beginning to wake. The soft rays frame your silhouette, the dewy grass outside cold and wet to the touch.
With early spring seedlings beginning to sprout and the quietness of the wind, when everything is silent, Ellie wishes she could stay here forever. She wishes for her familiar early morning, even when the world is anything but. Everything is so different in the morning, and Ellie is determined to soak in it all.
“Hey,” she voices back, removing her hand from the warmth of your cheek. You stick your tongue lip out, the pink of your lips making Ellie’s heart swell. Neither of you meant for her to stay the night, but at some point during your heated discussion over which Beatles member was the best, Ellie had fallen asleep and you didn’t have the heart to wake her. So now here you were, squashed and tangled together on your full sized mattress, a thin blanket encapsulating both of you. 
“Got somethin’ for you,” Ellie mumbles, sitting up and stretching her arms. Your eyes selfishly stare at the patch of skin that becomes visible when her shirt rises slightly, the band of her boxers tight against her hips. You drop your gaze quickly, hiding your guilt with the safety of the blanket. 
“Els, you didn’t have to get me anything,” you reason, not wanting her to feel pressured to get you anything. After all, you were just friends. Close friends, sure, but that didn’t warrant an exchanging of gifts on romantic holidays. However, Ellie was a lovestruck lesbian and you had already made her a small present last month. 
As Ellie handed you the leatherbound object, you stared at her in confusion, forcing yourself to sit up. You were awestruck by its perfection. The stitching, the color, the engravings. Nothing about it was off-putting or made it look like it was done hastily. It was meticulously crafted.
"This is incredible!" you said excitedly, looking up at Ellie with a wide grin on your face as she looked down nervously, fingers fiddling with the strings of her sweatpants. 
Your hands graze over the cover, opening it up to a quote written unmistakably by Ellie. As the last words of the quote fill your mind, you can feel yourself getting flustered. This was the last thing you expected, this level of detail surpassing the sketch you drew of Ellie playing guitar with Joel. You jump forward, wrapping Ellie in a tight hug, catching her off guard.
You’re sitting on your knees, arms encircled around Ellie’s front, her sitting before you and faltering before returning the gesture. The blanket falls into a pool around your bodies, Ellie noticing how the shorts you’re wearing hang loose and the soft fabric of your underwear peeks out. She has to force herself to look anywhere else, because of course you’re wearing the most lacey pair she's ever seen. You’re breathlessly reciting thank you's, which come out high pitched and jumbled, causing the other girl to chuckle. 
“Your body is against my own, our breaths mixing as one. I see no end to this feeling, just the warmth of your touch,” you whisper softly, burying your head into her neck. Ellie stiffens at this, suddenly very aware of how your fingertips are on her back and having to bite down on her tongue to keep from confessing every thought she’s ever had about you. And then suddenly you’re sitting back, inches from her face, looking at her so gently that Ellie swears she might just melt then and there. 
With a hand placed gingerly on the side of Ellie’s face, you bring your lips to hers, saying everything with that simple touch. 
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shiveringfrogspawn · 6 months
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PJO Characters at Pride
Credit to @automaticcatsandwich whom I made this with. I have not finished the books so I apologise for any inaccuracies. This ran away on me I'm so sorry
All the campers go to DC Pride together
The Hephaestus kids make the coolest floats you've ever seen
The floats are pulled by pegasi so they literally float
Nobody can figure out how those ponies are flying but hey man, stranger things have happened
Satyrs playing queer anthems on their reed pipes and campers take turns doing karaoke
The Seven are throwing handfuls of glitter and the occasional drachma into the crowds from the top of the float
They're screaming along to Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance With Somebody and the crowd is loving it
The Hunters of Artemis representing those on the asexual spectrum
The Aphrodite cabin celebrating all different kinds of love
Kids of Apollo (led by Chiron and Apollo himself) shoot arrows into the sky that explode into showers of rainbow powder in the colors of different flags
Leo is loving the attention his drag act is getting and he's pleased the arrows worked because he spent forever getting them just right
Appearances from other Riordanverse characters, like Magnus and Alex (I haven't read Magnus Chase yet so I don't have any hcs but if you have some add them please)
Hestia making sure everyone is included and loved
Percy, pissed off, holding a sign saying "Even Hera supports gay marriage* "
Piper representing all the unlabeled queers
Kids of Athena arguing with homophobes and throwing misconstrued Bible quotes back in their faces with relish
They all have fully thought-out arguments because they read the Bible in the original Greek and "JESUS NEVER SAID THAT!!"
"MOM KNEW JESUS AND SHE SAID HE WAS AN ALLY"
Rachel out there helping and doing art commissions
Rachel taking artful shots of queer couples kissing on her polaroid camera to gift them saying, "You're beautiful"
Rachel and Piper's dads funding an AIDS/Sexually Abused Queers/Queer Youth Shelter together
Nico raising famous dead queers to protest alongside them
Dead politicians that petitioned for gay marriage are horrified that it still isn't legal in all 50 states and going to protest outside the White House
Dead AIDS victims going alongside them to stand outside the White House in silence and just stare through the windows at Joe Biden who has a minor stroke seeing all the skeletons
FAMOUS DEAD QUEER SINGERS DO A CHARITY CONCERT
AND FREDDIE MERCURY IS HEADLINING CRYING TEARS OF QUEER JOY
Letting dead queers see the amount of acceptance that has risen in past years
Iris making a gigantic triple rainbow in the sky
Aphrodite dropping rose petals on kissing lovers
Raising Patroclus and Achilles to show them that their kind of love is accepted now
*as long as it's healthy, of course
This is all I can think of right now, but if you have any additions to this post, add them! I would LOVE to see what you guys come up with :)
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thranduel · 6 months
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"he is half of my soul, as the poets say." ♡
i headcanon that this happens after they defeat the elder brain and talk about finding a cure for astarion :') astarion gets pretty down about it again and kaelin comforts him and constantly reassures him that it'll be okay and that he's not a burden and he will always stay by his side. physical touch is their love language and way of comforting/calming each other down so they just hold each other for a while and then eventually it leads to these screenshots but they just smooch n cuddle and hold each other in this specific headcanon; it doesn't lead to sex because that's not always necessary for them every single time they are intimate. obviously they do enjoy it but they enjoy physical touch and intimacy in many different ways and i think that's important to talk about too <3 obviously in the actual scene where i took the screenshots, this is when you ascend astarion, but that is NOT canon in my playthrough. i just wanted to take some more sweet and intimate screenshots and i think these turned out really beautiful :) also couldn't resist the song of achilles quote hehe
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Peleus: "It does no good to reopen the wound."
Patroclus: "Your silence does nothing to heal it."
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detectivebambam · 3 months
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Andreil as quotes in my notebook
"I will love you as misfortune loves orphans, as fire loves Innocence, and as justice loves to sit and watch while everything goes wrong"
"And my hands are not clean, maybe they never will be. But they can still carry you home when you're ready to sleep"
"The seas are wide, the oceans are deep, and the demons lurk in the waters that seperate us; but nothing compares to the monster I will become if the world does not give you back to me"
"When my time comes around, lay me gently in the cold, dark earth. No grave can hold my body down, I'll crawl home to her"
"When everyone you thought you knew deserts your fight, I'll go with you"
"I was just a kid who grew up scared enough to hold the door shut, and bury my innocence. But here's a map, here's a shovel, here's my Achilles' heel"
"Crawl inside this body. Find me where I am most ruined. Love me there"
"I want to see your face and know I made it home"
"You are the stars in my dark and cold nights- shining and unwavering"
"Why should you love him whom the world hates so? Because he loves me more than all the world"
"With a heart condemned; I should love you and I swear I do"
"I am coming home to you with my own blood in my mouth. And I am coming home to you if it's the last thing I do"
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bylrlve · 2 months
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To add to yesterday’s observations about Will and how his feelings for Mike are being hammered home, there’s an insane sequence in the VR game - Chapter 4, the good stuff is from 50:00 onwards. To put it concisely: Vecna tauntingly asks Will how to get to each of his friends, then tries to get into each of their heads by targeting their weaknesses. He uses Dustin’s friendship insecurity, but Dustin ignores him because he’s watching TV lmao. He uses Lucas’s desire to succeed, and tries to tell him that his friends are holding him back. However, Lucas is on a drive-in movie date with Max. he uses Mike’s guilt over losing El at the end of s1, and Mike doesn’t even seem to register Vecna’s presence in his mind. Why? Bc he’s too busy playing D&D with the boys, trying to get his Nana impression on-point. Two dice are rolled, one red and one rainbow, and those visually wipe away the Vecna part.
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Vecna then returns to taunting Will, saying awful things about how he’s alone, his friends hate him, he’s going to rip him apart. Will’s nose starts bleeding heavily. Mike? Mike springs into action, grabs Nancy’s old white shirt, and physically wipes the blood off, getting super close to Will. His actions and words contradict what Will is being told by Vecna in that moment
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I want to note something I haven’t personally seen observed. In this play through, anyway, it goes Dustin, Lucas -> Mike. Before Lucas and Mike, Vecna asks mockingly how to get into their minds. The nosebleed happens right after he tries and fails to get to Mike. We’re then treated to a full 90 seconds of Mike getting right up in Will’s face, tenderly wiping his face clean and asking if he’s okay, serving as the ‘light’, to quote Max, that drags Will from the darkness that is Vecna, that disproves everything Vecna says.
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Is the implication that Vecna uses those tactics because that’s what Will thinks his friends’ big Achilles Heels are? What does that say for Mileven? I’d love insight from someone who’s played it.
Oh, and Mileven was low-key/high-key shaded in the Elmax section.
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@will80sbyers has posts with screenshots of the full quotes.
(X, Y)
It’s very interesting that mileven is barely an afterthought, and treated very coldly and impersonally. To get to Mike, Vecna says, and I quote “more of that game. He’s distracted. You’ll never find her, Mike. The greatest person you’ve known forever is gone because you didn’t try harder. And now you’ll never know what could have been-” only for it to cut to Mike still talking about the particulars of his Nana impression. ‘Greatest person’, ‘cool’, ‘different’, ‘amazing’, only for any guilt re: her to not move him at all. Did I mention the consultant was Paul Dichter, story editor on 108 and every s2 and 3 ep, and main writer of Will the Wise and Dear Billy?
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menelaiad · 10 months
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doesnt homer say agamemnon is fit? like godly shape? i think is said twice in the iliad
but we don't know what the gods looked like.
i go off the fact that achilles called him a 'wine sack' in book one. now, this absolutely can be a reference to the fact that he drank a fucking lot and who can blame him? [y'know he is full of wine like a wine sack. he is literally drunk in book one SDFGHJKL]
but it can also mean. in yknow modern 'slang' - dadbod. [cause wine sacks were like lil pouchy things. that were squishy and soft]
and like. being not-skinny doesn't make you unfit. and doesnt make it impossible for aga to do what he did.
skinny =/= fit/athletic/have stamina and strength w/e dadbod =/= unfit/slow/unable to fight/have great stamina and prowess
and that still holds true. and yeah, he is compared to being like zeus? having poseidon's chest?
there in the midst strode powerful Agamemnon, eyes and head like Zeus who loves the lightning, great in the girth like Ares, god of battles, broad through the chest like sea lord Poseidon. Like a bull rising head and shoulders over the herds, a royal bull rearing over his flocks of driven cattle – so imposing was Atreus’ son, so Zeus made him that day, towering over fighters, looming over armies.
there's nothing really here that we can get other than:
big chest
tall or taller than most men
girthy (okay homer???)
so he can still have a soft middle. this quote and achilles' 'wine sack' line can live together.
tldr; im a bitch and i want agamemnon to be thicc. sue me.
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presence-of-darkness · 4 months
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Satosugo playlist and brief song analysis 1/3
So I made a Satosugo playlist and here I wanted to give a brief explanation for some of my favorite songs on it that I haven't really seen anywhere also in relation to them. Analysis is under the cut.
Are you still listening by Abbie Bosworth
I’m starting with what I think is the most heart wrenching song on this playlist. I imagine this song from Gojo’s (for y'alls info my computer keeps trying to correct ‘Gojo’s' ' to ‘God’s' ' and i find that very funny) perspective after everything that goes down in s2.
“I wish I could've buried you and laid down right beside
Your life stained my clothes
Oh, to hold you, I didn't mind”
“And you're not what you say you are
But you know that better than me”
“Your life stained my clothes” is just absolutely devastating and I find that it really resonates here.
Hyacinthus by Aidoneus
I have two Aidoneus songs on this playlist, one I imagine is from Gojo’s perspective and the other from Geto’s. This is the Gojo one. 
“Wish I had taken just one second more to memorize your frame
If I’m being honest, I’d do anything to see you
Maybe in another life the universe will let me keep you
Was there nothing I could do?”
“For so long we’d withdrawn from mortality but
I had loved you because you were nothing like me”
The wondering what he could have done, how their power led to them withdrawing from mortality in a way *chef’s kiss*
Devourer by Aidoneus
And here’s the Geto Aidoneus song. I think this song really aligns with Geto at the end the JJK 0 with all of his anger, grief, and bitterness.
“Grief has made me blind
Cruel, quick, hungry
Who could blame? For I had held
The sunlight in my arms”
“I, a curse, a plague on the Earth
Human in the end”
“Light the gloam, find my Achilles heel
I will welcome my mortality
Let me go”
I chose three quotes for this one because they’re all just so good and poignant. 
Classic j dies and goes to hell p.1 by Glass Beach
This is one of my all time favorite songs and while I think it can work from either perspective it really resonates with Gojo’s perspective in the immediate aftermath of Geto leaving. 
“How could I ever sleep at night?
When you left, you left me paralyzed
Tryna keep my head above the waves
Holding out for brighter, better days”
“And I will always be your friend
So grab my hand
Take my hand, I can't do this alone”
Two slow dancers by Mitski
Mitski never fails to bring some emotional devastation. In this case I interpret this song as their reminiscing of their highschool days.
“It would be a hundred times easier
If we were young again”
“And the ground has been slowly pulling us back down
You see it on both our skin
We get a few years and then it wants us back”
Human After All by Dirt Poor Robins
This song relates to the pressure both of them were put under as the strongest and how all that weight in part led to the shitstorm that happened, especially for Geto and the depression he experienced. 
“We’d cross the rope, but our balance is a joke
We're human after all, still there's no excuse to fall”
“This mortal will, more rust than flesh
Turned by the creeping bitterness”
“We were the cause, we are at fault
We cannot draw from empty vaults
With vacant hands, we're left to ponder”
I'll be posting the rest soon but I felt it was getting a bit long! Hope ya'll enjoyed!
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mask131 · 18 days
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The myth of Apollo (3)
A continuation of these posts.
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III/ Towards the perfection of the divine
With Plato, the perception of the god changes completely. The philosopher doesn’t see in Apollo just one Olympian among others: he makes him THE god by excellence. The evolution that Pindar started now reaches its peak. Closely associated with Helios (so closely in fact that we can almost talk of an assimilation), Plato’s Apollo becomes the supreme god, the unique god, the “divine essence” of which the other deities are mere aspects of. Through the character of Apollo it is the Platonic doctrine that is expressed, in a symbolical ay. It is why, despite their ludic function, the various etymologies of the “Cratylus” must be considered very carefully (see the article “Apollo, the mythical sun”). As Apolouon, the god who washes, he represents purification of both the body and the mind, and reminds us of “Phaedo”. As Aploun, he highlights the link between unity and truth, and reminds us of “Parmenides” and “Philebus”. As Aei ballôn, he who always hits/reaches, he is infallibility and perfection. As Homopolôn, the simultaneous movement, he is harmony – as musical as celestial, the harmony of the spheres and the celestial bodies ; and we think of the “Timaeus”, or of the myth of Er at the end of the “Republic”. The respect carried here for the religion of Delphi is not a passive submission to the tradition: piety becomes the foundation of metaphysics. In this context, we can understand why Plato violently rejects the image of a lying, grudge-bearing, bloodthirsty Apollo as he appears within Thetis’ speech in the fragment of Aeschylus’ “Judgement of the Weapons” (quoted before) – a fragment which was preserved only because Plato denounced it within his “Republic”.
Prepared by Pindar, ensured by Plato, the greatness of the god, now the incarnation of the divine unity, will now definitively impose itself. The killer of Achilles, Koronis or Cassandra is now far away: with might now comes moral perfection, and unity replaced multiplicity. It is what Plutarch means when, during his list and comment about the various explanation of the mysterious “E” inscribed in the temple of Delphi, he finally concludes that it means: “You are”.
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IV/ The Roman Apollo: politics and religion
We know the famous sentence of Horace: “The conquered Greece conquered its fierce vanquisher” (Epistles). The history of the Greek Apollo within Rome illustrates this line. It is true that we have to account for other influences that nuanced and “filtered” the Delphic presence and adapted it to the mentality of the Roman people: the Falisci beliefs and rites, the Etruscan legends and cults, the fact that the Cumae Sibyl originally belonged to an ancient chthonian goddess… But we can still easily follow a clear progression of the god. Beginning of the 5th century BCE: Tarquin the Superb (Tarquinius) sends two of his sons to the Pythian oracle. 433: a temple is dedicated to Apollo on the Field of Mars. 212: The first “ludi Apollinares” are celebrated. The 2nd of September of 31 BCE: Octave crushes in the waters of Actium the ships of Antony and Cleopatra under the sight of Apollo, who is honored on the promontory that dominates the entrance of the Ambracian gulf.
From this moment on truly begins the entrance of Apollo within Latin literature. (Ennius, Naevius and Lucilius all evoked him, but in a shy and discreet way). Octavius, who will soon be called Augst, cleverly organizes the propaganda. He has a rumor spread according to which Atia, the mother of the new sovereign, conceived him with Apollo. The victory of Actium becomes the “miracle of Actium”. In the year 28, a temple is dedicated to Actian Apollo on the Palatine Hill, right next to the palace the prince had built for himself. On the cuirass of August’s statue (the one found at Prima Porta), Apollo is depicted riding a griffin with a lyre in his hand, while facing his sister Diana, riding a stag and holding a quiver. Apollo, after being the one who caused the victory, becomes associated with the work of peace, the “Pax Augusta” – for he is the god of harmony.
The authors participate to the Augustinian work. Already, well before Actium, in the year 40, in his fourth “Bucolic”, Virgil was announcing the rule of Apollo. Within the “Aeneid”, Apollo plays a major role: it is him that gives to Aeneas and his companions the order to regain the land of their ancestors. He is also Aeneas’ protector, and just as beautiful as the Greek poets painted him: “ the god walks on the yokes of Cynthia, his flowing hair softly pressed with foliage and crowned with a gold diadem ; ad his arrows rustle on his shoulder”. He finds back all of his old functions: he is a prophet, a musician, an archer and a healer. He is “the greatest among the gods”. As for Horace, he opens his “Carmen Saeculare” by an invocation to the two children of Leto – the “Carmen Saeculare” being sung on the 3rd of July of the year 17 BCE for the celebration of the secular games organized by Augustus: “Phebus, and you, Diana, queen of the forests, luminous jewel of the sun, you, always adorable and always adored”.
During the episode of Daphne, in the first book of his “Metamorphoses”, Ovid does treat the god with some disrespect. Apollo is vanquished by the child-Cupid that he disdained. Overtaken with desire for Daphne, he hopes to be able to unite himself with her, “fooled by his own oracles”. He gives her a very eloquent speech, that the nymph refuses to listen to as she flees away from him. And right as Apollo is about to reach for her, Daphne, turned into a laurel tree, escapes him forever. However, if we look at the way Ovid treats the gods in the entirety of his “Metamorphoses”, we do note that Phoibos-Apollo has a more important role than the others. The others gods are not presented with any kind of dignity and do not seem to fit their ranks: they are only seen embroiled in romances or taking part in petty quarrels. On the contrary, Ovid’s Apollo, just like the one of Virgil, has all of his Antique functions – he is an oracle, he is a medicine spirit, he is a musician, and to all of this is added the art of the metamorphoses, an art pushed to a level of science. He is the god of harmony and of light. His identification with the sun which, throughout the previous century was sometimes clear sometimes underlying, is here expressed with no hesitation in the speech Ovid gives to Pythagoras. With the Augustan Apollinism, the depiction of the god shifts to a solar theology, that the successors of Augustus will all make use of. The god of Lycia, the god of the wolves, is forgotten. Apollo is now the figure of light, the harmonious and perfect spirit, and it is as such that he is now forever imprinted in our cultural subconscious.
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