#Xenophon

[sexytummyache]

For my master's degree, I've been learning Ancient Greek and during this quarter we're reading Xenophon's Anabasis. It's a lesser known piece of ancient literature. Basically its about this guy Cyrus gathering up an army to challenge his brother Artaxerxes for the throne but losing. Its got gossip and fighting and lots of petty stuff. Super fun and I have been joking it could be a musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

So I start to wonder if there ever have been any cool adaptations of Xenophon's Anabasis and when I look on Wikipedia I learn that in 1965, author Sol Yurick adapted Xenophon's Anabasis into a book called Warriors which reimagines the story to be about New York City street gangs. In 1979, the book was adapted into a film by Walter Hill.

On October 18, 2024 (one week from tomorrow), Lin-Manuel Miranda will be releasing a concept album with Elisa Davis which is based on that movie.

I just want to say that I called it. Nobody has ever called anything this hard in the history of calling it.

[h0n3ym00n333]

our first project of the new term is to translate xenophon's anabasis - this is our first time translating and analyzing a much longer text in ancient greek, but i'm really excited!! <3

[beautyarchive]

Deborah Van Valkenburgh in The Warriors (1979).

[jeannereames]

Ancient Horsemanship, Cavalry, and Alexander's Bucephalas with Dr. Carolyn Willekes.

So this interview was a ton of fun, and is perhaps the longest yet, as we roamed all over various topics. Carolyn called Alexander the OG Horsegirl for the win! She also shows a picture from a medieval manuscript of Boukephalas with a unicorn horn and a peacock tail.

[galusandmalus]

tbh i kinda see how the byzantium/ greeks saw persian magi as sorcerers and magic in general originating from persia like Xenophon talks about omens and sky darkening when persia invaded the Median empire, and it looks like the persians timed their attack during a eclipse that's pretty badass. and he clearly doesn't understand what the fuck is going on.

[philomaela]

Xenophon: Don't you know how to steal, Cheirisophos? You're a Spartan, don't they fucking train you to do that? Cheirisophos: Should I ask you how to embezzle public funds, since you're an Athenian?

[raihanijulie]

[ LEMNISCUS GUIDE BLOG!!! ]

☆Reading until end of blog will be much appreciated!!! (Psst, theres a discord server link i slipped in btw....)

Picture below isnt accurate with tumblr bc this was made for instagram post.

You may be wondering... "What is Lemniscus? Why do you keep mentioning it in your posts?"

TO BEGIN WITH, Lemniscus is one of the planets in this universe with Ribbaniuns the living beings in it! The population of Lemniscus consist the various anthropomorphic animals.

And thats where we begin sharing the story and contents of these characters by the name LEMNISCUS! You could say Lemniscus is a series/project my friends and i worked on together!!! (We took Lemniscus bc we literally only focus on this planet... No else.)

#Lemniscus -> tag used for Lemniscus related posts :3

SEE ALSO: Lemniscus Timeline

Lemniscus doesnt have a main plot honestly. We are just putting in characters in Lemniscus and let them live their life💥

Ah... So then, "Who are the characters? Why do they look like the characters from Sonic series?"

THIS. is a good one to explain and i reallly want you guys to keep in mind with this!!!!

Yes! The Lemniscus cast does look like the characters from Sonic the hedgehog because they do take the design and traits inspiration from them! BUT! The personality, backstories, interractions, lores, all of those... We worked and develop on it ourselves!!! (Theres similiarities still, but its only SLIGHT!!! Theres some differences when compared)

Thats why this is NOT counted as Sonic au, instead, its their own universe and story! The Lemniscus cast are original characters/ocs based on existing character that later we develop so they wont look EXACTLY like the existing char they took inspiration of!

I could say that this universe's origins of making is basically 'based on Sonic'. Throughout time, there are improvisasion little by little as we worked on building chars and stories, making it their own thing :D!! So, again, Lemniscus and Sonic are two different thing... I appreciate yall's understanding. I dont want any miscommunication between Lemniscus and Sonic franchise! <"3

The original characters belong to their respective owners <3 (Keep in mind we are 4 person putting our characters in ONE and worked together in this)

Alright!!! Now INTRODUCE THE CAST/CHARACTERS!

As in the main characters! Here ill list out the characters name with their profile links AND respective owners too! Get to know each of them by clicking their names:

Hz Railstar, Alora Quinn, Victoria Opal, Ezra (JULIE/HANA!!! ME!!! :D HOIHOI!!! I link you guys to my chars' masterpost in tumblr hehe,,, its more detailed!!!)

Gausberto, Nova, Puffin, Xenophone (Hani! NOTE: She doesnt put much infos of her characters, i'll most likely be the one to share the infos through source from her she is my own sister after all Infos about Hani's chars are most likely in the discord server!)

Aero and Noire ( @m3tr0n0m333 )

Rambutan Stoneheart ( @cherriosblog )

.

OH!!! But thats not it!! Theres more infos i'd like to share....

Slowly but surely, we noticed our Lemniscus contents dragged people to start being curious about it, even interested with the series/project we worked! Of course, with a warm welcome, we opened a discord server, ☆LEMNISCUS (Hz Universe), for the little community we have :D!!!

The server is a great place for you to learn more about the characters (bc again, SOME of the Lemniscus cast here are explained alot more in the discord server instead!) and LORESSS obviously! Its even easier and you can keep on track whenever new things are shared by us :)

The characters arent only the ones shown here... In fact, there are more than you think. Yes! Im talkin bout the side characters! Theyre mostly explained and digged alot more in the server soo....

Hop in and join to get more familliar of Lemniscus!! ☆

.

This must conclude the blog. Thank you everyone for the consideration and supports of this little project we worked on! <3 I, the one to start all this fun chaotic universe is very grateful that i'd make it this far by sharing contents of these silli cast, not only me, but by you dedicated supporters and friends that worked alongside me ☆

Live, laugh, burn Hertz!🔥🔥🔥🔥

[fewbiuebg]

To mathate prwtoi, stis panellhnies 2025 DEN tha pesei apospasma apo ton oikonomiko toy Ksenofwnta.

Na exete ena yperoxo vrady.

[mithriel-of-mithlond]

Ephraim ti Horn, you're speaking from my heart.

[star-spangled-bastard]

I have not drawn by boy Xenophon in an eternity so here's one to start the new year like I used to do

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Man of Myth :: @Mythos_Man

* * * *

“For in everything that men do the body is useful; and in all uses of the body it is of great importance to be in as high a state of physical efficiency as possible.”

— Xenophon

[lilacsareinteresting]

Kyphon?

Kytchu VS Xenophon

[hermitslibrary]

unexpected epithets of artemis: lygodesma and orthia

artemis lygodesma: willow bound (Λυγοδέσμα)

artemis orthia: upright (Ὀρθίας)

─── ⋆⋅ ☾⋅⋆ ───

it seems that artemis lygodesma and artemis orthia are both epithets that are connected and that were worshipped separately. pausinias connects the two, writing:

"they call [this image of artemis] not only orthia but lygodesma, a surname of artemis whose statue had been found by the brothers astrabacus and alopecus under a bush of willows (lygos) by which it was surrounded in such a manner that it stood upright (orthos)." (pausinias)

for information on how to interpret this mythology and the willow bound aspect of artemis, i found something fascinating from carla ionescu's dissertation titled "the enduring goddess":

"[claude calame]... states that in the ancient world the plant was used for anything from wicker work and perfume making, to medicine, and all other ritual purposes. the lygos/agnos plant has flexibility as it can be made into rope which can bind, and its medical qualities encourage menstruation and lactation."

artemis was worshipped to for safe and happy childbirths (the oxford encyclopedia of greek and roman religion, page 239), and had epithets / aspects specific to her function as a midwife and fertility goddess (she was assisted her mother during apollo's birth in most interpretations of the myth; the artemis of ephesus was likely a goddess of fertility). this mythology about the willow tree could be another element of this aspect of her as a goddess who presides over childbirth and procreation.

"by clinging to her ancient roots she maintains the wilderness, the violence, and the freedom of being a nature goddess. at the same time, in wearing the mantle of her responsibility in greek ritual she exhibits the qualities of nurse, saviour, and mother. these attributes can be clearly seen as she is revered both as protector and as terrifying enforcer. artemis is the embodiment of opposites, duality, and the paradox of protection and punishment." (the enduring goddess)

the willow tree is a neat metaphor for this paradox - both part of the radical force of nature and a sturdy source of support, both indicative of the "wild" that destroys us and a source that can be used to support us through something as vulnerable as childbirth.

"... it is only logical that artemis preside not only over rituals that involve healing, birth, marriage, and other life-giving rituals, but she must also oversee rites that involve aspects of war, sacrifice, and blood. this supports the argument that artemis is a goddess of transition and life passages, playing a fundamental role in the community of her followers at all stages in their lives." (the enduring goddess)

we've discussed artemis as a goddess presiding over "life-giving rituals"; we'll turn to her as one who oversees "war, sacrifice, and blood". artemis orthia's interpretation can be seen through the description of her shrine (check out the source, topos text, to see the modern geographical site where this shrine was located):

"ἱερὸν Ἀρτέμιδος Ὀρθίας - artemis ortheia , shrine of a bloodthirsty spartan goddess near sparta in lakonia peloponnese."

thinking of sparta evokes the clanging of spears and the echoes of battle cries. the people coming up in this society needed to be prepared for battle and hardened to survive. artemis orthia was who they turned to to ritualize this preparation. michael gagarin wrote in the oxford encyclopedia of greek and roman religion that artemis orthia was a goddess of male initiation. he briefly describes how she was worshipped:

"adolescent boys at sparta endured a ritual flagellation [beating] at the sanctuary at artemis orthia."

for more on the background of this ritual beating, i turned back to carla ionescu's dissertation:

"[in response to violence at the altar of artemis], the oracle prescribed that the altar should be soaked in blood. the citizens selected an individual by lot who would be the human sacrifice (herodotus 1.65). this original tradition was eventually considered barbaric, and the ritual was adapted by lycourgos so that boys were scourged at her altar in such a manner that it became sprinkled with their blood. this cruel ceremony was believed to have been introduced in the place of human sacrifices. (dictionary of antiquity) according to [james] redfield (from sex to politics...), these were not boys but warriors, and instead of one of them dying they could all bleed together." (the enduring goddess)

this ritual beating has been described a few times by writers of antiquity. they seem to describe the ritual as one where cheeses are piled on the altar, and adults guard it with whips. xenophon describes this as a way of "hardening against slackness"; plato refers to this as endurance training while "stealing under many blows". (more information at from artemis to diana... by several writers.) this ritual intends to harden adolescent boys into the kind of men worthy to fight in sparta's military. it also is intended to worship artemis orthia:

"... the statue of artemis orthia, breaks natural laws by becoming heavy when not offered enough blood and challenges human taboos with its need for the blood of human kings." (from the university of warwick website)

however, interestingly enough, this ritual stuck through roman times but lost its religious character, "[becoming] a bloody spectacle that attracted crowds of spectators." (quote comes from this source)

a symbol connected with artemis orthia is the sickle - see this image of a sickle with inscriptions that comes from the spartan sanctuary of artemis orthia. according to plutarch:

"in addition to diamastigosis (ritual flagellation), the cult entailed individual dances by young men and dances by choruses of girls. for the young men, the prize is a sickle, which implies an agricultural ritual." (direct quote from aristides in four volumes, translation by c.a. behr)

however, the agricultural implication should not be the automatic assumption. firstly, "... sickles have been found in several sites and in a number of contexts..." (from artemis to diana...) the sickles that were found at the sites were not necessarily of size to be functional. sickles were also used in battle by the non-elite spartans in the army for short-range ambushes.

there is also a connection to artemis orthia, fertility, and phallic symbols:

"in order to promote fertility, spartan girls would reportedly perform bawdy dances wearing masks and phalli, according to pollux the orator." (article by toryn sudadby)

her name at sparta was orthia, with reference to the phallus, or because her statue stood erect. (encyclopedia mythica)

the phallus is especially interesting with orthia being the feminine form for the greek word for ‘upright’. some of the images of artemis herself can also be seen as phallic symbols (an example comes towards the latter end of this article by nicki baugh)

artemis orthia was a prolific goddess of sparta, here are some examples of offerings given to her and images of her from the national liverpool museums website. there's more than a thousand such offerings listed on the british museum's website.

for more sources and information on artemis orthia, check out the wikipedia page about her sanctuary.

here are the takeaways i wasn’t expecting to have:

one of artemis orthia’s key rituals was for adolescent boys coming of age. when i think of artemis, i typically associate her with women and girls, yet she seems to have had important functions of different parts of ancient greek life for both ends of the gender binary. ((there are interesting cases in ancient greek life of people that would be considered gender diverse by todays terms, but modern queer terminology usually does not fit neatly for those folks).

artemis was someone that was looked to as an assistant through major life points of transition, from rites of passage (orthia) to childbirth (lygodesma). i see artemis as someone who is at graduations, she’s there when a ballerina gets her first pair of pointe shoes, she’s there when you are making important moves towards your future, she’s there during your saturn return. i’m applying for grad schools and i’m excited to look to this aspect of her for strength and hope.

artemis was someone who was invoked for strengthening one’s physical and hardening one’s spirit to endure difficult things. while everything about the beatings was cruel in a modern lens, what i can take from them is that artemis will assist me no matter what difficult things i might be going through. i also imagined artemis as a goddess who was quick enough so that she didn’t necessarily need to be sturdy, and would have expected to see ares in this role more.

artemis embodied paradox. how can i comprehend that she was worshipped in so many ways? to embrace artemis is to embrace the spirit of “both and”. with her i will learn to embrace uncertainty. with her i will learn to consider multiple possibilities at once.

─── ⋆⋅ ☾⋅⋆ ───

[beautyarchive]

Jordan Cae Harrell being extremely cool as one of The Lizzies in The Warriors (1979).

[dijeh]

Anabasis, Xenophon

trans. Henry Graham Dakyns

[womaneng]

https://www.instagram.com/woman.engineer/