#helenus of troy

[incorrecthomer]

Helen: Do any of you know how to slow dance? Odysseus: *raises his hand* Helen: And I mean something other than doing the Macarena at half-speed. Odysseus: *puts his hand back down*

[dilfaeneas]

Receiving visions in a temple: colourised

From this

[nausikaaa]

i’ve seen a couple people make a connection between Andi and Helen in Glass Onion, and how their names might be a tie to the mythological Cassandra and Helen of Troy, but i think there’s a better link to be made there.

see, mythological Cassandra actually had a twin, Helenus. he also had the gift of prophecy, but he wasn’t cursed to never be believed or supported like she was. actually, quite honestly, he came out pretty well after the Trojan War, being one of the only Trojan royals to survive and even becoming a king eventually. in some versions of the myths he marries Andromache, or Deidamia, or even both. yep, the best of the Trojans and the best of the Greeks, and he married both of their wives.

and yet nobody really remembers him! i haven’t seen him mentioned once! certainly, nobody ever seems to clock what a threat he could have become, if he was so inclined.

just like Helen. she is forgotten and underestimated, but eventually comes out on top and gains the belief and support of the people who discredited her sister.

i just really hope it was deliberate.

[gwensparlour]

Hector: You're smiling. What happened? Cassandra: What? Can't I smile just because I feel like it? Helenus: Paris tripped and fell down the stairs today.

[epicblenderartiste]

Recreated a scene from the first chapter of my friend’s fic:

Starring Helenus, Diomedes and Odysseus.

I did end up switching Diomedes to a longer hairstyle. I think he looks darn good.

[dragonciphering]

^This but it’s Hector with all of his siblings.

[secretceremonials]

As much as it would ruin what matters about her as a tragic character, a small part of me wants a Troy au where cassandra escapes Mycenae and lives happily (as much as she possibly could, ofc she’s traumatised) with Helenus and Andromache

[15pantheons]

Helenus: Good morning!  Kassandra, checking her watch: Correct.

[moplopbool]

Priam & and the princes of Troy!

[mirefireflies]

okay i just finished the glass onion movie and something i haven’t seen anyone else mention is the names of the twins.

(SPOILERS)

helen and cassandra are greek names. both of them were known as major players in the trojan war, helen for being “the face that launched a thousand ships” and cassandra for foreseeing the fall of troy.

in the movie, just as it was for the trojan war, helen is the catalyst that sets all the bloodshed into motion — her very presence causes things to spiral and spiral until her final act of destruction. and cassandra !! in greek mythology cassandra was cursed by apollo, the god of prophecy, to be able to see the future but never be believed. she foresaw the fall of troy but no one paid any attention to her warnings. and just like her mythological counterpart, cassandra brand saw the dangers of the new energy source and tried to warn her partner but he didn’t believe her and she was ousted for telling the truth.

(the fire consuming the glass onion building at the end is even similar to the burning of troy and the ransacking of the city that followed the end of the war.) it’s such a small detail relative to the whole movie, but the sister’s names tell their stories even before we see them unfold.

[theriverpointace]

i've been thinking

[incorrecthomer]

Hector: (sharpens the sword) Deiphobus: (polishes shield) Helenus: (reading quietly) Cassandra: (weaving tapestry) Hecuba, suspiciously: what have the four of you done Hector: nothing Cassandra: just keeping busy Helenus: killing time, you know, the usual Deiphobus: yeah! Hecuba: (narrows her eyes suspiciously but leaves) Hector: Cassandra: Helenus: Deiphobus: Deiphobus: she is definitely losing her touch Helenus: oh 100% Hector: should we let him down then Paris, taped to the ceiling, gagged, furious: mmh! Cassandra: not just yet, i prefer him up there

[dilfaeneas]

Apollo leading Helenus away from Troy

[nausikaaa]

WIP Wednesday

thanks for all the tags the past few weeks @aroace-genderfluid-sheep @facewithoutheart @forabeatofadrum @martsonmars @confused-bi-queer @ivelovedhimthroughworse and @takitalks!

it would seem nanowrimo really wiped me out, because i’ve barely had the motivation to write almost anything since. but then our of nowhere i was struck with an idea for ANOTHER original story.

more info below the cut because as usual i ended up rambling

so, the new story is also about greek mythology, and my favourite Trojan twins Cassandra and Helenus, but it’s a short story told through letters from Helenus to Cassandra, going on past her death as he continues to write to her whenever something significant happens in his life. the Trojans technically didn’t have written language, but i am clearly taking liberties.

the story will span their childhood, the rift that develops between them when Cassandra spurns Apollo and is cursed while Helenus accepts his advances and is blessed, their lives during the war, Helenus’s capture and torture at the hands of the Greeks, and then his life after the war as he rises from a slave to a king and father of dynasties. seriously, Helenus is so overlooked, most people who aren’t that into the myths have never even heard of him, yet he’s over here outlasting everyone and marrying both Hector and Achilles’s widows! his grandson goes off and founds FRANCE.

so anyway, in a haze of inspiration when i was supposed to be trying to sleep, i grabbed my phone in the dark and wrote my idea for an epilogue, a single letter from Cassandra in reply, written from the Underworld. here’s it in full, it’s not too long:

Helenus,

You once told me you could see not only through time, but through space also. While we could both see the outcomes of the future, you could see the present across the sea, to far distant lands. A rare gift I am glad I did not possess. It would only tire me out.

Perhaps you can see the present in other realms as well. Perhaps you can see me now, through whatever veil or crust of earth separates the living from the dead. Don’t look at my face. Watch my hands. You wouldn’t believe the deals I had to make to get my hands on paper and ink down here.

For all I exaggerate, Asphodel is not so bad. There are no more visions to plague me, and the wound barely stings. Stop staring at it. I know you are. Pay attention.

It’s mostly just very grey down here. Mist hangs in the air, white flowers bloom underfoot, and shades chatter about you, but it’s easy enough to find a quiet spot and be left to your memories if you wish.

My memories... Brother, I saw your future whenever I looked at you. So much suffering, but so much joy, too. I got your letters. I watched you write them through your eyes, that last time we saw each other, before fate took me to my death and you to a new life.

It took some time to figure out the order they were written in, but time is what the dead have an abundance of. It passes differently here, thick as molasses yet fast as a sparrow, but don’t worry about that. Just take each day as it comes. You’ll look very regal as an old man, and your children will make you proud.

Speaking of your children, I’m flattered you chose to name your daughter after me. I don’t know why I was surprised, you always were sentimental.

I won’t keep you any longer. Give Andromache my love. I look forward to seeing you again.

Cassandra.

[gwensparlour]

I found an old (and bad) sketch of the twins and decided to re-do it I am still debating if giving Cassandra curly hair. I think it would fit, but I also like the idea of her and Helenus switching places as kids And Helenus in my head has straight hair They have the same complexion. Cassandra's paler because she spends most time inside and Helenus has a tan for the opposite reason

[littlesparklight]

Chapter title: Kassandra and the God Chapter: 1/7 Ships: Apollo/Kassandra, Helen/Paris, Helen/Menelaos, Kassandra & Helenos (and others, more minor)

Summary: Apaitesis : "If on the one hand you are willing, I request; while if you are not willing, I demand back." Andokides, second oration.

It’s been five years since Helen and Paris stepped off their ship in Troy, and now – finally, yet far too soon – there are black ships uncounted on the horizon.

Yet it is Tenedos that has been made to suffer first, for no obvious reason. All of Troy and beyond watch the smoke staining the sky and now have to reckon with what the fleet on their shores mean. Kassandra’s attempt to gain insight she’s been hungry for years to have access to, in a wish to know and to be able to help, has disastrous effects. Helen and Paris, meanwhile, have to face what their decisions and actions have led to, and what they will lead to from hereon.

The decisions made here will lead to the end.