#i'm interested in history and want to major in anthropology and study ancient cultures

[seesiderendezvous]

🎓

[reushq]

hello admins! i have a worldbuilding question that might be diving in too deep too early but i'm just curious: if someone were to be interested in the "classics" in this world (and the greco-roman world like homeric myth etc are out), what would the "classics" be? egyptian mythology? nordic? mesopotamian?

The question that made the admin group chat stop mid-writing, Greek-chorus style: ohhhhhhhhh. So. Short answer, people in Gaia can definitely have anthropology/history/archeology degrees that study former cultures. However, while their past would predate greco-roman myth, it would still retain the geographic & culturally symbolic lines these myths were created in. So it moves back vertically, rather than switch over to the next pantheon. (Other pantheons are represented in this universe, but they are further away than Gaia. Obviously, your character can also major in studying a different region’s pantheon).

In sum, Gaia’s ‘classics’ are much older than ours - but, on the plus side, their past left many more traces than ours did. You can take loose inspiration from civilizations that preceded - and found their continuation in - ‘Classical’ Athens (we can totally link you some sources for fun, if this comes up after the game begins). But we highly recommend you make up your own myths when writing a character that would study Gaian history. These can be based on primordial theories we hinted in our lore, but it can also involve you filling in the pieces on what people might’ve believed - and left behind - if our history was as continuous and unbroken by disasters as Gaia’s. (Were there wars? Yes. But they were so old and happened on a such a small case on the continent, they really didn’t destroy much). 

Basically, you can have fun going as in depth as you’d want! If it’d make sense for your character to know that, then we’d love to collaborate with you to introduce it as an (older, perhaps outdated) part of our lore. 

Long answer, just in case this is closer to what you were looking for (and because I cannot shut up about this topic to save my life).

This being said, they wouldn’t have a ‘Classics’ period as we see it, since Classics are one of the many academic subjects created for practical purposes (similar sites, similar source material, easier to organize a department) rather than because something declares they must be grouped together. Like, it totally makes sense to think of them as Classics in a system organized as ours, but many cultures don’t have something they hold as the be-all end-all ‘classical’ stage (or, if they do, it’s much more fraught than that). To study the Classics in universe different than ours (even if it wasn’t one ironically based on their myth) is like trying to navigate British/American dictionary differences in an alternate history. Like, sure, they may be there - but why would they be? And why would they take the shape we expect?

What we think of when we (often anachronistically) construct Ancient Greek religion & culture are actually a series of civilizations with their own customs, rituals, artifacts and figures of worship. It starts from the Neolithic and continues well into the Roman Empire, and long afters its death/separation into the Byzantine. (Not to mention so many “accepted” definitions & theories were a shorthand for 19th century beliefs, and a lot of them are being rewritten as we speak). So, why aren’t there any other ‘Classics’? Why is there not an Irish ‘Clasical period’, starting from Bronze Age Britain and assumed to continue well into the days of King Arthur? Because the way we constructed the Classics as a unitary Greco-Roman system is  a product of modernity. Which isn’t bad! It’s very human of us. Happenstance - they were there, they were super cool, and we wanted a name for them. But 'greco-roman’ customs are really just a portion of history: segmented and occasionally replicated as all history is. We were simply lucky enough to find proof on how their echoes reflect each other across millennia. But who’s to say those differences wouldn’t be starker if we had more material? Or perhaps they wouldn’t be attributed to Greco-Roman spaces at all, but to the entire cradle of civilization from the Mediterranean to the Caucasus. Who is to say...--

Anyway. On to skeleton posting, I think!    

[thekillingmoonmoon]

Hello, Moon! Thank you so much for the nice reply :,,)

I’ve been doing better, recently, after quite a dark time - thank you for asking about it! I’m really curious about your future projects, now that you mentioned them - the more scandalous they are, the better! I'm here for that and anything else you publish, honestly :)

Regarding Thrash Unreal .. Wow. Okay. That fic was tough to read (reader’s feelings and pain are so vivid!) but I loved it. Even though I have a weak spot for sweet, playful portrayals of Gojo, this rough, harsh one was very good too.

Moving forward to my username, I have to say your assumption is wrong, but only partially! My @ is actually the transcription of an ancient Greek word, ἀτένισις - which means “visual tension”. I don’t want to delve too deep into the issue and bother you, but I definitely extracted it out of its original context (some Byzantine medical text, I believe) when I chose it. Something about it stuck with me, etymologically and conceptually - and this ultimately led me to impulsively choosing it as my user. I definitely attached some poetic, obscure meaning to it that wasn’t there in its original purpose .. Not very scholarly of me, I know. Sigh. I have an obsession for the eye and its symbolisms, for vision both as a metaphorical and practical concept - I guess that's where the idea came from.

So, you got the name wrong - but your reading of it is amazing too! I love it :) what you guessed right, though, is that I like Mythology and History of Religion quite a lot - even if I’m surely not on your level. Because of my past studies I am a little more knowledgeable about Greco-Roman mythology than any other particular field - but I can definitely say it is a subject that interests me very much, across all cultures and places of the world! In fact, I almost chose Anthropology, History and Religion as my major (Greco-Roman Literature was a close call, too). I noticed the mythological reference in your profile picture .. Selene and Endymion, am I right?

Ramblings aside, I want to thank you for taking your time to answer me so kindly and for the recommendations you gave me! I’m happy my words were able to uplift you a little bit. Take care of yourself and take your time with your work! Be safe and have a good night/day/whenever you’ll read this :)))

Hello hello Let me just say, I got such a stupid smile on my face when I read your ask >_< you're so sweet and also a Mythology lover <3 hsgfl

I'm so so sorry to hear that you have recently gone through a rough time - I'm here if you want to drop in for hugs and tea whenever <3 I'm so pleased to hear that you're doing better though!

I'll probably start dropping hints about the new series in the last two weeks of December, because I am so stupidly excited >_<

Also - Thrash Unreal - phew, that fic was a bit of a rush, really. I wrote it in one sitting, listening to the song that inspired it on loop (it's so heart-wrenching, ugh) I prefer writing Gojo as the slightly empty, unhinged man, who is burdened with being a 'god', who cannot trust anyone (thanks Geto). And I imagine that this version of Gojo would not be a kind lover, as a form of self-preservation.

Don't fret about 'bothering' me, especially when it's about ancient languages, mythologies and texts - I'm fascinated by things like that, and thanks to you I learned a new word/concept. The eye and it's symbolism is really interesting - I'd love to hear about certain aspects that attract you! (don't worry, I also hear cool words with ambiguous meanings and get overly attached - think "eunoia")

Okay, so my spheres of knowledge consist of Norse mythology, Graeco-Roman mythology and a little bit of Celtic mythology. My university course focused more on Middle Eastern and African cultures and it was so interesting! our lecturer is this eccentric guy who taught us in German, Dutch, Ancient Egyptian, Hebrew, and Assyrian? nevermind that the class was in English LOL. So basically any and all knowledge about the ancient world is welcome this way >_< Before the pandemic, I was sort of a spare part in the Ancient Cultures Department, because I was there often, but I wasn't a post-grad in the department. And yes! It is Selene and Endymion! My blog is basically a mess of references to music, mythology and movies >_<

Thank you so much for this message, I've really enjoyed chatting to you! Take care of yourself and feel free to drop by whenever <3 (especially to ramble about mythology and anime)

Lots of love and tea and hugs to you <3

[metvmorqhoses]

I saw your original answer to my reply and wondered why you deleted it and responded with a much shorter and perhaps untrue response. I only say untrue as you said, "I find the concept and need of sharing spiritual beliefs outside ourselves one of the lowest aspects of human culture tbh." which could be true but I'm not sure you really believe it. If only because if people never shared their beliefs there would never be mythology. Part 2 coming.

Part 2: As for what captured my interest in your blog, I originally found it by searching up Apollo and Artemis relations, and found your input on the mythos interesting. You may publish my questions as you wish or reply to me via messenger. Either is fine. Peace for now.

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actually my two answers meant pretty much the same, i merely rephrased in a form that, after a bit of thought, felt truer to what i wanted to share. i now see that probably my second version could be easier to misunderstand and rather obscure, as short sentences often are.

you asked at the same time a really personal and a tragically hard philosophical question, moreover to someone who focused her studies precisely on those subjects and that is therefore inclined to delve deeper.

when you ask me about my "beliefs" or "religion", i am wildly tempted to ask you in return what "spiritual beliefs" and "religion" even are. what i intend for them is probably hardly similar to anything you might intend for them, as i think should happen to anyone with real spiritual sentiments anyway. how can you even begin to understand what i think, if we don't even agree about what we are talking about? a settled, static, scientific definition of human religious impulses to this day is yet to be found. in this field, scientifically speaking, everything is a matter of opinions, and on a personal level... well, obviously it should be even more so.

and so to answer you i both needed a dissertation and to do exactly what i truly dislike, wearing the intimate as a plume of the hat.

it's actually funny you mentioned mythology anyhow. you see, there's a huge difference between the making of a religion, the dynamism, the life of it (indeed a form of sharing, but fundamentally a process that, in my opinion, was principally an artistic act at its truest core), and in people ruminating on the same "artistic products that long ago somehow turned into something more and that belonged to someone else" over and over again, marrying a cookie-cutter version of them and obsessing over it, declaiming truths their different minds and cultures have twisted or anyway could hardly understand without scholar-level education (let alone feel, as something like that should be felt), ending up not even really knowing what their religions are even truly about, wearing them as badges of honor, fighting over them as one fights over a football match, weaponizing them to support agendas and propaganda... you know, the usual stuff.

at some point in history religions ceased to be a matter of that resided in the individual hearts of hearts, becoming an easily sold product for the multitudes. the majority of religions are a masses-ready to consume echoes of other people’s emotions and dreams - and those are intimate things, unspeakable and unsheareable, at least not as one can share a sentiment about a netflix show or the weather.

religion started to be so simplified in classical times and, funnily enough, those were the times in which also people actually began to question the existence of godhood (socrates, plato). but even they weren’t participating to their own religions anymore, they were merely retelling, and academically, what the ancients had created.

mythology, ancient religions (that actually are still our major religions today by the way), are believed to have started as stories, orally told. a creative act, that then became a higher form of art and maybe a higher form of sentiment. what came first, the art or the belief the art was true? what came first, the gods or the poetry about them? the religious sentiment or the artistic sentiment? the answer might appear simple, but we have evidence that it’s hardly so.

this is the anthropological dilemma and it serves me (along with this academic premise), to answer your question, because no, the sharing i was talking about wasn’t the artistic sharing of poetry on aoidoses’ lips, nor i am against artistic impulses and their consequential sharing (even if, as a writer, art often feels too personal to be shared precisely as faith is), or the making of spirituality in the cradle of human culture, i am not against the making of religions and therefore mythologies, i am against feasting over their remains, wearing their corpses. i am against the appropriation of emotions that are probably felt too easily and to shallowly by the most, because it’s easier than truly feel, and alone, facing bravely the existential dread that has followed us as a species since the beginning. i am against the influence that parents have on children regarding spiritual beliefs. i’m against wearing our own souls outside ourselves as flags, as labels. i am against the need to affirm ourselves stating our religious truths against the other, or only approving who share ours. the list goes on and on.

and yes, i do think that the world would have been better off (and still would be) if we had the social custom of not sharing such things, not sharing ourselves so much, too much i dare say, and automatically, to whomever asks. i do think it is “one of the lowest aspects of human culture”, this need of overexposure, the normalization of sharing a thing so personal as a spiritual belief. and as normally as one would share one’s age or nationality, discussing it with a bit of timidity and a bit of temper as one discusses politics. it’s not the same thing. i find it repulsive.

i definitely didn’t answer you with something untrue by any means. i wonder why you thought it in the first place tbh. i was perhaps just trying to avoid a dissertation on why i wasn’t going to answer you, a dissertation that actually turned out very incomplete and that means very little in the face of the vastness of what i think on the matter.

i hope i clarified your doubts.

[ashley-elysium]

Hello so I'm thinking of majoring in anthropology but im still undecided about it. Can I ask you why you got into anthropology? I think its interesting.

hi! so sorry for replying late, this got lost in my notifs! I fell in love with anthro while in community college. i took forensic anthro and biological anthro in the same semester and just found my niche. i’ve always wanted to study other cultures and how other people view the world. i’ve loved archaeology and ancient history since i was a kid (hardcore ancient egypt phase, especially mummies). anthro is such a broad field where you can find something you enjoy in any subdivision. i just love how i’m able to incorporate all my interests in anthro and have a community of peers that are also passionate about the same things. your peers may even be interested in other niche topics that inspire you to take another route! pls feel free to message about what interests you in anthro and i can help find some resources to help you decide! thank you for messaging, hope you’re happy and healthy (: