#xenoi

[alatismeni-theitsa]

In "KAOS" nothing is anything, and everything is wrong

Two disclaimers: I am no stranger to modern art, and I have no issue with queerness in shows, or in my own mythology (I'm Greek). I am also aware that KAOS is a comedy. It's in the gutter of British comedy, but still part of the genre. At least I laughed every time they said "Oh God!". I don't believe this is the same person who wrote the great and amusing "End of the F**king World"! The premise of "The gods in our modern world" appeals to me a lot, so that wasn't my problem either. My general issue with KAOS is its horrible delivery, bad writing, and piss-poor Greek representation.

This is gonna be long and full of stupid gifs, so sit comfortably, grab a coffee or some popcorn and... pame!

The "ILoveGreekMythology" Kid

Art without context is just a pretty thing to look at. Most of the time, this context can be found within the art piece itself, as the artist has taken care to weave it in. KAOS refuses to connect itself to any context besides the names and a few vague powers. It aims to exist outside of those "boring old stories of the Greek myth" and be entirely "fresh and modern". Something impossible when the entire show and the meanings are based on ancient recorded material. In other words, KAOS is so meta that it ends up being nothing. KAOS cannot stand on its own because you need more than the viewers being familiar with the Greek myth basics to pull such a show off.

KAOS tells us "See? I know all the names of the gods, and what they did, and I know all the locations, so I am qualified to tackle this". More or less like any Western kid who takes all their knowledge from PJO and Marvel and proceeds to unironically hate ancient deities and make a girlboss out of Medusa.

Here's a Greek word for you guys, ημιμάθεια, meaning "half-knowledge". Α Greek saying very well declares "Half-knowledge is worse than no knowledge". The confidence of thinking you know enough often leads you to grave mistakes whereas the humility of not knowing prevents you from touching shit that you shouldn't. When you have no idea what the original myth is trying to say and spit on its meaning, knowing a few names and locations is just smoke and mirrors. I don't believe the audience fell for that.

And don't get me started on the "subversions". A good subversion is intriguing and thought-provoking. In KAOS, every twist was hollow - Greek myth related or otherwise.

"What if Euridice doesn't love Orpheus?" I don't know, babe. What if??? What was the point of that? What did you show us? That women's stories are dominated by men and men don't listen to women, perhaps? And you chose to twist... the love story of Orpheus and Euridice to show this?? One of the best and most tragic love stories Greek mythology has to offer?? You just mocked the myth, you didn't make anything profound out of it.

The Greek Stuff (Nothing salvageable)

I was surprised to see they had a Consulting Producer (Georgia Christou) and an Assistant Script Editor (Isabella Yianni) who happen to be Greek. And I stress that because those people probably weren't hired or utilized for being Greek. We are not sure they were involved in cultural decisions because we have no evidence and because shows with no Greek elements can have more Greeks than that on their staff.

Okay, perhaps they took 5 seconds to ask Isabella about a greeting - which they proceeded to say in a wrong intonation 🙄🤌It's where Poseidon says "ya sás" in the Fates, by the way. How he said it sounds more like "for you (pl.)" than "health to you (pl.)".

Surprise! The only Greek actor present (Peter Polycarpou) has less than 5 minutes of screen time and plays the caricature of an immigrant with a thick (and inaccurate Greek) accent. He has a canteen, selling falafel which is not Greek, and Dionysus buys from him an unidentified tortilla wrap (which... is also not Greek, if you haven't caught up).

For the show they brought in actors of Maori, Nigerian and Sierra Leonean, Pakistani, Black American, Latvian-Jewish, Iranian, Egyptian, Indo-Fijian and Malay descent and you tell me it was impossible for them to seek and find an English-speaking, skilled actor of Greek descent in a show regarding Greek heritage. Sometimes I wonder, do y'all hate us so much?

They considered Greeks only to give us a simple (and wrong) greeting and a stereotype. Crumbs, we are supposed to be happy with. By the way, there are over 70.000 Greek immigrants just in the UK, usually in the urban centers, many of them students or fairly young employees in the corporate workforce. Not the largest minority but not hard to spot either.

Another plague of Anglophone shows: Almost everyone's Greek name is shortened. Yes, we know their full names but we are told that we will use the short ones. Greeks and their "long and difficult" names am I right fellas? Because saying "Ariadne" apparently requires 5 years of Greek language training, and no English word ever has more than two syllables.

Coincidentally, short names are cool in Anglophone imaginary universes and the "long" names are not. it's so strange Anglophones never make universes where it's cool for Greek names to be spoken in full hmmm... They don't even want to practice saying a whole Greek name for just 2 minutes in preparation for a show full of Greek names. And don't give me that "Greek is hard" shit when we only talk about a few syllables. If Greek kids can learn English since first grade and people here can sing English songs and spell English names, you have no excuse.

They also said the name "Fotis" means light, which is close enough but... ugh.. It's like saying Sebastian means "respect". I am not sure if they asked anyone or what their research was here. If I had the writers in front of me, I'd be like:

(This character from an all-time favorite Greek show is called Fotis)

They also made the flag of "Krete" an alteration of the Greek flag and the local Cretan flag. Which is the stupidest move, because they had to remove the religious symbol of the cross to make the flag fit the universe. These are flags created based on 1) Christianity 2) the Greek Revolution of 1821.

National Greek flag to the left, local Cretan flag to the right:

Flag of the KAOS' "Krete":

The only time they seriously took into account anything Greek, was the time when they decided to remove the religious symbol of our ethnoreligion AND (from what I could observe) keep the nine stripes?? The nine stripes of our national flag represent the syllables in "Freedom or Death". The colors are from the white foustanela of the mainland attire and the dark blue vraka of the island attire, the clothing of the Revolution fighters. (That's more of a meta explanation but the characteristics of the flag were decided during and nearly after the Revolution.)

I think I don't have to explain it more but it's not a homage to put the nine stripes in an ancient era where they have no meaning, and to replace a cross??? Let's... not replace religious symbols on national flags, okay? Thank you.

Another cultural element they changed was making everyone have a dedicated coin to pay Charon. Orpheus has Euridice's coin, "her coin", and he's meant to put it on her before she got buried. In Greek culture, any coin would do. Sorry that our culture restricts your script, dear writers. I guess you had to bend this too, in order to create a cohesive plot with a semblance of a twist.

Finally, the many "Kerberus" dogs were cute and I can understand the creative decision behind that. However, in a show full of inaccuracies, this made me roll my eyes a little. I think the showrunners know that Kerveros is not a breed of dog, and there can only be one of him because he doesn't have any other "Kerveros" to breed with. On the other hand, as demonstrated from art/writing on the internet, quite a lot of Westerners are not exactly aware of how our monsters work, so forgive my uncertainty 😅

Nothing is Anything

Every element KAOS played with ended up meaningless. In the words of a Lifo article:

“Zeus is a paranoid authoritarian dictator in mid-life crisis who fears losing his power and murders his aides to vent. Hera is a promiscuous goddess who repeatedly betrays Zeus and has mutilated mute priestesses for protection. Dionysos is a spoiled and immature zoomer who, apart from pranks, indulges in orgies with all genders. Poseidon a sadistic god of the sea, who tortures the crew on his ship for fun. Prometheus is gay and killed his lover so he could overthrow Zeus. Orpheus is a famous pop singer and Eurydice does not love him. Theseus is black and gay. The Erinyes are tough-as-nails mechs that look like they stepped out of ‘Sons of Anarchy’. The Fates resemble a three-member jury in a talent show. The Trojans are a terrorist group that acts against the gods. Crete is more reminiscent of California than the Mediterranean.”

The "River Styx" is a sea, the "River Lethe" is a lake, the gods are nothing more than spoiled humans, the Moirai are drag queens, the Cave is a club where you have to take a quiz to enter the underworld, and generally everything is modern, flat, mundane and anticlimactic. The producers aimed to achieve a work so meta that a "river" is now a concept, a metaphor, whatever you have in your heart. And those who want to see a river when we speak of a river are probably uncultured swines and don't understand postmodernism. Never mind that rivers are rivers in Greek mythology for a reason. That's not culturally interesting enough to explore compared to the new, cool approach of not assigning meaning to anything. That totally shows love for the original rich and meaningful material...

And the reason behind all this subversion? Probably the shock factor. They brought the characters to a point where they said "We have to save the world from Zeus" - Zeus! The father of gods, heroes and humans! - just because they could. It gives off a certain type of smugness that I personally don't like. I mean, I would like the smugness and cheekiness of KAOS if it wasn't a vapid and practically meaningless show. As nothing symbolizes anything anymore, we are just led from hollow plot point to hollow plot point.

If you cut it out of any cultural influence and see it as a story then it's... okay, I guess. But when you consider that it's meant to derive from certain material and it fails spectacularly, it's not a good story. It forgets its bases and doesn't play with the ancient elements at all. Disney's Hercules did it better, FFS!

Bad Writing (pt.1)

KAOS is not without recognizable themes but their demonstration is so juvenile and heavy-handed that it fails to influence a viewer of average intelligence. For instance, "Riddy" says to her religious mother "You dedicated your whole life to Hera, what about me?" Okay, KAOS, we get it. At the same time, this theme nulls itself because it turns out that Ridy's mother was right to do what she did, as she had a greater goal in mind. (And this, kiddos, is called Bad Writing, because your themes and scenes contradict each other)

The biggest theme I spotted was a criticism of religion and religious people who say "Do as I say, not as I do" and create exceptions for themselves. Only, it's not a criticism of anything real, in this case. It's a fact that some people in the clergy tend to preach peace and love and then they do harm, but we don't know, for example, that The Goddess of Marriage is a cheater and yet she pressures everyone into strict marriages. By focusing their wrath on divine beings who are not known for their hypocrisy, the creators missed the mark.

I can give KAOS props for how it handled Trojans to reflect real issues regarding how immigrants and war refugees are mistreated and blamed. I'd argue it was the only (nearly) well-done theme in the whole show because it had the least on-the-nose delivery and some genuine/serious scenes. But that's it.

More Bad Writing!

Jeff Goldblum's Zeus is shit. He'd crap his pants in an argument with a stern Greek dad/uncle his age. Is this character supposed to be intimidating? (Laughs in Mediterranean) That's not to say that Goldblum is not a good actor, but this role wasn't for him. The same can be said for the other actors, too. They are competent but they only give off the air of "The Greek gods if they lived in London, from the minds of people who think beards and body hair are an affliction". In addition to being misplaced, the actors cannot show their talent when following a script that resembles a children's book.

Why does THE GOD Dionysus have the maturity of a 15-year-old? I repeat, The God Dionysus. He's a freaking deity, and a very old one at that. He is not a teenager neither in appearance nor in experience. In our culture, he is mystical, mighty, wise. Why did they downgrade him so? Just for the plot? This is not Dionysus just because you named him so.

The dialogue rarely takes itself seriously to the point it has you wondering at times "Do people talk and behave like that?". In a comedy where everything is meant to be already extreme and parodied. Even in comedies, something must occasionally be serious so there is a healthy fluctuation in tone and the funny moments can hit you. In KAOS very few scenes treated their impactful dialogue as it should be treated.

The queerness and diversity (good elements, in general) were worse off for being in KAOS. Like, I want these elements to be there. I'm just sad about the whole situation. It's not enough that the show is shit, now you also give an additional reason for conservatives to shit on diverse and queer characters because they are part of a stupid narrative.

I'm the type of person who doesn't mind the queerness of Astyanax and Theseus being lovers in the context of this specific show but they're still the oddest pairing to me because they're from the most irrelevant myths and eras. Also, Astyanax in my mind is a baby who died tragically, for little reason if we are honest, so to bring him back and make him a love interest is... ekh.

In addition, isn't Astyanax supposed to be crippled after a fall from the city walls when he was a baby? Sorry to change subjects but the show is so convoluted and with so many issues that it's extremely difficult to stay on track with what's wrong.

To the person who thought this show was a good idea:

Whatever. Bye. I'm fucking done.

[june-sunsets]

[lessthanthreelalli]

just so all of my 12 followers know i prefer the name yunanistan to greece very strongly. that is how you say ionian girls youre so right <3

[la-pheacienne]

me an appalled greek yiayia on the left, boiling with rage in a foreign hostile environment and on the right my non-greek mutuals trying to make me accept the new reality

[beyond-mogai-pride-flags]

Xenous Pride Flag

Xenous (noun: xenosity), or simply xen: an unlabeled descriptor for those with a xenoic experience but do not define themselves under one gender term. Not necessarily xenogender, xenine, or xenic.

May be used as a quality similar to how null and neutral are used (along with positive and negative). Based on neither, both, all, and none. Not to be confused with kenous.

[transcript: two horizontal stripes pastelly colored with pinky red and orange with a yellow xenogender symbol in the middle]

[theoxenia]

Zeus guarantees all bonds of friendship as Zeus Philios and, above all, these inter-state bonds, as a sort of religious Red Cross. Nausicaa knows that ‘All xenoi and beggars are from Zeus’, a line which Odysseus himself picks up at 14.251 and which, a millennium later, was a favourite line of the pagan emperor Julian when he hammered home the point that pagans should not leave Christians a monopoly on charity. Xenia is the relationship of reciprocal hospitality between persons of different states, and both parties are known as a xenos, regardless of who is the host and who the guest on any particular occasion. To ask which is the guest is like asking which of two friends is the recipient of a good turn. Zeus Xenios, then, enforces respect for these relationships. This is why Nausicaa’s statement is tinged with the worry that the xenos may be a god in disguise, inspecting the earth, precisely as we see at Odyssey 17.485–7 when there is talk of ‘gods in the form of foreign xenoi’.

Zeus by Ken Dowden, from Routledge's Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World series

[greek-orthodox-priest]

can xenoi follow this blog?

foreigners SHOULD follow this blog. especially italians. but they are barely foreigners. una faccia una razza etc.

[liggmebols]

SIBLINGS EXPERIENCED

"Who is likely to.." (Part 1)

Siblings scott editions

words: 253

characters: 1424

BEGIN

Blake: Glad we are gathering here today to have a fun conversation with a little twist.

Mox: what’s with the twist this time.

Linus: You and I didn't discuss that twist, why weren't you telling me about it before?

Blake: Because it’s a surprise.

Blake: We are doing.. “Who is most likely to…!” 

Some smoll whiteboard pop out in front of them

Sam: This must be fun!

Jophiel: Don’t really mind this at all.

Blake: This little event is easy! All we have to do is write someone’s name on a board in which is the most likely to! Just be honest y’all.

Jophiel; Oh this is easy.

Brahm: Sure.

Linus: Bring it in!

Mark: Hm

Sam: Ooooohhhh

Blake: Mox.. The approvalll..?

Mox thumbs up as the show begins

• Who is most likely in charge of the angel realm?

Jophiel: (Mox)

Mox: (Linus)

Linus: (Mox)

Blake: (Linus)

Mark: (Linus)

Sam: (Mox)

Brahm: (Mox)

Blake: 3 for Linus, 4 for Mox!

Jophiel: At least everyone knows who is in charge of the angel realm.

Mox: Absolutely.

• Who is most likely to who didn't experienced love yet?

Jophiel: (Mox)

Mox: (Jophiel)

Linus: (Obviously Me)

Blake: (Mark)

Mark: (Linus)

Sam: (Mox)

Brahm: (Jophiel)

Jophiel: Heyyy…I have experienced love you know!

Mox: Thought you were a single pringle.

Linus: PFFt–

Jophiel: And so were you.

Mox: I know.

Blake: Pretty know Mark doesn’t experience love, right?

Mark: But- I do..

Blake: I- I’M SORRYY

Jophiel: don’t y’all even notice that I am very fruity in lore?

Mark: Well.. You weren’t that time of old ones

Blake: Oh, Mark’s right.

Jophiel: It’s my old era

Mox: Being a perfect angel our father wishes for one.

• Who is most likely the best singer?

Jophiel: (Blake)

Mox: (Blake)

Linus: (Jophiel)

Blake: (Brahm/Jophiel)

Mark: (Brahm)

Sam: (Jophiel)

Brahm: (Blake)

Blake: Brahm is actually a singer most of the time!

Jophiel: Can’t deny that.

Blake: HE COULD BE OUR TRIPLE BUDDY!

Brahm: no.. Thank you.

• Who is most likely the favorite sibling?

Jophiel: (Brahm)

Mox: (Brahm)

Linus: (Brahm)

Blake: (Brahm <3)

Mark: (Brahm)

Sam: (Brahm)

Brahm: (Me)

Blake: No question at all <3

Brahm: Why is there a heart shape beside me?

Blake: CAUSE THAT’S HOW I LOVEEEEE U!

Mox: Our father is your favorite now.

Blake: OOOOHH, Yes, yes.

Brahm: Okay then

• Who is most likely to skip class a lot?

Jophiel: (Blake)

Mox: (Blake)

Linus: (Blake)

Blake: (Me)

Mark: (Blake)

Sam: (Blake?)

Brahm: (Blake)

Jophiel: He did a great job.

Blake: Oh I Bet I Am.

Mark: No wonder I haven't seen you in class, Where were you?

Mox: Going to his ex lover perhaps.

Blake: NUH UH I just wanna go to the mortal realm just to buy donuts. It’s hard to go through there, y’lnow,? The portal was on guard and it took years to create one for me.

Mark: And that is why you won’t be skipping class because there’s a reason for that.

Blake: shushh

• Who is most likely to know Xenoy?

Jophiel: (Who is Xenoy?)

Mox: (Probably Blake)

Linus: (Blake)

Blake: (Linus)

Mark: (Brahm)

Sam: (Linus)

Brahm:(Sam)

Blake: The audacityy.

Mox: i don’t really give a fuck about her, to be honest.

Brahm: Agreed with Mox.

Mark: She was just shadowing around and that’s all

Mox: If only she could do something useful in common. We could know more about her better.

Linus: father adopted her after all.

Sam: She is the first sister and the adopted one.

Jophiel: Who tf is Xenoy?

• Who is most likely to hasn't fucked anyone ?

Jophiel: (Mark)

Mox: (Brahm)

Linus: (Brahm)

Blake: (Brahm)

Mark: (Me)

Sam: (Mark)

Brahm: (Mark)

Brahm: I can’t just do that to him.

Linus: You two have been together since a year and a half.

Mox: Besides, he’s a demon.

Mark: Wait, so you are engaged with a common demon?

Blake: Correction, A prince demon almost became a king.

Jophiel: Wheww, Lucky him.

Brahm: I don’t feel ready for him and so was he.

Sam: Were you two sharing a connection or something?

Blake: THEY WERE, SAM.

Linus: You know what I taught you. Get a condom and..

Brahm: HE ISN’T SUBMISSIVE AND BREEDABLE.

Blake show jophiel his lover’s picture

Jophiel: Huh..He does look submissive and breedable.

Blake: right???

Brahm: oh jeez.

Sam: I thought Brahm is.

Mox: you two will be ready for your honeymoon.

Brahm: That would never happen.

Mark: I don’t like having sex, that’s all.

• Who is most likely to actually have a half of braincells exist and act goof around?

-Blake and Linus

Jophiel: (Blake)

Mox: (Blake)

Linus: (Blake)

Blake: (Linus)

Mark: (Linus)

Sam: (Linus)

Brahm: (Blake/Linus)

Mark: They were such a duo.

Mox: Duo of idiots.

Jophiel: I thought we are duo, Blake 🙁

Blake: WE ARE, DON’T WORRY.

• Who is most likely powerful but doesn't know how to use their will power?

Jophiel: (Brahm)

Mox: (Brahm)

Linus: (Brahm)

Blake: (Brahm)

Mark: (Brahm)

Sam: (Brahm)

Brahm: (I don’t know)

Brahm: Tf you mean i couldn’t control mine?

Mark: The ancestors and the scrolls are true.

Blake: Yeah Brahm.. You know you are more powerful than us, right?

Brahm: I did not know.

Blake: Come on, You’ll grow bigger horns, Your rages, Emotions, Abilities, Had tentacles.

Brahm: I had tentacles?

Linus: Yep, Since you are a half demon after all.

Brahm: It’s weird. Since when did I have tentacles?

Mox: You can’t control it yet, including your sheep form.

Mark: Yeah.. according to this scroll you’ll have to take more practice and concentration about your emotions and spoilers, spoilers.

Jophiel: Lol.

Blake: Just imagine how cool it was !!

Brahm: No words.

Mox: But you just got words already.

Brahm: Shut up.

• Who is most likely to be literally high ranked but still acts like a mutt??

Jophiel: (Mox)

Mox: (Me, and i know it.)

Linus: (Mox)

Blake: (Mox)

Mark: (Mox)

Sam: (Mox, sorri.)

Brahm: (Definitely mox.)

Jophiel: You really know yourself, huh?

Mox: Works like a charm.

Blake: I guess, That’s the last question.

Sam: It was a blast.

Blake: We should probably do this sometimes!

Brahm: And telling our secret stuff?

Linus: Prolly.

Blake: Prolly.

Brahm: Prolly.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[thefirstempress]

Appendix B: the Tollesian Pantheon

As an additional aid for readers of The First Empress, I typed up a short who's who of the deities mentioned in the story. None of the gods actually show up in the story, and I basically leave it up to readers whether or not said gods actually even exist. Thematically, I want the Tollesian gods to have a similar feel to the Greek Pantheon, without directly copying them straight across.

The Tollesian Pantheon: A Brief Who’s Who Among the First-Generation Tollesian Gods —By Zahnia, the Chronicler

The Tollesian Pantheon (known as the Vestic gods among many non-Tollesian theologians) refers to all of the gods worshiped by the Tollesian-speaking peoples. Like many pantheons, the hierarchy of the Tollesian gods consists of one or more Elder Gods or Titans who created the first generation of offspring gods, who in turn reproduced to create minor gods, demigods, and mortal heroes of divine parentage.

Like many creation stories, Tollesian folklore personifies the Sun as the ever-watchful father of his children here on Mother Earth. The first generation gods, or Titans, are children of the Sun and Earth, who are responsible for the caretaking of the planet and the wellbeing of her inhabitants. And though this volume focuses primarily on Arr and his better-known descendants, modern theologians and classicists estimate as many as five-hundred and seventy deities were worshiped over the course of the Classical-era, with dozens of gods and goddesses falling into and out of obscurity during that seven-hundred-year period. Tollesian legends also mention at least thirty Titans aside from Arr, as well as countless demigods and goddesses. Not to mention giants, monsters, muses, nymphs, wraiths, angels, demons, and even spirits of personified concepts, any of which may or may not also be demi-deities.

Arr God of fate, time, destiny, Tollesianism, judgment, heaven, loyalty, fidelity Patron cities: Aneth, Arr Patuna Symbols: clouds, sundials, scales, dogs, full circles

Arr is the father of the first generation of Tollesian gods and one of few remaining Titans not imprisoned in the Underworld. Having been betrayed by his fellow Titans and forced to imprison many of them during what Tollesian theologians call the Great Division, Arr is inherently mistrustful of deities outside his family and is even more mistrustful of foreigners who follow non-Tollesian gods. Arr is most popular among the more isolationist city-states upon the Vestic Sea. Non-Tollesian theologians often suggest that Arr’s judgmental attitude toward xenoi was the religious and thereby cultural cause of many Classical-Era Tollesians’ mistrust of foreigners and foreign gods.

Thanusa Goddess of death, rebirth, fertility, mortality, the cycle of life and death Patron Cities: Pultus, Tiphilia Symbols: rabbits, flowers, beehives, eggs, vulvas, skulls, the Phoenix

Thanusa is Arr’s wife, fellow Titan and mother of the first generation of Tollesian gods. It’s not ucommon for modern historians and worshippers to misunderstand Thanusa’s role as goddess of death in Classical Tollesian theology. Earlier portrayals depicted her as a guide or guardian ensuring that souls of those who’ve died find their way to the afterlife. Around the 320s AE the first tragedies and satires came out featuring Thanusa as a callow, unfeeling villainess who cut off lifelines of those whose time had come[1]. The worst offender was whichever playwright invented that trope where the hero or heroine saves their dying loved one by interrupting Thanusa before she can cut their lifeline. Discerning whether someone knows this is a popular method among modern classicists of sorting out the semi-educated.

AndivaGoddess of justice, order, law, civilization, expansion, spread of Tollesian culture Patron cities: Andivel, Vislow, Chyllar Symbols: scales, columns, owls

Andiva is the first-born of Arr and champion of the expansion of Tollesian culture into other lands. As such, she is most popular among major cities which border on barbaroi lands. Like her father, Arr, Andiva is mistrusting of foreign gods, but unlike him encourages nonbelievers to convert to Tollesian religion, thought, and culture.

Zupor God of strife, war, destruction, warriors, physical strength, martial prowess Patron cities: Pellastor, Ryllar, Partha Symbols: spear and shield, hoplite helm, fire

Zupor is known across the Vestic Sea as the god of war and strife, and is the second of Arr’s children. Poleis which follow Zupor most closely tend to have a strong warrior caste—or at least place a special emphasis on having a well-trained force of hoplite elite.

Nyrus God of the sea, sailors, overseas trade, storms, tides, male bisexuality Patron cities: Illarra, Fildor, Tutna Symbols: orcas, waves, tempest, sailing ships

As god of the sea, Nyrus is among the more popular patron gods among costal and island poleis. Third of Arr’s children, Nyrus is also father or grandfather of the Nereids, sea nymphs equally famous for saving or drowning Tollesian sailors.

Cibades God of agriculture, farmers, planting, harvest, wine, brewing, vineyards, fertility Patron cities: Clenia, Mertal, Vindel Symbols: plow, wheat, goblet, grapes, scythe, sickle

God of wine and wheat, Cibades is fourth of Arr’s children, and patron god of polies famous for their wine or beer production and to a lesser degree of breadbasket poleis.

Kralor God of knowledge, learning, wisdom, teachers, students, critical thinking, literacy, writing, science, art, philosophy, music Patron cities: Ovec, Thornic Symbols: scroll, book, abacus, lyre, drum, quill

Though not always most cunning of the gods, Kralor is by far the most learned. Father of the Muses. In the Tollesian tradition of wholeness of body and mind, Kralor is frequently depicted as a warrior-philosopher or scholarly wrestler.

Ido and Iva God and goddess of love, romance, sexuality, fertility, marriage Patron cities: none Symbols: the heart, the lovers, roses, rabbits

Ido and Iva are twin god and goddess of love and romance. While Ido and Iva have no patron cities as such, their clerics and priests are frequently called upon during marriages and rites of fertility in towns and cities across the Vestic Sea.

Ferra Goddess of medicine, healing, physicians, health, sanitation, fertility, wholeness of body and mind, female bisexuality, same-sex marriage Patron cities: Kel Fimmaril, Noro, Ferra Arte Symbols: the serpent, burning incense, mortar and pestle, leaves and herbs, midwives

Ferra is the goddess of health and medicine and was particularly popular among smaller city-states such as Noro and Kel Fimmaril. As a goddess of fertility, theatre frequently portrays Ferra as somewhat overly prolific—sluttish, really—giving birth to nearly half of the second generation of gods, goddesses, and demigods. According to legend, however, Ferra would later marry and forsake all other lovers for her younger sister Avilee.

Suvie Deity of the wilderness, mountains, forests, jungle, hunting and trapping, natural selection, gender queerness, gender nonconformity Patron cities: Gillespar, Hastia Symbols: mountains, trees, bows and arrows

Hermaphrodite deity of the forests, variously portrayed as either a beautiful, bow-toting goddess of the hunt or as a virile, spear-wielding warden of the forests. Additionally, Suvie is the parent and guardian of such forest spirits as wisps, fey, Dryads, Naiads, and fauns.

Avilee Winged goddess of protection, defense, common soldiers, fallen soldiers, bereft mothers and widows, war orphans, battlefield medicine Patron cites: Voris, Ortenia, Aula Symbols: spear, javelin, guard dogs, shepherd’s crook, hoplite armor

Wife of Ferra and youngest of Arr’s children, Avilee is also humblest, most caring, and most protective among the Tollesian pantheon. As such, she is also most beloved among her siblings, often acting as a mediator between her more quarrelsome kindred. Early in life, upon seeing the grief and destruction caused by her brother Zupor’s war and strife, Avilee took it upon herself to protect the common soldiers and care for the victims of war, be they fallen soldiers or bereft families. She is generally depicted with great, hawk-like wings and full hoplite panoply, wielding a spear and shield or bow and arrows.

Second-Generation Tollesian Gods

Vepu God of the afterlife and the Underworld Patron Cities: Tanythe, Zunia Symbols: skulls, bones, ashes, urns

Vepu was a mortal king who so impressed Thanusa with his management skills that she elevated him to godhood to rule and organize the Underworld and its afterlife.

Arrolus God of naval warfare, warships, marines Patron Cities: Descal, Tarsa Symbols: war galley

Arrolus is the son of the war-god Zupor and a Nereid huntress named Gale.

Orova Goddess of night, shadows, trickery Patron Cites: None Symbols: bats, wraiths, shadows, blackness, the moons

Orova is the best-known Tollesian trickster goddess, a daughter of Ferra and an unknown Titan. Her favored ally is a wraith named Anache. Not necessarily evil, Orova is the most chaotic and capricious of the Tollesian gods.

Pharesthus God of smithing, mining, iron and bronze Patron Cites: Velia Cestini Symbols: hammers, ingots, anvils, forges

Pharesthus is the son of Ferra and an ancient giant named Sherto.

Clanti Goddess of merchants and trade Patron Cities: Vislow, Ortenia, Lecne Symbols: coins, purses, scales, trading galleys

Clanti is the oldest daughter of Ferra and Nyrus as well as twin sister of the god Curé. Satirically speaking, she was considered the second-most-important god of the Illaran Confederation.

Curé God of bandits, pirates, burglars, and thieves Patron Cities: Illarra, Adis Symbols: daggers, slings, raiding galleys, purse-cutters

Curé is the son of Ferra and Nyrus and twin brother to Clanti. Both satirically and literally, he was regarded as the most important god of the Illaran Confederation.

Axu God of gender assignment and gender presentation Patron Cities: none Symbols: none

Daughter of Suvie and Ferra, Axu’s primary duty is assigning humans their gender at either at birth or conception, depending on the particular theologian.

[1] Truly, the quickest way for an author or playwright to kill my interest in their work is to portray Thanusa as a villainess. This was a character who felt deeply for those who’d died—especially those who died unjustly—and whose ancient stage-masks nearly always portrayed her weeping. Portraying her as a murderess remains one of the worst character-assassinations in the history of Tollesian literature and theatre.

[alatismeni-theitsa]

I didn't create this meme but I def want to spread it 👀

[grecoromanyaoi]

i totally missed 'xenoi' discourse is this a recent thing or have people been rereading homer what's the craic

oh its just some one user who thot that like. "Nongreeks" are oppressing her

[lessthanthreelalli]

waow new splatoon lore..

[eggtrolls]

My kneejerk dislike of oi xenoi misusing the Greek alphabet for bullshit/aesthetic reasons has been challenged by one of my xeno friends getting a tattoo on her leg that just says τίποτα. yes it literally means ‘nothing’ [bullshit/aesthetics] BUT in daily conversation is used in response to someone thanking you for a small favour; it’s nothing, don’t worry about it

[transbutchblues]

i just lost a point on my philosophy test because i said φιλία means friendship and the teacher wanted us to say it meant reception/hospitality ?? that’s ζένια wtf. yes they’re linked because strangers/xenoi need to be considered and welcomed as friends/philioi but still. am i wrong or is she just weird

[crunkcommie]

my list of my fav neos that i use:

fizz/fizzie/fizzies/fizzies/fizzieself

bro/bro/bros/bros/broself

nyaw/nyaw/nyaws/nyaws/nyawself

boy/boy/boys/boys/boyself

voca/voca/vocals/vocals/vocaloidself

xeno/xenoi/xenoix/xenoix/xenoiself

holo/gram/holograms/holograms/hologramself

pika/pika/pikas/pikas/pikaself

char/char/chars/chars/chariself

typh/typhlo/typhlosions/typhlosions/typhlosionself

flare/flareo/flareons/flareons/flareonself

poke/ball/pokeballs/pokeballs/pokeballself

wine/wine/wines/wines/wineself

strangle/strangled/strangles/strangles/strangleself

and lastly

beep/bop/skdoos/beps/bapself

AHHHHB GDUDGUDHBDJ /pos I NEED TO MAKE A LIST OF MY FAVORUTES

[fluffy-sheep]

@xenoydecrow i hate you , and all of ur friends specially kai and joan and you wich its canon but im being honest i really hate you and if you see this fuck you and all of ur friends i hope u guys have a bad time and die painfully and i wish you were dead too xenoy , brahm and blake is better than you and kai so yeah im being honest Lol