The Iliad & Odyssey from Argus’ POV 😭💔

This is generally thought to be a Euripidean invention, and could have been a step too far in terms of final act drama for Athenian audiences.

This aspect of the story has become one of, if not *the*, most well known.

It shows how myths were malleable and ever-adapting.

In one variant or another, they were said to have been placed among the stars as constellations.

Καταστερισμοί (Katasterismoi) is Greek for “constellations”.

Happy St George’s Day. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Little is known for certain of his early life but according to tradition, St George was a Cappadocian Greek (Cappadocia is in modern-day Turkey) soldier in the Roman army and even served in the Praetorian Guard under Emperor Diocletian.

April 21st is the day typically assigned to the founding of Rome, all the way back in 753BCE.

So happy 2777th birthday to the Eternal City!

A lot of us are likely familiar with the story of Romulus and Remus, the mythical brothers who founded Rome in the 8th century BCE.

But you may not have heard of Lycastus and Parrhasius.

We’re likely all familiar with centaurs - the upper body of a human attached to the front of a horse. They’re one of the most recognisable creatures from mythology.

But how many of you have heard of an onocentaur?

On this day in 217, emperor Caracalla is assassinated, age 29.

At just 10 years old, he was elevated to co-emperor with his father Septimius Severus, as Commodus had alongside Marcus Aurelius a few decades prior.

Helios, god of the sun. In later antiquity he was conflated with Apollo and associated with other gods of light and fire like Hephaestus.

But he has several counterparts in other regions’ pantheons.

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was declared emperor of Rome in 218CE, aged just 14.

In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, which contains over 250 different myths, only 3 stories are separated across multiple “books” (what we would call chapters).

Phaethon, Perseus and Glaucus.

Today in the UK it’s Mother’s Day!

Gaia (earth), Rhea (mother of the original six Olympians), Demeter (mother of Persephone) and Leto (mother of Artemis & Apollo) were all associated with motherhood, despite the ancient Greeks not identifying a singular “goddess of motherhood”.

After the death of Commodus in 192, there were 36 emperors (legitimate or otherwise) over the following 92 years. A time known as the third century crisis.

For perspective, during the 100 years before Commodus’ reign there were only 7 emperors.

When Peleus left Aegina for Phthia he took the Myrmidons with him, who eventually followed Achilles into battle in the Trojan War as the most feared unit on either side.

Aeacus, by way of two of his sons, Peleus and Telamon, was also the grandfather of two of the Trojan War’s mightiest warriors - Achilles by Peleus, and Ajax by Telamon.

Only the ants of the island survived and when Aeacus asked Zeus for help, Zeus transformed the ants into armed soldiers to serve Aeacus. Their name as the Myrmidons is derived from the Ancient Greek for “ant” - myrmex.

The Myrmidons were an ancient tribe originally from the island of Aegina.

According to Ovid, Hera sent a plague to the island to kill its inhabitants as their king, Aeacus, was a product of one of Zeus’ many affairs.

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If you’re a fan of these things, let’s connect!

🏛️ Mythology
🏛️ Ancient History
🏛️ Folklore
🏛️ Classical Studies
🏛️ Ancient Greece
🏛️ Ancient Rome
🏛️ Ancient Egypt
🏛️ Norse myths
🏛️ Gods, Demigods, Heroes & Monsters
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