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vanserraseris · 3 years

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END OF PART XI - Ok, so Eris finds out about Jesminda and confronts Lucien about it. He says some pretty not nice things to his younger brother (he gets pretty mean), things couldn’t stay great between them forever. Thanks for reading!!!

oooooh boy we’re getting into it now

Prince of Ashes. Part XI.

masterlist.

Eris stumbled when someone slammed a large hand onto his shoulder, reaching for the knife at his side as he whirled on whoever it was.

“Easy, brother,” rumbled Owain, his red hair a mess and his brown eyes on the snake-head knife hilt in Eris’s hand. Eris had to admit that he’d gotten very used to no one approaching him, let alone having someone lay a hand on him, especially if he wasn't expecting it.

Eris also figured it wouldn’t be good for anyone if he accidentally killed a new servant, and that perhaps his first instinct shouldn’t be to reach for his weapon. Eris returned the dagger to its place on the sheath at his side. “I didn't know it was you.” Owain looked troubled as he opened his mouth to speak, closing it and opening it once more as his eyes looked at anything but his oldest brother.

This sort of behaviour from Owain was unexpected, and Eris’s first thought was that something had happened to their mother. “What’s happened,” Eris demanded. The dominance in his tone suggesting it was best to just spit it out.

“Lucien,” was Owain’s response.

That one word had Eris freezing. “What’s happened,” he repeated, voice low.

“I would have just said — I would have spoken to him, but… He doesn’t,” Owain ran a hand through his hair, “He might listen to you.” Owain was usually stoic, composed. Eris was panicking slightly to see that he looked worried.

“Owain,” Eris snapped, “I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, yes, alright, sorry,” Owain lifted his chin just slightly, he was taller than Eris by a lot, but he was looking Eris straight in the eyes. “I saw Lucien in Calchas with a female.”

Eris paused, blinking once before he grinned. “I don’t really see the problem.”

Owain licked his lips, “Right, no, it wouldn’t be, not normally.”

Eris’s grin shifted, turned more into a bare of teeth, “Then why are you bothering me with this.” Eris had countless things to do, a territory to run, prisoners to deal with. He didn’t have time for whatever this was.

“The female is a lesser faerie, Eris,” there was a hint of desperation in his usually calm tone. “And he’s with her … constantly. You know how father feels about this sort of thing. If it was one time, I wouldn’t have bothered coming to you,” he awkwardly waved one of his large hands, “If someone loyal to father had seen him…” Owain trailed off. Owain hadn’t needed to finish his sentence, Eris knew very well what Beron would do if his youngest son was with a lesser faerie.

Cato’s warning from nearly two decades ago rang clear in his head — Beron wanted to make Lucien’s life as miserable as possible. Eris moved closer to Owain, his hand gripping his younger brother’s thick arm, “What do you know?”

Owain shook his head, “Not much.”

“Tell me everything.” Eris would rather know what little Owain had discovered than nothing at all.

“She’s a farm girl, works in the orchards with her family, can’t be older than three decades.”

Owain sounded like he was giving Eris a report, “Priam and Maddox have seen them as well, usually out in the fields, by the rivers, they don’t go to the city often, but knowing this court, they go enough that commoners have noticed.”

“What are the rumours?”

“Amongst the High Fae? Just gossip. No different than what they say about the rest of us.” There were always rumours surrounding the Vanserras. “I’m just,” Owain’s cheeks turned red as he mumbled, “Worried, I suppose.”

Eris scanned Owain’s face for any signs of deception. He seemed sincere, but Eris wasn’t entirely shocked, Owain wasn’t horrible. “I’ll talk to him,” Eris assured his younger brother, “But this stays between us.”

Owain nodded once, embers in his brown eyes, “Of course.” Eris gave Owain what he hoped was a reassuring pat on the shoulder, but Owain’s hand snapped up, grabbing Eris by the wrist.

“You can… You can trust me, Eris,” he said, voice low, auburn brows furrowed. “I don’t want Lucien dead anymore than you do.” Eris didn’t get a chance to respond as Owain let go of him, winnowing away with a loud crack, leaving Eris alone in the otherwise empty hallway. Eris would think on this later, about possibly trusting Owain. Owain had always been closer to Cato, closer to Maddox, but he knew they’d all be stronger together if they could all stop fighting amongst themselves.

With a shake of his head, throwing his shoulders back, Eris walked down the hall, making his way to Lucien’s room. Eris couldn’t understand where in the hells he went wrong. He’d spent decades telling Lucien not to make any attachments, not to do anything that would draw any unwanted attention, not to do anything that would anger their father. Not their father. Eris was certain if Lucien knew the truth he wouldn’t refer to Beron as such.

Eris growled just thinking about the vow he’d made to his mother nearly thirty years ago. He bounded up a flight of stairs, flames flaring in the sconces on the walls. He’d been in such a rush that he almost ran past Lucien’s bedroom door, backtracking with an annoyed snarl. He still hadn’t decided what exactly he was going to tell his youngest brother, but he lifted his fist, banging a little too loudly on the dark wood. Once Eris heard the muffled “come in,” he shoved open the door.

Lucien was lounging on his bed, shoes off, the laces of his shirt loose. He was holding a book, one that Eris had read before. “Fallon’s Fables” was painted in an elegant, gold script on the cover. It was more of a story book than an actual tome for educating oneself. It had been Eris’s favourite when he’d been young, he’d gifted his to Rufus decades ago and he wondered whether the book Lucien had in his hands was the same one.

Lucien grinned up at him, his eyes bright. “I thought you were Rufus.”

Eris slammed the door shut, locking it, “I need to talk to you.”

“Hello to you as well,” Lucien’s grin faltered just slightly, and Eris briefly thought that he should have greeted his youngest brother, but he’d already started speaking.

“Lucien, tell me right now it’s not true.” Eris was trying to keep calm, he was trying not to yell, he was trying not to get angry. He would give Lucien a chance to explain himself.

Lucien closed his book, laughed a little nervously. “Tell you what?” He questioned.

Eris’s nostrils flared. The unmistakable scent of his little brother was obvious. But among the familiar citrus, weaving in and out of that scent, was apple blossoms. Eris groaned, “Lucien, what the fuck are you thinking?”

“You’re starting to worry me a bit, you know?”

Eris could have set the room on fire. “You don’t worry about me,” Eris shook his head, “Stick to worrying about yourself.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lucien was wary now, but his eyes were still bright. “Is this one of your riddles?”

“Yes,” Eris stepped closer to the bed, a mocking smile on his face. “I’m an idiot who chooses to ignore my older brother’s good advice.”

“Easy,” Lucien smiled, just like he’d done when he was younger and he’d found the answer to any of Eris’s riddles, “Rufus Vanserra.”

“Rufus isn't the one parading around Calchas with a lesser faerie,” Eris crooned.

Lucien’s face dropped, his smile gone, Eris could practically see Lucien trying to come up with some lie. He noticed when Lucien decided to just tell the truth, arms crossed defensively in front of his chest, jaw set. “So?”

“So?” Eris wanted to laugh, “That’s all you have to say?” Eris was going to light the whole room on fire if he didn’t get a handle on his anger.

Lucien looked up at Eris, flames in his eyes, “I don’t know why it matters, most of what I do doesn’t matter.”

“Well, it does,” Eris spat. He had to remind himself to take deep, calming breaths. “Find another female to fuck.” Eris found he was absolutely horrendous at this. Even Eris thought that was crue, too cruel. He should have gone straight to their mother and asked her to deal with whatever the hells this was.

Lucien’s face unexpectedly softened, “I love her, Eris.”

Eris threw his hands in the air in defeat, “You’re not supposed to love things in this cauldron-forsaken court,” Eris was getting angrier by the second. “This court is cruel and brutal, there is no place for love in it.” It was a lesson all of them had learned, a lesson that Beron had taught them, a rule each of them tried to follow. In Autumn, a rule like that kept you alive.

“You sound just like father.”

Eris flinched, just slightly, Lucien probably hadn’t even noticed. Eris would have rather Lucien stabbed him then tell him something like that. But he would stand his ground, “End it.”

“I’m not going to,” Lucien lifted his chin, his jaw set. Had Lucien always been this stubborn?

“And I’m not going to say it again,” Eris growled, “End it.”

“What about you, then?” Lucien snarled, eyes flaring. “You and all your lovers? Everyone knows you’ve had countless.”

Eris felt his rage mounting as he waved a hand dismissively, trying to act as unbothered as possible. “They meant nothing.”

Eris felt the tips of his ears heat as Lucien asked, “What about Micah?”

“I didn’t tell you that so you could throw it in my face.” Eris snarled back, his voice low. Eris was regretting having trusted Lucien and Rufus with it now, even if they both hadn’t seemed to care when he’d mentioned that Micah had been his lover.

“I’m not throwing it in your face,” Lucien shook his head, he looked hurt that Eris would consider it. “I just don’t think you have any right to sit there and lecture me about forbidden love.”

“I didn’t love him.”

Lucien didn’t look like he believed him for a moment. “Honestly?”

Eris ran his tongue over his teeth, ran his fingers through his hair, “Honestly.”

“Cauldron, that’s bullshit and you know it,” Lucien raised his brows.

“Cauldron fucking boil me, Lucien, I was young and reckless once, too,” Eris started, probably as close to an admission of the love he’d had for Micah as anyone would get, “But I know better now.” Eris’s relationships never lasted, either because of him or because he ended them before they got too serious, before he got too invested. Micah had been one of his only exceptions, and even that had ended. Eris shook his head, “End it and court a female father will approve of.”

“Yes, because all you do is court lovely females father would approve of?” Eris knew he was being a ridiculous hypocrite, but this was different. Eris was the heir, and his father didn’t pay much attention to anyone he took to bed, and Eris had had a whole lot of practice making sure his father only knew about the females he’d wanted Beron to know about. No matter how often Eris messed up, Eris figured his father probably wasn’t going to kill him - he couldn’t afford to, not anymore.

Eris was a damn good courtier and a fantatsic fucking commander, his father would have to be an imbecile to kill him off. But Lucien wasn’t important, not to Beron. He was young and worthless. Lucien was the runt of the litter. “This isn’t about me,” Eris snapped, finally having reached the end of his rope. “This is about you.”

Lucien jumped to his feet, throwing the book from his hands onto his bed, “You don’t get to do that,” he shouted.

Eris growled, opening his mouth to speak, but Lucien wasn’t finished. “You’ve been gone for over a year, you don’t get to come back when it suits you and tell me how to live my life!” Eris stiffened, watching as Lucien waved a hand in his direction. Embers fell to the floor from Lucien’s fingers. “Don’t act like you care, Eris, when it’s obviously not the case.”

It was true that Eris hadn’t been to The Forest House in quite some time, but he hadn’t thought Lucien would be so angry at him for it, that Lucien would accuse him of not caring. Eris wanted to stomp his foot like some spoiled child, say Lucien was being unfair, that he was acting like a youngling. “Just think of the mess I’ll have to clean up when this goes wrong,” Eris snarled. “Think for one moment and you’ll see nothing good can come of this ridiculous dalliance.”

Eris knew he’d been too harsh when Lucien’s face hardened.“Get out,” Lucien spat, a strange golden glow to his eyes.

Eris scowled. “Fine then, don’t fucking listen,” he moved to the door. “See if I’ll fucking help if you get caught.”

“I don’t need your fucking help,” Lucien sneered. “I’ve lived my whole life without your help.” Eris had his hand on the doorknob, frozen on the spot, as he gasped out a choked laugh.

Turning to face Lucien, brows raised, lip curled, Eris cocked his head to the side — the words he spoke quiet. “Have you?”

Lucien’s expression changed, almost imperceptibly, almost like he regretted having said that, but he stood his ground. “Get out, Eris.”

Eris should have stayed, should have apologized, but he had never been very good at admitting when he’d been wrong. With one last shake of his head, Eris threw open the door, slamming it shut behind him.

Eris heard something shatter in Lucien’s room, he heard Lucien’s muffled shout, but he kept walking. Eris knew there were flames in his eyes, flames trailing behind him as he walked towards his study with fast steps. He could practically hear his mother’s voice from when he’d been young, urging him to tame his magic. The flames should not control you, she’d tell him, you must be the one to control them.

Eris had struggled with his magic as a child, tutors thought him too dangerous to teach, and his mother had taught him to control it when even Beron hadn’t been able to. Eris was having trouble keeping his magic controlled now, though. The temperature around him raised, the air holding some of that choking feel that his father’s magic so often had. Eris really was becoming just like Beron.

Eris slammed the door to his study open with his shoulder. The fireplace flared to life as he entered, flames wild. Eris needed to be careful, or he’d set all his books on fire. Eris took a deep breath, “I’m in control,” he muttered. “I’m in control.” He clenched his fists, the flames disappearing, “I’m in control.” Eris took another deep breath, picturing dying embers in his mind. He was going to speak to his mother, she would be able to help him.

Lucien had always listened to him and Eris didn’t know what he was going to do now that he hadn’t. Perhaps Eris would damn the consequences and drain his father’s stash of good cognac. Perhaps Eris would go to the streets of Calchas in search of some company. Or, Perhaps Eris would simply stay at the Forest House and pray this did not end badly.

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historybehindassassinscreed · 6 years

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In Game:

Marcus Junius Brutus, also known simply as Brutus, was a politician of the late Roman Republic, and one of the earliest members of the Hidden Ones, which would later transform into the Assassin Brotherhood.

In 47 BCE, he and fellow senator Gaius Cassius Longinus became two of the first members of the Hidden Ones, an earlier incarnation of the Assassin Brotherhood, after having been recruited by Aya. Both of them later met up with Aya in Alexandria, where they made preparations to head to Rome and combat the Order of the Ancients there. When Aya's fleet was attacked by Roman ships, Brutus and Cassius helped to assist her before making their journey to Rome.

Around 45 BC, many senators began to fear Caesar's growing power following his appointment as dictator. Aware of Caesar's connection to the Order of the Ancients, the Hidden Ones began leading a conspiracy against Caesar, recruiting forty senators and called themselves the Liberatores.

For some time, Brutus' dreams were haunted by a mysterious cavern that he found himself compelled to find. Eventually, he was led to discover the sealed First Civilization vault hidden beneath what would eventually become the Santa Maria Aracoeli.

As he had been assigned by Gaius Cassius Longinus as the one to come up with the plan of assassinating Caesar, Brutus designated the temple preceding the vault as a meeting place for his co-conspirators.

Whenever his fellow Assassins left after their council meetings, Brutus would explore the cavern on his own, coming across what had supposedly drawn him to the location.

Eventually discovering how to gain entrance to the vault, Brutus was struck to awe by "phantom radiance" of the otherworldly architecture, and found the "very pillars of [his] beliefs toppled." Upon approaching and activating the vault's pedestal, Brutus was shown Rome in flames; the aftermath of Caesar's assassination, which ultimately drove him into action.

Brutus would later write several scrolls describing his dreams and discovery of the vault, as well as include drawings of the chamber and its pedestal. Following the assassination of Caesar, Brutus also returned to the temple to store these scrolls, as well as his heirloom armor.

Inspired and encouraged by the visions he had seen in the vault, Brutus devised the plan for the assassination alongside thirty-nine other senators. As dictated to him by his visions, Brutus scheduled their attack for the Ides of March.

That day, however, Caesar's wife attempted to convince him not to attend the Senate, delaying his arrival and leading the Assassins to fear that the plot had been found out. Brutus persisted nevertheless, waiting for Caesar at the Senate, and upon his eventual arrival, they attacked him with the help of Aya.

The rest of senators then followed, stabbing Caesar twenty-three times. Caesar resisted at first, but resigned himself to his fate upon recognizing Brutus, who delivered the last stab to Caesar, killing him. With Caesar dead, Brutus declared that Romans were now free from the tyrant. After the assassination, Brutus was driven to severe guilt from his actions and later returned to the Colosseum, abandoning the dagger he had used to strike down Caesar within the vault, along with the armor and scrolls.

After the assassination, the Senate passed an amnesty on the Assassins, which was proposed by Caesar's friend and co-consul Marcus Antonius. Nonetheless, uproar among the population caused Brutus and the other Assassins to leave Rome. Brutus settled in Crete from 44 to 42 BC.

Eventually, armies under the command of Caesar's allies clashed with those of Brutus and Cassius at the Battle of Philippi in Macedonia. Faced with certain defeat, the two Assassins fled and committed suicide.

After Brutus' death, his followers gathered in Philippi and tried to use the Shroud of Eden to bring him back. However, the Shroud was not capable of such restoration, and though Brutus opened his eyes and moved, he did not appear to breathe, and eventually fell still in a seeming second death.

In Real Life:

Marcus Junius Brutus, also called Quintus Caepio Brutus was born probably around 85 BCE near Philippi, Macedonia (now in northwestern Greece). Brutus was brought up by one of his uncles, Cato the Younger, who imbued him with the principles of Stoicism.

In the 50s he opposed Pompey’s increasing power, but, upon Caesar’s invasion of Italy in 49, Brutus was reconciled with Pompey and served under him in Greece. When Caesar defeated Pompey at the battle of Pharsalus in 48, Brutus was captured. He was soon pardoned by Caesar, probably as a result of his mother’s influence.

Brutus became a member of the senior priesthood of the pontifices and from 47 to 45 governed Cisalpine Gaul (now northern Italy) for Caesar. Caesar appointed him city praetor (a high-ranking magistrate) in 44 with Gaius Cassius Longinus, and he named Brutus and Cassius in advance as consuls for 41. Brutus married Cato’s daughter Porcia after Cato’s death in 46.

Long optimistic about Caesar’s plans, Brutus was shocked when, early in 44, Caesar made himself perpetual dictator and was deified. Always conscious of his descent from Lucius Junius Brutus, who was said to have driven the Etruscan kings from Rome, Brutus joined Cassius and other leading senators in the plot that led to the assassination of Caesar on March 15th, 44 BCE. Driven from Rome by popular outrage, Brutus and Cassius stayed in Italy until Mark Antony forced them to leave.

(Image source)

They went to Greece and then were assigned provinces in the East by the Senate. They gradually seized all of the Roman East, including its armies and treasuries. Having squeezed all the money he could out of Asia, Brutus turned the wealth into Roman gold and silver coins, some (following Caesar’s example) with his own portrait on them. In late 42 he and Cassius met Mark Antony and Octavian (later the emperor Augustus) in two battles at Philippi. Cassius killed himself after being defeated in the first, and Brutus did likewise after being defeated in the second. Mark Antony gave him an honorable burial.

Contrary to the principles he espoused as a Stoic, Brutus was personally arrogant, and he was grasping and cruel in his dealings with those he considered his inferiors, including provincials and the kings of client states. He was admired by Cicero and other Roman aristocrats, and after his death he became a symbol of resistance to tyranny. Shakespeare found in the Parallel Lives of Plutarch the basis for his sympathetic portrayal of the character Brutus in the play Julius Caesar.

Brutus was an eminent orator of the Attic school of public speaking— i.e., he adhered to rhetorical principles based on notions of naturalness in reaction to trends toward excessive displays of emotion (of the Asiatic school)—and he wrote many literary works, all lost. Some of his letters survive among Cicero’s correspondence.

Sources:

https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/historians-miscellaneous-biographies/marcus-junius-brutus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Junius_Brutus_the_Younger

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marcus-Junius-Brutus

#Assassin's Creed #AC O #People

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clodiuspulcher · 7 years

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WOW! You guys really don’t want me to do my work. Time to answer ALL of these questions 1. ancient Greece or ancient Rome? Ya’ll.... yall should know.... this ... my URL is a Roman politician and I exclusively post about late Roman Republic political drama I’m just so much more FOND of Ancient Rome. I’m not really sure why but I got Into it earlier since I took Latin in high school and I was always fascinated by the Roman history and culture I learned in Latin which I was able to indulge once I got to college... (also Greek scares me and i’m a coward) 2. who is your favourite Roman emperor? Absolutely Augustus and this might be where I get... dissent but he truly did a lot of necessary good for Rome not the least of which was establishing an era of political peace after almost 100 years of near-constant civil war, and I don’t think the importance of the stability of his rule can be overstated. He aimed to stabilize and rebuild Rome on every level and mostly succeeded; I doubt it would’ve recovered after the especially violent last few decades otherwise. Augustus himself actually emphasized stability and continuity in his own propaganda because he knew how important that was to the people of Rome, of all classes. Speaking of, Augustus adopted measures to curry popular favor that were straight out of Clodius’s book in ways that legitimately helped + also rebuilt and revamped Rome’s infrastructure and physically improved the city along with creating a stable political environment and functional governmental system (let’s be honest the Republic was fucking dead). I’m just gonna like. Answer this question by copying and pasting the Res Gestae here lol I also think pre-Augustus Octavian is an interesting political figure which biases me somewhat and I love Augustan art and iconography, not just that of the regime but what was created during his rule in general as art and literature flourished (no but really he was... honestly the best possible outcome after Caesar’s assassination in my opinion and he actively improved / revitalized Rome in some Important ways) 3. which is your favourite Greek city-state? I uh REALLY dont know enough to choose but seeing as I’ve been reading and enjoying works by Athenian playwrights all semester... how bout athens 4. tell me about the classical ladies you love the most OH BOY. Rome has a History of important politically active women and I love all of them so let me go in chronological order with my ABSOLUTE favorites. - Tanaquil: Etruscan wife of the semi-mythical king of Rome Tarquinius Priscus, she was intelligent and skilled in interpreting omens / divining (which were considered Etruscan disciplines) and she was ambitious too. She encouraged her husband to make his fortune in Rome and helped him attain political power, recognized the destiny of their adopted son Servius Tullius through ANOTHER omen, etc. She advised and helped him throughout his rule and aided the peaceful transfer of power to Servius Tullius following his death I love her i LOVE HER. - Cornelia Africana: Daughter of Scipio Africanus and mother of two of my favorite Roman politicians, the brothers Gracchi, she remained a widow after her first husband’s death despite having people like king Ptolemy ask for her hand. She educated her children rigorously and was active in their political careers especially that of Gaius Gracchus and her reputation as chaste, noble, and austere established her as a role model for Roman women for centuries to come. - Clodia Metelli: She’s the Lesbia of Catullus’s poetry but she was also really politically involved, endorsing her brother’s wild populism and aiding and abetting him whenever she could, notably changing her name when he changed his to reflect his populist desires. She was married to Metellus Celer and tried to strongarm this conservative consul into supporting the radical Clodius whenever she could- and sometimes it worked. Clodius brags about the benefits of being brother in law to a consul and Cicero was irritated by the fact that she was so involved in her brother’s career but it makes me love her even more. - Fulvia: Yall KNOW how I feel about Fulvia but I just have to talk about her whenever I can. As Clodius’s wife she was never far from his side, to the point that it was something Cicero commented on after his death. Following his murder, Fulvia established herself as the heir to Clodius’s political role and through her marriages to Clodius’s allies, Curio and later Antony, she was able to promulgate populist legislation and continue Clodius’s work / establish his legacy so that his death wasn’t in vain (both of their laws have a more populist streak after their marriages to Fulvia). As Antony’s wife she was especially powerful after Caesar’s assassination and she fought Octavian personally when Antony’s interests were being threatened (while he fucked around in Egypt). - Porcia Catonis: I may not like Brutus but I love Porcia who proved she was strong enough for Brutus to confide in by stabbing herself in the thigh and not revealing her pain for a significant amount of time. She was steadfastly loyal and was supposedly the only woman who knew about the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar, and her suicide, in line with that of her father Cato, - Livia Drusilla: LIVIA did NOTHING WRONG and I legitimately love her so much. First the story of how she ended up married to Octavian is so... much lol but despite their scandalous whirlwind marriage they were married for 51 years, and she was one of Augustus’s closest advisors (the senate criticized him for being too under her control but you know what). Roman wives didn’t normally go on military campaigns w/ their husbands but Livia did, and she also had very public religious and political roles, she was devoted to Augustus and he “loved and esteemed her to the end without a rival”. There’s so much more I can say about her but she was as ambitious and driven and intelligent as her husband and after Augustus’s death she worked to maintain his legacy and was eventually deified alongside him - Octavia: Octavian/ Augustus’s sister, Octavia was like. truly and genuinely good she was loyal to both Octavian and Antony after she married him and she was essentially the glue that held the second triumvirate together for a time. She was directly involved in Octavian’s politics through this marriage and there’s a record of her begging the two of them not to go to war, at least for her sake; she’s the reason this tenuous alliance lasted as long as it did. She was also incredibly generous and kind, upon marrying Antony she took in and raised his kids by Fulvia and after Antony’s death she raised also his children by Cleopatra, working to provide them with good lives and advantageous marriages ... how wholesome... - Agrippina (both of them): If you really want to write about conniving devious plotting murderous women of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.... the Agrippinas EXIST. Agrippina the elder also went on her husband Germanicus’s military campaigns and campaigned herself tirelessly for the political advancement of her sons, and Agrippina the younger... oh boy ... she schemed her way into the position of empress and then absolutely annihilated any potential rival for her son even though one he became emperor their relationship was ... fraught to say the least. Anyway the point is I love women who are openly ruthless ambitious and power-hungry and they’re great. 5. what is your favourite story from Herodotus's Histories? The one where he talks about how the Etruscan nation was founded / how the Etruscans came to live in Italy- even though he was wrong about Etruscan origins and they probably /were/ native to Italy I’m really fond of and interested in Etruscan culture so I like hearing any historical accounts about them. 6. who is your favourite character from the Iliad or Odyssey? Aeneas was TECHNICALLY there during the Trojan war DO NOT QUESTION OR COMMENT ABOUT THIS I WOULD DIE FOR HIM 7. who is your favourite ancient historian? Has to be Plutarch- I know he writes history for a moralizing purpose but all the subjects of his biographies are written with a certain level of complexity and nuance and something about his writing style really resonates with me like I’ve read both his and Appian’s accounts of the Gracchi brothers’ lives and both were good but Plutarch’s brought me to tears. The first ~classics thing~ I ever read that truly engaged me and captured me was his Life of Antony which is probably my favorite in that even though he condemns Antony’s actions he gives him redeeming qualities, he portrays him and even Cleopatra really sympathetically and his description of Antony’s death... is so pathetic and upsetting it wounds me I love Plutarch s o much. 8. what are your five favourite myths? Anything that Propertius or Catullus references in their poetry is my favorite :) 9. what are your top five otps? 1. Augustus and Livia married for 51 years loved each other with All their hearts 2. Antony and Cleopatra: I love this melodramatic garbage fire of a relationship 3. Clodius Pulcher and Fulvia: PERFECTLY matched politically-minded partners who had similar goals and balanced out each other and loved each other DEEPLY HE WAS ALWAYS BY HER SIDE?! 4. Cicero and Atticus - romantically OR platonically however you want to interpret this they loved each other so much and every letter from Cicero where he talks about how badly he wants to see Atticus again, that implores Atticus to write more.... it’s really sweet and wholesome 5. I can’t believe Antony gets to be on this list twice but his relationship with Gaius Curio is so... much and like he climbed into Curio’s house through the CEILING because he was banned from the house by Antony’s dad (because he was in debt lol), and the fact that someone hasn’t made a movie or a sitcom about this yet is so... disappointing. 10. recommend a piece of fiction about the classical world I haven’t read any ancient Rome historical fiction!!! Yet!!!! But both the Roma Sub Rosa and the Robert Harris Cicero Novels come very highly recommended to me and I have to buy both of them so 11. recommend a piece of non-fiction about the classical world I really really need everyone here to read TWO biographies: 1. The patrician tribune, it’s The Clodius Biography I keep talking about it provides a really balanced and detail picture of Clodius Pulcher’s political career AND his life plus this author writes a lot fo academic papers about Clodius 2. The tribune’s sister, it’s a Clodia biography and MY PROFESSOR WROTE IT and she loves Clodia so much and she wrote so much incredible content about Clodia and this is like a Collection and Combination of all of this... yall should all read it ANd 3. if you haven’t read plutarch’s Life of Antony I think you should really read it bc you can’t UNderstand Me or My Blog without this essential piece of literature and also it has THE FULVIA LINE 12. who is your favourite poet? why? I’m going to be honest...... I did not consider myself a poetry person for the longest time. I was always way more into the politicians than the writers of ancient Rome because I’ve always felt like I didn’t quite GET poetry? But then I actually read more Latin poetry and also .... I fell in love... for real... and at that point all at once the poetry of like, Catullus, really struck me for the first time and I REALIZED. I hope that doesn’t sound too ridiculous lmao but.. I’m a romantic at heart. SO in general I really love Roman love poetry and I do like Catullus - I especially like that he was involved with Clodius and co through Clodia and was part of that circle. He references Caesar and Caelius and Clodius in his poetry, which is fun but.... my favorite poet, that I have read so far is.... Propertius for a few reasons I REALLY like Roman love elegy as a genre and Propertius is my favorite of the elegists. I like how gentle his poetry is and even though it might seem overwrought I think it’s passionate and genuine and sweet - he has big feelings?! he wants to Express them? Propertius also really likes to do the reversal of gender roles thing which is like common in Roman elegy but Propertius Especially does it wrt romantic / sexual contexts and although he does write tender and romantic love poetry it’s definitely not wholly apolitical like Propertius not only emphasizes that he’s devoting his life to love and presents this in contrast to the expectations of how Young Roman Noblemen should live / act / what they should pursue, which is an especially brave statement at the time he’s writing since he’s going against Augustus’s moral reforms, the strict societal roles promulgated by Augustus to rebuild and restore the roman senatorial class. He even goes so far as to say he refuses to have sons because they’ll just be sent out to die in Rome’s wars which is.... a pretty powerful and cynical statement and I love how bold he is about it. So Propertius combines 3 things I Really like, gentle love poetry, femdom, and political commentary on Augustan Rome 13. if you could time-travel to the classical world for a day, where would you go and why? The responsible answer is I would bring antibiotics to the Augustan court in 23 BC and save Marcellus from typhoid fever but. I just want to be able to experience in real time ONE argument between Cicero and Clodius in the senate in real time that would be so much fun and so I think that’s where’d I go and also I could potentially make out with Clodius or one of his friends after I mean I’m there for the whole day right 14. which Greek tragedy is your favourite? I’m actually in a Greek drama class right now, so I can give a legitimate answer to this question.

I would have to say, of the ones I’ve read, Ajax resonated the most with me and is probably my favorite. Aristotle said tragedy should be able to evoke pity and fear and if that’s the mark of a good tragedy Ajax is the best one of all to me. One of its central themes at least when I read it is that Ajax, having defined himself by the respect he commanded based on his military ability, by his role as an honored soldier, has nothing left when he loses this, and he absolutely falls apart. His entire identity is tied up with this single skill he cultivated and the honor he possesses because of said skill, seeing his reaction to this loss, his realization that the only thing that mattered, the one thing he had, has been destroyed and it’s /his/ fault- this hit me far too close to home. once he’s no longer known as a great warrior, to himself he’s nothing, and no one, in Ajax’s mind that’s all he has and all he was. If tragedy is meant to inspire pity and fear, holy shit is Ajax effective because I felt both instantly since his fate - not so much the death but realizing what he defined himself by is lost forever because of his failures and that there’s nothing left of him now- is what I fear most in the world. 15. Alexander the Great or Julius Caesar? CAESAR. I mean, I appreciate Alexander the Great (without whom the Ptolemies and Cleopatra wouldn’t have come into power) but I’ve read a lot more about Caesar, I know more about him as a person. I’m making this decision mostly on like their politics / what I know about them because I REALLY don’t give a s hit about individual battles / wars in general, this isn’t me comparing military scoreboards or anything lol. I just know more about Caesar, approve of his Vaguely populist policies, and he /was/ trying to fix some very broken systems in rome / was constantly frustrated by senatorial factionalists etc... and IM relatively sympathetic towards him although I like the minor more radical less famous populares more ... obviously. So I like Caesar but he’s not that important to me I’m not like passionately devoted to Caesar

16. Cicero - love him or loathe him? LOVE CICERO. I honestly love him so much and even though politically I disagree with the view he had or choices he made... I understand why he made them and it must have been incredibly hard to be a moderate politician, or any kind of politician at all coming from a non senatorial background, and as much as I joke about it he DID save Rome from the Very real threat of Catiline (and honestly at this point his self-aggrandizing behavior is just as endearing as it is aggravating to me.... god). I believe he genuinely tried to do what was right and to be moral and upstanding in a time when that was definitely not the norm- see his governorships of Sicily and Cilicia especially compared to his corrupt contemporaries. He stood by his principles even when that wasn’t politically expedient - whenever he does have to go against them, he agonizes to Atticus and feels guilty about it- and I’m... impressed by that. He was obviously a great statesman/orator/lawyer - all of his speeches are incredibly wild and fun to read and I can only imagine what hearing them live would’ve been like. His name and background means he didn’t have the luxury of being radically populist like Clodius, he didn’t have his family to fall back on in general, he had to work twice as hard and was scorned by the optimates anyway and i FEEL FOR HIM. He was nervous, though, and timid sometimes, and I ... relate to that.

I think if you hate Cicero... you should read his letters to Atticus because they’re so humanizing and genuine and his emotional turmoil over the political circumstances he finds himself in can be heartbreaking. He cares so much about Atticus and about his family and his despair and elation and anxiety really hit me hard when I read them. Plus they can be genuinely funny when he’s, like, talking about Clodius or making fun of someone he hates which is often, Cicero’s sense of humor is one of the many things I love and appreciate about him... some of his letters are legitimately hilarious? please. he’s so petty sometimes, I love that too, okay im done. 17. if you could recover one lost work, which one would it be? This is a tough one... I feel like it would be greedy to ask for more Cicero since we already have so much of his work but his Consolation he wrote to himself after the death of Tullia would be incredible. I also wish we had the entirety of Cicero’s Against Clodius and Curio speech because what we do have is... absolutely amazing and the rest would be a treasure to read. Conversely, because we have so much of Cicero, and only of Cicero, our view of late Roman Republic politics is inevitably warped. I wish we had just one of the speeches Clodius gave in response to Cicero, so we could have his side of the story, so to speak. We have to piece together this picture of his politics based on what his greatest enemy said about him so there’s inevitably going to be a bias- and Cicero DOES say in his letters that Clodius spoke against him too, they had witty exchanges, etc, but we don’t have Clodius’s speeches at all! If we had just one of his speeches he gave to the people as tribune, or the one he gave to defend himself at the Bona Dea trial, or the one that prompted Cicero’s De Haruspicum in response- just one. I just want to hear what Clodius said in his own words.... 18. what is your favourite movie or TV show set in ancient Greece or Rome? The Better Call Saul Roman Law AU I have in my head next question :) 19. tell me about an obscure classical figure who needs more love My URL is Clodius Pulcher and I wish more people legitimately studied and thought about Clodius with some nuance so that the exaggerated picture we see of him from Cicero isn’t taken as Absolute fact. I love him so much with my life... I also wish there was more love for Caelius and Curio since they’re really interesting historical figures who navigated a world of ever-changing alliances pretty cannily -until they died. Caelius just from his letters to Cicero seems like such a witty and sardonic person I wish more people cared about this entire circle. Finally i’ve gotta say Fulvia needs so much more love than she gets like people HERE know about her but like. She was so vitally important and uniquely powerful as a woman during the late Roman Republic and to be honest I don’t think you can talk about the aftermath of Clodius’s death or Antony’s role after Caesar’s assassination without mentioning Fulvia, she’s so essential to the political careers of ALL her husbands. And yet, she’s really underrepresented in historical fiction and nonfiction about this time. 20. what do you love most about studying classics? I’m an incredibly anxious person I don’t take any risks or have many friends. When I read / learn about history I can... vicariously experience what taking a risk must feel like when I read about like Clodius Pulcher’s wild lifestyle, and sometimes learning a lot about a historical figure makes me feel like they’re my friend. so. probably the most pathetic possible answer to this question but thats me.

#ask meme #my stuff #IM SO... THIS IS A LOT SORRY

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oselatra · 5 years

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Sweet Willie Wine took a stand in the Arkansas Delta

With his Walk Against Fear 50 years ago.

For four days between Aug. 20 and 24, 1969, Lance Watson (alias Sweet Willie Wine), the leader of Memphis Black Power group the Invaders, led a walk against fear across Arkansas. The walk became an iconic episode in the state's civil rights history and the stuff of local folklore. The protest inspired an award-winning long-form poem by Arkansas native C.D. Wright, "One with Others," in 2010, a testimony to how long it has lingered in the collective memory.

Born and raised in Memphis, Watson joined the U.S. Army at 17. After receiving a discharge, he fell into a life of crime, which led to two stretches in jail. Upon release, Watson became involved in the civil rights and Black Power movement. He was in Memphis when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in April 1968, close enough to the Lorraine Motel to hear the gunshot. Later that year, Watson joined the Invaders in organizing a caravan of protesters on a journey to Washington, D.C., as part of the Poor People's Campaign, run by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Watson and the Invaders ran security at Resurrection City, an encampment constructed on the National Mall as part of the campaign.

Watson's walk against fear in Arkansas grew out of his engagement with local civil rights struggles in Forrest City, led by Rev. James F. Cooley and factory worker Cato Brooks Jr. Cooley and Brooks were campaigning for swifter school desegregation and more job opportunities for blacks. After escalating conflict, Cooley threatened to hold a "poor people's march" across Arkansas to pressure the white community to implement changes. This brought the intervention of Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller at the request of local white leaders who felt the proposed march would lead to violence. Rockefeller established a committee to investigate. The investigation, which opened a dialogue between the black and white communities, came up with an agreement on a number of action points to improve race relations. Satisfied with the agreement, Cooley and Brooks agreed to postpone the march for 30 days to see what changes would be made.

Within hours of Cooley and Brooks announcing the postponement of their poor people's march, Watson announced that he would undertake a "walk against fear" from West Memphis to Little Rock. Watson and the Invaders had been working with Cooley and Brooks since April 1969. Although refraining from criticizing the two local leaders directly, Watson insisted that the momentum of recent demonstrations should be continued. Watson's walk echoed an earlier protest by James Meredith, who integrated Ole Miss in 1962. In 1966, Meredith set off on a one-man "march against fear" across rural Mississippi from Memphis to Jackson. Soon after setting off, Meredith was shot and wounded. Major national civil rights organizations took up the cause and completed the journey. The event is best remembered for Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee chairman Stokely Carmichael's popularizing the slogan of "black power" that quickly became the clarion call for a new black youth movement.

Watson, who had just turned 31, and was married with two children, began his 135-mile walk to Little Rock along U.S. Highway 70 on Wednesday, Aug. 20, starting in West Memphis at 8:07 a.m. Watson was joined by three fellow Invaders and two young Forrest City residents. Five Arkansas State Police cars and a dozen reporters and photographers accompanied them. At a press conference in front of West Memphis City Hall, Watson told reporters, "We're going to see if black people can walk in Arkansas." The walk was "to keep people from thinking there's been a sellout" in Forrest City and also a memorial to a "black brother," 19-year-old Lee Williams, who had been shot, run over and killed in Benton the previous Sunday.

Following a morning rain shower, the temperature swiftly rose into the mid-90s. Five miles outside West Memphis, eight blacks from Earle and Parkin joined the walk for about 10 miles, while others participated at various points along the way. The walk attracted curiosity from other blacks and whites who "watched silently from country stores, sharecropper shacks, front porches and the roadside." The walkers gave Black Power clenched-fist salutes to black drivers who passed by, which were frequently returned through car windows. At 7 p.m. the walkers reached Forrest City. National guardsmen had been deployed there to prevent any trouble from occurring.

Further down U.S. Hwy. 70, in Hazen, white citizens had spent the day readying for the arrival of Watson. Mayor Jerry J. Screeton, a former state senator, led the resistance. As Arkansas Gazette reporter Matilda Tuohey described the scene: "At every entrance to the city, except the highways, and at the intersection of every city street with Highway 70 were large rice combines and barricades manned by lone men or groups of men, all carrying shotguns and wearing white helmets and hunting vests crammed with bullets."

On Aug. 21, Watson and 11 people set out from Forrest City. The size of the walking column varied from two to 20 throughout the day as the rain steadily came down. There were several minor incidents along the way, but the walk finished as planned in Brinkley where 50 black residents welcomed the walkers. The group assembled at City Park alongside the downtown Cotton Belt Route railroad tracks. There, "the walkers sat on the grass and ate neckbones and blackeyed peas" and "sipped soft drinks and sang." Watson told the press that despite his sore feet and aching legs, he intended to walk the full 22 miles the following day to face the barricades in Hazen.

On Aug. 22, Watson and 25 people set off from Brinkley City Park at 8 a.m. As they entered Hazen later that day, 16 uniformed state troopers and five members of the Criminal Investigation Division joined them. The expected conflict did not arise. The previous day, Mayor Screeton had sheepishly withdrawn the armed guard and blockades from the city, claiming that he had "been misled by news accounts of the number that would come through the town on the walk."

Watson, along with three women from Forrest City, formed the main walking party into Hazen. One woman held a red Bible high in front of her face and recited Psalm 23, "Yea, though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil." Watson waved the peace "V" sign and gave the Black Power salute. "Now, I see this fear has been broken by the reception we've received," Watson triumphantly told reporters. "This is one of the better things that has happened to Hazen — Hazen itself being challenged." Meanwhile, Mayor Screeton scowled in the doorway of his Prairie County Bank as the walkers passed right by him. "I came and saw and walked through Hazen," Watson told the press that night.

On Aug. 23, Watson set off at 9 a.m. from just east of Carlisle. Between four to 50 people joined him along the way at various points. At Galloway, Watson went into a closed 15-minute meeting with Bobby Brown, president of Little Rock's Black Power group Black United Youth and the younger brother of Minnijean Brown, one of the Little Rock Nine. Brown had arrived with 25 cars containing 50 BUY members, who congregated near the County Merchant Store. Watson and Brown discussed overnight accommodations for walkers in the Little Rock area. More than 30 blacks, handclapping and singing freedom songs, walked into North Little Rock at 6:30 p.m. that evening. "It was beautiful," said Watson of the walk. "It served its purpose."

On Aug. 24, Watson and 43 people set off at 10:45 a.m. from outside First American Bank's Prothro Junction branch on the outskirts of North Little Rock, taking the short 6-mile walk to a rally on the steps of the Arkansas State Capitol. The group marched along U.S. Hwy. 70 to Washington Avenue in North Little Rock, across the Main Street Bridge into Little Rock, and then down Main Street to Capitol Avenue before heading west to the Capitol. Watson led the procession. By the time he arrived at the Capitol, there were 150 people walking with him. Another 100 people waited on the Capitol steps. Watson was the star attraction at the rally, which began shortly after 1 p.m. A number of other speakers were present, including Bobby Brown, who said the rally was historic because it was the first time that black people in the city had gathered at the Capitol "without asking permission." Brown mocked the fact that white people had been terrified at the prospect of a few black people walking across the state.

Although Watson's walk against fear passed with relatively little incident, once out of the media spotlight he felt the full repercussions of his actions. In Forrest City, the stabbing of a white grocery store owner by an Invader before the march and later allegations of the rape of a white girl had inflamed tensions. On Aug. 26, hundreds of whites began picketing City Hall demanding an end to demonstrations. The crowd attacked Watson, a local newspaper reporter and a local radio announcer. Watson found himself back in Little Rock — this time in the hospital with a broken elbow and various cuts and bruises. Watson pledged to return to Forrest City to hold a "freedom rally" on Sept. 14. Three hundred blacks turned up to the rally, but Watson was absent under threat of arrest.

Soon after, the main protagonists left Forrest City: Cooley took up a teaching position at Shorter College in North Little Rock; Brooks moved to work on civil rights projects in other Arkansas towns; and Watson returned to Memphis. Although the demonstrations won some concessions in Forrest City, racial tensions continued to simmer there. Watson came back to Arkansas periodically over the years to join further protest efforts in the state. Today, Watson — who is now Minister Suhkara A. Yahweh — remains active in community affairs in Memphis.

Watson's walk against fear is evocative of the demonstrations of the civil rights era and illustrates how their spectacle played an important role in bringing attention to racial injustice. The national press avidly covered events in Arkansas, as did the state's newspapers. The memory of the walk remains potent 50 years later. Yet, with a white population determined to resist change, local black people in Forrest City found it difficult to make a lasting impact. Though the pressure exerted at the time led to some short-term concessions, the racial hierarchy remained intact. There was still much work to be done.

Looking back today, Watson believes the most important legacy of his walk was "to get the fear out of the mind" of black people and to encourage them to insist on being "treated like a human being." By demonstrating the capacity of black people to stand up to the white power structure, Watson laid the groundwork for the ongoing struggles that followed.

John A. Kirk is the Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History and director of the Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. His ninth book, "The Civil Rights Movement: A Documentary Reader," will be published later this year by Wiley. Sweet Willie Wine took a stand in the Arkansas Delta

#Sweet Willie Wine took a stand in the Arkansas Delta

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