Well hiiiii there. So. I can't believe you've only been asked something once?? I mean, on Tumblr, I'm sure you've been asked many questions loll. Anyways I feel this must be rectified soooo. Incoming 2 questions.
Number 1. I've always been dreadfully curious about this (and forgive me if you've answered this like in the story or elsewhere my memory is ass). Why is it that Furor goes by her Roman name in your fics? Is it like difference in domain sort of, kinda like how Mars and Ares are different in how they represent war?
2nd question in another ask because I got a bit side tracked <3
Why hello again!! This really is only the second ask I’ve ever had here haha. Very exciting stuff!!! :D
YES, FUROR ASK!! I may ramble a little bit as I think this is a very, very fun one, so my apologies for that in advance lol.
In the brazen sky so fixed by stars notes, I give the simplified answer that I use the name Furor for two reasons:
In-story reason: when she meets Ares, Furor is still very wary of him and opts to give him a name she knows he will not recognise out of caution. It winds up sticking (and I suspect that Furor quietly finds that she likes it, so ditches the old name).
Real-world reason: This is the name used for her in the Thebaid, which is the text that first sparked my interest in her. It stuck in my head (and I quietly liked it too lol).
However, there is a lot more background that I can offer you as to why exactly I was so drawn to the name Furor and why I felt that this particular name was better suited to my take on her character.
To start, as I mentioned above my initial interest in Furor came about because of her appearance in the Thebaid, specifically in the below Book 7 passage (full text from theoi.com) which takes place in Mars' Halls on Mount Haemus:
Here he observes barren forests, the sacred haunts of Mars – and he shudders as he looks – where on the far slopes of Haemus his savage mansion is ringed by a thousand furies. The walls are of iron structure, iron portals bear upon the threshold, the roof is carried by columns wrought of iron. The rays of Phoebus are weakened when they meet it, the very light fears that dwelling, and its murky glare dismays the stars. Fit sentinels hold watch there: from the outer gate wild Passion leaps, and blind Mischief and Angers flushed red and pallid Fear, and Treachery lurks with hidden sword, and Discord holding a two-edged blade. Threatenings innumerable make clamour in the court, sullen Valour stands in the midst, and Rage exultant [Furor] and armed Death with blood-stained visage are seated there; no blood but that of wars is on the altars, no fire but snatched from burning cities. All around were spoils of every land, and captured peoples adorned the temple’s high front, and fragments of iron-wrought gates and ships of war and empty chariots and faces ground by chariot-wheels, ay, almost even their groans! truly every form of violence and wounds. Himself was everywhere to behold […] (40-60)
Now, you can probably see why I love all of this, as it is something of a staple reference in quite a few of my fics. BUT, focusing on Furor! The part of this passage that I was initially most interested in was the part I’ve bolded, in which we see Mors [Thanatos] not only at Mars’ house, but armed and bloody.
At this point, I must note a conversation that I had with my friend @panathenaia about ThanAres while I was still publishing threads of gold, in which she drew my attention to the Latin for this section of the passage. In this, Rage exultant is named as Furor:
stat medio, laetusque furor uultuque cruento Mors armata sedet; bellorum solus in aris
Further, the close proximity of their names - they are essentially sat together in the text, set apart from the other named attendees by a comma and a semicolon - led us to consider that they themselves may have been actually sitting together. And how interesting a pairing, what unusual circumstances!! Death, who is supposed to be calm and immovable, not only in the house of Mars but visibly in an absolute state – and paired with Furor? It seems odd company for Mors to keep. I was very interested in what circumstances might lead to such a thing and ultimately decided that perhaps Mors hadn’t sat himself there so much as he had been seated there. Why might that have been done, and by whom? Now, in my indulgent reading (which I playa bit more with in hateful things)...I just think it is interesting to raise the point that, not long after this, Mars returns to the battlefield and sends panic ahead of him to sow
ferus omni in pectore saeuit mortis amor caedisque (137-138)
…‘a mad love [or lust] for death and slaughter raged in every heart’. I just think that's kinda neat. :-)
From there things only got worse where Furor is concerned. Take, for instance, the Aeneid and Dido's intense, tragic love, which is often described as a kind of furor (thanks again to @panathenia, who set me on this track). For example, one of a few little quotes I pulled out for when I need to feel things:
ardet amans Dido, traxitque per ossa Furorem (101)
Loving Dido burns, and she has dragged rage through her bones.
Anyway, as you can imagine, I have *no thoughts at all* about any of this. :-)
All of this is to say that, firstly, I use the name Furor because I am rather sentimental and think very fondly of both my early encounters with this source and the conversations that I have had surrounding it!
Secondly, even though I knew that the correct Greek equivalent was Lyssa, through all of my spiraling it was the references to Furor that most caught my attention. The more I thought about her, the more she really did become her own being for me with her own associations (which were predominantly Roman).
Thirdly, and as you are also well aware of at this point, there is little that I enjoy more than tormenting my friends with targeted attacks and references in fics! Having a Roman name in some Ancient Greek fanfics was a trade-off I was willing to accept in the name of violence. I have considered going back and changing all of the Furor mentions to Lyssa many times, but at this point I’ve already come too far and Furor is here to stay lol. <3
Thank you for you delightful question, I hope that this answers it!! :D