#malalas

[katerinaaqu]

Cassandra: Physical Description

You know...since Cassandra is the ficus I love how more or less both our major sources on describing characters of Epic Cycle aka the alleged Dares the Phrygius and Ioannis Malalas do seem to agree on their description of Cassandra!

Dares is rather scarce in his description:

Cassandra is moderate of height, round eyed, reddish-haired, palpitating/shimmering eyed, can predict the future

(Translation by me)

Malalas on the other hand is more descriptive

Cassandra is shortish, round-eyed, white, mannish bodytype, beautiful nose, beautiful eyes, dark-pupiled, blondish/strawberry blonde, curly of hair, beautiful neck, large breasts, small feet, calm, noble, priestly, accurate prophet and foreseeing everything, strict at her practice, virgin.

(Translation by me)

So I love it how the two sources seem to agree very much in their description of Cassandra despite the fact that Dares the Phrygius doesn't give us much, the things he gives allign with Malalas so this is what we get from her physical description:

Cassandra is a petite woman since both versions describe her of "moderate of structure" or "shortish"

The term "mannish of bodytype" implies the lack of curves apart from her large breasts so we expect Cassandra to have a more pencil figure potentially more to the lean side while she has larger breasts. Now me thinking being more to the thin side is also because she is described as ασκητική aka "strict in her practice" so in one way she would be purifying herself a lot and possibly her practice as well as the intensity of her visions do not allow her to indulge in way too many pleasures such as food or drink or that she chooses not to for the sakes of her practice

She has pale skin (as expected from the ideals of greek and roman texts) and has blondish or reddish hair depending on the source so we can expect some strawberry blonde hair perhaps? Malalas also says she is of curly hair

Her nose and eyes seem to be beautiful while Malalas says how dark her pupils are (possibly dilated from her visions? Dilating when she has visions? Or maybe she is a bit near-sighted?)

She is a virgin (which makes her fate even more tragic when she was raped by Ajax in such a brutal manner)

So yeah that is pretty clear description for the prophetess. Also yes we have a petite woman here and dunno the image that came to my head is a fragile-looking petite woman that has that intense sparkle in her eye from her powers and all.

[dilutedh2so4]

Who named the spear-bride, the struggled-over woman Helen? For, appropriately, that ship-killer [helenas], man-killer [helandros], city-killer [heleptolis], sailed from her fine-spun, curtains on the breath of great Zephyr and many-manned bands of shield-bearers followed the vanished journey struck by the oars to the banks of leafy Simois for a bloody strife.

Aeschylus' Agamemnon, v 684—696 (trans. Joel Christensen)

When Paris was born to Hecuba, Priam, his father, went to the oracle of Apollo to inquire about his newborn son. This oracle was given to him: “So to you has been born a son Paris, hardship [dysparis], who will destroy the kingdoms of the Phrygians.”

Malalas' Chronography, Bk 5 (trans. Brady Kiesling)

[palamedestragedy]

Odysseus, Menelaus, and Palamedes were said to have approached the Trojans together before the war to peacefully get Helen back according to Malalas

ouuu i see, many thanks for this!! the trojans got such a funny lineup though; palamedes, palamedes' future opp, and palamedes' cousin (also his future opp) lol

[katerinaaqu]

Hahaha Malalas never ceases to be wild, man! Haha ok he states that Clytemnestra was born out of Tyndareus and Leda and when she was grown she was given to Agamemnon as a wife (I mean okay so far so good, that is not the wild part haha that part I usually follow too!)

He then states that Leda was an adulterer and that she had good time with Cycnus son of Ederion at Eurotas river and she had triplets, Castor Pollux and Helen hahahaha

So basically he states that Castor, Pollux and Helen are all born at the same time, they are children of Cycnus (Malalas even implies that Leda was prone at sleeping around haha) and then he claims that Palaephatus the writer said that the poets basically made a poetic euphemism it was Zeus instead of his descendant that impregnated her and that he transformed into a swan (Κύκνος-> Cycnus = swan).

Like...bro!!! Hahahaha

[dilutedh2so4]

Deiphobus wrapped Achilles in an embrace, and Paris, from the side, while he was kissing him, plunged in the sword he was carrying. While Deiphobus restrained Achilles, Paris delivered a second blow to Achilles. He fainted and fell.

I didn’t know they were into that… (Malalas' Chronography)

[dilutedh2so4]

During the funeral Penthesilea (whom we have mentioned above) arrived. She brought a huge army of Amazons and other neighbouring peoples. On being informed of Hector's death, she was very upset and desired to go home. But Alexander gave her much gold and silver, and finally prevailed upon her to stay. (Dictys, 4.2)

In the meantime, Penthesileia arrived from across in the Chersonese, bringing a large host of Amazons and brave men. When she learned that Hector had been killed, she was in the process of turning back. Paris learned this, and persuaded her to stay by giving her much gold. (Malalas 5.125)

Variant where Paris persuades Penthesilea to stay,,, she should be at the club

[lesbian-iphigenia]

oi iphiginia person look at this weird version that I really like cuz she kills people.

"Seeing them, cowherds ran to Iphigeneia and told her, “Daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, two young men have come past the Kyaneai.” She to them: “What kind? From where? What are the strangers’ names?” For Iphigeneia asked everyone who was caught and brought to her to be sacrificed, what country they were from, and then she slaughtered them, because she wanted to learn about her father Agamemnon and his affairs, and what happened about the war with the Phrygians. The cowherds told her, “One of them called the other Pylades, but the name of his partner we don’t know. He didn’t say.” She told them, “What business is it of a cowherd at the sea?” They said, “We came to bathe the cows in the cool sea.” She sent Scythians, who caught them.

She examined his right shoulder blade and saw it had the Pelopeian stamp. She embraced Orestes, and ordered that his ships be brought on shore along with the sailors. Having beached the ships, they remained through the winter. When summer came, Orestes and Pylades took Iphigeneia and the solid gold statue of Artemis secretly and fled in their ships. They crossed over to the land of the Adiabenians. From there they came to the eastern Saracen border. They went up in the land of Palestine toward Trikomia [Three Villages]. The people in Trikomia noticed Iphigeneia’s priestly garb, and received her with honors. They stayed there, and Orestes was taken with madness there too. The Trikomitai built a great sanctuary of Artemis and asked Iphigeneia to sacrifice a virgin girl, whose name they would give to the village (kome). They brought the girl, whose name was Nyssa, and made the sacrifice to Artemis. They made a bronze statue of the slaughtered girl as Tyche. Iphigeneia called the city, which had been a village before, Nyssa, after the girl she had slaughtered, and made an altar for her. On it she wrote, “Accept the fugitives from Scythia, plant Goddess Nyssa,” which is still written there." Malalas, Chronography 

Iphigenia realizing she has to sacrifice someone again after just escaping doing that: "IM BACK IN THE FUCKING BUILDING AGAIN" /ref

Iphigenia having the biggest body count between her siblings will always be funny to me, somehow she always ends up killing someone

[dilutedh2so4]

They inquired of her who she was, of what parentage. Helene said “I am a relative of Paris”, and rather to be related to Priam and Hecuba and not to Menelaus.

More Malalas-posting! All this aggravation about "of Sparta NOT Troy," which I can sympathise with, but this is at least the second account where Helen explicitly asks Priam and Hecuba to stay there.