Some more follow up doodles to this idea of Helen of Troy's daughter Hermione running off to join the war and find her long lost mother , taking on the name Nicostratus " Victorius Army ", in hopes of her goal.
Aided by Ares (cuz he loves a good rampage, even if Aphrodite is having him technically side with the Trojans) Nico quickly rises in the ranks--but also begins to hear contradictory accounts of just what happened to take Helen from Sparta those ten years ago...
Was she truly abducted? Did she, in fact, leave her husband and daughter behind willingly? And when mother and child come at last face to face, what will be the choice that is made? Forgiveness and Reconciliation? Or Vengeance for a daughter's abandonment?
A new wave of brain rot of the Mythic Au is coming back really strong.
For context: Menelaus left Hermione and baby son Nicostratus for 15 years circa, ( he was lost at sea looking for Helen in Egypt for 5 years,he does some awful stuff ) and came back to find that his palace was over taken by his nieces Electra and Orestes , shit happens but everything turns out well...
I find it interesting how out of the three Spartan princesses, Helen is the one not to have a myth where she has her step-sons killed, but instead there’s one where she is exiled by them
My last post inspired me to redesign sketches of Menelaus and his family.
Some of the character designs are adjusted based on what I originally intended from my last sketch.
💬 0 🔁 1 ❤️ 10 · The House of Menelaus Sketches · Sketch ideas of character designs I have of them for now. Their appearances are inspired
Notes for each family member:
Each one is designed to appear before Megapenthes was born. This is how they look before the events of the, "Iliad," take place. Or after the conflict started, depending on whether you believe Megapenthes was born during the Trojan War or during the preparations. But note that in the, "Odyssey," he's old enough to get married.
Menelaus:
I had thought about making him look depressed, but I wanted to see him in a calmer state at this stage before the worst will come
I imagine he's as close to 30 or younger when Helen left
Similar to other interpretations of him, he has red curly hair, and sweet brown eyes that remind you of fresh baked bread
His hair length at this point is between his shoulders to his chest, so long enough for him to have his hair strands tucked behind his ears
Helen:
Similar to Clytemnestra, I wanted Helen to appear regal and noble as the Queen of Sparta
Her hair may look wavy in this image, but it's actually meant to be curly
As many described her to be the most beautiful, I imagine she would have golden blonde hair, bright and alarming as Zeus' thunderbolts
Originally her eyes are going to be light blue; the color of a clear blue lake under a summer sky
I decided to change her eye color after I found out the rarest beauty in ancient Greek standards is one who has light hair and dark eyes
In my headcanon, Helen's eyes were light when she was young, but grew as dark as the bottomless ocean; denim blue or royal blue eyes
Hermione:
She has her father's curly hair, and his sweet brown eye color
She gets her mother's eyes, especially under the early morning light when her eyes appear dark blue
I considered having her eye color to be central heterochromia blue eyes, with a brown hue around her pupils
Since she's young at this point, I made her eyes round and innocent
If I ever design her as an adult, she's going to have more of her father's fiery glare
Her hair glows as bright as the sparks of a hearth; strawberry blonde or copper hair
Pieris:
This was how I originally wanted her to look like
I'm going to use this as my original design for Pieris so there won't be any more confusion whenever I draw another design of her
She has black wavy chopped, uneven hair styled in a bob cut to show her slave status, and calm dark brown to near black eyes
She also gives off 2nd fl energy if you know what I mean
Her stature and physique is average at most, and she doesn't stand out
She has a calm and collected personality, yet is also gloomy looking
Something like a wall flower type or an outcast if there's a trope to describe her
Since her son's name means, "great sorrow," I wanted her to be connected to him by making her a depressed character
It's possible for my headcanon, Menelaus is attracted to her loneliness as much as she is to him, or before his downfall
If I have to pick her spirit animal, I'm going with the mouse
I've thought about the rabbit as another idea, but the mouse makes more sense to me to match her behavior, and was inspired by Aesop's fables
If I do more wholesome content of Menelieris, I like to see Menelaus tease Pieris like a cat and mouse
She may have reciprocated feelings for Menelaus when they first met
I might do alternative stories on how they knew each other when she was assigned to the household of Tyndareus, given to him as one of his wedding gifts, or during the war
With her age, I imagine she's either the same age as Helen or younger, but by 5 years at most
Despite there are some who find her "unapproachable," she's caring, considerate, and nurturing if you get close to her
I think Megapenthes would be soft and protective of his mother
Mistress Pieris: I wanted her to look more motherly and down to earth
Even as a mistress she prefers a simplistic style over anything over the top
With Megapenthes, I think she would've been more comfortable and tolerable with her life as a mistress if he was there for her
Megapenthes:
Baby Megapenthes: mini
I want to do my own original design of him
I still like the previous design I did for him, but similar to Pieris I want to separate those designs so I can do my own version of the characters
I came up with his original design after I established what my version of Pieris looks like
He takes after his mother's wavy hair and her calm eyes
With his hair color, I think it's somewhere close to a shade of brown, but not quite as dark as Pieris' hair
His hair changes to black after he and Nicostratus exiled Helen
I don't have a specific shade for his brown eyes, but it lights up as the ambers of a fire when he's livid or at a breaking point like his father
There's no better animal I can find than a lion cub as his spirit animal, but I can also see a mountain lion or puma as other options
I think like his mother, I imagine he has her reserved personality, but takes after his father's wrath and strong spirits
Again similar to his mother, he's shown to be openly compassionate and caring especially to those he loves such as Nicostratus
I guess he's similar to Telemachus in a sense where they both feel out of place, hold strong grudges, and have to give in to their unfair situation
The difference is I don't think he would be as emotional on making certain decisions unless he regrets not being more quick about it
Nicostratus:
I always wanted to do a character design of Nicostratus, and I couldn't have found a better opportunity than now
His character design is not fully set, but I have a few ideas
I heard there are some readers who interpret Nicostratus to be the son of Menelaus and Helen, but that's most likely not the case since he's addressed to be the son of a slave
And many sources seem to agree and confirm Hermione is the only true heir of the family
His hair color ranges between dirty blonde to light brown
It's not as light as Helen's golden blonde hair, but it's close enough to be called blonde
I chose that hair color, because I want this to be a nod to him being mistakenly called, "Helen's son"
An alternative design for Menelaus if I gave him blonde hair
He has his father's curly hair, and his eyes
If he was born first instead of Megapenthes I would like to play around with the idea his hair color darkens over time after he and Megapenthes exile Helen
Just like how a lion's mane darkens from blonde to black after he claims, and becomes the territory's new leader
Although to be fair I can still work with this idea regardless, but we'll see how that'll turn out in the future
The Mother of Nicostratus:
These are just rough drafts and headcanons
She is a contrast to Pieris
If Pieris is someone who is melancholic, then Nicostratus' mother is someone who is blissful
Hopeful, forgiving, "clumsy" as in she's not as graceful as Helen, a cheerful singing voice, humble, thoughtful, and honest
She resembles Helen with her blonde hair, and a similar physique
She met Menelaus during the war as a war prize in the first few years
With her age, she is younger than Helen and even Pieris during the war
Menelaus is attracted to her, because she reminds him of Helen during their youth, and perceives her as hope
Her spirit animal is the anise butterfly or the canary bird
One of the names I have in mind for her is Anysia or Euthalia
These days I keep thinking about Nicostratus...I want to eat him
His design came out after a talk me and @melodyartist-blog had together and idk I think he's so cute and I wanna throw him in the sky (lovingly)
Doodles of him and Hermione (she's Melody's design!!) and AUFJSJD I love them + I just wanted some good sibling interactions and that's it! I wanted some wholesomeness!!
Bear with the name, it’s a work in progress lmao. I just love the idea of Gen 2s in Greek Mythology, so what if they met up? The main squad being Telemachus, Peististratus, Ascanius and Astyanax (he lives for this purpose), and they go on little journeys together across Greece to meet other kids of the Homeric Heroes (Neoptolemus, Nicostratus, Hermione, etc) and fight monsters n stuff. Just a bunch of fun for the sake of it being fun, really
Core designs for the main 4:
They’re a lot younger than 20s here, I imagine it being a classic teen adventure story. Probably around 18 for Tele and Pei, 17 for Asc and 16 for Asty in this universe.
Ascanius and Astyanax are revengeful and set off from Lavinium to find and kill the Greeks that destroyed their home, of course not telling Aeneas they’re doing so. Telemachus and Peististratus are just off on an adventure together for a bit of fun. The two parties bump into each other and they’re all forced to get along. Still working on the details!
Extra little quick sketches cause I just love them so much
And then as a bonus, some designs I’ve been thinking of for other Gen 2ers! Nicostratus and Megapenthes the sons of Menelaus, Idaeos the son of Helen and Paris, and of course Neoptolemus son of Achilles (who’ll probably get his own post…)
"She [Helen] bore Hermione to spear-famed Menelaus, and last of all she bore Nicostratus, scion of Ares".
Can we talk about this for a sec?
Scion means child or heir
Like did Ares try to make ammends with the spartan family by teaching and taking their son under his wing?
Or does it means that Nicostratus was just good at fighting and stuff like that from a young age, and ares was really important in sparta… probably the second one
(Although the first option sounds very intersting)
Hermione — by Helen
Nicostratus — by Helen or a slave
Megapenthes — by a slave, Pieris or Tereis
Xenodamus — by the nymph Cnossia
Aethiolas — by Helen?
Maraphius — by Helen?
Pleisthenes — by Helen?
Homer's Odyssey 4.5
He was bringing Alector's daughter from Sparta for his son, mighty Megapenthes, grown up, who'd been borne him by a slave. The gods no longer made a child appear for Helen after she gave birth to her first child, lovely Hermione, who had the form of golden Aphrodite.
Apollodorus' Library 3.11.1
Now Menelaus had by Helen a daughter Hermione and, according to some, a son Nicostratus; and by a female slave Pieris, an Aitolian, or, according to Acusilaus, by Tereis, he had a son Megapenthes; and by a nymph Cnossia, according to Eumelus, he had a son Xenodamus.
Pausanias' Descriptions of Greece 2.18.6
When Orestes became king of the Lacedemonians, they themselves consented to accept him for they considered that the sons of the daughter of Tyndareus had a claim to the throne prior to that of Nicostratus and Megapenthes, who were sons of Menelaus by a slave woman.
Laurentian Scholiast on Sophocles' Electra v539
[Hesiod said] Helen bare to Menelaus, famous with the spear, Hermione and her youngest-born, Nicostratus, a scion of Ares.
Venetus A Scholia on Homer's Iliad
[Ariaethus said] Helen and Menelaus had a child, Maraphius, from whom the race of the Maraphii descended in the Persians: as for the Nicostratus of Cinaethon, among the Lacedaemonians two children are honored, Nicostratus and Aethiolas.
Scholia on Euripides' Andromache v898
Lysimachus and some others report that Nicostratus was also born from Helen. But the one who gathered the Cypriot tales says that it was Pleisthenes who came to Cyprus with Aganus, the child born to Alexander from Helen.
