drawings

Retail Life: Silo and Peasants Vol. 2, “No, Honey, You’re Sick.”

~ TheNaomiRuth ~ Leave a comment

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I don’t know why people find it necessary to tell me what I am or am not. How would you know? You aren’t me. Back off, lady.

Although, to be fair, when I haven’t completely woken up my voice does sound like I just swallowed a toad, so I did sound unwell, and I’m glad she cared about my health, but why she couldn’t believe me when I said I was fine I just will never understand.

Want more Retail Life comics? Click HERE.

Want me to turn your own Retail Life experience into a comic? Send me a suggestion HERE (understanding that I am under no obligation to do so and that I try to make my site fairly kid-friendly in case one of my ex-students wander over here BUT I love hearing people’s ridiculous retail stories, so you never know… Just let me know what alias you want to go by, because that’s more fun than a real name).

Book 7, Part 1.2: Hector’s Challenge

~ TheNaomiRuth ~ 1 Comment

To Start From the Beginning Click HERE.
To Read the Previous Post Click HERE.

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I wonder if it’s painful at all for Helenus to suddenly have this kind of information beamed down into his head. Does he have visions? Does he just suddenly know? So many questions. #allofthequestions

And ah, the ol’ “You’re not going to die, that isn’t your Fate yet.” And you’re so relieved you’re not going to die you COMPLETELy FORGET that little word “YET.”

I find it fascinating that in order to get everyone to sit down and to call a ceasefire all you have to do is stand in between the armies with your spear horizontal in front of you. So the next time your in an ancient Greek war… Now you’ll know.

See you next week for the Greeks’ response to this challenge!

 

Book 7, Part 1.1: The Plan of Apollo

~ TheNaomiRuth ~ 1 Comment

To Start From the Beginning Click HERE.
To Read the Previous Post Click HERE.

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If you do not remember: Glaucus is the one that had a conversation with Diomedes and whom Diomedes let go because of xenia (guest-friendship). If Diomedes had NOT given him mercy (as Agamemnon would have wanted, since he shouted at Menelaus for considering mercy) then many of the Argives would not have died (or, at least, not by Glaucus’ hand).

Also, I’m not really sure why Apollon and Athena think this plan is going to work, since having Paris and Menelaus fight didn’t work. I guess because Aphrodite intervened and didn’t let the fight end properly? I guess after having read Livy I just know THIS NEVER WORKS. (Ohmygoodness, guys, read Livy’s The Founding of Rome. Great stories in there. One day I will stick figure it, if I am able, but that day is far in the future.)

Oh, also, I know I started with using the name Apollo, because He’s more commonly known as that, but I will probably start using Apollon. I also might change Ajax to Aias, because I don’t know why I didn’t and I have this problam with ‘j’s bobbing around in Greek words when Greek doesn’t have that sound. I’m trying to stay consistent, but it’s just really not working for everything *shrugs* I suppose that comes from not plotting this thing out at all. Oh well.

 

Book 6, Part 5.1: Fate and Denied Blessings

~ TheNaomiRuth ~ Leave a comment

To Start From the Beginning Click HERE.
To Read the Previous Post Click HERE.

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I told you we would have an issue in a later post because Hector doesn’t have a helmet… Oh well. Astyanax is supposed to be crying because Hector has a scary helmet on and doesn’t recognize his dad and that’s why Hector and Andromache start laughing so… The humour works better in the original. Helmets are just difficult to draw and then Hector wouldn’t have such fabulous hair.

As for Andromache’s servant lady, what’s up with her? Why is she glaring all the time? At first I wasn’t quite sure, but then I was thinking about it and the servant ladies who took care of rich people’s children were really the ones raising them and acting as the child’s parents, and here these two keep passing the child around and laughing at it’s terror and… well. I’d be upset to and feel a bit possessive of the kid.

She’s probably glaring and rolling her eyes and thinking, “Rich people, ugh.” I wish she had a name. It is moments like these when I miss teaching, because my students would just make up names for all of the unnamed characters we came across. *is reminiscent*

ANYWAY. Zeus showed up way angrier than I had intended *shrugs* I’m sure there’s a reason for it.

Fate is creepy and wonderful and I love her.

I’m going to try and continue posting twice a week *fingers crossed* I’ll just make the segments shorter if I need to. If it takes me longer to make my way through Book 7, so be it. OHMYPENGUINS. WE’RE GOING TO START BOOK 7 SOON! Ahahahahahaha…hem. *clears throat awkwardly*

Have a good rest of your day, lovelies!

 

Book 6, Part 4.2: Hector’s Response

~ TheNaomiRuth ~ 2 Comments

To Start From the Beginning Click HERE.
To Read the Previous Post Click HERE.

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Hector is definitely better (in my opinion) than many of the other men in The Iliad, but damn, he’s kind of a donkey’s derriere here. I think this conversation really highlights how much men did not understand what women went through. Hector lists all of the terrible things that he believes are absolutely 100% going to happen to his wife and his reaction is all about his pain and how terrible this is for him and how glad he is he will DIE before he has to see it happen. Um… But what about Andromache? She’s the one who will actually have to suffer through all of these things? It’s so easy for the warriors to go around talking about pillaging and stealing ladies and ladies being stolen, but they have no real concept about what it would be like to be pillaged or stolen.

Anyway. That’s my feminist moment of the day.

Today’s was a shorter post and I’m thinking about possibly moving to shorter posts instead of only posting one day a week? I haven’t quite decided yet. I’ll keep you posted. Have a lovely day!

 

Book 6, Part 4.1: Blameless Woman, Poor Dear

~ TheNaomiRuth ~ 1 Comment

To Start From the Beginning Click HERE.
To Read the Previous Post Click HERE.

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It really should not be a surprise that the women of the house are just staring at Hector considering, remember, how he’s covered in blood and guts, holding a sixteen foot spear and wearing a golden helmet.

Also, Andromache is often portrayed as the sad wife who doesn’t want her husband to fulfill his duty to his troops, as selfish, as a “seductress” trying to thwart the hero, etc., etc., and so forth. However, the more I think about this scene the more I think that’s not really what’s going on here. She asks Hector to stay inside the walls with a retinue of men BECAUSE this is the weakest part of the city, there is a prophecy about how this side of the city is dangerous (or something? my translation is unclear?) AND it is the only part of the city with scaleable walls and Ajax, Idomeneus, AND Diomedes keep making attacks at this WEAKEST PART OF THE CITY. Sure, Hector is the next in line to the kingdom, but it was normal, from what I remember, for kings in Asia Minor to personally fight for their cities. I don’t think Andromache is asking Hector to stop being a dutiful soldier, I think she’s asking him to be a SMARTER one. I think she is an intelligent woman who has thought this through and, yeah, sure, she doesn’t want her husband to die. But she also doesn’t want her city to be overrun by Greeks.

ANYWAY. Those are my two cents. Or five cents. Whatever. There’s some cents of mine, take it or leave it or share thoughts of your own.

In addition: Andromache going on about how Hector is her father/mother/brother/husband reminds me of Ruth and Naomi, I’m not sure why.

AND I have been thinking and I might have to go down to posting only once a week? I’ve just been working 40+ hours a week and trying to write more, stay up with my reading, keep up relationships with friends, and also trying to post 2-3 times a week and it’s not working. I keep missing days/weeks and I’d rather be consistent less often than inconsistent more often, if that makes sense? I also want this to be something fun I do, and I never want it to become some sort of chore I dread, because that defeats the purpose of this. Anyway. I’ll let you know what I decide about that by the end of the month (WHICH is RIDICULOUSLY soon WHERE THE HECK did May go?)

 

The Hurrian Tasmisu and The Hellenic Hermes: Brothers of Another… Er… Parent?

~ TheNaomiRuth ~ Leave a comment

In the book Hittite Myths as translated by Harry A. Hoffner, Jr. (second edition) there is a section on Hurrian Myths. In tablet one of “The Song of Ullikummi” it says:

“When Kumarbi [had formed] a clever plan [in his mind], he promptly arose from his chair. In his hand he took a staff; [on his feet] like winged [shoes] he put the winds” (4.Ai 11-15).

And later in tablet 3:

“When Tasmisu heard Tessub’s words, he quickly arose, [took] a staff in hand, put the winds on his feet – like winged shoes, and went up on the hightowers” (48.Aii 1-2).

Kumarbi is trying to dethrone Tessub (sometimes translated as Teshub), who is currently king of the gods. Tasmisu is Tessub’s vizier (he and Tessub are both “sons,” of a sort, of Kumarbi). Actually, the Anu, Kumarbi, Tessub storyline has a lot of parallels to the Kronos, Ouranos, Zeus story… Ahem. Anyway. That would be for a different day. We’re going to set aside Kumarbi for right now and look at the vizier, Tasmisu.

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Kumarbi is on the left, Tessub on the right

Tasmisu is acting as a messenger. He grabs his staff and puts the wind on his feet, or, basically, his winged shoes. Who else has a staff and winged shoes? Specifically, in the Hellenic world? But of course! Hermes! Tasmisu also, later on in the story, leads Tessub to visit Allani, “the lady” who ruled the underworld (known as Lelwani to the Hittites, and possibly connected to the Sumerian Ereshkigal ). Hermes is also a cthonic deity who is able to go freely from the underworld and back and acts as a psychopomp, leading people safely to the underworld.

It makes me wonder if all of these stories of gods putting winged shoes on their feet and wandering around to the underworld eventually morphed into the Hellenic Hermes? There seems to be some sort of kinship there.

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Tasmisu on the left, Hermes on the right

(to see the inspiration for Teshub click HERE.) There is also more information about Hittite/Hurrian mythology. Just remember that mythology is not always kid friendly, as it were.

To read The Story of Laodike Click HERE.

The Story of Laodike (According to Some Poets)

~ TheNaomiRuth ~ 2 Comments

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Ah, my silly little Greek and Roman poets. They amuse me.

Quintus of Smyrna is known for trying to bridge the gap between Homer and Virgil, but most people agree that he’s not as good and someone did say that he was the “worst  poet of antiquity” (Ernst Günther Schmidt 1999, 141). I actually really enjoy him. I mean, he is derivative of Homer, but since that was his goal I feel like that’s okay? I don’t know. I would be willing to comic it up one day.

ANYWAY. So the other day there was that comic about Hector Within the City Walls and Laodike shows up in the background and Hector goes on this rant about how he wishes Paris would be swallowed up by the earth. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Laodike herself is later swallowed up by the very earth. I think that’s why she’s here in this scene.

Also, Acamas, her husband (according to some), was a guest-friend of Odysseus and Menelaus (again, according to some). There’s just so many connections! I think that’s one thing that’s fun about Homer, because he just references these people off-handedly, but there’s so much story there underneath.

Also, I find it so interesting that Theseus’ grandmother is chilling as Helen’s slave-woman. Why is she even there? Why is Acamas, the son of Theseus, there? Could this have any connection to the rumours that Helen of Troy was married to Theseus for some time?

ANYWAYS. Here is your random post. I am so excited I could get it done for you *waves pompoms* I hope you enjoyed it! Have a wonderful day, lovelies! *bows*

To Read Hector Says Nothing Click HERE.

Book 6, Part 3.2: Hector Says Nothing

~ TheNaomiRuth ~ 3 Comments

To Start From the Beginning Click HERE.
To Read the Previous Post Click HERE.

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I know this is a lot of just Helen and Hector talking. I wish it was more fun -_- BUT IT EXISTS. Oh. My. Goodness. I almost had this all ready yesterday afternoon and then there was a problem with one of the pictures and then I fell asleep and then I had to work AND THEN IT WAS TOO LATE. *swoons*

HOWEVER. It is here for you now. The lady next to Helen is Aethra, who will show up later, hopefully, if I can get the Laodike post put together. It is hard to write comics when you are working 40+ hours a week and also trying to maintain friendships and also eating and sleeping and taking care of your introverted self. WHO KNEW.

Okay. I’m done capslocking it up. I actually did have some commentary I wanted to make.

Homer tells us that Paris built his house between Hector and Priam. I feel like this is Paris trying to show dominance over Hector. Hector is the top son, in line to take over the throne. I feel like Paris, the unaccounted for, miraculously found because saved by shepherd, upstart, wants to take over and rule Troy after Priam dies. I don’t know for sure, but I feel like maybe that is happening? Oh, Paris. He plays himself off as a silly pretty boy, but maybe there’s a devious mind at work here?

So frustrating, the way Helen is always calling herself a lady-dog and blaming herself for everything and talking down about herself. So. Frustrating. I want more from Helen and it’s just not something I’m going to get from Homer. (Which is why, I know I talk about these all the time, but really, this is why I love Helen of Sparta and By Helen’s Hand, because it gives me a Helen that does not continually call herself a lady-dog and etc.)

ANYWAY. I hope you enjoyed grumpy little Hector. Have a lovely day!

To Read The Story of Laodike (According to Some Poets) Click HERE.