Folstag ate Age of Mythology:EE and hurled Titan Difficulty into the river!

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > Folstag ate Age of Mythology:EE and hurled Titan Difficulty into the river!

Simply Simon: Nov 6, 2010; 📡scanning🛰️ for good game 🎮design🦔🦔🦔

Melth posted:

I was just rereading some of the Iliad (which I hate, by the way, but nevermind that right now) and was surprised to come across a scene in book XXIII where Odysseus and mega-Ajax wrestle... and their strength is evenly matched. It's a draw for so long that the crowd gets bored. Then Odysseus kinda cheats but it turns out that he isn't strong enough to hoist mega-Ajax over his head (not that that's even relevant normally, but Ajax wanted to settle the tie that way). Achilles officially decides it's a tie in the end.

So that seems to establish canonically that Odysseus is tied for one of the top spots -possibly the top spot- as strongest Greek, and is stronger than Ajax for his size because Ajax is huge and he's not.

In the Odyssey of course he never gets compared to any of these other great heroes directly, but he's stated again and again to have superhuman strength. He shows that a few times along the way of course, then there's the famous bow scene where Penelope says she'll marry whoever can string Odysseus's bow which no other man on earth is strong enough to do. And sure enough the most fearsome of the suitors can't even come close. Odysseus's son Telemachus has to try really hard but he's eventually able to. Then Odysseus just does it like it's nothing.

I only read a popular prose retelling of the Iliad so hopefully this is not something that got lost in translation, but my favourite moment of comparing hero stats like Homer's mashing loving action figures together going "Odysseus could totally beat Achilles if he had enough time to plan!" is when Menelaos first meets Odysseus and it's stated that Menelaos is bigger than Odysseus when they're standing up, but Odysseus is bigger when they're both sitting. That's so pointless, I love it!

# ¿ Jan 20, 2017 09:46

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# ¿ May 6, 2024 10:43

Simply Simon: Nov 6, 2010; 📡scanning🛰️ for good game 🎮design🦔🦔🦔

Astroclassicist posted:

From the Teichoscopia (i.e. viewing from the walls) in Book 3

The Greek word is γεραρώτερος, "more majestic", the comparative of the adjective γεραρός from γέρας, the gifts/honour due to nobility - it is the taking by Agamemnon of Achilles' geras, Briseis, which kicks off the Iliad, since such gifts were the source of honour. Essentially, Priam believes that Odysseus is the more worthy of gifts and honour of the two.

That's amazing, thanks for finding the original source for me! That part's always stuck with me

# ¿ Jan 23, 2017 12:46

Simply Simon: Nov 6, 2010; 📡scanning🛰️ for good game 🎮design🦔🦔🦔

Melth posted:

I've been trying to figure this out on various BBCode sites but haven't found an answer yet so far. Is there a way to make my table of contents prettier by having the youtube links look like the chapter titles?.

Shameless self-plug:

(quote for code)

Make an image (as simple or complicated as you like) with the chapter title, the put the URL around it. People can then click the image to get the video!

Or did you just mean this?

Tutorial Mission 1: Hunt for a Killer

I put another tag in to show how they can be nested.

_{Image is neater}

EDIT: too slow with the tags!

# ¿ Jan 26, 2017 01:25

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > Folstag ate Age of Mythology:EE and hurled Titan Difficulty into the river!