Date: Fri, 09 May 2003 19:51:50 -0700
From: maa32 
Subject: (urth) sphinx as hera, aglaus as satyr, achilles

OK, Latro offends Hera or Gaea by fighting in her temple (in the books, Gaea 
and Hera are blended together and oppose the triple goddess, who is 
Echidna(enodia)+Moon (Selene) + Huntress) The sphinx is identified by Latro as 
Gaea (!) in chapter 29 of Soldier of Arete.  this would make her Hera, who 
would be Ares mother (I am your mother, and your mother's mother).

However, I believe that there is an undercurrent here in the soldier series: 
the Achaens have been replaced by the Dorians (Spartans), who have taken over 
the old ways.  If I'm not mistaken, this would make the ghost of Achilles mad, 
and he wants the Spartans to be vanquished.  The remains of the achaens are 
symbolically put to rest with Lykaon in the boar hunting segment late in 
Soldier of Arete, where Latro picks up the shepherd Aglaus, who he then takes 
into Sparta with him.  He keeps Aglaus around because Aglaus reminds him of 
things, and helps him remember.  I don't know if anyone else has said 
anything, but Aglaus is the goat man who identifies Polos as a centaur (or 
bull-killer) in chapter 33.  He later makes a pipe for io and begins dancing, 
where Latro says that he is reminded of Elata by Aglaus.  Aglaus is a satyr, 
who chases nymphs, and the same carnal force flows through him.  So, Latro is 
surrounded by a nymph, a satyr, a centaur, and a man named Seven Lions, and he 
is probably chasing the shape shifting Zalmoxis as well.

Why would a satyr, or a being who resembles Pan, remind Latro so strongly of 
his past?  Notice that after Aglaus shows up, Latro starts to remember.  The 
memory house of Simonides helps, but Latro claims that he bought Aglaus' 
services after Themistocles no longer required a guide to Sparta because of 
Aglaus' effect on his memory.

In the boar hunting scene at the middle of part three of Soldier of Arete, we 
see several things: the Achaens are old and wiped out, replaced by the 
Spartans, and dying out obscurely in the mountains.  Aglaus and Lykaon seems 
to represent the older forces, while Latro represents the burgeoning triumph 
of Rome that looms over all Greece (he is the seed of Rome, as has been said).
 I need to look up which side was the Achaen side, but I'm pretty sure that 
Achilles is mad at the Spartans and is working from beyond the grave to insure 
that they are going to have some big problems in the near future, and that 
Latro is somehow involved in that effort to thwart them.

Then again, maybe I have it backwards.  Aeneas is the survivor of Troy, whose 
seed goes on to found Rome.  Perhaps Achilles wouldn't want that force to rise 
again, since he vanquished Hector and fought for it.  What do you think?  
Which side would the shade of Achilles take? The Great King of the Medes or 
the Twin Kings of Sparta?  Or would he want both to fail so that Rome could 
eventually come and take over everything?

Marc Aramini



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