SPEAKER_00: Hello everybody and welcome to Lambda, the LGBT and Antiquity Podcast, your home for all things LGBT in the ancient world.
SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Dominica Raven, episode 18, Año the Aromantic.
SPEAKER_00: Año was a powerful abstraction of conflict in all of its forms.
SPEAKER_00: Whenever armies clashed, Anyo was present.
SPEAKER_00: Whenever cities were sacked, Año was there.
SPEAKER_00: Whenever humans fought one another in any way, Año arrived with her companion, Eris, the goddess of discord.
SPEAKER_00: When people quarreled over the wine bowl, Anyo was never far away.
SPEAKER_00: When the Gale, the transgender priestesses of Rea Kibali, engaged in their frenzied dancing, Año was there pushing their wild and aggressive movements.
SPEAKER_00: But for all her warmongering, Año did form attachments to others.
SPEAKER_00: Ares and Eris were her constant companions, but she was also closely connected with Athena and with Zeus.
SPEAKER_00: Ano appears to be a romantic, capable of forming strong attachments and even having sexual interactions, but never really building up that deep romantic connection.
SPEAKER_00: Anyo is one of the key war gods, though she's not as widely discussed or well known as Ares, war personified, or Athena, strategy personified.
SPEAKER_00: Anyo is just as ancient and just as significant.
SPEAKER_00: As a goddess of war, Anyo is often seen as a companion to the other war gods when they are on campaign.
SPEAKER_00: Anyo is a mighty and powerful figure, often shown in the Chariot of Ares, along with Phobos and Deimos, route and terror, as well as Eris, Discord, and Osa, rumor.
SPEAKER_00: These are the companions of war which he brings wherever he goes.
SPEAKER_00: Ano also appears with Athena in many situations.
SPEAKER_00: The first literary reference to Ano came all the way back in Homer.
SPEAKER_00: During the Trojan War, Athena is always shown as an ally to the Greek armies, especially great heroes like Odysseus, Diomedes, and Achilles.
SPEAKER_00: They are constantly assisting these heroes, like Diomedes when he charges up to the front and even wounds Aphrodite, or suggesting clever schemes to Odysseus.
SPEAKER_00: Meanwhile, several of the Trojan heroes are Ares' own sons and grandsons, so Ares generally intervenes on the Trojan side.
SPEAKER_00: If you'll remember that scene from a couple of weeks ago, Ares and Athena fought a duel on the field at Troy.
SPEAKER_00: Athena grabbed a rock and bashed Ares over the head with it.
SPEAKER_00: This is part of the reason the Trojan War was so terrible.
SPEAKER_00: You have these two key gods of war engaging one another on opposing sides.
SPEAKER_00: Additionally, both sides had powerful allies in the form of Poseidon, god of the sea, who often assisted the Greeks, and Apollo of the Golden Locks, who aided the Trojans.
SPEAKER_00: But clearly most of the gods at Troy picked aside and stuck with it.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, Apollo was standing at Hector's side until the very end, only abandoning his favorite hero when the time came for Hector's death.
SPEAKER_00: But this is not true of Año.
SPEAKER_00: Año is conflict personified and therefore not beholden to either side.
SPEAKER_00: Ano is seen ranging ahead with Athena out in front of the Greek ranks early in the Trojan War, but a little later, Año is seen with Ares standing in the great Trojan lines.
SPEAKER_00: In these periods, Año's hatred is manifested as turmoil and discord along those lines of battle.
SPEAKER_00: Unlike all the other Greek gods on the Trojan battlefield, Ano did not appear to have any allegiance to either side, following and influencing the tide of battle, however she pleased, wherever she went.
SPEAKER_00: This characterization of Año follows in many different representations of the goddess throughout time.
SPEAKER_00: The post-Homeric epic treated the events of the Trojan War from the end of the Iliad through the sack of Troy, and the post-Homerica contains many references to Ano.
SPEAKER_00: Again, she was not tied to either army in this period either.
SPEAKER_00: In Homer, Zeus holds out a great golden scale to weigh Achilles versus Hector.
SPEAKER_00: The scale decided it was time for Hector to be killed, and so the duel ended that way.
SPEAKER_00: But here the scales are carried by Año.
SPEAKER_00: During the duel between Achilles and Memnon, the two heroes were perfectly match.
SPEAKER_00: Memnon is the son of Eos, Dawn, and the mortal man Tithanus, who was granted immortality but not eternal youth.
SPEAKER_00: Memnon arrived in Egypt and was called the greatest hero on the Trojan side.
SPEAKER_00: Achilles is Achilles, and they need no introduction.
SPEAKER_00: But above their fateful duel, Anyo held the scales, which stayed perfectly level for most of the fight.
SPEAKER_00: Anyao was delighted to see these glorious heroes fighting so magnificently.
SPEAKER_00: But then Eris, the goddess of discord, finally tipped the scales in favor of Achilles.
SPEAKER_00: So finally that Greek hero gained the upper hand and killed Memnon.
SPEAKER_00: In another scene, Ano holds the same scales over a duel between Achilles' son, Neoptolemus, and the future founder of Rome, Aeneas.
SPEAKER_00: Now in this instance, neither hero is fated to die, so the scales remained level.
SPEAKER_00: A third example is when Neoptolemus fought Eurypylus.
SPEAKER_00: Again, Ano spurred them both on, rejoicing at the brilliant display of combat, and again at her side was Eris, the goddess of discord, who gloated over the fight.
SPEAKER_00: In the Dionysiaca, Cadmus the Dragonslayer fought a battle for Thebes.
SPEAKER_00: Eris and Ano joined both armies alike, without representing any alliance to either.
SPEAKER_00: So we can see from these examples that Ano delights in all forms of combat and conflict, not necessarily overly concerned with the morality of the situation, the justice of the cause, or even the outcome of the battle at all.
SPEAKER_00: As Pausanius says, Athena and Año are supreme in war, but where Athena often upholds justice and assists worthy heroes like Perseus or Odysseus, Ano just likes to see a good show.
SPEAKER_00: Her loyalty is to adroit warriors, however cruel or unjust they might be.
SPEAKER_00: For Ano, all warfare is a stage for her own entertainment.
SPEAKER_00: Probably the best and most glorious example of this comes from Zeus' battle with Typhoon.
SPEAKER_00: Zeus is the king of the cosmos, the lord of all the universe, and Typhoon is the lightning thief trying to usurp his rule.
SPEAKER_00: Typhoon is a deity representing chaos, and Eris, the very manifestation of chaos, is naturally on his side.
SPEAKER_00: Zeus is the god who brought celestial order through his victory, so he has Nike, the goddess of victory, on his side.
SPEAKER_00: Nike is often closely associated with Athena.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, in some contexts, perhaps even this one, Nike is Athena.
SPEAKER_00: So this fight is a battle for the future of the universe.
SPEAKER_00: Will it be governed with peace and justice by Zeus, or chaos and discord by Typhoon?
SPEAKER_00: Anyo does not join in but watches the fight from above.
SPEAKER_00: She carries these battle scales and holds them over the combatants.
SPEAKER_00: Of course, Zeus will win in the end, but Año is totally enamored by the fight itself.
SPEAKER_00: Ano revels when she sees the fighters like dancers in the sky.
SPEAKER_00: The battle for the sake of the cosmos is a bloody ballet when viewed through the eyes of Año.
SPEAKER_00: Now, when it comes to relationships, Año does have one major consort.
SPEAKER_00: The Sister of War is also the consort of war.
SPEAKER_00: Año even conceived a son, Enalios, the embodiment of the warlike spirit, from this union with Ares.
SPEAKER_00: But critically, there is no romantic connection between Ares and Año.
SPEAKER_00: Ares is already married to Aphrodite, and the two conceived a son, Phobos, the embodiment of panic, fear, or rout, as well as Demos, the embodiment of dread and terror.
SPEAKER_00: These two are Ares' constant companions, always riding in his chariot.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes Ares, Discord, and Ano are also in his chariot.
SPEAKER_00: A glorious image of this is during the Battle of the Seven Against Thebes, recorded in Statius Thebiad.
SPEAKER_00: Ares arms himself for war and rides his chariot through Thebes.
SPEAKER_00: Route and terror are his squires riding in the chariot, while Ano pilots the chariot and rumor runs ahead, spreading falsehoods and generally causing chaos throughout the city.
SPEAKER_00: War brings rout, terror, discord, and rumor wherever he goes.
SPEAKER_00: But more to the point, Ares and Aphrodite are the ones with a significant romantic connection, and they are the ones who get married.
SPEAKER_00: Meanwhile, Año is never married to anybody.
SPEAKER_00: Much like Athena, Año is never bound to any other person.
SPEAKER_00: We know that Año does have intercourse with Ares and bears him a son, but there's a complete lack of romantic connection in the stories surrounding Año.
SPEAKER_00: Just as with the warring factions, Año does not appear to feel any particular attachment to Ares either.
SPEAKER_00: Anyo was able to have intercourse, but not create the type of long-term connection or romantic attachment that defined other people's relationships.
SPEAKER_00: Ares is not even the only potential relationship for Año.
SPEAKER_00: Año is constantly shown with Ares, the embodiment of strife.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, in Homer, it appears to be implied that the two may actually be the same figure.
SPEAKER_00: However, in the shield of Achilles found in the post-Homerica, Ares is shown at the side of Ano.
SPEAKER_00: Warfare and discord are natural allies, but this goes well beyond the association between Ano and Phobos and Demos.
SPEAKER_00: Año works with these two, but they're more closely associated with Ares.
SPEAKER_00: Ares and Año are constant companions.
SPEAKER_00: They work together in so many situations across the stories, from goading on armies to weighing heroes' fates, to just spreading chaos across Thebes.
SPEAKER_00: Año is more closely associated with Ares than any other figure in mythology.
SPEAKER_00: Now, whether there's enough material to declare that Anyo and Eris were actually consorts is an argument for another day.
SPEAKER_00: They do certainly work together an awful lot and are a lot more friendly than they are with any other god or goddess.
SPEAKER_00: But even if they are consorts, there does not appear to be any significant romantic attachment here either.
SPEAKER_00: Rather, they work well together, and they're very closely connected.
SPEAKER_00: But nothing more.
SPEAKER_00: As with Ares, any sexuality, potential or implied between the two, is not tied to romance.
SPEAKER_00: Taken together, these narratives make Año a compelling candidate for an aromantic orientation in the Greek pantheon.
SPEAKER_00: She is able to make relationships and even have children.
SPEAKER_00: However, there is not romance in any of them.
SPEAKER_00: Año is not lonely, rather, Año is this way.
SPEAKER_00: Much like when we discussed Hestia as a manifestation of an asexual identity last week, there are perhaps some misconceptions about how we should interpret this.
SPEAKER_00: It is clear that Año is not miserable like this, rather, she experiences incredible amounts of joy, though often at the destruction of other people.
SPEAKER_00: There are intense emotional interactions, though these experiences are not related to romance in any way.
SPEAKER_00: Whether Año actually experiences love with Ares or Eris is unclear.
SPEAKER_00: However, Año is totally capable of forming long-term connections with other deities.
SPEAKER_00: It seems Año forms these strong connections with people who are similarly connected with warfare and conflict.
SPEAKER_00: Shared interests are essential for Año to make connections with anybody.
SPEAKER_00: That these interests are destruction and chaos is neither here nor there.
SPEAKER_00: It seems Ano is committed to relationships with Eris and Ares, as well as Phobos, Demos, and even Athena.
SPEAKER_00: It's just that Año does not generally make romantic connections.
SPEAKER_00: But Año is not lonely.
SPEAKER_00: Though Ano does have sexual relationships at times, these are clearly not defining characteristics in her life.
SPEAKER_00: Año is the warlike goddess who delights in violence, disorder, and strife.
SPEAKER_00: I would imagine few of the other gods or goddesses would want to have a romantic relationship with Año, anyway.
SPEAKER_00: So if we interpret the surviving references to the goddess Ano, we do get an image of a truly aromantic deity.
SPEAKER_00: While romantic love is clearly the oldest kind in Greek mythology, as we saw with Hestia last week, asexuality was not far behind.
SPEAKER_00: Shortly after Zeus' victory over Kronos, Zeus and Hera begat Ano.
SPEAKER_00: Ares is her full brother.
SPEAKER_00: For this reason, Año is called the sister of war.
SPEAKER_00: So we can see that, just like with Hestia, aromanticism is not far behind romantic love in the Greek imagination.
SPEAKER_00: There is something profound about the Greek exploration of sexuality, placing it so far back in their own cultural record, they were comfortable exploring sexuality in many ways and came up with manifestations like Ano.
SPEAKER_00: Año is proof that an aromantic orientation, though the Greeks never used that word, of course, was a manifestation of sexuality from the very early days of the universe.
SPEAKER_00: It was clearly a real sexuality because they reflected it very early in their history.
SPEAKER_00: Next week we're going to explore Iakos and Misa, two key figures in the mysteries.
SPEAKER_00: Iakos leads the mystic processions, and Misa is the bearer of the processional rod at the front of the parade.
SPEAKER_00: They both bear torches as they lead the Elozinian and Bacchic mysteries.
SPEAKER_00: However, neither of these deities are distinct.
SPEAKER_00: They are the selfsame entity, sometimes manifested as Iakos, the vaguely masculine form, and sometimes as Misa, the vaguely feminine form.
SPEAKER_00: When we understand them this way, Iakos and Misa appear to be one gender fluid entity in the Pantheon.
SPEAKER_00: We'll see in two weeks.
SPEAKER_00: Notes and comments Anyo ranging ahead of the lines with Athena is from Homer's Iliad, Book five, verse three hundred thirty three.
SPEAKER_00: Ano leading the Trojans with Ares is from Homer's Iliad, Book five, verse five ninety.
SPEAKER_00: Both references to Ano helping the Greeks and the Trojans are from within just a few hundred lines of each other.
SPEAKER_00: The original sack of Troy was in an epic called Iliopersis, written by Archintus of Meletus around the 7th century BC.
SPEAKER_00: The full text was lost probably during the early Middle Ages, but we do have a significant quotations and fragments for it.
SPEAKER_00: The Post-Homerica, written by Quintus of Smyrna, contains all the stuff that happens after Homer during the Trojan War.
SPEAKER_00: It starts about where Homer leaves off and continues through the sack of Troy.
SPEAKER_00: The epic survives in its entirety, but we don't really know that much about it.
SPEAKER_00: The author Quintus of Smyrna was a Greek poet living in the Roman Empire at some point between the mid-3rd and late 4th centuries AD.
SPEAKER_00: We do not know anything about him or the details of his poetry.
SPEAKER_00: The duel between Achilles and Memnon comes from Quintus of Smyrna's post Homerica, Book 2, verses 525.
SPEAKER_00: Aeneas and Neoptolemus's duel is from Quintus of Smyrna's post Homerica, Book 11, verse 237.
SPEAKER_00: Ano and Eris enjoying Neoptolemus and Eurypolis duel comes from the Post Homerica, Book 8, verse 186.
SPEAKER_00: Eris and Ano enjoying Cadmus the Dragonslayer fighting his enemies comes from Nonus of Panopoulos's Dionysia, written in the 5th century AD.
SPEAKER_00: Book 5, verse 40.
SPEAKER_00: Pausanius calls Ano and Athena supreme in war in his travelogue, The Description of Greece.
SPEAKER_00: Book 4, chapter 30, section 5.
SPEAKER_00: Nonus of Panopoulos came from the 5th century AD.
SPEAKER_00: At this late date, many of the gods and goddesses who had been discrete abstractions had been rolled into one.
SPEAKER_00: Athena and Nike are one example of two figures who were distinct at one point.
SPEAKER_00: Nonos uses Nike Athena as one being most of the time, but during the duel between Zeus and Typhoon, it's not actually made clear whether Nike is Athena or an isolated abstraction.
SPEAKER_00: Ano watching Zeus and Typhoon is from Nonos Dionysia, Book 2, verse 358 through 475.
SPEAKER_00: Ares's magnificent chariot with route and terrorist squires, Ano as a pilot, and rumor as the herald, comes from Statius Thebiad, Book III.
SPEAKER_00: Statius was a Latin poet who wrote in the first century AD.
SPEAKER_00: The Thebiad is an epic treatment of the Seven Against Thebes.
SPEAKER_00: Eris appearing on the shield of Achilles next to Ano is drawn from Quintus of Smyrna, Book 5, verse 25.
SPEAKER_00: That's all for this week, folks.
SPEAKER_00: We'll see you in two weeks for our discussion of Iakos and Misa.