Nothing is True. Everything is Connected.
Category: <span>Sanguen Clan</span>

Sylum Inspiration: Javert

Assassin

Javert was born in prison, and learned to defend himself quickly. One of the Prison Guards took him under his wing, taught him how to read through the Bible. He got him released and under his authority. He made sure Javert was raised with morality and honor. Leading him into become a Police Inspector.

His life will change drastically when he stumbles over Jean Valjean again after twenty years. In the end it leads him to questioning everything he knew and thought about morality and justice.

In the end it was taken from his hands.

(Dilios Note: Javert comments if anyone wants the story they can read the damn book Westley worked so hard to get published)

Sylum Inspiration: Arbaaz Mir

Assassin

 

Arbaaz Mir was born in Kashmir in northwestern India during the early 19th century to a Muslim family. His home region was conquered by Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Sikh Empire in 1819, leading to the death of numerous Muslims in Kashmir, including some of Arbaaz’s kin.  This led Arbaaz to grow up with a resentment towards Singh, considering him a cold-blooded killer.

His revenge led him to go after Singh only to be thwarted by the Assassins. He was taken from India and handed over to Dastan and Altaïr. Both saw potential in him, but also his anger.  They worked to train him, and in time they watched him grow into a steady Assassin.

Dastan escorted him back to India, hearing rumors about his old enemy, the Hassassin. When they arrived he discovered that Templars were using the British Government to influence the Maharaja so they could control the land and wealth.

Arbaaz had to face his own emotions when he came face to face with Singh.

He realized they were trying to poison the Maharaja, and knocked the tea out of his hand, instead of watching him die – but it was already too late.  The Templar escaped but Arbaaz stayed with the Singh, and told him he forgave him.

Ranjit smiled and died peacefully.

Arbaaz barely had time to react when the Templar returned.  He defected the blow, but ended up with a mortal wound before he gave the killing blow.

Dastan found him and gave him a new chance.

Sylum Inspiration: Ernesto Olivetti

Lealta: Hunter

Figured highlight some of the Top Ten Favorite Characters!

Ernesto is the only son of Franco and Veronique Olivetti. His father was a Roman Carabinieri, and was killed in a shooting when Ernesto was twenty. He followed in his father’s footsteps when, after two years as an MP in the Italian Army, he joined the Vatican Police.

He was married to Maria, and has four children: Francesco, Mary, Adria and Isabella.

Ernesto rose up the ranks in the Vatican Police quickly, becoming one of the youngest Inspector Generals at the age of 47.

He was introduced to the world of Vampires when he became friends with and later a Chosen One for Andrew Kiernan.

His life radically changed That Night. Though he had known about Vampires, he had not expected to be pulled into a conspiracy that went all the way back to Galileo, who he found out was a Vampire and was betraying his Clan and society.

He chased all over Rome with Robert Langdon and Nicolaus Meridius. Until he ended up at the Santa Maria della Vittoria, his home parish. A place where he laid his life down for his Church only to wake up a Vampire.

Sylum Inspiration: Leo Demidov

сила Kin Clan: Hunter

 

Leo Demidov is a World War II Hero and works for the Ministry of State Security (MGB). When he uncovers a strange and brutal series of child murders, MGB refuses to acknowledge the deaths as murders, however, because Soviet doctrine states that only capitalism creates serial killers. The son of Leo’s partner is murdered by the serial killer, and during Leo’s investigation, his wife, Raisa, is accused of being disloyal to the state. Leo suspects that his amoral and ambitious enemy in the MGB, Vasili Nikitin, is behind the charges. Leo refuses to support the accusation, and he is forced to take a demeaning militia position in the town of Volsk. Raisa accompanies him and must work as a janitor.

In Volsk Leo meets his new commander, General Nesterov. Meanwhile, Vasili calls Raisa and attempts to persuade her to leave Leo and join him in Moscow. When she refuses, Vasili orders a local MGB man to abuse her. Raisa later admits to Leo that she only agreed to marry him because she feared what would happen to her if she refused a high-ranking member of state security.

More child murder victims are discovered in Volsk, and after Leo tells Raisa that he suspects a serial killer, she decides to help his investigation. Together they convince Nesterov and his wife, Seleyse, that the deaths must be investigated as serial murder. Further investigation reveals that the killer has claimed at least 44 victims and that he is traveling the rail lines to find his targets.

Leo and Raisa travel in secret to Moscow to interview a woman who reported seeing the killer. The interview does not bear fruit, however, and to escape possible pursuit by the MGB, they seek out Raisa’s former colleague. During the meeting Raisa discovers that the colleague is an informer planning to turn them in to the MGB, and Leo kills him. Leo tells Raisa that she can leave him if she wishes, but she says that she wants to stay with him.

Leo and Raisa return to Volsk, but there they discover that Vasili and his men have pursued them for killing the informer. They are arrested and interrogated, then put on a train to a work camp. During the train ride, they are attacked by killers at the order of Vasili; after killing their assailants, Leo and Raisa jump off the train. They trek to Rostov, where the highest concentration of the serial killer’s victims has been found; they reason that the killer must work close to the rail yards there.

In the Rostov tractor factory, Leo identifies the killer by cross-referencing worker travel with the location and date of the murders. Leo and Raisa corner the killer, who surrenders to them. However, the killer is suddenly shot in the head by Vassili, who has followed Leo and Raisa. Vassili tries to execute them, but after a vicious struggle, they kill Vassili. Leo cleverly tells the MGB agents who arrive that the serial killer killed Vassili and that he then shot the killer. Because the serial killer was a POW in German camps, the MGB is able to explain away his actions as those of a Nazi agent.

Leo is reinstated in Moscow. Despite being offered a promising political position, he instead asks to create and lead a homicide division in Moscow. Leo and Raisa adopt 2 girls who were orphaned by Vassili.

Soon after he was settled, Leo was approached by Yevgeniy Onegin, who wanted to offer him another position. Leo questioned what Yevgeniy wanted, and when the man sat him down and explained all that he was to offer, he took the chance.

Sylum Inspiration: Heidi

Ehre/Weisheit: Hunter

Heidi doesn’t remember much of her family. She remembers her dad was tall and always made her laugh, while mom had a beautiful singing voice. After they died she was given to her grandpa Alp-Oehi.

He took her to the Von Trapps where she was raised with an education and all intents to be presented in court. Except she had no interest in court and was more interested in learning how to fight.

When she was old enough she went straight to her grandpa and asked to be Turned.

Sylum Inspiration: Johannes Gutenberg

Ehre/Weisheit Kin Clan: Archivist/Librarian

 

Gutenberg was born in the German city of Mainz, the youngest son of the upper-class merchant Friele Gensfleisch zur Laden, and his second wife, Else Wyrich, who was the daughter of a shopkeeper. It is assumed that he was baptized in the area close to his birthplace of St. Christoph. According to some accounts Friele was a goldsmith for the bishop at Mainz, but most likely, he was involved in the cloth trade Gutenberg’s year of birth is not precisely known but was most likely around 1398.

John Lienhard, technology historian, says “Most of Gutenberg’s early life is a mystery. His father worked with the ecclesiastic mint. Gutenberg grew up knowing the trade of goldsmithing.” This is supported by historian Heinrich Wallau, who adds, “In the 14th and 15th centuries his [descendants] claimed a hereditary position as …the master of the archiepiscopal mint. In this capacity they doubtless acquired considerable knowledge and technical skill in metal working. They supplied the mint with the metal to be coined, changed the various species of coins, and had a seat at the assizes in forgery cases.”

Wallau adds, “His surname was derived from the house inhabited by his father and his paternal ancestors ‘zu Laden, zu Gutenberg’. The house of Gänsfleisch was one of the patrician families of the town, tracing its lineage back to the thirteenth century.” Patricians (aristocrats) in Mainz were often named after houses they owned. Around 1427, the name zu Gutenberg, after the family house in Mainz, is documented to have been used for the first time.

In 1411, there was an uprising in Mainz against the patricians, and more than a hundred families were forced to leave. As a result, the Gutenbergs are thought to have moved to Eltville am Rhein (Alta Villa), where his mother had an inherited estate. According to historian Heinrich Wallau, “All that is known of his youth is that he was not in Mainz in 1430. It is presumed that he migrated for political reasons to Strasbourg, where the family probably had connections.” He is assumed to have studied at the University of Erfurt, where there is a record of the enrollment of a student called Johannes de Altavilla in 1418—Altavilla is the Latin form of Eltville am Rhein.

Nothing is now known of Gutenberg’s life for the next fifteen years, but in March 1434, a letter by him indicates that he was living in Strasbourg, where he had some relatives on his mother’s side. He also appears to have been a goldsmith member enrolled in the Strasbourg militia. In 1437, there is evidence that he was instructing a wealthy tradesman on polishing gems, but where he had acquired this knowledge is unknown. In 1436/37 his name also comes up in court in connection with a broken promise of marriage to a woman from Strasbourg, Ennelin. Whether the marriage actually took place is not recorded. Following his father’s death in 1419, he is mentioned in the inheritance proceedings.

Around 1439, Gutenberg was involved in a financial misadventure making polished metal mirrors (which were believed to capture holy light from religious relics) for sale to pilgrims to Aachen: in 1439 the city was planning to exhibit its collection of relics from Emperor Charlemagne but the event was delayed by one year due to a severe flood and the capital already spent could not be repaid. When the question of satisfying the investors came up, Gutenberg is said to have promised to share a “secret”. It has been widely speculated that this secret may have been the idea of printing with movable type. Also around 1439–1440, the Dutch Laurens Janszoon Coster came up with the idea of printing. Legend has it that the idea came to him “like a ray of light”.

Until at least 1444 he lived in Strasbourg, most likely in the St. Arbogast parish. It was in Strasbourg in 1440 that Gutenberg is said to have perfected and unveiled the secret of printing based on his research, mysteriously entitled Kunst und Aventur (art and enterprise). It is not clear what work he was engaged in, or whether some early trials with printing from movable type may have been conducted there. After this, there is a gap of four years in the record. In 1448, he was back in Mainz, where he took out a loan from his brother-in-law Arnold Gelthus, quite possibly for a printing press or related paraphernalia. By this date, Gutenberg may have been familiar with intaglio printing; it is claimed that he had worked on copper engravings with an artist known as the Master of Playing Cards.

By 1450, the press was in operation, and a German poem had been printed, possibly the first item to be printed there. Gutenberg was able to convince the wealthy moneylender Johann Fust for a loan of 800 guilders. Peter Schöffer, who became Fust’s son-in-law, also joined the enterprise. Schöffer had worked as a scribe in Paris and is believed to have designed some of the first typefaces.

Gutenberg’s workshop was set up at Hof Humbrecht, a property belonging to a distant relative. It is not clear when Gutenberg conceived the Bible project, but for this he borrowed another 800 guilders from Fust, and work commenced in 1452. At the same time, the press was also printing other, more lucrative texts (possibly Latin grammars). There is also some speculation that there may have been two presses, one for the pedestrian texts, and one for the Bible. One of the profit-making enterprises of the new press was the printing of thousands of indulgences for the church, documented from 1454–55.

In 1455 Gutenberg completed his 42-line Bible, known as the Gutenberg Bible. About 180 copies were printed, most on paper and some on vellum.

Some time in 1456, there was a dispute between Gutenberg and Fust, and Fust demanded his money back, accusing Gutenberg of misusing the funds. Meanwhile the expenses of the Bible project had proliferated, and Gutenberg’s debt now exceeded 20,000 guilders. Fust sued at the archbishop’s court. A November 1455 legal document records that there was a partnership for a “project of the books,” the funds for which Gutenberg had used for other purposes, according to Fust. The court decided in favor of Fust, giving him control over the Bible printing workshop and half of all printed Bibles.

For More Information Contact the Vampire Council Library

It was after this that he ended up meeting Imenand, who was interested in his printed Bible as he wanted to print of it for a friend. When he heard the tale of financial difficulties, he was willing to offer more than financial help.

Sylum Inspiration: Briar Rose

Passion Kin Clan: Archivist/Librarian

Briar Rose was the only daughter of one of the merchants in the village near Lady Claire’s Castle and Vineyard.  She was the miracle baby, and her parents always knew she was a blessing.

She was headstrong and wanted more than to get married and have children. She ended up working in the Castle, making friends with Snow White. The two became fast friends, taking care of the Castle and Lady Claire.

When the Lady approached them about a new life, they took it.

Sylum Inspiration: Javert

Javert was born in prison, and learned to defend himself quickly. One of the Prison Guards took him under his wing, taught him how to read through the Bible. He got him released and under his authority. He made sure Javert was raised with morality and honor. Leading him into become a Police Inspector.

His life will change drastically when he stumbles over Jean Valjean again after twenty years. In the end it leads him to questioning everything he knew and thought about morality and justice.

In the end it was taken from his hands.

(Dilios Note: Javert comments if anyone wants the story they can read the damn book Westley worked so hard to get published)

Sylum Inspiration: Aristotle

 

Aristotle, whose name means “the best purpose”, was born in 384 BC in Stagira, Chalcidice, about 55 km (34 miles) east of modern-day Thessaloniki. His father Nicomachus was the personal physician to King Amyntas of Macedon. Although there is little information on Aristotle’s childhood, he probably spent some time within the Macedonian palace, making his first connections with the Macedonian monarchy.

At about the age of eighteen, Aristotle moved to Athens to continue his education at Plato’s Academy. He remained there for nearly twenty years before leaving Athens in 348/47 BC. The traditional story about his departure records that he was disappointed with the Academy’s direction after control passed to Plato’s nephew Speusippus, although it is possible that he feared anti-Macedonian sentiments and left before Plato had died.

Aristotle then accompanied Xenocrates to the court of his friend Hermias of Atarneus in Asia Minor. There, he traveled with Theophrastus to the island of Lesbos, where together they researched the botany and zoology of the island. Aristotle married Pythias, either Hermias’s adoptive daughter or niece. She bore him a daughter, whom they also named Pythias. Soon after Hermias’ death, Aristotle was invited by Philip II of Macedon to become the tutor to his son Alexander in 343 BC.

Aristotle was appointed as the head of the royal academy of Macedon. During that time he gave lessons not only to Alexander, but also to two other future kings: Ptolemy and Cassander. Aristotle encouraged Alexander toward eastern conquest and his attitude towards Persia was unabashedly ethnocentric. In one famous example, he counsels Alexander to be “a leader to the Greeks and a despot to the barbarians, to look after the former as after friends and relatives, and to deal with the latter as with beasts or plants”.

By 335 BC, Artistotle had returned to Athens, establishing his own school there known as the Lyceum. Aristotle conducted courses at the school for the next twelve years. While in Athens, his wife Pythias died and Aristotle became involved with Herpyllis of Stagira, who bore him a son whom he named after his father, Nicomachus. According to the Suda, he also had an eromenos, Palaephatus of Abydus.

This period in Athens, between 335 and 323 BC, is when Aristotle is believed to have composed many of his works. He wrote many dialogues of which only fragments have survived. Those works that have survived are in treatise form and were not, for the most part, intended for widespread publication; they are generally thought to be lecture aids for his students. His most important treatises include Physics, Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics, Politics, De Anima (On the Soul) and Poetics.

Aristotle not only studied almost every subject possible at the time, but made significant contributions to most of them. In physical science, Aristotle studied anatomy, astronomy, embryology, geography, geology, meteorology, physics and zoology. In philosophy, he wrote on aesthetics, ethics, government, metaphysics, politics, economics, psychology, rhetoric and theology. He also studied education, foreign customs, literature and poetry. His combined works constitute a virtual encyclopedia of Greek knowledge.

Near the end of his life, Alexander and Aristotle became estranged over Alexander’s relationship with Persia and Persians. A widespread tradition in antiquity suspected Aristotle of playing a role in Alexander’s death, but there is little evidence.

Following Alexander’s death, anti-Macedonian sentiment in Athens was rekindled. In 322 BC, Eurymedon the Hierophant denounced Aristotle for not holding the gods in honor, prompting him to flee to his mother’s family estate in Chalcis, explaining: “I will not allow the Athenians to sin twice against philosophy” – a reference to Athens’s prior trial and execution of Socrates.

For More Information contact the Vampire Council Library

Aristotle was ready to leave this earth, when he was visited by an old friend. When he saw Alexander he first thought he had already gone to the afterlife. It took a few moments for Alexander to convince him he wasn’t insane or dead. When he was told about Vampires, Aristotle knew this is what his life had led up to.

Sylum Inspiration: Enki Sumer

Mod Kin Clan: Member

Enki isn’t a Vampire, nor is Human.

He’s a Navigator and from the same planet as Davy Jones and Blackbeard.

He was pulled into their war, when Blackbeard enslaved his mermaids.  He was dragged to Earth, and severely wounded.  He found a safe place, in the Northern Seas, specifically like to stay near Iceland and Norway.

He became more known to Vampires after he met Hiccup and Toothless.  He ended up helping out Noromer, yet hasn’t told him quite yet.  He has a soft spot for him, especially after he faced Davy Jones head on, and won (sort of).

He finally got his mermaids back, after Jack Sparrow tricked Blackbeard back into the locker, leaving them finally free of his influence.

To this day he still prefers the Northerns Seas.  He stops by to see Gran, and talks to the Mariner a lot.  He gets a kick out of Jack Frost, always had and is happy he has his ‘Bunny’.

Sylum Inspiration: Nearchus

Sanguen: Lead Hunter

Nearchus was one of the officers, a navarch, in the army of Alexander the Great. He is known for his celebrated voyage from the Indus river to the Persian Gulf following the Indian campaign of Alexander the Great, in 326–324 BC. An account of his voyage is given in Arrian’s Indica, written in the 2nd century AD.

A native of Lato in Crete and son of Androtimus, his family settled at Amphipolis in Macedonia at some point during Philip II’s reign (we must assume after Philip took the city in 357 BC), at which point Nearchus was probably a young boy. He was almost certainly older than Alexander, as were Ptolemy, Erigyius, and the others of the ‘boyhood friends’; so depending on when Androtimus came to Macedonia Nearchus was quite possibly born in Crete.

Nearchus, along with Ptolemy, Erigyius and Laomedon, and Harpalus, was one of Alexander’s ‘mentors’ – and he was exiled by Philip as a result of the Pixodarus affair. It is not known where the exiles went, but they were recalled only after Philip’s death, on Alexander’s accession.

After their recall, these men were held in the highest honour. Nearchus was appointed as satrap of Lycia and Pamphylia in 334/3 BC, one of the earliest of Alexander’s satrapal appointments. In 328 BC he was relieved of his post and rejoined Alexander in Bactria, bringing with him reinforcements. After the siege of Aornus Nearchus was sent at the head of a reconnaissance mission – especially to find out about elephants.

In 326 BC, Nearchus was made admiral of the fleet that Alexander had built at the Hydaspes. However, his trierarchy was a financial responsibility – that is, Nearchus put up the money for the boat; and there were plenty of other trierarchs in the Indus fleet who were not natural born sailors.

During the voyage some of the ships were damaged, and Nearchus was instructed to remain behind to oversee repairs, before continuing down the river. This perhaps indicates some knowledge of shipbuilding, but he could hardly have been the only one qualified.

However, he remained in command of the fleet for the voyage from the Indus to the Persian Gulf, which he recorded in detail (and which was used extensively for Arrian’s Indica). Again, although he was the admiral, in command of the fleet, great seamanship was not required – the naval responsibilities were Onesicritus’. During the voyage, Nearchus was reputedly the first Greek commander to visit Bahrain, which was called Tylos by the Greeks. His visit marked the start of Bahrain’s inclusion within the Hellenic world, which culminated in the worship of Zeus (as the Arab sun god, Shams) and Greek being spoken as the language of the upper classes.

After many adventures, Nearchus arrived in Carmania, meeting up with Alexander after the latter’s crossing of the Gedrosian desert. Alexander sent him off to complete his voyage – he went as far as the Euphrates before turning back to rejoin Alexander at Susa, in early 324 BC.

Nearchus married the daughter of Barsine and Mentor, and received a crown as recognition of his exertions. He then took the fleet up to Babylon, where he gave Alexander the Chaldeans’ warning not to enter the city. Nearchus had a place in Alexander’s final plans, as he was to be the admiral of the Arabian invasion fleet; but the plans were cut short by the king’s death.

For more information contact the Vampire Council Library

Nearchus was ready to disappear into history with the death of his king. But it was Alexander who came to him, soon after his own Turning to talk him into following him even further. Alexander had told him that he needed people who he trusted, to go into the next journey.

Sylum Inspiration: Cynisca

Sanguen: Member

Cynisca was born in the ancient Greek city of Sparta and was the daughter of the Eurypontid king of Sparta, Archidamus II, and Eupoleia. She was also the sister of the later king of Sparta, Agesilaus II. She is said to have been a tomboy, an expert equestrian and very wealthy, the perfect qualifications for a successful trainer. She was exceedingly ambitious to succeed at the Olympic Games and the first woman to breed horses and win an Olympic victory, according to Pausanias.

Her name means ‘female puppy’ in Ancient Greek. She was named after her grandfather Zeuxidamus, who was called Cyniscos. It is possible that this name related to a specific kind of dog in Sparta, the female bloodhounds which were famous for their ability to find their quarries by their scent.

(Dilios Note: You call her a bitch, she’ll rip you to shreds – just sayin’)

While most women in the ancient Greek world were kept in seclusion and forbidden to learn any kind of skills in sports, riding or hunting, Spartan women by contrast were brought up from girlhood to excel at these things so as to produce strong children, by going through early training similar to that of their brothers.

The ancient Olympic Games were almost entirely male-only and women were forbidden even to set foot in the main stadium at Olympia, where running events and combat sports were held. Women were allowed to enter only the equestrian events, not by running but by owning and training the horses. Cynisca employed men and entered her team at the Olympics, where it won in the four-horse chariot racing twice, in 396 BC and again in 392 BC.

There have been some speculations over the motives of Agesilaus in directing his sister to join the equestrian competitions. One explanation is that he wanted to rekindle the warlike spirit in the Spartan society, which had given ground for the sake of a win in the Olympic Games. Another possible reason is that Agesilaus wanted to display Cynisca’s abilities, or promote women generally.

According to Xenophon, she was encouraged to breed horses and compete in the Games, by her brother Agesilaus II, in an attempt to discredit the sport. He viewed success in chariot racing as a victory without merit, which was only a mark of wealth and lavish outlay due to the involvement of the horses’ owner, while in the other events the decisive factor was a man’s bravery and virtue. By having a woman win, he hoped to show the sport to be unmanly, but Cynisca’s victories did not stop wealthy Spartans engaging in the sport.

However, Cynisca was honored by having a bronze statue of a chariot and horses, a charioteer and a statue of herself in the Temple of Zeus in Olympia, by the side of the statue of Troilus, made by Apelles, and an inscription written declaring that she was the only female to win the wreath in the chariot events at the Olympic Games. The first person in the inscription indicates that Cynisca was willing to push herself forward and Xenophon says that this inscription was Agesilaus’ idea. In addition to this, a hero-shrine of Cynisca was erected in Sparta at Plane-tree Grove, where religious ceremonies were held. Only Spartan kings were graced in this way and Cynisca was the first woman to receive this honor.

For More Information contact Vampire Council Library

Gorgo admired her for her work and dedication to the horses. She approached Cynisca after her first Olympics, wanting to see if she would want to be Turned. While meeting with her, one of the horse spooked, and Cynisca risked her life to stop the horse from injuring himself and others, but was injured in the process. Gorgo came to her side and offered another option.

Sylum Inspiration: Aryabhata

Sanguen: Member

Aryabhata was the first of the major mathematician-astronomers from the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy. His works include the Aryabhatiya (499 CE, when he was 23 years old) and the Arya-siddhanta.

Aryabhata mentions in the Aryabhatiya that it was composed 3,600 years into the Kali Yuga, when he was 23 years old. This corresponds to 499 CE, and implies that he was born in 476.

Aryabhata provides no information about his place of birth. The only information comes from Bhaskara I, who describes Aryabhata as asmakiya, “one belonging to the asmaka country.” During the Buddha’s time, a branch of the Asmaka people settled in the region between the Narmada and Godavari rivers in central India; Aryabhata is believed to have been born there.

It is fairly certain that, at some point, he went to Kusumapura for advanced studies and lived there for some time. Both Hindu and Buddhist tradition, as well as Bhaskara I (CE 629), identify Kusumapura as Paaliputra, modern Patna. A verse mentions that Aryabhata was the head of an institution (kulapa) at Kusumapura, and, because the university of Nalanda was in Pataliputra at the time and had an astronomical observatory, it is speculated that Aryabhata might have been the head of the Nalanda university as well. Aryabhata is also reputed to have set up an observatory at the Sun temple in Taregana, Bihar

For More Information Contact Vampire Council Library

Archimedes had traveled with Marsani in areas of India, and when he had heard of Aryabhata, he went to speak to the young man, impressed with his ideas. He sat down to talk with him on many things, finally giving him the option he was given.

Sylum INspiraiton: Gorgo

Sanguen: Council Member

Note: You might notice a change in how the bios look on the wiki.  We haven’t quite figured out what exactly happened, but when they updated wordpress, the tabs got screwed up and stopped working.  So we changed themes … will it worked slightly.  Tabs now only work on Pages, not Post.  Considering all our bios used tabs this is a problem.

The plugin we used for tabs hasn’t been updated in over a year, and come to find out webpage no longer exsists – so yeah we had to come up with something new.  None of the other programs worked the way we needed so we decided to showcase the bio differently.

As there are over a 1000 characters this is a slow process.  When we do Sylum Inspirations – the bios will get updated.  Meantime we’re first working through bios that already have new images – starting with Border and working our way forward.  When we uploaded a new image, we’ll update the bio.  The info is still there just doesn’t look as clean, as the new updates.


Gorgo was the daughter and the only known child of Cleomenes I, King of Sparta (r. 520–490 BC) during the 6th and 5th centuries BC. She was the wife of King Leonidas I, Cleomenes’ half-brother, who fought and died in the Battle of Thermopylae. Gorgo is noted as one of the few female historical figures actually named by Herodotus, and was known for her political judgement and wisdom. She is notable for being the daughter of a King of Sparta, the wife of another king of Sparta, and the mother of a third king of Sparta.

Her father Cleomenes was the eldest-born son of the previous Agiad king, Anaxandridas II, and succeeded his father at his death; however, he had three paternal half-brothers, of whom the second, Dorieus, would cause him some trouble. The other two half-brothers were Leonidas I and Cleombrotus. All four were sons of Anaxandridas II, one of the dual kings of Sparta of the Agiad house.

According to one version, Gorgo’s grandfather Anaxandridas II was long married without children, and was advised to remarry (i.e. take a second wife) which he did. His second wife gave birth to the future Cleomenes I who was thus his eldest son; however, his first wife subsequently became pregnant, and eventually gave birth to three sons, including Leonidas I. This version is however not supported by other sources, which imply that Cleomenes was either born by the king’s first marriage or by a non-marital alliance. In either case, there appears to have been some tension between the eldest son and his half-brothers, resolved only by the former’s death (or murder) and the accession of Leonidas I (at once his half-brother and his son-in-law).

Gorgo’s mother is unknown, but she was certainly Spartan since she was Leonidas’ Queen. Little about Gorgo’s childhood is known, although she was probably raised like other Spartan girls of noble family, well fed, encouraged in daily physical exercise, and educated, including literacy and numeracy. She would have learned to ride and drive chariots and have taken part in Sparta’s many festivals, dancing and singing in chorus.

According to Herodotus’s Histories, at about the age of eight to nine years old, she advised her father Cleomenes not to trust Aristagoras of Miletus, a foreign diplomat trying to induce Cleomenes to support an Ionian revolt against Persians. “Father, you had better have this man go away, or the stranger will corrupt you.” Cleomenes followed her advice. Scholars have suggested, however, that Herodotus intentionally reduced Gorgo’s age at the time of this incident to make her father look particularly foolish. More likely, Herodotus underestimated her age simply because in other Greek cities girls were married at age 12 or 13 and so rarely in their father’s household as teenagers or adults. It is more probable, that Gorgo was closer to 18 or 19 at the time of this incident.
Presumably, after Cleomenes’s death, his only surviving child Gorgo became his sole heiress. She was apparently already married by 490 (in her early teens) to her half-uncle Leonidas I.  Leonidas and Gorgo would have at least one child, a son, Pleistarchus, co-King of Sparta from 480 BC to his death in 459 BC/458 BC.

Arguably, Gorgo’s most significant role occurred prior to the Persian invasion of 480 BC. According to Herodotus’s Histories, Demaratus, then in exile at the Persian court, sent a warning to Sparta about Xerxes’s pending invasion. In order to prevent the message from being intercepted by the Persians or their vassal states, the message was written on a wooden tablet and then covered with wax. “The Spartans”, presumably the ephors, Gerousia or the kings, did not know what to do with the seemingly blank wax-tablet, until Queen Gorgo advised them to clear the wax off the tablet. She is described by David Kahn in his book The Codebreakers as one of the first female cryptanalysts whose name has been recorded.

There are also indications that Gorgo travelled outside of Sparta, specifically to Athens. Virtually all of Leonidas’ reign was dominated by his efforts to form a coalition of Greek states willing to resist the impending Persian invasion. This entailed close coordination with the other main opponent of Persia, Athens. It is likely, therefore, that Leonidas travelled to Athens more than once. That Gorgo accompanied can be inferred from two quotes attributed to her by Plutarch. First, he records that “a stranger in a finely embroidered robe” made advances to Gorgo earning the rebuke that “he couldn’t even play a female role”. While a stranger might have been in Sparta, it is not very likely that he would risk making advances to a Spartan Queen in the midst of her highly armed and notoriously proud subjects. More to the point, however, Gorgo could only make a reference to the theater (playing a female role), if she had experienced it. Sparta is not believed to have had theater at this time, whereas it was already very popular in Athens. Even more explicit is the fact that Gorgo’s most famous quip about only Spartan women giving birth to men was, according to Plutarch, made in answer to “a woman from Attica”. Since women from Attica were not supposed to leave the women’s quarters of their own homes, it is inconceivable that a woman from Attica would have travelled to Sparta. Spartan women, on the other hand, drove chariots and travelled around Lacedaemon on their own, making it perfectly plausible that Gorgo travelled with her husband (and his bodyguard) on one or more of his trips to other Greek cities.

According to Plutarch, before the Battle of Thermopylae, knowing that her husband’s death in battle was inevitable, she asked him what to do. Leonidas replied “marry a good man who will treat you well, bear him children, and live a good life”.

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When Dilios returned to tell the story of what happened, he ended up ostracized from Sparta. Later he returned, finding Gorgo to tell her the story of her husband. She asked what was different about him, he told him the gods had given him a gift to continue the story of Sparta.

She requested the same gift.