A Spartan's Sorrow (The Grecian Women Trilogy, #2)

by Hannah M. Lynn

“It is no animal she requires,” he said, with a voice that could have been a thousand years old. “It is a child. Your fairest daughter, Iphigenia.”

She would keep them here, by her side, for as long as was humanly possible.

sike

Beauty—the most tainted gift there was. Being beautiful didn’t stop a man’s hands from striking you. Nor did it stop his eyes—and the rest of him—wandering when he grew tired of the same person in his bed at night.

“The stories say that he is handsome, do they not?” “They do.” “But being handsome or strong does not mean he will make a good husband, does it?” “It does not, no.”

“Do you think I will have children?” Iphigenia asked after a pause. “I very much hope so,” she replied. “Because that is the only way you will understand how much I love you.” “I think I already know that.” “Trust me, my child, you do not.”

Iphigenia laughed. “I would like to be there when you ask her,” she said.

unfortunate

Never believe yourself to be worth less than him, or any man for that matter, because thinking it is the start of it becoming true.”

“See. The girl understands.” That word again. Girl. Like she was not of his blood. As if he could not even be bothered to recall his own daughter’s name. Her grip tightened.

I am sorry if my way of greeting you was not how you had envisioned so fancifully in that florid imagination of yours, but I have many things playing on my mind.

the way my blood boiled at this nonapology to a small part of her valid argument

She would have to take back presents for the children, she thought, as she continued to amble over the cobblestones. Not that they needed anything, but it was never about what they needed.

my gift giving love language said

The two men were sharing a wistful smile. At a glance, they appeared similar in age; a little younger than herself, most probably. Both were dressed in fine clothes, both deeply tanned from hours spent in the sun but while one of the men was, by common standards at least, attractive enough, the other could have been a god. With his chest swathed in folds of deep maroon, he stood a half-foot taller than his friend and would have made most of the men in Sparta look like runts by comparison.

"his friend" lmaooo

“No, no. I wish.” She laughed at his geniality. “But it is today, is it not, that you are marrying my daughter?” A rumble of laughter caught in Patroclus’ throat, although it was so quickly stifled that she did not hear it. Achilles shot him a look.

patroclus said "who? my bf?"

“I am coming! I am coming!” she called out. “I am coming for you, Iphigenia!”

“I am coming, Iphigenia!” she called again as she ran. She had promised her children a thousand times that she would keep them safe. She had promised, too, that Agamemnon would protect them. And now she had delivered her daughter to be slaughtered at his hands. “Please, gods!” she screamed up to the sky as she ran. “She is only a child! Please! Take me! Take me instead!”

bro i am crying

A pain tore through her heart, as the thousand scars that had never truly healed reopened in a blinding agony.

“And that is why it is the greatest gift. Of all the children, the Goddess wanted yours.” “Well, I want her too. I want her back!”

They had been present at her burial, when they had taken her body to the grave circle of their ancestors, placed coins on her eyes and bade her a safe passage to the underworld. There would be no one there she would recognise, Clytemnestra realised, as she attempted to drown the images of her dead daughter in wine. Her grandparents had passed over the river Styx, but she had never met them. And a brother she had not even known existed. It should be a parent’s job to go first, to welcome their children to the next stage of existence. But as much as she thought about joining her daughter, she knew she still had three children left in the world to protect.

I think that happens when you are abandoned as a child, you will always wonder what was wrong with you.”

i am in this picture and i do not like it

“My husband has enough forgiveness of his own to seek,” she said.

Did she realise that she had exposed the unthinkable: even all the riches of a kingdom could not buy happiness?

You stand there and support a father who would slit your throat for a better wind.”

“She is the point. What he did to her, is the point.”

“I do not wish to cause you pain, my love. You must know I would never want to do that.” He knelt on the ground at her feet. “You did not let her go, Clytemnestra. And you must believe, by all the power of the gods, that she knows that. And Alesandro. He should have been safe. As sons can avenge their fathers, mothers should be allowed to avenge their children. What has happened to you is a tragedy, but you never let them go. You must understand that. You are strong and fearless and nothing Agamemnon could say or do will ever change that.”

my mom simulator - bro tell me why i got stung by a yellow jacket while leaving this comment gtfo

She could feel the warmth flowing from him and it was as if something missing had been replaced, something she had been longing for all her life, not just these past few years.

moving his lips all the way up to her neck.

why is there no fuckin in this book ?????

“You do not have to talk to learn,” he replied. “In fact, often it is better if you do not. Far better to listen.” “That cannot be right.” “Why not? Animals do not speak, and it gives them more time to learn about their surroundings. Think how much harder it would be for them to survive, if they had to talk too.”

She should consider herself lucky, she thought. Few women found one man who truly loved them in their lifetime, and she had found two.

“Then I will go. And you must greet your king. He will be here any moment. Just promise me you will do nothing rash while I am gone.” “I promise you,” she said, then kissed his lips softly, tenderly. She wondered if he could taste the lie that she had just spun him.

brother and our armies to bring home his captive queen safely, was all I needed to confirm that I had been appointed to this position by Zeus himself.” He lifted a golden sceptre

this man rlly lived while my bbs patroclus and achilles died huh

There was talk too, of Achilles and Patroclus

</3

“Am I? Please, do not think me that naïve. Do not imagine I have not considered killing him myself. Killing any and all of them. But, for me, it would have meant an immediate death sentence, even if I had succeeded. This was not an accident, but what will happen next…” She became serious. “That saddens me. It saddens me that my journey ends now. I think, perhaps, had things been different, you and I could have even been friends. After all, I would have said whatever you wished me to, My Queen. Whatever story you wished to spin, I would have agreed to. I could even have been a witness for you. I would have done so, for you.”

wtf :(

“Tell me then, how should I have behaved? I had a role to play. Surely you see that? All we ever have are the roles they force us to play.”

“Gods, not goddesses. Men, not women. Zeus, not Hera,” she said. “This is the way Orestes. Agamemnon, not Clytemnestra.” Even the heat of the room could not stop the chill that rippled through him. “What are you saying?” “I am saying, Orestes, that the God Apollo has spoken. It is fathers that must be avenged, whatever the circumstances. Agamemnon was killed by your mother’s hand. Now your mother must die by yours.”

thanks! i hate it. this do not feel like the feminist retelling or tragic love story that circe or ariadne did. maybe it's unfair to hold this to that standard but this is not hittin the mark

He was just a boy, but soon he would be a murderer too.

The young princes lay together on a blanket, with Orestes’ head resting on Pylades’ chest. At this time of day, he smelt fresher than the morning dew. Crisp and new. He drew in a lungful of air and closed his eyes.

this would be so cute! if they weren't,,,,, cousins

“If you do not turn up, then I will hunt you down and drag you onto a ship for Mycenae myself. And, before we leave, I might just happen to mention to King Strophius, why Pylades has shown so little interest in marriage, despite all the attempts to arrange one for him.”

bro elektra sucks in this retelling fr

“Now, do you plan on ruining just part of my day or all of it?”

get her ass

He is the best of us.

cursed words after song of achilles

He wanted to tell them that they would need to find another ship to follow, either that or be content to starve, waiting for a feast that would never arrive.

foreshadowing??? perhaps orestes won't b able to kill clymnestra ??!!?? - jk

He could not move, his eyes still fixed on Laodamia. She would scream out, he was certain, to alert the guards. But instead she pressed her hand to her heart and disappeared back into the palace.

ok traitor damn

Perhaps showing he was willing to obey Apollo’s command would be enough. Please, he prayed over and over, please let there be another way.

u think ur circe????? lmaooo

In one motion, his left hand clamped over her mouth and pulled her to him, exposing her neck, and his right hand dragged the dagger sharply across her throat. It was blood, the likes of which he had never seen before. Deeper in colour than the darkest poppy, it sprayed upwards and outwards, covering his arms. His mother’s head barely turned, yet it was enough for him to glimpse the horror in her eyes.

this book is abt her and we dont even get her death from her pov?....... this warrior princess who trained and trained and trained got got from behind without knowing it was coming?..... i am disappointed

The boy’s screams turned to a gurgle, as lungs filled and he toppled forwards, his blood now mingling with his mother’s on the tiled floor.

top 10 anime betrayals of all time i hope aegisthus kills them fr

the mother who had lived to protect him, and the brother he should have saved.

oof

His eyes widened at the sight of the Prince, a smile starting to form on his lips, only for his face to twist in disbelief, as his gaze took in his stepson’s blood-soaked hands. “No, you did not. You could not have.”

he was excited:(

“Nooo!” His scream was so terrible that it seemed to shake the very marble they stood on.

was it that terrible of a scream…when that was how we wrote it with three Os? cringe

“Please!” He didn’t really know what he was begging for—for Aegisthus to spare his life, or to end it. Both and neither.

honestly . fair. cuz i lovehate orestes

This time, when Orestes turned towards his lover, it was to say goodbye. To try and tell him with a look that he was sorry for failing him. Sorry for what he had done, bringing him into this. But, when he saw the tears shimmering in Pylades eyes, his heart tore in a new way and he understood. Aegisthus was a broken old man now. He would always be crippled by the loss of his loved ones and consumed with hate. There would be no real life for him anymore. At that same moment, Orestes knew that if he let himself be killed, Pylades would spend the rest of his days hell-bent on revenge. If he even got the chance. Who was to say that once Aegisthus was done with him, he would not move on to Pylades?

torn between loving this and hating this so much

Would they? he wondered. Would they really be proud of a man who had slain the very people who had raised him, all for a title he could have simply asked for, had he desired it so much? If the gods were proud of a person like that, he was not sure he wanted to please them anymore.

“I would have stayed by your side for anything, Orestes,” he continued. “I would have stayed by your side if you had committed a thousand murders. But not for this. I will not watch this any longer.”

murderer? yes pls! depressed bc of matricide and patricide and fratrocide????? mmm no thanks. we do not stan. this is not romantic. this is bird shit