Ganymede

### Description

Mortal lover of Zeus granted eternal youth and immortality, Cup-bearer to the Gods on Olympus

### Build

Lean, musculature just starting to be defined

### Hair

Dirty blonde, gets much lighter in the summer

### Eyes

Hazel green. Post-Titanomachy they will occasionally have more catch lights than there should be (they form the constellation Aquarius)

### Scars, Tattoos, Etc.

Twin sets of faded puncture scars on his right hip and left thigh

### Face Claim

Example

**CWs for the original myth:** abduction, rape (depending on the source)

Ganymede was Trojan prince (son of King Tros, after whom Troy took its name) so beautiful among mortals that he was taken by Zeus to Olympus to be his cup-bearer and lover. There he was also granted eternal youth and immortality.

This is quite possibly the origin of Hera's hatred for Troy (his father was its founder). Whoops

For primary source quotes and research, see Ganymede/rescources

**General Themes to Explore**

* “Eternal youth” is not all it’s cracked up to be
* Power dynamics and positionality of power in relationships
* Being an object of lust vs a recipient of love
* Living with choices you made when you were too young to really understand the full ramifications

**1920s & Sun Court RP Prompts**

* Who is he now that he's no longer beholden to the subservient role he occupied on Olympus?
* How do these new circumstances change his relationships with the gods and the power dynamics involved? How does remembering or not remembering impact that?
* What does it mean to be bound to the gods via the shared experience of immortality even though he is very much Not One of Them?
* After he starts to remember: “My entire existence has been defined by the fact that I was so hot Zeus couldn’t keep his hands to himself, and that has given me a complex where I feel my value lies solely in my youthful sex appeal, and I’m kinda fucked up about it.”

Wikipedia

## Myth "canon" for this RP

### Ganymede

To make Ganymede's backstory a little more accessible for people to interact with in RP, we made some tweaks to the mythological canon. The circumstances still would not fit the modern definition of consent due to the age differences and relative power dynamics involved, but it's *less* yikes than the original.

In fanfic tag terms, we shifted the “non-con” to “dub-con”

**Family**

* Father: Tros, king of Troy
* Mother: Kallirhoe (Callirhoe), a Naiad-nymph of a spring and daughter of the river god Scamander
* Brothers: Ilos (Ilus) and Assarakos (Assaracus)
* Sister: Kleopatra (Cleopatra)

**Abduction**

* Ganymede’s age upon arrival on Olympus has been bumped up from a young teen to 19 - so he was an adult, but only just.
* Instead of just straight up being abducted by Zeus without so much as a “by your leave”, Ganymede *did* agree to a fling with Zeus in a fit of horny 19 year old poor life choices, but didn’t fully understand/consider the ramifications of what he was agreeing to. There was probably also a bit of “are you even *allowed* to say no to Zeus?” in the mix too.
* TBD if he also agreed to eternal youth and immortality or any the stuff that came with it (like never seeing his family again) or if Zeus granted it to him as a “surprise gift” without Ganymede’s consent.

### Aquarius

   (Subject to change if the Zeus or Hera players object)

At *some point* between Titanomachy and whenever the gods go to sleep for the first time (likely in the Roman phase of things), Ganymede decides he's just Done with his entire situation (and probably the gods' bullshit) and yeets all the water, ambrosia, and wine of the gods off Olympus.

Zeus is angry at first, but then realizes he maybe didn't do entirely right by Ganymede, and decides the right thing to do is let him leave Olympus.

However, Zeus is concerned Hera will take this opportunity to retaliate as she's done with his other lovers, so he places Ganymede out of her reach among the stars as the constellation Aquarius along with his eagle, the constellation Aquilla, to watch over him.

**Links:**

* Theoi.com: Ganymedes
* brickthology.com: Ganymede
* Theoi.com article: Is there an Aquarius animal in greek mythology?

## Titanomachy

### Scene Summaries

A chance meeting of Ganymede and Nerites in the Hall of Fountains, two young men in superficially similar circumstances who turn out to be first cousins once removed, leads to a new friendship and to Nerites breaking the news about Zeus’ gift of immortality to the other boy. Ganymede represses and Nerites vows to take him under his wing and teach him the Mt. Othrys ropes.

tk - #ganymedes-bedroom-closed

**Links**

* Sex With A King Demanded An Accomplished Mistress (While this article isn't about ancient Greece, the first section very much reflects the vibe of Ganymede's circumstances in this era)

## Ghislain

### Description

Manservant and general wait-staff of the court by day, sex worker by night

### Eyes

Will occasionally have more catch lights than there should be (they form the constellation Aquarius)

### Misc

Standard Attire: Standard uniform livery (blue and red)

**Mortal Pseudonym:** Ghislain

Background description TK

**Research**

* A Secret Gay Brotherhood at the Court of the Sun King ((CW: misogyny, abuse, sex act between an adult and the king's 15 year old son))
* Philippe, Chevalier de Lorraine
* History of Prostitution in France ((CW: criminalization of sex work))
* The Italian Vice Strikes Versailles ((CW: criminalization of homosexuality, death penalty))

## Gale Prince

### Hair

Classic side-part, combed back with a bit of product

### Eyes

Will occasionally have more catch lights than there should be (they form the constellation Aquarius)

### Misc

Standard Attire: Simple vested suits and necktie. Discards the jacket as often as possible. Shirt sleeves rolled up.

**Mortal pseudonym:** Gale Prince (Ganymedus is derived from the Greek Words ganumai "gladdening" and mêdon "prince." And Gale is from an English surname that was derived from Middle English gaile "jovial.” So “Gale Prince” basically has the same meaning as his Greek name.)

After awakening and making his way to The City, Gale carved out a life for himself as a bartender. He’s mostly content with his current circumstances, odd as they are with the whole missing memory and no apparent identity thing, except he seems to be a magnet for closeted married men and he’s *really* tired of it. He sometimes leans into it at work b/c hey the tips are good, but he's actually really over this whole "sugar daddy/kept boy but no one can ever find out" dynamic and would *really* like to be romanced as an intended primary partner by someone on equal footing. So far, has had zero luck in this regard and has lamented the fact to his co-workers on multiple occasions.

While his waking hours are mostly carefree, if mildly annoying, his nights are haunted by dreams. Dreams of beings awesome and terrifying, though he can never remember their names or faces upon waking. Some nights he wakes from these dreams in a panic, heart racing with fear, and a pit in his stomach from an overwhelming sense of loss he can’t place the source of. Other times he wakes flush faced and painting with the fading sensation of static dancing along the skin of his chest. The conflicting emotions of desire and terror that linger upon waking plague his mind, and he is not sure he ever wants to find the answers to the questions that accompany them.

**Short Story**

Ganymede - Awakening - Roaring 20s (3023 words)

* Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
* Chapters: 3/?
* Tags: domestic violence

### Character Vibe

* The platonic ideal of a twink and really over it.
* Would love if his type would stop being older men with wives that "can't find out."
* Would also really like to have a relationship that doesn't have to be a secret, but ya know, historically he's dated men and society's not about that jazz
* Low key desperate for a grand and epic romance.
* Tried to grow a beard once but “eternal youth” means he’s frozen at age 19 forever and it was just pathetic looking. He jokes about it but is actually really bummed.
* “Who wants to drink red wine and complain about how men are the worst?”
* “Who do I have to kill to add 10 years to my appearance so I can look like the fucking adult I actually am?”
* "If I’m gonna get hit on by customers, could it be by a man who *doesn’t* look old enough to be my father? Or *isn’t* obviously married? Just once? Is that too much to ask?"
* “Look, everyone's gotta have their awkward first attempt at gay flirting sometime, I get it, but does it always have to be me? It’s just embarrassing.”