@@Jotari yeah the real world animals he could go into detail on with explaining where they lived in the real world vs the environments they live in ASOIAF. Plus theres a bunch of fantasy animals such as the shadow cat, lizard lion (which isn't an alligator), dragons wyverns, giant apes from Sothoryos etc. He only talked about the humanoid races and giants but nothing else in detail
Hey Preston, I wrote my PhD on the subject of the so-called Thyestean Revenge Meal (let your foe eat his own children) that was SO popular in Greek, Roman, early modern Italian and English Drama - there is a strong theory that Herodotus took his idea (of Astyages and Harpagos) from a play of his friend Sophocles for the revenge meal was a well established mythological motive in Greek tragedy since Aischylos (the very beginning). Also, later on it is a classic topos to illustrate the gruesome consequences of tyranny in plenty plays - which is often alluded to in Roman and Early Modern historiographies. Maybe that’s interesting to know…? Love your content, greetings from Germany
I always thought the special thing about the triple walls of Qarth is the mystery where they got the building materials from. I mean it’s the red waste with nothing around but they were able to get big enough stocks of grey granit and black marble to surround this big city.
I know this is an old comment, but isnt it implied that some disaster formed the red waste? Like there are many abandoned towns in areas that should not be inhabited. Its possible that the area that is now the red waste had some incredible lost material available right?
Love hearing from Trey, and love discussing history and ASOIAF! I don't know too much about roman and middle age myths / history, so it's interesting to hear about.
14:55 I wouldn’t say that Tacitus was the “rational” one, he was just the more serious one. He wrote his accounts more soberly and tried to reflect an academic perspective of the Caesars whereas Suetonius was writing to entertain the masses with any salacious gossip he found… but the problem is that Tacitus was one of the saltiest people who ever lived, forever bitter that the Senate had lost so much power and influence to the Emperors, and it really shows. Suetonius, by contrast, had no such vendetta and his histories are free of a need to correct a historical wrong, he’s just writing about the rich and powerful because they’re fun to write about. So it comes down to whether you think an academic but incredibly biased account is more accurate and truthful than the neutral tabloid writer. To bring it back to ASOIAF, Mushroom will make up salacious nonsense just because he can… but he also has no agenda to push, and that’s arguably far more important in assessing historical sources than the manner in which they present their information.
That's true. Tacitus definitely had his biases. His audience was the Flavians. GRRM calls these "utter lies" as they are mixed with truth and harder to identify. Tacitus absolutely hated Agrippina and Nero, though was still slightly kinder than Suetonius, who just trashes everyone.
Commented on this elsewhere but you beat me to it. Suetonius was definitely an academic writer though, just in a different, more biographical tradition.
@@PrestonJacobstheSweetrobin The great thing about Tacitus is that he's very transparent about what his perspective is, and because he's a very meticulous writer it's very possible to read against him and come up with a contrasting perspective. Suetonius (the Mushroom equivalent) is confused and muddled so that it's really impossible to construct any sort of plausible account of Caligula's reign from his ridiculous anecdotes.
If the dragon roads are a wonder, then valyria must have collapsed or else one of their other works (blood dome or palaces on their volcanoes) would have made the list
There seems to be a general trope among fantasy writers to have Herodotus type in universe character. Wheel of Time has Jain Farstrider who basically did the same thing as Loomis Longstrider
I mean from personal experience it sucks to do a crap ton of worldbuilding about several continents worth of places and set up thematic parralells then only to realize there's no justification for your pov chatacters to have heard about anything from outside their region... And so we invent Tomas Widewalker who has heard about it... XD
I hadn't heard of Trey until he started coming on the podcasts and I'm surprised (I know I shouldn't be) how much knowledge and depth of insight he comes and brings to the pod, such a cool addition I'm so glad you've brought him along
Personally, I don’t understand how the sandship isn’t THE wonder of planetos. It is actively the most mysterious “man”made object in the story (at least from an in universe perspective)
Why? It’s just an odd-shaped palace made of ordinary bricks. The description of a giant ship turned to stone is just Arys Oakheart’s choice of metaphor.
I wonder if the long bridge of Volantis is a reference to the medieval London bridge? It always struck me as interesting because both are described as having buildings on them. It also feels very George to take something from London and stick it in an "exotic" city like Volantis
I imagined it as an analog to the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. Though, buildings on bridges provided commercial spaces which could skirt tax/usury laws. Most cities in the medieval/renaissance era had need for such spaces, ergo several examples.
the geek story of Lycaon King of Arcadia is way closer to the rat cook story Lycaon tried to trick Zeus into eating human flesh. Zeus was not deceived and Lycaon turned into a wolf.
Okay you guys made me curious about the Japanese panty vending machines and it turns out, basically, there were specialty stores throughout the 90s to early 2000s where schoolgirls could sell their used panties and other school uniform garments to be resold to customers with schoolgirl fetishes. HOWEVER, this was viewed as weird and gross by the vast majority of regular Japanese people and Japanese popular media, and the police cracked down on it in the early 2000s. So basically some weirdos exist in a country and some people wanna act like those weirdos represent all 125 million people in Japan.
Be the inspiration Herodotus, Ibn Battuta or Marco Polo, I love this kind of "easy" world building and the real world inspirations. Wish/hope we'll get to read more about Longstrider's observations and their accuracy (maybe Sea Snake related rather than books), like we slowly experience most of Jain Farstrider's travels in WoT (no need to meet him though, or maybe as an ice zombie).
Great video ! Second time Preston mentioned there was no writing before the Andals but that's actually wrong ! It's mentioned here and there that the First Men did write a little with runes. That's how we know the Blackwoods were kings of the Wolfwood for example and that's also the Royces' all thing
@@shacuras8201 I think the main difference with the andals is that the first men only wrote on stone and wood (and maybe clay) which make impossible to write long texts
Herodotus exemplifies the difference between getting stuff wrong (which he frequently does) and lying (which I don't think he ever does). He's a naïve reporter, or maybe a camera - eye writer.
Herodotus was THOUGT to be lieing by late 19th and early 20th century historians who arrogantly thought many of the achievements he described to be impossible for those "primitive" peoples of the past.But the more we learn the more of his account is proven to be fairly accurate: e.g. Xerxes canal through Mt.Athos penninsula,the circumnavigation of Africa by the Carthaginians,the coup of Dareios,etc. One should not be so dissmissive about Herodotos IMHO.
GRRM was asked if there are really no children in Asshai. he started by saying that the reader learns it from a Maester, not from someone who had been there, then he mentions that Maesters writing about it is like an English monk writing about Vietnam back in the Medieval period. he knows half of what is written makes no f-ing sense historically.
As a classicist I love hearing talk about this kind of thing. Many authors, and people, do not even realize that they are influenced by these stories because they have been ingrained so deeply in our culture that we don't even question where they come from. Also Preston loves to bring up the mom-sex but, the thing about Oedipus is the Greeks did not think the mom-sex was the worst part, they thought the dad-killing was. The mom-sex was bad, but it was not what was causing the miasma on the city. In modern times we of course think the incest is the worst part so we focus on it mostly thanks to Freud but for Greeks kin slaying and especially parent murder is cause for the gods to curse your whole city until you punish the culprit. Nobody really gets punished for incest in tragedy because Athenians were endogamous.
If I had a nickel for every time a super popular fantasy series had a world-travelling character with "strider" in their pseudonym, writing spurious accounts of the world beyond, I would have two nickels.
Reading Herodotus is like unlocking god mode on Medieval literature. Suddenly you begin to see the source of many, many things. Herodotus himself may not be the source of George's inspiration directly, but someone else who was inspired by the Father of History. Often his tropes pop up in other stories, sometimes actual history books, and theyre actually homages to Herodotus (if we're being nice). Ibn Battura, Ibn Fadhlan and Marco Polo, all of them, at some point, have a curious tale of X and Y tribe or kingdom, which is lifted directly from Herodotus.
So Marco Polo was (supposedly) in China in the 1200s during the Yuan (Mongol) dynasty there. There's actually more than one Great Wall of China, and the really impressive Wall we know today was built during the Ming dynasty, which is the native dynasty which defeated the Mongols and forced them out. The other Walls were both less impressive and in a state of disrepair because most were built in BC years so not mentioning them, in itself, isn't that weird.
Are any of these impressive enough for Wonders? Water Gardens, the precarious towers and bridges of Pyke, Casterly Rock carved into rock, Maegor's Holdfast castle within castle, Dragonstone itself....
Great video! I had a couple nitpicks about the 5 second math/physics discussion 😅, but all the real world history and asoiaf content was fantastic and I learned a lot!
I'm not so sure if Barristan will die for the single reason of his prayer. Barristan is the only character seen to pray to The Stranger apart from one other. "Finally he had bowed his head to the Stranger. “You come for all men in the end,” he had prayed, “but if it please you, spare me and mine today, and gather up the spirits of our foes instead.”" The seven does seem to influence ASOIAF but merely via circumstance such as the protection of Davos or Catelyn's children resulting from their often prayers to the mother. Or Jaime's skill at arms being attributed to his singular devotion to the warrior, this is supported by how after the loss of his hand Jaime stops praying to the warrior and instead to The Father. I believe that Jaime is entirely redeemed after the loss of his hand in the eyes of the seven in fact but I digress as that is another discussion. The other character we see pray to The Stranger is Tyrion and it does in fact appear to save his life on the Black Water. "Tyrion lingered after his cousin had slipped away. At the warriors alter, he used one candle to light another. Watch over my brother, you bloody bastard, he’s one of yours. He lit a second candle to the Stranger, for himself." "Was that why he reeled backwards, or did he see the sword after all? He would never know." Tyrion's apparent reason for reeling backwards was that Mandon Moore had his left hand out. That is no reason for Tyrion to reel back, in a battle field why would you ever put your sword in your off hand even to grab someone? it would be a stupid thing to do, we all know how useless Jaime's left hand is. I believe the stranger saved Tyrion via circumstance, I think The Seven still have power but they are much more subtle than that of shadow babies and talking crows, the faceless men seem to think so and perhaps The Stranger might save Barristan however they will take something in return. A face for life, a hand for a broken oath, 4 sons from Davos (like 4 fingers for four decades of smuggling), the seven do seem to take in payment or for redemption.
Davos lost his fingers for saving four Targaryen children, not a complete finger since they weren’t fully grown. Stannis’ knife “slipped “ through his fingers, since Visaerys and “The babe”(Aegon, not Daenerys) “slipped” though Stannis’ fingers. Stannis (and Renly) know Aegon and Rhaenys are still alive.
@@mistermaestersirthomas9164 Thats incorrect, Stannis took Davos' fingers during the siege of Stoms End when he delivered the onions, the fingers were in payment for 4 decades of smuggling. Only after the siege had ended was Stannis tasked with taking Dragonstone which took a few months as he had to built a royal fleet. Then Dany and Viserys escaped him, Davos had nothing to do with it. Also, Rhaenys was 100% killed by Ser Amory Lorch it was clearly her as her face was still intact, Amory had stabbed her 50 times but she could still be identified. Renly had nothing to do with anything during Roberts Rebellion he was just a boy only 8 years old.
@@CheeseCrumbs00 Davos’ story in part comes from the beginning of “Count of Monty Cristo”, a sailor who can’t read who unknowingly takes up a mission for the Emperor . The reason Davos keeps ending up in jail gives us hint that’s where Darry found him, similar to Tyrion/Cercei/Tommen situation Visaerys is sent for. Darry breaks Davos out to smuggle him and Visaerys to Dragonstone, hence Davos later smuggling Edric and thinking of his fingers and getting put in jail. From Dragonstone, Visaerysis brought to Bravos to be hid, from there Davos returns to Dragonstone for payment. Meanwhile, Rhaella aka Varys sneaks the kids out of Kingslanding though the secret passages disguised as Ashara’s retinue(Daenerys is unborn inside Ashara), and they are brought to Dragonstone. Septa Lemore’s aka Tanner’s wife’s baby is left in Aegon’s place as well a body double for Rhaenys; hence the “vow to Marcella” , which should have included all of Westeros uses doubles for their children: Walders for Bran and Rickon, Theon for Rob, Margaery and her cousin, Marcella and Lannisport cousin, Tommen and his whipping boy, etc. Robert, Tywin, and Stannis all knew the bodies were fake. The Kingsguard killed the doubles not Gregor and crew, hence Gregor’s confusion at the accusation, this will be hinted at next book when Cercei sends Gregor, who is under “Robert’s name”, to kill Bronn, Lollys, Tyrion Tanner (Tanner’s wife clue), and Tyrion Lannister (who Cercei thinks is hiding with them). Gregor will fail, falling from a ledge (brothers without bannisters clue and foreshadowing his and Sandor’s death), maybe only killing Bronn the rest escaping as Aegon and Rhaenys did. From Dragonstone the kids are probably split up, maybe went to Tower of Joy together first. Regardless, Aegon is eventually sent to Illyrio’s. Rhaenys and Aegon are sent to Storm’s End with pregnant Ashara. Stannis is sieging Dragonstone at this point, but thanks to the storm, Davos gets them though. Ashara gives birth probably on the way and arrives at Renly’s Storm’s End. Brienne’s gossip mill plot at Storm’s End hints that Ned plus Ashara started here when Ashara showed up with a baby, probably claiming it was Ned’s or they assumed because the tourney dance, in any case, the rumor started there especially later when Ned shows looking for her. Either Beric was fostered with Renly or Ned was told to go to Beric’s to find Ashara, in any case Beric lead Ned to the Tower of Joy, which is either a whorehouse, Sept, or both (Shakespeare “nunnery “ reference and the answer to Tyrion’s question to Tywin). After Arthur is killed, probably abed, like Reek(Rob) killing Moat Calian’s Ironborn leader, since Lyanna kicked the snot out of him as he was sent to kill all of the “fake heirs” (one of house Daynes’ shames that gets Beric the marriage to Ashara’s sister and Ned a tribute naming of Ned Dayne). (Note: the other Kingsguard are still alive, it was two out of three not two out of ?ten?.) From there Ned splits up the kids: Rhaenys is sent to Oberyn ( Oberyn is the opposite of Crastor: Castor gives his sons to the Others/ Oberyn takes others daughters as his own), if Aegon and Visaerys are there they go to Lys and Bravos respectively, Jaqen is sent to Lorath (probably doesn’t make it with Dustin, Euron captured him and sold him to Faceless Men) , Daenerys is sent to Tyrosh with Lord Friendzone (he drinks his way to poverty and sells Daenerys to Tyrosh), Jon (the lowest ranked Targaryen) is sent with Ned as decoy. Manderly’s meeting with Davos hints at the fact they have similar stories. Manderly’s “one last job” for the Starks before joining Stannis is the same as Davos’ one last job for the Targaryens before joining Stannis. Melisandre hints at having Davos’ fingers means she has a child that he smuggled. Davos comparing his lost sons to fingers is another hint that kids equal fingers.
The story Tyrion tells of him cleaning the sewers of Casterly Rock doesn't come until Dance. Makes me wonder if he will clean up the pale mare by finding a sewer that is leaking into a main fountain/well.
To Preston's point about value at 36:54, he is looking for an objective measure of value. Current economic thought recognizes that value is subjective for each person: person A might value something at 10$ and person B might value that same item at $100 for whatever reason ( greater need, emotional attachment, etc) and they are both correct!
When you said you wanted to give Barristan a lame death I immediately thought of the Prussian general who, upon initiating his attack, shouted "Let all brave Prussians follow me!", only to immediately after be struck by a cannonball and die. Think of the end of the latest Barristan sample chapter for WoW, Barristan sees the Ironborn attack and thinks the battle turns in his favor, now imagine immediately after him having that thought, him being killed by a trebuchet projectile landing on him, or a stray arrow. All the planning and promise of that battle, only for him to be struck down the moment he sees victory come into his grasp.
Preston, I’m a particle physicist and cosmologist, if you wanna talk about the time question the explanation/answer to what you ask is actually fascinating. Just let me know
Palace With a Thousand Rooms, might be probably be also a reference to a tzarist (palace) with gold room(rooms) that was destroyed by either a fire or a bombing or a combo of both. would make sense with the Palace With a Thousand Rooms being destroyed in a fire. Lomas could also be described a good documentation of the rooms that survived
Suetonius is generally known as being more trustworthy than Tacitus, despite his more entertaining style. That is, he doesnt misrepresent the sources the same way Tacitus sometimes do. That of course doesnt mean that those sources are always right, or that we wouldnt want Tacitus history on Caligula.
Overwhelmingly incorrect. Have you read Suetonius? It's bonkers off the wall. Also, none of the primary sources (Cluvius Rufus, Flavius Rusticus, Agrippina, and Pliny the Elder) have survived. We don't know if the sources were misrepresented or not.
@@PrestonJacobstheSweetrobin For instance the story of Caligula's "war against Neptune". Suetonius' account is obvious nonsense and we have no idea what was really going on. Some historians have argued that what was going on was another mutiny by the Rhine army but really we can only guess.
It definitely crossed my mind in this conversation. Plato wrote "violet eyes are the most beautiful in the world." One would think GRRM totally took that, but then tells me that he can't remember Plato.
@@PrestonJacobstheSweetrobin I think it might be the product like a giant historical game of telephone. I could have sworn parts of Plato's Myth of the Metals (or Hesiod's Ages of Man) got translated to The World of Ice and Fire. But like you said, some ideas are so influential, they just get referenced over and over again.
@@kyleholmes8230 Atlantis is really frustrating, if it exists (which it might not cause Plato talked about 'noble lies'), I think it would be near the Atlas Mountains. Also its a common theory that the Egyptians were colonists from a lost civilization in the Green Sahara. (The Nile once connected to the Atlantic) Modern Egypt has made its history a political project, (& rightly so). So I doubt that they will ever entertain a afrocentric origin, but realistically Africa had tons of people moving back and forth.
The great China Wall was where is small in Yuan dynasty the ming dynasty expanded it before that it was not bigger than trenches forts and small walls.
I really have to wonder how you state that the Gardens of Babylon are more impressive than the Mausoleum and Pharos when we don't even have a reliable description of how they looked like (and by that no solid evidence of their existence) and also at the same time you say that Herodotus had no idea about how Babylon even was as a society.
One of my favorite theories was that the Valyrians delved into the Planetos version of the Hollow Earth, and that is where the dragons came from (think Skartaris).
Well considering that Melisandre doesn't need to eat or drink it is possible that they don't grow crops in Asshai because the residents don't need them.
37:18 In the pracical sense I _believe_ Preston is alluding to, he's incorrect. We can "Know" one thing. "Cogito, ergo sum." Though IMO I "Know" two. The other Truth is pretty provocative, so I'll not bring it up, though it'd be fun if someone guessed.
Barristan assumes he dies in battle with his armor on, as does Victarion; so neither will. Both survive the next battle, it’s hilarious by the way since it’s based off your(Preston’s) theory about the Moot/horn, and won’t die until they are both out of their armor when Daenerys confronts Aegon about being a bastard. Daenerys (Oedipus gender-reversed) will be warned by her servants (past and present, including Selmy) not to do this and won’t explain why. Daenerys IS Aerys’ biological daughter, but not Rhaella’s; and some of the servants know this.
Cool scandal, but don't we have accounts of Rhaela giving birth to Dany on Dragonstone? making Dany's father someone other than Areys a more likely outcome.
@@Dragonshade64 as far as I know , we have no eyewitness accounts of Rhaella/Daenerys, just assumptions from Daenerys. Daenerys, Dayne-Aerys; right in the name, unless it was Aerys and Arthur…or her sister I suppose. Storm-born: Daenerys is thrice over: born during a storm (not a magical one, but bad enough to hide Davos’ boat), born during a seige-battle (Stannis vs Dragonstone), and born in the Stormlands (probably technically at sea, “slipping” past Stannis; hence the knife “slipping” though Davos’ half-fingers since the kids weren’t fully grown).
Are there any other buildings based on real world buildings. I know the titan of braavos is based off the colossus of Rhodes. The wal sounds like it's based off Hadrian's wall or great wall of China. I know casterley Rock is based on the rock of Gibraltar but that's not really a building
The Japanese panties thing is not in vending machines, it’s more like those mall gumball prize things. And they DO exist you just have to look for them.
I'm just a prom night dumpster baby I got no mam or dad Prom night dumpster baby My story isn't long but boy it's awfully sad Althought I came from a hole (Althought I came from a hole) I'm singin right from the soul (I'm singin roight from the soul) My fanny needs a blanket And someobody to spank it I miss my mam But she's at the prom So I'm prom night dumpster baby Prom night dumpster baby And I'm takin a stroll (He's taking a stroll) I'm takin a stroll (He's taking a stroll) I'm takin a stroll (He's taking a stroll) Hahaha I'm takin a stroll (He's taking a stroll) I'm takin a stroll
19:36 There are panty vending machines. Hiwever... the "used" bit is only a parody. Theyre made to look used... but theyre notnused. And theyre only a recent thing. Basically they had them in few locations. Kink loctions. And theyre existence spread like its mainstream so it became such for tourists.
?Tantalus? (I’m terrible at spelling) is where (well one of the allusions is from) “sun raising in the west…” is from. For ASOIAF, It’s about: when Daenerys is willing to give up her crown, then she can have children; since “sun raising..” is when a king will give up his crown (in this case queen.) Oedipus is where “Slayer of lies” is from. In ASOIAF, it’s tells us the plot resolution of Daenerys, Aegon(Young Griff aka TFAegon both true and false), and Daenerys’ former servants aka Aegon’s current servants. The former servants, who “stole the Crown Jewels”, actually returned then to the “rightful” king and are now serving him. Aegon is the baby that Aerys held, the one Aerys recognized, and is Aerys’ grandson (sorta, Rhaella’s biological grandson technically); but isn’t Rhaegar’s biological son, but his adopted son since Rhaegar only has adopted children since he’s either gay or infertile or both. Aegon’s biological father is Aegon aka Mance Ryder, Rhaella’s son sent to the wall, not dead yet. Aerys, Rhaella, and Mance is a retelling of Zues, Hera, and ?Hephaestus?.
The Jon Snow series is needed to polish the ending of Game of Thrones and set the stage for future expansions of the story of Planetos. Jon's sequel will focus on the Heart of Winter, secrets of the Lands of Always Winter, Children of the Forest etc. with the aim of resolving them. Tyrion's arc will focus on establishing the new system of Monarchy while leaving just enough room for chicanery , that the Lords will agree to it. Sansa's arc will be establishing and stabilizing ,her rule over the North as it rebuilds The last arc will be Faegon as he claims a rider less Drogon and successfully visits Valyria and returns reigniting the dream of a new freehold based on Volantis. My pitch for this 2 season miniseries would be Faegon successfully tracking down and bonding with Drogon who flies away with him. Jon is still serving at the wall as a ranger , where he hears of Drogon bonding to a Volantene noble , apparently of Targaryen descent and his ambitions in the East as well as rumors of changes occurring in Dothraki society as their brief period as Daenerys khalasar expanded their horizons considerably with no Dosh Kahleen to regulate their society , new ideas, dangerous ideas are beginning to take root for them(Mongol Horde level), none of which bode well for Essos. In Westeros Dorne and the Iron Islands are trying to secede , encouraged by Sansa's successful bid for independence with others mumbling about dissatisfaction with Bran's rule. As he processes these tidings some Black Brothers taunt him for the murder of Daenerys calling him a jilted lover who killed her because she wouldn't marry him because he was a bastard. He snaps and attacks them but is separated from them before someone is killed. The Lord Commander sends him on an extended assignment beyond the wall to prevent more confrontations , as he is unwilling to earn the ire of Bran and Sansa should Jon be harmed, he does assign a cadet to him to train and keep an eye on him. In Kingslanding, Tyrion and Bran are facing pushback on many fronts, Bran's path to power had little legitimacy, with him holding on to power due to the nominal support of Robin, Edmure and Gendry all of whom have problems of the own . Edmure commands little respect due to his performance in the war of the 5 kings and his shameful surrender to Jaime Lannister as well as his Frey wife. Gendry is a bastard acclaimed by a dead queen the storm lords have never met and he is in competition with other bastards for control of the Storm realm , Robin has mountain clan invasions to worry about , all this while the Reach refuses to accept Bronn and the Westerlands is in quiet rebellion. Tyrion tries to bolster Edmure by naming him Master of Laws and granting him a seat on the great council while assigning a more martially capable steward to deal with rebellions and over mighty vassals. He gets Bronn a Redwyne wife and forces him to take the Tyrell name in order to gain acceptance, while passing his claim to Casterly Rock to a cadet branch of House Lannister in order to get peace. Tyrion manages to create a system of selection of Monarchs that is comprehensive but with just enough leeway that some corruption is possible , ironically having to use the wheel and the game in order to keep Westeros from Balkanizing. He will later be assassinated by Daenerys loyalists soon after completing this ending House Lannister. In Essos , Aegon survives trips to Valyria recovering dragon eggs, magical lore and Valyrian steel more wheeler/dealer less conqueror he cuts deals for support to rebuild the freehold but is opposed by Red Priests and Braavos who send faceless men to kill him, he survives somehow and manages to recreate a nascent freehold with a lighter/kinder hand than its forbear to gather support especially from slaves who he emancipates. In the North, Sansa plays the game of thrones to eliminate House Glover and annex the Bolton lands into House Starks personal demesne ensuring Stark Hegemony over the North and establishing herself as a powerful ruler. While in the Far North Jon and his companion track the symbols left by the whitewalkers to their citadel in the lands of always winter where Jon meets the Night Queen. A seer like Bran she taunts Jon on his failures and their outrageous consequences, and tempts him with an offer to take the place of the Night King and wield the power of winter and be a player again and not a helpless bystander who must watch the consequences of his choices birth a new more terrible world. The Jon of yesteryear would have rejected it in a burst of righteous violence but this older jaded Jon beaten down by years of scorn, derision and self loathing doesn't and more cognizant of the game and its terrible consequences from bad choices accepts , we get a Darth Vader moment, his partner escapes the citadel and returns to Castle Black to report what happened before dying from his wounds, Sansa and Bran bribe the Lord Commander with resources and a revised remit to smother information about the events that happened In the end Arya returns from her voyage having successfully found land only to be informed of Jon's fate, the last Starks commission in secret a tomb for Jon in the crypts of Winterfell, in order to remember him as he was and not what he had become, in the Far North, weather patterns return to below freezing temperatures as Jon Snow sits upon a frozen throne, a king now , a dread King of Cold and Undeath, a Night King. This is my pitch for a Jon snow sequel , polishes the end of the series with a more robust resolving of present political issues as of the end of Season 8, while using The Night Queen as a lure for viewers to gain traction on Blood Moon the abandoned prequel in order to explain how she came into being while establishing our new House of the Dragon to follow in future installments.
Herodutus has gotten a lot of flak in the historical community for being fanciful,which is great for fiction and missing the point. Caligula might have been fairly normal just have hated the senate(who tends to encompass the historians),there is Philo of Alexanders "Ad Gaiiem" about a Jewish emissary having a private audience with him right about after his sickness.. And he does come off as very insistent that he is a god . There is also the short story by the emperor Julian the Apostate in which Caligula was remembered as an monster even under the dominate in later antiquity,so the narrative had solidified by then.
Julian is much too late to be useful but Philo's near contemporary account does provide some context for Caligula getting himself killed by his own guard. The religious status of emperors was problematic after Augustus and it was quite easy to call it wrong and offend religious norms.
Barriston Selmy's death should be more pathetic than even that. It should almost be like Whiskeyjack's last stand in "Memories of Ice," except instead of a pre-existing injury spelling disaster, it is something stupid like slipping on a pile of guts or something and comically trying to maintain his balance. Instead he falls face-first into the spilled viscera and dies later from Hepatitis A.
6:25 I don’t know why this is something that is in the air at the moment but the idea of cabalism being super taboo. The Cronus eating his children is such a cultural myth that I didn’t think much of it but I just watched a Sims video, hear me out, that when into controversial mods and their was one called “OMG WTF BBQ” that totally got that reaction from me and the community at the time
I don’t think GRRM “stole” from Herodotus any more than he “stole” the Red Wedding from the historical event known as The Black Dinner. And, furthermore, people just “steal” from each other all the time. A lot of the time it isn’t even intentional. Plus, a lot of the time people just come up with the same idea over and over again and often at the same time. There’s a specific term for it that I can’t recall at the moment. Parallel Thinking, maybe? Either way, totally normal thing that all kinds of writers, creators and people in general do.
What do you think of the theory that Cersei is going to try to molest Tommen at some point to try and keep control over him? I think it's definitely a tinfoil one, but it has some antiquated precedence re Agrippina and Nero, and the general repulsiveness of the act/idea, as you guys were talking about.
Criston Cole was the kingmaker who stole a crown from a queen. Barriston is the kingbreaker who stole a crown from a king. Cole was a king's hand. Barriston was a queen's hand. Cole died ignominiously. So Barriston has to go out like a boss, right? They're inversions.
27:40 Arya may have reason to believe this or have been told this by an unreliable person. She may have heard a time that bravos was realised but thatbit wasnt for another 300 years before an outsider came to bravos? So it would be it was known about but not found.
Is Trey ever going to make a video about the evolutionary history of the animals in ASOIAF?
@@Jotari direwolves maybe?
@@Jotari yeah the real world animals he could go into detail on with explaining where they lived in the real world vs the environments they live in ASOIAF. Plus theres a bunch of fantasy animals such as the shadow cat, lizard lion (which isn't an alligator), dragons wyverns, giant apes from Sothoryos etc. He only talked about the humanoid races and giants but nothing else in detail
Unicorns = woolly rhinos?
@@Jotari Neither has Rickon
@@beneficent2557 Skaagosi Unicorns are more likely Synthetoceras, not Coelodonta or Elasmotherium
Hey Preston, I wrote my PhD on the subject of the so-called Thyestean Revenge Meal (let your foe eat his own children) that was SO popular in Greek, Roman, early modern Italian and English Drama - there is a strong theory that Herodotus took his idea (of Astyages and Harpagos) from a play of his friend Sophocles for the revenge meal was a well established mythological motive in Greek tragedy since Aischylos (the very beginning). Also, later on it is a classic topos to illustrate the gruesome consequences of tyranny in plenty plays - which is often alluded to in Roman and Early Modern historiographies.
Maybe that’s interesting to know…?
Love your content, greetings from Germany
11/10 would read this thesis!!
Trey's video on the genetics of the different intelligent species is one of my favorite ASOIAF videos! Glad to hear more from him.
Ive been watching Trey for years and was so excited you guys teamed up with him nd Big thank you to carmine for setting this up.
No problem. Hopefully we can include Trey into more discussions with us.
I always thought the special thing about the triple walls of Qarth is the mystery where they got the building materials from. I mean it’s the red waste with nothing around but they were able to get big enough stocks of grey granit and black marble to surround this big city.
Aren't they also beautifully decorated?
I know this is an old comment, but isnt it implied that some disaster formed the red waste? Like there are many abandoned towns in areas that should not be inhabited. Its possible that the area that is now the red waste had some incredible lost material available right?
MORE TREY LETS GOOO
don't worry, Mushroom was just constantly going between KL and dragostone, because Viserys and Rhaenyra both couldn't bear to not have him
Mushroom rides a young dragon named jetpak.
Love hearing from Trey, and love discussing history and ASOIAF! I don't know too much about roman and middle age myths / history, so it's interesting to hear about.
14:55
I wouldn’t say that Tacitus was the “rational” one, he was just the more serious one. He wrote his accounts more soberly and tried to reflect an academic perspective of the Caesars whereas Suetonius was writing to entertain the masses with any salacious gossip he found… but the problem is that Tacitus was one of the saltiest people who ever lived, forever bitter that the Senate had lost so much power and influence to the Emperors, and it really shows. Suetonius, by contrast, had no such vendetta and his histories are free of a need to correct a historical wrong, he’s just writing about the rich and powerful because they’re fun to write about.
So it comes down to whether you think an academic but incredibly biased account is more accurate and truthful than the neutral tabloid writer.
To bring it back to ASOIAF, Mushroom will make up salacious nonsense just because he can… but he also has no agenda to push, and that’s arguably far more important in assessing historical sources than the manner in which they present their information.
That's true. Tacitus definitely had his biases. His audience was the Flavians. GRRM calls these "utter lies" as they are mixed with truth and harder to identify. Tacitus absolutely hated Agrippina and Nero, though was still slightly kinder than Suetonius, who just trashes everyone.
Commented on this elsewhere but you beat me to it. Suetonius was definitely an academic writer though, just in a different, more biographical tradition.
Facinating and even more complicating situation, thanks!
@@PrestonJacobstheSweetrobin
The great thing about Tacitus is that he's very transparent about what his perspective is, and because he's a very meticulous writer it's very possible to read against him and come up with a contrasting perspective.
Suetonius (the Mushroom equivalent) is confused and muddled so that it's really impossible to construct any sort of plausible account of Caligula's reign from his ridiculous anecdotes.
If the dragon roads are a wonder, then valyria must have collapsed or else one of their other works (blood dome or palaces on their volcanoes) would have made the list
I knew Preston would be a Caligula apologist
The funniest thing in Titus Andronicus is the moor making what I’d consider a really early “yo momma” joke
Aaron is pretty funny if you don't object to a dark sort of humour.
When you guys team up with trey it’s must watch for asoiaf fans!!
There seems to be a general trope among fantasy writers to have Herodotus type in universe character. Wheel of Time has Jain Farstrider who basically did the same thing as Loomis Longstrider
I mean from personal experience it sucks to do a crap ton of worldbuilding about several continents worth of places and set up thematic parralells then only to realize there's no justification for your pov chatacters to have heard about anything from outside their region...
And so we invent Tomas Widewalker who has heard about it... XD
GRRM being a plagiarist is not a shock. He couldn't even be bothered to make the names different.
I hadn't heard of Trey until he started coming on the podcasts and I'm surprised (I know I shouldn't be) how much knowledge and depth of insight he comes and brings to the pod, such a cool addition I'm so glad you've brought him along
I could listen to you guys talk for hours! 😌
this are the best ones, trey makes this videos a lot better.
Personally, I don’t understand how the sandship isn’t THE wonder of planetos. It is actively the most mysterious “man”made object in the story (at least from an in universe perspective)
Why? It’s just an odd-shaped palace made of ordinary bricks. The description of a giant ship turned to stone is just Arys Oakheart’s choice of metaphor.
I wonder if the long bridge of Volantis is a reference to the medieval London bridge? It always struck me as interesting because both are described as having buildings on them. It also feels very George to take something from London and stick it in an "exotic" city like Volantis
I imagined it as an analog to the Ponte Vecchio in Florence.
Though, buildings on bridges provided commercial spaces which could skirt tax/usury laws. Most cities in the medieval/renaissance era had need for such spaces, ergo several examples.
Has anyone ever examined the economic systems of Westeros and Essos? It's strange how the Iron Bank of Braavos is so influential.
George confirmed in a con that Wall and Titan were the two wonders out of 9.
the geek story of Lycaon King of Arcadia is way closer to the rat cook story
Lycaon tried to trick Zeus into eating human flesh. Zeus was not deceived and Lycaon turned into a wolf.
First Were Wolf
Also Rat King is a closer analogue
The Rat Cook only sustaining on his own youth seems taken from Lilith
Eric Cartman made Scott Tennerman eat chili made from his parents
Herodotus was initially trying to write a travel guide. He is closer to an Anthropologist than a Historian imho.
Paid off by the Qartheen version of Michelin.
Okay you guys made me curious about the Japanese panty vending machines and it turns out, basically, there were specialty stores throughout the 90s to early 2000s where schoolgirls could sell their used panties and other school uniform garments to be resold to customers with schoolgirl fetishes. HOWEVER, this was viewed as weird and gross by the vast majority of regular Japanese people and Japanese popular media, and the police cracked down on it in the early 2000s.
So basically some weirdos exist in a country and some people wanna act like those weirdos represent all 125 million people in Japan.
Be the inspiration Herodotus, Ibn Battuta or Marco Polo, I love this kind of "easy" world building and the real world inspirations. Wish/hope we'll get to read more about Longstrider's observations and their accuracy (maybe Sea Snake related rather than books), like we slowly experience most of Jain Farstrider's travels in WoT (no need to meet him though, or maybe as an ice zombie).
I've always read the Hanging Gardens didn't even exist.
Great video ! Second time Preston mentioned there was no writing before the Andals but that's actually wrong ! It's mentioned here and there that the First Men did write a little with runes. That's how we know the Blackwoods were kings of the Wolfwood for example and that's also the Royces' all thing
It's similar to old germanic and celtic culture, they had runes, but they either didn't use them to write stuff down or it was lost
@@shacuras8201 I think the main difference with the andals is that the first men only wrote on stone and wood (and maybe clay) which make impossible to write long texts
THIS IS AMAZING 😆
So freaking cool how much trey knows about all this stuff considering what he usually covers.
I homeschool and "Herodotus for Boys and Girls" is on our reading list...hopefully to be followed by the real Histories" in a few years.
Herodotus exemplifies the difference between getting stuff wrong (which he frequently does) and lying (which I don't think he ever does).
He's a naïve reporter, or maybe a camera - eye writer.
Herodotus was THOUGT to be lieing by late 19th and early 20th century historians who arrogantly thought many of the achievements he described to be impossible for those "primitive" peoples of the past.But the more we learn the more of his account is proven to be fairly accurate: e.g. Xerxes canal through Mt.Athos penninsula,the circumnavigation of Africa by the Carthaginians,the coup of Dareios,etc. One should not be so dissmissive about Herodotos IMHO.
GRRM was asked if there are really no children in Asshai. he started by saying that the reader learns it from a Maester, not from someone who had been there, then he mentions that Maesters writing about it is like an English monk writing about Vietnam back in the Medieval period.
he knows half of what is written makes no f-ing sense historically.
It could be like a Sorceror version of those Research Stations in Antartica.
Could also be like a Pirate or Bandit Culture.
"As always, I'm probably wrong about half of this."
-Maestar Yandel.
As a classicist I love hearing talk about this kind of thing. Many authors, and people, do not even realize that they are influenced by these stories because they have been ingrained so deeply in our culture that we don't even question where they come from.
Also Preston loves to bring up the mom-sex but, the thing about Oedipus is the Greeks did not think the mom-sex was the worst part, they thought the dad-killing was. The mom-sex was bad, but it was not what was causing the miasma on the city. In modern times we of course think the incest is the worst part so we focus on it mostly thanks to Freud but for Greeks kin slaying and especially parent murder is cause for the gods to curse your whole city until you punish the culprit. Nobody really gets punished for incest in tragedy because Athenians were endogamous.
Holy crap Trey. Been a bit since I've seen a vid of his
If I had a nickel for every time a super popular fantasy series had a world-travelling character with "strider" in their pseudonym, writing spurious accounts of the world beyond, I would have two nickels.
If only Aragorn wrote a book, we could make it three
@@shacuras8201
The travels of King Strider under the strange stars.
Having been to the ruins of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus recently, that thing was crazy impressive for what the region could produce.
Reading Herodotus is like unlocking god mode on Medieval literature. Suddenly you begin to see the source of many, many things. Herodotus himself may not be the source of George's inspiration directly, but someone else who was inspired by the Father of History. Often his tropes pop up in other stories, sometimes actual history books, and theyre actually homages to Herodotus (if we're being nice). Ibn Battura, Ibn Fadhlan and Marco Polo, all of them, at some point, have a curious tale of X and Y tribe or kingdom, which is lifted directly from Herodotus.
I memba the ancient tale of Cartman feeding Scott Tenorman his parents. Tale old as time.
So Marco Polo was (supposedly) in China in the 1200s during the Yuan (Mongol) dynasty there. There's actually more than one Great Wall of China, and the really impressive Wall we know today was built during the Ming dynasty, which is the native dynasty which defeated the Mongols and forced them out.
The other Walls were both less impressive and in a state of disrepair because most were built in BC years so not mentioning them, in itself, isn't that weird.
Are any of these impressive enough for Wonders? Water Gardens, the precarious towers and bridges of Pyke, Casterly Rock carved into rock, Maegor's Holdfast castle within castle, Dragonstone itself....
Let's not forget Storms End.
Great video! I had a couple nitpicks about the 5 second math/physics discussion 😅, but all the real world history and asoiaf content was fantastic and I learned a lot!
I'm not so sure if Barristan will die for the single reason of his prayer. Barristan is the only character seen to pray to The Stranger apart from one other.
"Finally he had bowed his head to the Stranger. “You come for all men in the end,” he had prayed, “but if it please you, spare me and mine today, and gather up the spirits of our foes instead.”"
The seven does seem to influence ASOIAF but merely via circumstance such as the protection of Davos or Catelyn's children resulting from their often prayers to the mother. Or Jaime's skill at arms being attributed to his singular devotion to the warrior, this is supported by how after the loss of his hand Jaime stops praying to the warrior and instead to The Father. I believe that Jaime is entirely redeemed after the loss of his hand in the eyes of the seven in fact but I digress as that is another discussion.
The other character we see pray to The Stranger is Tyrion and it does in fact appear to save his life on the Black Water.
"Tyrion lingered after his cousin had slipped away. At the warriors alter, he used one candle to light another. Watch over my brother, you bloody bastard, he’s one of yours. He lit a second candle to the Stranger, for himself."
"Was that why he reeled backwards, or did he see the sword after all? He would never know."
Tyrion's apparent reason for reeling backwards was that Mandon Moore had his left hand out. That is no reason for Tyrion to reel back, in a battle field why would you ever put your sword in your off hand even to grab someone? it would be a stupid thing to do, we all know how useless Jaime's left hand is. I believe the stranger saved Tyrion via circumstance, I think The Seven still have power but they are much more subtle than that of shadow babies and talking crows, the faceless men seem to think so and perhaps The Stranger might save Barristan however they will take something in return. A face for life, a hand for a broken oath, 4 sons from Davos (like 4 fingers for four decades of smuggling), the seven do seem to take in payment or for redemption.
Davos lost his fingers for saving four Targaryen children, not a complete finger since they weren’t fully grown. Stannis’ knife “slipped “ through his fingers, since Visaerys and “The babe”(Aegon, not Daenerys) “slipped” though Stannis’ fingers.
Stannis (and Renly) know Aegon and Rhaenys are still alive.
@@mistermaestersirthomas9164 Thats incorrect, Stannis took Davos' fingers during the siege of Stoms End when he delivered the onions, the fingers were in payment for 4 decades of smuggling.
Only after the siege had ended was Stannis tasked with taking Dragonstone which took a few months as he had to built a royal fleet. Then Dany and Viserys escaped him, Davos had nothing to do with it.
Also, Rhaenys was 100% killed by Ser Amory Lorch it was clearly her as her face was still intact, Amory had stabbed her 50 times but she could still be identified.
Renly had nothing to do with anything during Roberts Rebellion he was just a boy only 8 years old.
@@CheeseCrumbs00 Davos’ story in part comes from the beginning of “Count of Monty Cristo”, a sailor who can’t read who unknowingly takes up a mission for the Emperor . The reason Davos keeps ending up in jail gives us hint that’s where Darry found him, similar to Tyrion/Cercei/Tommen situation Visaerys is sent for. Darry breaks Davos out to smuggle him and Visaerys to Dragonstone, hence Davos later smuggling Edric and thinking of his fingers and getting put in jail. From Dragonstone, Visaerysis brought to Bravos to be hid, from there Davos returns to Dragonstone for payment. Meanwhile, Rhaella aka Varys sneaks the kids out of Kingslanding though the secret passages disguised as Ashara’s retinue(Daenerys is unborn inside Ashara), and they are brought to Dragonstone. Septa Lemore’s aka Tanner’s wife’s baby is left in Aegon’s place as well a body double for Rhaenys; hence the “vow to Marcella” , which should have included all of Westeros uses doubles for their children: Walders for Bran and Rickon, Theon for Rob, Margaery and her cousin, Marcella and Lannisport cousin, Tommen and his whipping boy, etc. Robert, Tywin, and Stannis all knew the bodies were fake. The Kingsguard killed the doubles not Gregor and crew, hence Gregor’s confusion at the accusation, this will be hinted at next book when Cercei sends Gregor, who is under “Robert’s name”, to kill Bronn, Lollys, Tyrion Tanner (Tanner’s wife clue), and Tyrion Lannister (who Cercei thinks is hiding with them). Gregor will fail, falling from a ledge (brothers without bannisters clue and foreshadowing his and Sandor’s death), maybe only killing Bronn the rest escaping as Aegon and Rhaenys did.
From Dragonstone the kids are probably split up, maybe went to Tower of Joy together first. Regardless, Aegon is eventually sent to Illyrio’s. Rhaenys and Aegon are sent to Storm’s End with pregnant Ashara. Stannis is sieging Dragonstone at this point, but thanks to the storm, Davos gets them though. Ashara gives birth probably on the way and arrives at Renly’s Storm’s End. Brienne’s gossip mill plot at Storm’s End hints that Ned plus Ashara started here when Ashara showed up with a baby, probably claiming it was Ned’s or they assumed because the tourney dance, in any case, the rumor started there especially later when Ned shows looking for her. Either Beric was fostered with Renly or Ned was told to go to Beric’s to find Ashara, in any case Beric lead Ned to the Tower of Joy, which is either a whorehouse, Sept, or both (Shakespeare “nunnery “ reference and the answer to Tyrion’s question to Tywin). After Arthur is killed, probably abed, like Reek(Rob) killing Moat Calian’s Ironborn leader, since Lyanna kicked the snot out of him as he was sent to kill all of the “fake heirs” (one of house Daynes’ shames that gets Beric the marriage to Ashara’s sister and Ned a tribute naming of Ned Dayne). (Note: the other Kingsguard are still alive, it was two out of three not two out of ?ten?.)
From there Ned splits up the kids: Rhaenys is sent to Oberyn ( Oberyn is the opposite of Crastor: Castor gives his sons to the Others/ Oberyn takes others daughters as his own), if Aegon and Visaerys are there they go to Lys and Bravos respectively, Jaqen is sent to Lorath (probably doesn’t make it with Dustin, Euron captured him and sold him to Faceless Men) , Daenerys is sent to Tyrosh with Lord Friendzone (he drinks his way to poverty and sells Daenerys to Tyrosh), Jon (the lowest ranked Targaryen) is sent with Ned as decoy.
Manderly’s meeting with Davos hints at the fact they have similar stories. Manderly’s “one last job” for the Starks before joining Stannis is the same as Davos’ one last job for the Targaryens before joining Stannis.
Melisandre hints at having Davos’ fingers means she has a child that he smuggled.
Davos comparing his lost sons to fingers is another hint that kids equal fingers.
@@CheeseCrumbs00 oh yeah, “onions” is a slang term for kids
@@mistermaestersirthomas9164 hahaha
The story Tyrion tells of him cleaning the sewers of Casterly Rock doesn't come until Dance. Makes me wonder if he will clean up the pale mare by finding a sewer that is leaking into a main fountain/well.
To Preston's point about value at 36:54, he is looking for an objective measure of value. Current economic thought recognizes that value is subjective for each person: person A might value something at 10$ and person B might value that same item at $100 for whatever reason ( greater need, emotional attachment, etc) and they are both correct!
When you said you wanted to give Barristan a lame death I immediately thought of the Prussian general who, upon initiating his attack, shouted "Let all brave Prussians follow me!", only to immediately after be struck by a cannonball and die. Think of the end of the latest Barristan sample chapter for WoW, Barristan sees the Ironborn attack and thinks the battle turns in his favor, now imagine immediately after him having that thought, him being killed by a trebuchet projectile landing on him, or a stray arrow. All the planning and promise of that battle, only for him to be struck down the moment he sees victory come into his grasp.
Bro Herodotus is Amazing
atreus and thyestes too. hence the curse of the atreids.
Preston, I’m a particle physicist and cosmologist, if you wanna talk about the time question the explanation/answer to what you ask is actually fascinating. Just let me know
Imagine a High Renaissance version of Westeros
Palace With a Thousand Rooms, might be probably be also a reference to a tzarist (palace) with gold room(rooms) that was destroyed by either a fire or a bombing or a combo of both. would make sense with the Palace With a Thousand Rooms
being destroyed in a fire.
Lomas could also be described a good documentation of the rooms that survived
I wonder if TREY has read the Cyropedia by Xenophon?
Suetonius is generally known as being more trustworthy than Tacitus, despite his more entertaining style. That is, he doesnt misrepresent the sources the same way Tacitus sometimes do. That of course doesnt mean that those sources are always right, or that we wouldnt want Tacitus history on Caligula.
Overwhelmingly incorrect. Have you read Suetonius? It's bonkers off the wall. Also, none of the primary sources (Cluvius Rufus, Flavius Rusticus, Agrippina, and Pliny the Elder) have survived. We don't know if the sources were misrepresented or not.
@@PrestonJacobstheSweetrobin
For instance the story of Caligula's "war against Neptune".
Suetonius' account is obvious nonsense and we have no idea what was really going on.
Some historians have argued that what was going on was another mutiny by the Rhine army but really we can only guess.
For some reason I was convinced someone mentioned the Mazes of Lorath was one of the Nine Wonders.
Preston is having Plato flashbacks
It definitely crossed my mind in this conversation. Plato wrote "violet eyes are the most beautiful in the world." One would think GRRM totally took that, but then tells me that he can't remember Plato.
@@PrestonJacobstheSweetrobin I think it might be the product like a giant historical game of telephone.
I could have sworn parts of Plato's Myth of the Metals (or Hesiod's Ages of Man) got translated to The World of Ice and Fire.
But like you said, some ideas are so influential, they just get referenced over and over again.
@@kyleholmes8230 Atlantis is really frustrating, if it exists (which it might not cause Plato talked about 'noble lies'), I think it would be near the Atlas Mountains.
Also its a common theory that the Egyptians were colonists from a lost civilization in the Green Sahara. (The Nile once connected to the Atlantic)
Modern Egypt has made its history a political project, (& rightly so).
So I doubt that they will ever entertain a afrocentric origin, but realistically Africa had tons of people moving back and forth.
Alabastur's whole YT channel is based on GRRM saying that the Long Night happened 5k years ago, not 8k years ago, like Westerosi history states.
The great China Wall was where is small in Yuan dynasty the ming dynasty expanded it before that it was not bigger than trenches forts and small walls.
I really have to wonder how you state that the Gardens of Babylon are more impressive than the Mausoleum and Pharos when we don't even have a reliable description of how they looked like (and by that no solid evidence of their existence) and also at the same time you say that Herodotus had no idea about how Babylon even was as a society.
Isnt Daimon Targaryen basically Elric of Melnibone?
Awesome video.
I wish Game of Thrones had more Petyr Baelish Money Laundering and Collateralized Debt Scams.
This is a certified hood classic
Palace of 100 rooms is taken directly from Tales of Arabian Nights, story of Prince Agib.
I always thought that Lomas Longstrider was inspired by Jain Farstrider from Wheel of Time.
I always saw the bridge of Volantis as a London Bridge or Port Royal Reference. Although Bravos might be closer to Port Royal, now I think about it.
One of my favorite theories was that the Valyrians delved into the Planetos version of the Hollow Earth, and that is where the dragons came from (think Skartaris).
Holla at mah youtube scholars & salute to all the smallfolx youths
Does anyone know which video he is talking about septon Barth?
Would be cool if Dany destroyed the bridge of Volantis when she goes there
Could we get a map showing all these locations that this guy was supposed to have visited?
if Lomas lived before the Doom, shouldn't at least some of his wonders be stuff in Valyria?
I think some of the discrepancies are intentional where longstrider said he saw places and the masters write about them but he never did
Well considering that Melisandre doesn't need to eat or drink it is possible that they don't grow crops in Asshai because the residents don't need them.
LET'S GOOOOO
Also wtf is Stormsend made out of?
37:18 In the pracical sense I _believe_ Preston is alluding to, he's incorrect. We can "Know" one thing. "Cogito, ergo sum." Though IMO I "Know" two. The other Truth is pretty provocative, so I'll not bring it up, though it'd be fun if someone guessed.
Barristan assumes he dies in battle with his armor on, as does Victarion; so neither will. Both survive the next battle, it’s hilarious by the way since it’s based off your(Preston’s) theory about the Moot/horn, and won’t die until they are both out of their armor when Daenerys confronts Aegon about being a bastard. Daenerys (Oedipus gender-reversed) will be warned by her servants (past and present, including Selmy) not to do this and won’t explain why. Daenerys IS Aerys’ biological daughter, but not Rhaella’s; and some of the servants know this.
Cool scandal, but don't we have accounts of Rhaela giving birth to Dany on Dragonstone? making Dany's father someone other than Areys a more likely outcome.
@@Dragonshade64 as far as I know , we have no eyewitness accounts of Rhaella/Daenerys, just assumptions from Daenerys.
Daenerys, Dayne-Aerys; right in the name, unless it was Aerys and Arthur…or her sister I suppose.
Storm-born: Daenerys is thrice over: born during a storm (not a magical one, but bad enough to hide Davos’ boat), born during a seige-battle (Stannis vs Dragonstone), and born in the Stormlands (probably technically at sea, “slipping” past Stannis; hence the knife “slipping” though Davos’ half-fingers since the kids weren’t fully grown).
Are there any other buildings based on real world buildings. I know the titan of braavos is based off the colossus of Rhodes. The wal sounds like it's based off Hadrian's wall or great wall of China. I know casterley Rock is based on the rock of Gibraltar but that's not really a building
The Hightower seems to be based on the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Bridge of Volantis may come from the old London Bridge.
The Wall is actually based on the ice wall in Antarctica, according to top expert redditors on r/Flat Westeros Truth
The Japanese panties thing is not in vending machines, it’s more like those mall gumball prize things. And they DO exist you just have to look for them.
I'll be on the lookout
honestly learning preston studied economics explains an awful lot
I wonder if Herodotus inspired Scott Tenorman must die...
I'm just a prom night dumpster baby
I got no mam or dad
Prom night dumpster baby
My story isn't long but boy it's awfully sad
Althought I came from a hole
(Althought I came from a hole)
I'm singin right from the soul
(I'm singin roight from the soul)
My fanny needs a blanket
And someobody to spank it
I miss my mam
But she's at the prom
So I'm prom night dumpster baby
Prom night dumpster baby
And I'm takin a stroll
(He's taking a stroll)
I'm takin a stroll
(He's taking a stroll)
I'm takin a stroll
(He's taking a stroll)
Hahaha I'm takin a stroll
(He's taking a stroll)
I'm takin a stroll
19:36
There are panty vending machines. Hiwever... the "used" bit is only a parody. Theyre made to look used... but theyre notnused.
And theyre only a recent thing.
Basically they had them in few locations. Kink loctions. And theyre existence spread like its mainstream so it became such for tourists.
The Bulgars Loved skull cups
At least they did in Byzantine accounts.
?Tantalus? (I’m terrible at spelling) is where (well one of the allusions is from) “sun raising in the west…” is from. For ASOIAF, It’s about: when Daenerys is willing to give up her crown, then she can have children; since “sun raising..” is when a king will give up his crown (in this case queen.)
Oedipus is where “Slayer of lies” is from. In ASOIAF, it’s tells us the plot resolution of Daenerys, Aegon(Young Griff aka TFAegon both true and false), and Daenerys’ former servants aka Aegon’s current servants. The former servants, who “stole the Crown Jewels”, actually returned then to the “rightful” king and are now serving him. Aegon is the baby that Aerys held, the one Aerys recognized, and is Aerys’ grandson (sorta, Rhaella’s biological grandson technically); but isn’t Rhaegar’s biological son, but his adopted son since Rhaegar only has adopted children since he’s either gay or infertile or both. Aegon’s biological father is Aegon aka Mance Ryder, Rhaella’s son sent to the wall, not dead yet. Aerys, Rhaella, and Mance is a retelling of Zues, Hera, and ?Hephaestus?.
The Jon Snow series is needed to polish the ending of Game of Thrones and set the stage for future expansions of the story of Planetos.
Jon's sequel will focus on the Heart of Winter, secrets of the Lands of Always Winter, Children of the Forest etc. with the aim of resolving them.
Tyrion's arc will focus on establishing the new system of Monarchy while leaving just enough room for chicanery , that the Lords will agree to it.
Sansa's arc will be establishing and stabilizing ,her rule over the North as it rebuilds
The last arc will be Faegon as he claims a rider less Drogon and successfully visits Valyria and returns reigniting the dream of a new freehold based on Volantis.
My pitch for this 2 season miniseries would be Faegon successfully tracking down and bonding with Drogon who flies away with him. Jon is still serving at the wall as a ranger , where he hears of Drogon bonding to a Volantene noble , apparently of Targaryen descent and his ambitions in the East as well as rumors of changes occurring in Dothraki society as their brief period as Daenerys khalasar expanded their horizons considerably with no Dosh Kahleen to regulate their society , new ideas, dangerous ideas are beginning to take root for them(Mongol Horde level), none of which bode well for Essos. In Westeros Dorne and the Iron Islands are trying to secede , encouraged by Sansa's successful bid for independence with others mumbling about dissatisfaction with Bran's rule.
As he processes these tidings some Black Brothers taunt him for the murder of Daenerys calling him a jilted lover who killed her because she wouldn't marry him because he was a bastard. He snaps and attacks them but is separated from them before someone is killed. The Lord Commander sends him on an extended assignment beyond the wall to prevent more confrontations , as he is unwilling to earn the ire of Bran and Sansa should Jon be harmed, he does assign a cadet to him to train and keep an eye on him.
In Kingslanding, Tyrion and Bran are facing pushback on many fronts, Bran's path to power had little legitimacy, with him holding on to power due to the nominal support of Robin, Edmure and Gendry all of whom have problems of the own . Edmure commands little respect due to his performance in the war of the 5 kings and his shameful surrender to Jaime Lannister as well as his Frey wife.
Gendry is a bastard acclaimed by a dead queen the storm lords have never met and he is in competition with other bastards for control of the Storm realm , Robin has mountain clan invasions to worry about , all this while the Reach refuses to accept Bronn and the Westerlands is in quiet rebellion. Tyrion tries to bolster Edmure by naming him Master of Laws and granting him a seat on the great council while assigning a more martially capable steward to deal with rebellions and over mighty vassals. He gets Bronn a Redwyne wife and forces him to take the Tyrell name in order to gain acceptance, while passing his claim to Casterly Rock to a cadet branch of House Lannister in order to get peace. Tyrion manages to create a system of selection of Monarchs that is comprehensive but with just enough leeway that some corruption is possible , ironically having to use the wheel and the game in order to keep Westeros from Balkanizing. He will later be assassinated by Daenerys loyalists soon after completing this ending House Lannister.
In Essos , Aegon survives trips to Valyria recovering dragon eggs, magical lore and Valyrian steel more wheeler/dealer less conqueror he cuts deals for support to rebuild the freehold but is opposed by Red Priests and Braavos who send faceless men to kill him, he survives somehow and manages to recreate a nascent freehold with a lighter/kinder hand than its forbear to gather support especially from slaves who he emancipates.
In the North, Sansa plays the game of thrones to eliminate House Glover and annex the Bolton lands into House Starks personal demesne ensuring Stark Hegemony over the North and establishing herself as a powerful ruler. While in the Far North Jon and his companion track the symbols left by the whitewalkers to their citadel in the lands of always winter where Jon meets the Night Queen. A seer like Bran she taunts Jon on his failures and their outrageous consequences, and tempts him with an offer to take the place of the Night King and wield the power of winter and be a player again and not a helpless bystander who must watch the consequences of his choices birth a new more terrible world. The Jon of yesteryear would have rejected it in a burst of righteous violence but this older jaded Jon beaten down by years of scorn, derision and self loathing doesn't and more cognizant of the game and its terrible consequences from bad choices accepts , we get a Darth Vader moment, his partner escapes the citadel and returns to Castle Black to report what happened before dying from his wounds, Sansa and Bran bribe the Lord Commander with resources and a revised remit to smother information about the events that happened
In the end Arya returns from her voyage having successfully found land only to be informed of Jon's fate, the last Starks commission in secret a tomb for Jon in the crypts of Winterfell, in order to remember him as he was and not what he had become, in the Far North, weather patterns return to below freezing temperatures as Jon Snow sits upon a frozen throne, a king now , a dread King of Cold and Undeath, a Night King.
This is my pitch for a Jon snow sequel , polishes the end of the series with a more robust resolving of present political issues as of the end of Season 8, while using The Night Queen as a lure for viewers to gain traction on Blood Moon the abandoned prequel in order to explain how she came into being while establishing our new House of the Dragon to follow in future installments.
“Polish the ending of Game of Thrones” there are some things that can’t be polished.
That was cool though.
Herodutus has gotten a lot of flak in the historical community for being fanciful,which is great for fiction and missing the point.
Caligula might have been fairly normal just have hated the senate(who tends to encompass the historians),there is Philo of Alexanders "Ad Gaiiem" about a Jewish emissary having a private audience with him right about after his sickness..
And he does come off as very insistent that he is a god .
There is also the short story by the emperor Julian the Apostate in which Caligula was remembered as an monster even under the dominate in later antiquity,so the narrative had solidified by then.
Julian is much too late to be useful but Philo's near contemporary account does provide some context for Caligula getting himself killed by his own guard.
The religious status of emperors was problematic after Augustus and it was quite easy to call it wrong and offend religious norms.
Mausoleum of Halicarnasus was built after Herodotus died though
Preston definitely started spoiling the fanfic for another 10 min there at the end. Carmine cutting him off to save the content lol
PJ IS BACK FOMOS
Lots more than all that borrowed from history.. what else is there to borrow from?
used to be my family filling that filled the crucial "lemme borrow from" slot
There was a King Kong reference in there.
Why's my autocorrect hating on my verbiage & inserting broken English into my comments instead of fixing thangs?✊🤬
With Sarnath being a Lovecraft reference, there’s a better chance this was a George part than not
Barriston Selmy's death should be more pathetic than even that. It should almost be like Whiskeyjack's last stand in "Memories of Ice," except instead of a pre-existing injury spelling disaster, it is something stupid like slipping on a pile of guts or something and comically trying to maintain his balance. Instead he falls face-first into the spilled viscera and dies later from Hepatitis A.
6:25 I don’t know why this is something that is in the air at the moment but the idea of cabalism being super taboo. The Cronus eating his children is such a cultural myth that I didn’t think much of it but I just watched a Sims video, hear me out, that when into controversial mods and their was one called “OMG WTF BBQ” that totally got that reaction from me and the community at the time
The Greeks had a LOT of daddy issues lol
Don't you dare do my boy Barristan dirty like that. Criston Cole might be a piece of shit but Barristan at least tries to be a good guy.
I bet HotD showrunners are gonna make cristone coles death super dramatic lmao
I don’t think GRRM “stole” from Herodotus any more than he “stole” the Red Wedding from the historical event known as The Black Dinner. And, furthermore, people just “steal” from each other all the time. A lot of the time it isn’t even intentional. Plus, a lot of the time people just come up with the same idea over and over again and often at the same time. There’s a specific term for it that I can’t recall at the moment. Parallel Thinking, maybe? Either way, totally normal thing that all kinds of writers, creators and people in general do.
What do you think of the theory that Cersei is going to try to molest Tommen at some point to try and keep control over him? I think it's definitely a tinfoil one, but it has some antiquated precedence re Agrippina and Nero, and the general repulsiveness of the act/idea, as you guys were talking about.
Criston Cole was the kingmaker who stole a crown from a queen. Barriston is the kingbreaker who stole a crown from a king. Cole was a king's hand. Barriston was a queen's hand. Cole died ignominiously. So Barriston has to go out like a boss, right? They're inversions.
27:40
Arya may have reason to believe this or have been told this by an unreliable person.
She may have heard a time that bravos was realised but thatbit wasnt for another 300 years before an outsider came to bravos?
So it would be it was known about but not found.