“Some women get erased a little at a time, some all at once. Some reappear. Every woman who appears wrestles with the forces that would have her disappear. She struggles with the forces that would tell her story for her, or write her out of the story, the genealogy, the rights of man, the rule of law. The ability to tell your own story, in words or images, is already a victory, already a revolt.”
Rebecca Solnit in Men Explain Things to Me
I started writing this series as the traditional two buddies going off on an adventure-type story. My wife encouraged me to strengthen the female characters, which I did (at least the feedback I’ve gotten suggests I’ve accomplished that goal). But for a long time, I cast most of my main antagonists as men since men tend to be the aggressors in our society. However, I eventually added Pythia as the girlfriend to the original main antagonist – Gilgamesh. The problem with my plan was that I didn’t have Gilgamesh appearing in the book until late in the series, which meant Pythia had almost no role.
So, I decided to make Pythia a stronger villainess, filling the role as the main bad-guy until Gilgamesh appeared. I rewrote the series and thought I’d done a good job until my daughter said that she sounded like a ‘Disney villainess.’
At first, I took it as a compliment because I’d elevated her from a side-note character to an outright bad guy. But I got to thinking about it, and realized that having Pythia be a sidekick, didn’t match everything else I was trying to do. So, I went back to the drawing board and rethought what type of villain I wanted her to be, and came up with several characteristics:
- I wanted her to be a more memorable antagonist. So, I made her even more aggressive and gave her a much bigger role in the series as the main antagonist.
- I didn’t want her to be the ‘cruel step-mom’ or ‘wicked queen’ of Disney movies, so I highlighted her goals and fears more. She’s motivated to accomplish something that sounds good on paper, but she has too much power and absolute power, corrupts absolutely.
- Since many of the adults in the series have magical powers, I gave her the ability to see the future with The Cup Of Jamshid.
I based her character on The Pythia, the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. The women who held this position were also known as the Oracle of Delphi. From about 800 BCE to 400 CE, they were some of the most famous and influential women of the ancient Greek World.
Legend says that The Pythia would sit on a tall three-legged stool, positioned over a crack in the temple floor that emitted hallucinogenic vapors. These vapors, sent by the God Apollo, would send her into a trance where she would utter her prophecies. An earthquake has since sealed the crack, so it’s hard to prove or disprove the theory that it was ethylene gas that caused the Pythia to act the way she did.
There are many famous predictions attributed to her, but I am most fascinated with the one she gave to Croesus. When asked if it was wise to invade Persia, The Pythia prophesized that he would destroy a great empire if he did attack. Croesus took it to mean that he would defeat the Persians. He did destroy an empire – his own.
I don’t have a picture of Delphi yet, as I’m going on a trip to Italy and Greece for research on books 5 & 7 in January 2022, so I’m sharing one of me at Machu Pichu. The road you see to my right, with all those switchbacks, is how you get to Machu Pichu.
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