“before” is always spatially. In this case, it has to be anyways – the academy was much farther away from the Acropolis (Ακρόπολη Αθηνών) than depicted here.
Eh. While there certainly are athletes I wouldn’t mind seeing that way, there are also plenty I would. Bit of a mixed bag, really. Plus things’d probably get really sticky and disgusting really quickly.
hey, at least its not boxing, ancient greek boxing was one of the bloodiest sports in history, with some boxers gutting their opponents with tiny blades hidden in their “gloves”
Nothing kinky about it. Clothing was very minimal. It is perfectly natural that possibly the only cloth you own, or at least is very valuable, is tossed aside when starting to do sports. You wouldnt want to ruin it, or in this case, be entangled with it as it is only a piece of cloth wrapped in certain way.
Wasn’t it to prevent one to grab clothing ? This way is much fairer in that regard, as there can’t be “clothing malfunction” giving one some advantage in the fight.
Also, ripped clothing could get stuck in scrapes. I’m not sure if this was a concern for the Greeks, but I remember reading that it was one for later swordfighting cultures. Back in those days, clothing stuck in a wound meant that it festered. And then you died.
OK. After Socrates. Before the Academy. Sepia World before purple neckties. Somebody tell me that isn’t Ashok on the losing end of the wrestling match.
It would be more appropriate to say that we are looking at a second timeframe, since Athens as we are seeing it here is quite literally history, and therefore part of the same “timeline” that sepia world exists inside of. A timeframe could also encompass any point on that timeline, and another point on it, or the first point and then a point beyond the endpoint of that timeline (located on any one branching arm of that timeline).
Philosophically speaking, you set up your sentence in more or less the correct way, but your word choice is slightly off.
A separate timeline requires an alternate reality to form after the endpoint of the first timeline, or requires that alternate reality to be extant (or retconned into existence), in the way that Arkerra and Earth and Techno-world exist in alternate realities which were formed at separate times and have their own time-flows.
So, technically we are looking at two time-frames in sepia-world, and then one more in Arkerra and Techno-world each, across three timelines.
We’ve got Byron and the Peaceniks, Mini-Harky and the Sharkineers, Long Nose and Lady Grave Digger, and now Greek Hogan and… whoever else they introduce here.
Can you imagine someone making that transition today?
Although, when you think about all those kung fu monks and so on, maybe physical combat leads naturally to deep, philosophical thought?
I suppose that’s what I get for reading the comic without my coffee. Totally didn’t remember what’s written on the bottom of every other page, and that it’s not roman numerals.
I guess that rules out Archimedes.
i Think Platon, i vaguely remember hearing he was a wrestler champion or something
Plato?
Platon (meaning “Broad”) was his wrestling name, which apparently was his coach’s way of poking fun at his huge forehead.
Or alternately, as we know they wrestled naked, he was drawing attention to something remarkable. Maybe to distract the opponent?
Kinda like how Meat Loaf came about
Platon is how we Eurotrash call him, yes.
Now, before the academy … temporally or spatially?
“before” is always spatially. In this case, it has to be anyways – the academy was much farther away from the Acropolis (Ακρόπολη Αθηνών) than depicted here.
definitely plato, he was socrates student and founded the academy, after socrates and before the academy.
also that beard is very plato-like.
MY EYES! THEY BURN!
Those coniferous upthrusting pines are not native to the Mediterranean region!
Those aren’t pines, they’re cypress trees. And yes, they are native to the Mediterranean in several forms: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupressus_sempervirens.
Time to exercise my gravatar!
“OOOOOOOOOOOH!”
Yeap, cypress. Very important trees in Provence, one of their main purpose is as wind barrier around here.
OK, I went from nerdy shouting guy to angry silent bard/lava god avatar. Not bad an upgrade.
Technically correct is the best kind of correct.
I think you got burned alright…;)
We can’t let children see this! They’ll grow up thinking they spoke English in Classical Greece! What am I supposed to tell them?
Wha?
“Are you not entertained?” –Wait, wrong civilization.
Could be worse, I thought “No, this is Sparta.”
TONIGHT WE DINE IN..
Sepia world?
Strength? Um… well it’s *hot* at any rate.
A fitting avatar, Lexible.
OH MY.
pray for the wrestlers pray hard and long.
Hard astern, Mr Sulu!
OH MY!
“WHO WANTS TICKETS TO THE GASTRAPHETES SHOW?”
hmm… Not where I expected to be. Or when, for that matter.
Strength…!
THIS! IS! ATHENS!
…oh come on, he looks JUST like him.
I did in fact read that in that voice.
Complete agreement.
Agreed.
Are…they…
Naked? Yes. That’s how sports worked in ancient Greece.
Naked AND oiled up! Ancient Greek sports were pretty kinky by today’s standards.
That is the best kind of sport. to bad its not common anymore.
Eh. While there certainly are athletes I wouldn’t mind seeing that way, there are also plenty I would. Bit of a mixed bag, really. Plus things’d probably get really sticky and disgusting really quickly.
hey, at least its not boxing, ancient greek boxing was one of the bloodiest sports in history, with some boxers gutting their opponents with tiny blades hidden in their “gloves”
It has changed with the times. It used to be men and oil, now it’s women and mud :-)
Sadly not really as sexy.
Yeah, the mud covers everything up.
Nothing kinky about it. Clothing was very minimal. It is perfectly natural that possibly the only cloth you own, or at least is very valuable, is tossed aside when starting to do sports. You wouldnt want to ruin it, or in this case, be entangled with it as it is only a piece of cloth wrapped in certain way.
Wasn’t it to prevent one to grab clothing ? This way is much fairer in that regard, as there can’t be “clothing malfunction” giving one some advantage in the fight.
Yeah, but just remember what is left to grab hold of, and oiled up requires multiple grabs, with both hands…
Are you saying it was a Goat.se contest?
Have heard that term, but have never bothered looking it up
Also, ripped clothing could get stuck in scrapes. I’m not sure if this was a concern for the Greeks, but I remember reading that it was one for later swordfighting cultures. Back in those days, clothing stuck in a wound meant that it festered. And then you died.
The root of the word gymnasium is the Greek gymnos, “naked.”
Fact of the day!
OK. After Socrates. Before the Academy. Sepia World before purple neckties. Somebody tell me that isn’t Ashok on the losing end of the wrestling match.
So, are we going to be juggling not only two worlds but a second timeline in one of them as well?
It would be more appropriate to say that we are looking at a second timeframe, since Athens as we are seeing it here is quite literally history, and therefore part of the same “timeline” that sepia world exists inside of. A timeframe could also encompass any point on that timeline, and another point on it, or the first point and then a point beyond the endpoint of that timeline (located on any one branching arm of that timeline).
Philosophically speaking, you set up your sentence in more or less the correct way, but your word choice is slightly off.
A separate timeline requires an alternate reality to form after the endpoint of the first timeline, or requires that alternate reality to be extant (or retconned into existence), in the way that Arkerra and Earth and Techno-world exist in alternate realities which were formed at separate times and have their own time-flows.
So, technically we are looking at two time-frames in sepia-world, and then one more in Arkerra and Techno-world each, across three timelines.
Surprise! You’re about to meet the third group of wacky adventurers to be featured in this comic.
Wouldn’t it technically be the fourth?
We’ve got Byron and the Peaceniks, Mini-Harky and the Sharkineers, Long Nose and Lady Grave Digger, and now Greek Hogan and… whoever else they introduce here.
I prefer The Iron Greek.
We have a winner here, folks.
I’m always up for something Greek.
Would you be saying that if it was all Greek to you?
No. This! Is! Athens!
Athens, 398 BCE.
After Dick Johnson.
Before Jaque Strapp.
No, I think this is Sparta.
No, this is Patrick.
Sure as hell ain’t INT, buddy.
CHA and WIS, it most likely isn’t.
DEX is a real possibility.
Don’t be fooled, he’s running a long CON
Oh, COM on.
Better SAN nothing.
Don’t let the MAN keep you down. RES up!
After all that wrasslin’ around, I for one hope it’s EXTRA strength! Pee-yuu! Go hit the showers, buddy!
This was their shower, they would bath, wrestle, then wipe off the sweat with a stick.
Or is that Roman baths I am thinking of?
In any case hot slippery men were all the rage back then.
Well, I sure wasn’t expecting that.
Some might find the image of two naked men grappling to be rather suggestive, but I assure you that in this case it is quite Platonic.
+1
Well done!
winrar
Plato was a badass!
We haven’t see much of his ass yet to determine if it is bad or good
Naked Athenian wrestling… That’s a bit of a shift. Love this comic for that, never quite know where it’s going to go next.
Next on Discovery: Naked and Afraid
Has to be Plato. Plato was a nickname. It meant something like Bulk, cause Plato was a wrestler before he became a philospher.
And now you know!
Can you imagine someone making that transition today?
Although, when you think about all those kung fu monks and so on, maybe physical combat leads naturally to deep, philosophical thought?
Of course, it leads some in the opposite direction, into politics.
So THAT’S Auraugu’s player.
And now for something completely different….
No, that’s the People’s Elbow, if you can smellelelelelel what he’s cooking!
Now commences the ceremonial teabagging.
D’you like gladiator strips, Bobby?
Just popping in checking on my face. Hopefully its goooood?
I think it is the same…
Is it Chapter 31 Page 1 like the title says, or Chapter 20 Page 10 like the comic has in the bottom left-hand corner.
Whatever it is, cool comic today :)
i was gonna post the same thing. would also like to add, “why roman numerals if greek setting?”
They’re probably just placeholders that were accidentally never replaced, so it’s actually just the letter X, not the roman numeral.
This is the case.
And I was GOING to replace them with Roman numerals to be a smartass, but Seggs had to remind me that ancient Greece did not use those symbols.
I suppose that’s what I get for reading the comic without my coffee. Totally didn’t remember what’s written on the bottom of every other page, and that it’s not roman numerals.
I’m getting Uncanny Valley vibes from the last panel. O_O
Now that you mention it, I get it, too. Plato’s eyes seem slightly off, don’t they?
The game world is a kind of Plato’s Cave.
Trying to work out where this is going…
If my teacher looked at me like that, then i’d be just as freaked.
We should bring back this sport to the way it’s shown here. And only muscular youths should qualify.